Arkham Asylum – Shock Therapy

Arkham Asylum – Shock Therapy was a Vekoma SLC roller coaster located at Warner Bros. Movie World on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia.[1] When the ride was introduced in 1995, it was themed to the Lethal Weapon film series and was named Lethal Weapon – The Ride.[2][3] In 2012, the ride was rethemed to Batman: Arkham Asylum and renamed Arkham Asylum.[4] The ride was the first steel inverted roller coaster at an Australian theme park.[5]

For a roller coaster in Spain, see Batman: Arkham Asylum (roller coaster).

Arkham Asylum – Shock Therapy
Previously known as Lethal Weapon – The Ride
One of Lethal Weapon – The Ride's trains going around a bend
Warner Bros. Movie World
LocationWarner Bros. Movie World
Coordinates27°54′30″S 153°18′43″E
StatusRemoved
Opening date26 December 1995 (1995-12-26) (as Lethal Weapon)
7 April 2012 (2012-04-07) (as Arkham Asylum)
Closing date26 January 2021 (2021-01-26) (as Arkham Asylum - Shock Therapy)
CostA$16,000,000
General statistics
TypeSteel – Inverted
ManufacturerVekoma
DesignerVekoma
ModelSuspended Looping Coaster (765m Extended w/ Helix)
Lift/launch systemChain lift hill
Height33.3 m (109 ft)
Length765 m (2,510 ft)
Speed88 km/h (55 mph)
Inversions5
Duration1:42
Capacity1010 riders per hour
G-force4
Height restriction140 cm (4 ft 7 in)
Trains2 trains with 10 cars. Riders are arranged 2 across in a single row for a total of 20 riders per train.
Arkham Asylum – Shock Therapy at RCDB
Pictures of Arkham Asylum – Shock Therapy at RCDB

The ride has not operated since 2019[2] and has been removed from the park map. On January 26, 2021, Warner Bros. Movie World confirmed that the ride would be demolished. [6][7]

History
The entrance to the roller coaster when it was Lethal Weapon – The Ride (or Ride Lethal Weapon as shown on the sign).

Lethal Weapon – The Ride (1995–2012)

On 26 December 1995, Lethal Weapon – The Ride officially opened to the public.[3] It was the first Suspended Looping Coaster to feature an extended layout with a helix before the brake run.[8] This helix was referred to as a "bayern kurve" by Vekoma.[3]

Some of the theming surrounding Lethal Weapon – The Ride.

Riders would originally join in the queue by entering an area of the theme park made up like Chinatown, complete with a variety of facades such as "Lee's Martial Arts School" and various restaurants and sundry shops. The queue started outdoors, before moving into a movie-theatre like hall where riders watched sequences of the film while waiting to ride.

Before finally riding, riders would progress into an area made up like an auto yard, with cars piled up atop each other and graffiti all over the walls, with the sound of barking Dobermans as well as a seemingly abandoned Shell auto station. After hearing an audio presentation and removing any loose items, riders are strapped in and the ride is dispatched.

In the mid-2000s the ride's queue was altered to bypass most of this theming except for the autoyard. The revised queue was located in the pathway between the original Lethal Weapon – The Ride entrance and Superman Escape. This resulted in a considerably shorter queue which had originally made up just the last portion. This was done due to the popularity of the ride dipping as both it, and the film franchise aged.[9]

Arkham Asylum (2012–2019)

In September 2011, parts of new trains were spotted in a maintenance area of the ride.[10] The new trains were designed by Kumbak,[11] the company responsible for 2009 installation of new trains on Sea World's Sea Viper roller coaster.[12][13] At around the same time, the ride's entrance was moved to a new location in the pathway between the original Lethal Weapon – The Ride entrance and Superman Escape.[9]

On 27 January 2012, Lethal Weapon – The Ride closed for an extended maintenance period until 1 April.[14][15] On 30 January 2012, Warner Bros. Movie World announced via Facebook that a new experience would replace Lethal Weapon – The Ride in time for Easter.[16] Images released hinted at the ride being rethemed to Arkham Asylum with the addition of new coaster trains.[11][17] On 10 March 2012, Warner Bros. Movie World announced via their Facebook page that the ride would be rethemed into Arkham Asylum featuring a new train with on-board audio and modified restraints.[18] On 7 April 2012, Arkham Asylum officially opened to the public.[4] Theming for the relaunched attraction was developed by Sculpt Studios.[19]

Riders join the queue outside the asylum, where the Joker has sprayed graffiti around the area. Entering the asylum, they find a tv smashed onto a guard, showing news reports on all of the rogues of Batman taking over Arkham. The guests then walk down the cell block viewing the files of selected Batman villains including Poison Ivy and Two-Face.

Ride
Ride track

The train climbs the 33.3-metre (109 ft) lift hill, before dropping down a steep, curved drop to the right. The train then enters the rollover, followed by a hill with a banked turn to the left. At the bottom of the hill comes a sidewinder (similar to an Immelman loop), followed by a 270-degree turn to the right. Next comes two inline twists. Upon exiting this element riders experience a download 180-degree turn to the right. Unlike most Vekoma Suspended Looping Roller Coasters, Arkham Asylum features an additional helix just before the brake run. This element was referred to as the "bayern kurve" by Vekoma and was the first to be installed in any Suspended Looping Roller Coaster.[3][20]

After the ride, guests proceed past an observation deck for the ride and past the ride's former gift shop where they arrive back in Chinatown.

Trains

When the ride was known as Lethal Weapon – The Ride, it had 2 Vekoma trains with 10 cars per train. Riders were arranged 2 across in a single row for a total of 20 riders per train.[2] The two trains are very similar in colour although one features some red elements while the other features blue elements.

As part of the Arkham Asylum retheme, the ride features new trains with modified restraints which increase upper body movement during the ride.[18] The trains were manufactured by Kumbak and were originally set to feature on-board audio.[11][18]

See also

References
  1. "Lethal Weapon - The Ride". MyFun. Archived from the original on 28 August 2010. Retrieved 15 August 2010.
  2. Marden, Duane. "Lethal Weapon - The Ride  (Warner Bros. Movie World)". Roller Coaster DataBase.
  3. "Lethal Weapon - The Ride (Warner Bros. Movie World)". Database Entry. Parkz. Retrieved 15 August 2010.
  4. "Arkham Asylum – Shock Therapy", Press Release, Warner Bros. Movie World, 7 April 2012
  5. Marden, Duane. "Roller Coaster Search Results  (Australian Inverted Roller Coasters)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 27 January 2012.
  6. "Arkham Asylum-Shock Therapy Closing".
  7. "Warner Bros. Movie World theme park map and directions". Warner Bros. Movie World. Archived from the original on 11 March 2018.
  8. Marden, Duane. "Roller Coaster Search Results  (SLC (765m Extended w/Helix))". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 27 January 2012.
  9. Wilson, Richard (22 December 2011). "Movie World, December 2011". The Parkz Update. Parkz. Retrieved 27 January 2012.
  10. Wilson, Richard (30 September 2011). "New Lethal Weapon trains". Parkz. Retrieved 27 January 2012.
  11. Wilson, Richard (30 September 2011). "New Lethal Weapon trains". Parkz. Retrieved 27 January 2012.
  12. "KumbaK makes comeback!". Park World Online. 1 November 2009. Archived from the original on 29 March 2012. Retrieved 28 January 2012.
  13. "Sea World (AU) - Sea Viper (2009)". Kumbak. Archived from the original on 2 May 2012. Retrieved 28 January 2012.
  14. Warner Bros. Movie World. "Attractions Maintenance". MyFun. Archived from the original on 28 December 2011. Retrieved 27 January 2012.
  15. Warner Bros. Movie World. "Attraction Maintenance". MyFun. Archived from the original on 2 May 2012. Retrieved 10 March 2012.
  16. Warner Bros. Movie World (30 January 2012). "We have an exciting..." Facebook. Retrieved 31 January 2012.
  17. Warner Bros. Movie World (23 February 2012). "Wall Photos". Photo. Facebook. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
  18. Warner Bros. Movie World (10 March 2012). "Arkham Asylum - Shock Therapy". MyFun. Archived from the original on 2 March 2012. Retrieved 10 March 2012.
  19. "Arkham Asylum". Sculpt Studios. Retrieved 23 August 2014.
  20. cozza23 (9 April 2007). "Lethal Weapon Ride @ Movie World". Video. YouTube. Retrieved 15 August 2010.
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