With summer just around the corner, amusement parks are gearing
up for the big rush.
With summer just around the corner, amusement parks are gearing up for the big rush. Their goal is to have something for everyone. For example, families with small children can usually find safe little kiddie rides that go around in circles, prompting both children and parents to gleefully wave at each other until the ride ends. A parent’s main worry in these rides is that Johnny or Julie may decide they’ve had enough and try to get out before the ride has ended. That’s where seat belts play a role.
Many of today’s amusement parks also have areas for young children to work off some of their energy. Using equipment similar to that of a schoolyard, but much edgier, kids can climb, run and jump to their heart’s content while mom and dad take advantage of the benches scattered throughout.
Knowing that there’s nothing more dangerous than a bored teen, amusement parks make sure they have plenty to amuse with. There are the carnival-like games where balls are tossed, darts are thrown and large stuffed animals can be won. Rides are also made more attractive to this crowd with flashing lights, blaring music and whenever possible, lots of water. Teens have the extra attraction of lots of other teens to watch.
Scary rides have always been popular. Whether it’s something as benign as walking through a haunted house or rides that twirl and spin so fast, riders are guaranteed to get off rather wobbly legged, to those rides taller than the Empire State Building that brag of G-force factors, many amusement park patrons loved to be scared.
And nothing has had the reputation for scaring and thrilling park riders more than the roller coaster. For almost a century, roller coasters have been the cornerstone in amusement parks. The bigger and faster, the better.
So it comes as no surprise that designing and creating new, speedier, twistier roller coasters is big business. Amusement parks are always looking for ways to pull in customers and get on that list of parks to visit, especially among the roller-coaster set. And every spring, it’s time for companies to hatch their latest in roller coaster inventions.
The basic gears behind roller coasters have changed through the years. Thanks to new technology, which includes hydraulic launch systems and electro-magnetic brakes, roller coasters can take off faster, stop quicker, go higher, swirl riders upside down and generally test the limits of gravity, all while giving the average rider 4 to 5 G’s for seconds at a time. And according to roller coaster designers, there’s no end in sight.
There is fierce competition among amusement parks around the world to have the biggest, fastest, most thrill-provoking roller coaster in the world. And as long as there’s competition, roller coasters will continue to push the extremes.
Some of the newest roller coasters geared to open this spring include Bon Bon Land’s EuroFighter in Denmark, which will offer riders the world’s first 95-degree plunge, Cedar Point’s Top Thrill Dragster in Ohio, billed as the tallest and fastest roller coaster in the world, and in New Jersey’s and Illinois’ Six Flags, Superman Ultimate Flight, which tilts riders into the flying position before leaving the ground.
So while amusement parks gear up for this year’s customers, roller coaster riders will be looking for the ultimate ride. They’ll span out across the globe, paying for tickets, waiting in line, then buckling up to feel the wind race by their faces, their bodies propelled through space and time at Superman speeds while their stomachs beg for normalcy. And when the ride is over and their feet are once again back on the ground, true roller coaster fanatics will get back in line, ready to relive the thrill one more time.
