Roller Coaster Terminology
Airtime - AKA, that "butterflies in your stomach" sensation. When a coaster reverses course and climbs or descends a hill at high speeds, riders rise from their seats for a unique -- and many would say, exhilarating -- free-floating few seconds. Coaster fanatics crave airtime.
Anti-Rollback Device - You know that "click-clack-click" sound you hear when traditional roller coasters climb the first hill? It is caused by "dogs" under the cars that ratchet into place and prevent the trains from falling back down the hill in the event of a lift chain failure.
Bank (or Banked Curve) - When the track causes the cars to lean in one direction. In a curve, it can be used to reduce the sensation of riders being thrown to the side of the car.
Barrel Roll - Taken (as many coaster elements are) from airplane acrobatic maneuvers. Indicates a complete sideways twist.
Block - A necessity on coasters that run more than one train of cars. Refers to a section of track that can be blocked from others using brakes. Built-in safety systems prevent collisions by allowing only one car to enter a block at any one time.
Bobsled - As the name suggests, bobsled coaster cars don't sit on a track but navigate through a course much like a rider would on a water park slide.
Boomerang - A type of shuttle coaster found at many parks that sends its cars first forward, then backwards through the same circuit.
Brake Run - A section of track with brakes built in to it used to slow a train before it returns to the loading platform at the end of a run.
Bunny Hops (Also called Camelbacks) - A series of short hills, usually towards the end of a run, designed to induce brief bursts of airtime.
Catapult (or Launched) - The use of linear induction motors, powered pneumatic tires, compressed air or anything else ride designers can come up with to launch coaster trains from a standing start. An alternative to a traditional chain lift system.
Chain Lift - The device that lifts the train of cars to the top of the first hill. From there, gravity takes over.
Corkscrew - A coaster element, so named because the track looks like the thing you use to remove wine corks. Causes the train to twist completely around, often two times in a row.
Dark Ride - Generic term used to describe any park attraction that moves riders through an indoor environment. Enclosed coasters, such as Space Mountain, are dark rides.
Dead Spot - A portion of a coaster ride, typically near the end, where the forces seem to peter out.
Double Out and Back - An "out and back" coaster whose track follows a similar route for a second time.
Dueling Coaster (or Racing) - A coaster with two tracks and two sets of trains that are launched together and "duel" or "race" one another to the finish
Element - The generic word for the turnarounds, corkscrews and other effects designed into coasters.
ERT (Exclusive Ride Time) - The special "members-only" time parks establish for coaster clubs or other groups to ride coasters.
Family Coaster (or Junior) - A generally more tame ride than the thrill-seekers' behemoths.
First Drop - The initial and (generally) the biggest and fastest descent on a coaster.
Floorless - A coaster whose train has no floor. Essentially "flying seats," the train sits above the track and riders have nothing above or below them other than the seat itself.
Flying Coaster - The seats recline into a prone position and face backwards so that when the train inverts, riders are in a superhero-like flying position. The cars include harness-type safety restraints that can be a bit unnerving at first. Once you get past the initial fear, this is a very cool new coaster concept.
Fourth-Dimension - No, not the Outer Limits. A type of coaster in which the cars can spin completely around, independent of the track.
Freefall - Rides that are powered up and then freefall straight down. Are they coasters? That's a matter of some disagreement as some say the 400-plus foot Superman attraction at Six Flags Magic Mountain is either the world's tallest roller coaster or a very tall freefall attraction.
G-Forces - The forces, either negative or positive, that force riders out or pin them down into their seats. Brief bursts of moderate G-forces are coaster nirvana. Too little or too much is coaster purgatory.
Giga-Coaster - If a hypercoaster refers to coasters that surpass 200 feet, what do you call ones that break the 300-foot threshold? Cedar Point calls their Millennium Force a Giga-Coaster.
Grab Bars - The handles to the side or front of riders that allow them to hang on for their dear lives.
Guide Wheels - Ever wonder why coaster trains don't fly off of their tracks? They have an extra set of guide wheels under the train that lock the cars to the track.
Head Choppers - A lovely expression used to describe the narrow openings into which Twister Coasters send their riders. Duck!
Heartline Roll (or Zero-G Roll) - An element in which the train twists but the riders' hearts stay roughly in line with the center of the curve.
Helix - A spiral section of track, similar to a corkscrew.
Hydraulic Launch - Most launched coasters use magnetic propulsion to shoot the trains out of the loading stations. Coasters such as Cedar Point's Top Thrill Dragster, however, use hydraulics to achieve the same effect.
Hypercoaster - Loosely defined as any coaster whose height exceeds 200 feet. Generally does not include any inversions. Hypercoasters are all about height, speed, acceleration, G-forces and airtime.
Impulse Coasters - Uses magnetic induction to launch trains forwards and backwards up a U-shaped track. Typically, one side of the track is a spiral, and the other side is straight. The ride usually cycles through five launches, each one progressively faster.
Inverted Coaster - The train hangs underneath the tracks, but unlike a suspended coaster, it cannot pivot freely. Also, inverted coasters have no floors and riders' legs dangle. Think of a ski lift gone haywire.
Inversion - An element that turns riders upside down
Invertigo - Like a Boomerang Coaster, but with inverted trains.
Junior Coaster (See Family)
LIM (Linear Induction Motor) - A launched coaster that uses magnetic forces to shoot riders out of the station.
Launched Coaster (See Catapult)
Lift Hill - Generally, the initial ascent up a coaster.
Loop - An element that sends riders up vertically, turns them over and deposits them right side up.
Out and Back - As the name implies, a coaster that travels out to a point, turns around and returns to the station. As opposed to a Twister Coaster.
Racing or Racer Coaster (See Dueling)
Runaway Mine Train - Coasters, generally Family-level, that are designed to look like mine cars. Patterned after Disney's famous Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.
Scenic Railway - An early name for roller coasters. The included "scenic" dioramas along the route.
Shuttle Coasters - Any coaster that proceeds forward, stops, then heads backwards through the same course in reverse. As opposed to a traditional full circuit coaster.
Side Friction Coaster - An old style of coaster that did not have guide wheels but used wheels on the sides of the train. An example is the oldest operating coaster in the US, Leap the Dips at Lakemont Park in Altoona, PA.
Standup Coaster - Riders stand, instead of sit, on adjustable, bicycle-type seats.
Strata Coaster - Cedar Point coined this term to describe its over-400 foot Top Thrill Dragster coaster.
Suspended Coasters - The train hangs beneath the tracks and freely pivots. (As opposed to rigid, floorless Inverted Coasters.)
Terrain Coaster - Instead of building a mass of lumber or steel on flat ground, this coaster uses the natural topography of a hilly site. The track typically hugs the ground and follows the site's terrain.
Trim Brake - The bane of coaster lovers. A brake that slows a train mid-course.
Turnaround - Any element that reverses a train's direction. Typically found at the halfway point of an Out and Back Coaster.
Twister - A coaster that turns and twists into itself. As opposed to an Out and Back Coaster.
Valleying - The unfortunate event that occurs when a train stops in the middle of a ride because it loses momentum and gets caught between elements.
Wild Mouse - A coaster that sends riders in individual cars rather than a train. Often makes sharp turns. Was once quite popular, now making a comeback.
Woodie - Endearing term for a wood coaster.
Zero-G Roll (See Heartline Roll)