The History of Roller Coasters Essay

The Ferris wheel is “an amusement device consisting of a large upright power-driven wheel carrying seats that remain horizontal around its rim.” George Ferris, a civil engineer from Pennsylvania, created this ride that is popular among people of all ages. George influenced the way engineers build and create structures today. His invention is still used throughout the world regularly. George made a big impact on our world and our innovators.

Such as the super duper looper and toboggan. And from 1976 to 1986 it was smooth sailing. In 1986 they decided to rapidly add any rides resulting in 10 new rides. And from then on till 1996, they added more and more to make this one of the largest parks in the world at the time. In the year 200 they closed on buying the biggest roller coaster in america, known as “The Lightning racer”

wheels that runs underneath the track. This keeps the cars from flying up into the air.

The first ride that the characters experienced was a carousel. Normally, if you rode on a carousel, you would ride on plastic or

The summers of 2013, I went to Cedar Point. It was me, my brother, my mom, dad, and my dad’s friend. My dad said, “we are going to get on all of us the roller coasters” and the rest of us said “ok.”

There were faster, taller, and safer, roller coasters then ever before before. The industry was so successful that from 1974 to 1980 more roller coasters were being built each year than all the previous years combined since 1920. After Allen retired there was room for a rising star to shine. This star was Ron Toomer. He got a degree in mechanical engineering. He then designed the heat shield on Apollo 11 the first spaceship to land on the moon .All over she was done with NASA and got a job Arrow Dynamic Inc. His first big roller coaster was The Runaway Mine Train in Six Flags Over Texas, today this roller coaster is a national landmark. About 9 years after Runaway Mine Train, Toomor design Corkscrew the first modern coaster to go upside down. About nine years after that you built the Big Bad Wolf second suspended coaster in the world. He also built Magnum XL-200 First roller coaster ever two break 200 feet tall, This is now known as a hyper coaster. Ron Toomor was the king of roller coasters. He was such an influence in roller coasters that he is made the list of Britannica's top 100 influential inventors, Along with Henry Ford, Benjamin Franklin, and Steve Jobs. All this you must be thinking wow this guy must love riding roller coasters, however this is not the case, “I’ve had a bad motion sickness problem since I was a little kid,” he said. “But I’ve ridden enough of them to know what happens and how it feels.” Now roller coasters is a big competition to build the tallest, fastest, longest. Here are the current records: The fastest roller coaster is Formula Rossa at 149.1 Miles per hour. Kingda Ka has two records for the Tallest at 456 ft and the biggest drop at 418 ft. Steel dragon 2000 is the longest with 8133.2

In 1959 the Disneyland theme park introduced a new design breakthrough with the Matterhorn Bobsleds. This was the first roller coaster to use a tubular steel track. Unlike conventional rails set on wooden railroad ties, tubular steel can be bent in any direction, which allows designers to incorporate loops, corkscrews, and many other maneuvers into their designs. Most modern roller coasters are made of steel, although wooden coasters are still being built. New designs and technologies are pushing the limits of what can be experienced on the newest coasters.

Amusement parks have been developing across the country for centuries. Their success is often attributed to the wide variety of entertainment within each park. In Ohio, many amusement parks have come and gone over the years, but one has stayed. Cedar Point has stood high above the other parks, including Geauga Lake now merely a water park, paling in comparison. It is constantly developing in order to keep guests captivated while also preserving historical treasures. Which in turn aids in the economic development of the state. As the marking director for Cedar Point once said, “it is the only old time amusement park to successfully make the transition to the new amusement park culture” (Hildebrandt, 87).

It was known LaMarcus Thompson’s Switchback Gravity Railway and was built in 1884. This famed rollercoaster soon inspired many other rides to be built. Rollercoasters and rides were not Coney Island only attractions. Many restaurants and food stands were built to accommodate the theme park’s customers. Many sideshows, including freak shows, and concert halls were also constructed.

New roller coasters were added, new records were broken, this amusement park got better each year. In the 70’s Cedar Point started to break roller coaster records. In fact, Cedar Point has had a number of world records. Whether it has to do with height, speed, or even the steepness, Cedar Point continues to break records still to this day. Since this amusement park is known for it’s roller coasters, it’s known as the roller coaster capital of the world! It has had more roller coasters throughout the years than any other amusement park. Not only does Cedar Point break roller coaster records, it has won many awards such as “Best Amusement Park” (Cedar Point

and are designed out of different materials like wood and steel. Although roller coasters are fun and exciting, the questions, what allows them to twist and turn, go up and down hills at a fairly good speed? Why do they not fall off of the track when it goes through a loop? The answer to these questions and others about roller coasters lies in the application

In a park near you very soon a roller coaster will be drawing near...furthermore, not only is there a roller coaster that has never been seen before but also the most magnificent coaster that you've seen. The Looper...The Looper is one of the fastest roller coasters in all of Hershey Park. It speeds in excess of 70 miles per hour. When you are riding The Looper you will feel countless different feelings. As a matter of fact, you will feel not only ecstatic and delighted but also thrill and suspense. Not to mention that as the experience of the unique exhilarating , unforgettable thrills comes to an end, you will surely feel mourning. Be that as it may, you always have the privilege to jump back in line and do it all over again. Riders will feel the anxious anticipation as they wait in line. Not to mention, the force of the g forces as the train screams by the other rides nearby. You will experience pure speed and adrenaline as your heart starts racing as the train accelerates before plunging down

Thompson’s first switchback rail was created in 1884 on Coney Island, New York when he was 36 years old. He charged ¢5 per ride and made a profit of approximately $600 a day. His Roller coaster was 50 feet tall, 600 feet long, and about 10 mph. Over the next four years, Thompson already had more than 50 roller coasters across the U.S. While Thompson’s competition focused on making their roller coasters faster, steeper, and taller, Thompson worked on visuals like lights, tunnels, and scenery to make each roller coaster better than the last. Thompson made his own company and called it “The LA Thompson Scenic Railway”. It is said that his most notable coaster was in Venice, California.

A roller coaster is basically made up of potential and kinetic energy. Once you start moving that's when you're pulled by a motor and that's the only time you have a motor . You're not being pulled by a hitch all the time. Once you're moving you're on your own.

Individuals love to go to the amusement parks and try out the rides that are available. The most common and thrilling ride is the roller coaster. An amusement park is not an amusement park if it does not contain a roller coaster. What makes these roller coasters so fun that every amuse parks has one. A lot of people would say it is their extreme high speeds that makes it very exciting. That is a valid answer, but it is the wrong answer. The speed has nothing to do with the excitement. It is more than likely that most people travel faster on their ride along the highway on the way to the amusement park than they would in a roller coaster. Basically the thrill all comes from the acceleration and the feeling of weightlessness that they