Green Lantern

Roller coaster in the United States
Watch the on-ride POV
Green Lantern
Entrance to Green Lantern
Six Flags Great Adventure
Location Jackson, New Jersey, USA
Coordinates 40°08′23″N 74°26′18″W / 40.139820°N 74.438351°W / 40.139820; -74.438351
Status Operating since May 25, 2011
Rider height 54 inch minimum
Replaced Great American Scream Machine
Kentucky Kingdom
Location Louisville, Kentucky, USA
Coordinates 38°11′38″N 85°44′43″W / 38.193939°N 85.745294°W / 38.193939; -85.745294
Operated April 4, 1997 to September 19, 2009
Cost $12,000,000
Replaced by Hurricane Bay water park expansion
Statistics
Manufacturer Bolliger & Mabillard
Product Stand-Up Coaster
Designer / calculations Ing.-Büro Stengel GmbH
Type Steel - Stand-Up
Riders per train 28
Hourly capacity 1,556
Propulsion Chain lift hill
Height 154 feet
Drop 144 feet
Top speed 63 mph
Length 4155 feet
Inversions 5
Drop angle 45°
Duration 2:30
HELP

Green Lantern is a Bolliger & Mabillard stand-up roller coaster located at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, New Jersey, USA. It was relocated from Kentucky Kingdom where it operated as Chang from 1997 to 2009. The ride was repainted green to go with the new theme. However, the vertical loop was left yellow.

History

The roller coaster while it was at Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom

Chang (1997 - 2009)

Chang was announced in August 1996. According to Kentucky Kingdom, the name "Chang" means "long" in Chinese.[1]

The ride was initially constructed at Kentucky Kingdom by Martin & Vleminckx.[2] When Chang opened on April 4, 1997, it set the record for this type of roller coaster in height, drop, speed, length, and number of inversions. All of these records were formerly held by Mantis at Cedar Point and were later broken by Riddler's Revenge at Six Flags Magic Mountain. The ride was removed in 2009. The "Chang" sign was donated to the National Roller Coaster Museum.[3] This was originally for a new waterpark region named Bonzai Beach,[4] but these plans were cancelled when Six Flags announced plans to dispose of its Kentucky Kingdom property in 2010.[5] When Kentucky Kingdom reopened in 2014, the new owners did build a waterpark expansion on the former Chang site.

Green Lantern (2011 - Present)

Shortly after the closure of Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom, parts of Chang arrived at Six Flags Great America. The ride was originally scheduled to open here, but those plans never came into fruition.[6] On September 16, 2010, it was announced that Chang would be relocated to Six Flags Great Adventure for the 2011 season.[7] It replaced Great American Scream Machine, an Arrow Mega-Looper, which was torn down in 2010. The ride was rethemed to the DC Comics superhero Green Lantern (Hal Jordan). It was repainted and given a new loading station. Green Lantern opened on May 25, 2011.[8]

The storyline of the ride was intended to tie into the Green Lantern film releasing that year, and had the guests confronting Parallax, who in DC Comics is a giant, monstrous parasite that can feed on fear and once possessed Hal Jordan. Because of this, the loop was left its original yellow, for riders were supposed to "fear" the loop.

Design

Elements

Green Lantern features a similar, but not identical layout to that of Mantis and Riddler's Revenge. The ride drops 144 feet into the former largest vertical loop in the world. Next, the ride goes into a series of elements including a dive loop, a diving turnaround, and an inclined loop. At this point, the ride travels through the mid-course brake-run. The second half of the ride features low-to-the-ground curves, and two corkscrews.

Trains

7 cars per train. In each car, riders are arranged 4 across in a single row, for a total of 28 riders per train.

Images

Kentucky Kingdom

Layout

Six Flags Great Adventure

Queue line

Layout

References

  1. "Kentucky Kingdom adding coaster". The Courier-Journal.
  2. Attraction Installation - Martin & Vleminckx
  3. "Artifacts continue to roll into NRCMA" (PDF). Amusement Today.
  4. Shafer, Sheldon S. (2009-09-29). "Roller coaster being dismantled". The Courier-Journal. p. B3. Retrieved 2021-09-05.
  5. "Six Flags announces Kentucky Kingdom closure".
  6. "No Chang for Six Flags Great America". Coaster101. July 10, 2010. Retrieved January 29, 2022.
  7. "Six Flags Great Adventure Announces The Green Lantern".
  8. "Green Lantern ride opens to roller coaster enthusiasts at Six Flags Great Adventure".

External links

Tallest vertical loop
April 4, 1997 - April 4, 1998
Preceded by
Mantis
Tallest vertical loop
April 4, 1997 - April 4, 1998
Succeeded by
Riddler's Revenge


Articles on Six Flags Great Adventure
Articles on Kentucky Kingdom