Half a croissant, on a plate, with a sign in front of it saying '50c'
h a l f b a k e r y
non-lame halfbakery tagline

idea: add, search, annotate, link, view, overview, recent, by name, random

meta: news, help, about, links, report a problem

account: browse anonymously, or get an account and write.

user:
pass:
register,


                                 

Rickety Roller Coaster

Appears to be unsafe, but that's part of the fun
  (+6)
(+6)
  [vote for,
against]

It looks like an old, dilapidated, Coney Island roller coaster that's rusted and shouldn't be run. On the starting hill it would creak, and maybe even stop midway. Fake sounds of metal (or wood) almost breaking would be played over the loudspeakers. If there was a way to make the coaster tilt as it went around corners, that would work well.
destro, May 21 2002

(?) Lagoon http://www.lagoonpa.../explore_rides.html
Northern Utah's theme park, complete with shitty rides and a decent waterpark. Oh, and probably the best Ferris Wheel I've ever seen. Click "the white rollercoaster" to see what I was talking about. [AfroAssault, May 25 2002, last modified Oct 04 2004]

[link]






       The problem is, I *still* know it's safe.
phoenix, May 21 2002
  

       You never really know for sure though. Even modern roller coasters break every now and then.
destro, May 21 2002
  

       Either this is already baked by Knott's Berry Farm here in Buena Park, CA, or their coasters really _are_ potentially deadly.
globaltourniquet, May 21 2002
  

       I'm with [phoenix] on this. Pretty much every roller coaster I've been on is a disappointment, precisely because I know I'm safe. There used to be travelling fairs in Scotland however that included *really* ancient looking rides - one in particular I remember where the guy running it had to retighten some of the couplings holding the thing together after every third ride (a friend of mine actually fell off this particular one - it was, however, his own fault). It also took several attempts to get the safety bar to shut properly. Riding it was real heart-in-the-mouth stuff. You don't want to be injured by the ride, but knowing there is absolutely no danger makes the experience a little anodyne, rather than alarming. So, good idea [destro], but the real tricky bit is creating the illusion of real danger in the minds of the desensitised.
mcscotland, May 21 2002
  

       Buena Park?! Why didn't you say so? Based there, your Space Yo-Yo would woik perfectly then!
Roeding Park in Fresno has the most Rickety-Rackle Roller Coaster I've ever been on.
thumbwax, May 21 2002
  

       I've seen this as an aspect of those simulated 'movie ride' coasters - those motion-controlled seats synched to video. I was on one where the car ahead of 'us' plummetted off the track, and there were whole sections of track missing that we fell through and miraculously landed on another part.
waugsqueke, May 21 2002
  

       Does Cedar Point's Blue Streak qualify?
RayfordSteele, May 23 2002
  

       I would consider the Cyclone at Coney Island as an example but it's more a fear of tetanus.
destro, May 24 2002
  

       Possibly off-topic, since it's not rickety so much as defying the laws of physics, is the brilliant roller coaster at Codonas pleasure beach in Aberdeen, Scotland (not a place you associate with seaside holidays perhaps). It has what is almost certainly the smallest loop-the-loop in the world, I'm sure it's about 8 feet high, and with a circumference far shorter than the length of the train. Wow, that's fun.
pottedstu, May 24 2002
  

       The Deeside Riviera! It's so odd going to Codonas. Its on the North Sea, but full of stuff that you would associate with the Med. coast. Last time I was there it was snowing, and people were still having a go on the log flume.
mcscotland, May 24 2002
  

       Utah's God-awful-excuse-for-a-theme-park called Lagoon has one of these, it's been around for over 75 years if I recall correctly (burned down then rebuilt in the 50s). I don't know if it has an actual name, people call it the "white rollercoaster" because, well, the whole thing's white. The wood (yes, wood) holding it together is old, rickety, and rotting away, but that's the whole attraction. Will YOU be on the next train that collapses?
AfroAssault, May 25 2002
  

       Afro - I rode that one! I was also going to ride their Ferris Wheel when a huge bolt popped out of it and landed in front of me at high speed. So sort of baked. Go Lagoon!
bdh, Jul 12 2005
  

       Suppose the roller-coaster tracks were mounted to springs attached to the main framework, instead of being directly attached to the main framework? That might qualify as illusory unsafety.
Vernon, Jul 13 2005
  

       Sorry but hasn't this already been done (as you mention) at Coney Island? I am unaware of any bad safety record with that one, but it's still the most rickety (and terrifying) ride I've been on.
wagster, Jul 13 2005
  

       Some of the support struts can intentionally be designed so that they buckle some, being supported by transparent monofilament or something such at a certain point to ensure actual safety.
bdh, Jul 13 2005
  
      
[annotate]
  


 

back: main index

business  computer  culture  fashion  food  halfbakery  home  other  product  public  science  sport  vehicle