Clifford Township is a township in Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 2,107 at the time of the 2020 census.
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.
Knoebels Amusement Resort is a family-owned and operated amusement park, picnic grove, and campground in Elysburg, Pennsylvania. Opened in 1926, it is the United States's largest free-admission park. The park has more than 60 rides including three wooden roller coasters, three steel roller coasters, a 1913 carousel, and two haunted house dark rides.
A wooden roller coaster is a type of roller coaster classified by its wooden track, which consists of running rails made of flat steel strips mounted on laminated wood. The support structure is also typically made of wood, but may also be made of steel lattice or truss, which has no bearing on a wooden coaster's classification. The type of wood often selected in the construction of wooden coasters worldwide is southern yellow pine, which grows abundantly in the southern United States, due to its density and adherence to different forms of pressure treatment.
Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters (PTC) is one of the oldest existing roller coaster manufacturing companies in the world. Based in Hatfield, Pennsylvania, it was established in 1904 by Henry Auchey and Chester Albright under the name Philadelphia Toboggan Company. The company manufactured carousels, wooden roller coasters, toboggans and later, roller coaster trains.
Lagoon is a family owned amusement park in Farmington, Utah, located about 18 miles north of Salt Lake City. Lagoon is divided into five main areas: The Midway, containing the majority of the rides; Pioneer Village, which has several exhibits displaying pioneer buildings and artifacts; Lagoon-A-Beach, a water park; Kiddie Land, an area with several rides for small children; and X-Venture Zone, featuring more extreme rides that are upcharge. Lagoon also offers an RV park, a campground, and a walking trail outside the park that stays open all year. Every autumn, the park offers Halloween-themed shows and attractions, collectively known as Frightmares.
Lakeside Amusement Park is a family-owned amusement park in Lakeside, Colorado, adjacent to Denver. Opened in 1908, it is the oldest amusement park in Colorado still operating in its original location, and is the lone remaining American amusement park to have had the name White City. The park, comprising nearly half of the Town of Lakeside that it was responsible for creating in 1907, features the landmark Tower of Jewels.
Idlewild and Soak Zone, commonly known as Idlewild Park or simply Idlewild, is an amusement park in the Laurel Highlands near Ligonier, Pennsylvania, United States, about 50 miles (80 km) east of Pittsburgh, along US Route 30. Founded in 1878 as a campground along the Ligonier Valley Railroad by Thomas Mellon, Idlewild is the oldest amusement park in Pennsylvania and the third oldest operating amusement park in the United States behind Lake Compounce and Cedar Point. The park has won several awards, including from industry publication Amusement Today as the best children's park in the world.
The National Amusement Park Historical Association (NAPHA) is an international organization dedicated to the preservation and enjoyment of the amusement and theme park industry – past, present and future.
The Zippin Pippin is one of the oldest existing wooden roller coasters in the United States. It was initially constructed in the former East End Park in Memphis, Tennessee, in either 1912, 1915, or 1917 by John A. Miller and Harry C. Baker of National Amusement Devices. The construction material was pine wood. As the park declined in popularity, the coaster was dismantled and relocated adjacent to the horse track in Montgomery Park, later known as the Mid-South Fairgrounds. For a time it was incorporated as an attraction in the now-closed Libertyland amusement park there, until that park closed in 2005. Purchased by the city of Green Bay, Wisconsin, in 2010, it was installed at the Bay Beach Amusement Park, where it is once again in operation.
John A. Miller was an American roller coaster designer and builder, inventor, and businessman. Miller patented over 100 key roller coaster components, and is widely considered the "father of the modern high-speed roller coaster." During his lifetime, he participated in the design of approximately 150 coasters and was a key business partner and mentor to other well-known roller coaster designers, Harry C. Baker and John C. Allen.
Phoenix is a wooden roller coaster located at Knoebels Amusement Resort in Elysburg, Pennsylvania. It was moved to its current location in central Pennsylvania in 1985. Prior to its purchase and relocation to Knoebels, it operated under the name "The Rocket" at Playland Park in San Antonio, Texas.
Playland Park was an amusement park formerly located 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. It was the original home of The Rocket, a popular wooden roller coaster currently located at Knoebels Amusement Resort. Ed Gaida, who lived at Playland Park and had access to records and archives, wrote a book about the park and its owner.
An old mill is a type of amusement park ride where unaccompanied boats float on guideways and traverse through dark tunnels. These themed dark rides originated in the late 19th century and are known by a variety of names, including tunnel of love and river cave. While generally considered a gentle ride, a variation of an old mill featuring a climactic splashdown ending, similar to the modern-day log flume, is known as a mill chute.
Stricker's Grove is a family owned amusement park located in Ross, Ohio, USA. Unlike other amusement parks, Stricker's Grove is closed to the public for most of the year. Instead, it is rented out for private functions, such as weddings. The park is open to the public for 8 days of every year, on July 4, 4 days in mid July for the Hamilton County 4-H Community Fair, the second Sunday in August, Labor Day, and a Sunday in October called "Customer Appreciation Day".
Roller coaster amusement rides have origins back to ice slides constructed in 18th-century Russia. Early technology featured sleds or wheeled carts that were sent down hills of snow reinforced by wooden supports. The technology evolved in the 19th century to feature railroad track using wheeled cars that were securely locked to the track. Newer innovations emerged in the early 20th century with side friction and underfriction technologies to allow for greater speeds and sharper turns. By the mid-to-late 20th century, these elements intensified with the introduction of steel roller coaster designs and the ability to invert riders.
Luna Park was a trolley park in Cleveland, Ohio, from 1905 to 1929.
Frederick Ingersoll was an American inventor, designer, builder and entrepreneur who created the world's first chain of amusement parks and whose manufacturing company built 277 roller coasters, fueling the popularity of trolley parks in the first third of the twentieth century. Some of these parks and roller coasters still exist today.
Riverside Amusement Park was an amusement park in Indianapolis, Indiana, US from 1903 to 1970. Originating as a joint venture between engineer/amusement park developer Frederick Ingersoll and Indianapolis businessmen J. Clyde Power, Albert Lieber, Bert Fiebleman, and Emmett Johnson, the park was built by Ingersoll's Pittsburgh Construction Company adjacent to Riverside City Park at West 30th Street between White River and the Central Canal in the Riverside subdivision of Indianapolis.
Jazz Railway was an early model line of wood roller coasters incorporating a steel-frame structure. These operated at various amusement parks and fairgrounds during the mid to late 1920s. The coaster model is considered to be the first of the Wild Mouse style roller coaster.
