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A History of Roller Coasters Essay

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Roller coasters are one of the most popular rides when you go to an amusement park with everybody in your family. Why are they so scary for some people while for others it is just another adrenaline rush? Roller Coasters are one of the most complicated rides to build and to actually ride. There are some people who just have fun building something to have a quick adrenaline rush before going to work. Roller coasters have some of the most interesting design and history; they have become one of the world’s famous rides at every amusement park. The first real roller coaster was built in 1878 on Coney Island which was built by La Marcus Thompson. The roller coaster was made out of wood and went down hill. To get to this roller coaster you …show more content…

The roller coaster would go through some quick turns, some dips, and then the ride would be done. Kids and parents would both have fun going on the ride together. The “kiddie coaster” was introduced by Herb Schmeck. Most of the roller coaster wouldn’t go any higher than forty feet up in the air. When it came to the 1960’s amusement parks were fighting to see who had the best roller coasters. It had turned into an arms race for amusement parks in the US. Over sixteen million dollars was used that year to help create new parks and rides. Places like Six Flags had become very big, to the point where they started to expand in 1963 which was huge. This meant they had three parks they were running in the US. Wooden roller coasters also dominated the 60’s because they were brought to a whole new level. They had become faster and you were able to create more effects with the railway. You were able to drop a hundred feet down and go under another part of the track, without getting hurt. When it came to the 1970’s nothing much happened except for what is known as the baby boom of amusement parks. Amusement parks were popping up everywhere in the US. Six Flags had become an amusement park chain for the country and other parks were popping up everywhere. The biggest part about this boom was what type of roller coasters people were building. Steel roller coasters were popping up everywhere in the country and they were nothing like anyone had seen before. They were faster than

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