Most popular amusement park rides

Added: 02/23/2006

In the USA, the first amusement park rides were carousels, which appeared as far back as in 1875, when trying to keep a passenger usage up on the weekends, railway companies on the Coney Island introduced weekend and summer activities at the end of the rail lines. Since that time many amusement park rides have appeared and, becoming no more needed, disappeared, while a roller coaster, one of the oldest, is still the only reason for many people to visit an amusement park.

According to the results of Zillions Online survey, conducted in summer 2000-2001, the following amusement park rides were among children's favorites: a roller coaster that goes upside-down - eighty nine percent, a free-falling ride - seventy eight percent, a roller coaster that does not go upside-down - seventy four percent, a virtual-reality ride - sixty eight percent, a spinning ride, where the floor falls out - sixty six percent, a spinning ride that tips on its side - fifty eight percent, a motion-simulator ride - fifty nine percent, a swinging-ship ride - forty eight percent, a spinning-car ride (with many arms) - forty six percent, a haunted house - forty four percent, Bumper Cars - thirty seven percent, the Ferris wheel - twenty percent, a cable-car ride - nineteen percent, a carousel (merry-go-round) - eleven percent.

The results have not changed much since that time and a roller coaster still remains one of the priority amusement park rides for frolic kids and adult thrill seekers. The experience of cruising up and down the track at 60 miles per hour, taking abrupt turns and completing death-defying loops, is unrepeatable on other amusement rides, though all of them (especially new ones) provide a diversity of other terrific experiences, simulating a danger and terror. In fact, there is no danger at all and amusement park rides are safer than a simple bicycle riding. Amusement park physics uses laws, simulating a fear and danger, while amusement park rides are commonly very safe.

For instance, roller coasters, which are so popular today, have no engines at all. The car is pulled to the top of the first hill at the beginning of the ride, but after that, the coaster completes the ride on its own. The conversion of potential energy to kinetic energy is what drives the roller coaster, and all of the kinetic energy you need for the ride is present once the coaster leaves the first hill. Different kinds of wheels help keep the ride smooth. The roller coaster has running wheels to guide the coaster on the track, friction wheels to control movements to this or that side of the track, a final set of wheels to help keep the coaster on the track even, though it is inverted. Here how it goes, this thrilling and blood-chilling roller coaster or "scream machine" as it is often called.

A roller coaster is one of the oldest amusement park rides, which has become a famous technological achievement and physics advance, while many its contemporaries are no longer in operation. For instance, children already do not mention once very popular amusement park rides such as caterpillars, haunted swings or tumble bugs. In the USA, a roller coaster appeared in 1884 as the first gravity switchback train almost immediately after the first amusement park ride, a carousel, was invented. In 1912, John Miller introduced the first under friction roller coaster. In 1955, the opening of Disneyland, the first national theme park, helped introduce many radical changes in the roller coaster design. In 1959, Disney introduced the Matterhorn, the first tubular steel coaster; the first successful inverted coaster was introduced in 1992. The technology is still working together with amusement park physics to add what is possible in new roller coaster designs.

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