A roller coaster 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.
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.
A cyclone is an area of closed, circular fluid motion characterized by inwardly spiraling winds.
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, or other mechanisms employing hydraulic or pneumatic power. This mode of acceleration powers many of the fastest rollercoasters in the world.
Giovanola Frères SA was a prominent steel manufacturing company based in Monthey, Switzerland. It was known for building electrical power stations, water storage tanks, pipelines, boilers, highway bridges, submarines, ski lifts and many other steel products. The company started out as a small metal forging shop, founded by Joseph Giovanola in 1888. Joseph Sr. died in 1904, and the company was taken over by his sons, the eldest of which, Joseph Jr., was just 17 years of age. By 1930 the company had grown to the point that it required a new factory which was constructed in Monthey.
Busch Gardens Tampa Bay is a 335-acre (136 ha) African-themed animal theme park located in the city of Tampa, Florida. The park is owned and operated by SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment and has an annual attendance of just over 4.1 million a year, making it the second most visited among all SeaWorld-owned parks behind SeaWorld Orlando, and eleventh overall among the 20 most visited amusement parks in North America.
Iron Gwazi is an upcoming hybrid roller coaster under construction at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay amusement park in Tampa, Florida. Being built and designed by Rocky Mountain Construction (RMC), it will feature RMC's patented I-Box Track technology. Iron Gwazi will reuse a large portion of the wooden structure that existed when the roller coaster was known as Gwazi, making it a hybrid roller coaster that utilizes a combination of steel and wood. It will become the tallest hybrid roller coaster in North America when it opens, as well as being the joint tallest hybrid coaster alongside Zadra at Energylandia which shares a similar layout. It will also be the steepest and fastest hybrid roller coaster in the world. It was intended to open in 2020, however due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Florida, the opening was pushed to 2021.
Nighthawk is a steel flying roller coaster from Vekoma located at Carowinds amusement park. The roller coaster originally opened as Stealth at California's Great America on April 1, 2000. In 2003, Paramount decided to relocate the roller coaster to Carowinds. It reopened as Borg Assimilator – the first coaster in the world to be themed to Star Trek – on March 20, 2004. After Cedar Fair purchased Carowinds in 2006, Paramount themes were soon removed from the park, and the ride was renamed Nighthawk. It is one of only two Flying Dutchman models still in existence from Vekoma.
Antonio Zamperla S.p.A. is an Italian design and manufacturing company founded in 1966. It is best known for creating family rides, thrill rides and roller coasters worldwide. The company also makes smaller coin-operated rides commonly found inside shopping malls.
The Allan Herschell Company specialized in the creation of amusement rides, particularly carousels and roller coasters. The company manufactured portable machines which could be used by traveling carnival operators. It was started in 1915 in the town of North Tonawanda, just outside Buffalo, New York, US.
Premier Rides is an amusement ride manufacturer based in the United States. The company was the first to use Linear Induction Motors (LIMs) on their roller coasters. Jim Seay has been the sole owner and company president since 1996.
American Eagle may refer to:
Maurer AG, formerly known as Maurer Söhne GmbH & Co. KG, is a steel construction company and roller coaster manufacturer. Founded in 1876 in Munich, Germany, the company has built many styles of steel buildings, ranging from bridges, industrial buildings, and even art structures. While known for building a variety of wild mouse coasters, its subsidiary Maurer Rides GmbH has branched out into spinning, looping, and launching coasters. The company also produces a free-fall tower ride. On December 15, 2014, the company changed its name to Maurer AG.
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".
Sky Rocket II is a steel roller coaster model made by American manufacturer Premier Rides. The first Sky Rocket II was Superman: Ultimate Flight at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, which opened on June 30, 2012, and the latest is Tigris at Busch Gardens Tampa in 2019. The ride model features a height of 150 feet (46 m), a length of 863 feet (263 m), a maximum speed of 62 miles per hour (100 km/h), and includes one inversion. The ride has been noted for its low-cost and small foot-print.
Attractiepark Toverland is an amusement park in Sevenum, Netherlands. The park was founded in 2001 and is operated by Gelissen Group. The theme park has on occasion received awards for best theme park in The Netherlands.
Mako is a steel roller coaster located at SeaWorld Orlando in Orlando, Florida. Manufactured by Bolliger & Mabillard, the hypercoaster model opened to the public on June 10, 2016. Mako is named after the mako shark and is located in the Sea of Mystery section of the park. It reaches a height of 200 feet (61 m), a maximum speed of 73 mph (117 km/h), and features a track length of 4,760 feet (1,450 m).
Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind is an upcoming pavilion/attraction under construction at EPCOT. The conveyance for the ride-through component of the attraction will be a coaster-based system fabricated by Vekoma. Inspired by the Marvel Studios film Guardians of the Galaxy, which is, itself, based on the Marvel Comics series of the same name, the attraction will be the first at Walt Disney World to use source material from Disney's Marvel Entertainment division.
Tigris is a steel roller coaster at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay theme park in Tampa, Florida, United States. Manufactured by Premier Rides and built by T&G Constructors, Tigris officially opened on April 19, 2019.
