Volume 1, No. 14. August 10, 2001
New Arrivals
PHOTO of patrons riding Hydra Fighter II through water elements.
It's a wet coaster!
Wet 'n Wild Emerald Pointe in Greensboro, North
Carolina, announces the arrival of Hydra Fighter II June 29, 2001. Measurements:
59 feet high (18 meters), 1,170 feet long (355 meters long), six vehicles, 20
jumping jets, three small geysers, one big geyser, three overhead showerheads,
one turbo shower, one water curtain, one mist tunnel, one tipping bucket, three
Gatlin guns. Delivered by Caripro Amusement Technology.
The Alpha SmartParks-owned waterpark created a number of firsts when it previewed
the Hydra Fighter II a week before its public opening with a christening
ride by SmartParks CEO Randy Drew and "Survivor II" contestant Jeff Varner,
a Greensboro native. The ride represented the first-ever installation of Caripro's
AquaFlyer, an interactive-water version of its iFlyer gondola coasters. Hydra
Fighter II is also the first roller coaster built in a free-standing waterpark
in the United States.
And for the Wet 'n Wild Emerald Pointe staff, it was a new learning experience.
"We're waterpark people," said general manager Tony Brancazio. "But at least
we have corporate expertise in roller coasters."
The park also had timely help from the local construction company, Hamlett and
Associates, which broke ground for the ride in March and managed to get Hydra
Fighter II opened in three months. "It was built under a tight time frame,"
Brancazio said. Once built, though, the ride drew crowds. Upon the ride's June
29 opening most patrons rushed to Hydra Fighter II before any other ride,
a pattern of crowd movement that has held true throughout the summer. "When
it opens in the morning, that's where the crowd is," Brancazio said.