The launched roller coaster is a modern form of roller coaster. A launched coaster initiates a ride with high amounts of acceleration via one or a series of linear induction motors (LIM), linear synchronous motors (LSM), catapults, tires, chains, or other mechanisms employing hydraulic or pneumatic power, along a launch track. This mode of acceleration powers many of the fastest roller coasters in the world.
Wild Thing is a hypercoaster located at Valleyfair. It is an out and back roller coaster with more than one mile (1.6 km) of track. Its first hill is 207 feet (63 m) with a 60 degree drop, and the roller coaster reaches speeds of up to 74 mph (119 km/h). Wild Thing's height was set by the Federal Aviation Administration due to the nearby presence of Flying Cloud Airport.
Wicked Twister was an inverted roller coaster located at Cedar Point amusement park in Sandusky, Ohio, United States. Designed by Werner Stengel, it was a second-generation, double-twisting Impulse model manufactured by Intamin. Wicked Twister opened as the tallest and fastest inverted coaster in the world on May 5, 2002. It was retired by the park on September 6, 2021, closed on September 7, and gave over 16 million rides during its lifetime.
Steel Force is a steel roller coaster located at Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom in Allentown, Pennsylvania. At 5,600 feet (1,700 m) in length, Steel Force is the eighth-longest steel coaster in the world as of 2024.
Hydra the Revenge, or simply Hydra, is a steel Floorless Coaster at Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Manufactured by Bolliger & Mabillard, the coaster opened to the public on May 7, 2005. Hydra was built on the site of the former wooden coaster Hercules, which was closed and demolished at the end of the park's 2003 season. The ride's name comes from the Greek story where Hercules battled the Lernaean Hydra.
Talon is an inverted roller coaster located at Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Manufactured by Bolliger & Mabillard (B&M) and designed by Werner Stengel at a cost of $13 million, Talon opened to the public in 2001 and was marketed as the tallest and longest inverted coaster in the Northeast. It stands 135-foot (41 m) tall, reaches a maximum speed of 58 mph (93 km/h), and features four inversions.
Thunderhawk is a wooden roller coaster with an out-and-back layout located at Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Originally opening as The Coaster in 1924, Thunderhawk is the oldest operating roller coaster in the Cedar Fair chain, and one of the oldest in the world still in operation. It was manufactured by Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters (PTC) and designed by Herbert Paul Schmeck.
Hercules was a wooden roller coaster located at Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Manufactured by the Dinn Corporation and designed by Curtis D. Summers, the roller coaster opened to the public on May 6, 1989. It set a world record for the longest drop on a wooden coaster at 151 feet (46 m), surpassing the previous record of 147 feet (45 m) set by American Eagle at Six Flags Great America in 1981. Hercules was the third wooden coaster to be constructed at the park.
Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom is an American amusement and water park located in Dorneyville, Pennsylvania, outside Allentown. Owned and operated by Six Flags Entertainment Corporation, the park features 64 rides, including eight roller coasters, several thrill rides and kiddie rides, and a waterpark, Wildwater Kingdom, with 19 water rides.
This is a summary of notable incidents that have taken place at amusement parks, water parks, or theme parks that are currently owned or operated by Six Flags. This list is not intended to be a comprehensive list of every such event, but only those that had a significant impact on the parks or park operations, or are otherwise significantly newsworthy. The term incidents refers to major accidents, injuries, or deaths that occur at a park. These incidents were required to be reported to regulatory authorities due to where they occurred. They usually fall into one of the following categories:
- Negligence on the part of the guest, such as refusal to follow specific ride safety instructions.
- A guest deliberately breaking park rules.
- A guest's known, or unknown, health issues.
- Negligence on the part of the park, either by a ride operator or maintenance staff.
- Negligence on the part of the attraction's manufacturer
- An Act of God or a generic accident that is not a direct result of an action or inaction on anybody's part.
The Dive Coaster is a steel roller coaster model developed and engineered by Bolliger & Mabillard. The design features one or more near-vertical drops that are approximately 90 degrees, which provide a moment of free-falling for passengers. The experience is enhanced by unique trains that seat up to ten riders per row, spanning only two or three rows total. Unlike traditional train design, this distinguishing aspect gives all passengers virtually the same experience throughout the course of the ride. Another defining characteristic of Dive Coasters is the holding brake at the top of the lift hill that holds the train momentarily right as it enters the first drop, suspending some passengers with a view looking straight down and releasing suddenly moments later.
Turbo Drop is a model of tower-based amusement ride manufactured by S&S - Sansei Technologies, similar to the company's Space Shot.
The Freefall is an amusement ride developed by Giovanola and marketed throughout the world by Swiss company, Intamin.
Silver Bullet is a western-themed steel inverted roller coaster designed by Bolliger & Mabillard located at Knott's Berry Farm, an amusement park in Buena Park, California. The $16 million roller coaster was announced on December 1, 2003 and opened on December 7, 2004. A first rider auction was also held where people would bid on seats to be the first riders. The track is approximately 3,125 feet (952 m) long and the lift hill is about 146 feet (45 m) tall. The ride lasts two minutes and thirty seconds and features six inversions including a vertical loop, cobra roll, zero-g roll, and two corkscrews.
Possessed is an inverted impulse launched roller coaster located at Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Manufactured by Intamin and designed by Werner Stengel, the roller coaster originally debuted at Six Flags Ohio amusement park as Superman: Ultimate Escape on May 5, 2000. After Cedar Fair purchased the park and restored its Geauga Lake name in early 2004, the coaster was immediately renamed Steel Venom. The ride closed in 2006 and was moved to Dorney Park. It reopened in 2008 briefly under the name Voodoo, and was renamed Possessed for the 2009 season. The model is identical to five other impulse coaster installations at other amusement parks. A larger version called Wicked Twister was located at Cedar Point until its closure in September 2021.
Invertigo is the name of an inverted shuttle roller coaster model developed and manufactured by Dutch company Vekoma. Four roller coasters based on this model were built, with the first installation opening in 1997 as HangOver at Liseberg amusement park located in Sweden. Three of the four are still in operation. Invertigo is designed as an inverted variation of their traditional Boomerang model, which first appeared in 1984. Invertigo's seat configuration is also a departure from its predecessor, in that riders sit back-to-back, resulting in all rows facing one another with the exception of the first and last.
Teststrecke, meaning Test Track in German, is a portable steel roller coaster owned by the German showman partnership Meyer & Rosenzweig. It was imported from Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom in 2008 and mostly tours in Germany, with occasional visits to the Netherlands.
An Impulse roller coaster is a form of a launched inverted roller coaster manufactured by Intamin. The first Impulse roller coaster appeared in Japan, and the ride type has since evolved to include four specific layouts, three of these varieties being built in the United States. It uses LIMs to launch a train out of the station and up a vertical spiral. The train then falls backward, is powered again through the station, and heads up a back tower. The train then falls forward, and continues in this fashion for a total of 2½ cycles per ride. On the final forward launch, with a slightly reduced speed, the train is sent up the front tower, and brakes then deploy on the launch track. The train then slows down and heads back into the station.
WindSeeker is a 301-foot-tall (92 m) swing ride at several Six Flags parks. The rides are Wind Seeker models manufactured by Mondial. They opened for the 2011 season at Canada's Wonderland in Ontario, Cedar Point and Kings Island in Ohio, and Knott's Berry Farm in California. Carowinds in North Carolina and Kings Dominion in Virginia opened their WindSeekers in 2012. The first four each cost US$5 million, while the remaining two each cost $6.5 million. Cedar Fair relocated the Knott's Berry Farm WindSeeker to Worlds of Fun in 2014, where it reopened as SteelHawk.
Dominator is a thrill ride located at Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom in Allentown, Pennsylvania. It was manufactured by S&S Power and opened on May 8, 1999.
