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.
Kennywood is an amusement park which is located in West Mifflin, Pennsylvania, just southeast of Pittsburgh. The park opened on May 30, 1898, as a trolley park attraction at the end of the Mellon family's Monongahela Street Railway.
Hersheypark is a family theme park in the eastern United States in Hershey, Pennsylvania, about fifteen miles (25 km) east of Harrisburg, and 95 miles (155 km) west of Philadelphia. The park was founded in 1906, by Milton S. Hershey as a leisure park for the employees of the Hershey Chocolate Company. It is wholly and privately owned by Hershey Entertainment and Resorts Company. Hersheypark has won several awards, including the Applause Award.
Knoebels Amusement Resort is a family-owned and operated amusement park, picnic grove, and campground in Elysburg, Pennsylvania. Opened in 1926, it is 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 2 haunted house dark rides, among more.
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.
Conneaut Lake Park is a summer resort and event venue located in Conneaut Lake, Pennsylvania, United States. It has long served as a regional tourist destination, and was noted by roller coaster enthusiasts for its classic Blue Streak coaster, which was classified as "historic" by the American Coaster Enthusiasts group in 2010. Conneaut Lake is Pennsylvania's largest natural (glacier) lake, and is a popular summer destination for recreational boaters due to there being no horsepower limit on the lake.
Coney Island was a water park and seasonal gathering place located on the banks of the Ohio River in Cincinnati, Ohio, approximately 10 miles (16 km) east of the downtown area in Anderson Township. One of its notable features is its Sunlite Water Adventure, which hosts Sunlite Pool, the largest recirculating pool in North America.
Seabreeze Amusement Park (Seabreeze) is a historic family amusement park located in Irondequoit, New York, a suburb of Rochester, where Irondequoit Bay meets Lake Ontario. According to the National Amusement Park Historical Association (NAPHA), Seabreeze is the fourth-oldest operating amusement park in the United States and the thirteenth-oldest operating amusement park in the world, having opened in 1879. The park features roller coasters, a variety of other rides, a midway, and a water park.
Memphis Kiddie Park is an 11-ride amusement park located in Brooklyn, Ohio, designed specifically for children and families.
Lakeside Amusement Park was an amusement park located in Salem, Virginia, neighboring Roanoke, at the intersection of U.S. Route 460 and State Route 419. The park was named after a very large swimming pool which was opened on the site in 1920. The pool was surrounded by a beach and quickly became a favorite summer retreat for residents of Roanoke and Salem. Amusement park rides were added to the facility within a few years of its opening. The park also included a pavilion, which hosted celebrity concerts. Frequent performers included country artists Tom T. Hall and Conway Twitty.
LeSourdsville Lake Amusement Park was an amusement park located in Monroe, Ohio. Founded by Edgar Streifthau, the park originally opened in 1922 as a family picnic destination with swimming amenities. Throughout the 1940s, LeSourdsville Lake transformed into an amusement park with the addition of rides, attractions, and an arcade. The park was sold in 1961, and following heavy competition from nearby Kings Island, it was rebranded Americana Amusement Park in 1978. An electrical fire in 1990 caused over $5 million in damages and led to bankruptcy. The park continued to operate under several different owners before eventually closing in 1999.
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.
Fun Spot Amusement Park & Zoo was an amusement park located in Angola, Indiana. Although it was small in comparison to parks in neighboring states, such as Cedar Point and Michigan's Adventure, it remained one of the largest parks in the region. It also once boasted the only operating roller coaster (Afterburner) with an inversion in the state of Indiana, until Steel Hawg at Indiana Beach opened in 2008. The park closed in 2008.
Paragon Park was an amusement park located on Nantasket Beach in Hull, Massachusetts. It closed in 1984.
Wedgewood Village Amusement Park was an amusement park in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. It was originally started in 1955 by Maurice Woods and located at May and NW 58th street, where it was known as Duffys Golf. Maurice started to notice that wives and children were sitting in their cars while their husbands used the driving range. Thus, the idea was to place a few kiddie rides to keep them occupied. The rides became so popular that Maurice decided to acquire the land at 63rd and N.W. Expressway where he built Wedgewood Village. It opened in 1958 and lasted until 1969. Most of the rides were sold after the 1968 season. The park sported a number of rides, most notably the Tornado coaster.
Known by a variety of names over its 101-year existence, Rocky Glen Park was a park near Moosic, Pennsylvania. Founded by Arthur Frothingham in 1886 as a picnic park, it was transformed into an amusement park by engineer and entrepreneur Frederick Ingersoll in 1904. The trolley park was a popular Pennsylvania attraction that featured rides, arcades, and restaurants – even as a "wild west" theme park in the 1970s – until its closure in 1987.
An animal theme park, also known as a zoological theme park, is a combination of an amusement park and a zoo, mainly for entertainment, amusement, and commercial purposes. Many animal theme parks combine classic theme park elements, such as themed entertainment and amusement rides, with classic zoo elements such as live animals confined within enclosures for display. Many times, live animals are utilized and featured as part of amusement rides and attractions found at animal theme parks.
Toboggan is a portable roller coaster that was built by Chance Industries from 1969 to the mid-1970s. The coaster features a small vehicle, holding two people, that climbs vertically inside a hollow steel tower then spirals back down around the same tower. There is a small section of track at the base of the tower with a few small dips and two turns to bring the ride vehicle back to the station. Each vehicle has a single rubber tire with a hydraulic clutch braking system that governs the speed of the vehicle as it descends the tower. The rubber tire engages a center rail that begins halfway through the first spiral. The ride stands 45 feet tall with a track length of 450 feet. A typical ride lasts approximately 70 seconds.
