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Thunderbolt (Dreamworld)
The Thunderbolt was a steel roller coaster located at the Dreamworld theme park in Gold Coast, Australia. The roller coaster opened with the park in April 1982 and operated until 8 August 2003. It was demolished the following year. History On 15 December 1981, Dreamworld officially opened to the public. In April 1982, the park opened its first roller coaster, the Thunderbolt. It was the first roller coaster in Australia to feature vertical loops. Originally painted completely white, the Thunderbolt was repainted around 1990 to feature golden loops. In 1995, a new train was purchased for half a million dollars in an attempt to make the ride more comfortable. In 2002, Dreamworld conducted a feasibility study into the possibility of redeveloping the attraction. The park approached Arrow Dynamics, Kumbak and Vekoma, however, it was determined that the redevelopment was unfeasible due to the ride's condition. On 8 August 2003, the ride was closed, and it remained closed while att ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vertical Loop
The generic roller coaster vertical loop, where a section of track causes the riders to complete a 360 degree turn, is the most basic of roller coaster inversions. At the top of the loop, riders are completely inverted. History The vertical loop is not a recent roller coaster innovation. Its origins can be traced back to the 1850s when '' centrifugal railways'' were built in France and Great Britain. The rides relied on centrifugal forces to hold the car in the loop. One early looping coaster was shut down after an accident. Later attempts to build a looping roller coaster were carried out during the late 19th century with the ''Flip Flap Railway'' at Sea Lion Park. The ride was designed with a completely circular loop (rather than the teardrop shape used by many modern looping roller coasters), and caused neck injuries due to the intense G-forces pulled with the tight radius of the loop. The next attempt at building a looping roller coaster was in 1901 when Edwin Prescott bu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
FlowRider (Dreamworld)
FlowRider is a sheet wave FlowRider attraction at the Dreamworld amusement park on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. History In early 2006 construction began for the FlowRider. It was constructed on part of the site of the former Thunderbolt roller coaster which was removed in 2004. On 23 June 2006, the attraction had its soft opening which was attended by the attraction's designer Tom Lochtefeld as well as several surfers, snowboarders, wakeboarders and skateboarders. The next day, on 24 June 2006, the attraction officially opened to the public. The original Thunderbolt station was converted into a merchandise shop, changing rooms and toilets. It was later redeveloped to provide an internal gate through to WhiteWater World. At the time of opening, it was Australia's first and only FlowRider. The FlowRider later formed part of the marketing initiative "''Adrenalin Alley''" which was launched in 2009. It incorporates the after-hours use of the FlowRider, AVPX and V8 Super ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
WhiteWater World
WhiteWater World is a seasonal water park situated in the suburb of Coomera on the Gold Coast, Australia. It is owned and operated by Ardent Leisure and is the sister park to Dreamworld. After years of planning and a year of construction, WhiteWater World opened to the public on 8 December 2006. The ten Australian beach culture themed attractions cost approximately A$56 million. These included The Green Room, Super Tubes Hydrocoaster, The Rip, The BRO, Temple of Huey, Cave of Waves, Wiggle Bay, and Pipeline Plunge. Several more attractions have been added in the following years, including The Little Rippers, The Wedgie, Triple Vortex and Fully 6, with plans for a $7 million expansion commencing in 2019. History Development In 2004, Macquarie Leisure began planning a water park to be located next to the company's existing Dreamworld theme park. Dreamworld's Chief Executive Officer Stephen Gregg and General Manager of Special Projects Bob Tan visited water parks around ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lift Hill
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. Lift hills usually propel the train to the top of the ride via one of two methods: a Roller chain, chain lift involving a long, continuous chain which trains hook on to and are carried to the top; or a drive tire system in which multiple Electric motor, motorized tire ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Steel Roller Coaster
A steel roller coaster is a roller coaster that is defined by having a track made of steel. Steel coasters have earned immense popularity in the past 50 years throughout the world. Incorporating tubular steel track and polyurethane-coated wheels, the steel roller coasters can provide a taller, smoother, and faster ride with more inversions than a traditional wooden roller coaster. Arrow Dynamics first introduced the steel roller coaster to feature tubular track to the thrill industry with their creations of the Matterhorn Bobsleds (Disneyland) in 1959 and the Runaway Mine Train (Six Flags Over Texas) in 1966. As of 2006, the oldest operating steel roller coaster in North America is Little Dipper at Memphis Kiddie Park in Brooklyn, Ohio and has been operating since April 1952. The oldest operating steel rollercoaster in the world is Montaña Suiza at Parque de Atracciones Monte Igueldo (Spain). It has been operating since 1928. Characteristics *Steel coasters have a gener ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dreamworld (Australia)
Dreamworld is a theme park and zoo situated on the Gold Coast in Queensland. It is Australia's biggest theme park with over 40 rides and attractions. Attractions ranges from thrill rides such as The Claw and Pandamonium to family and kids attractions such as the Dreamworld Express and Sky Voyager. Among the 40+ attractions includes the world's third tallest and fastest drop tower, The Giant Drop and The Gold Coaster, the oldest operating steel roller coaster in Queensland. The park is made up of several themed lands: Ocean Parade, DreamWorks Experience, ABC Kids World, Tiger Island, Main Street, Gold Rush Country, WhiteWater World and Corroboree. These lands have a collection of rides, animal exhibits, shows, food outlets and merchandise shops. Dreamworld was known for being the former location of the Australian '' Big Brother'' house filmed at the Dreamworld Studios, since the program began in Australia from 2001 to 2014. In December 2006, Dreamworld expanded its offerings b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gold Coast, Queensland
The Gold Coast is a coastal city in the state of Queensland, Australia, approximately south-southeast of the centre of the state capital Brisbane. With a population over 600,000, the Gold Coast is the sixth-largest city in Australia, the nation's largest regional city, and Queensland's second-largest city after Brisbane. The city's Central Business District is located roughly in the centre of the Gold Coast in the suburb of Southport, with the suburb holding more corporate office space than anywhere else in the city. The urban area of the Gold Coast is concentrated along the coast sprawling almost 60 kilometers, joining up with the Greater Brisbane Metropolitan Area to the north and to the state border with New South Wales to the south. Prior to European settlement the area was occupied by the Yugambeh people. The demonym for the Gold Coast is Gold Coaster. The Gold Coast is a major tourist destination with a sunny, subtropical climate and has become widely known for its ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by area in Oceania and the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, sixth-largest country. Australia is the oldest, flattest, and driest inhabited continent, with the least fertile soils. It is a Megadiverse countries, megadiverse country, and its size gives it a wide variety of landscapes and climates, with Deserts of Australia, deserts in the centre, tropical Forests of Australia, rainforests in the north-east, and List of mountains in Australia, mountain ranges in the south-east. The ancestors of Aboriginal Australians began arriving from south east Asia approximately Early human migrations#Nearby Oceania, 65,000 years ago, during the Last Glacial Period, last i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arrow Dynamics
Arrow Dynamics was an American manufacturing and engineering company that specialized in designing and building amusement park rides, especially roller coasters. Based in Clearfield, Utah, the company was the successor to Arrow Development (1946–1981) and Arrow Huss (1981–1986), which were responsible for several influential advancements in the amusement and theme park industries. Among the most significant was tubular steel track, which provided a smoother ride than the railroad style rails commonly used prior to the 1960s on wooden roller coasters. The Matterhorn Bobsleds at Disneyland, built in 1959, was Arrow's first roller coaster project. In 1975, Arrow Development introduced the first corkscrew style track Corkscrew, at Knott's Berry Farm that sent riders through a series of corkscrews. Arrow created several other "firsts" over the years, introducing the first suspended roller coaster in almost a century, The Bat, in 1981, and the world's first "hypercoaster", Magnu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kumbak
Kumbak is a Dutch amusement ride manufacturing company. In addition to manufacturing its own rides, the company primarily specialises in changing existing rides and attractions, originally made by other manufacturers. History ''Kumbak'' (originally ''Kumbak Coasters'') was formed on 14 November 2001 just months after the bankruptcy of Vekoma, a roller coaster manufacturer. The company was founded by nine former employees of Vekoma. The company expanded to a total of 16 employees less than a month later. ''Kumbaks first project was to design a passenger evacuation platform for Morey's Piers' Great Nor' Easter Suspended Looping Coaster. Since then the company has performed a complete upgrade on several rides originally made by different manufacturers, as well as designing their own water coaster and dark rides. Projects *'' Great Nor' Easter'', Morey's Piers (2003) – a passenger evacuation platform was constructed for the Vekoma Suspended Looping Coaster *''Space Invader 2'', ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vekoma
Vekoma Rides Manufacturing is a Dutch amusement ride manufacturer. Vekoma is syllabic abbreviation of Veld Koning Machinefabriek (Veld Koning Machine Factory) which was established in 1926 by Hendrik op het Veld. History The company originally manufactured farm equipment and later made steel constructions for the coal mining industry in the 1950s. As business shifted from farming equipment to steel construction, Veld Koning Machinefabriek was shortened to Vekoma. After the closure of Dutch mines in 1965, Vekoma manufactured steel pipes for the petrochemical industry. In the 1970s Vekoma was contracted by U.S. amusement ride manufacturer Arrow Development to build the steel structure for its roller coasters in Europe. As demand increased, Arrow instructed Vekoma in track building techniques and eventually licensed its coaster-building technology. In 1979 Vekoma entered the market on its own, opening three coasters in Europe under the name Vekoma Rides Manufacturing BV. In 2006, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Gold Coast Bulletin
The ''Gold Coast Bulletin'' is a daily newspaper serving Australia's Gold Coast region. It is published as ''The Gold Coast Bulletin'' on weekdays and the ''Weekend Bulletin'' at weekends. It is owned by News Corp Australia. History The newspaper has undergone a number of masthead and ownership changes. When Patrick Joseph McNamara started the paper in 1885, he worked in a tin shed on Southport's Lawson Street. He named the paper ''The Southern Queensland Bulletin'', and it was the first newspaper published in Southport. McNamara was succeeded by Mr Shepherd and Mr Mellor. In the 1890s, the broadsheet was renamed to ''The Logan and Albert Bulletin'', and kept this name until 1928. It was during this period that the Rootes family became associated with the paper, a relationship that spanned generations and provided stability to the publication. In 1908 Mr Edward Fass purchased the newspaper and sold his interest in 1928. On 21 December 1928, under the editorship of Mr Mi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
