Scaredy Cat

Scaredy Cat

Daniel Lane, writer

We all know that amusement parks are fun places to go but have you ever heard of rides that are banned from ever reopening or rides that are completely destroyed? It has happened to The Hypersonic XLC, The Ghost Train in Sydney, The Fujin Raijin II, and The Son of Beast. The Hypersonic XLC was a roller coaster located at King’s Dominion in Doswell, Virginia. The reason for its shutdown was because of the park having at least six lawsuits because of this specific attraction. This is mainly due to the speed it reaches or injuries such as arms being broken. The Sydney Ghost Train fire at Luna Park Sydney 

killed six children and one adult on June 9, 1979. That is one reason it was shut down, the other reason was because the ride was destroyed. Fujin Raijin II, the park’s TOGO stand-up coaster, derailed, killing one teenager and injuring an additional nineteen guests. An investigation revealed that the ride derailed due to a broken axle. Son of Beast is also known for two major, non-fatal accidents. In 2006, damage to the track caused one of the trains to stop abruptly. After another incident in 2009, when a woman claimed to have suffered a head injury, the ride was closed indefinitely. Those are some of the banned rides in the United States.

Now on to a much lighter and faster note in fact the fastest roller coasters in the world. The fourth fastest roller coaster in the world is the Red Force roller coaster in Ferrari Land, Salou, Spain. Red Force is owned by Ferrari and it’s a smaller and slower version of the Kingda Ka. The Red Force goes from 0 to 112 mph in 5 seconds! The maximum amount of g force you will experience is 4.7 g’s.

This roller coaster is so fast that the total ride lasts only 24 seconds! The third fastest roller coaster in the world is the Top Thrill Dragster in Cedar Point, Sandusky U.S.A. The Top Thrill Dragster goes from 0 to 120 mph in 3.8 seconds! The maximum amount of g force you will experience is 4 g’s. This roller coaster is so fast that the total ride lasts only 30 seconds! The second fastest roller coaster in the world is the Kingda Ka at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, USA. The Kingda Ka goes from 0 to 128 mph in 3.5 seconds! Your body will experience 5 g’s of force during acceleration and continue to feel up to 5 g’s during the ride. It took the fastest roller coaster from the Top Thrill Dragster by 8 mph before the Formula Rossa ride was built which took the lead by 22 mph. Finally the fastest roller coaster in the world is the Formula Rossa in Abu Dhabi. The Formula Rossa goes 150 mph and all riders are required to wear protective glasses! Your body will experience 1.7 g’s of force during acceleration and up to 4.8 g’s during the ride. Those are some of the most dangerous and fastest in the the world. Are you ready to ride?