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El Toro (Six Flags Great Adventure)

El Toro (Spanish for The Bull) is a wooden roller coaster located at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson Township, New Jersey. Designed by Werner Stengel and manufactured by Intamin, the ride opened to the public on June 11, 2006. Intamin subcontracted Rocky Mountain Construction to build the ride, and the coaster's track was prefabricated, allowing for quicker installation and lower construction costs.[2] El Toro is the main attraction of the Mexican-themed section of the park, Plaza Del Carnaval. It replaced another roller coaster, Viper, which closed following the 2004 season.

When it opened, El Toro had the steepest drop of any wooden roller coaster in the world at 76 degrees, a record that was later broken by T Express at Everland in 2008. Among wooden coasters, its height of 181 ft ranks fourth, its drop height of 176 ft ranks second, and its maximum speed of 70 mph ranks third. The coaster has been well-received, and has consistently ranked in the top three of the annual Golden Ticket Awards publication from Amusement Today.

History

El Toro sits on the former site of Viper, which closed in 2004.[3] All components of Viper were removed in early 2005, except for the station. El Toro was announced on September 28, 2005, along with Bugs Bunny National Park, a new themed area for children. It was also announced El Toro would be part of a new themed area known as Plaza del Carnaval, which would also include the adjacent wooden racing coaster, Rolling Thunder.[4][5] Al Rubano, the director of Six Flags Great Adventure's construction committee, oversaw the ride's construction.[6] The lift hill was topped out on December 20, 2005,[5][7] at a height of 188 ft.[5][6] The ride started testing on Memorial Day weekend in 2006.[8] The ride had a surprise opening on June 11, then held its grand opening on June 12.[9][10]

El Toro uses the same station as Viper, the coaster that formerly stood on the site. El Toro also sits partially on land once shared by Great Adventure's first wooden coaster, Rolling Thunder.[11]

Description

El Toro carries a Mexican theme, and its name translates to "The bull" in Spanish. The ride's queue is surrounded by Southwestern-style buildings of Plaza del Carnaval, and it features abandoned "wagon wheels" and Spanish posters along a wall separating the queue from the ride.

Ride layout

After departing from the station, the train makes a turn to the left, passing through the ride's structure. It then begins to climb the 181 ft tall cable lift hill. Once the entire train is on the lift the cable increases its speed to around 13 mph. Once at the top of the lift the speed of the cable gently slows down, but it is barely noticeable on the ride. After cresting the top of the lift, the train briefly travels forward and makes a 180-degree turn to the left. It then drops 176 ft at a 76-degree angle, reaching a top speed of 70 mph. As the train reaches the bottom of the drop, it comes close to the track above, creating a headchopper effect. It then travels up a 112 ft camelback hill followed by a second camelback hill at 100 ft. It then rises and then travels through a 180-degree downward-banked turn to the right, and up another banked turn to the left. The train goes through a small second hill that speeds past the station and the lakeside. The train then makes another turn and up a smaller hill where riders experience -2 g forces on an ejector airtime hill, crossing over the former Rolling Thunder track.[12] After coming down the drop, the train snakes through twists and turns. After coming out of the twister section, the train slows down as it moves through small "S" curve camelback hills and into the brake run.[13][14][15]

Trains

El Toro operates two trains, labeled A and B, each with six cars per train. Riders are arranged two across in three rows for a total of 36 riders per train. It has a theoretical capacity of 1,200 guests per hour.[14] Both trains contain a cosmetic bull head mounted on the front car.[16] The trains have padded "wings" at shoulder level to prevent riders from being injured during moments of strong lateral forces.[17]

Track

The wooden track is approximately 4400 ft in length, and the height of the lift is approximately 181 ft.[14] El Toro is very different from a traditional wooden roller coaster because it uses prefabricated wooden track. It was built and designed by Intamin, who also worked with employees of Rocky Mountain Construction to build the ride.[18][19] Instead of carpenters cutting, shaping, and laying down the track on site by hand, the track is laser cut in a factory. This means that the track is manufactured to a higher degree of precision than could be achieved by hand.[20] The "Plug and Play" aspect of the coaster speeds its construction, since track does not have to be completely manufactured on site. In addition, because of the speed of construction, the costs of building the coaster are lowered due to fewer man-hours spent on its construction. The riders are subject to a coaster whose track is as smooth as steel. El Toro is the first Intamin "Plug and Play" (Pre-Fab) wooden roller coaster in the United States and one of four in the world. The other three are Colossos at Heide Park in Germany, Balder at Liseberg in Sweden, and T Express at Everland in South Korea.[21]

Records

When El Toro debuted, it broke records as the second-tallest and fastest with the second-longest drop of a wooden roller coaster in the United States. As of October 2023, El Toro is the third fastest wooden roller coaster in the world with a maximum speed of 70 mph. It is also the third-tallest with the second-longest drop among wooden coasters.[22][23][24]

Incidents

After suffering a malfunctioning lift motor in early August 2013, El Toro was closed for several weeks. The motor was sent to Intamin's American headquarters in Maryland for repairs.[25]

On June 29, 2021, a train partially derailed after the rear car's up-stop wheels—which sit underneath the train and below the track—moved out-of-place to the top of the track.[26] The cause of the incident was not released publicly (as the information was considered "proprietary"), but all riders were able to safely exit the ride.[27] El Toro was closed for most of Six Flags Great Adventure's 2021 operating season,[28] pending the outcome of an investigation from Intamin.[26][27] Although the park was not fined for the accident itself, the park was fined $5k for failing to immediately notify the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs post-incident.[29] In early 2022, it was announced that El Toro would reopen on April 2, 2022.[30][31]

On August 25, 2022, a malfunction occurred near the end of the ride, causing minor injuries to 14 riders, with five taken to a nearby hospital.[32] The park closed the ride indefinitely, pending an investigation into the incident.[32][33] An anonymous ride operator alleged that issues from previous incidents had not been fixed, saying in an interview with WCBS-TV: "The employees keep telling them that there is an issue with the pothole and maintenance has done nothing about it."[28] Six Flags officials reported on August 30, 2022, that El Toro's safety systems were working properly and that the ride would reopen after it had been repaired.[34] In September 2022, the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs (DCA) said El Toro was "structurally compromised", which would force El Toro to remain closed indefinitely.[35][36] The DCA said it would also conduct an engineering review of El Toro and consult with Intamin.[36] Six Flags officials said they expected to reopen the ride for the 2023 season,[37][38] and it reopened on June 17, 2023.[39][40]

Awards and rankings

When the ride debuted, it ranked 3rd for "Best New Ride of 2006" in the Golden Ticket Awards.

External links

References

  1. El Toro Intamin, November 6, 2019, retrieved August 8, 2021^
  2. Rocky Mountain Construction Coasterforce, October 22, 2016, retrieved November 30, 2018^
  3. retrieved January 27, 2013^
  4. Six Flags. Six Flags Great Adventure Will Debut Monstrous Wooden Roller Coaster in Newly-Themed Area and New Looney Tunes Kids' Section In 2006 PR Newswire, September 28, 2005, retrieved January 20, 2013^
  5. Michael Amsel. El Toro Takes Shape Asbury Park Press, 2005-12-21, retrieved 2022-09-07^
  6. Matt Porio. Ocean County Native Makes Waves Asbury Park Press, 2005-11-15, retrieved 2022-09-07^
  7. Six Flags Great Adventure Tops Off New Roller Coaster Ultimate Roller Coaster, December 20, 2005, retrieved January 15, 2013^
  8. Josh Davidson. Six Flags Great Adventure wooden coaster runs Coaster-Net, May 29, 2006, retrieved January 16, 2013^
  9. The gate is open for a new coaster! Coaster-Net, June 12, 2006, retrieved January 21, 2013^
  10. Run With the Bulls at Six Flags Great Adventure as the Monstrous 'El Toro' Wooden Roller Coaster is Unleashed PR Newswire, June 12, 2006, retrieved January 21, 2013^
  11. Amanda Oglesby. Rolling Thunder coaster to roar no more Asbury Park Press, 2013-09-05, retrieved 2022-09-07^
  12. Rolling Thunder At Six Flags Great Adventure Great Adventure History, August 16, 1981, retrieved September 7, 2022^
  13. El Toro at Coaster-Net Coaster-Net, retrieved January 19, 2013^
  14. retrieved January 19, 2013^
  15. El Toro POV YouTube, March 19, 2010, retrieved January 19, 2013^
  16. El Toro - Six Flags Great Adventure (Jackson, New Jersey, United States) rcdb.com, retrieved 2023-10-19^
  17. Zach Saypol. Kia Train with Side Pads^
  18. Brady MacDonald. Looping wooden roller coasters are about to become a reality Los Angeles Times, October 25, 2012, retrieved January 27, 2013^
  19. Clients & Portfolio Rocky Mountain Construction, retrieved January 23, 2013^
  20. Coasters-101: Track Fabrication Coaster 101, November 6, 2011, retrieved January 27, 2013^
  21. Duane Marden. Wooden Coaster(Prefabricated Track) Roller Coaster DataBase, retrieved January 28, 2013^
  22. http://rcdb.com/rhr.htm?m=1&t=2 retrieved July 14, 2015^
  23. http://rcdb.com/rhr.htm?t=2 retrieved July 14, 2015^
  24. http://rcdb.com/rhr.htm?m=3&t=2 retrieved July 14, 2015^
  25. El Toro may be down for the season retrieved 2013-08-29^
  26. Ken Serrano. New Jersey shuts down El Toro roller coaster at Six Flags Great Adventure after derailment Asbury Park Press, June 30, 2021, retrieved July 1, 2021^
  27. Karen Wall. Six Flags' El Toro Coaster Shut Down After Incident: Report Patch, June 30, 2021, retrieved July 1, 2021^
  28. Elijah Westbrook. 13 hurt on El Toro roller coaster at Six Flags Great Adventure after ride hit "pothole" on track, park worker tells CBS2 CBS News, August 26, 2022, retrieved September 5, 2022^
  29. Steven Rodas. Six Flags fined after roller coaster El Toro partially derailed, ride required repairs NJ Advance Media, NJ.com, February 10, 2022, retrieved February 14, 2022^
  30. Simon Veness. Six Flags Great Adventure opening dates announced for the 2022 season Attractions Magazine, March 30, 2022, retrieved September 5, 2022^
  31. Jen Ursillo. Iconic Six Flags rollercoaster set to reopen after accident New Jersey 101.5, February 9, 2022, retrieved September 5, 2022^
  32. Roller Coaster Malfunction at NJ's Six Flags Great Adventure Leaves 14 Hurt WNBC, August 25, 2022, retrieved August 26, 2022^
  33. Noah Zucker. Five hospitalized after roller coaster malfunctions at Six Flags Great Adventure in New Jersey PhillyVoice, August 26, 2022, retrieved August 26, 2022^
  34. Six Flags says El Toro will reopen after repairs and inspections News 12 - New Jersey, August 30, 2022, retrieved September 5, 2022^
  35. Asbury Park Press Asbury Park Press, September 21, 2022, retrieved September 22, 2022^
  36. Six Flags Coaster in Frightening NJ Accident to Stay Shut Down Over Safety Concerns NBC New York, September 21, 2022, retrieved September 22, 2022^
  37. Anthony G. Attrino. El Toro roller coaster at Six Flags closed indefinitely due to structural damage nj, September 22, 2022, retrieved September 25, 2022^
  38. Karen Wall. 2023 El Toro Reopening Planned By Six Flags Great Adventure Brick, NJ Patch, September 23, 2022, retrieved September 25, 2022^
  39. Roller coaster El Toro set to reopen at Six Flags Great Adventure in Ocean County, NJ after malfunction in August 2022 6abc Philadelphia, June 16, 2023, retrieved June 17, 2023^
  40. Katie Kausch. El Toro reopening at Six Flags Great Adventure after 10-month closure nj, June 16, 2023, retrieved June 17, 2023^