Rooolllllleeerrrcccoooaaasssttteeerrrsss Roolllleerrccooaasstteerrss Thrilling but too dangerous?
You could hear the screams long before you saw what was causing them. I was walking across a deserted amusement park in Ohio the day before it opened to the public. This was press day and I had been invited to ride the world’s tallest and fastest rollercoaster. After a few minutes the source of the hysteria appeared above the treetops: a metal track arcing higher than the Statue of Liberty, then plunging precipitously through stomach-churning twists and turns. This was Millennium Force, in the Cedar Point amusement park, and when it was my turn to descend from the 95 metre summit through a near vertical, 80-degree angle at 148kmh I screamed like a 13-year-old girl and was wide-eyed and buzzing for hours. That was 15 years ago and Cedar Point is no longer ‘‘the rollercoaster capital of the world’’ and Millennium Force has long since lost its claims to be the highest, fastest ride. The fastest rollercoaster now is the Formula Rossa at Ferrari World in Abu Dhabi (240kmh), the highest is Kingda Ka at the Six Flags Great Adventure park in New Jersey (139m). Next year a ride is scheduled to open in Orlando that will rise to 173m .Higher! Faster! Screamier! The rollercoaster world seems to be in an arms race to provide the next thrill, with ever more hyperbolic claims. The Smiler at Alton Towers in Staffordshire, central England, sought to differentiate itself with the boast that it was the world’s ‘‘first 14 looping rollercoaster’’. The ride certainly stands out from the rest now. On Wednesday a rollercoaster car crashed into an empty carriage causing serious injuries to four passengers who were airlifted to hospital. The park was closed as an investigation continued. Will there be a long-term effect on the reputation of Alton Towers and its rides? The share price of Merlin Entertainments, its owner, recovered somewhat on Thursday after an initial plunge. One industry executive says ‘‘it is very serious for all of us’’ but added that in the past accidents, which have been rare in Britain, have not discouraged the nation’s love affair with rollercoasters. There are 3600 rollercoasters worldwide, more than ever before. Many new rides are in China: a decade ago there were about 100 rides; now there are almost 900, with a new park opening every few months. Britain’s appetite remains unsated too. Attendance at the top 20 theme parks in Europe was up by 60 million visitors, 3 per cent, last year, according to figures this week from the Themed Entertainment Association. Visitor numbers at Alton Towers were up 3 per cent and at Legoland Windsor there was a 7 per cent rise. There are about 10 key companies designing rollercoasters. Finding a new idea to persuade parks to spend millions on a ride is a constant challenge. There is still some mileage in going up, as demonstrated by the new 173m ride in Orlando, the Skyscraper. However, the cost of free-standing steel structures is so prohibitive that the height will be achieved only by building it around a tower of shops and restaurants. The word rollercoaster is now so ubiquitous that it is no longer truly effective, so rides above 60m are known as hypercoasters; those topping 91m are gigacoasters; and the two rides (for now) higher than 122m are stratocoasters. Some people in the industry are sceptical about trying to be the highest. ‘‘Rides are trending towards more ‘family friendly’ – this is because tallest, fastest, etc. are great eye-catchers, but only a small market will ride these and they are very expensive,’’ says Steve Boney, of Maurer Rides, a German company. Jakob Wahl is director of communications for the Europa-Park in Munich, Europe’s most popular park after Disneyland Paris. They have 11 rollercoasters and are one of the biggest builders of rides for the world market. ‘‘The highest coasters might have a certain ‘wow!’ effect but then people have done it and ask for more. They always want more thrills. The lifetime of the highest coaster is always very short: someone next door will build one a metre higher,’’ he says. ‘‘You need to be more innovative than just putting up the highest coaster." Europa is currently working on a ride that will be ‘‘immersive.’’ Riders will wear virtual reality glasses and see scenes and characters during the ride.
Marcus Gaines, a British member of the European Coaster Club, who has ridden more than 1200 rollercoasters, does not expect to see many higher rollercoasters, and while it is possible to make rides go faster there is one big stumbling block – for every kilometre per hour gained you need a more expensive motor to give the cars their initial acceleration (most rides still rely primarily on gravity). There has also been a revival in the popularity of rollercoasters with wooden tracks. These no longer provide the rickety ride of yesteryear and are popular in America and Europe. Wooden tracks do not offer the loops steel runs do, but many purists prefer the experience and Gaines expects the revival to pick up in the UK.
There have been few accidents on rollercoasters in Britain especially in the era of modern, computer-designed and operated rides. In 2006 six people were taken to hospital after an accident on the Runaway Mine Train at Alton Towers. In 2004 a 16-year-old girl died on a ride at Oakwood Theme Park, west Wales. She fell 30m from a steel rollercoaster when her safety restraints failed.
The International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions says that there are approximately 300 ‘‘fixedsite’’ amusement parks in Europe, visited by 183 million people each year who take 1.1 billion rides. In the US it has been calculated that the likelihood of being seriously hurt on an amusement park ride is 1 in 24 million.
Some people have suffered heart attacks and brain aneurysms after riding rollercoasters, but the medical research is inconclusive and seems to suggest that the individuals had underlying medical conditions before going on the rides.
‘‘A technical accident like [at Alton Towers] is so, so rare we are very curious to learn what happened’’ says Wahl. But is it not likely that with intense competition to be the next big thing errors will occur that endanger the public? ‘‘No. In my opinion, not at all. Look at companies like Merlin and they have the best safety guys there. There is never any compromise on safety. I can tell you for every company safety is the No 1 priority.’’
Various people in the industry suggest you are more likely to have a car accident on the way to the park than to be hurt riding a rollercoaster. Such reasoning will no doubt ensure that this multibillion-dollar business thrives. We will take the risk, because we still reason there is not much risk.
Gaines says he still enjoys the thrill of a new ride although after 1200 of them ‘‘unfortunately I don’t get the rush now.’’ Next month he is going to Texas to try a new rollercoaster. The appeal is simple, he says. ‘‘It brings everyone out of their comfort zones. It is escapism from mundane, stressful, everyday life.’’