Nightmare at Crack Axle Canyon
Nightmare at Crack Axle Canyon | |
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Building exterior and entrance to the Nightmare. | |
Great Escape | |
Park section | Ghosttown |
Coordinates | 43°21′09″N 73°41′33″W / 43.352491°N 73.692515°WCoordinates: 43°21′09″N 73°41′33″W / 43.352491°N 73.692515°W |
Status | Removed |
Opening date | 1999 |
Closing date | 2006 |
Darien Lake | |
Status | Relocated to Great Escape |
Opening date | 1996 |
Closing date | 1998 |
Kentucky Kingdom | |
Status | Relocated to Darien Lake |
Opening date | 1987 |
Closing date | 1995 |
Beech Bend | |
Status | Relocated to Kentucky Kingdom |
Opening date | Unknown |
Closing date | 1984 |
General statistics | |
Type | Steel – Enclosed |
Manufacturer | Anton Schwarzkopf |
Model | Twister roller coaster |
Lift/launch system | Chain lift hill |
Height | 44 ft (13 m) |
Length | 1,765 ft (538 m) |
Speed | 31 mph (50 km/h) |
Inversions | 0 |
Height restriction | 48 in (122 cm) |
Nightmare at Crack Axle Canyon at RCDB Pictures of Nightmare at Crack Axle Canyon at RCDB |
Nightmare at Crack Axle Canyon (formerly known as Starchaser and Nightmare at Phantom Cave) was a twister roller coaster at Great Escape amusement park in Queensbury, New York. The relatively simple steel coaster was enclosed in a warehouse-like building allowing the cars to run in the dark giving a heightened sense of disorientation around sharp twists and turns. The ride was situated in the park’s Ghosttown area and was appropriately-themed to the Old West.
History
Before arriving at The Great Escape, Nightmare at Crack Axle Canyon was located at Beech Bend Park and Kentucky Kingdom as Starchaser, and at Darien Lake as Nightmare at Phantom Cave. The 2006 season was the last season that the roller coaster was open at The Great Escape. The park has confirmed in the past the coaster is no longer and has been scrapped. It is presumed the coaster was scrapped shortly after its 2006 closure. In 2013, at The Great Escape during Fright Fest (Halloween event) the building is used for a haunted house. This ride was located at Beech Bend Park as early as the 1970's. I remember riding it when I was about 10, which was 1976. It was known as the Jet Star then.
Capacity issues
The trains were single cars with two rows of two riders each, for a total capacity of four riders per car. The low capacity could result in long wait times. To remedy this, the new Flash Pass system (named for the Flash, a licensed DC Comics character) was introduced in 2006. Riders arriving at the attraction were given a ticket and asked to return at a designated time, when lines were noticeably shorter.