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Ultimate Thrill Rides
Episode Guide
SHOW #1: Terrifying Thrills
Theme parks throughout the Western US are constantly outdoing each other to provide visitors with bigger thrills and more daring rides. In our first program, we’ll get a dash of the past as we see remarkable footage from some really early coasters — as far back as the late 1800’s, including footage of the first looping coaster in Coney Island, NY called “Flip Flap.”Fast forward to today as we visit and ride cutting edge coasters such as “Stealth”, at Paramount’s GreatAmericaPark in Northern California, billed as the world’s first “flying” coaster.
At Disney’s ‘California Adventure’, we’ll ride the ground-breaking “California Screamin’,” a high-tech coaster which blends the charm of an old-fashioned themed ride, but propels its riders from 0 to 50 mph in less than 5 seconds (as fast as a military jet fighter!). We’ll explore how these amazing machines evolved, visiting some of the early coasters and meet the visionaries who pioneered the thrills and spills that spawned today’s coaster mania.
SHOW #2: Vegas Thrills, California Chills
This show features wild coasters and wilder people. We’ll travel from the theme coasters of Las Vegas such as the New York, New York Casino’s Manhattan Express and Speed the Ride to MagicMountain’s newest and scariest coaster Déjà vu. Then we’ll hook up with a ‘coaster bride and groom’ and their wedding party as they go for a spin on the “Giant Dipper” minutes after they tie the knot!
Things get wilder still when we meet a group of coaster-phobics and their coaster-therapist who talks them through their fears and feelings on their way to a genuine coaster breakthrough! We end the hour back in Vegas with a one of the world’s only indoor coasters: Canyon Blaster. You’ll zip through the Circus, Circus Casino going over 50 mph, with two inverted loops thrown in for fun.
SHOW #3: Designs of Terror!
California is undoubtedly the coaster capital of the world, with the most extreme scream machines anywhere. We’ll ride these titans of terror, like “Goliath” and the terrifying wooden monster “Roar.” Plus, be the first to get behind-the-scenes and ride the revolutionary new fourth dimensional “X” at Six Flags Magic Mountain in Southern California. This is THE coaster ride that makes all others, obsolete.
Then, we’ll spend quality time with the geniuses that design these mega-rides. We’ll experience the diabolical tricks they’ve developed to keep us on the edge of our seatsand shrieking with delight. From coaster concept to construction to testing to the maiden voyage, we’ll be right on the scene, up close, as never before, to see how these coaster creators conjure up their thrill-seeking magic.
SHOW #4: East Coast Thrills
Just off the coast of Lake Erie in Ohio is Cedar Point, the amazing home to 16 radical roller coasters, including the planet’s tallest, “Top Thrill Dragster.” This monster reaches up 420 feet into the sky (or as high as a forty story building!). But wait, it gets better. It boasts a mind boggling top speed of 120 mph!The challenges to design and create this monster during a cold Ohio winter were as formidable as the ride.
Things quickly warm up when we head south to the Theme Park Mecca of the East Coast, OrlandoFlorida.At the famed Universal Studios we’ll hop on the life-sized video game “Men in Black: Alien Attack” and find out some of the secrets to earning your highest possible score. Then we’ll enter the world of “The Amazing Adventures of Spiderman,” a complex indoor ride that thrills at every turn.Myths and Legends merge into magic on “Dueling Dragons,” two simultaneously interweaving coasters that reach speeds up to 65 mph. We’ll find out how computerized systems calculated the speed of the ride to match perfectly every time for maximum thrills.
Then we travel north again, this time just outside of Cincinnati to Paramount’s King’s Island, where we encounter “Tomb Raider: The Ride.” Go behind the scenes to find out how they manage to power a ride where 75 riders spin around on a 35-ton gondola. Soon after we find ourselves in the wacky world of Dr. Seuss, at “Seuss Landing” in Orlando’s Islands of Adventure. Here your kids, and you, enter a fantasy world where designers developed a new kind of architecture and use more than 500 colors to stimulate your senses.
SHOW #5: The Wild West Coast
In Episode Five, it’s back to the West Coast and the originators of themed entertainment. Here the viewer gets a first time opportunity to follow the hidden inner workings of “Terminator 2 3D” at Universal Studios. This includes a revealing look at such special effects as how seats drop and water spays on hundreds of spectators in concert with the live action show.
Next stop: “Shrek 4D,” which took more than two years of development to come to life, and has moving seats which add a fourth dimension to the already amazing experience. “Scream,” a ride at MagicMountain, carefully simulates the feeling of flying through the air aboard a fighter jet. Designers explain how they achieved the maximum G-force experience.
Then get ready for a blast from the past on “JurassicPark: The Ride,” where we learn how film director Steven Spielberg contributed his ideas to the creation of the ride.Sea World San Diego is home to The Haunted Lighthouse 4D, where we go inside the state of the art theater to reveal the tricks behind the ghostly world.
Then we hop onto the latest ride at Knott’s Berry Farm, called “X-celerator.” Acceleration is given a whole new definition on this 80 mph 2-G ride. The engineers who created the ride give us an inside look into how it was designed and built.
SHOW #6: Las Vegas Revealed
The sixth exciting installment of our series takes us behind the scenes of the live entertainment capital of the world: Las Vegas. Vegas has endless secrets, which until now have not been revealed. The tallest building west of the Mississippi River, the 1,149-foot high Stratosphere, is home to “The Big Shot.” Situated high atop the tower, this thrill ride shoots riders straight up into the air at a remarkable 4 Gs. The inner workings are revealed as engineers tell us how compressed air makes it all happen.
Next we find out about the detailed choreography behind the “dancing” fountain in front of the beautiful Bellagio Hotel and Casino, and how the display of dance and water actually began with a complex computer program. In addition, die hard Trekkies will be amazed when they learn the secrets behind “The Star Trek Experience,” built within the Las Vegas Hilton Hotel, and find out just what really goes into those blue beverages they serve every night.
Finally, at The Venetian we’ll travel to Venice without even leaving Las Vegas, and discover how this mini-city is run and maintained on a daily basis. This time, nothing stays in Vegas as its secrets are finally revealed.