A roller coaster, also called a rollercoaster, is a type of amusement ride that employs a form of elevated railroad track designed with tight turns, steep slopes, and sometimes inversions. People 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.
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 six 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 and complete a full circuit. 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.
Lil' Devil Coaster is a steel roller coaster located at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson Township, New Jersey. The ride opened in 1999 as Road Runner Railway, but was moved and re-opened as Lil’ Devil Coaster in 2021. It was manufactured by Zamperla of Italy and is a small, kiddie coaster located in the Adventure Seaport section of the park. It is themed to the Jersey Devil to fit in with the nearby Jersey Devil Coaster. It was removed in order to fit Jersey Devil Coaster's track.
Wilderness Run is a steel kiddie roller coaster built by Intamin at Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio. Built in 1979, it was previously named after the ride that sits across the midway from it, Gemini. In 2014, Cedar Point renovated the Gemini Midway including Wilderness Run. Instead of blue paint, they used brown supports with green track to match the nearby Camp Snoopy children's area. After exiting the 19-foot-tall lift hill, the coaster train goes through a 270-degree turn to the left, followed by a small hill over the beginning of the lift hill. The train then goes through a 270-degree turn to the right which leads to the station.
Canyon Blaster is a steel family roller coaster located in the Bugs Bunny World children's area of Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia, California. It is themed to Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner from the Looney Tunes franchise, and guests ride on ACME-themed mining cars. It opened in 1999, as part of an expansion to Bugs Bunny World.
Frankie’s Mine Train is a steel roller coaster located at Frontier City and Great Escape, which are both Six Flags parks.
Iron Rattler is a steel roller coaster located at Six Flags Fiesta Texas in San Antonio. The ride opened in 2013 as a conversion of the Rattler, a wooden roller coaster that had opened in 1992. Iron Rattler is the first hybrid wood and steel roller coaster to feature an inversion, namely a zero-g-roll.
Gotham City Gauntlet: Escape from Arkham Asylum, formerly known as Road Runner Express, is a steel wild mouse roller coaster at Six Flags New England in Agawam, Massachusetts.
Great Chase is a steel roller coaster at Six Flags America in Prince George's County, Maryland. This is a junior coaster that replaced the previous junior coaster, the Cannonball that ran from 1993 to 1998.
The Jester is a steel roller coaster located at the abandoned Six Flags New Orleans amusement park in New Orleans. Built and designed by Vekoma, the ride originally opened at Six Flags Fiesta Texas in 1996 as The Joker's Revenge. After its closure in 2001, the coaster was sent to Six Flags New Orleans where it became The Jester. The ride opened to the public at Six Flags New Orleans on April 13, 2003. Following the devastation to the amusement park in August 2005 by Hurricane Katrina, the roller coaster ceased operation following the park's closure but remains standing.
Road Runner Express is a steel roller coaster located at Six Flags Fiesta Texas in San Antonio, Texas. It was built for the park's 1997 season and is the last mine train roller coaster ever to be built by Arrow Dynamics in a Six Flags theme park.
Griffon is a steel roller coaster located at Busch Gardens Williamsburg amusement park in James City County, Virginia. Designed by Bolliger & Mabillard (B&M), the Dive Coaster model opened to the public on May 18, 2007. It climbs to a height of 205 feet (62 m) and reaches a maximum speed of 71 mph (114 km/h). The roller coaster features two Immelmann loops, a splashdown, two vertical drops, and was the first B&M Dive Coaster to use floorless trains. Griffon was well-received by media and enthusiasts, and it placed third in 2007 in the category of Best New Ride polled by Amusement Today for their annual Golden Ticket Awards. Since its debut, it has also consistently ranked in the top 50 among steel roller coasters worldwide in the same annual publication, peaking at 19th place in 2010.
Goudurix is a steel roller coaster located in Parc Astérix in France. The Vekoma-built ride jointly held the European record for the greatest number of inversions upon its opening in 1989. The record was lost in 1995 to Dragon Khan in Spain. It is one of only two coasters in the world to feature a butterfly element. In 2007, following the release of the animated movie Asterix and the Vikings, Viking theming was added to the station and nearby rides, in the form of a wooden Viking longboat. Goudurix is located in the back-west of the park, near the Tonnerre de Zeus. The ride was repainted to a yellow and red track with grey supports color scheme from its previous white and yellow track with blue supports. It is one of the park's main attractions, along with the Tonnerre de Zeus, OzIris and Trace du Hourra rollercoasters.
Batman: Arkham Asylum is a Bolliger & Mabillard steel roller coaster at Parque Warner Madrid in Spain. It is located in the "DC Super Heroes World" location in the park. It is a clone of Batman: The Ride, which is located at various Six Flags parks. It can be ridden with virtual reality glasses, making it the first virtual reality coaster in Spain. Before the addition of the VR technology its name was Batman: La Fuga
Superman The Ride is a steel roller coaster at Six Flags New England in Agawam, Massachusetts. Built by Swiss manufacturer Intamin, the hypercoaster opened to the public as Superman – Ride of Steel in 2000. It features a 208-foot (63 m) lift hill, a 221-foot (67 m) drop, and a maximum speed of 77 mph (124 km/h). In 2009, the park changed the name to Bizarro, named after a DC Comics character portrayed as the antithesis of Superman. In accordance with the theme change, the coaster's track and supports were repainted with a purple and dark blue color scheme, and other special effects were added. In 2016, the Six Flags reverted to the original theme, but instead of restoring the name, it was changed to Superman The Ride. A virtual reality feature was added the same year, which created an optional 3D experience for passengers, but was removed prior to the 2017 season.
Blue Fire is a launched roller coaster at Europa-Park. The coaster opened in 2009 as part of a new Iceland-themed expansion to Europa-Park. As the first launched coaster built by Mack Rides, Blue Fire was the park's tenth roller coaster and the first to feature inversions. The ride's tagline is "Discover Pure Energy".
Road Runner Express is a steel junior roller coaster at Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia, California. On November 4, 2010, Six Flags had an investor meeting webcast where they released the new name for the kid's coaster and location in Bugs Bunny World. By April 2011, the entire coaster has finished construction on site. The ride opened on May 28, 2011, for Memorial Day Weekend.
Skyrush is an Intamin prototype Wing Coaster with winged seating at Hersheypark in Hershey, Pennsylvania. It opened to the general public on May 26, 2012. Skyrush is Hersheypark's 12th roller coaster, and its third coaster made by Intamin. Skyrush is the tallest and second fastest roller coaster located at Hersheypark. Skyrush features a 200-foot (61 m) cable lift that raises the train at a 20-mile-per-hour (32 km/h) rate. The roller coaster is located in The Hollow section of Hersheypark, next to the Comet and SooperDooperLooper, and the ride itself is mainly set above Spring Creek.
Alan Schilke is an engineer and roller coaster designer based in Hayden, Idaho, United States. He first made his mark on the industry by designing the 4th Dimension roller coaster, X², while working with Arrow Dynamics. Schilke now works as a design engineer at Ride Centerline LLC and occasionally works with Rocky Mountain Construction (RMC).
Steel Taipan is an upcoming steel launched roller coaster at Dreamworld in Coomera, Queensland, Australia. Steel Taipan will serve as a direct replacement to the former Thunder River Rapids Ride. The roller coaster will become the first triple-launched coaster in the Southern Hemisphere, and is named after the deadly Taipan family of snakes native to Australia.
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