What coaster took the biggest leap in coaster tech

What coaster took the biggest leap in coaster technology and why? Ya, I really don't know that much about this topic so please submit your opinion.

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*** This post was edited by Wabash Cannonball on 8/27/2001. ***

S:TE, it brought about a whole new kinda coaster technology.
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Montu, God Of Coasters

Okay, that must be the winner, S:TE, whatever that means? It took the biggest leap, or no one else is up to using any brain power what-so-ever to think of another answer.
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www.geocities.com/urbanaindiana
Your Guide to Indiana beach

Maybe I should have posted the question "what coaster is the prettiest?"

Maybe if you werent such a smart -ss, you might get more replies.
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I dont want to grow up, Im a Coasters-R-Us kid!!!!

Ouch! :)

I severely disagree with the S:TE thing. Now, had it been the first coaster to use LIMs or LSMs, it'd be a different story. But the point is, it wasn't. Only one other coaster like it has ever been built. Not much of an impact if you'd ask me.

I'd say Matterhorn Bobsleds would be a biggie. Look at almost any modern, full-sized steel coaster and you'll see the lasting effect Arrow's steel tubular rails had.

Magnum would be another one. The more I think about it, the more I realize that the installation of Magnum was a pretty radical change of thinking in the coaster industry, and for a few reasons. First of all, nobody had ever built a coaster that damn big. Second, the trend back in '89 was loops, loops, and more loops. Lastly, it literally was the first shot fired in the coaster wars we're still (happily) going through today.

I see some new rides this year leaving a mark in the future, mainly X, Phantom's Revenge, and the Flights of Fear. X for obvious reasons, Phantom's Revenge because the surgery was actually successful, so parks may be looking in the direction of remodeling their old headbangers, and FoF because of the lapbars. I think Premier could probably make a living for the next few years retrofitting old trains with OTSR's to lapbars.

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Matt Lynch
Co-Webmaster : Kennywood Boulevard

As far as technological changes in the way we ride: JackRabbit, upstops. Matterhorn Bobsleds, tubular steel. Hypersonic, first air launch. And if Wabash WEREN'T at least a little bit of a "smart -ss", he wouldn't be so much fun!
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rollergator - intent on improving the "guest experience" - coming soon to a park near you

Space Mountain.
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And then Jerry said, "Take care of yourselves, and each other".

Though we don't yet have evidence to back it up, I would have to say X, it is a completely new breed of ride that is drastically different from any other. If X is a success expect to see many more coasters spawning from this type of design.

*** This post was edited by CP Guy on 8/28/2001. ***

Have to agree with Lynch and say Magnum. As far as I know, and what I have read, that coaster was built using technology developed by the Japanese for coasters to stand up to large earthquakes. Since it was so successful, many companies employed it in several coasters we now ride including Fujiyama, all the Morgan clones, SD2K, etc. Again, this is from information that I have read. It doesn't mean the Japanese designed Magnum, and perhaps I am just plain wrong, but they developed the technology, and Morgan ran with it. If it isn't right, it sounds good to me! LOL!
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The first safety coaster period. No competition.

I would say matterhorn because it has steel rails, and w/o it we wouldnt have a top 20 steel coaster list with MF on top.

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Nitro: The Most Explosive Coaster on the Planet explodes at Six Flags Great Adventure in 2001.

well the first coaster to run on a track, whatrever it was, is the most important, because still only70% are steel so matterhorn isnt as important, the coaster wars have been off and on many times, such as during the the cyclones. then again when revolution and corkscrew. So magnum wasnt the first, and it wont be the last. But 99.5% of coasters run on a track there is no bigger development.

X will hopefully be the new leader of the pack. But the matterhorn is and was truly a giant leap for the revamp of the roller coaster revolution( no pun intended)!

I'm surprized no one said the Corkscrew. First to sucessfully turn riders upsidedown. Would have happened eventually but there had to have been a first.

I actually wouldn't count Magnum. Arrow has stated before that they got the idea of a large non-looping steel coaster from Togo's Bandit in Japan. Granted Magnum was the first to top 200ft, but that's all it can claim, nothing innovative that wasn't an already proven success with Bandit.

Matterhorn, definitely. Corkscrew, I'd agree too, for the reasons stated above. But The Bat/BBW/XLR8 should all also be included, since they completely changed the way we ride coasters today. Too bad for Arrow that B&M took the idea one step further with B:TR, which was then taken another step further with Vekoma's Flying Dutchman.

But X is definitely something completely innovative, just for the simple fact that you don't ride on top or underneath the track, but on the side in rotating seats, which opens the doorway for many new possibilities in coaster technology.

It will also be very interesting to see what Arrow does with their Fishhook freefall ride. A 740ft tall freefall ride will definitely be a HUGE leap in thrill ride technology, if for no other reason than for the safety devices and cars that will need to be created to handle such a big drop safely, and still bring riders back alive and in one piece!

What about the first coaster ever invented, if it was not for that, where would we be today?;)

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-Matthew Couts
Rct Recreations (just e-mail me for these)
1.Cedar Point(voted best CP Recreation ever)
2.King's Island (only pki recreation)
3.coming soon... Idlewild

I'm going to rule out Magnum because we're talking about technology here, and the only technological breakthrough on Magnum was getting Arrow to use 12" wheels!

I think it's more appropriate to look at significant advances in coaster technology. Matterhorn Bobsleds is a good one to look at because with that coaster, Arrow completely reinvented the roller coaster. It was a development comparable in significance with the introduction of the up-stop or the lap bar. In terms of a modern coaster, probably the most significant technological advance (if you can call it that) is probably what we see on X-Flight and Batwing, not because of the unusual riding position and so forth, but because the trains themselves contain complete electrical, hydraulic, and computer systems on-board...for the first time since the third railers, the train itself is no longer a passive device.

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

Rideman, before you hand out any award to Batwing and X-Flight, you're going to have to run it by Stealth first. :)

gatorwoodie said:
And if Wabash WEREN'T at least a little bit of a "smart -ss", he wouldn't be so much fun!

That's the problem. He's not even fun.