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.
A steel roller coaster is a roller coaster that is defined by having a track made of steel. Steel coasters have earned immense popularity in the past 50 years throughout the world. Incorporating tubular steel track and polyurethane-coated wheels, the steel roller coasters can provide a taller, smoother, and faster ride with more inversions than a traditional wooden roller coaster.
Top Thrill 2, formerly known as Top Thrill Dragster, is an upcoming launched roller coaster at Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio, United States. Originally manufactured by Intamin and designed by Werner Stengel, Top Thrill Dragster opened in 2003 as the tallest and fastest roller coaster in the world, as well as the first strata coaster. It debuted with a height of 420 feet (130 m), a maximum speed of 120 mph (190 km/h), and a total track length of 2,800 feet (850 m). Its speed and height records were surpassed in 2005 by Kingda Ka at Six Flags Great Adventure.
Valleyfair is a 125-acre (51 ha) amusement park in Shakopee, Minnesota, United States. Owned by Cedar Fair, the park opened in 1976 and now features over 75 rides and attractions including eight roller coasters. Valleyfair also has a water park called Soak City which is included with the price of admission. Cedar Point and Valleyfair were the first two parks in the Cedar Fair chain and a combination of the park names – "cedar" and "fair" – were used to name the company.
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.
Millennium Force is a steel roller coaster located at Cedar Point amusement park in Sandusky, Ohio. Manufactured by Intamin, it was the park's fourteenth roller coaster when it opened in 2000, dating back to the opening of Blue Streak in 1964. Upon completion, Millennium Force broke five world records and was the world's first giga coaster, a term coined by Intamin and Cedar Point to represent roller coasters that exceed 300 feet (91 m) in height. It was briefly the tallest and fastest in the world until Steel Dragon 2000 opened later the same year. The ride is also the third-longest roller coaster in North America following The Beast at Kings Island and Fury 325 at Carowinds.
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.
Space Shot is a type of amusement ride manufactured by S&S - Sansei Technologies.
The Giant Drop is a drop tower ride located at the Dreamworld theme park on the Gold Coast, Australia. Manufactured by Intamin, the ride was added in December 1998 to the existing Dreamworld Tower which housed the Tower of Terror. For fourteen years, The Giant Drop held the record for the tallest drop tower in the world.
The Tower of Terror II was a steel shuttle roller coaster located at the Dreamworld amusement park on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. When the Tower of Terror opened on 23 January 1997, it was the first roller coaster in the world to reach 100 miles per hour (160 km/h), making it the tallest and fastest roller coaster in the world of its time. The ride was situated on the Dreamworld Tower, which also houses The Giant Drop free fall ride. The ride was originally known as the Tower of Terror until it was modified and relaunched in September 2010 as Tower of Terror II.
Turbo Drop is a model of tower-based amusement ride manufactured by S&S - Sansei Technologies, similar to the company's Space Shot.
Supreme Scream is a Turbo Drop amusement ride located at Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, CA.
Drop Tower, formerly known as Drop Zone: Stunt Tower, is the name of five drop tower amusement rides located at Cedar Fair amusement parks in the United States and Canada. Each installation varies in size and capacity.
Superman: Tower of Power is a drop tower ride currently located at two Six Flags parks, and two former installments at Kentucky Kingdom and Six Flags St. Louis. Two of the four drop towers were manufactured by Intamin, while the Six Flags Over Georgia version was made by Zamperla, and the Six Flags Over Texas version was made by S&S. The installment at Kentucky Kingdom was demolished after an accident that severed a 13-year-old girl's feet. At Six Flags St. Louis, the ride was removed from the park's website in early 2021. Three additional drop towers of the same model by S&S are installed at other Six Flags parks Six Flags New England and Six Flags Fiesta Texas, each known as Scream and one more built at Six Flags Great Escape and Hurricane Harbor known as Sasquatch.
SkyScreamer is an amusement ride located at several Six Flags theme parks in North America. Designed by Funtime, an Austrian ride manufacturer, the attraction is one of their "Star Flyer" models. Since 2011, Six Flags has installed SkyScreamers in ten of their parks.
Dominator is a thrill ride located at Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom in Allentown, Pennsylvania. It was designed by S&S Worldwide and opened on May 8, 1999.
Funtime is an amusement ride manufacturer based in Dölsach, Austria. The company manufactures rides such as the Sling Shot, Star Flyer, and Vomatron.
Zumanjaro: Drop of Doom is an amusement ride located at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson Township, New Jersey. The 415 ft (126 m) attraction is attached to the Kingda Ka roller coaster and opened as the tallest drop tower ride in the world in 2014.
Giant Drop is a drop tower ride located at Six Flags Great America in Gurnee, Illinois, United States. Manufactured by Intamin, the ride opened to the public on April 26, 1997, as part of a three-phase plan for the park's Southwest Territory area. The attraction opened alongside Dare Devil Dive, a skycoaster attraction, in the County Fair section of the park.
Fast Lane available at both parks
