Tall and Speedy: the story of the Intamin Accelerators

There was a time when lifthills were not just commonplace on coasters; they were compulsory for a working ride. A train travelling up a lifthill was the only way to gain enough momentum to complete the circuit- that was, until 1978 when Montezooma’s Revenge opened at Knotts Berry Farm in California, the first coaster to utilise a classic flywheel launch.

Built by German manufacturer Schwarzkopf, this new Shuttle Loop was groundbreaking in the theme park industry, and set the course for a new type of coaster thrill. Since then many manufacturers have been experimenting with new ways to start a ride off with a bang, and one of the most successful was Intamin, with the famous LSM and LIM launches. Today Intamin have an impressive collection of launched rollercoasters throughout the world, known as accelerator coasters. Some of these are successes, while some aren’t so popular. These rides certainly have an interesting history, so lets explore the story of Intamin’s innovative accelerators!

First and Fast

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By the early 2000s, Knotts Berry Farm was looking for something new to fill the small empty space left over by the defunct Windjammer Surf Racers, and a new coaster was the aim. Most manufacturers could not build a coaster compact enough to fit the tiny space the park was working with, but Intamin came forward with a never before seen model that would eventually become one of the most famous coaster models: the accelerator. The prototype model, Xcelerator, opened at Knotts in June 2002, with a new hydraulic launch on a relatively short launch track of 157ft, and a top speed of 82mph. Riders travel over a 205ft top hat and through a few turns before arriving back at the station. It was a simple yet brilliant idea, and was a success with visitors.

It seems Knotts is a great park for groundbreaking launch coasters, let’s not forget that the first ever Schwarzkopf Shuttle Loop opened here too just twenty-four years earlier, as well as the first ever Zamperla Moto Coaster, Pony Express, in 2008!

A common problem faced by many launched rides is that they can’t always operate in some conditions, and this is certainly a problem Xcelerator faces frequently. While some coasters go down for snow or excessive heat, the original accelerator cannot operate in the rain, in order to prevent a build up of water underneath the wheels. If this occurs rollbacks become increasingly more frequent, and, while they may be fun for us enthusiasts, they can be pretty terrifying if you don’t realise it’s safe!

The Original Strata Coaster

Less than eleven months after Xcelerator’s debut, the second accelerator would be constructed at Cedar Point, opening May 4th 2003. When designing this new coaster, which would open as Top Thrill Dragster, Intamin had significantly more space to work with, resulting in a longer launch track allowing for a taller height. This, combined with Cedar Point’s seemingly age-old desire to smash records (there’s a reason it’s known as a place like no other!), led to the creation of the world’s first Strata coaster, that is, the first coaster to reach a peak of over 400ft! Dragster’s highest point is 420ft, and features aspects that are unique even today, including the visitor seating beside the launch track, similar to how spectators would watch a real dragster race!

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Sadly, Xcelerator would not be the only Intamin accelerator to suffer maintenance issues. In Summer 2019 Dragster experienced extensive downtime after problems with a launch motor, remaining out of operation for several weeks, and employees of Intamin were called in to perform maintenance on the ride. Fans of Top Thrill Dragster were devastated to see the ride closed for so long, and, strangely, Stealth at Thorpe Park went down for a few days around the same time- I guess summer last year just wasn’t a great time for Intamin coasters!

The Tallest- But Not Quite The Fastest

It wouldn’t take Six Flags to notice the success brought by Cedar Fair’s accelerators, and by 2005 Great Adventure would announce what was by far their biggest addition since Nitro in April of 2001. In May of 2005 the park debuted the world’s tallest and fastest coaster: Kingda Ka, named after a tiger that once lived in the park’s zoo. A new land opened accompanying the coaster, known as Golden Kingdom, featuring a tiger enclosure and several family-friendly flat rides. Ka also brought a new element to accelerators- an impressive 129ft tall airtime hill just opposite the load and unload station. A similar hill would be used on many other accelerators in the future, including Stealth at Thorpe Park in UK, and RedForce at PortAventura’s Ferrari Land in Spain. Some riders say that RedForce has the best airtime hill out of all the accelerators, despite being the smallest.

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Although Kingda Ka has kept it’s height record after all this years, the speed record wasn’t there to stay, and in 2010 Abu Dhabi’s Ferrari World smashed it the opening of Formula Rossa (another Intamin accelerator, I’m sensing a pattern here!), which takes riders from 0 to 149.1mph in just 4.9 seconds. Six Flags may be working on another ride that breaks Ka’s record for tallest too. In August 2019 it was announced that the world’s largest theme park chain would be making another attempt to branch out into the Asian market, after the rather unsuccessful Six Flags Dubai, with Six Flags Qiddiya in Saudi Arabia, a record-breaking park less than an hour away from the country’s capital, Riyadh.

This new park is said to bring many amazing and thrilling experiences, but the signature attraction will be “the world’s most extreme coaster” Falcon’s Flight, built by an unannounced manufacturer, apparently reaching a height of over 500ft. I however, like many others, am a little sceptical- the recreation looks more like something someone might make in Planet Coaster than an actual, feasible ride!

Check out the official website for Six Flags Qiddiya to form your own opinions on this upcoming park!

RedForce- Europe’s Tallest Coaster

Spain is famous for many things, one of these being the country’s thrilling and well-themed theme parks. PortAventura World in Salou is Spain’s largest, featuring the main park as well as a water park and a smaller theme park, Ferrari Land. This New-For-2017 park opened in April of that year with several rides and a unique car racing experience, but this wasn’t all the park had to offer. RedForce towered proudly over Ferrari Land, and still does today! At an impressive 367ft, this thrilling accelerator is Europe’s tallest coaster, and one of the only coasters in the park, joined only by Junior RedForce in 2018, a Kiddie SBF Spinner with trains sort of resembling those on RedForce.

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RedForce holds many legacies besides being Europe’s tallest, some of them not so great. The ride became almost infamous on day one of operation, after a pigeon flew into the open mouth of an unsuspecting rider. After throwing the bird off him, the rider was left with a smear of pigeon blood on his face, which likely made for an uncomfortable experience at the least! This coaster is also caught up in a debate that has been circulating through the enthusiast community for the last few years- is it, or is it not, a giga? It’s over 300ft, sure, but does a ride have to have a lifthill in order to count as a giga?

By the way, RedForce IS a giga and no amount of persuasion will make me change my mind. Sorry not sorry guys 🙂

Accelerators of the UK

As a UK theme park enthusiast, I’m in a way obligated to back up the coasters over here. But the Intamin accelerators in UK parks are kind of… average, at least compared to those in other countries such as the US. These two coasters have their homes at Thorpe Park and Alton Towers, and while they are visitor favourites, they don’t hold as much legacy as many other Intamin accelerators. Rita Queen Of Speed opened in Ug Land, Alton Towers in 2005, the first major thrill coaster not to use the iconic Secret Weapon nickname since the scheme it began in the 90s.

This coaster is known for its forceful hydraulic launch, but it doesn’t really do anything with the momentum it gains, just navigates a series of turns. The Towers’ Queen Of Speed kept its name until 2009, when the opening of Th13teen brought a whole new overhaul to Ug Land, and the area became the Dark Forest. In keeping with the retheme, the name Rita Queen of Speed was shortened to just Rita, now themed to an abandoned drag racer. The ride gained some extra theming in order to fit in with Th13teen, but the experience itself didn’t change too much.

Just a year later, the Tussards Group, who owned Alton Towers at the time, would open a second accelerator at another of their parks, Thorpe Park. Standing at a height of 205ft above the park and looking over Thorpe Park’s Amity, Stealth can be seen from a nearby motorway, and is the second tallest coaster in the UK, just eight feet behind The Big One at Blackpool Pleasure Beach.

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This famous coaster holds the record for the UK’s fastest rollercoaster, taking riders from 0-80mph in just 2 seconds and featuring a top hat traditional to many older Intamin accelerators. I feel like Thorpe may have taken a bit of inspiration from Cedar Point when writing Stealth’s description on their website- Stealth is listed as “Thorpe Park’s Top Thrill Dragster!”

Despite its impressive statistics, Stealth isn’t too popular with enthusiasts, with rides such as the Swarm offering a more intense experience. Still, Stealth is an icon of Thorpe Park, and driving up to the park entrance just wouldn’t be the same without it!

Launching Into The Future

It has now been ten years since Intamin debuted their most recent accelerator, this being Formula Rossa at Ferrari World in Abu Dhabi. These thrilling launch coasters experienced a peak in the mid 2000s after the success of Top Thrill Dragster and Xcelerator, and it seemed that every park that could afford to build one was wanting to. Over the next few years less and less would be built around the world- but new accelerators aren’t dying out altogether. According to RCDB there are currently two Intamin accelerators under construction: one at Lost Island Theme Park in Iowa, and another at Golden City in Russia.

Does this mean Intamin Accelerators may be making a comeback? Which accelerator is your favourite? Share your thoughts below!

1. 

   Thank you so much! I’m so glad you enjoy them. Sorry about the late reply -Lily 🙂

2. 

   Your articles are amazing. Thank you for your hard work.

3. 

   It’s definitely worth a visit! 🙂

4. 

   Interesting! Never heard of that park before

5. 

   Love this Lily

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Photo credits:

-@thrillation on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/thrillation/

-@alecscheerer_rollercoastin on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/alecscheerer_rollercoastin/

-NewEnglandCoasterFan on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTBhr__dbYNDJgyVOPODR3w and Instagram https://www.instagram.com/newengland_coasterfan/

-@twist3dsteel on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/twist3dsteel/

-@themepark__photography on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/themepark__photography/

Thanks for your help guys!

You are all clear- and outta here! Thanks for reading!

-Lily