The Joker (Six Flags Discovery Kingdom)

Roar
Statistics
Location	Six Flags Discovery Kingdom
Manufacturer	Great Coasters International (original) Rocky Mountain Construction (rebuild)
Height	95 feet
Top speed	51 mph
Inversions	3
Opened	1999 (original) 2016 (rebuild)

The Joker, formerly known as Roar is a hybrid roller coaster located at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom in Vallejo, California. When it opened as Roar, it was the first GCI coaster to use Millennium Flyer trains.

History

Roar was a roller coaster at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom constructed by Great Coasters International. When it debuted on May 14, 1999, Roar was the park's first wooden roller coaster and one of its first rides overall during the transition of adding amusement park rides to the marine mammal park. The coaster featured a height of 94 feet (29 m), a first drop of 85 feet (26 m) and a top speed of 50 mph (80 km/h).

In July 2015, Six Flags announced plans to permanently close Roar on August 16, 2015. On September 3, 2015, the park revealed plans to resurrect and convert Roar into a steel-tracked coaster called The Joker for the 2016 season. Rocky Mountain Construction was contracted to perform the renovation using the company's patented I-Box steel track technology married to the existing wooden support structure. The wood-steel hybrid was designed to incorporate three inversions, including a new element described as a "step-up under-flip inverted roll", and it also received new trains themed to the Joker comic book character.

Based on the success of previous roller coaster conversions in its partnership with Rocky Mountain Construction, Six Flags anticipated that Roar would benefit from the overhaul and transition into The Joker. Discovery Kingdom held a soft opening, a media preview event for The Joker, on May 25, 2016. The roller coaster was well-received and opened for Memorial Day Weekend on May 29, 2016.