A roller coaster, or rollercoaster, is a type of amusement ride that employs a form of elevated railroad track designed with tight turns, steep slopes, and sometimes inversions. Passengers ride along the track in open cars, and the rides are often found in amusement parks and theme parks around the world. LaMarcus Adna Thompson obtained one of the first known patents for a roller coaster design in 1885, related to the Switchback Railway that opened a year earlier at Coney Island. The track in a coaster design does not necessarily have to be a complete circuit, as shuttle roller coasters demonstrate. Most roller coasters have multiple cars in which passengers sit and are restrained. Two or more cars hooked together are called a train. Some roller coasters, notably Wild Mouse roller coasters, run with single cars.
Bitter Lake is a neighborhood in Seattle, Washington, United States, named after its most notable feature, Bitter Lake. It was a mostly natural forest of Douglas-fir and Western Redcedar, inhabited by Native Americans, until the late 19th century. Development especially picked up when the Seattle-to-Everett Interurban streetcar reached the lake in 1906. A sawmill operated in the area until 1913, when most of the trees had been cut down.
Playland, often called Rye Playland and also known as Playland Amusement Park, is an amusement park located in Rye, New York, along the Long Island Sound. Built in 1928, the 280-acre (110 ha) park is owned by the Westchester County government. Beginning with the 2018 season, Standard Amusements LLC has been contracted to operate the park.
Playland Amusement Park is an amusement park in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The amusement park is located at Hastings Park and is operated by the Pacific National Exhibition (PNE), an organization that hosts an annual summer fair and exhibition adjacent to Playland. Playland opened at its current location in 1958, although its predecessor, Happyland, operated at Hastings Park from 1929 to 1957. Playland was formally made a division of the PNE in 1993.
Beech Bend is an amusement park, campground and automobile race track located in Warren County, in the U.S. state of Kentucky, just outside the limits of the city of Bowling Green.
Camden Park is a twenty-six acre amusement park located near Huntington, West Virginia. Established in 1903 as a picnic spot by the Camden Interstate Railway Company, it is one of only thirteen trolley parks that remain open in the United States. Whereas most trolley parks were located at the end of trolley lines, Camden Park is unusual in that it was built where riders traveling between Huntington and nearby cities would stop to change lines. Not long after opening, the park soon gained a carousel and other roadside attractions. Camden Park is West Virginia's only amusement park. The park is home to more than thirty rides and attractions, including a full-size traditional wooden roller coaster, the Big Dipper, and several other vintage rides.
Bocaraca is a steel roller coaster located at Parque de Diversiones Dr. Roberto Ortiz Brenes in San José, Costa Rica. It is a standard production model Vekoma Whirlwind double corkscrew roller coaster, featuring a 64-foot (20 m) lift hill, and a pair of corkscrews separated by a turn. Overall track length is 1,184 feet (361 m). Borcaraca previously operated at Knoebels Amusement Resort from 1993 to 2004 as Whirlwind and before that, it opened at Playland in 1984, operating there until 1992 under the name Whirlwind as well. The ride opened at Knoebels in 1993, replacing the Jet Star. The Whirlwind was removed after the 2004 season due to space constraints at Knoebels. After being removed, the ride was moved to Parque de Diversiones where it opened in 2005, and still operates there to this day. While at Knoebels and Playland, the coaster was the only Vekoma corkscrew coaster in the US to feature two separate corkscrew elements, as opposed to a double corkscrew.
Playland Park was an amusement park formerly located at 2222 North Alamo in San Antonio, Texas. Playland Park opened in 1943 and was owned by Jimmy Johnson. Prior to this it operated as a small venue at Brackenridge Park ca. 1942. It was the original home of The Rocket, a popular wooden roller coaster. Ed Gaida, who lived at Playland Park and had access to records and archives, wrote a book about the park and Johnson.
The Allan Herschell Company specialized in the creation of amusement rides, particularly carousels and roller coasters. The company manufactured portable machines that could be used by traveling carnival operators. It was started in 1915 in the town of North Tonawanda, just outside Buffalo, New York, USA.
Playland was a 10-acre (40,000 m2) seaside amusement park located next to Ocean Beach, in the Richmond District at the western edge of San Francisco, California, along Great Highway, bounded by Balboa and Fulton streets. It began as a collection of amusement rides and concessions in the late 19th century, and was preceded by Chutes at the Beach, opened in 1921. Playland closed Labor Day weekend in 1972.
Joyland Amusement Park was an amusement park in Wichita, Kansas, United States. It was in continuous operation for 55 years, from June 12, 1949 to 2004, closing permanently in 2006. It was once the largest theme park in central Kansas and featured a wooden roller coaster and 15 other rides.
Rockaways' Playland was an amusement park that operated from 1902 to 1987 in Rockaway Beach in Queens, New York City. Bounded by Beach 97th and Beach 98th Streets between Rockaway Beach Boulevard and the Rockaway Beach and Boardwalk, Rockaways' Playland was created in 1902 by roller coaster designer LaMarcus Adna Thompson. By 1903 a ferry dock was added not far from the park, making it more convenient to reach than some of the competing amusement parks. The park was sold in 1927 to Robert Katlin who added amenities such as a gym and swimming pool, and the following year to A. Joseph Geist who achieved greater success than the previous owners. Between 1928 and 1970, Rockaways' Playland was extremely successful, drawing 175 million visitors. It closed in 1987 due to a sharp increase in the price of insurance.
Galaxi is the common name of a series of mass-produced roller coasters manufactured primarily by Italian company S.D.C, which went bankrupt in 1993. The roller coaster design was first used in the 1970s, and as of 2009, sixteen Galaxi coasters are still in park-based operation, across the North American, European, and Australian continents, with another two "Standing But Not Operating". At least 37 amusement parks are or have previously operated Galaxi coasters; this does not include those owned by funfairs and traveling ride companies.
The Dragon Coaster is a wooden roller coaster at Playland amusement park in Rye, New York. Opened in 1929, it was designed and built by amusement ride creator Frederick Church, the co-inventor of the Racing Derby, another early 20th century amusement park ride. The Dragon Coaster has approximately 3,400 feet of track and is, at its highest, approximately 80 feet tall. There is a tunnel along its span, a common feature of wooden roller coasters from the 1920s, that resembles the body and open mouth of a dragon. It was featured in the film Fatal Attraction, Mariah Carey's music video "Fantasy", and Big, starring Tom Hanks. The Dragon Coaster is still in operation.
Flitzer was a steel roller coaster on the Surfside Pier in the amusement park Morey's Piers. The Flitzer was 1 of the 3 small coasters at Morey's Piers. It opened in 1983 and was manufactured by Zierer in 1969. In 2018, it was announced that the Flitzer would close for good after September 23, 2018. Due to weather, the send off for the ride was postponed to September 30, 2018. A roller coaster called Runaway Tram replaced the Flitzer in 2019. Three of the Flitzer's ride vehicles are now at Runaway Tram's entrance.
RC Racer is a steel shuttle roller coaster operating at Walt Disney Studios Park in France, Hong Kong Disneyland, and Shanghai Disneyland. Manufactured by Intamin, the ride is part of the Toy Story Playland in France, Toy Story Land in Hong Kong, and Toy Story Land in Shanghai. The ride in France opened on August 17, 2010, while the Hong Kong installation opened on November 17, 2011, and the Shanghai ride opened on April 26, 2018. This is the second roller coaster in Hong Kong Disneyland and Shanghai Disneyland, and the third roller coaster in Walt Disney Studios Park.
Palace Playland is a seasonal amusement park located in Old Orchard Beach, Maine. It has operated on the same site since 1902.
Toboggan is a portable roller coaster that was built by Chance Industries from 1969 to the mid-1970s. The coaster features a small vehicle, holding two people, that climbs vertically inside a hollow steel tower then spirals back down around the same tower. There is a small section of track at the base of the tower with a few small dips and two turns to bring the ride vehicle back to the station. Each vehicle has a single rubber tire with a hydraulic clutch braking system that governs the speed of the vehicle as it descends the tower. The rubber tire engages a center rail that begins halfway through the first spiral. The ride stands 45 feet tall with a track length of 450 feet. A typical ride lasts approximately 70 seconds.
Frederick A. Church (1878–1936) was an American engineer and early roller coaster designer. He is most famous for his "Bobs" series of roller coasters that featured severe banking, steep drops, and nonstop action.
Playland Park was an amusement park located in Houston, Texas operating between 1940 and 1967. Louis Slusky opened Playland Park circa 1940 at 9200 South Main. It is popularly remembered for its wooden roller coaster, The Skyrocket. Texas' first elevated monorail train (1956) briefly operated near the park. Next to the park was an adjoining stock-car race track known as Playland Speedway. Slusky also facilitated the miniature children’s train located in Houston’s Hermann Park. This train may have originated from Playland Park. Playland Park closed in 1967.
