RollerCoasterSite

The history of Roller Coasters:

Roller coasters were first created in Russia in the 17th century for the upper class. These rides were popular among it's upper class citizens. Catherine II had a coaster built on her property because she was a fan of these coasters. The 1st loop design for a coaster was in 1846 in Paris, France. The loop was 13 ft in diameter. The designs for looping coasters at this time was called Centrifugal Railways. Roller coasters made mining in Pennsylvania significantly quicker. It was used to mine coal quicker. In the mid 1880s, Coney Island has made it's first complete circuit ride, named "Gravity Pleasure Road," becoming the most popular ride for many years. for around 50 years, roller coasters have grown in popularity throughout the country, with "The Cyclone" in Coney Island becoming the most notable to date. Sadly, the Great Depression put an end to roller coaster popularity for more than 20 years.

With the opening of Disneyland in the 1950s, themeparks were again gaining it's popularity, however it won't become as popular as it was until the 70s with Kings Island and Disney World. The loop returned in 1976 with a ride called "Revolution" at Six Flags Magic Mountain. When "The Beast" at Kings Island was released to the public, it was the tallest, fastest, and longest coaster. The coaster remains the longest in the world today. The 70s started the 2nd "Golden Age" of roller coasters.

The race to beat coaster records started at around the 2000s with the opening of "Millenium Force" at Cedar Point. It was the first coaster to be taller than 300ft. Today, coasters taller than 300ft are called Giga coasters. There are 5 giga coasters today. But the coaster industry changed completely when Cedar Point once again made a record breaking coaster, Top Thrill Dragster. It was the first strata coaster ( Coasters over 400ft ) in the world. Today, only Top Thrill Dragster and Kingda Ka at Six Flags Great Adventure are over 400 ft.