10 Remnants of Removed Roller Coasters

[Music] many roller coasters have come and gone some are removed to make way for new attractions while others simply can't be repaired anymore however the demolition of a roller coaster doesn't always mean the complete removal of it with a good eye you can still spot some leftover coaster remnants inside the parks they once operated that so here are just ten of these famous remnants of rides that once were number 10 Hercules footers at Pennsylvania's Dorney Park since 2004 Hydra Thor venge has caught the eyes of thrill-seekers with its short but sweet layout and it's impressive heartline roll straight out of the station but before the construction of this beast an infamous wooden coaster once stood on its plot of land this ride named Hercules was reportedly so rough and uncomfortable that it was given the nickname hurt your knees by enthusiasts sure it looked pretty stunning going over Cedar Creek but it would still jackhammer passengers like there was no tomorrow even with a trim slowing down the first drop this turn gave a rattle that is still remembered to this day interestingly enough the most infamous part of this ride is the only part that's still standing after its closure in 2003 demolition of the coaster began almost immediately though the track and supports were taken down five concrete footers still stand in Cedar Creek and stick out from the surface of the water they can be visible not only from the adjacent Dorney Park Road but from the parks marquee roller coaster steel force so the next time you take a ride on this coaster be sure to look out for the remains of this once mighty demigod number nine the original bats footers at Ohio's Kings Island one of Kings Island's most overlooked coasters is the bat first opening his top gun in 1993 this suspended roller coaster is one of only a few left in operation by American manufacturer aerodynamics believe it or not though it wasn't the first arrow suspended coaster to open at this park and it wasn't the first to be named the bat either the original bat was the first suspended coaster designed by aerodynamics this model consisted of trains that hung below the track and swung side to side with the rides lateral forces when the track turned left or right the ride vehicles would swing in the opposite direction it's unique ride experience gave an instant mainstream exposure and it seemed like a promising attraction however this ride would prove to be an absolute headache for the parks maintenance department the biggest problem with the ride was purportedly the lack of banking on the turns without proper banking too much stress is put on the sides of the track making it susceptible to cracks and premature wear and tear it would be just two years after the bats openings that it would close for good at that point park officials decide the coaster was too problematic and expensive to maintain in 1987 the bats former spot was used for vortex and aerodynamics custom looper but you can still see remnants of the bat that once stood there not only was the original bat station reused but if you look near the station you can still find a few leftover concrete footers from the coaster it's truly amazing that these footers are still in place after almost 40 years and it's likely they'll remain there for a lot longer number eight the hypersonic xlc stationed at Virginia's Kings Dominion we've talked about the xlc before on this channel but for those of you who don't know here's a brief summary first conceived in the late 90s this was a prototype air launch roller coaster from American manufacturer S&S sansei it used a revolutionary compressed air launch to give an unprecedented acceleration of 0 to 83 miles per hour in less than two seconds the prototype was soon purchased by the defunct paramount parks and while it was originally intended for California's Great America it ended up going to Virginia's Kings Dominion instead there it would receive general acclaim for its intense ride experience but would succumb to numerous mechanical problems throughout its lifetime since this coaster was a prototype that was literally purchased from a testing facility paramount parks decision to buy it right away impacted its overall run at the park after less than a decade of operation the park decided it was far too expensive and unreliable to keep running so it was torn down after the 2007 season one part of the ride that was not torn down though was the station in the maintenance shed these buildings can still be seen from the nearby WindSeeker and from onboard twisted timbers from an aerial perspective you can even see a general outline of where the track exited the station to think that a roller coaster used to be in that exact spot is fascinating to say the least number seven Batman and Robin the chillers Observatory at New Jersey's Six Flags Great Adventure this is another ride I've previously covered in my failed coaster series this launch dueling shuttle coaster came to New Jersey courtesy of American manufacturer premier rides themed to the 1997 movie Batman and Robin this coaster consisted of two separate tracks blue for Batman and red for Robin the right experience was designed to duel two trains against each other on each track unfortunately you can't talk about this ride without mentioning how many technical issues it had power shortages prevented it from dueling and the launch system would even smoke up from overheating every now and then nevertheless the coaster itself is often remembered fondly for its intense ride experience with an elaborate station themed to mr. Freeze's generator and a scenery piece that resembled the film's Gotham Observatory after launching out of the station the trains would immediately pass through the observatory before entering the first inversion at the end of the ride yes would make their exit down a covered pathway that went between both tracks and through the observatory guests reported that it was extremely loud inside the observatory as the launch generated quite a bit of noise after the rides closure in 2007 the track was removed from the observatory and the station while the station was torn down in 2016 the observatory and the exit pathway still stand to this day it is labeled as the Lena luthor science Exploratorium and it's reportedly used for employee training purposes these days and here's a fun fact in 2008 this observatory was once home to a Fright Fest show called Sambora of the Amazon this show centered around a chained up scantily clad woman in a cage that turns into a gorilla and of course I'm serious number 6 track pieces of Steel phantom at Pennsylvania's Kennywood Phantom's revenge is often regarded as one of the greatest roller coasters on earth providing high speed thrills an amazing air time however there was a time when it was far from beloved while onboard Phantom's revenge you may notice the shape of the track changes following the lift Hill that's because when this ride first opened it was originally known as steel phantom an aerodynamics custom looper unlike Phantom's revenge this coaster featured inversions including a vertical loop about wing and a corkscrew with its speed height and inversions this coaster seemed to have it all but one thing that it didn't have was a comfortable ride experience this coaster was widely criticized for being a rough ride and passengers heads would be knocked back and forth on the hard over the shoulder restraints as it turned out the ride was going faster than it should after the second drop and even after adding a trim before the first inversion guest satisfaction was still extremely low less than a decade after it opened the decision was made to completely redo it and American manufacturer D H Morgan was hired to give the ride all new track in an inversion free layout but whatever happened to that old track the answer to that surprisingly enough lies in the parks Thomastown section this kids area has an attraction named diesel drivers a slow powered tram ride by Italian manufacturer Zamperla the rides trained circle is a mini scrapyard in which you can easily spot track from the former steel phantom it's a truly creative way to reuse old scraps so kudos to Kenny wood on this one like what you see so far feel free to subscribe and hit the bell icon for new video updates number 5 bus Sal Falls ride vehicle at Missouri's Silver Dollar City Powder Keg a blast in the wilderness is the oldest operating air launch coaster in North America like the hypersonic xlc this coaster uses the power of compressed air to send riders forward at an impressive acceleration rate when this attraction first opened though it was a much different roller coaster in 1999 the ride known as powder cake originally opened as buzzsaw falls a liquid coaster model by American manufacturer premier rides instead of an air launch the ride featured both the submerged splash track and a free-floating flume section allowing riders to cool off in the hot Missouri Sun one of the most notable things about this coaster were the unusual ride vehicles with peculiar plastic shields on both sides and the front though it was initially very popular with guests the ride would break down constantly often from its infrared sensors being sensitive to interference moreover water had to be constantly pumped through the ride in order for it to run properly leading to absorbent maintenance costs just four years after the coaster is opening Park officials decided to severely modify the right experience to decrease maintenance costs and demands American manufacturer SNS was then brought in to add the rides air launch while also keeping the original chain lift from buzzsaw balls layout another thing left over from the rides previous incarnation was a single ride vehicle while navigating powder kegs cue line look at the roof of the first cue building there you'll find an old bus off Falls right vehicle embedded into it this not only fits in with powder cakes explosive theme but it's a rather interesting tribute to a failed attraction number four the bottom of rolling thunders drop at New Jersey Six Flags Great Adventure long before El Toro was widely declared to be the greatest wooden coaster of all time the same Park it's home to once opened another woody first opened in 1979 this attraction was built to celebrate the park's fifth anniversary after the success of the now removed lightning loops coaster the park wanted to go even bigger with their next major investment for such a massive project Park officials hired wooden coaster designer William Cobb who also designed great American scream machine at Six Flags Over Georgia and who was later designed judge Roy scream at Six Flags Over Texas Cobb and his manufacturing company would create a massive dueling wooden coaster this new ride named Rolling Thunder would feature two separate tracks to allow passengers to race against each other the attraction was a smash hit for the park and even when El Toro was constructed the layout was designed to accommodate the older ride instead of meetings to tear it down two sections of El Toros track were built above the bottom of rolling thunders first drop this gave the latter coaster a brand new head chopper effect which is a perspective based illusion that makes riders feel like they're going to smack their heads on the supports above unfortunately this effect only ended up lasting seven years as Rolling Thunder would meet its bitter end in 2013 and it's space would be used for the queue line of zoomin djaro a drop ride attached to the park's king two car roller coaster on the bright side the park still left a remnant of the classic woody on the property the bottom of rolling thunders first drop still sits under el Toro and you can see it in plain sight from zoomin Jaros cue line just flip to the right and you'll see two once dueling tracks sitting there side by side number three son of b station at ohio stings island son of beasts is without a doubt the most talked about defunct rollercoaster on the Internet the story of its troubled construction and problematic run at Kings Island has earned it an infamous reputation among enthusiasts once touted as the tallest and fastest wooden coaster on earth as well as the first modern wooden coaster to go upside down son of beasts demise is a textbook example of potential gone to waste the layout was widely criticized for being largely dull and uninspired with large tedious helixes that jack-hammered passengers on the rough track this roughness was said to be the rides fatal flaw with the only smooth part being the steel loop on top of that the ride was riddled with design flaws that defined its troubled history long story short the loop had to be removed to accommodate new trains after an accident sent a full train of guests to the hospital then after a woman claimed she suffered a brain injury in 2009 the ride was left standing but not operating after inspections and discussions the coaster was demolished in 2012 leaving a massive plot of land that would partially be filled by Banshee just two years later however not all of this land was reused the station where guests first boarded son of Beast is still in place this station named outpost buy has since been used as a Halloween Haunt maze named wolf pack you can spot the building from the queue line of the bat and if you look closely you can still see a piece of the old wooden track sticking out as well though construction of an alleged 2020 Giga coaster is currently underway the land clearing does not involve the old station it looks like this artifact will be sticking around for a while longer number to the top of the great American scream machines loop at New Jersey's Six Flags Great Adventure yep another great adventure coaster is on this list and nostalgia holics are sure to go bananas for this one from 1989 to 2010 the great American scream machine once reigned supreme on great adventures Midway this aerodynamix mega looper was once the tallest and fastest looping coaster on earth never before had East Coast coaster enthusiasts seen anything like this ride and it reportedly brought in record attendance for Great Adventure as the years went on though the screen machines popularity would dwindle as bigger faster and much smoother rollercoasters were installed in the following years by 2010 to scream machine was considered to be a notoriously painful ride and the park had no interest in keeping the classic looper around so after a sentimental send-off with cake and balloons the ride became scrap metal and was soon replaced by green lantern a relocated stand up coaster from Kentucky Kingdom while there are no remains left in the rides former spot there is one still on the parks property ironically the only part of the ride left was the first part to be removed just one year after its opening in 1989 the top sections of the scream machines loops were replaced with more reinforced track to reduce the amount of stress that trains put on them one of these old loop tops was then placed in the safaris baboon exhibit and was an instant hit among the parks baboon clientele it can be spotted from both El Toro and Bizzaro and was previously visible from the parks drive-through Safari nowadays the drive through Safari is no more and the baboon exhibit is not included in the park safari off-road adventure if you want access to the baboon exhibit and a closer look at this track you'll have to book a VIP safari tour number one corkscrews double corkscrew at England's Alton Towers Alton Towers is one of the UK's top theme park destinations after years of operating as a garden Alton Towers officially opened as a theme park in the spring of 1980 its largest opening day attraction was corkscrew a thrilling steel coaster by Dutch manufacturer of a coma ride like this had never been seen before in the UK because of this novelty the coaster was instantly popular park guests reportedly waited up to 6 hours for a single minute and 15 seconds of ride time however as the years went on the coaster was seen as an uncomfortable and out-of-date attraction in 2008 Park officials declared that the coaster had reached the end of its service life and were eager to put a brand new thrill ride in its place after the last rides were given on November 2008 Park officials decided to honour the coaster that made the park what it is today so instead of chucking the whole thing in the scrapyard the rides double corkscrew was relocated to the parks entrance it was done with a blue and gold paint job and a sign that remind guests of the former attraction nowadays it continues to serve as a stunning structure to greet thrill-seeking guess thanks for watching everyone feel free to lie sure and subscribe you can follow me on social media on Twitter Instagram and Facebook or you can check out my website at theme park crazy calm

Channel: Theme Park Crazy

Views: 1,373,011

Rating: 4.8425641 out of 5

Keywords: roller coasters, coaster, amusement parks, defunct, removed, rides, ride, old, past, former, attractions, steel phantom, son of beast, the bat, kings island, six flags, great adventure, new jersey, great american scream machine, alton towers, corkscrew, top 10, top ten, list, theme park crazy

Id: bkRrB1mjUN4

Length: 15min 39sec (939 seconds)

Published: Mon May 27 2019