`AIR' APPARENT; YOUNG ROLLER-COASTER FANATIC OPENS VIRTUAL AMUSEMENT PARK.

Byline: Heesun Wee Daily News Staff Writer

If 12-year-old Randy Hallford had a couple of billion dollars, he would build a humongous castle-shaped roller coaster in the desert.

To get on the ride, you'd cross a lowered drawbridge as live alligators smacked their jaws in a stream below. The ride would begin all innocent, then - BAM! - turn wicked. You'd scream and suck in your breath as you barreled down drops, careened across nearly 90-degree banked turns, swooshed through several awesome loops and floated in lots of ``air time.''

``Do you know what that is?'' he asked, abruptly interrupting his breathless monologue. ``Your butt flies off the seat.''

This is Randy's dream.

But the Woodland Hills seventh-grader does more than fantasize about roller coasters.

He's designed hundreds of his own rides on computer.

He's set up several Web sites, including Randy's Coaster World at www.roller-coasters.com/rcw/.

He's had a season pass to Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia for two years and visits at least every other weekend.

He's building a self-designed roller coaster model - made of Popsicle sticks - on his patio.

He's even shopped around for used roller coasters. ``I got them down to $15,000,'' said Randy, although his parents didn't bite.

So, of course, Randy will be at Magic Mountain today when its newest ride, Riddler's Revenge, opens to the public.

By many measures, Randy is, in fact, an average suburban boy. He enjoys in-line skating and riding his bicycle. School, he said, is ``boring.'' He has hit puberty. Just listen to his high-pitched voice crack.

But Randy's life changed in 1996 when he stepped into his first roller coaster car on the Viper ride at Magic Mountain. He was a bit nervous and scared, he confessed. But that's the point of roller coasters - paying money to be petrified.

``It's a few minutes of terror, fun and excitement, and you're just thinking about that,'' he said. ``Then I said, `Why not try everything?' ''

He did, repeatedly.

Randy has road-tested two other theme parks - Disneyland and Knott's Berry Farm. The Viper, however, remains his favorite ride. It features high loops, ripping turns and a ``wonderful G force.''

``It's a variety of everything,'' he said.

While most of the general public is learning about Riddler's Revenge for the first time this week, Randy has known about the new ride for months. His mole? The Internet.

Randy logs on and scrolls through Web sites devoted to roller coaster trivia. He says it's not uncommon for theme park employees working on a new ride to post construction updates on the Internet, right down to how much track is installed daily.

``Rumors on the Internet are actually pretty accurate. Employees spill their guts out,'' Randy said.

And it's through the Internet that roller coaster buffs like Randy keep abreast of the mightiest rides - the fastest, tallest, the one with the highest loop. ``It's called the coaster war,'' Randy said. Riddler's Revenge, for example, is 156 feet high, edging out the 154-foo-high Chang in Kentucky by a mere 2 feet.

But the coaster war is far from over. This year alone, more than 60 roller coasters are expected to debut in parks around the world, including 33 in North America, according to Paul L. Ruben, North American editor for the international trade magazine Park World.

We've come a long way from roller coasters' roots in 16th-century Russia when entrepreneurs constructed ice slides. People sat on sleds back then and plunged down ice-covered ramps.

Randy's - and everybody else's - standards are literally much higher now. Computers have upped the ante. What's in store for thrill-seekers is anyone's guess. Maybe the answer lies in a 12-year-old's imagination.

``I thought he'd get burnt out on it,'' said Randy's father, Sandy Hallford, a general contractor.

Not a chance.

Although Randy spends a lot of time and energy creating rides, he aspires to become an engineer and build them. ``Designing is kind of boring. You just sit at a desk and imagine what it will look like,'' Randy said.

For now, Randy is content to show you one of his designs. Using a computer program, you can ``ride'' each of his creations.

Randy clicked the mouse several times until the computer screen filled with a mock ride control panel. Ominous-looking hills and turns of the roller coaster awaited below.

Click. ``Here we go.''

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Photo

Photo: Randy Hallford dreams of building roller coasters someday, and he's getting a head start with a model made from Popsicle sticks.

Myung J. Chun/Daily News