The ride concept that got back on track

The cantilevered coaster is finally ready to roll–or has it been rolling all along?

In the early 2000s, I was mighty intrigued by a concept known as the cantilevered coaster. The premise was that a coaster car would roll on a tricked out set of tracks and behave in ways that would appear to defy physics, such as jumping over gaps. The head-scratching (or maybe head-exploding) feats would have been made possible via cantilevered arms that would have been attached to a chassis rolling along a second set of tracks hidden from view underneath the first tracks. The out-of-sight tracks would really control the action, but from a passenger’s perspective, it would seem that the car should be conforming to the contours of the visible tracks. The disconnect could have potentially created lots of thrilling, freak-out moments.

To my astonishment, the concept, which was pitched for a number of years, never took hold. Or did it?

(Universal Studios)

A boom arm will help put the madness in Mine Cart Madness

As I’ve written previously, Universal Studios Japan will present a variation of the cantilevered coaster when it debuts the Donkey Kong-themed Mine Cart Madness at the original Super Nintendo World. The delayed project is supposed to open some time before 2024 closes out. A clone of the ride will also be featured at Universal Orlando’s Epic Universe, which is set to open in 2025.

The concept is perfectly suited to the theme park realization of the classic Nintendo property. Like the video game, mine carts will roll along a rickety-looking track and periodically “jump” up and over gaps in the (apparent) rails. Universal says that passengers will also get “blasted out of barrels” (whatever that means). I can’t wait to see how the Donkey Kong ride will capitalize on the novel ride system.

Universal Creative, which patented its concept, calls it the boom coaster. The cantilevered coaster that was floated some 20 years ago would have used two sets of working rails and two chassis. The boom coaster, however, will only use one set of rails and a single chassis. The boom arm will connect to a chassis and side rail that will run perpendicular to the mine cars. The visible rails and wheels, which Universal refers to as a “simulated ride surface,” will be for show only. If all of this sounds confusing, the following illustrations should make it clearer.

As this Universal patent illustration shows, the boom coaster will use a side rail that will be hidden from view to move the ride vehicle. It will also make it appear to jump gaps in the track and perform other mind-boggling feats. The visible track and wheels will be for show only. (Google Patents)

The developer of the cantilevered coaster proposed using two sets of working rails and two chassis that would run parallel to one another. The hidden rails underneath the track on top would appear to make the ride vehicles move vertically and in ways that would defy physics. (John Hogg)

When John Hogg, the cantilevered coaster’s developer, was pitching his idea years ago, I was a big proponent and wrote about it a number of times. I even remember evangelizing about the concept to a group of Disney Imagineers when I was a guest presenter for the Insight Out speakers series held at the division’s Glendale, California headquarters.

Most of Hogg’s concept videos showed outdoor coasters that emphasized the physical and psychological thrills that a cantilevered coaster could deliver. But he also showed the ride system’s creative potential and its possible application for themed dark rides. One demo, for example, showed an attraction themed to the streets of San Francisco. By using the capabilities of the two tracks, cars navigated the city’s notoriously hilly terrain and caught the kind of air featured in action movies. An out-of-control car was shown racing downhill towards obstacles in the road and the bay beyond. At the last possible moment, the car cheated certain doom by pivoting, soaring up and over the obstacles, landing on a different street below, and taking a hard turn to narrowly avoid plunging into the water. It seemed to me that the Imagineers could have done amazing things with the concept.

So, what happened to the cantilevered coaster?

“The problem was that it was hugely complicated,” says Hogg. The Universal Creative folks, he adds, saw the flaws with the system and were able to simplify it for Mine Cart Madness. “I think it’s going to work very well,” Hogg notes and says he is thrilled that a version of his idea will be coming to midways soon. “It’s the real deal, and it’s quite exciting.”

Actually, Disney is already using a hidden track ride system

There is coaster track beneath Radiator Springs Racers. (Matt Stroshane/Disney)

If you’ve ridden Test Track, which opened at Epcot in 1999, It turns out you’ve already experienced an attraction with a hidden coaster track. You know that slot running down the middle of the path that the ride vehicles follow? There is a bus bar under the slot that provides power to each car’s onboard electric engine and computer. There is also a roller coaster track beneath the slot that guides the vehicles. Wheels on the sides of the rails connect to a single bogie which is attached to the underside of each car's chassis, cantilevered style. The same ride system is used for Radiator Springs Racers, which debuted in 2012 at Disney California Adventure.

Neither of the attractions use their hidden coaster tracks to make it seem as if the ride vehicles are moving vertically or executing other improbable maneuvers. Also, the platform on which the cars roll bear the weight of the vehicles. But the hidden coaster tracks would seem to make the attractions distant cousins of the cantilevered coaster.

Maybe the concept, as originally envisioned by Hogg, is better suited for Universal, which isn’t afraid to deliver extreme thrills. (Velocicoaster anyone?) Based on the success of Mine Cart Madness–and I have high hopes that it will finally demonstrate the incredible potential of the cantilevered coaster–I’d imagine that it will spur further development and more attractions that will showcase the concept.

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Were you aware that Test Track and Radiator Springs Racers incorporated hidden roller coaster tracks? Are you looking forward to Mine Cart Madness? What is your take on the cantilevered coaster?