NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Tired of the stock market's up and downs? Then climb aboard a real live roller coaster and go for the ultimate wild ride.
In this age of digital this, cyber that and virtual everything, you might think the simple pleasures of the roller coaster have been lost in a blaze of next-generation techno-entertainment.
But hold on to that lap bar. Amusement and theme parks have been on the upswing in recent years as operators try to top each other in the battle of the "-est" — biggest, fastest, longest, whatever-est — roller coaster.
"I think people like to get scared out of their wits," said David Escalante, public relations director for the American Coaster Enthusiasts (ACE). "It's fun to scream once in a while."
And scream they do. Many coaster devotees dedicate all or part of their vacation time to crisscrossing the land in search of the next big drop. And, like true believers in other areas, roller coaster fans have their own lingo such as "airtime," "dog leg" and "slammer" to describe the particulars of their pursuit.
The action slows down a little during the colder weather, but you've still got amusement parks in the South and West that are open all year round, so you can keep your vocal cords in shape during the winter and get some sun in the process.
Feeling that pull in the pit of your stomach? We're almost at the top.
Travel Bug runs every Wednesday on CNNfn's Life Page.
In the beginning....
Historians say the modern roller coaster traces its origins back to the days of Catherine the Great, when people in 15th century St. Petersburg got their thrills from riding down a large ice slide.
The idea picked up speed, so to speak, and soon ice-less slides started popping up in other parts of the world.
In 1820, mining operators in Pennsylvania unwittingly gave roller coasters a boost when they developed the Mauch Chunk Railway to transport coal. The railway eventually became obsolete for mining, but it was reborn as the Scenic Railway, offering fabulous views and some pretty wild speeds for five cents a head. 
Roller coasters and amusements continued to develop, and by the 1920's, the so-called "golden age" of coasters, there were about 1,500 roller coasters in the United States. That number fell with the Depression and World War II, so that by the Sixties there were only about 200 coasters left.
In 1959, however, the Arrow Development Co. built the Matterhorn Bobsled ride for Walt Disney, which some coaster historians say rescued the coaster from oblivion. Business picked up as roller coasters became faster, taller and, some might say, crazier.
Designers added loops, created coasters where you had to stand or ride suspended beneath the track. Susie Storey, communications manager for the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions, said 2000 "was a huge coaster year."
"They do become a destination in themselves," she said. "It's not always the fastest or the tallest that people are looking for, but what makes it unique."
A survey by the roller coaster Web site World of Coasters last year found that 45 percent of those polled believed this second golden age will last another 5 to 10 years, while another 31 percent believe it will last 11 or more years.
Escalante said ACE members run the gamut from the casual enthusiasts to the hardcore players who plan every day of their vacation around roller coaster visits.
"Like any other obsession," he said, "people tend to be very passionate about it."
Speaking of passion, Escalante and a group of companions displayed quite a bit recently when they rode 39 roller coasters in 24 hours, smashing the old record of 29.
Put your hands in the air
Roller coasters come in two basic species -- wooden track and steel track. Enthusiasts say the wooden track is affected by the weather, time of day and other factors, so that the speed of the ride can vary significantly. A steel coaster is more resistant to outside influences, so the ride is smoother and, some say, less threatening.
The industry publication Amusement Today conducts a survey each year to determine the "best of the best" in several categories, including steel and wooden roller coasters. The Magnum XL-200 at Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio, was named No.1 steel coaster. 
Cedar Point, which calls itself the roller coaster capital of the world, has a total of 14 roller coasters, including the No. 2-rated steel coaster, Millennium Force 2000, and the No. 5-rated steel coaster, Raptor. The park is owned Cedar Fair LP (FUN: Research, Estimates), which owns several properties, including five amusement parks.
"Far and away the No. 1 requested attraction or ride is the roller coaster," said Janice Witherow, Cedar Point's public relations manager. "Some people will not go skydiving or go bungee jumping or do some of these extreme sports, but just about everybody will ride on a roller coaster."
Witherow said the quest for superlatives drives amusement park operators to keep upping the ante on roller coaster design. "It's a friendly competition," she said, "but the competition is definitely there."
Cedar Point's Millennium Force, which opened May 6, is an example of how far this competition will go. The 310-foot-tall scream machine, which stands taller than the Washington Monument and the Statue of Liberty, offered riders a first drop of 80 degrees, just 10 degrees shy of straight down. Witherow said there were some concerns among park officials that perhaps they had gone too far, creating too scary a ride. That was, until opening day.
"People couldn't get enough of it," she said. "It was a runaway hit of the summer."
However, the force was not with the Millennium Force for long. Its reign as the tallest coaster in the world ended when the Steel Dragon 2000 made its debut in Japan on July 28. Built by D.H. Morgan Manufacturing, the dragon is about 8 feet taller than Millennium Force, which is still the biggest coaster in the Western Hemisphere.
Grand Master Cyclone
In the wooden coaster category, the Raven at Holiday World in -- yes, Virginia -- Santa Claus, Ind., was dubbed number one, followed by Shivering Timbers at Michigan's Adventure and Texas Giant at Six Flags Over Texas.
Paula Werne, public relations director at Holiday World, said the park holds an event for roller coaster club members called Stark Raven Mad.
"It's an amazing subculture I was never aware [of]," she said. "I'm getting e-mails from people saying 'I want to plan my vacation, when are you going to open?'"
Coming in at the 11th spot was the Cyclone, Brooklyn, N.Y.'s venerable coaster, standing tall in Astroland Amusement Park in Coney Island.
A National Historic Landmark, the Cyclone began operating in 1927, the same year that The Jazz Singer became the first successful talkie, Babe Ruth hit a record 60 home runs and Charles Lindbergh flew to Paris in the Spirit of St. Louis. In fact, Lindbergh reportedly said a ride on the Cyclone was scarier than his solo flight over the Atlantic.
"It's the benchmark that roller coasters are measured by," said Steve Urbanowicz, Astroland's public relations manager. "People have been known to sit in the Cyclone for hours."
A wooden-coaster purist, Urbanowicz compared riding a steel coaster to smoking without inhaling. By contrast, he likened the simulated rides – on which you supposedly travel through time and space without really moving an inch -- to smoking without lighting up.
"There's an out-of-control feeling," he said of the wooden coasters. "You know you really did something. You can ride the Cyclone at noon and get a good ride, and then come at 11 p.m. that night and get a faster ride."
Escalante has ridden the Cyclone and he says it deserves its legendary status. "The Cyclone is so revered," he said. "It will always be a favorite. It's a great ride." 
|
