10 Jun 2005

Construction is well underway on Warner Bros. Movie World's next major attraction, currently known as "Superman Escape".

The ride will soon dominate the skyline in the park, as an impressive sight immediately in front of guests entering the park.

An overview of the site shows footing placement is well underway.

Preparation of the indoor sections of the ride is also underway.

A closeup shows the old special effects sound stage gutted for the ride.

Electrical components for the ride's demanding systems are in place.

At the front of the site are the major footings, where the "tophat" element will be found.

A final overview of the site. The ride is expected to open in the final quarter of 2005.

09 Aug 2005

Construction has progressed steadily, with the launch track already in place, giving an immediate idea of where the ride's tophat will be placed.

The launch starts inside and heads out towards the front of the park. Note that the brake fins are yet to be installed on the track.

This building will be home to the ride's mechanics. The hydraulic motor components and cable systems require significant space, hence the large size of the building.

14 Aug 2005

One more piece of track has been added onto the end of the launch.

The launch cable will pass through the gap created by this double support.

The pulleys in the track angle the cable towards the launch components.

Superman Escape's launch will be mostly indoors.

One of the colossal support structures for the tophat has gone up in the past few days.

The highest support connection point can be seen at the top of the tower. At this point the track will be 90� (and twisting to the right).

There will be one more piece of straight track before the twisting begins.

As you can see, directly following the tophat will be a high-speed banked turn.

This ground-hugging turn will give the feeling of speed like no other.

Footings can be seen for the tophat's remaining supports. The ride will have two separate support towers, similar to Xcelerator at Knott's Berry Farm.

The turn will transition very smoothly from the tophat.

What's more, this nice wide turn will helix slightly downward, so it will feel like it's getting faster and faster.

A closeup of the series of pullies that will direct the fast-moving cable towards the motor housing.

No question this ride will dominate the skyline of Warner Bros. Movie World! The full height of the ride will be closer to the top of the crane.

There is a mountain of track still waiting in the car park.

This track transitions to flat from the gently angled brake run.

Permanent brake run track - fixed alloy fins will be mounted to the inner rails.

These three pieces of track will be the crest of the tophat.

Yes - they are as tight as they look. Airtime anyone?

Most of the track is triangle-truss, with only the launch and tophat using the larger box-truss.

Track that curves down here is for transitioning out of hills and for overbanked turns. Track that curves up is the crest of (airtime) hills.

A panorama of all 43 pieces of track waiting outside (this image is very large).

03 Sep 2005

Since our last update a lot has happened - including completion of the top hat.

This element sticks out and can be seen from all around the park.

Also completed is the first camel back, which can be seen behind the top hat.

This element is sure to create amazing airtime for riders.

It dives over the launch track.

Sideplates have been added to the pulley sheaves.

After the camel back the track dives and turns into the launch building.

The track has a very banked high-speed turn over the launch track.

The transition from the ground-hugging turn up into the camel back. You can also see remaining footings for the remainder of the layout.

Track waiting out the back of Batman.

There's not much track remaining in the car park.

The colossal structure can be seen for miles around.

Australia's best coaster will be coming soon!

13 Sep 2005

Construction has progressed further over the last week, with a second camel back going into place.

This new camel back ducks under the first larger one, which should create a tremendous "head-chopper" effect.

The second camel back twists, somewhat like an uninverted corkscrew, a tighter version of that seen on Goliath at Walibi World in Holland, another Intamin coaster.

Three major airtime points.

This ride dominates the skyline in the park.

After the second camel back it does a dive-turn to ground. This element is somewhat of a re-engineering of the traditional overbanked turn.

After the tunnel turn the ride twists up into the second camel back.

You can see where the track heads after the dive-turn will head, helixing upwards.

Braking fins are now in place on the launch track. This system retracts the fins for launch and releases them after launch so that in the event of a roll-back the train is safely stopped and returned to the station down the gentle slope of the launch track.

That's it - no more track left out the front!

17 Sep 2005

The giant red arch of the ride's top hat towers over the entrance of the park.

Not long now until riders will be racing over this track.

All of Superman Escape's outdoor track is now complete.

The second camel back will create an airtime sensation followed by a unique twisting drop which will add to the feeling of speed.

The top hat does not go right to 90� - it is a few degrees shy.

The dive-turn is one of Superman Escape's unique elements. In the background you can see the track turns back up for one last crest before the brake run.

Seen from further back, the track levels out before diving to the ground - much like a double-dip though turning all the while.

It lines itself up with the turn after the top hat.

Braking fins are now installed on the entire of the launch track.

Will this close-call create a headchopper effect for riders? Wait and see! The final crest can be seen at the bottom of the picture. After this the track slopes downwards for the brake run.

The final brake run is in place now.

Alloy braking fins have been fixed to the brake run. These brakes are purely magnetic - there is no mechanical component to them.

It can be seen where the brake fins will extend up the brake slope. The mounting brackets for the fins extend nearly to where the track disappears behind the soundstage, meaning all along this straight will be brakes.

The shiney copper-based alloy brake fins.

Superman Escape's impressive three airtime points.

Quite literally a sliver of the levelled-off track after the brake run which will lead into the station for unload.

An overview of the outdoor section of the ride, which opens in December.

03 Oct 2005

Finishing touches are starting to get underway now that the construction of the actual ride is complete.

The launch tunnel exit.

15 Oct 2005

With coaster construction completed, focus has shifted to landscaping.

The tunnel sections are being cleaned up.

The final brake run is now completed with all alloy fins in place.

A new angle gives a different perspective on the twisted track.

14 Dec 2005

Superman Escape nears completion as the opening day looms.

Pleasant green landscaping will give the front of the park a very open feel. Neat chainlink fencing means onlookers will get a very upfront view of the ride in action, no doubt the intention of the designers. No secrets about what you're in for here!

The entrance path can be seen ducking under the launch track.

In under two weeks Superman will be open to the public.

The ride opens December 26. Stay tuned for more updates from Roller-Coaster.com.au.

In other news, Batman Adventure's facade has been repainted.