This week, the TIMES did a lovely video piece on the roller coaster out at Holiday World amusement park called The Voyage. This newer "woodie" is consistently ranked high on the list of best old school coasters in the country. As many know, I am a roller coaster fanatic and would love to check this one out. Unfortunately, it's in the middle of Indiana and I don't have a car. :(
Anyway, there's also an odd interview at the end of the piece with a nun who is also a bit of a coaster addict. Sister Michelle Sinkhorn is a Benedictine who is something of a modern day flying nun, given the number of times she had ridden The Voyage (8 in one day once!). You can read more about Sister Michelle on the monastery's profile page -- thoroughly modern Sr. Michele!
As most people know, the world's tallest building is now located in Dubai...the Burj Khalifa. (You can see it prominently featured in the current trailers and commercials for the new MISSION IMPOSSIBLE movie.) But with a little less fanfare, the world's fastest roller coaster recently opened in Dubai as well. With a top speed of 150mph, it displaces the terrifying Kingda Ka at New Jersey's Six Flags' Great Adventure as the fastest roller coaster in the world.
The Formula Rossa is shaped like a Ferrari race car and is so fast that the riders need to wear protective eyewear to protect them from bugs. (Gross!) But despite the top speed, which occurs when the car is shot of out the gate by hydraulic technology similar to that which launches jet fighters, the coaster seems pretty tame actually (as you can see in the smooth ride below). No crazy loops, inversions twists or even drops; the whole ride has the feel of going around a race track. Which even at fast speeds, seems a little....dull.
Anyway, the Formula Rossa is part of a massive new amusement pavilion called "Ferrari World". Yes, it's a big promo-tisement for all things Ferrari in the guise of a tourist attraction. Or, what my father used to call, a tourist trap.
