By Isabella Purdy and Jennifer Trend, Staff Writers
14 years is a long time to go without a new roller coaster, especially at a popular theme park. But, never fear, Hangtime will be here soon. Since Silver Bullet is the newest edition of the Knott’s coaster family, opening in 2004, it isn’t a surprise that Knott’s is getting a new one now.
Hangtime will be the West Coast’s very first dive coaster, a type of roller coaster that leaves the riders at the top of the drop for a few seconds, and then letting them go. The drop will be at 96 degrees, which is also the steepest drop in California.
Knott’s website gives more detail about the ride’s layout and features.
“HangTime will send riders up a vertical lift hill into a raised 96-degree drop – the steepest drop in California. The coaster’s train will come to a halt once the highest peak is reached, and will leave riders suspended at the crest for several seconds at a 60-degree angle, giving the illusion of a disappearing track. Then the train will suddenly descend in a beyond-vertical drop, through 2,189 feet of steel track and five gravity-defying inversions. HangTime will be only the second roller coaster in the Western Hemisphere to feature a negative-g stall loop, which gives riders the sensation of floating.”
The ride based off of the description certainly seems innovative and one of a kind, and the negative g-loop stall loop seems like a very cool feature that will instantly grab coaster enthusiasts’ attention and will also attract more people to the park during the already popular summer season.
Although it’s only December right now, quite a bit of construction has been done on the upcoming ride.
Knott’s also manages to point out their impressive history of its roller coaster firsts in history, saying that HangTime will be a great edition to Knott’s sturdy lineup. As if this new coaster didn’t have enough unique features, it also includes track lighting that follows your train as you ride, which makes nighttime rides even better.
“HangTime’s ride structure itself will come to life and illuminate the Boardwalk area with colorful nighttime track chase lighting that will accompany the coaster train’s travels across the smooth steel track. The coaster continues Knott’s legacy in rollercoaster innovation and industry firsts; the park introduced the very first corkscrew inversion rollercoaster with Corkscrew, and the first flywheel launch coaster with Montezuma’s Revenge.”
