Gerstlauer To Build One-of-a-Kind Roller Coaster in the United States

Gerstlauer Amusement Rides, GmbH, a partner of Ride Entertainment, has signed an agreement to manufacture a one-of-a-kind, Infinity roller coaster for a soon-to-be-named customer in the United States — slated to debut “late 2022”.

So now you might be wondering, what exactly is an infinity coaster?… An infinity coaster is a roller coaster design by ride manufacturer Gerstlauer. A variant of the company’s popular “Euro-Fighter” model that is known for offering a beyond-vertical drop trademark feature — the Infinity Coaster allows for higher capacity through longer trains. A number of different track elements are possible on both variants, including vertical loops, diving loops and barrel rolls. It’s worth noting that nearly all Euro-Fighter models have a vertical chain-driven lift hill, although LSM launch systems are also available.

Infinity coasters feature a magnetic rollback system on rides with lift hills, to allow for easier evacuation of riders in emergency evacuation situations. The ride car can roll backwards slowly with the magnetic fins deployed and the lift motor in reverse.

The first infinity coaster opened at UK’s Alton Towers in 2013 as “The Smiler”. Since then, 10 other infinity coasters have been installed around the world including two in the Unites States — Monster at Adventureland Iowa opened in 2016 and “HangTime” at Knott’s Berry Farm in California in 2018.

“I am constantly amazed at how the team at Gerstlauer conquers unique challenges thrown their way,” said Ed Hiller, CEO and Founder of Ride Entertainment. “This new Infinity coaster will have guests racing to it in order to be the first to ride as it is being installed at a high profile location”.

Ride Entertainment’s world-renown Installation team will construct the ride for the client.

“This project will once again showcase the ingenuity and creativity of Gerstlauer,” added Hiller. “In addition, our outstanding Installation team will be able to show why they are the gold standard of the attractions industry.”

So where will this be installed? Back in August, the company announced they would be installing a “one-of-a-kind” Euro-Fighter coaster in May of 2022 at Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park in Colorado. So that is everyone’s first thought. But, after we spoke with a rep from Ride Entertainment, they confirmed that the Glenwood Caverns project is indeed separate as that is a “Euro-Fighter” installation.

So, with details stating the ride will open “late 2022”, that likely eliminates most seasonal parks such as those within Six Flags or Cedar Fair chains — as they wouldn’t want to open a new attraction just before their season ends. We’ll leave the rest up to the fans to have some fun speculating!

The new attraction, which is scheduled to open in late 2022, will be formally announced at the IAAPA Expo in Orlando next month.

We will be on site at IAAPA for the reveal, so stay tuned for more details!

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