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Magnum XL-200
Magnum XL-200, colloquially known as simply Magnum, is a steel roller coaster built by Arrow Dynamics at Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio. When it opened in 1989, it was the tallest, fastest, and steepest complete-circuit roller coaster in the world as well as the first hypercoaster – a roller coaster that exceeds in height. Some have credited Magnum with starting a period in the industry known as the ''roller coaster wars'', in which amusement parks competed with one another at a rapid pace to build the next tallest and fastest roller coaster. More than 40 million people had ridden Magnum as of 2009. Magnum XL-200 held the title of tallest roller coaster in the world until 1994 when The Big One opened at Blackpool Pleasure Beach in the United Kingdom, as well as the title of longest drop and fastest speed until surpassed two years later by Steel Phantom at Kennywood Park outside of Pittsburgh. The ride was ranked by ''Amusement Today'' Golden Ticket Awards as the best steel r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ron Toomer
Ronald Valentine Toomer (May 31, 1930 – September 26, 2011) was an American roller coaster designer credited for designing 93 roller coasters around the world. He graduated from the University of Nevada, Reno in 1961 with a degree in mechanical engineering and was a part of the design team responsible for the Apollo spacecraft heat shield. Career Ron Toomer was hired by Arrow Development founders Karl Bacon and Ed Morgan in 1965 to help design a mine train ride called Run-A-Way Mine Train at Six Flags Over Texas. It opened in 1966 utilizing the tubular steel rail technology that had been developed by Arrow for Disneyland's Matterhorn Bobsleds. The concept caught on quickly and Toomer designed 15 more mine train coasters for Arrow. All but one are still operating today. Following almost four years of development, Toomer introduced the modern looping roller coaster in 1975 with the opening of ''Corkscrew'', the first in the world with two inversions, at Knott's Berry Farm. K ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dick Kinzel
Richard L. Kinzel (born July 25, 1940) is the former CEO of Cedar Fair Entertainment Company. He served as president and CEO of Cedar Fair until January 2, 2012, when his successor, Matt Ouimet, took over as president and CEO. He was involved in Cedar Fair for 39 years. Career highlights Valleyfair Richard Kinzel started out at Cedar Point as an employee but was transferred to Valleyfair in 1978 to run the newly acquired park. He served as the General Manager of Valleyfair from 1978 to 1986. In 1986, the then-CEO of Cedar Fair stepped down due to health issues. Kinzel was promoted to president and CEO. CEO of Cedar Fair When Kinzel stepped in as CEO of Cedar Fair, the company owned just two parks: Valleyfair and Cedar Point. His first major highlight was the installation of Magnum XL-200, a hypercoaster at Cedar Point that was intended to draw more crowds to the park. "Magnum" was the first coaster to break 200 feet and is considered by many to have started the so-called "coast ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Six Flags Great America
Six Flags Great America is a amusement park located in Gurnee, Illinois, within the northern Chicago metropolitan area. The amusement park originally opened as Marriott's Great America on May 29, 1976, as one of two theme parks built by the Marriott Corporation. Six Flags acquired the amusement park in 1984 after the theme park division was an earnings disappointment for Marriott. The sale gave Six Flags rights to the ''Looney Tunes'' intellectual properties. In 1972, the Marriott Corporation bought rural land near the Tri-State Tollway and had officially announced the theme park to the public the following year, in 1973. The new park would be built near identical to its sister park in Santa Clara, California, now named California's Great America. Designed by architect Randall Duell, the park was designed in a "Duell loop," in where the park was laid out in a full circuit circularly, as employees worked out of sight, in the middle of the park. Opening attractions and areas wit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shockwave (Six Flags Great America)
Shockwave (occasionally stylized as ShockWave or Shock Wave) was a roller coaster manufactured by Arrow Dynamics at Six Flags Great America in Gurnee, Illinois. Standing tall and reaching speeds of , it opened in 1988 as the world's tallest and fastest looping roller coaster with a record-breaking seven inversions: three vertical loops, a boomerang (also known as a batwing), and two regular corkscrews. Shockwave was closed in 2002 and has been dismantled. History In late 1987, Six Flags Great America announced that they would be getting Shockwave for the 1988 season. The ride would be placed towards the front of the park in the Orleans Place section. Shockwave was set to open in April 1988, but the opening was delayed to June 3. Shockwave was designed by Ron Toomer at Arrow Dynamics, and its seven inversions set a new world record among roller coasters previously held by Vortex at Kings Island, which opened a year earlier. In 1989, Great American Scream Machine debuted at ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Iron Dragon (roller Coaster)
Iron Dragon is a suspended roller coaster located at Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio. Built in 1987 by Arrow Dynamics, it is located in the Millennium Midway section of the park. History Before Iron Dragon's 1987 debut, the Western Cruise (later known as Paddlewheel Excursions) boats circumnavigated the waters around this island. The popular boat ride's station sat on the same part of the midway where Iron Dragon's station rests today. (Riders can still spot the docking cleats welded to the dock while climbing the stairs to the boarding station.) The Monster circular ride used to call the land under Iron Dragon's transfer track home. Monster closed on Labor Day weekend in 1986 so ''Iron Dragon'' construction could begin. Planning for Iron Dragon began in 1985, the same year the Frontier Lift cable car ride (similar to the Sky Ride found on Cedar Point's main midway) opened for its final season. In the early and mid-1990s, a "remote a boat" game was housed in the water under Iron ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Intamin
Intamin Amusement Rides is a design and manufacturing company in Schaan, Liechtenstein. It is best known for creating thrill rides and roller coasters worldwide. The Intamin brand name is a syllabic abbreviation for "international amusement installations". The company has offices throughout the world, including three in Europe, three in Asia, and two in the United States. Intamin supplies numerous styles of roller coasters, vertical rides, water rides, immersive rides, swing rides, and observation attractions to amusement parks. The company has installed scores of roller coasters in several countries. Intamin designed and built the first river rapids ride, known as Thunder River, and marketed the first freefall ride (developed by Giovanola) and drop tower. Products and technologies Intamin's product range spans two broad categories: rides and transportation. Amusement rides Roller coasters Intamin created the first hydraulic launch system (known as the Accelerator Coaste ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dinn Corporation
Dinn Corporation was a roller coaster designing and manufacturing company established in West Chester Township, Butler County, Ohio, West Chester, Ohio, in 1983 by Charles Dinn. The company is noted for moving and rebuilding several existing wooden coasters and building ten new wooden roller coasters in the United States. History Charles Dinn served as Kings Island's Director of Construction, Maintenance and Engineering, where he oversaw the design and building of The Beast (roller coaster), The Beast with a team including Al Collins, Jim Nickell, William Reed and Curtis D. Summers. In November 1983, Dinn left Kings Island and opened his own corporation in West Chester Township, Butler County, Ohio, West Chester, Ohio. The corporation relocated three older wooden roller coasters from parks that had been closed to new parks One of the firm's first projects was rebuilding the San Antonio Playland Park (San Antonio, Texas), Playland Park Rocket as the Phoenix (roller coaster), Phoeni ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
TOGO
Togo (), officially the Togolese Republic (french: République togolaise), is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, where its capital, Lomé, is located. It covers about with a population of approximately 8 million, and has a width of less than between Ghana and its eastern neighbor Benin. From the 11th to the 16th century, tribes entered the region from various directions. From the 16th century to the 18th century, the coastal region was a trading center for Europeans to purchase slaves, earning Togo and the surrounding region the name "The Slave Coast". In 1884, Germany declared a region including a protectorate called Togoland. After World War I, rule over Togo was transferred to France. Togo gained its independence from France in 1960. In 1967, Gnassingbé Eyadéma led a successful military coup d'état, after which he became president of an anti-communist, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gemini (roller Coaster)
Gemini is a racing roller coaster with a wooden structure and steel track, located at Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio. Built in 1978 by Arrow Dynamics and designed by Ron Toomer, it is one of the oldest roller coasters in the park. When the ride opened, it was marketed as the tallest, fastest and steepest roller coaster in the world. All three record-breaking claims were falsely made as other coasters around the world already beat Gemini. The all-steel Loch Ness Monster at Busch Gardens in Williamsburg, Virginia, opened earlier that year before Gemini and was taller but had a shorter drop. Screamin' Eagle at Six Flags St. Louis opened two years prior to Gemini and was faster at 62 mph. Ride experience The structure is considered a steel hybrid due to the track's use of tubular steel which sits on a wooden support structure.http://www.thecoastercritic.com/2012/02/one-of-cedar-points-weakest-coasters-could-get-an-upgrade.html Two trains, red and blue, are dispatched on two trac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Roller Coaster Inversion
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 were circular in nature and date back to 1848 on the Centrifugal railway in Paris. These Vertical loop, vertical loops produced massive g-force that was often dangerous to riders. 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 Roller coaster element#Corkscrew , corkscrew, reviving interest in the inversion during the modern age of steel roller coasters. Elements have since evolved from simple corkscrews and vertical loops to more complex inversions such as Immelmann loops and cobra rolls. The Smiler at Alton Towers holds the world record for the number of inversions on a roller coaster with 14. History Prototypes (1848–1903) The first inversion i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
G-force
The gravitational force equivalent, or, more commonly, g-force, is a measurement of the type of force per unit mass – typically acceleration – that causes a perception of weight, with a g-force of 1 g (not gram in mass measurement) equal to the conventional value of gravitational acceleration on Earth, ''g'', of about . Since g-forces indirectly produce weight, any g-force can be described as a "weight per unit mass" (see the synonym specific weight). When the g-force is produced by the surface of one object being pushed by the surface of another object, the reaction force to this push produces an equal and opposite weight for every unit of each object's mass. The types of forces involved are transmitted through objects by interior mechanical stresses. Gravitational acceleration (except certain electromagnetic force influences) is the cause of an object's acceleration in relation to free fall. The g-force experienced by an object is due to the vector sum of all ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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