98-186: Roller Coasters Week 6: Coaster Manufacturers Thing of the Week! - Overview

● American ● Primarily steel coasters ● 1960’s - 2002 Arrow Dynamics -

● Founded 1946 by WWII vets Karl Bacon and Ed Morgan

● Contracted by Disneyland in 1953 to build most of its original rides Arrow Dynamics - Fame

● Developed the original Bobsleds, the first steel coaster!

● In the 60’s, developed log flumes

● In 70’s-80’s, continued with coasters and had lots of success due to their innovation

○ Invented the suspended coaster

● Almost every major park had an Arrow coaster Arrow Dynamics - Decline

● In the 90’s other steel manufacturers like B&M and drove Arrow away

● Their coasters were higher quality

● Arrow tried one last hurrah with X at SFMM, but it failed

● X was the first “4D” coaster, invented by Arrow

● Went bankrupt in 2002 Schwarzkopf - Overview

● German ● Steel ● 1960’s - 1990’s Schwarzkopf - Beginnings

● Named after , the engineer who owned the company

● Began with rides for traveling , which are popular in Germany

● In 1964, made their first steel coaster, the Wildcat

○ Simple, but copied across Germany and U.S. Schwarzkopf - Portable Coasters

● Also known for innovation

● Invented the portable , important for European markets

● Some could stand 100ft tall but still be small and able to be packed in a week or two

● Also invented shuttle coasters and shuttle loops Schwarzkopf - Downfall

● Anton was not a good businessman

● Schwarzkopf went bankrupt several times, the final being in the 80’s

● Most of its engineers went to and , manufacturers still operating today

● His rides are still known for higher quality and better ride than Arrow coasters - Overview

● Dutch ● Steel ● 1979 - Present Vekoma - Old McDonald

● Founded in 1926 as a farming equipment manufacturer

● Moved into amusement in 1979 with Super Wirbel at Germany’s Holiday Park Vekoma - Striking Similarities

● Very similar to Arrow ride systems in layout, style, and even rolling stock

● Famous for two (widely cloned) coaster lines:

○ Boomerang - Shuttle coaster with cobra roll/

○ Suspended Looping Coaster (SLC) - Inverted coaster with 5 inversions; cheaper than B&M but less comfortable Vekoma - Mixing it Up

● Mixed the SLC with the Boomerang with the Invertigo model

● Riders sit back-to-back, facing other passengers

● Also made a huge one in 2001 that was plagued with technical issues Vekoma - Fly Like an Eagle

● Invented the flying coaster with at what is now California’s Great America

● Slow loading times and technical issues made it a failure Vekoma - Now

● Manufacture kiddie rides and family coasters

● Known for cloned coasters, but they do sometimes make custom ones for clients

● Recently made Expedition Everest for Disney’s Animal Kingdom PTC - Overview

● American ● Wood ● 1920’s - 1979 (But still operating) PTC - Oldboys

● Oldest existing manufacturer

● Formed in 1904 in Philadelphia

● Began with making less extreme rides like

○ Sometimes credited as the inventors of Skeeball PTC - Building a Legacy

● In the early 1900’s they began producing wooden coasters with designers like John Miller

● Survived declines in coasters by switching their focus to kiddy/family coasters PTC - John Allen

● Under John Allen’s ownership, PTC resumed making coasters in 1972 (even though he didn’t want to) PTC - The and Revival

● Under Allen, PTC made the Racer, leading to the Second Golden Age

● Made 10 more coasters between 1972 and the early 80’s

● They then stopped making original coasters PTC - The Toboggans

● Famous for their wooden coaster trains

● Very boxy, 2-3 rows, usually individual lap bars

● Currently focus on production and restorations Dinn Corp / Dinn & Summers - Overview

● American ● Wood ● 1972-1991 Dinn Corp / Dinn & Summers - Racing Origins

● Charlie Dinn was a engineer helping build the Racer

● Helped design the Beast at KI 7 years later Dinn Corp / Dinn & Summers - Super Coaster Bros

● Partnered with Curtis Summers in 1989 to make Dinn Corp.

● Produced about 10 coasters between then and 1991

○ Mean Streak (, top)

○ Texas Giant (SFOT, bottom)

● Stopped production in 1991 Dinn Corp / Dinn & Summers - Big Coasters, Big Bills

● While known for their massive coasters, Dinn Corp. coasters deteriorated fast

● Usually had to be retracked within 5 years

● Showed that large coasters are not a good idea unless done correctly Custom Coasters International (CCI) - Overview

● American ● Wood ● 1992 - 2002 CCI - Bringing Back the Wood

● Founded 1992 by Denise Dinn-Larick, daughter of Charlie Dinn

● Started with smaller coasters, but eventually Shivering Timbers at went big Michigan’s Adventure ● Dominant in the 1990’s, helping to bring wooden coasters back during the rise of steel coasters CCI - Big Numbers and Bankruptcy

● Produced over 30 coasters in less than 10 years

○ 7 in the year 2000 alone ● Went bankrupt in 2002 building the New Mexico Rattler

Mega Zeph at (Built 2000, RIP) CCI - Legacy

● Most modern wooden manufacturers have ties to CCI:

○ Denise Dinn ran a small division of S&S

○ Mike Boodley formed GCI

○ Four of CCI’s primary designers went on to found Gravity Group, the premier wooden coaster manufacturers nowadays Modern Manufacturers Intamin AG - Overview

● Swiss ● Steel ● 1979 - Present Intamin AG - Rides, not Watches

● Abbreviation of International Amusement Installations

● Found 1967, beginning with flat rides like observation towers

● Served as a middle man for Schwarzkopf, then began making their own coasters Intamin AG - Big Name Designer

● Their first coaster was only 19 ft tall (Jr. at Cedar Point)

● , often credited as the greatest steel coaster designer, worked for Intamin

● Stengel founded Ing.-Büro Stengel GmbH, which designs most coasters today Intamin AG - Repertoire

● Perfected the stand-up coaster invented by minor manufacturer Togo

● In 1999, began their “Mega Coaster” line

○ Out-and-back with large helixes

● Commonly make hydraulic launch coasters

● Their recent “Mega-Lite” line is popular for its short height but huge airtime Intamin AG - Recordbreakers

● 300 ft barrier: Millenium Force at Cedar Point (2000) ● 400 ft barrier: at CP (2003) ● Tallest coaster in the world: 456 ft tall, at Six Flags Great Adventure (2005) ● Fastest coaster: 149 mph, at Ferrari World Dubai (2010) Intamin AG - Recordbreakers

Formula Rossa (left)

Millenium Force (right)

Top Thrill Dragster (left)

Kingda Ka (right) Bolliger & Mabillard (B&M) - Overview

● Swiss ● Steel ● 1990 - Present B&M - Super Coaster Bros.

● Founded 1988 by two Intamin employees (technically)

● Walter Bolliger and Claude Mabillard

● Founded to try to leave the amusement industry

● Contracted to build Iron Wolf at SFGA, and were sucked back in :) B&M - GUESS WHAT THEY MADE

● Invented the inverted coaster with 1992’S : The Ride at SFGA

● Also Dueling Dragons :)

● Also made Kumba at Busch Gardens Tampa in 1993 B&M - Look Ma, No Floors!

● Invented the floorless coaster in 1999 with Medusa, which became

● Also began making hypercoasters in 1999 with Apollo’s Chariot at BG Williamsburg

● Improved upon Vekoma’s flying coaster concept as well B&M - Other Favorite

● Usually had no launch hills except for The Incredible Hulk Coaster at Islands of Adventure (YAYAYAYAYAYA)

● This was changed in 2015 with Thunderbird at Holiday World

● Thunderbird is a wing coaster, one of their primary models Great Coasters International (GCI)- Overview

● American ● Wood ● 1996 - Present Great Coasters International (GCI) - A “Wild” Start

● Started 1994 by Mike Boodley and Clair Hain, Jr.

● Their first coaster built was the Wildcat at

● Known for sweeping drops and lots of crossover elements

● Inspired mainly by the 1920’s coasters Great Coasters International (GCI) - Fly Throughs

● Their famous features are “fly-throughs”, where the track passes by the boarding station

● Began with ’s Thunderhead in 2007

● Do not PTC rolling stock (trains), but rather “Millenium Flyer” trains, noticeable by their front grate - Overview

● American ● Wood ● 2005 - Present The Gravity Group - Flippy Dippy

● After CCI’s 2002 bankruptcy, many of their designers founded this company

● First coaster was Hades at Mt. Olympus in Wisconsin Dells

● Added a to Hades in 2013 The Gravity Group - High-Five

● A year after Hades, they made Voyage at Holiday World

● This is often called the #1 wooden coaster in the world

● One of their common features is a 90º banked turn

● Recently made Deuling Dragon at Happy Valley in China

○ Features a “high-five” element! Rocky Mountain Construction (RMC) - Overview

● American ● Wood (?) ● 2001 - Present RMC - Foundation

● Established 2001 by Fred Grubb and Suanne Dedmon ● Fred began in specialty and amusement construction ● Alan Schilke of Arrow Dynamics joined them in 2009 to help design attractions RMC - The I-Box Track

● Schilke and Grubb worked on a new type of track called the I-Box and debuted it on the at SFOT

● The I-Box features multiple planar pieces of steel that replace the traditional wood stack, and can be manufactured easier RMC - The I-Box Track RMC - Innovators

● Their first true steel coaster uses their “” track

● This is the Wonder Woman Golden Lasso Coaster at , built 2018 7 Degrees of L.A. Thompson

The realm of wooden coaster construction is especially interconnected:

➔ L.A. Thompson invents the wooden coaster in 1880’s

➔ John Miller becomes L.A.’s chief engineer

➔ Herbert Schmeck learns from John Miller while they worked with PTC

➔ John Allen was Schmeck’s apprentice; he designed the Racer

➔ Charlie Dinn worked with John Allen on the Racer

➔ Denise Dinn worked for her father Charlie before CCI

➔ Most major wood designers today are from CCI Next Week: Identification and inversions!