Great American Scream Machine (Six Flags Great Adventure)

Great American Scream Machine was a steel roller coaster located at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson Township, New Jersey. The 173-foot (53 m) tall ride was built in 1989 as the fastest looping roller coaster in the world, reaching speeds up to 68 mph (109 km/h). It was designed by Ron Toomer and built by Arrow Dynamics, which built its sister coasters Shockwave (dismantled in 2002) at Six Flags Great America in Gurnee, Illinois and Viper at Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia, California. All three coasters have three loops after the lift hill, a batwing, and a double corkscrew. Scream Machine succeeded its sister coaster Shockwave as the tallest and fastest looping coaster in the world, but relinquished the claim to its other sister coaster Viper. Both Shockwave and Scream Machine only held the claim for one year. Although a roller coaster of the same name exists at Six Flags Over Georgia, that ride is an out and back wooden roller coaster. In 2011, the ride was replaced by Green Lantern, a stand-up roller coaster.

This article is about the Six Flags Great Adventure coaster. For the Six Flags Over Georgia coaster, see Great American Scream Machine (Six Flags Over Georgia).
Not to be confused with Scream Machine (Adlabs Imagica).
Great American Scream Machine
Great American Scream Machine's train entering the first of two corkscrews.
Six Flags Great Adventure
LocationSix Flags Great Adventure
Park sectionBoardwalk
Coordinates40°08′20.73″N 74°26′17.07″W
StatusRemoved
Opening dateApril 15, 1989 (1989-04-15)
Closing dateJuly 18, 2010 (2010-07-18)
Cost$7,000,000[1]
ReplacedSarajevo Bobsled
Replaced byGreen Lantern
General statistics
TypeSteel
ManufacturerArrow Dynamics
DesignerArrow Dynamics
ModelCustom Looping Coaster
Track layoutTwister
Lift/launch systemChain lift hill
Height173 ft (53 m)
Drop155 ft (47 m)
Length3,800 ft (1,200 m)
Speed68 mph (109 km/h)
Inversions7
Duration2:20
Capacity1680 riders per hour
G-force3.8
Height restriction54 in (137 cm)
Great American Scream Machine at RCDB
Pictures of Great American Scream Machine at RCDB

History
The entrance sign.

The coaster was originally going to be named Ninja, but there were problems with the crowds drawn to the Ninja coasters in other parks. Instead, the name Great American Scream Machine was selected.[2] Great American Scream Machine was announced in September 1988.[3] It opened to the public on April 15, 1989.

The coaster track was painted red and the supports were white. The trains were named Freedom (red), Liberty (white) and Spirit (blue). The ground underneath the ride featured a red and white design resembling the stripes on a waving American flag. The maximum capacity of the ride was 1,680 guests per hour.

The over-the-shoulder restraint handles were made of foam instead of metal. The Scream Machine's on-ride camera was located at the curve before entering the double corkscrew, unlike those of its sister coasters; the cameras on both rides were located at the bottom of the Boomerang.

Over the years, the Great American Scream Machine became known as a rough ride, causing pain to riders mostly seated in the rear of the train and often riders just meeting the minimum height limit of the ride or taller than the average rider.

Modifications

After its first season, the top of the vertical loops were removed and replaced by track with additional strength bracing. This was due to issues with other Arrow coasters, including Shockwave at Six Flags Great America. The top of the original first loop can be found in the monkeys' enclosure in the Wild Safari at Six Flags Great Adventure. Along with the new loop tops, a trim brake was installed after the first loop. The trim brake is not set up to stop a train; it is used to slightly adjust the speed of the train when temperatures reach around 90 degrees.

In 2005, The Great American Scream Machine and Batman and Robin: The Chiller were repainted.

In 2009, the Liberty (white) train was ad-wrapped as an advertisement for one of the ride's sponsors, got2b Glued Styling Spiking Glue, a hair gel. Assorted signs were also placed on the station platform advertising. It was the first train in the park to feature advertisements, but as this idea spread throughout the Six Flags chain, it was joined by Kingda Ka and El Toro, whose trains feature The Karate Kid and Stride Gum ads, respectively.

In the 2010 operating season, guests noticed that the Liberty (white) train was adwrapped as an advertisement for another ride sponsor, Axe, a grooming product for young males. Signs for the product could be found around the rides entrance.

Ride experience

After departing the station, the train crossed a transfer track and traveled down a small dip, then completed a 180-degree turn to the left onto the lift hill. After a 173-foot (53 m) climb, the train dropped 155 feet (47 m) to the left, reaching a top speed of 68 mph (109 km/h). The train then traveled through its first inversion, a single vertical loop. After exiting the loop, the train turned to the left and traveled through a double-loop. The train then traveled upward with a left turn onto the mid-course brake run. The train came to a complete stop for 2 seconds. The train then dropped down into a boomerang element. After the boomerang, the train made a right turn, where riders' pictures are taken. The train then proceeded to enter the double corkscrew, then completed a 180-degree turn to the left onto the final brake run back into the station.

Removal

During the 2010 season, speculation that Great American Scream Machine was being removed at the end of the season began circulating on message boards, pegging June 30, 2010, as a possible last day of operation. None of the rumors initially were confirmed nor denied until July 1, 2010, when a staff member stated that the coaster was not being removed. In a contradicting statement released on July 5, 2010, Six Flags Great Adventure informally announced the coaster's permanent closure would occur on July 18, 2010, in order to clear space for a new attraction in 2011.[4] The announcement was officially confirmed on the park's website a few days later.

As announced, the ride's last operating day was on July 18, 2010. Deconstruction began soon after, and signs teasing the construction of its replacement were posted. A first look at the outline of the new ride replacing the Scream Machine was revealed on August 6, 2010. Six Flags requested permission from Jackson Township to remove parking spaces from the area behind Superman: Ultimate Flight to accommodate the ride's construction.[5] On September 15, 2010, Six Flags unveiled the new ride as Green Lantern, a stand-up roller coaster relocated from Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom, where it originally operated as Chang. It would be re-themed to the DC Comics Green Lantern superhero.

Following the demolition, only Viper at Six Flags Magic Mountain remained from the original three Arrow installations involving their custom, 7-inversion design. The other one, Shockwave at Six Flags Great America, was demolished in 2002.

See also

References
  1. "The ultimate roller coaster is a real scream". The Philadelphia Inquirer.
  2. "Great American Scream Machine". GreatAdventureHistory.
  3. "Great Adventure adds 'great' scream machine". The Daily Register.
  4. Facebook status about the closing of Great American Scream Machine
  5. Jackson Township official web article on new attraction for 2011 Archived 2010-08-30 at the Wayback Machine
Preceded by
ShockWave		 World's Tallest Complete-Circuit Roller Coaster
April 1989–May 1989		 Succeeded by
Magnum XL-200
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