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.
A roller coaster inversion is a roller coaster element in which the track turns riders upside-down and then returns them an upright position. Early forms of inversions,dating as far back as 1848 on the Centrifugal Railway in Paris,were vertical loops that were circular in nature. They produced massive g-force that was often dangerous to riders,and as a result,the element eventually became non-existent with the last rides to feature the looping inversions being dismantled during the Great Depression. In 1975,designers from Arrow Development created the corkscrew,reviving interest in the inversion during the modern age of steel roller coasters. Since then,the elements have evolved from simple corkscrews and vertical loops to more complex inversions such as Immelmann loops and cobra rolls. Featuring fourteen inversions,The Smiler at Alton Towers holds the world record for the number of inversions on a roller coaster.
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.
Anton Schwarzkopf was a German engineer of amusement rides,and founder of the Schwarzkopf Industries Company,which built numerous amusement rides and large roller coasters for both amusement parks and traveling funfairs.
A shuttle roller coaster is any roller coaster that ultimately does not make a complete circuit,but rather reverses at some point throughout its course and traverses the same track backwards. These are sometimes referred to as boomerang roller coasters,due to the ubiquity of Vekoma's Boomerang coaster model.
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. This mode of acceleration powers many of the fastest rollercoasters in the world.
Viper was a steel roller coaster located at Six Flags AstroWorld in Houston,Texas. Manufactured by Anton Schwarzkopf,the Looping Star model opened in 1989. It consisted of a single loop and was demolished with the closing of Six Flags AstroWorld on October 30,2005. It had previously operated at Six Flags St. Louis,where it was known as Jet Scream from 1981 to 1988.
Joyland Amusement Park is a small family-owned traditional amusement park,located in Lubbock,Texas,United States within Lubbock's Mackenzie Park. It typically operates from March to September of each year,opening 6 days a week but only during the evening on weeknights.
The Riddler Mindbender,previously named Mind Bender,is a steel roller coaster located at Six Flags Over Georgia near Atlanta,Georgia. Billed as "the world's first triple-loop roller coaster" when it opened on March 31,1978,Mindbender has maintained its popularity since its opening. In its 30th anniversary season in 2008,Mindbender was ranked #15 by Amusement Today magazine in its annual Golden Ticket Awards,and was one of only two roller coasters built before 1980 on the list;the other was its "fraternal twin," Shockwave,at Six Flags Over Texas.
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 after the park's closure,although it remains standing.
Scorpion is a steel roller coaster at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay in Tampa,Florida. Built by Anton Schwarzkopf and designed by Werner Stengel,it opened on May 16,1980,as the second roller coaster at the park. The roller coaster was added as part of the newly constructed Timbuktu section during the second-phased opening,being surrounded by the Congo and Nairobi sections. The roller coaster reaches a maximum height of 60.7 feet (18.5 m),with a maximum speed of 41 miles per hour (66 km/h),and a total length of 1,817.6 feet (554.0 m).
Colossus the Fire Dragon,also known as Colossus,or simply Fire Dragon,is a double-looping roller coaster by Anton Schwarzkopf that opened at Lagoon Amusement Park in Farmington,Utah,United States in 1983.
Silver Bullet is a western-themed steel inverted roller coaster designed by Bolliger &Mabillard located at Knott's Berry Farm,an amusement park in Buena Park,California. The $16 million roller coaster was announced on December 1,2003 and opened on December 7,2004. A first rider auction was also held where people would bid on seats to be the first riders. The track is approximately 3,125 feet (952 m) long and the lift hill is about 146 feet (45 m) tall. The ride lasts two minutes and thirty seconds and features six inversions including a vertical loop,cobra roll,zero-g roll,and two corkscrews.
Twist n' Shout is a steel looping roller coaster located at Loudoun Castle Theme Park in Galston,south-west Scotland.
Shuttle Loop is a type of steel launched shuttle roller coaster designed by Reinhold Spieldiener of Intamin and manufactured by Anton Schwarzkopf. A total of 12 installations were produced between 1977 and 1982. These 12 installations have been located in a total of 22 different amusement parks.
Roller coaster elements are the individual parts of roller coaster design and operation,such as a track,hill,loop,or turn. Variations in normal track movement that add thrill or excitement to the ride are often called "thrill elements".
Looping Star is a roller coaster which is located at Nagashima Spa Land in Mie,Japan. It was built by Anton Schwarzkopf in 1982. It is identical to other Looping Star roller coasters in different Amusement Parks. It was built two years after the Shuttle Loop rollercoaster and the same park was built.
Excalibur was a mine train roller coaster at Six Flags AstroWorld in Houston,Texas. Built by Arrow Dynamics,the ride opened in 1972 as Dexter Frebish's Electric Roller Ride, until the name was changed in 1980. At the time of its closure,it was the 2nd oldest roller coaster at the park after Serpent.
Wildcat is a roller coaster manufactured by Anton Schwarzkopf currently operating at Jolly Roger Amusement Park in Ocean City,Maryland. The ride has also operated at other parks such as Cedar Point and Valleyfair.
Zimerman is a steel looping roller coaster currently operating at Gloria's Fantasyland in Dapitan City,Philippines. The ride,manufactured by Arrow Dynamics,first opened as Revolution at Libertyland in Memphis,Tennessee in 1979. After the 2005 season,the ride was relocated to DelGrosso's Amusement Park,where it sat unused until 2013 until it was moved to Gloria's Fantasyland where it was built for the 2014 season. The ride was officially announced on December 30,2011 as Corkscrew Coaster along with Sling Shot,a drop tower originally located at Gillian's Wonderland Pier that was later renamed to Sky Drop.
