Dueling roller coaster
Encyclopedia
A dueling roller coaster features two (or more) roller coaster
s, usually with a similar layout, built close to each other. The rides are designed to do just as the name indicates: to duel
. The coaster's layout often consists of strategic maneuvering to produce near-misses between the two coaster trains, designed to induce a greater adrenaline rush for the rider than a stand alone roller coaster. From 1999 till 2011, the only operating inverted
dueling coaster in the world is at Islands of Adventure
, Orlando, Florida
. The Dragon Challenge coasters reach a top speed of about 55 MPH (85 km/h) and pass within 12 inches (30 cm, or 1 foot) of each other at some points.
Roller coaster
The roller coaster is a popular amusement ride developed for amusement parks and modern theme parks. LaMarcus Adna Thompson patented the first coasters on January 20, 1885...
s, usually with a similar layout, built close to each other. The rides are designed to do just as the name indicates: to duel
Duel
A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two individuals, with matched weapons in accordance with agreed-upon rules.Duels in this form were chiefly practised in Early Modern Europe, with precedents in the medieval code of chivalry, and continued into the modern period especially among...
. The coaster's layout often consists of strategic maneuvering to produce near-misses between the two coaster trains, designed to induce a greater adrenaline rush for the rider than a stand alone roller coaster. From 1999 till 2011, the only operating inverted
Inverted roller coaster
An inverted roller coaster is a roller coaster in which the train runs under the track with the seats directly attached to the wheel carriage. This latter attribute is what sets it apart from the older suspended coaster, which runs under the track, but "swings" via a pivoting bar attached to the...
dueling coaster in the world is at Islands of Adventure
Islands of Adventure
Universal's Islands of Adventure is a theme park located in Orlando, Florida. It opened May 28, 1999 as part of an expansion that, along with CityWalk Entertainment District, the Portofino Bay Hotel, and Hard Rock hotel, converted Universal Studios Florida into the Universal Orlando Resort...
, Orlando, Florida
Orlando, Florida
Orlando is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County, and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. According to the 2010 US Census, the city had a population of 238,300, making Orlando the 79th largest city in the United States...
. The Dragon Challenge coasters reach a top speed of about 55 MPH (85 km/h) and pass within 12 inches (30 cm, or 1 foot) of each other at some points.
Examples
- Dragon ChallengeDragon ChallengeDragon Challenge is a pair of intertwined inverted roller coasters in the The Wizarding World of Harry Potter area of Universal Studios' Islands of Adventure. The ride is themed to two dragons, one side being Chinese Fireball and the other Hungarian Horntail...
, the world's only dueling inverted coasterInverted roller coasterAn inverted roller coaster is a roller coaster in which the train runs under the track with the seats directly attached to the wheel carriage. This latter attribute is what sets it apart from the older suspended coaster, which runs under the track, but "swings" via a pivoting bar attached to the...
at The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, located at the Islands of AdventureIslands of AdventureUniversal's Islands of Adventure is a theme park located in Orlando, Florida. It opened May 28, 1999 as part of an expansion that, along with CityWalk Entertainment District, the Portofino Bay Hotel, and Hard Rock hotel, converted Universal Studios Florida into the Universal Orlando Resort...
in Orlando, FloridaOrlando, FloridaOrlando is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County, and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. According to the 2010 US Census, the city had a population of 238,300, making Orlando the 79th largest city in the United States... - RacerRacer (Kennywood)The Racer is a wooden roller coaster located at Kennywood Park, in West Mifflin, Pennsylvania, near Pittsburgh. It is a racing, moebius loop coaster; one of only three in the world.-Beginnings:...
, at KennywoodKennywoodKennywood is an amusement park located in West Mifflin, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Pittsburgh. The park first opened in 1898 as a "trolley park" at the end of the Monongahela Street Railway. The park was purchased in 1906 by F. W. Henninger and Andrew McSwigan and thus began the Kennywood...
Park in West Mifflin, PennsylvaniaWest Mifflin, PennsylvaniaWest Mifflin is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, located southeast of downtown Pittsburgh. The population was 20,313 at the 2010 census....
. - Lightning RacerLightning RacerLighting Racer is a wooden roller coaster located at Hersheypark in Hershey, Pennsylvania. Built by Great Coasters International in 2000, it was the first wooden racing and dueling roller coaster. The ride makes use of GCI's Millennium Flyer articulated trains for a smooth and comfortable ride...
, a Great Coasters InternationalGreat Coasters InternationalGreat Coasters International, Inc. is a Sunbury, Pennsylvania-based roller coaster manufacturer which has created several award-winning rides since its formation in 1994. Starting in 2006 with Thunderbird in Finland, the company expanded beyond the United States and began building coasters in...
(GCI) built wooden roller coasterWooden roller coasterA wooden roller coaster is most often classified as a roller coaster with laminated steel running rails overlaid upon a wooden track. Occasionally, the structure may be made out of a steel lattice or truss, but the ride remains classified as a wooden roller coaster due to the track design...
at HersheyparkHersheyparkHersheypark is an amusement park located in Hershey, Pennsylvania, near the Hershey Chocolate Factory.Hersheypark was opened on April 24, 1907 as a leisure park for the employees of the Hershey Chocolate Company, an American confectionery company. Later, the company decided to open the park to the...
in HersheyHershey, PennsylvaniaHershey is a census-designated place in Derry Township, Dauphin County in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The community is located 14 miles east of Harrisburg and is part of the Harrisburg–Carlisle Metropolitan Statistical Area. Hershey has no legal status as an incorporated municipality...
, PennsylvaniaPennsylvaniaThe Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to... - Batman & Robin: The ChillerBatman & Robin: The ChillerBatman & Robin: The Chiller was a sit down dual track looping shuttle roller coaster designed by Premier Rides that operated at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, New Jersey from 1997 to 2007. Due to the constant downtime and flaws in the ride's operation, Six Flags removed the ride from the...
, the world's only dueling launched roller coaster at Six Flags Great AdventureSix Flags Great AdventureSix Flags Great Adventure is a theme park in Jackson Township, New Jersey, owned by Six Flags Entertainment Corp., the world's largest amusement park corporation...
(Dismantled) - GwaziGwazi (roller coaster)Gwazi is a dueling wooden roller coaster at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay in Florida. The name Gwazi originates from a fabled creature with the head of a tiger and the body of a lion. Accordingly, the two sides are named "Lion" and "Tiger". Often, the two tracks are called "yellow" and "blue",...
, also a GCI wooden roller coaster, at Busch GardensBusch GardensBusch Gardens is the name of two amusement parks in the United States, owned and operated by SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment, a division of Blackstone Group. One of the parks is in Williamsburg, Virginia, and the other is in Tampa, Florida...
in Tampa, FloridaTampa, FloridaTampa is a city in the U.S. state of Florida. It serves as the county seat for Hillsborough County. Tampa is located on the west coast of Florida. The population of Tampa in 2010 was 335,709....
. - Twisted TwinsTwisted TwinsTwisted Twins is a wooden roller coaster at former Kentucky Kingdom in Louisville, Kentucky. It is a double-tracked dueling roller coaster by Custom Coasters International whose two trains are nicknamed Lola and Stella....
(Twisted Sisters) at Six Flags Kentucky KingdomSix Flags Kentucky KingdomKentucky Kingdom is an amusement park located in Louisville, Kentucky, USA. The park is located on of land which includes a collection of 27 amusement rides and a water park named Splashwater Kingdom...
in Louisville, KentuckyLouisville, KentuckyLouisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
(SBNO) - StampidaStampidaStampida is a dueling, wooden roller coaster built by Custom Coasters International at PortAventura. It is a very rickety roller coaster with many drops and 2 tunnels. It features two parallel tracks with blue and red cars each one, but then they run separately for a while. Finally, they come...
at Port Aventura, SalouSalouSalou is a municipality of the comarca of Tarragonès, in the province of Tarragona, in Catalonia, Spain. The city is approximately 10km from Tarragona and Reus on the Costa Daurada and 112km from Barcelona...
, SpainSpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula... - Battlestar GalacticaBattlestar Galactica (roller coaster)Battlestar Galactica: Human vs. Cylon is a pair of steel, dueling roller coasters at Universal Studios Singapore. One half of the ride features an inverted roller coaster track in blue, and the other half features the traditional seated roller coaster track design in red. It is the tallest dueling...
at Universal Studios SingaporeUniversal Studios SingaporeUniversal Studios Singapore is a theme park located within Resorts World Sentosa on Sentosa Island, Singapore. It was a key component of Genting's bid for the right to build Singapore's second integrated resort. On 8 December 2006, the Singapore government announced that the consortium had won the... - George and the Dragon (Joris en de Draak) at EftelingEftelingEfteling is the largest theme park in the Netherlands, and as it opened in 1952, it is one of the oldest theme parks in the world. Efteling is located in the town of Kaatsheuvel, in the municipality of Loon op Zand, and has received over 100 million visitors....
, The Netherlands