California Screamin'
Encyclopedia
California Screamin' is a steel roller coaster
located at Disney California Adventure Park in Anaheim, CA.
, and was built by Intamin AG. California Screamin' is the 6th longest roller coaster in the world (2nd longest steel coaster in the United States), at 6072 feet (1,850.7 m) long. It is also the longest ride with an inversion (since the loop has been removed from the 7032 feet (2,143.4 m) Son of Beast). Its highest point is 120 feet (36.6 m) tall followed by a 108 feet (32.9 m) drop. The appearance is such that it resembles a wooden coaster, despite clearly being a steel coaster.
This coaster has some distinctive features. It uses a linear induction motor
to launch the train up the first hill, replacing the traditional lift hill chain. This coaster is one of Disney's fastest attractions, accelerating guests from zero to 55 miles per hour (24.6 m/s) in four seconds at the launch. Like Space Mountain
and Rock 'n' Roller Coaster
, California Screamin' is set to music. It is the only inverting ride in the Disneyland Resort. This attraction offers both FASTPASS
and Single Rider
entrances.
On November 5, 2010, the attraction's original recorded safety spiels were updated with the voice of actor Neil Patrick Harris
.
can be heard counting down from five before the train launches up the coaster's first hill. The train drops below another section of track and banks to the right traveling through the ride's first brake run. This is followed by another 180 degree right turn and sudden descent followed by a banked turn to the left. Momentum at this point carries the train up the coaster's largest lift hill before LIM's take over to carry the trains the remaining distance to the crest. At 120 feet (36.6 m), this is the highest point of the coaster from which the track drops steeply and curves left, followed by a quick incline to the right and another 180 degree turn. In preparation for the ride's single loop, the train travels through a set of brakes added in 2005. The track drops slightly and manoeuvres through the loop rising and then dropping again. A wide U-turn to the right leads into a small climb and another brake run. Here a straight section of track along the front of the coaster's length contains a series of dips and rises known as "bunny hops" or "bunny hills" which create significant air time for riders. Another brake zone sends the train down and to the left past the off ride camera which is positioned in a helix. After the helix, the roller coaster ends with a series of brake runs intended to hold trains in case of a backup at the station. Back at the station, the train is either sent left or right to one of the platforms.
California Screamin' uses side-mounted friction brakes on all its brake runs rather than mounting the brakes on the track. In addition to this, stray LIM boosters are placed in the station, and near most brake zones; these include the launch hill (Zone 2), the lift hill (Zone 4), after the loop (Zone 5), before the bunny hops (Zone 6), and before the switch track back to the stations (Zone 9).
In 2005 California Screamin' received two sets of magnetic brakes to slow the train down before the loop and in brake run 6. The result is a slightly slower ride.
The 12 block brake sections in the attraction are as follows: Immediately after leaving the station, the train is in section 1, followed by section 2.1, the location that the train stops at for launch. The launch hill is section 2.2, followed immediately by section 3. Section 4 is the lift hill, ending at the top of the lift. Section 5 includes the loop up until the entrance to the next blue tunnel. Section 6 continues until the bunny hops, with section 7 ending just before the final spiral. Section 8 is the initial slow down point, followed by section 9. The main side of the station (or if you are entering the station on the train, the left side is section 10A, while the spur side of the station is Zone 10B.
On July 22, 2011, 23 people were rescued from California Screamin' by firefighters when a person's backpack fell out of one of the trains and landed on the track, causing the orange train to valley just after the loop but before the next block brake. It re-opened two days later after the train was winched up the next hill, had its damaged wheels replaced and allowed to complete the circuit.
' "Around the World
," and the attraction was renamed Rockin' California Screamin. This was promoted alongside Rockin' Space Mountain, a similar change made to Space Mountain in Disneyland though that ride's audio was changed to the Red Hot Chili Peppers cover version of "Higher Ground". These changes were part of the "Rockin' Both Parks" campaign. The standard audio track was restored when the campaign ended.
Steel roller coaster
A steel roller coaster is a roller coaster that is defined by having a track made of steel. Steel coasters have earned immense popularity in the past 50 years throughout the world...
located at Disney California Adventure Park in Anaheim, CA.
History
This boardwalk-themed coaster was designed by Walt Disney ImagineeringWalt Disney Imagineering
Walt Disney Imagineering is the design and development arm of the Walt Disney Company, responsible for the creation and construction of Disney theme parks worldwide...
, and was built by Intamin AG. California Screamin' is the 6th longest roller coaster in the world (2nd longest steel coaster in the United States), at 6072 feet (1,850.7 m) long. It is also the longest ride with an inversion (since the loop has been removed from the 7032 feet (2,143.4 m) Son of Beast). Its highest point is 120 feet (36.6 m) tall followed by a 108 feet (32.9 m) drop. The appearance is such that it resembles a wooden coaster, despite clearly being a steel coaster.
This coaster has some distinctive features. It uses a linear induction motor
Linear motor
A linear motor is an electric motor that has had its stator and rotor "unrolled" so that instead of producing a torque it produces a linear force along its length...
to launch the train up the first hill, replacing the traditional lift hill chain. This coaster is one of Disney's fastest attractions, accelerating guests from zero to 55 miles per hour (24.6 m/s) in four seconds at the launch. Like Space Mountain
Space Mountain (Disneyland)
Space Mountain is a steel roller coaster attraction in Tomorrowland at Disneyland in Anaheim, California. After the success of the Magic Kingdom's Space Mountain, the Imagineers made plans to build another on the United States West Coast. The ride opened on May 27, 1977, ten years after the...
and Rock 'n' Roller Coaster
Rock 'n' Roller Coaster
Rock 'n' Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith is an enclosed steel roller coaster ride at Disney's Hollywood Studios at the Walt Disney World Resort and at the Walt Disney Studios Park in Disneyland Paris...
, California Screamin' is set to music. It is the only inverting ride in the Disneyland Resort. This attraction offers both FASTPASS
FASTPASS
Disney Fastpass is a virtual queuing system created by the Walt Disney Company. First introduced in 1999 , Fastpass allows guests to avoid long lines at the attractions on which the system is installed, freeing them to enjoy other attractions during their wait...
and Single Rider
Single Rider
Single rider lines are an opportunity at various theme parks to reduce the amount of time waiting in line for an attraction. When a single-rider line is in use, empty seats on the ride vehicles are filled using individuals from the line, thus ensuring that every vehicle is carrying the maximum...
entrances.
On November 5, 2010, the attraction's original recorded safety spiels were updated with the voice of actor Neil Patrick Harris
Neil Patrick Harris
Neil Patrick Harris is an American actor, singer, director, and magician.Prominent roles of his career include the title role in Doogie Howser, M.D., Colonel Carl Jenkins in Starship Troopers, the womanizing Barney Stinson in How I Met Your Mother, a fictionalized version of himself in the Harold...
.
Ride layout and experience
The ride begins after a train is dispatched from either of two loading zones which merge at a track switch. After the switch, the track banks left and stops on a flat section of track just above water level on Paradise Bay. After a short wait dictated by the location of the previous train on the track, a Victorian Carnival character voiced by Neil Patrick HarrisNeil Patrick Harris
Neil Patrick Harris is an American actor, singer, director, and magician.Prominent roles of his career include the title role in Doogie Howser, M.D., Colonel Carl Jenkins in Starship Troopers, the womanizing Barney Stinson in How I Met Your Mother, a fictionalized version of himself in the Harold...
can be heard counting down from five before the train launches up the coaster's first hill. The train drops below another section of track and banks to the right traveling through the ride's first brake run. This is followed by another 180 degree right turn and sudden descent followed by a banked turn to the left. Momentum at this point carries the train up the coaster's largest lift hill before LIM's take over to carry the trains the remaining distance to the crest. At 120 feet (36.6 m), this is the highest point of the coaster from which the track drops steeply and curves left, followed by a quick incline to the right and another 180 degree turn. In preparation for the ride's single loop, the train travels through a set of brakes added in 2005. The track drops slightly and manoeuvres through the loop rising and then dropping again. A wide U-turn to the right leads into a small climb and another brake run. Here a straight section of track along the front of the coaster's length contains a series of dips and rises known as "bunny hops" or "bunny hills" which create significant air time for riders. Another brake zone sends the train down and to the left past the off ride camera which is positioned in a helix. After the helix, the roller coaster ends with a series of brake runs intended to hold trains in case of a backup at the station. Back at the station, the train is either sent left or right to one of the platforms.
California Screamin' uses side-mounted friction brakes on all its brake runs rather than mounting the brakes on the track. In addition to this, stray LIM boosters are placed in the station, and near most brake zones; these include the launch hill (Zone 2), the lift hill (Zone 4), after the loop (Zone 5), before the bunny hops (Zone 6), and before the switch track back to the stations (Zone 9).
In 2005 California Screamin' received two sets of magnetic brakes to slow the train down before the loop and in brake run 6. The result is a slightly slower ride.
The 12 block brake sections in the attraction are as follows: Immediately after leaving the station, the train is in section 1, followed by section 2.1, the location that the train stops at for launch. The launch hill is section 2.2, followed immediately by section 3. Section 4 is the lift hill, ending at the top of the lift. Section 5 includes the loop up until the entrance to the next blue tunnel. Section 6 continues until the bunny hops, with section 7 ending just before the final spiral. Section 8 is the initial slow down point, followed by section 9. The main side of the station (or if you are entering the station on the train, the left side is section 10A, while the spur side of the station is Zone 10B.
Incidents
On July 29, 2005, 25 guests were injured when the Purple train rear-ended the Red train. Of the 48 guests aboard the two trains, 15 were taken to local hospitals for treatment of minor injuries. The accident occurred on the section of track about 30 feet (9.1 m) short of the loading station. A full ride stop was activated, with the red train stopped, the brake segment that was supposed to have stopped the purple train failed, and the purple train continued until it collided with the stopped red train. An investigation showed that a faulty brake valve, installed a few days earlier by Disney (not by the ride manufacturer Intamin AG), was the cause.On July 22, 2011, 23 people were rescued from California Screamin' by firefighters when a person's backpack fell out of one of the trains and landed on the track, causing the orange train to valley just after the loop but before the next block brake. It re-opened two days later after the train was winched up the next hill, had its damaged wheels replaced and allowed to complete the circuit.
Rockin' California Screamin'
On January 3, 2007, the standard onboard audio track for California Screamin' was temporarily replaced with a remixed version of the Red Hot Chili PeppersRed Hot Chili Peppers
Red Hot Chili Peppers is an American rock band, formed in Los Angeles in 1983. The group's musical style primarily consists of rock with an emphasis on funk, as well as elements from other genres such as punk, hip hop and psychedelic rock...
' "Around the World
Around the World (Red Hot Chili Peppers song)
"Around the World" is a song by Red Hot Chili Peppers released as the second single from their 1999 album, Californication. The single peaked at number seven on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks and number sixteen on the Mainstream Rock Tracks....
," and the attraction was renamed Rockin' California Screamin. This was promoted alongside Rockin' Space Mountain, a similar change made to Space Mountain in Disneyland though that ride's audio was changed to the Red Hot Chili Peppers cover version of "Higher Ground". These changes were part of the "Rockin' Both Parks" campaign. The standard audio track was restored when the campaign ended.
Attraction facts
- Restraint System: Over-the-Shoulder Restraints (OTSRs)
- Vehicles: 7 vehicles total: 5 - 24 person trains (Red 01, Yellow 02, Orange 03, Blue 04, and Purple 05)/2 - 23 Person trains (Both Green, 06 and 07)
- Max trains on track: 6
- Length: 6072 feet (1,850.7 m)
- Linear Induction Motors Launch length: 215 feet (65.5 m)
- Largest hill/drop: 120 feet/108 feet (36.5 m/33 m)
- Inversions: 1
- Brake Zones: 12
- Top speed: 55 mi/h
- Ride duration: 2:34
- Max acceleration: 0 - 55 mph (24.6 m/s) in 4 seconds
- Totalling 6702 feet (2,042.8 m) of total track, California Screamin' is the second longest steel roller coaster on the American continents.
- Contains over 36 miles (57.9 km) of electrical wire, and 167 miles (268.8 km) of individual conductors.
- California Screamin is also the only Disney outdoor looping roller coasterRoller coasterThe roller coaster is a popular amusement ride developed for amusement parks and modern theme parks. LaMarcus Adna Thompson patented the first coasters on January 20, 1885...
in North AmericaNorth AmericaNorth America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
(Rock 'n' Roller CoasterRock 'n' Roller CoasterRock 'n' Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith is an enclosed steel roller coaster ride at Disney's Hollywood Studios at the Walt Disney World Resort and at the Walt Disney Studios Park in Disneyland Paris...
at Disney's Hollywood StudiosDisney's Hollywood StudiosDisney's Hollywood Studios is a theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort. Spanning 135 acres in size, its theme is show business, drawing inspiration from the heyday of Hollywood in the 1930s and 1940s...
inverts three times, but is enclosed). - It took 5800000 pounds (2,630,835.7 kg) of steel to build California Screamin'.
- There are 11500000 pounds (5,216,312.3 kg) of concrete in the foundations and the "deepest" foundation is a deep pile of 48 feet (14.6 m).
- Because Disney California Adventure is located within a residential zone and must adhere to certain noise restriction guidelines, special "scream" tubes were designed for California Screamin' to prevent all the hollering from being blasted across Anaheim during those thrill portions of the ride that are sure to elicit such a reaction.
- The ride's name is an obvious nod to the 1965 song "California Dreamin'California Dreamin'"California Dreamin is a popular song by The Mamas & the Papas, first released in 1965. The song is #89 in Rolling Stones list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time...
" by The Mamas & the PapasThe Mamas & the PapasThe Mamas & the Papas were a Canadian/American vocal group of the 1960s . The group recorded and performed from 1965 to 1968 with a short reunion in 1971, releasing five albums and 11 Top 40 hit singles...
. - Neil Patrick HarrisNeil Patrick HarrisNeil Patrick Harris is an American actor, singer, director, and magician.Prominent roles of his career include the title role in Doogie Howser, M.D., Colonel Carl Jenkins in Starship Troopers, the womanizing Barney Stinson in How I Met Your Mother, a fictionalized version of himself in the Harold...
provides the vocals for a safety spiel added in late 2010, replacing the original safety spiels recorded by Dee Bradley BakerDee Bradley BakerDee Bradley Baker is an American voice actor. He is noted as his long-running-role as Klaus Heissler in American Dad! and other various characters including Squilliam Fancyson in the hit TV series SpongeBob SquarePants, Nightcrawler in X-Men: Legends and Marvel: Ultimate Alliance...
. - The are 108 Acoustic devices to play the "Synchronized On-Board Audio Track" (S.O.B.A.T.) onboard each train, including High Rangers in the riders head rest, Mid Rangers near their ears, and Sub-woofers underneath each rider's seat.
External links
- Roller Coaster Database Images and stats
- Incrediblecoasters Images
- California Screamin' Details about the roller coaster on Ultimate Rollercoaster.com.
- Official Disneyland Resort Link