It won’t be the biggest roller coaster at Darien Lake. It won’t be the fastest or the tallest, either. But the Tantrum is sure to give park patrons a thrill, the amusement park said. The ride is just 98 feet high at its tallest peak, but is filled with steep climbs, drops, loops and twists that set it apart. “People say, ‘That’s not super tall,’” said Mary Loliger, a Darien Lake spokesperson. “But wait until you see what it does.” The Tantrum replaces the 35-year-old log Thunder Rapids log flume, which was retired. The site is considered prime real estate, since it’s visible from the parking lot. On the new roller coaster, eight passengers, tucked inside with lap bars and seatbelts, will creep up the first vertical climb before plunging the “beyond-vertical,” 97-degree drop. From the passenger’s vantage point, the track below will disappear. Passengers will then speed through a “pretzel” inversion, a bunny hop and a half-loop, half-roll Immelmann turn, before ending with a tilted loop. The ride lasts a total of one minute and 26 seconds. It’s that initial, breath-catching drop that sealed the deal for Darien Lake as it shopped for its first new roller coaster since 2008’s Orange County Choppers Motocoaster. “We wanted something unique,” Loliger said. “We’ve always seen ourselves as the coaster capital of New York State. This is our seventh coaster, so it’s like our seventh wonder.” The new roller coaster features a 98-foot vertical lift at a 90-degree angle to the top…. [Read full story]
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