Phaethon () is a
steel
Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistant ty ...
inverted roller coaster at
Gyeongju World
Gyeongju World () is a theme park in Gyeongju, Gyeongsangbuk-do, South Korea. Gyeongju World is composed of "X-Zone," "Snow Sled Garden," and "Wizard Garden." The X-Zone has rides such as the Phaethon, the Megadrop, the Tornado, and the Explorat ...
in
South Korea, which opened in May 5, 2007 to commemorate
Children's Day and to renovate Gyeongju World to boost tourism. The coaster has been initially announced in 2006. It is
South Korea's first
inverted roller coaster. Phaethon is the fifth fastest, third tallest, and third longest roller coaster in South Korea, and has the most inversions on a South Korean rollercoaster as well as the third most inversions in
Asia.
History
In 2006, Gyeongju World initially announced that a
inverted coaster would open around June the next year as part of a plan to expand Gyeongju World after reaching its 20th anniversary. The expansion was calculated to increase the number of visitors to Gyeongju World to around 1.3 million people per year.
15 billion
South Korean won
The Korean Republic won, unofficially the South Korean won ( Symbol: ₩; Code: KRW; Korean: 대한민국 원) is the official currency of South Korea. A single won is divided into 100 jeon, the monetary subunit. The jeon is no longer used f ...
were invested in constructing this coaster.
Phaethon opened in May 5, 2007 at
Gyeongju World
Gyeongju World () is a theme park in Gyeongju, Gyeongsangbuk-do, South Korea. Gyeongju World is composed of "X-Zone," "Snow Sled Garden," and "Wizard Garden." The X-Zone has rides such as the Phaethon, the Megadrop, the Tornado, and the Explorat ...
.
It was created to commemorate
Children's Day in South Korea.
Prior to
T Express's opening, it was the tallest, fastest and longest roller coaster in South Korea.
Characteristics
The coaster starts with a 90 degree turn to the left leading to the initial lift hill After coming across the pre-drop, the coaster goes through a drop which spirals 90 degrees to the left, followed by a vertical loop. The next inversion is a zero-g-roll, followed by a cobra roll over the pathway leading to the entrance. After the cobra roll, the riders go through a 360 degree helix over the entrance to the coaster. After the helix comes the first corkscrew followed by another corkscrew, and a 540 degree helix all leading up to the final brakes. Phaethon's layout is similar to that of
Raptor
Raptor or RAPTOR may refer to:
Animals
The word "raptor" refers to several groups of bird-like dinosaurs which primarily capture and subdue/kill prey with their talons.
* Raptor (bird) or bird of prey, a bird that primarily hunts and feeds on v ...
, a roller coaster in
Ohio,
United States.
Phaethon has 2 cars and 8 cars per train, with riders arranged 4 across per row, thus seating 32 people per train.
It is 3280.8ft long and 147.7ft tall, and it has a speed of 55.9mph. Phaethon has six
inversions and runs for 2 minutes and 20 seconds.
Phaethon is the fifth fastest
and third tallest
and third longest
rollercoaster in South Korea. It also has the most number of inversions in a South Korean rollercoaster, and is the first inverted rollercoaster in South Korea.
Phaethon also has the third most inversions on a rollercoaster in Asia.
Incidents
On June 16, 2023, Phaethon stopped operating temporarily due to a power outage at Gyeongju World.
References
External links
*
{{Roller coasters in South Korea
Roller coasters in South Korea
Roller coasters introduced in 2007
Inverted roller coasters manufactured by Bolliger & Mabillard