Poltergeist (roller coaster)
Poltergeist is a steel roller coaster located at Six Flags Fiesta Texas in San Antonio, Texas. It has been open since 1999 and received a fresh coat of paint in 2009. Although the ride is considered to be manufactured by Premier Rides,[1] the track itself was fabricated by Dynamic Structures and Intermountain Lift, Inc.[2][3]
| Poltergeist | |
|---|---|
 A view of the compact "Spaghetti Bowl" coaster. | |
| Six Flags Fiesta Texas | |
| Location | Six Flags Fiesta Texas |
| Park section | Rockville |
| Coordinates | 29°35′49″N 98°36′30″W |
| Status | Operating |
| Opening date | May 28, 1999 |
| General statistics | |
| Type | Steel – Launched |
| Manufacturer | Premier Rides |
| Designer | Werner Stengel |
| Model | LIM Coaster |
| Lift/launch system | LIM Launch |
| Height | 78.8 ft (24.0 m) |
| Length | 2,705 ft (824 m) |
| Speed | 60 mph (97 km/h) |
| Inversions | 4 |
| Duration | 1:15 |
| Max vertical angle | 60° |
| Acceleration | 0 – 60 in 3.5 seconds |
| G-force | 4.5 |
| Height restriction | 54 in (137 cm) |
| Trains | 2 trains with 6 cars. Riders are arranged 2 across in 2 rows for a total of 24 riders per train. |
 Flash Pass Available | |
| Poltergeist at RCDB Pictures of Poltergeist at RCDB | |
Ride Layout
Poltergeist is located in the Rockville section of the park.
After boarding Poltergeist, riders are launched through a narrow launch tunnel into a "spaghetti bowl" of track which contains a cobra roll, a sidewinder, and many twists and turns. This coaster doesn't have a mid-course brake run like Flight of Fear has at Kings Island and Kings Dominion, or rings like Joker's Jinx at Six Flags America. After that riders spiral downward and to the left and after more twists and turns they pass through a corkscrew before arriving at the ride's final brake run.
Premier Rides built several of these LIM Catapult roller coasters from 1996 to 1999, although, of those, only the two Flight of Fear rides are indoors. The other outdoor LIM Catapult coaster in the United States is Joker's Jinx at Six Flags America; that opened in 1999. In addition, a LIM Catapult coaster called Mad Cobra operated at Suzuka Circuit in Japan from 1998–2003; Mad Cobra was moved to China and reopened at Kingdoms of Discovery in 2006.[4][5] The five Premier LIM catapult coasters share a similar layout and have the same technical specifications.
Poltergeist uses a LIM launching system instead of a traditional lift hill to propel riders into its first inversions. Initially, the ride had over-the-shoulder restraints, but due to numerous reports of pain and discomfort, these were replaced in 2002 with more traditional individual ratcheting lapbars.[1]
Ride Elements
- Cobra Roll
- Sidewinder
- Corkscrew
Similar Rides
Poltergeist opened in the same year as The Joker's Jinx at Six Flags America (1999), three years after the world's first LIM-launched coasters, Flight of Fear, opened at Kings Island (1996) and Kings Dominion (1996).
In other media
Poltergeist is also featured in Barnes & Noble's Roller Coasters: A Thrill Seeker's Guide to the Ultimate Scream Machines.[6]
References
- Marden, Duane. "Poltergeist (Six Flags Fiesta Texas)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 8 December 2013.
- "Dynamic Structures Ltd". Empire Industries Ltd. Archived from the original on 10 December 2013. Retrieved 8 December 2013.
- "Amusement". Intermountain Lift, Inc. July 30, 2011. Archived from the original on November 8, 2014. Retrieved September 5, 2014.
- Marden, Duane. "Mad Cobra (Suzuka Circuit)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 9 July 2011.
- Marden, Duane. "Mad Cobra (Discoveryland)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 9 July 2011.
- Roller Coasters: A Thrill Seeker's Guide to the Ultimate Scream Machines on Amazon.com