A roller coaster, or rollercoaster, is a type of amusement ride that employs a form of elevated railroad track designed with tight turns, steep slopes, and sometimes inversions. Passengers 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 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.
The Beast is a wooden roller coaster located at Kings Island amusement park in Mason, Ohio. Designed and manufactured in-house for $3.2 million, the ride opened in 1979 as the tallest, fastest, and longest wooden roller coaster in the world. Decades later, it is still the longest, spanning 7,359 feet (2,243 m) across 35 acres (14 ha) of hilly terrain. Two lift hills contribute to the ride's duration of more than four minutes, which also ranks as one of the longest among roller coasters.
Son of Beast was a record-breaking wooden roller coaster located at Kings Island in Mason, Ohio, United States. Built and designed by the now-defunct Roller Coaster Corporation of America, it opened to the public on April 28, 2000, as the tallest and fastest wooden coaster in the world. It became the first wooden hypercoaster – a height class of 200 feet (61 m) or more – with its record-setting height of 218 feet (66 m). The coaster was also the first in the modern era to feature a vertical loop and reached a maximum speed of 78 mph (126 km/h). Son of Beast was themed as a sequel to one of the park's other signature attractions, The Beast.
Leap-The-Dips is a wooden roller coaster located at Lakemont Park near Altoona, Pennsylvania. Constructed in 1902 by the Federal Construction Company and designed by E. Joy Morris, it is the oldest operating roller coaster in the world and believed to be the last surviving side friction roller coaster of the figure-eight variety. Leap-the-Dips operated continuously until 1985, when it closed after falling into disrepair. A fund-raising campaign led to its restoration, with refurbishment efforts beginning in 1997 and ending with a grand-reopening in 1999. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1996 and received the Coaster Classic and Coaster Landmark awards from American Coaster Enthusiasts.
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.
The Giant Dipper is a historic wooden roller coaster located at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, an amusement park in Santa Cruz, California. The Giant Dipper, which replaced the Thompson's Scenic Railway, took 47 days to build and opened on May 17, 1924 at a cost of $50,000. With a height of 70 feet (21 m) and a speed of 55 miles per hour (89 km/h), it is one of the most popular wooden roller coasters in the world. As of 2012, over 60 million people have ridden the Giant Dipper since its opening. The ride has received several awards such as being named a National Historic Landmark, a Golden Age Coaster award, and a Coaster Landmark award.
The Comet is a wooden roller coaster located at Great Escape in Queensbury, New York, in the United States.
Iron Rattler is a steel roller coaster located at Six Flags Fiesta Texas in San Antonio. Originally opening as a wooden coaster called Rattler in 1992, it was converted to steel and renamed Iron Rattler in 2013. Designed by Alan Schilke and built by Rocky Mountain Construction (RMC), the ride features a zero-g-roll inversion, which was a first among hybrid coasters made of wood and steel.
Storm Chaser is a steel roller coaster located at Kentucky Kingdom in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. Designed by Alan Schilke and manufactured by Rocky Mountain Construction (RMC) at an estimated cost of $10 million, the ride opened to the public on April 30, 2016. It features three inversions, a 78-degree drop, and a maximum speed of 52 mph (84 km/h) utilizing RMC's patented I-Box track technology.
New Texas Giant is a steel roller coaster located at Six Flags Over Texas in Arlington, Texas. It originally opened as Texas Giant, which was the tallest wooden roller coaster in the world when it debuted in 1990. Manufactured by Dinn Corporation and designed by Curtis D. Summers, Texas Giant operated for nearly two decades, ranking first among wooden roller coasters in 1998 and 1999 in the annual Golden Ticket Awards from Amusement Today. Declining popularity as the ride gained a negative reputation for its increasing roughness led to its demise in 2009.
The Myrtle Beach Pavilion was a historic pay-per-ride, no parking fee, 11-acre amusement park that was located in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina at the corner of 9th Avenue North and Ocean Boulevard. It was just a few blocks down from another Myrtle Beach amusement park, the Family Kingdom Amusement Park; both in the "heart" of Myrtle Beach. "The Pavilion" had well over 40 different attractions for kids and thrill-seekers alike, and included the wooden rollercoaster Hurricane: Category 5. Despite all the best efforts made by citizens to save the park, it was lost to redevelopment in 2007. While the park was officially closed and became a vacant lot on 9th Avenue and Ocean Boulevard in 2007, some of the rides and attractions were moved to Broadway at the Beach. Broadway at the Beach and the land at 9th Avenue are both owned by Burroughs & Chapin.
Big Dipper was a wooden roller coaster located at the defunct Geauga Lake amusement park in Bainbridge Township, Ohio. Originally opened in 1925 as Sky Rocket, it was renamed Clipper in the late 1940s and eventually Big Dipper in 1969. It was the oldest operating roller coaster in Ohio and seventh-oldest in the United States when it closed in 2007. Designed by John A. Miller, the Big Dipper was also one of the last remaining roller coasters in the world from the designer. American Coaster Enthusiasts awarded the coaster its ACE Coaster Classic and ACE Coaster Landmark designations. Efforts to sell, preserve, and restore the ride were unsuccessful. The ride was demolished on October 17, 2016.
Family Kingdom Amusement Park is a seaside amusement park in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Located on Ocean Boulevard, in the heart of Myrtle Beach, the amusement park has 37 rides for adults and children of all ages, including thrill rides, family rides, kiddie rides and go karts. In 2008 TripAdvisor ranked it at number five on its list of the top 10 amusement parks outside Orlando.
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.
White Lightning is a wooden roller coaster located at Fun Spot America amusement park in Orlando, Florida. Manufactured by Great Coasters International (GCI), White Lightning opened to the public on June 8, 2013, as the first wooden coaster to be built in Orlando. Unlike traditional wood designs, the support structure is made of steel to reduce maintenance costs, and it was the first time GCI incorporated the design into one of their coasters. White Lightning has also been well-received, consistently ranking in the top 50 among wooden roller coasters in the annual Golden Ticket Awards from Amusement Today.
Goliath is a wooden roller coaster located at Six Flags Great America in Gurnee, Illinois. Manufactured by Rocky Mountain Construction (RMC) and designed by Alan Schilke, the roller coaster features RMC's Topper Track design and opened to the public on June 19, 2014. Goliath initially set three world records among wooden coasters, having the longest drop at 180 feet (55 m), the steepest angle of 85 degrees, and the fastest speed of 72 mph (116 km/h). It still holds the record for the longest drop and fastest wooden roller coaster. In addition, the ride also features two inversions and a maximum descent that reaches 15 feet (4.6 m) below ground level.
The Joker is a steel roller coaster at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom in Vallejo, California. The ride opened on May 29, 2016, as a rebuild of former wooden roller coaster Roar, adding a new steel track on top of Roar's wooden support structure. This hybrid configuration was implemented by Rocky Mountain Construction and is themed to the Joker, a comic book character villain featured in DC Comics publications. The original Roar roller coaster was constructed by Great Coasters International and opened in 1999.
Mystic Timbers is a wooden roller coaster located at Kings Island in Mason, Ohio. Constructed by Great Coasters International and designed by Skyline Design, the roller coaster opened in the park's Rivertown section on April 15, 2017. Mystic Timbers is the park's fourth wooden coaster, and its opening allowed Kings Island to reclaim the title of having the most wooden roller coaster track of any amusement park in the world with 18,804 feet (5,731 m). During its marketing campaign, the ride's finale element in an enclosed shed was kept secret until the ride's debut. In the annual Golden Ticket Awards by Amusement Today, it was awarded "Best New Ride" in 2017.
Twisted Timbers is a steel roller coaster located at Kings Dominion in Doswell, Virginia. It originally opened as a wooden coaster named Hurler in 1994, designed and manufactured by International Coasters, Inc., with a name and layout that matched an identical installation at Carowinds. The ride closed for extensive maintenance in 2015 according to the park, which later teased in 2016 that Hurler was being replaced.
