Crazy Bird
Crazy Bird (Chinese: 愤怒的小鸟) is an indoor steel roller coaster at Happy Valley Tianjin, an amusement park in Dongli District, Tianjin, China. The coaster has one of the steepest drops of any roller coaster in the world.
| Crazy Bird | |
|---|---|
| Happy Valley Tianjin | |
| Location | Happy Valley Tianjin |
| Coordinates | 39.184731°N 117.468590°E |
| Status | Operating |
| Opening date | 22 December 2013 |
| General statistics | |
| Type | Steel |
| Manufacturer | S&S Worldwide |
| Model | El Loco |
| Drop | 30 m (98 ft) |
| Length | 390 m (1,280 ft) |
| Inversions | 2 |
| Max vertical angle | 120° |
| Crazy Bird at RCDB Pictures of Crazy Bird at RCDB | |
Overview and features
Built by S&S Worldwide, Crazy Bird is one of six "El Loco" model roller coasters in the world.[1] It is also an indoor coaster, and has been cited by Funworld Magazine as an example of the increased prevalence of indoor coasters that occur in Asia versus coasters on other continents. Funworld Magazine argued that this is due to climatic factors involving the rainy season in much of Asia.[2] The coaster has occasionally been marketed to take advantage of the Angry Birds franchise (the Chinese characters "愤怒" mean angry and not crazy),[3] but the theming for the coaster does not fit the Angry Birds style.[4][5]
Crazy Bird is most notable for the steeper-than-vertical (120-degree) drop on its first hill,[6] giving the coaster one of the steepest first drops in the world.[7] The coaster also has sharply banked turns, as well as two inversions (a dive loop and an inline twist).[6] Park guests ride the coaster in individual 4-seat cars which have onboard speakers.[6] Crazy Bird is the only El Loco coaster in Asia.[1][8]
Incidents
On 26 July 2014, an incident occurred where four riders were stranded 20 metres (66 ft) above the ground. Park staff failed to restart the train and the riders were forced to exit on foot. Reports indicated that a similar event had occurred in early April of the same year.[9]
Reviews
Theme Park Investigator identified the coaster as number 5 in the top 5 most anticipated roller coasters for 2013.[10]
References
- Marden, Duane. "List of El Loco model roller coasters". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 18 August 2014.
- Miller, Keith (June 2014). "High Expectations for big thrills: Roller coasters in Asia are taking the fast track to popularity". Funworld Magazine. IAAPA. Archived from the original on 3 September 2014. Retrieved 18 August 2014.
- "Tiānjīn huānlè gǔ zhǔtí lèyuán" 天津欢乐谷主题乐园 [Happy Valley theme park in Tianjin] (in Chinese). Tianjin Dongli Lake ticketing network. Archived from the original on 22 November 2014. Retrieved 18 August 2014.
- TJ, Gaoyang (28 January 2014). "Shèngdàn tǎ, fènnù de xiǎo niǎo xǐ yíng xīnchūn qí kāifàng ——tiānjīn huānlè gǔ míngxīng shèbèi zhùlì xīnchūn huān yuè jié gèng jīngcǎi" 圣诞塔、愤怒的小鸟 喜迎新春齐开放 ——天津欢乐谷明星设备助力新春欢乐节更精彩 [Christmas tower, angry birds celebrate the New Year together open – Tianjin Happy Valley star power equipment more exciting New] (in Chinese). Fang.com. Retrieved 18 August 2014.
- "Yàzhōu zhī zuì" 亚洲之最 [Asia's Best] (in Chinese). Happy Valley Tianjin. Retrieved 18 August 2014.
- Marden, Duane. "Crazy Bird (Happy Valley Tianjin)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 18 August 2014.
- Marden, Duane. "List of roller coasters by angle of first drop". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 18 August 2014.
- Tianjin Network (10 February 2013). "Tiānjīn huānlè gǔ"zuì"ràng rén qídài:5 Yuè nà kè hán duō xiàng xīn jìshù" 天津欢乐谷＂最＂让人期待:5月纳客 含多项新技术 [Tianjin Happy Valley "most" people expect: May satisfied customers including a number of new technologies]. China National Tourism Administration (in Chinese). People's Republic of China National Tourism Administration. Archived from the original on 18 August 2014. Retrieved 18 August 2014.
- Yue, Jiang (28 July 2014). "Tiānjīn huānlè gǔ"fènnù de xiǎo niǎo"yóulè shèshī"bàgōng"" 天津欢乐谷"愤怒的小鸟"游乐设施"罢工" [Tianjin Happy Valley "Angry Birds" rides "strike"] (in Chinese). Guangdong Toy Association. Retrieved 18 August 2014.
- Dunsmore, Luke (25 March 2013). "Feature: Top 5 Roller Coasters We're Looking Forward to in 2013". Theme Park Investigator. Retrieved 18 August 2014.