Dark Knight (Six Flags New England)
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| The Dark Knight | |
| Location | Six Flags New England |
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| Park section | DC Superhero Adventures |
| Type | Steel - Wild Mouse - Enclosed |
| Status | Cancelled |
| Manufacturer | MACK Rides |
| Designer | Werner Stengel, Six Flags |
| Model | Wild Mouse (2nd-gen compact mobile) |
| Track layout | Wild Mouse |
| Height | 45 ft (14 m) |
| Length | 1,213 ft (370 m) |
| Max speed | 30 mph (48 km/h) |
| Duration | 2:00 |
| Cost | $7 million |
| Height restriction | 4 ft 0 in (120 cm) |
| The Dark Knight at RCDB Pictures of The Dark Knight at RCDB |
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The Dark Knight was an indoor steel roller coaster designed by MACK Rides that was to open at Six Flags New England. It was hoped that the ride would be open sometime in April but the construction of the ride at this park experienced many delays. Early in April, no settlement could be reached with the town of Agawam to resume construction, so now the ride has now been officially canceled. The under construction building is now being disassembled and the actual coaster track and all other parts of the actual ride will be sent to another Six Flags Park. Similar rollercoasters with the same name are targeted to also opened spring at Six Flags Great Adventure and will soon open at Six Flags Great America.
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[edit] The ride
The Dark Knight was to be inspired by The Dark Knight. Costing $7.5 million, the ride would have put guests through the premise of being stalked by the Joker. The coaster itself was a wild mouse design indoors and heavily themed. It was considered a family ride rather than a thrill ride.
[edit] Delays
In February, Six Flags New England was issued stop-work order on the Dark Knight coaster. The reason was that the design of the building was slightly modified from the original plan that was approved by the town of Agawam.
Construction started before they had all the construction permits but manangement did not expect the uproar this has caused. Building Inspector Dominic Urbinati issued a stop-work order on Feb. 20, saying Six Flags had begun significant construction without a building permit. Without the proper construction documents, Urbinati said, there was no way he could ensure the project met state building and safety codes.
Construction was then halted later that month. In March, the park was still faced with having to seek a new set of permits after several changes were made to the plans previously approved by city boards. Park management still hoped to open Dark Knight by Memorial Day weekend, but still faced hurdles from the town of Agawam due to changes in design from the original plans. Some sources in the park said that a Memorial Day weekend opening is not realistic.
Still, there were hopes to resume construction by the 10th or 11th of April but this has not happened. The remaining area of the park has opened April 12 with no committment as to when or even if Dark Knight will open.
The new plans - primarily a 10-foot shift in the building's footprint to meet state fire safety codes - seemed to pass muster with the Planning Board on March 20 and with the Conservation Commission last Thursday. On Friday, March 28, at 11 a.m. at the Agawam Department of Public Works building at 1000 Suffield St., the Zoning Board of Appeals will review the new plans. The Zoning Board - which granted a special permit for a height variance Feb. 11 on the original plans - did not approve the new plans, so no building permit for the project would be issued, officials have said. On April 10, 2008, Dark Knight was removed from the Six Flags New England Website but was reinstated in some areas the next day, but not fully. On the 14th, it is off the website again.
Finally, on April 15th, 2008, Six Flags New England announced that The Dark Knight Coaster has been cancelled. The building construction would be disassembled and the coaster itself (which had not even begun to be assembled) would be sent to another park in the future.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
Official Dark Knight construction blog
[edit] References
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