gerstlaueringvar Posted December 22, 2015 Share Posted December 22, 2015 It's a simple thread, talk about one or a few designs that you think are really innovative, of make you go "huh that's so smart, never thought about it like that!" Or "holy crap those engineers are insane". It doesn't have to be a whole ride, can be as little as a cleverly placed bolt or doesn't even have to be amusement ride related! I have to applaud for Imagineers here. Soarin's insane mechanical arms, Tower of Terror the whole thing, the 12-car multi-move on Journey, mastering animatronics and trackless system on Mystic Manor and Pooh, etc. Also something I've heard all about but never got to experience it, Alien Encounter. Disney is playing a different game than the rest of the industry! Spiderman by Universal is really innovative as well. As for little details, here are a few I really like: The moving drive tires on TTD, once the train slow to a certain speed the drive tire rises Sensors on the moving floors of B&M Dive Machines The moving boards that stable the cars on Falcon's Fury with all the circuits Gerstlauer's brush-like circuit/sensor at the station RMC welding track from pre-cut steel sheets Using magnet to control rotation/spinning on Falcon's Fury, 4D Free Spin, Mack's new spinning car Intamin putting hydraulic lock inside the back spine of the seats Click N Fix buckles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sonoma15 Posted December 22, 2015 Share Posted December 22, 2015 TOT and Gringotts amazes me. Also forbidden journey amazes me a lot too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeansproutMidget Posted December 22, 2015 Share Posted December 22, 2015 ^ Definately agree on that. Falcon's Fury takes the cake for me though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A.J. Posted December 22, 2015 Share Posted December 22, 2015 Parks with crammed roller coaster lineups, specifically Great Bear / Coal Cracker / Sooperdooperlooper / Skyrush / Comet, and Kvasten / Twister / Jetline / Vilda Musen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rcoaster10 Posted December 22, 2015 Share Posted December 22, 2015 This is a weird simple one but I love watching how Top Thrill Dragster engages into the catch car Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timetrial3141592 Posted December 22, 2015 Share Posted December 22, 2015 ^ Speaking of Dragster, I get a kick out of the fact that the catch car is sprayed with cold water post-launch to cool it off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snapfordakids Posted December 22, 2015 Share Posted December 22, 2015 (edited) I always thought the dual loading stations with the Mr. Freeze clones was a great design/idea. Edited December 22, 2015 by snapfordakids Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neil009 Posted December 22, 2015 Share Posted December 22, 2015 The combination of form and function in Goliath SFGAm's lift hill/zero g stall structure is, to me, one of the most emotionally evocative and ingenious designs to come out of the amusement industry. It looks like a railroad bridge from Alice in Wonderland. I can't wait to see it in person sometime. Here's a funny example: I actually thought the rotating bins on Skyrush were a very clever and simple solution to the single-sided station dilemma. You put your stuff in when you're waiting in line, it's there for you when you get off the train, minimizing risk of theft in the meantime. A great idea on paper... too bad the IQ of the general populace just wasn't up to snuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rcjp Posted December 22, 2015 Share Posted December 22, 2015 This is a weird simple one but I love watching how Top Thrill Dragster engages into the catch car Me too. And it's interesting how the launch dog then stays in place due to magnetic field which needs to be "neutralized" for it to lower into the catch car. Pretty clever stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cal1br3tto Posted December 22, 2015 Share Posted December 22, 2015 Here's a funny example: I actually thought the rotating bins on Skyrush were a very clever and simple solution to the single-sided station dilemma. I was actually thinking about that for this thread, even though it didn't work out in practice. There are so many little things that Hershey does more effectively than other parks. I especially admire their complete dedication to and enthusiasm for racing on Lightning Racer. The only things I really can't stand are the programs for their flat rides and their lackluster, overly restrictive rendition of a line-skipping program. I may have a half-baked memory and description of this, but I noticed that Iron Rattler has an automatically controlled exit gate. I like how it saves time since no one has to close or lock the gate, and I hope it catches on with more rides that could benefit from it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I305forever Posted December 22, 2015 Share Posted December 22, 2015 Even though they have been around for a while, I really like magnetic lifts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Comeagain? Posted December 22, 2015 Share Posted December 22, 2015 GIB catch cars, and the communication between the PLC, Drive PC, and the two catch cars is incredible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Superbatboy Posted December 22, 2015 Share Posted December 22, 2015 The system on Premier launchers that weighs the train and knows how much energy to use to launch the train. Also LSMs that double as launchers and brakes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyrbuzz Posted December 22, 2015 Share Posted December 22, 2015 How about the water scoops on rides like Sheikra? They assist braking while giving non riders a cool visual. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larrygator Posted December 23, 2015 Share Posted December 23, 2015 Intamin Plug and Play Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ejot Posted December 23, 2015 Share Posted December 23, 2015 Premier's decision to put track on both the inside and outside of Full.Throttle's vertical loop is an elegant solution to what was presumably a budgetary constraint. It looks great, rides great, and eliminates tons of steel (literally...). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RaceBoarder Posted December 23, 2015 Share Posted December 23, 2015 Dumb but simple one: Whoever was the first to have guests line up for individual rows in the station vs letting everyone through one entrance in bulk.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaTim Posted December 23, 2015 Share Posted December 23, 2015 The ferris wheel type lift on Round About at Hard Rock Park was pretty interesting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoinItForTheFame Posted December 23, 2015 Share Posted December 23, 2015 (edited) ...talk about one or a few designs that you think are really innovative, of make you go "huh that's so smart, never thought about it like that!" Or "holy crap those engineers are insane". Goliath's lift structure, and zero-g-stall amaze me. When the renderings first came out showing what this would really look like, I was really amazed. This is one of those times where I think "Holy crap those engineers are insane!" Same goes for i305. The lack of supports on the lift hill amaze me. I know less and less supports on lift hills are becoming more and more common, however when these both first came out it amazed me that the rides were able to stand with such few supports, and the truss system just amazes me. Edited December 23, 2015 by DoinItForTheFame Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Intimidated305 Posted December 23, 2015 Share Posted December 23, 2015 ...talk about one or a few designs that you think are really innovative, of make you go "huh that's so smart, never thought about it like that!" Or "holy crap those engineers are insane". Goliath's lift structure, and zero-g-stall amaze me. When the renderings first came out showing what this would really look like, I was really amazed. This is one of those times where I think "Holy crap those engineers are insane!" The lift sort of reminds me of how Intamin did the lift supports on I305. Both two great coasters with two great designs! EDIT: Posted this just before you updated yours to include I305. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike541x Posted December 23, 2015 Share Posted December 23, 2015 Verbolten's drop track is pretty innovative. I'd love to see more of those kind of coasters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoinItForTheFame Posted December 23, 2015 Share Posted December 23, 2015 Verbolten's drop track is pretty innovative. I'd love to see more of those kind of coasters. You and me both. I don't know why the free fall drop element never caught on. I think it is a great addition to a coaster, and I'd love to see more of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thrillseeker4552 Posted December 23, 2015 Share Posted December 23, 2015 This might be a weird one, but the apparent complications of the Intamin 1st Generation FreeFall. Rather than "let's have one tower and make it go up and come down", they wanted to have a bunch of individual cars, almost like a coaster, travel up and through many different planes, catching on to different parts of the car throughout the ride, ride like a roller coaster at one point, then adjust the rider position into another plane all in one ride. It just seems like much more complicated mechanics than a typical drop tower, especially for the 1980s. However, with that being said, they do give a true free fall experience, something becoming seemingly more rare nowadays on drop rides. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coasterer Posted December 23, 2015 Share Posted December 23, 2015 Prowler's triple down is beautiful, and was very innovative at the time. So is Storm Runner's triple-up finish. It's the perfect ending. Not to mention the way the flying snake dive thing sets it up. Renegades double turn first drop, and Thunderhead's double turn first up. I love the pre-drop dip on some of the B&Ms, most notably Raging Bull, and Alpengeist. I know it was more function-related than experience-related, but it rocks. Goliath's (WW) stengel dive (and Maverick's). This is small, but I love the slightly nuanced transitions that B&M has, like the heavily banked turn into Katun's cobra roll, and the turns into and out of Wildfire's cobra rolls. I think they're so elegant, and add a lot. I love the aesthetic appeal of the cobra rolls on B&M coasters when they're bowed outwards. The megalites, as a whole, hit the nail on the head. So smart, so compact. I (like others in this thread) absolutely love the 'floating' lift hills of Goliath and I305. The Pax masterpieces Jungle Storm in Bahrain and Wild Train in Austria. Some of the Winjas' tricks are pretty great. Outlaw Run's sideways airtime hill. Medusa Steel's everything, especially that first drip, and the plummeting barrel roll Mystery Mine's finale is brilliant. Tornado at Bakken's spinning launched lift hill. Starry Sky Ripper's 1.5 barrel roll. Good thread Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Physical Posted December 23, 2015 Share Posted December 23, 2015 This might be a weird one, but the apparent complications of the Intamin 1st Generation FreeFall. Rather than "let's have one tower and make it go up and come down", they wanted to have a bunch of individual cars, almost like a coaster, travel up and through many different planes, catching on to different parts of the car throughout the ride, ride like a roller coaster at one point, then adjust the rider position into another plane all in one ride. It just seems like much more complicated mechanics than a typical drop tower, especially for the 1980s. However, with that being said, they do give a true free fall experience, something becoming seemingly more rare nowadays on drop rides. +1 The fact that the wheels don't go around the track gets me as well, the track is around the wheel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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