Matterhorn Bobsleds, Disneyland- This may seem like an odd choice for this list at first. Its has a pretty lax layout and a lot of things you see on any average roller coaster. However, its the technology that makes it work that makes it special. Matterhorn is the first modern steel coaster in existence and paved the way for the designers, Arrow Dynamics, to go on and make steel a big material to build coasters with. In the 1950's when Matterhorn was being developed, wood coasters were pretty much the standard among building coasters. Walt Disney wanted something different, something smoother, so he proposed the ride's track be made out of steel. A young Arrow Dynamics came through with a tubular track system which the polyurethane wheels ran on, crating a smooth and swift ride. The ride even uses the steel to its fullest capabilities with a splash at the end, something you couldn't do with wood as it would wear out being under water. Though a bit ahead of its time as the steel coaster wouldn't catch on for another decade or so, it was a starting point for future designers to pick up on.
Racer, Kings Island- Kings Island was one of the first major parks to open after Disneyland in 1955. A few parks that were around before the Great Depression had small comebacks, but nothing much to draw people back in. Kings Island also sought to take some pages from Disneyland in how the park was built, but they also maintained the classic aspects of amusement parks, with classic rides, more affordable pricing, and a pair of wooden coasters that caught on like wildfire in 1972. The twin tracked Racer opened to extreme popularity. The park never envisioned such a draw to the ride. In fact, Kings Island contacted Philadelphia Toboggan Co. to bring them extra cars for the trains to keep up with the capacity needs. The Racer, as such, is credited as re-starting the coaster building craze America once had in the early 1900's. The trend continues today as many parks have sprung up and become popular.
Revolution, Six Flags Magic Mountain- Adding a loop to a roller coaster was going on frequently back in the early days of the 1800's, back when the French were trying it and getting them shut down by the local police. Flash foward to the 1970's when steel coasters were getting their time in the spotlight. Anton Schwarzkopf and Arrow Dynamics were both developing their track designs to go upside down. Arrow Dynamics did come through first with Knott's Berry Farm's Corkscrew, but with that big white vertical loop among a spread out terrain layout, Revolution got more notoriety. The lattice steel work of the track and supports is still one of the most eye catching sights at any amusement park anywhere. With confirmation that loops could be done, this was like a match to gasoline as a HUGE coaster building spree began to see how high and how loopy parks could make coasters.
Beast, Kings Island- Kings Island wasn't done taking the world by storm quite yet. They had another plan in the books that would keep the wood coaster alive through the upsurge of steel coasters. While steel coasters were finding ways to build bigger, Kings Island knew that wood had already gotten there, with rides already well above 100 ft at the time, which steel hadn't quite got to in 1975. It was then the park was trying to find out which coaster would fit best before entering the 1980's. Kings Island tossed around making clones of Coney Island's Wildcat and Shooting Star, but with the obvious success of the Racer, they knew they needed something monstrous. The Beast surly delivered, using 3 trains at 40 riders per train, which were then sent out on a 7, 359 ft journey through the dense woods at the back of the property. The layout was nothing like most average wood coasters at the time either, most going for an out and back layout with lots of hills or a twister with lots of curves and corners. Beast had a long layout which utilized the terrain to accentuate the rolling hills and valleys. The ride has 2 lift hills as well, and the 540 degree helix serves as a great finale. The ride would hold on to the overall length record for twelve years, though it still holds the wooden length record to this day.
Bat, Kings Island- While steel did get a foothold now that it could do loops, there were other ways designers wanted to utilize the smooth and strong aspects of steel track. One of those ideas was to make a coaster that hung from steel track from above, otherwise known as the suspended coaster. Arrow Dynamics was first to the punch in 1981 when it was hired by Kings Island to come through with the first during the modern era, The Bat. The trains' chassis were hung from the track and acted like a pendulum, swinging to alleviate forces during turns. However, Arrow Dynamics didn't think it all the way through. They thought the swinging would take away from the forces being put on the track as well, which meant the track wasn't banked, which turned out to be false. The ride was riddled with warped track and broken shock absorbers, which meant lots of downtime and even whole seasons where it didn't operate. The ride sat dormant more than it operated, and by 1983, the park decided to be rid of it. Arrow did come back to build improved suspended coasters, including another one for Kings Island in the form of Top Gun (now called Flight Deck), and a big future design would stem from the suspended coaster.
King Cobra, Kings Island- As you can see with this list, Kings Island had done a lot for the industry in introducing new types. They came through a few years after the Bat with another way for steel coasters to get wacky, the stand up coaster. A few rides have tried this and failed, but King Cobra was the first in the United States to be fully designed to work with the new riding position. The ride was simple, only 90 ft tall, 50 mph and had a single, picturesque vertical loop, but it prooved that designers could, in theory, do anything with steel coasters.
Magnum XL-200, Cedar Point- Of course, Cedar Point had to get on this list at some point. While the innovations of the suspended and stand up coaster were being patented, the industry were also clamoring to make steel coasters bigger. Eventually, heights of 150 ft and 175 ft were conquered, but the real goal was the magic altitude of 200 ft. Cedar Point was more than willing to take on the challenge, with Arrow Dynamics back on the scene. The firm gave Cedar Point a height record before in the twin tracked Gemini back in 1978, but this new coaster set for 1989 would smash all previous records. The ride stood at 205 ft and hit what was then, an absurd top speed of 72 mph. The trick was what to do after the drop. Arrow Dynamics came up with harking back to how wood coasters were designed, making a simple out and back layout with giant hills, a figure 8 style turn around, and enough air time to give even the most hardened coaster enthusiast goosebumps. The ride served as a pinnacle to building taller as it wouldn't be for a long time that it would be eclipsed.
Batman: The Ride, Six Flags Great America- Arrow's big problem in making the suspended coaster was making it go upside down since Arrow was the king of looping coasters, and it seemed like a natural progression. The swinging would prevent that from ever coming to be, but newcomer Bolliger and Mabillard took their own shot at it. The firm had some pretty big successes for such a young company with a lot of stand up coasters under its belt. They took Arrow's suspended coaster and simply made single, rigid cars that didn't swing, allowing the ride to do all the inversions a regular steel coaster could do. The first park to try one of these wicked ski lift cars was Six Flags Great America, and with some Warner Brothers' theming to back it up, Batman: The Ride came to life. This was another spark steel coasters needed to go on and create a multitude of types inspired by the inverted coaster, such as flying, 4th dimension, floorless, and teh current winged coaster trend.
Superman: The Escape, Six Flags Magic Mountain- So the industry had certain milestones out of the way, surpassing 200 ft and making coasters with ever increasing inversions, but there was also the matter of speed. About midway through the 1990's, LIM's came on the scene as a way to put the lift hill in the optional parts bin. With this new magnetic system, you didn't need a massive hill to get trains to ridiculous velocities. Intamin took that idea to the extreme, and in 1997, Six Flags Magic Mountain partnered with the Swiss firm to go after 100 mph. The ride would use LSM's, which require more interaction between the magnets and the cars, to blast the 15 ton cars from 0 to 100 mph in 7 seconds. The ride did undergo massive delays due to the amount of power needed to feed such a beast, but it eventually opened. To burn off that speed, the ride also crushed the previous height record by nearly doubling it, soaring all the way up to 415 ft.
Millennium Force, Cedar Point- Going for certain milestones can be attained through traditional methods as well. A lot of launch technology was still young and getting them opened on a consistant basis was problematic. Cedar Point had the idea to go for 300 ft in mind, but by using a traditional lift system...sort of. The ride does have a 310 ft lift hill, but it doesn't use a chain. Two reasons for this. First, a regular lift would take a very long time to reach the top. Secondly, well, Magnum's chain weight in the range of 7 tons and its only 2/3 as tall. Millennium Force would solve both by using an elevator cable system, which was easier for the lift mechanisms to use as well as get the trains up to 310 ft in only 22 seconds. The ride is also one of the longest rides out there, stretching to over 6,000 ft. The ride's layout offers a speed course, and with a 92 mph top speed, it definitely lives up to the park's boasts about the ride.
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