Dayton Daily News from Dayton, Ohio • 6

6-A Pyton Pally May 22. 1988 "Rissiam-lboirBi thrill goes Ml circle By D.L.Stewart STAFF COLUMNIST Over the years, it seems, Russians have taken credit for inventing every American institution from baseball to apple pie. But, in the case of roller coasters, they may have a claim. According to most accounts, roller coasters can be traced to the sport of ice sliding. In 1 7th century St.

Petersburg, a pair of anonymous riders raced their sled down a 70-foot incline built on a wooden framework. The concept traveled to the milder climate of France, where wheels were substituted for sled runners on what the French dubbed les montagnes Russes (the Russian mountains). The first commercial coaster in the United States was opened in 1884 at Brooklyn's Coney Island by LaMarcus Thompson, an inventor and Sunday school teacher. Although Kings Island has some of the; biggest coasters in the country, Cedar Point has more of them than any other park. Its'" latest addition, Iron Dragon, is the seventh for the Sandusky, Ohio, park.

Not only are roller coasters not an American invention, they no longer are a' strictly American attraction. In 1974, roller coaster expert Robert Cartmell of the State University of New York in Albany declared, "Most Europe- ans think this ride is a kind of Insanity. They think it's just another kind of American 1 violence." Today this particular kind of American violence is available in dozens of including England, Germany, Sweden, Hong Kong, Japan and Australia. And Russia, where they are known as American Mountains. trip at one sitting.

Roller coasters headed into the 20th century at increasing speed. By the '20s they were roaring as fast as 61 mph. At the height of their popularity, there were 1,500 coasters in the United States, although by 1960 the figure was down to 200. The introduction of Disney-style theme parks in the '60s reversed the trend and now there are more than 400 in the country, 179 of which are regarded as "major" coasters. One of America's most prolific roller-coaster designers and builders was the late Aurel Vaszin of Dayton, founder of National Amusement Device which had a factory here until 1975.

Kings Island has been a frequent pioneer in the roller coaster field since it opened in 1972, Its Racer was the first twin-track coaster to be built in modern times and the first wooden coaster to send one of its trains traveling backwards. The Racer's biggest fan is 24-year-old Cincinnatian Don Helbig, who has ridden the coaster more thai 7,000 times and holds the unofficial world's record for most rides on a single coaster. His goal is 10,000. When it was introduced at Kings Island in 1 979, the Beast was the world's longest, tallest and fastest roller coaster. In 1981, Kings Island unveiled the Bat, the world's first suspended coaster, but it was plagued by mechanical problems and was shut down the same year.

In 1 984, the park opened King Cobra, the country's first stand-up looping coaster. Last year it added Vortex and claimed the world record for turning riders upside down six times in 2 minutes. Concerned that young people who visited amusement areas were spending too much time in beer gardens, Thompson put wheeled cars on an undulating track and lured the kids away from their steins with a ride that raced downhill at 6 mph. One problem with Thompson's invention was that 6 mph was not enough speed to get it up the second hill. Passengers were required to get off and wait while workers pushed it to the top again.

Passengers then returned to the ride while the workers, who undoubtedly had worked up a pretty good thirst, headed off for a beer before the next ride. Charles Alcoke of Hamilton, Ohio, solved the problem by designing an oval track that returned passengers to their starting point. Facing sideways to view the scenery, passengers could make the entire f' The Beast at Kings Island plunges down Thrills CONTINUED FROM1A "The general family is not going to pick up from southern Ohio and come up here," agrees Josephine Zammuto, public relations manager at Great America, a 12-year-old link in the Six Flags chain. "I would have to say no, there's no roller coaster war." But if it is not a war, virtually every objective insider agrees, it is a very spirited police action, "There was kind of a coaster arms race in the '70s that we thought had died out," notes Melree Zamorano, marketing coordinator for Arrow Dynamics the Utah company that built both SHOCK WAVE and Vortex. "But it seems to be re-emerging again.

It seems like each time a customer comes to us they want to be bigger and better than the last coaster that went up. "That's called competition. They're competing for the guest draw. I'm sure the next major coaster that will go in that market will try to beat the SHOCK WAVE." Even before SHOCK WAVE opened, in fact, rumors were circulating that a wooden coaster rising to 183 feet would open next year at Dorney Park in Allentown, Pa. "There's nothing that enhances a park's drawing power like a large roller coaster," points out Paul Ruben, editor of Roller-Coaster! magazine.

"It's a magnet that draws thrill seekers. The two parks are serving different markets, so they are not in direct competition. However, each park would like the opportunity to claim coaster supremacy at least for a year. Last year clearly it was Kings Island's turn. This year it's Great America's." Engineering does it Dayton engineer Tim McCrate was at the front when the first shots were fired and agrees that it certainly looks like a war.

the 39-year-old structural engineer for the Lorenz Williams architectural firm insists. "Outdoing the next guy is exactly what they're trying to do. If Kings Island says they're not concerned about other parks, that's raspberries. They just want to have the biggest ride. To outdo the next guy is the rule of the day." McCrate and co-worker Andy McBar-ron became involved in the coaster wars in 1978 when they designed what was, for a short time at least, the world's largest wooden roller coaster.

Called the Colossus, it was created for Magic Mountain in Valencia, and was "the tallest, longest, bad-dest roller coaster in the world." To prepare for the project, McCrate took a look at most of the best coasters In North America, Including Russian Mountain, a Mexico City coaster listed as the largest in the world. When the Colossus was built, it was 10 feet taller than Russian Mountain. That was not, McCrate admits, a coincidence. "And it wasn't a coincidence when the Beast opened the next year and over-topped ours by 15," he adds. Nor was it necessarily a coincidence in 1981, two years after Kings Island uncaged the Beast which featured a hill that measured 141 feet in length that Great America launched the American Eagle, which featured a hill that measured 147 feet.

Or that Vortex, which opened last year, has six loops and SHOCK WAVE opened this year with seven. Or that the publicity material for the Beast lists its top speed at 64.77 mph and the publicity material for SHOCK WAVE lists its top speed at 65 mph. "In this industry, every park tries to top everybody else with bigger and better coasters," concedes Kings Island publicist Ruth Voss. If there is any coincidence in the latest outburst of Coaster Wars, It is in the fact that the five tallest coasters in the United States are located in the Midwest. "I think the desire to ride large coasters is not generic to the Midwest," says Ruben, of New York state.

"I think it's partly fortunate coincidence and partially that you are centrally located and accessible to all parts of the country." "I don't think it means anything," says Zamorano. "The bigger thrill rides usually appeal to a younger audience. It's the teenage audience that you're really playing to. Maybe you just have more teen-agers in the Midwest." "I can't think of a reason for it," admits Randy Geisler of St. Paul, president of the American Coaster Enthusiasts.

"We certainly don't have a higher proportion of our members in the Midwest. Our highest membership states, in order, are New York, California and Pennsylvania. I think Ohio comes in fourth. Although, I have to say, you certainly are lucky in your state. Not only do you have Kings Island, you have Cedar Point, Geauga Lake and Americana.

That gives you an awful lot of roller coasters. They have a ride at Americana called the Screeching Eagle that is a mean-spirited thriller." But it Is SHOCK WAVE, with a first hill soaring 170 feet above the barren Great "1 i t. 1 i I off the track," he scoffs. "That could not happen. It's just, not possible.

"Maybe back in the '20s coasters weren't as safe. But we've run statistics in "'-our magazine from the Consumer Public Safety Commission showing that riding a roller coaster Is safer than shooting bil- liards. It's safer than using a toothpick. There was a recent Insurance survey that point- ed out roller coasters are the safest rides the park. You know what the most dangerous was? The merry-go-round.

There are -no safety restraints on a On an average, Ruben says, there is ap- proximately one roller coaster fatality a year in the United States. While that undoubtedly is higher than the fatalities from billiard, balls, toothpicks or merry-go-rounds, the mishaps generally can be traced to operator or customer error. The most recent fatali- ty occurred at a New Jersey park last year when a girl got Into the coaster car after the seat belt had been locked and still was standing when the ride started. Arrow's Zamorano points out, "you have no control over these people who think' they're larger than life and don't have to observe the rules." At worst, she adds, "roller coasters rank along with shopping carts as; a hazard." It may be the great irony of the roller coaster industry that it is a business that must convince its customers that total safety and ultimate thrills come In the same pack- age. Obviously, it has been successful.

"There is a great thirst for these major thrill rides that apparently hasn't been ied yet," Zamorano says. "Our job is to give our customers what they need to ap-pease their thirst for coaster-mania." The cost of appeasement Is not cheap. The Beast and Vortex each cost $4 million! For SHOCK WAVE, the price for becom-Ing No. 1 inflated to $6 million. But Six Flags which operates theme parks in six other states, did not invest that kind of money merely for bragging rights.

"Parks are discovering that they can re- coup their investments in one season," Ruben notes. "Not only is it a magnet that draws 1 thrill seekers, It's something that will bring in' people who are afraid to ride. They'll come just to watch and be part of the excited ment. By the end of this season, their attendance will be increased by more than enough to cover the $6 million outlay. "I think that explains why they keep making newer and bigger coasters." "You have to stop and ask yourself 'How high is the says Zamorano, "and apparently we haven't reached It yet." There is, in other words, no cease-fire in sight for Coaster Wars.

u'. D.L. STEWART, a seml-enthusias-'' tic roller coaster rider, rode the world's two'; tallest coasters on consecutive afternoons last weekend. He rates the two tho nnuj QWnrk WMF 7ft fant oHhs i Great America amusement park In Gumee, and Ohio's Vortex (148 feet) at Kings" Island In Warren County as a virtual i in ufith narhanC a elirtht nriria Iaau because "the line was shorter and closer to the beer booth." Still his favorite coaster by a large margin is the Beast at Kings Is-. land, with Disneyworld's Space Mountain placing second.

"But any coaster where the cars nnish in tne same order in which they started is fine with me," he adds. admits, though, that the American Eagle is not on his personal list of top-10 favorites while the Beast Is. It is, he says, "a ride that makes me find religion when I'm on it." Ruben has ridden "most of" the 179 major coasters in the country and Is one of the few people who has had a chance to ride both SHOCK WAVE and Vortex. He avoids any direct comparisons. SHOCK WAVE, he says, is "awesome the fastest steel coaster I've ever been on.

What I really like about Vortex is the natural setting and how it follows the terrain of the land. I think this enhances the ride as you whip by branches. All these woods going by you at 50 miles an hour enhances the speed." Although he tap dances like a campaigning politician when asked to rate SHOCK WAVE against Vortex, Ruben is blunt when asked where they would fall on his list. Neither, he said, would make the top 10. "Most coaster enthusiasts agree they prefer wood," he points out.

"The ride experience is different. They depend on speed and on moments of negative gravity (the force that lifts a rider out of the seat), whereas steel coasters depend more on acrobatics. Although in the cases of Vortex and SHOCK WAVE, the speed certainly is impressive." But impressive speeds do not necessarily make impressive rides and many of the customers embarking from their maiden trip on SHOCK WAVE seem remarkably unimpressed. Several comment that the train's lateral motion whipped their heads from side to side and they have bruised ears from banging against the safety harness. "It knocked out my ear ring," one girl complains.

Several more mention that, after "seven shocking loops," excitement tends to verge on nausea. Former paratrooper Roger Ball, on the other hand, found the ride "quick and smooth." "It'll test your heart," he says. But for Robin Carlson, SHOCK WAVE failed the "stomach test." Carlson, a 24-year-old physical therapist from Forest Park, 111., visited Kings Island four years ago and rode the Beast. "The first drop on the Beast made your stomach fall out a lot more," she says. Does that mean she prefers the Beast? "Of course," she says.

"When you ride a roller coaster, you go for the thrills." Thrills, obviously, are what roller coasters are all about. And Dayton engineer McCrate sees no limit to the ability of coaster manufacturers to give thrills to the public. The public's ability to take them, however, is another question. "In terms of height, there Is no limit," he says. "There is only a limit to what the human anatomy can withstand.

If it gets to a point where they're blacking out on the ride, it's not going to be very attractive to most people." Safety, McCrate adds, has not yet become a problem. "Even though the rides are getting bigger, I don't think there's any disregard for safety," he says. "I think they still have a keen regard for safety." Roller coasters today, in fact, are safer than ever, Ruben insists. "They have a scene in a movie called Shakedown In which the Cyclone at Coney Island goes off the track. It literally flics A 1 7 III A-k a I its first hill, a 1 35-foot drop into a tunnel speed," he declares.

To Kings Island's Bill Mefford, height does not make right. "One thing you've got to remember is that the first hill Isn't the be-all and end-all of a coaster," he points out, sounding just a bit combative for a man who Is not Involved in a war. "The Beast, which has a very large first hill, Is not quite as long as their American Eagle, which was built, probably, In response to the Beast. But talk to the American Coasting Enthusiasts (ACE) and they will tell you that once you're done with that hill, that's it for the ride." In truth, ACE President Geisler will not tell you that, however. In what appears to be the code of Coasting Enthusiasts, Geisler seems never to have ridden a coaster he didn't love.

"The American Eagle offers a lot more after its first drop," says the 38-year-old Geisler, a Social Security Administration claims representative. "It offers a great deal of speed and a magnificent helix." Geisler msgiszins'stcp 10 rides Name Location 1 Le Monstre La Ronde Park Montreal, Quebec 2 The Beast Kings Island Ohio 3 Riverside Riverside Park Cyclone Agawam, Mass 4 Cyclone AstroLand Coney Island, N.Y. 5 The Thunderbolt Kennywood Park West Mifflin, Pa. 6 The Texas Astroworld Cyclone Houston, Tex. 7 Comet Crystal Beach Park Crystal Beach, Ont.

8 Big Bad Wolf Busch Gardens The Old Country Williamsburg, Va. 9 Twister Elitch Garden Denver, Colo. 10 Gemini Cedar Point Sandusky, Ohio Other stuff Tallest U.S. coasters SHOCK Rank WAVE Vortex Beatt feet Name Site Top speed 65 50 64.77 1170 SHOCKWAVE Great America mph mph mph Gurnee.lll. Duration 2:20 2:30 3:40 2 1 48 Vortex Kings Island Height (ft) 170 148 141 3141 Beast Kings Island Length (ft) 3,900 3.800 7,400 4127 American Great America Eagle Gumee, III.

Cost $6 $4 $4 million million million 5125 Gemini Cedar Point Sandusky Ridershour 2,000 1,600 1,200 6125 Colossus Magic Mtn. SOURCE: RollerCoasterl magazine Valencia, Calif. America parking lot, that is the biggest test of roller coaster macho. Last Saturday, it was a test that had volunteers waiting upwards of an hour to take. Like Vortex, SHOCK WAVE Is made of steel, a tangle of white and blue emerging from a yet-to-be landscaped area.

To the casual coaster customer, there seems to be little difference between the two. The biggest difference Is, of course, the height. SHOCK WAVE'S first hill climbs 22 feet higher than Vortex's. Its first drop Is 17 feet longer. Although he Is quick to warn that "It's a tradition in the outdoor amusement business to exaggerate," Ruben points out that height means speed.

If all the publicity figures are to be believed, SHOCK WAVE'S top speed is 65 mph, approximately IS mph faster than Vortex's. Accurate or not, Ruben accepts SHOCK WAVE'S claim to the speed record. "The laws of physics say that the coaster with the longest drop has the fastest.