The Comet (Great Escape)

The Comet
Station and lift hill of the Comet.
Location	The Great Escape & Splashwater Kingdom
Park section	Fest Area
Coordinates	42°21′07″N 73°41′09″W / 42.35194°N 73.68583°W / 42.35194; -73.68583Coordinates: 42°21′07″N 73°41′09″W / 42.35194°N 73.68583°W / 42.35194; -73.68583
Status	Operating
Opened	June 25, 1994
Type	Wood
Manufacturer	Philadelphia Toboggan Company
Designer	Herbert Paul Schmeck
Model	Wooden track coaster
Track layout	Out and Back
Lift/launch system	Chain lift hill
Height	95 ft (29 m)
Drop	87 ft (27 m)
Length	4,197 ft (1,279 m)
Max speed	55 mph (89 km/h)
Duration	2 min.
Capacity	720 riders per hour
Height restriction	4 ft 0 in (122 cm)
The Comet at RCDB
Pictures of The Comet at RCDB
Amusement Parks Portal

The Comet is a wooden roller coaster located at The Great Escape & Splashwater Kingdom, Lake George in Queensbury, New York, in the United States.

History

The coaster started its existence at Crystal Beach (an amusement park near Niagara Falls, Ontario) as a ride known as the Cyclone in 1927. The Cyclone was known as a fearsome coaster which often injured its riders. This apparently occurred so often that there was a permanent first aid station at the end of the ride. Its metal support structure was torn down and rebuilt as the Comet in 1947. The ride was saved shortly after the park closed down forever after the 1989 season. Charlie Woods, the owner of The Great Escape in Queensbury, New York successfully bid for The Comet and it sat in storage for a few years in Fantasy Island before making its way to the park in Queensbury where it began service again in 1993.

Ride experience

Roller coaster enthusiasts recognize it as one of the best wooden roller coasters in North America because of its historical significance, elements of hills and drops, and terrific "air" time giving riders the sensation of floating out of their seats. The coaster operates two trains, one red and one blue, each one capable of carrying twenty four riders in four cars in three rows, two across. Minimum height requirement is 48 inches (1,200 mm) to ride.

Owing to its location at the back of the park and simple queue maze, wait time for the Comet is usually under twenty minutes; wait time generally only exceeds this if the queue line overflows the maze. If both trains are running on days of low attendance it is possible to move through the queue line in less than five minutes. Park regulars know that heading directly to the back of the park when the main gates open can assure guests of three or four uninterrupted rides before the queue line grows appreciably.

Blue train descending first hill.

Riders generally describe the Comet as fast and smooth, with little chatter or shaking during the run. This can be attributed to its special design, for although the ride is billed as a wooden roller coaster, it is technically a hybrid coaster: it has a steel framework on which is placed wooden bed, on top of the wooden bed are the steel rails the coaster wheels run on. Turns are tight and only very slightly banked. On-ride-photos are taken by a camera mounted on a dip closest to the control booth.

Theming

While using the historical name of the Comet, little is done to take advantage of the name with theming or decoration. On ride photos can be purchased with flames superimposed over the train to give the artificial appearance of actually riding a comet. Signage in the park directing guests to the Comet are similarly themed, along with the large lighted sign on the coaster structure itself.

A sign in the loading area gives most of the history of the Comet, and notes that the sheltered area for the queue line uses much of the original metal latticework from the old Cyclone.

Roller coaster landmark

Plaque presented by American Coaster Enthusiasts.

On September 8, 2009, American Coaster Enthusiasts named the Comet a Roller Coaster Landmark.^[1]

Awards

Golden Ticket Awards: Top Wooden Roller Coasters[2][3]
Year	2000e fr	Ranking	10rgr	-gr	12	20	22	19	-	-	17[4]

Mitch Hawker's Best Roller Coaster Poll: Best Wooden-Tracked Roller Coaster
Year	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009
Ranking	1	1	2	3	5	5 (tie)	9	9	5	10	18	21	21	22 (tie)	29	37

References

• The Comet’s listing at RCDB.com

External links

• The Sights and Sounds of The Comet & Crystal Beach from Steve Cichon's staffannouncer.com
• A Review of The Comet

Footnotes

1. ^ none (09-08-2009). "The Comet named a Roller Coaster Landmark". The Business Review. http://albany.bizjournals.com/albany/stories/2009/09/07/daily5.html?surround=etf&ana=e_article. Retrieved 09-09-200920. 
2. ^ Golden Ticket Awards - Top 25 Steel/Wooden Roller Coasters
3. ^ Amusement Today
4. ^ "Amusement Today — Golden Ticket Winners 2010" (PDF). Amusement Today. http://www.goldenticketawards.com/PDF/GTA2010issue.pdf. Retrieved 12 September 2010.