Search

More and more amusement park owners and ride designers are using linear motors to power roller coasters and other rides. Linear motors have distinct advantages over chain lifts, including accurate brakes and the capability to deliver quiet and smooth but quick acceleration on coaster-style rides. Some of the notable theme parks with linear motor-powered rides include Magic Mountain in Valencia, CA, Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, NJ, and Cedar Point in Sandusky, OH., A few years ago some of the trendiest fides at amusement parks were roller coasters with hills exceeding 200 ft and rides that lifted riders to the top of a [...]

Features the incorporation of robotic technologies in the amusement rides jointly designed by Kuka Robotics, Amec and Primal Rides. Aims of Kuka for using robotics in the amusement rides; Efforts required in creating RoboCoaster, the first licensed passenger-carrying industrial robot; Diagram that shows how RoboCoaster works.

Provides information on Mission: Space, a flight simulation attraction at Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, designed and developed by Walt Disney Imagineering. Features of the ride; Description of the human centrifuge technology used in Mission: Space; Collaboration of Disney Imagineers with the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration during the development of the attraction. INSET: WHERE FLIGHT SIMULATION AND THRILL RIDES MEET.

Focuses on the hydraulic launch system used for the Top Thrill Dragster roller coaster in Cedar Point Amusement Park, Ohio. Background on hydraulic systems; Details on the propulsion mechanism; Safety features. INSET: ON THE SHORES OF LAKE ERIE.

Provides information on the construction of Thunderhead, a wooden roller coaster at the Dollywood theme park in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. Cost; Height and speed; Scheduled completion; Comment from Barbara Joines, vice president/general manager of Dollywood.

Focuses on the mechanical problems with the Top Thrill Dragster, the world's tallest, fastest roller coaster at the Cedar Point amusement park in Ohio. Efforts of engineers from Intamin AG and Cedar Point to fix the problems; Scope of the mechanical problems.

Provides information on the development of the Sahara roller coaster called Speed--The Ride, which employs linear motors for motive power. Challenges faced by engineers of Premier Rides Inc. in designing a ride with a linear motor system; Participation of Allen-Bradley SLC-500 PLC in the project.

Comments on the consumers' reactions to the emergence of innovative products. Readers' response on an article published in an issue of `Machine Design' magazine regarding emerging technologies in amusement-park rides; Factors affecting product acceptance; Information on Light Sculpting's quick-layering (QL) technology; Explanation from Efrem Fudim, who patented QL, on several setbacks that delayed QL development.