A roller coaster works by the forces of gravity keeping the train and rider on the track. These forces are applied when in a sharp turn or loop. A wooden roller coaster is most often classified as a roller coaster with running rails made of flattened steel strips mounted on laminated wooden track. Occasionally, the support structure may be made out of a steel lattice or truss, but the ride remains classified as a wooden roller coaster due to the track design. The type of wood typically used in the construction of wooden coasters is Southern Yellow Pine, usually grown in the USA and the rest of North America. Because of the limits of wood, wooden roller coasters, in general, do not have inversions, steep drops, or extremely banked turns. However, there are exceptions; the defunct Son of Beast at Kings Island had a 214-foot-high (65 m) drop and originally had a 90-foot-tall (27 m) loop until the end of the 2006 season, although the loop had steel supports. Other special cases are Hades 360 at Mount Olympus Water and Theme Park in Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin. The coaster features a double-track tunnel, a corkscrew, and a 90-degree banked turn. There is also The Voyage at Holiday World featuring three separate 90-degree banked turns. Ravine Flyer II at Waldameer Park has a 90-degree banked turn, T Express at Everland in South Korea with a 77-degree drop, and Outlaw Run at Silver Dollar City which has 3 inversions and 120-degree overbanked turn.
A roller coaster inversion is a roller coaster element in which the track turns riders upside-down and then returns them to 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 element have evolved from simple corkscrews and vertical loops to more complex inversions such 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.
A stand-up roller coaster is a roller coaster designed to have the passengers stand through the course of the ride.
Top Thrill Dragster is a steel accelerator roller coaster built by Intamin at Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio, United States. It was the sixteenth roller coaster built at the park since the Blue Streak in 1964. When built in 2003, it was the first full circuit roller coaster to exceed 400 feet (120 m) in height, and was the tallest roller coaster in the world, before being surpassed by Kingda Ka at Six Flags Great Adventure in May 2005. Top Thrill Dragster, along with Kingda Ka, are the only strata coasters in existence. It was the second hydraulically launched roller coaster built by Intamin, following Xcelerator at Knott's Berry Farm. The tagline for Top Thrill Dragster is "Race for the Sky".
Coaster is a commuter rail service that operates in the central and northern coastal regions of San Diego County, California, United States. The service is currently operated by Bombardier Transportation on contract with North County Transit District (NCTD). The service has eight stops and operates primarily during weekday peak periods, with additional weekend and holiday service.
A lift hill, or chain hill, is an upward-sloping section of track on a roller coaster on which the roller coaster train is mechanically lifted to an elevated point or peak in the track. Upon reaching the peak, the train is then propelled from the peak by gravity and is usually allowed to coast throughout the rest of the roller coaster ride's circuit on its own momentum, including most or all of the remaining uphill sections. The initial upward-sloping section of a roller coaster track is usually a lift hill, as the train typically begins a ride with little speed, though some coasters have raised stations that permit an initial drop without a lift hill. Although uncommon, some tracks also contain multiple lift hills.
GhostRider is a wooden roller coaster at Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, California. It is located in the Ghost Town section of the park, south of the main entrance. It is the tallest and longest wooden coaster on the West Coast of the United States.
The Coney Island Cyclone is a historic wooden roller coaster at Luna Park in Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York City. Designed by Vernon Keenan, it opened to the public on June 26, 1927. It is located on a standalone plot of land at the intersection of Surf Avenue and West 10th Street. The Cyclone reaches a maximum speed of 60 miles per hour (97 km/h) and has a total track length of 2,640 feet (800 m) with a maximum height of 85 feet (26 m).
Boomerang is a model of roller coaster manufactured and designed by Vekoma, a Dutch manufacturer. The roller coaster model name is from the hunting implement based on the traditions of the Indigenous Australians. As of July 2019 there are 55 Boomerangs operating.
Tatsu is a steel flying roller coaster designed by Bolliger & Mabillard at the Six Flags Magic Mountain amusement park located in Valencia, California, United States. Announced on November 17, 2005, the roller coaster opened to the public on May 13, 2006 as the park's seventeenth roller coaster. Tatsu reaches a height of 170 feet (52 m) and speeds up to 62 miles per hour (100 km/h). The roller coaster is also the world's tallest and fastest flying coaster; is the only flying roller coaster to feature a zero-gravity roll; and has the world's highest pretzel loop. It was the world's longest flying coaster until The Flying Dinosaur at Universal Studios Japan surpassed it in March 2016.
Superman: Ultimate Flight is a steel flying roller coaster designed by Bolliger & Mabillard. Themed to the popular comic book character, Superman: Ultimate Flight has been installed at three Six Flags theme parks around the United States: Six Flags Over Georgia, Six Flags Great Adventure and Six Flags Great America. Superman: Ultimate Flight simulates flying by positioning its passengers parallel to the track, supported by harnesses and facing the ground through most of the ride. In the station, riders board the train sitting down. After the train is locked and checked, the trains are raised into the flying position. After the ride, the seats are lowered back into the sitting position for the next round of riders.
The Dahlonega Mine Train is a steel roller coaster located at Six Flags Over Georgia in Austell, Georgia, 12 miles (19 km) west of downtown Atlanta, Georgia. The ride has three lift hills with brief elements between each that wind through a wooded, hilly landscape. This is a family coaster that is named after Dahlonega, Georgia, a village in northern Georgia that was a center of the gold rush of 1828, the first gold rush in the United States of America.
Runaway Mine Train is a steel roller coaster located in the Boomtown section of Six Flags Over Texas in Arlington, Texas. Built in 1966, Runaway Mine Train is the oldest roller coaster in the park.
A motorbike roller coaster is a type of steel roller coaster designed with motorcycle type cars. Booster Bike at Toverland was the world's first motorbike roller coaster. Vekoma was the first company to design such a ride, although Intamin and Zamperla have since created similar designs.
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".
The Thunderbolt Express was a looping shuttle roller coaster located at Camden Park. Originally named Screamin' Demon when it operated at Kings Island from 1977 to 1987, the roller coaster was built and designed by Arrow Dynamics. It was sold to Camden Park following the 1987 season, and reopened at its new location in 1988. Following an electrical issue in 1999, the ride was closed indefinitely for a period of time. An announcement surfaced that the ride would reopen in 2002, but the roller coaster would eventually be dismantled following the 2004 season and replaced by a miniature golf course.
An Impulse roller coaster is a form of a launched inverted roller coaster manufactured by Intamin. The first Impulse roller coaster appeared in Japan, and the ride type has since evolved to include four specific layouts, three of these varieties being built in the United States. It uses LIMs to launch a train out of the station and up a vertical spiral. The train then falls backwards, is powered again through the station, and heads up a back tower. The train then falls forwards, and continues in this fashion for a total of 2½ cycles per ride. On the final forward launch, with a slightly reduced speed, the train is sent up the front tower, and brakes then deploy on the launch track. The train then slows down and heads back into the station.
X-Flight is a steel roller coaster located at Six Flags Great America in Gurnee, Illinois. Designed and built by Bolliger & Mabillard, the ride opened as the fourth Wing Coaster in the world and the second in the United States on May 16, 2012. It replaced both the Splashwater Falls and Great American Raceway attractions. The 3,000-foot-long (910 m) roller coaster features barrel rolls, high-speed drops, and a signature fly-through element, where the train narrowly misses a support structure – designed to look like an air traffic control tower – as it passes through an opening known as a keyhole element.
Roller Coaster, often nicknamed the White Roller Coaster due to the previously white color, at Lagoon Amusement Park in Farmington, Utah, United States, is the oldest roller coaster at the park. It is a wooden roller coaster owned by Lagoon. Built in 1921 and operating ever since, the Roller Coaster is the seventh oldest roller coaster in the world and the fourth oldest in the United States.
Fury 325 is a steel roller coaster located at Carowinds amusement park in Charlotte, North Carolina. Manufactured by Bolliger & Mabillard, it features a 6,602-foot-long (2,012 m) track that reaches a maximum height of 325 feet (99 m). Riders experience speeds of up to 95 miles per hour (153 km/h), winding through high-speed curves and passing over and under the park's main entrance. Fury 325 is the sixth-tallest roller coaster in the world and the tallest to use a traditional chain lift hill. It has also been voted the world's best steel coaster for three consecutive years in Amusement Today's Golden Ticket Awards beginning in 2016, which ended Millennium Force's six-year streak.
