Roller coaster riders usually expect the track to turn them upside down, but a rare, extremely thrilling attraction in China adds another layer by flipping the seats independently as the train races through the course.
A video shared by The Coaster Scoop on July 29 captures Dinoconda carrying riders through one disorienting turn after another. The exposed seats rotate forward and backward, sometimes leaving passengers facing the ground while the train continues moving.
The coaster in question is called Dinoconda. It is a 4D roller coaster located at China Dinosaurs Park in Changzhou, China, and is one of only three large-scale coasters operating with this type of rotating-seat design.
The ride climbs approximately 226 feet before reaching speeds of 78.3 mph. It has been operating at the dinosaur-themed park since April 29, 2012.
The Seats Rotate Independently of the Track
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According to manufacturer S&S Worldwide, additional rails control the seats and allow them to rotate forward or backward up to 360 degrees. The movements are controlled rather than random, so the seats follow the same sequence during each ride.
Each train consists of six cars, each carrying four passengers, for a total of 24 riders. Two passengers sit on either side of the track with nothing directly above or beneath their seats.
The track itself includes three inversions, along with an inside raven turn, zero-gravity roll, and outside raven turn. Those three inversions do not include the additional flips created by the rotating seats.
Only Three Large Coasters Use This Design
Dinoconda belongs to a group of three large Arrow and S&S 4D roller coasters. The others are X2 at Six Flags Magic Mountain in California and Eejanaika at Fuji-Q Highland in Japan.
X2 opened in 2002 as the first coaster of this type, while Eejanaika followed in 2006. Dinoconda became the third when it opened six years later.
The Roller Coaster DataBase lists Dinoconda as 3,444.9 feet long, 226.4 feet tall, and capable of reaching 78.3 mph. Alan Schilke designed it, and it remains one of the fastest and tallest 4D coasters operating anywhere in the world.
Who’s daring enough to ride this roller coaster?