And to build, America hasn't seen the full potential of Mack. We still have a few measly options; always strikes me that Mack somehow hasn't been as big here in the States as they are abroad.
Coasters that were built too early?
- Thread starter Pokemaniac
- Start date
Indy
Hyper Poster
I certainly understand wishing that Europa had a more standout version of the product like Helix, but I feel Blue Fire served its purpose. It proved to the industry that Mack can make a 1) large, 2) launched), 3) looping coaster and it did it wonderfully. It did it so well that they've since sold 9 more variations of the ride along with several custom launched coasters. And it can be argued that the Blue Fire clones are the best coaster in almost every park they've been installed it.
I view them like I view Batman The Ride. Both have successors that are vastly superior (Helix, Montu, Nemesis, etc), but both are pretty good in the grand scheme of things.
I think the two biggest challenges are their price point and the fact that they don't typically do compact rides. Unfortunately, as we've all seen, not as many parks are willing to drop a lot of money on a large new coaster. Hence, we've seen a lot more S&S Free Spins, RMC Raptors, and Premier Skyrockets in recent years. It's a bit of a shame because they make such quality coasters.
Steely Dan
Mega Poster
i wasn't trying to sell inverts short, just pointing out how freaking good the very first one ever was/is.
as a lifelong chicagoan of 46 years, i was never disappointed by the fact that my home park had to be the first to build an inverted coaster.
quite the opposite. i've always considered a bit of a badge of honor that the first one was built here, and that it was/is such a damn solid ride!
sure, they got bigger/faster/longer/better, but that very first prototype design was still a smashing success. it's small, compact, intense, short and sweet layout still holds up really well 30 years later. every time i ride a batman, i know that i'll be grinning from ear to ear. pure intense coaster fun.
no, the batmen rides don't make anyone's "top 25" anymore, but i still stand in awe a bit of how right B&M got it on their very first try.
Sandman
Giga Poster
In that case, I hope Roland manages to sell it off to Flamingo Land for an exorbitant amount, which can then be used to partially fund the replacement Mack multi launcher. Blue Helix 2: The Icon
Yeah, if you look at the type of coasters Mack used to make before Blue Fire, it's kind of baffling how fast the company got a reputation for building big, high-quality, high-thrill multi-loopers. Before 2009, Mack was the sort of company you went to if you wanted a medium-small coaster with some sort of gimmick. It was very much a type of bobsled, spinning, wild mouse, or Supersplash type of company.
Or put another way: If Storm Chaser at Paultons Park had been built in 2008, it would have been the ninth tallest non-Water coaster ever built by Mack.
UP87
Mega Poster
Meanwhile other parks are still building blue fire clones... so it can't be the worst design. And when it was built at Europa-Park it was pretty unique. But I guess the initial thought was that blue fire at Europa-Park is a misfit for the park as it's now cloned so many times and Mack Rides made better coasters of this type. But I wouldn't count that as a coaster that was built too early. Mack Rides wanted to show that they can build large scale thrill coasters when they never really did that before. With nothing to show and possible problems at hand it absolutely makes sense to start this adventure at the park you own. As this was a first attempt it was kind of certain that there will be better rides of this type but nevertheless it was built at the right time at the right park as far as I'm concerned.
JoshC.
Strata Poster
Slightly off topic, but it's interesting that the first BigDipper didn't end up at Europa. The ride model has been a slow burner (only two built), but now Europa seem to be getting a larger one.
Hopefully they can take what they've learnt so far and use that to create a flagship BigDipper for the park; a Helix of BigDippers if you will.
Hopefully they can take what they've learnt so far and use that to create a flagship BigDipper for the park; a Helix of BigDippers if you will.
VonRolland
Giga Poster
They don't always seem to build the first of a model, eg. water coaster & supersplash, usually the model gets refined then built in park. Hopefully this will also be the case with EP's Big Dipper's!
Sandman
Giga Poster
I definitely don't think anyone thinks Blue Fire is a bad design. Far from it.
However, it's pretty rudimentary if you look at the kind of launch coasters Mack are now producing. Multiple launches. Xtreme Spinners. Funky inversions.
All of that kind of stuff takes time to perfect, and of course Mack were new to the thrill coaster market by the time they conceived of BF. My point being, if Blue Fire went to a different park first, it would still have showcased the potential of the Mack Launch Coaster concept, thus, leaving open the potential for Europa Park to get a better version of the launch coaster rather than the first edition.
Basically, this.
I want EP to have their own 'special' coaster so bad. Their own Helix.
And yes, I know it makes some sense to debut new concepts in a park you own. But let a man dream!
Lightning2
Roller Poster
Im gonna throw "Star Trek Operation Enterprise" form Movie Park Germany into the mix. It opened in 2017 with a swing launch and 1 year later the Parc Asterix project was revealed containing the switch track.
Edit: You could also name "Capitol Bullet Train" at Motiongate in Dubai
Edit: You could also name "Capitol Bullet Train" at Motiongate in Dubai
Last edited:
For some reasons i say ispeed.
One reason is not for coaster for itself but concerns the whole park.
ispeed was build after the demolition of sierra tonante, a crappy old school wodie without airtime, except for the final part, but it was the earliest park signature attraction. mirabilandia stated the retrack was too much expensive and build a brand new coaster was the best choice. The funnies thing is that two years later would have been built New Texas Giant. What a shame, if only sierra tonante had been a bit less battered maybe mirabilandia would have had an RMC.
The other reason is that ispeed is not Maverick brother but its dumb half-cousin. I know, Maverick was build earlier, so why would i say a newer coaster was born too early? Because, for my opinion, ispeed was designed under an "old" and dumb mentality. ispeed had the potential to be a top tier coaster but it was resized and made less intense to ensure the "highest number of possible guests", because "italians are not americans, they would run away if a coaster is too intense (maybe italians have a g force radar?)" and "if a coaster is only 10 meters higher maybe hundreds of visitors would flee (and 3 years later they made a taller water coaster and sold it as a family coaster, probably unintentionally, beacuse for months mirabilandia declared divertical was an "extreme" ride)", now we see a park in Poland with two hypercoasters that nearly double mirabilandia's revenue. These things look like jokes but are semi-official.
One reason is not for coaster for itself but concerns the whole park.
ispeed was build after the demolition of sierra tonante, a crappy old school wodie without airtime, except for the final part, but it was the earliest park signature attraction. mirabilandia stated the retrack was too much expensive and build a brand new coaster was the best choice. The funnies thing is that two years later would have been built New Texas Giant. What a shame, if only sierra tonante had been a bit less battered maybe mirabilandia would have had an RMC.
The other reason is that ispeed is not Maverick brother but its dumb half-cousin. I know, Maverick was build earlier, so why would i say a newer coaster was born too early? Because, for my opinion, ispeed was designed under an "old" and dumb mentality. ispeed had the potential to be a top tier coaster but it was resized and made less intense to ensure the "highest number of possible guests", because "italians are not americans, they would run away if a coaster is too intense (maybe italians have a g force radar?)" and "if a coaster is only 10 meters higher maybe hundreds of visitors would flee (and 3 years later they made a taller water coaster and sold it as a family coaster, probably unintentionally, beacuse for months mirabilandia declared divertical was an "extreme" ride)", now we see a park in Poland with two hypercoasters that nearly double mirabilandia's revenue. These things look like jokes but are semi-official.