Coaster Almanac (update/repost)
Dave Althoff
Here's the latest version of the complete Roller Coaster Almanac. Next
month I'll go back to the single-month breakdown, but I figured it had
been a while since I posted the whole thing. Here goes...
The Roller Coaster Almanac
Compiled by Dave Althoff, Jr. (dal...@freenet.columbus.oh.us)
JANUARY-
11: (1995) Arrow Dynamics "Directions" newsletter first posted to Internet
"Usenet" news group
15: (1975) Space Mountain opens, Walt Disney World
20: (1885) LaMarcus A. Thompson granted patent for Switchback Railway
26: (1993) Mickey's Toontown opens, Disneyland
31: (1993) ACE members are invited to tour the PTC factory
FEBRUARY-
1: (1977) United States Patent #4,005,877, "Vehicle Passenger Restraint
System," granted to Thomas Humphries and assigned to Arrow
Development Corp. for the Corkscrew seat and bar mechanism.
2: (1862) George Arthur Boeckling (1862-1931) born. Boeckling was the
showman largely responsible for the development of Cedar Point
into a major seasonal resort.
23: (1972) former Euclid Beach dance pavilion burned
March-
8: (1848) Birth of LaMarcus A. Thompson (1848-1919), the first to actually
patent and build a roller-coaster, the Switchback Railway, in
1884.
12: (1983) ACE first EastCoaster event ("ACE Con East I")
14: (1992) Fiesta Texas and the Rattler (John Pierce) open to the public.
19: (1993) Top Gun (Bolliger & Mabillard) opens at Paramount's Great
America, Santa Clara, California
27: (1968) Thunderbolt (Andy Vettel) track completed at Kennywood,
completing a complete redesign of the 1924 Pippin (John Miller)
ravine coaster, creating the coaster we know today.
31: (1994) Fire at Seabreeze Park destroys PTC carousel #36 and a number of
other park accessories, including a coaster train.
April-
4: (1992) Drachen Fire (Arrow Dynamics) opens at Busch Gardens
Williamsburg
10: (1993) Thunderation (Arrow Dynamics) opens at Silver Dollar City,
Branson, Missouri
20: (1993) Kumba (Bolliger & Mabillard) opens at Busch Gardens Tampa
28: (1994) The Hurler opens at Paramount's Kings Dominion
29: (1972) Kings Island first opens to the public
May-
1: (1878) Idlewild Park first opens
1: (1890) Elitch Gardens opens to the public
1: (1988) Standing rider thrown from SooperDooperLooper/Hersheypark
6: (1995) The Raven (Custom Coasters, Inc.) opens at Holiday World
7: (1994) Raptor (Bolliger & Mabillard) opens at Cedar Point
9: (1992) Batman: The Ride (Bolliger & Mabillard) opens at Six Flags
Great America, Gurnee, Illinois. (first inverted coaster)
10: (1968) Riverview Park fails to open
11: (1991) Mean Streak (Curtis Summers) opens at Cedar Point
11: (1992) Death of Curtis D. Summers
12: (1967) Opening Day, final season, Riverview Park, Chicago, Illinois
14: (1904) Dreamland Park opens, Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York
15: (1993) Wild Mouse (Vekoma) opens, Idlewild Park, Ligonier, Pennsylvania
16: (1903) Luna Park opens, Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York.
19: (1852) Birth of Dudley Sherman Humphrey II (1852-1933), president,
Euclid Beach Park
20: (1963) Dutch Wonderland first opens, Lancaster, PA
20: (1994) Hoosier Hurricane (Custom Coasters Inc.) opens at Indiana Beach
21: (1907) Birth of John Allen (1907-1979), influential coaster designer
especially for PTC.
22: (1992) Fire destroys engineering section of Vekoma International
headquarters in the Netherlands
23: (1981) American Eagle opens, Great America, Gurnee, Illinois
24: (1911) Dreamland Park destroyed by fire
25: (1976) Valleyfair! first opens, Shakopee, Minnesota.
25: (1983) Fantasyland re-opens at Disneyland, Anaheim, California
27: (1977) Space Mountain opens, Disneyland, Anaheim, California
29: (1976) Great America opens, Gurnee, Illinois
29: (1993) Blue Streak (Ed Vettel, Sr.) rededicated, Conneaut Lake
30: (1930) Cyclone Racer (Church/Traver) opens, The Pike,
Long Beach, California.
30: (1992) Arkansas Twister opens, Magic Springs
June-
1: (1968) AstroWorld opens
4: (1993) Idora Park qualifies for listing on the National Register of
Historic Places
7: (1970) Birth of Dave Althoff, maintainer of the Roller Coaster
Almanac 8-)
8: (1994) PTC and Morgan Manufacturing announce the sale of the Morgan
Wood Coaster Train manufacturing operation to PTC. Announcement
made at the ACE Coaster Con XVII.
9: (1978) ACE Coaster Con I opens at Busch Gardens-The Old Country
9: (1978) Exclusive Ride Time (ERT) introduced to ACE
11: (1888) Birth of Arthur Loof, designer of the Santa Cruz Giant Dipper
11: (1978) ACE begins accepting memberships
12: (1976) Texas Cyclone (Bill Cobb) opens
15: (1963) First Arrow log-flume opens at Six Flags Over Texas
16: (1992) Demolition of CNE Flyer (Davis/McKee) begins, continues
through 6/19/1992.
17: (1971) Disneyland greets its 100,000,000th visitor
17: (1975) United States Patent #3,889,605, "Amusement Ride with a
Track Portion Following the Shape of a Helix" granted to Karl
W. Bacon and assigned to Arrow Development Corp. for the
Corkscrew coaster.
20: (1898) First Bob-Lo Island excursion
22: (1895) Euclid Beach first opens
25: (1994) The (ex-Crystal Beach) Comet (Herb Schmeck) opens at The Great
Escape, Lake George, New York.
26: (1927) Coney Island Cyclone (Vernon Keenan) opens
30: (1978) First CoasterMania opens at Cedar Point, runs through 7/2/78.
July-
2: (1904) Riverview Park opens, Chicago, Illinois
3: (1975) Coney Island Cyclone (Vernon Keenan) re-opens
4: (1895) Sea Lion Park opens, Coney Island
8: (1993) Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters awarded honorary membership
in ACE.
9: (1958) Death of Fred Pearce, park and coaster designer; perfector of
creosoted treated lumber
14: (1990) ACE first Preservation Weekend, Conneaut Lake/Lakemont Park
17: (1955) Disneyland opens
18: (1992) Jupiter (Summers/Intamin) opens in Kijima, Japan - Japan's first
wood coaster
21: (1954) Groundbreaking for Disneyland
22: (1992) Cedar Fair L.P. purchases Dorney Park and Wildwater Kingdom
for $48,000,000
22: (1994) Zach's Zoomer opens at Michigan's Adventure
25: (1850) Vauxhall Gardens closes, U.K.
28: (1907) Steeplechase Park fire (and George Tilyou posts his famous
sign about it!)
29: (1974) "America Sings" attraction opens at Disneyland
August-
3: (1946) Santa Claus Land (now Holiday World) first opens, Santa
Claus, Indiana
11: (1992) Knott's Camp Snoopy and Ripsaw (Zierer) open in the Mall
of America, Bloomington, Minnesota
15: (1843) Tivoli Gardens opens in Copenhagen, Denmark
15: (1892) Exposition Park opens at Conneaut Lake
17: (1979) Death of John Allen (1907-1979)
21: (1993) Restored Car #1 of Leap the Dips presented to Lakemont Park
by ACE and PTC
23: (1993) Canyon Blaster (Arrow Dynamics) opens at Grand Slam Canyon
26: (1984) Beech Bend Park (Bowling Green, Kentucky) closes
31: (1910) Glenn Curtiss flies a biplane from Euclid Beach to Cedar Point
and back, setting a new over-water aviation distance record
September-
4: (1967) Riverview Park closes
4: (1989) Crystal Beach Park closes
6: (1970) Coney Island (OH) closes
7: (1933) Death of Dudley Sherman Humphrey II, President of Euclid
Beach Park
11: (1887) Sliding Hill and Roller Toboggan opens, Haverhill, Massachusets
15: (1968) Last day of operation for Cyclone Racer (Church/Traver), The Pike,
Long Beach, California
16: (1946) Crystal Beach Cyclone (Harry Traver) demolished
20: (1964) Steeplechase Park closes
24: (1993) Michael Moodenbaugh, owner of Boblo Island, critically injured
in traffic accident.
25: (1925) Euclid Beach Racing Derby struck by lightning
25: (1960) Sen. John F. Kennedy and Sen. Lyndon B. Johnson make
campaign stop at Euclid Beach Park
26: (1993) Final operating day for Boblo Island, Amhertsburg, Ontario
27: (1929) Birth of Curtis D. Summers (1929-1992), influential wood
coaster designer
28: (1969) Euclid Beach Park closes
30: (1993) Investor LARRY BENAROYA gains control of Boblo Island in court
and officially closes the park.
October-
1: (1971) Walt Disney World opens
1: (1994) Elitch Gardens original location closes; Wildcat (Schmeck/PTC)
and Twister (Allen/PTC) cease operation.
23: (1894) Euclid Beach Park Co. incorporated
31: (1878) Birth of Fred Church, influential coaster designer and "Father
of the Banked Turn"
November-
12: (1994) Fire at (closed) Rocky Point Park seriously damages Comet
(Allen, 1959) coaster.
25: (1877) Birth of Harry G. Traver (1877-1961), influential coaster
designer responsible for the triplet Cyclones at Revere Beach
(Lightning), Crystal Beach, and Palisades Park.
29: (1992) Death of Randall Duell, park designer responsible for layout
of Six Flags over Texas, Six Flags over Georgia, Astroworld,
Darien Lake, and others.
December-
1: (1967) Riverview Park rides auctioned off
6: (1980) ACE No Coaster Con I ("Coaster Con 3-1/2")
7: (1994) Rocky Glen Comet (Allen, 1959) demolished
9: (1975) Coney Island Tornado destroyed by fire
16: (1966) Death of Walt Disney
17: (1993) La Montana Rusa (NAD) re-opens as Serpiente de Fuego (NAD/CCI)
at Bosque de Chapultepec which re-opens as La Feria.
20: (1971) Death of Roy E. Disney
27: (1971) former Euclid Beach Suprise House burned
28: (1993) Patent #5,272,984, "Amusement Ride of the Roller Coaster Type"
granted to Walter Bolliger and Claude Mabillard for the inverted
roller coaster design. (United States Patent & Trademark Office)
Special Thanks to the following people for scouring their personal
archives for information:
Mike Schulte (7243...@compuserve.com)
Brian Plencner (mu...@uxa.ecn.bgu.edu)
Shawn Mamros (mam...@ftp.com)
David Johnson (evv...@evansville.net)
Dwayne L. Allen (c/o john...@netcom.com)
Tim Melago (?)
Special recognition to Jim Serio (w...@tmb.extern.ucsd.edu), who is
maintaining a hypertext version of this document in his "World of
Coasters". Consult...
http://tmb.extern.ucsd.edu/woc
Please direct comments or additions to:
Dave Althoff, Jr. --> dal...@freenet.columbus.oh.us
--
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