The Monster (Adventureland)
The Monster is a Gerstlauer steel roller coaster at Adventureland in Altoona, Iowa. It opened to the public on June 4, 2016 as the first Infinity Coaster in the United States.[1]
| The Monster | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Adventureland (Iowa) | |
| Location | Adventureland (Iowa) |
| Coordinates | 41.651820°N 93.501448°W |
| Status | Operating |
| Opening date | June 4, 2016 |
| Cost | $9 million |
| Replaced | River Rapids Log Flume |
| General statistics | |
| Type | Steel |
| Manufacturer | Gerstlauer |
| Model | Infinity Coaster |
| Track layout | Infinity Coaster - Custom |
| Lift/launch system | Vertical Chain Lift Hill |
| Height | 40.6 m (133 ft) |
| Length | 762 m (2,500 ft) |
| Speed | 105 km/h (65 mph) |
| Inversions | 5 |
| Duration | 2 minutes |
| Max vertical angle | 101° |
| Capacity | 3 cars - 8 riders each - 500 riders per hour |
| Height restriction | 48 in (122 cm) |
| The Monster at RCDB Pictures of The Monster at RCDB | |
History
The Monster was announced on Adventureland's Facebook page on July 8, 2015. It replaced the River Rapids Log Ride, a log flume which had to be removed due to its constant maintenance and the lack of extra parts due to the fact that the manufacturer only made two log flume attractions. The park was looking for a suitable replacement for the ride.
Ride experience
The ride, located in the center of the park, can be distinguished by its bright green track. The Monster features a vertical 133-foot (41 m) lift hill and a first drop at a 101 degree angle. At the bottom of the hill the riders reach a top speed of 65 miles per hour (105 km/h). The next element is a large overbanked turn where riders are redirected into a hill and then navigate the twisted drop that goes directly into a Finnish loop, after which riders go into a dive loop that will take riders into an air time hill then an Immelmann loop. The car then goes into its last curve, another dive loop, and its final inversion, a corkscrew.
Characteristics
The ride in total has 2,500 feet (760 m) of track, five inversions and takes roughly 2 minutes to complete. It is the park's newest coaster in nearly twenty years and cost $9 million. It joins Adventureland's other coasters – the Tornado, Outlaw, Dragon, Phoenix, and the Underground – and is the third steel roller coaster at the park, the other two being the Dragon and the Phoenix. The Monster and the Dragon are also the only two roller coasters in Iowa with inversions.
The Monster features a unique nighttime LED light display made up of 137 track mounted fixtures - that are synchronized to each of the ride vehicles - and 46 ground lights.[2]
References
- "Watch Adventureland's "The Monster" in action". Des Moines Register. May 9, 2016. Retrieved 10 May 2016.
- http://www.kclengineering.com