It’s a Joke(r).Those delays happened, but it really it wasn’t all that long before the train was dispatched! waited while the lap bars were checked, waited while they were rechecked.
Those in attendance surged up the stairs, waited while the comics were seated, waited while the back half of the train was filled, waited while the reverse POV camera was adjusted.
The experience adds tremendously to the park’s status as Northern California’s most thrilling theme park.”Īlthough Michael Pritchard declined a seat, some other local comics were tapped to be the first jokers to ride The Joker.įinally, we were joined by a not entirely unexpected special guest to lead the countdown for cutting the ribbon! While waiting for things to get underway we noticed that the area around The Joker, which already included Superman Ultimate Flight, is becoming a little DC Comics corner, and the recently added water ride, Tsunami Soaker, has received a new theme.Ĭlearly one to keep on top of things, the Fowl One had even sent some of his fine feathered finks to see what all the commotion was about.īut, let’s be frank (Frank’s cool, he won’t mind), cute water rides were not our primary objective.Īfter a few words from the park’s director of marketing (dig those shoelaces), comic turned motivational speaker Michael Pritchard was brought up for a few words, followed by park president Don McCoy saying “I’ve never seen this kind of anticipation by the public for any new ride and it doesn’t disappoint. The highly anticipated hybrid conversion of the former Roar is complete, and I literally bounded out of bed for the media event and opportunity to be among the first ride a new roller coaster. You get old because you stop playing” (Michael Pritchard)Īfter two days of passholder previews, Six Flags Discovery Kingdom will open the Joker to the public Sunday May 29. Finally, the train undergoes another banked turn and airtime hill before reaching the final brake run and returning to the station.“You don’t stop playing because you get old. The track winds sharply through another over-banked turn before entering the final inversion, a barrel roll. A wave turn element and several air time hills follow, along with an over-banked turn and two camel back hills. It accelerates to a maximum speed of 53 mph (85 km/h) before entering the "step-up under-flip inverted roll" element.Īfter turning left out of the inversion, the train goes up a hill into a 180-degree stall featuring several head chopper beams. The train will then ascend up its first hill of 100 feet (30 m), followed by a curved drop at 78 degrees – re-profiled as a steeper drop from the original Roar coaster. As the train departs the station, it enters several small 'bunny hills' and turns, reminiscent of pre-lift elements on Twisted Colossus. Each train has six cars, each seating four people with two across in two rows, for a total capacity of 24 riders per train. The Joker's trains are themed to the character widely known in the Batman comics. The roller coaster was well-received and opened for Memorial Day Weekend on May 29, 2016. Discovery Kingdom held a soft opening, a media preview event for The Joker, on May 25, 2016. The roller coaster would also receive new trains themed to the Joker comic book character and would feature three inversions, including a new element marketed as a “step-up under-flip inverted roll”.īased on the success of previous roller coaster conversions in its partnership with Rocky Mountain Construction, Six Flags anticipated that Roar would benefit from the overhaul and transition into The Joker.
The renovation would be performed by Rocky Mountain Construction using the company's patented I-Box steel track technology on all of the original wooden coaster supports. Several weeks later on September 3, 2015, plans were revealed to convert the ride into a steel-tracked coaster called The Joker for the 2016 season. In July 2015, Six Flags announced that Roar at Discovery Kingdom would be closing on August 16, 2015. The coaster featured a height of 94 feet (29 m), a first drop of 85 feet (26 m) and a top speed of 50 mph (80 km/h). When it debuted on May 14, 1999, Roar was the park's first wooden roller coaster and one of its first rides overall during the transition of adding amusement park rides to the marine mammal park. Roar was a roller coaster at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom constructed by Great Coasters International.