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 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.
Anton Schwarzkopf was a German engineer who founded Schwarzkopf Industries GmbH, a German manufacturer of roller coasters and other amusement rides that were sold to amusement parks and travelling funfairs around the world.
Lightwater Valley Family Adventure Park is an adventure park in North Stainley, North Yorkshire, England. The park was once home to Europe's longest roller coaster, The Ultimate.
Southport Pleasureland is an amusement park located in Southport, Merseyside, England. The park originally operated from 1913 to 2006 as Pleasureland Theme Park under the ownership of the Blackpool Pleasure Beach company. In 2007, the park re-opened under the ownership of Norman Wallis.
Oakwood Theme Park is a theme park in Pembrokeshire, Wales.
Frontierland Western Theme Park was a theme park in Morecambe, Lancashire, England, situated on Marine Road West, which operated from 1906 to 7 November 1999, with a final year consisting of only travelling rides in 2000. Frontierland originally operated as West End Amusement Park, Fun City and Morecambe Pleasure Park from 1906 to 1986 before being transformed into Frontierland for the 1987 season, in an attempt to defeat dwindling visitor numbers.
Camelot Theme Park was a resort and theme park located in the English county of Lancashire. The park's theme was the well-known legend of Camelot, and the park decor incorporated pseudo-medieval elements. It was located on a 140-acre site near the village of Charnock Richard, 3 miles (4.8 km) west of Chorley. The site was owned by The Story Group and was operated by Knights Leisure. The park featured many rides, taking a target audience of families and younger children; however, the park also boasted numerous thrill rides and roller coasters, including Whirlwind, Knightmare and Excalibur. On 4 November 2012, Knight’s Leisure announced that they would not be reopening for the season of 2013.
Jetline is a roller coaster at Gröna Lund in Stockholm, Sweden. It had gained worldwide recognition for its curved lift hill, an anomaly amongst roller coasters. It opened in April 1988 as a clone of the Knightmare roller coaster at Camelot Theme Park, England. In 1997 it was modified by Maurer Söhne to have a longer and steeper first drop, adding a tunnel at the bottom of the first drop. Knightmare pulled 5 g while Jetline pulls a more reserved maximum of 4.5 g.
Zierer Karussell- und Spezialmaschinenbau GmbH & Co. KG is a German company located close to Deggendorf. Zierer manufactures ESC and Force line of roller coasters, as well as panoramic wheels, wave swingers, flying carpets, Hexentanz, and Kontiki rides. They have previously manufactured the Tivoli line of coasters, however these have now been discontinued. The company also has partnered with Schwarzkopf to build Lisebergbanan at Liseberg and Knightmare at Camelot Theme Park.
Fantasy Island is a Resort Theme Park located in Ingoldmells on the East Coast of Lincolnshire.
This is a summary of notable incidents that have taken place at various European amusement parks, water parks, or theme parks. This list is not intended to be a comprehensive list of every such event, but only those that have a significant impact on the parks or park owners, or are otherwise significantly newsworthy.
Big Blue is a steel looping roller coaster, located at Dalmaland, Croatia, and operating there since 2017. It was formerly located at Loudoun Castle Theme Park in Galston, south-west Scotland, where it was known as Twist n'Shout; operating from 2003 to 2010.
Infusion is an inverted steel roller coaster at Pleasure Beach Resort, Lancashire, England. It is a 689m standard "Mark 3" model Vekoma Suspended Looping Coaster (SLC) and the first to be suspended entirely over water.
Clown Coaster is a children's steel coaster manufactured by Pinfari that opened at Wicksteed Park in Kettering, Northamptonshire, in October 2011. It previously operated in the Beaver Creek section of Pleasure Beach Blackpool from 1995 to 2008 as Circus Clown. The theming of the ride was a ride through a circus with Morgan the Clown. Prior to relocating to Pleasure Beach, Circus Clown operated for a season at Harbour Park.
Loudoun Castle was a theme park set around the ruins of the 19th century Loudoun Castle near Galston, in the Loudoun area of Ayrshire, Scotland, United Kingdom. The park opened in 1995, and closed at the end of the 2010 season. The park's mascot was Rory the Lion.
Pleasure Beach Resort, formerly known as Blackpool Pleasure Beach, is an amusement park situated on Blackpool's South Shore, in the county of Lancashire, North West England. The park was founded in 1896 by A. W. G. Bean and his partner John Outhwaite. The current managing director is Amanda Thompson.
The Big Sheep is an amusement farm park located in Abbotsham, Devon, England.
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.
Wicker Man is a wooden roller coaster at Alton Towers theme park in Staffordshire, United Kingdom. Manufactured by Great Coasters International, the £16-million ride opened to the public on 20 March 2018 following a three-day weather delay. It set several milestones among wooden coasters including the first to be built in the UK in 22 years and the first to incorporate fire. Initially codenamed "Secret Weapon 8", a traditional naming scheme for major upcoming projects at Alton Towers, its official name was revealed in January 2018.
Runaway Tram is a steel family roller coaster located on Morey's Piers' Surfside Pier in North Wildwood, New Jersey. The attraction replaced the aging Flitzer roller coaster and required the reconfiguration of several rides on the pier and represented a total investment of $4 million. Runaway Tram spoofs the Wildwood Sightseer Tramcar, a local yellow-and-blue trackless train service.
