A phobia is an anxiety disorder, defined by an irrational, unrealistic, persistent and excessive fear of an object or situation. Phobias typically result in a rapid onset of fear and are usually present for more than six months. Those affected go to great lengths to avoid the situation or object, to a degree greater than the actual danger posed. If the object or situation cannot be avoided, they experience significant distress. Other symptoms can include fainting, which may occur in blood or injury phobia, and panic attacks, often found in agoraphobia and emetophobia. Around 75% of those with phobias have multiple phobias.
Specific phobia is an anxiety disorder, characterized by an extreme, unreasonable, and irrational fear associated with a specific object, situation, or concept which poses little or no actual danger. Specific phobia can lead to avoidance of the object or situation, persistence of the fear, and significant distress or problems functioning associated with the fear. A phobia can be the fear of anything.
A roller coaster is a type of amusement ride employing a form of elevated railroad track that carries passengers on a train through tight turns, steep slopes, and other elements usually designed to produce a thrilling experience. Trains consist of open cars connected in a single line, and the rides are often found in theme parks around the world. Roller coasters first appeared in the 17th century, and LaMarcus Adna Thompson obtained one of the first known patents for a roller coaster design in 1885, based on the Switchback Railway which opened a year earlier at Coney Island.
RollerCoaster Tycoon is a series of construction and management simulation games about building and managing an amusement park. Each game in the series challenges players with open-ended amusement park management and development, and allowing players to construct and customize their own unique roller coasters and other thrill rides.
Nitro is a steel roller coaster located at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson Township, New Jersey. Manufactured by Bolliger & Mabillard, the Hyper Coaster model opened to the public on April 7, 2001. Since its debut, Nitro has consistently ranked high among steel coasters in the annual Golden Ticket Awards from Amusement Today, peaking in third place during its tenure.
Intamin Amusement Rides is a design and manufacturing company in Schaan, Liechtenstein, best-known for designing and constructing thrill rides and roller coasters at dozens of international theme parks, amusement parks and other establishments. The Intamin brand name is a syllabic abbreviation for "international amusement installations". The company has corporate offices across the world, including three in Europe, three in Asia, and two in the United States.
RollerCoaster Tycoon 2 is a 2002 construction and management simulation game developed by Chris Sawyer and published by Infogrames Interactive. Released for Windows as the sequel to RollerCoaster Tycoon, the game simulates the management of amusement parks.
Apollo's Chariot is a steel roller coaster at the Busch Gardens Williamsburg amusement park in James City County, Virginia, United States. The ride was the first Hyper Coaster designed by Swiss firm Bolliger & Mabillard. It officially opened to the public on March 27, 1999. This coaster is themed to the Greek and Roman god Apollo, who is the god of the sun, music, and healing. Apollo used his chariot to control the directions of the sun.
Nemesis Reborn, previously Nemesis, is an inverted roller coaster located at the Alton Towers theme park in Staffordshire, England. It was manufactured by Bolliger & Mabillard (B&M) and designed by Werner Stengel, from a concept by park developer John Wardley. It opened in the Forbidden Valley area of the park on 19 March 1994.
Galactica is a flying roller coaster located in the Forbidden Valley area of Alton Towers amusement park in Staffordshire, England. It originally opened as Air on 16 March 2002 and is the first flying coaster manufactured by Bolliger & Mabillard. Guests ride in a prone position, meant to produce the feeling of flight, as the train passes close to the ground, under footpaths, and narrowly past trees and rocks. The ride was refurbished for the 2016 season and reopened as Galactica. It features an 840-metre-long (920 yd) track and reaches a maximum speed of 75 km/h.
Goliath is a steel roller coaster located at Six Flags Magic Mountain amusement park in Valencia, California. Manufactured by Giovanola of Switzerland, the hypercoaster is located in the Goliath Plaza section of the park and opened to the public on February 11, 2000. Its sub-tropical theme is characterized by ancient ruins of the Mayan civilization. The ride is nearly identical to Titan at Six Flags Over Texas, but it lacks a 540-degree upward helix prior to the mid-course brake run and features a slightly shorter track layout.
Renegade is a wooden roller coaster at Valleyfair in Shakopee, Minnesota, that was designed by Great Coasters International. It was one of the first coasters built by Great Coasters International to use their Millennium Flyer trains, which are designed to give a smoother ride. Renegade's layout is a combination of an out-and-back and a twister roller coaster.
In psychology, desensitization is a treatment or process that diminishes emotional responsiveness to a negative, aversive, or positive stimulus after repeated exposure. Desensitization can also occur when an emotional response is repeatedly evoked when the action tendency associated with the emotion proves irrelevant or unnecessary. The process of desensitization was developed by psychologist Mary Cover Jones and is primarily used to assist individuals in unlearning phobias and anxieties. Desensitization is a psychological process where a response is repeatedly elicited in circumstances where the emotion's propensity for action is irrelevant. Joseph Wolpe (1958) developed a method of a hierarchal list of anxiety-evoking stimuli in order of intensity, which allows individuals to undergo adaptation. Although medication is available for individuals with anxiety, fear, or phobias, empirical evidence supports desensitization with high rates of cure, particularly in clients with depression or schizophrenia. Wolpe's "reciprocal inhibition" desensitization process is based on well-known psychology theories such as Hull's "drive-reduction" theory and Sherrington's concept of "reciprocal inhibition." Individuals are gradually exposed to anxiety triggers while using relaxation techniques to reduce anxiety. It is an effective treatment for anxiety disorders.
Gerstlauer Amusement Rides GmbH is a German manufacturer of stationary and transportable amusement rides and roller coasters, located in Münsterhausen, Germany. As of May 2024, all 113 Gerstlauer-made rollercoasters are still in operation and at their original park, apart from Seifenkiste at Trampolino Familien- und Freizeitpark, which is currently in storage, and Pandemonium at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, which now operates at Six Flags Mexico under the name of Joker.
Immersion therapy is a psychological technique which allows a patient to overcome fears (phobias), but can be used for anxiety and panic disorders.
T Express is a wooden roller coaster at the Everland theme park in Yongin, South Korea. T Express opened on March 14, 2008, in the European Adventure section of the park, and is themed after a small town in the Alps. The coaster was constructed by Intamin, a Swiss manufacturing company, and designed by Ing.-Büro Stengel GmbH, a German roller coaster design facility. In April 2024, parts of its track underwent a steel retracking.
US Thrill Rides was an entertainment design and consulting company in Orlando, Florida. It was best known for creating thrill rides in several US locations, hence its name.
Energylandia is an amusement park located in Zator, Lesser Poland, in southern Poland. It is approximately 50 kilometres (31 mi) away from Kraków and 335 kilometres (208 mi) away from Warsaw, Poland's capital city. Energylandia is the largest amusement park in the country, at 70 hectares. The park has one of the highest roller coaster counts of any theme park in the world.
A virtual reality roller coaster is a special kind of amusement park ride attraction, consisting of a roller coaster facility or ride that can be experienced with virtual reality headsets. The setup has been widely said to have been invented by Thomas Wagner, who has also produced most of the worldwide installations with his company VR Coaster GmbH & Co. KG since late 2015. The concept of a "virtual reality" coaster was tested first in 2004 with the Galaxie Express at Space Park Bremen in Bremen, Germany. Since then, several theme parks all over the world have been adapting this technology to extend their existing coaster facilities.
