Coaster Community

If you’re a fan of inverted coasters like I am then you should probably sell off all of your belongings and get an air plane ticket to Worlds of Fun this April.  Or you can keep all of your belongings and just drive.  Either way make sure that you get here.

Ever since my first inverted experience way back in 1997 I have been a huge fan of these coasters.  It was this experience that eventually turned me into a coaster enthusiast and it’s an experience that I look forward to when we travel out of town to visit other parks.  There’s just something about this type of coaster that pushes my buttons.

Patriot was designed by Bolliger & Mabillard out of Switzerland and is a custom layout that was specifically designed for the topography at Worlds of Fun.  Custom = good in my opinion and this custom ride hugs the terrain every chance that it gets.  B&M has made a name for itself by building smooth/reliable coasters since 1990. 

I am a self appointed B&M invert expert until someone else is nice enough to officially appoint me this title, at which point I will expect a small party and plaque of some sort.  My thorough studies of the inverted coaster world lead me to believe that Patriot will be a top notch thrill machine.  It has everything that I look for in an invert.  It’s tall and reaches a total height of 149 feet.  It features a sharp drop of 123 feet that really hugs the ground and Worlds of Fun estimates that Patriot will reach a top speed of 60mph at this point.  Construction photos have led me to think that my feet will be in danger at the base of the drop but I’ve heard that the park plans to remove some of this dangerous dirt.  The foot chopper effect that riders will experience here will only add to the rides intensity.

After the extreme drop the train will immediately climb into a loop that stands 89 feet tall.  The height of the loop is much shorter than the loops on inverts with comparable size and speed.  I’m guessing that this will produce a much more intense looping experience along with more speed coming out of the loop.  Here are a couple of examples that I’ve taken from other inverts.

Montu in Busch Gardens Tampa has a 128 foot drop and hits 60 mph and then heads into a 104 foot loop.

Raptor at Cedar Point has a 119 foot drop and hits a top speed of 57 mph.  It then climbs a 100 foot loop.

Talon in Dorney Park has a 120 foot drop and a top speed of 58 mph.  The loop on this one is 98 feet tall.

Each of these coasters are comparable in height and speed to Patriot and yet their loops are much larger.  This is an exciting design feature in my opinion and should increase the intensity throughout the remainder of the ride.  Did I mention that the loop comes dangerously close to the lift hill?  This is another area where the foot chopper effect will find it’s way into the fear factor.

Now that we’ve conquered the loop we’ll move on the zero-g roll.  The time between these elements will be spent speeding along the ground and double checking your feet.  The zero-g roll on inverted coasters is one of my favorite elements as it offers an experience that you just can’t get on any other coaster.  The train will traverse a 360 degree inline roll through this element and the dive back down to ground level.

Once the train reaches ground level it will just be a couple of feet from the dirt and will immediately begin navigating the immelmann.  By this time your feet are probably a little upset so be sure to comfort them once you get off this ride.  The immelmann is a half loop with a twist, at the apex of the loop the track will flip and send the train back the in the direction that it came, which also includes a close call with the track that makes up the immelmann’s entrance.  As the track crosses back over itself your feet will once again be placed in a perilous position and the train will once again come precariously close the ground.

Next on Patriot’s list of tricks is the inclined banked curved, which looks like a loop that’s lying at a 45 degree angle.  This doesn’t count as an inversion but it’s probably about as close as you can get without actually having your feet above your head.  This portion of the ride will take you over the go-cart track and as you exit this maneuver you’ll cross back over the track and get another shot of foot fear.

Patriot now enters an area that may or may not allow you to breath.  Worlds of Fun is calling this the s-curve but it could also be considered a station fly over or a bunny hop since it will likely provide riders with a nice burst of air time.  The foot chopper action doesn’t look to be as severe through this section of the ride but since your feet are already shell shocked they’ll probably tighten up just out of habit. 

As the train exits the s-curve it will once again dive towards the ground just missing the station and after an abrupt left turn it’s into the final inversion, which happens to be a corkscrew.  I’m guessing that riders are going to start holding their breath again because the train will likely have a lot of speed behind it as it heads into this segment of the ride.

Once the train clears the corkscrew it finishes riders off with a high-speed spiral, which just so happens to be another ground hugging scare tactic.  In addition to the grounds close proximity riders will also experience positive g-forces that will push them down into their seats and, if the forces are strong enough your feet might tingle a bit.  Upon exiting the high-speed spiral your feet will meet their final foe and that’s the segment of track that makes up the entrance to the high-speed spiral.  The construction photos point towards this being the most extreme foot chopper on the ride.

After one last little dip it’s into the brake run.  These are the only brakes that you’re going to encounter once you begin the initial drop.  The lack of brakes, the existence of multiple foot chopper, the constant run ins with the ground and the speed are the main reasons why I believe that this will be a big hit with the coaster community and anyone else that’s strong enough to take a ride on this thrill machine.

I’ve been watching Patriot’s construction very closely since the first tree went down back in July of last year.  My wife got awfully tired of driving to Worlds of Fun every weekend but once we got there she was just as excited to see the progress as I was.  These trips to the park required countless rides on Skyliner to get a birds-eye view of the site and once the park closed we relied on Worlds of Fun’s PR department to post quality updates on the parks official website.  The PR staff did an excellent job keeping the world updated on Patriot’s progress but the updates may have elongated the off-season since they helped to build the excitement.  Now that Patriot’s debut is only a few weeks away my level of anticipation has reach levels that I haven’t experienced since I was 8 years old and wide awake on Christmas Eve.

If you have any questions I’ll be the guy in the front of the line on April 8^th when Patriot opens and I hope to see you there.

Patriot’s stats were provided by Worlds of Fun and additional information can be found at:  http://www.worldsoffun.com/

Additional stats were found on the Roller Coaster Database:  http://www.rcdb.com/