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Roller Coaster Offers High-Speed and High-Tech Thrills

by Caleb Johnson on June 17, 2009 at 07:15 AM

Summer is roller coaster season, folks. Those extra hours of daylight means less time in the office and more time strapping into hard plastic seats in order to barrel down a track at the whim of nothing but gravity. We don't expect the dual threat of long lines and nausea to deter anyone from hopping onto Universal Studios Florida's newest thrill ride, either. That's because, according to the theme park's Web site, the 'Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit' combines your average coaster's eyelid-peeling speed with the multimedia and social-networking features demanded by today's 21st-century amusement park goer.

Passengers climb into cars (equipped with stadium seating) and buckle down with lap restraints that boast touchscreen panels. These panels are used to select a personalized soundtrack (from five music genres) that blasts out of all-weather speakers as you careen down 3,800 feet of track. Along the way, 14 cameras -- six on the car and eight on the track -- are triggered by laser to film a video of the ride, which is then wirelessly downloaded to a kiosk where riders can purchase an edited copy to take home. As if that wasn't enough, the coaster also features an LED light show that changes with every ride.

Aside from the technological bells and whistles, the ride begins with a 167-foot vertical climb before plummeting into enough loops, twists, and near misses to leave seasoned riders a little shaky. We say bring it on. While rocketing along a track blasting death metal might not be your perfect idea of summer fun, you'd be hard-pressed not to find us at the front of the line. [From: Universal Studios, via DVICE]

Tags: amusement parks, AmusementParks, multimedia, rollercoaster, universal studios, UniversalStudios

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