Product Description

Let 3-D video technology put you into the head car of fourteen of the most thrilling coasters in America. Using the supplied glasses creates incredible 3-D depth perception, but the images are perfectly normal when viewed without. So dim the lights, turn up the volume, strap on your seat belt and hang on! Includes 2 pair of 3-D glasses.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #102393 in DVD
• Released on: 1998-05-06
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Color, DVD, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 67 minutes

Amazon.com
The back of this DVD case boasts, "It's almost better than being on board!" Is it? Well, no, unless roller coasters give you motion sickness, in which case you might be better off watching them on your TV set. The strength of this 82-minute DVD is not that it re-creates the heart-stopping thrill of hurtling down that first steep drop. Rather, it gives coaster enthusiasts an added appreciation for the latest innovations in roller coaster design, from the eight loops of the Dragon Khan (the most on a single coaster) to Germany's Olympic Looping Ban (which is reassembled repeatedly as it travels from city to city) to the terrifying height of England's Pepsi Max. Two pairs of 3-D glasses are included with the DVD, but the footage looks just fine viewed without them and is less likely to give you a headache. To avoid the pompous narration and riders' comments, skip to chapter 16 for a first-person perspective of all 14 rides. --Larisa Lomacky Moore

From the back cover
Let 3-D video and surround sound technology put you into the head car of the most thrilling coasters in America. America's Greatest Roller Coaster Thrills in 3-D takes you on a wild tour of fourteen of the most exciting roller casters in the nation. Each coaster was selected by the members of the American Coaster Enthusiasts (ACE), the most die-hard coaster riders in the land. Their choices range from the nostalgic "woodies" to the newest, gut-wrenching tubular steel giants! 3-D technology creates incredible depth perception when the viewer uses the enclosed glasses, but the images are perfectly normal when viewed without. It's almost better than being on board! Featured Coasters are: Viper and Batman the ride; Six Flags Magic Mountain, The Texas Giant; Six Flags over Texas, Magnum XL-200, Mean Streak, and Raptor; Cedar Point, Cyclone; Astroland, Coney Island, The Beast; Paramount's King's Island, Top Gun; Paramount's Great America, Kumba; Busch Gardens, Tampa, Drachen Fire and Big Bad Wolf; Bush Gardnes, Williamsburg, Thunderbolt and The Steel Phantom; Kennywood. Co-hosts Eric Boardman and Lisa Williams act as your guides to the featured amusement parks and for a real-time ride on America's Greatest Roller Coasters. Vital statistics such as speed, length, G-forces, number of inversions and unique, one-of-a-kind features are included for each coaster. You'll also enjoy special interviews with ACE president, Ray Ueberroth and Ron Toomer of Arrow Dynamics, the renowned designer of five of the featured rides.

Customer Reviews

A Great Coaster Video
Yes people have written reviews and said it was not a very good video becuase of all of the wierd color computer animation type thing on the roller coasters so it looks bad but the truth is they noly did that on two coasters in the whole video since no one else listed the coasters on the video I will The Comet, The great Nor'EasterThe Great White, Grizzly, The High Roller, Jack Rabbit, Lochness Monster, Mantis, Montu, Outer Limits Flight of Fear, The Pheonix, The Raven, Timer Wolf, and Wild Thing and out of all of those great coasters only the graet nor' easter and the wild thing have the funny looking computer graphics this is a must have for a coaster lover

For Rollercoaster Fans Only
In my newfound fanaticism of rollercoasters, this is the first rollercoaster video I bought. I have to say that I am satisfied, but people who are not coaster enthusiasts will not be pleased with the video.

The video quality is very inconsistent. When the lighting is right, the resolution of DVD really makes the coasters look good; however, the lighting is far too often lacking, such as when they filmed a coaster at sundown or night, or when they decided to add The Outer Limits to the video (an indoor dark coaster just doesn't show up very well). There also appears to be some glitches (more specifically, a thick line at the bottom of the screen-this could be limited to my copy though), but they are not distracting.

The sound in this video is merely mediocre. It is in stereo, not Dolby Digital, so if you are buying this video as a showcase for your surround-sound system, you will want to pass. The music is decent, and doesn't detract from the experience. The actual sounds of the coasters rolling and the people screaming are well done. Overall, the sound isn't bad, but I would love to hear a coaster roaring by in Dolby Digital 5.1.

The 3D glasses added a little to the video, but not much. They don't really make a difference either way, so it's your call.

The best part of this video is its selection of coasters (I will use brackets [] to separate each coaster): The Comet at Great Escape, Lake George, NY [] The Great Nor'Easter at Morey's Pier, Wildwood, NJ [] The Great White at Morey's Pier, Wildwood, NJ [] Grizzly at Paramount's King's Dominion, Doswell, VA [] The High Roller on the Stratosphere Tower, Las Vegas, NV [] Jack Rabbit at Kennywood, Pittsburgh, PA [] Loch Ness Monster at Busch Gardens, Williamsburg, VA [] Mantis at Cedar Point, Sandusky, OH [] Montu at Busch Gardens, Tampa, FL [] Outer Limits Flight of Fear at Paramount's King's Dominion, Doswell, VA [] The Phoenix at Knoebels, Elysburg, PA [] The Raven at Holiday World, Santa Clause, IN [] Timberwolf at Worlds of Fun, Kansas City, MO [] Wild Thing at Valleyfair, Scakopee MN.

As you can see, the selection is excellent.

My main complaint with this video is the computer effects added to The Great Nor'Easter and Wild Thing. They detract from the experience to the extent that these two on-ride videos are unwatchable. Notwithstanding, the rest of the coasters on the video make up for this flaw and as long as Goldhil doesn't do this again, they are forgiven.

In summary, this DVD is for rollercoaster fans only.

Great 3D DVD
This DVD was great! It shows the top roller coasters in the USA. Great use of 3D effects. Continue the excitement of AMERICA'S GREATEST ROLLER COASTER THRILLS with a new trip to fourteen of the latest and greatest scream machines in the nation. From Busch Gardens in Virginia to the top of the Stratophere Tower in Las Vegas this incredible video puts you in the center of the action.

Get ready to scream on America's Greatest Roller Coaster Thrills in 3D-Volume 2! Your in for the video ride of your life!