hybrid roller coaster

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A hybrid roller coaster is a category of roller coasters where the track is made out of one material, either steel or wood, and the support structure is made from another.{{cite book |page=18 |title=Coasters 101: An Engineer's Guide to Roller Coaster Design |first1=Nick |last1=Weisenberger |edition=1st |location=United States |isbn=9781468013559 | year=2012 |type=Paperback |publisher=Createspace Independent Publishing|language=English}}{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WKIfDAAAQBAJ&dq=hybrid+roller+coaster&pg=PA49 |pages=21, 49, 116, 223, 231 |edition=4th |title=Coasters: United States and Canada |first1=Todd H. |last1=Throgmorton |first2=Samantha K. |last2=Throgmorton |isbn=978-1476622118 |date=April 30, 2016 |format=E-book |publisher=McFarland, Incorporated, Publishers |language=English}} Early hybrid coasters include mine train roller coasters from Arrow Development, which feature a steel track with a wooden support structure.{{Cite web |title=What Is A Hybrid Roller Coaster? |url=http://coastercritic.com/2018/03/hybrid-roller-coaster/ |access-date=April 26, 2021 |website=coastercritic.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210620030226/http://coastercritic.com/2018/03/hybrid-roller-coaster/ |archive-date=June 20, 2021 |url-status=dead}} Becoming increasingly more common are hybrids with wooden tracks and steel supports, such as The Voyage at Holiday World.{{cite RCDB |coaster_name=The Voyage |location=Holiday World & Splashin' Safari |rcdb_number=3231 |accessdate=July 21, 2023}}{{Cite web |title=What Is a Hybrid Wooden and Steel Roller Coaster? |url=https://www.tripsavvy.com/what-is-a-hybrid-roller-coaster-3226485 |access-date=April 26, 2021 |website=TripSavvy|language=en}}

Rocky Mountain Construction (RMC) is well-known for their I-Box track design, commonly used to retrofit existing wooden coasters with a new steel track. Such designs provide several benefits, offering smoother rides and reducing maintenance costs.{{cite news |last1=Glaser |first1=Susan |title=Meet the man behind Steel Vengeance, Cedar Point's newest record-breaking roller coaster |url=https://www.cleveland.com/travel/2017/10/meet_the_man_behind_steel_veng.html |access-date=September 25, 2023 |work=Cleveland.com |date=October 13, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230925151802/https://www.cleveland.com/travel/2017/10/meet_the_man_behind_steel_veng.html |archive-date=September 25, 2023 |url-status=live}} Hybrid coasters can also add inversions, similar to Mean Streak's conversion into Steel Vengeance at Cedar Point in 2018. Newer hybrids also tend to be taller, faster, and feature steeper drops over their wooden coaster counterparts.{{Citation needed|date=July 2023}}

History

Two main components of roller coaster design are their track and support structure. In most cases, both are made of the same material – either wood or steel. Occasionally, they are designed to feature a steel track with a wooden structure, or vice versa, in what has become known as a hybrid roller coaster. Hybrid roller coasters have existed for a long time, with one of the oldest being Cyclone at Luna Park, which opened in 1927.{{cite RCDB |coaster_name=Coney Island Cyclone |location=Coney Island |rcdb_number=222 |accessdate=April 26, 2021}} Its track is made from wood, while the support structure is made of steel.{{Cite web |url=http://s-media.nyc.gov/agencies/lpc/lp/1636.pdf |title=The Cyclone |date=July 12, 1988 |publisher=New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission |access-date=August 24, 2019 |page=5 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161223171706/http://s-media.nyc.gov/agencies/lpc/lp/1636.pdf |archive-date=December 23, 2016 |url-status=live}} Arrow Development built a vast amount of mine train roller coasters beginning in the 1960s, featuring tubular steel track and wooden supports.{{Cite web|title=Arrow Dynamics – Coasterforce|url=https://coasterforce.com/arrow/|website=Coasterforce|date=17 October 2016 }}{{Cite web|title=Roller Coaster Search Results|url=https://rcdb.com/r.htm?order=-8&ot=2&mo=8299|access-date=2021-04-27|website=rcdb.com}}{{Cite web|date=2019-04-10|title=The Coasters of Kings Island|url=https://www.ohioslargestplayground.com/blog/the-coasters-of-kings-island/|access-date=2021-04-29|website=Warren County {{!}} Ohio's Best Vacation Destination|language=en}} One of their last installations is Adventure Express at Kings Island, which opened in 1991.{{Cite web|title=Adventure Express – Kings Island – Roller Coasters|url=https://www.ultimaterollercoaster.com/coasters/adventure-express-kingsisland|website=Ultimate Rollercoaster.com}}{{Cite web|title=Adventure Express – Kings Island (Mason, Ohio, United States)|url=https://rcdb.com/70.htm|access-date=2021-04-29|website=rcdb.com}}

Rocky Mountain Construction (RMC) and The Gravity Group are at the forefront of modern hybrid coaster construction.{{cite news |last1=MacDonald |first1=Brady |title=Get ready for the next wave of looping wooden coasters |url=https://www.latimes.com/travel/themeparks/la-trb-looping-wooden-coasters-next-wave-20140929-story.html |access-date=September 26, 2023 |work=Los Angeles Times |date=October 1, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170217171022/https://www.latimes.com/travel/themeparks/la-trb-looping-wooden-coasters-next-wave-20140929-story.html |archive-date=February 17, 2017 |url-status=live}} RMC entered the industry by refurbishing old wooden roller coasters, converting them into hybrids with steel track, beginning with New Texas Giant at Six Flags Over Texas in 2011. One of their most popular conversions is Steel Vengeance at Cedar Point,{{cite web |last1=Arehart |first1=Mark |title=State of the Arts: A New Kind of Wooden Coaster Twists and Turns at Cedar Point |url=https://www.ideastream.org/news/arts-culture/2018-05-04/state-of-the-arts-a-new-kind-of-wooden-coaster-twists-and-turns-at-cedar-point |publisher=Ideastream Public Media |access-date=July 21, 2023 |date=May 4, 2018}} which has been consistently ranked as one of the best steel coasters in Amusement Today{{'}}s Golden Ticket Awards. The Gravity Group designs coasters with wooden track but with a steel support structure, such as Hades 360 at Mount Olympus Theme Park.{{Cite web|title=The Gravity Group – Coasterforce|url=https://coasterforce.com/gravity-group/|website=Coasterforce|date=23 October 2016 }}

Terminology

The term "hybrid roller coaster" started to be used by the coaster community when New Texas Giant opened and Six Flags classified the roller coaster as wood. Six Flags in response of the confusion classified the roller coaster as a "hybrid", which has since been used to include many other Rocky Mountain Construction Coasters of the same style.{{Cite web|title=Roller Coaster Search Results|url=https://rcdb.com/r.htm?order=1&ot=2&ca=219|access-date=2021-04-28|website=rcdb.com}} Coasters are usually still classified as either "steel" or "wood", based on what their track material is.{{Cite web|title=New Texas Giant Roller Coaster|url=https://guidetosfot.com/rides/newtexasgiant/|access-date=2021-04-28|website=Guide to Six Flags over Texas|language=en-US}} The use of the phrase is controversial.

Examples of hybrid roller coasters

class="wikitable sortable"

! Name !! Park !! Opened

!Country!! Notes

New Texas Giant

|Six Flags Over Texas

|2011

|United States

|First RMC conversion{{cite RCDB|coaster_name=New Texas Giant|RCDB_number=11662|access-date=16 July 2023|location=Six Flags Over Texas}}

Hades 360

|Mt. Olympus Water & Theme Park

|2013

|United States

Steel Vengeance

|Cedar Point

|2018

|United States

|First hybrid hypercoaster and longest hybrid in the world{{cite RCDB|coaster_name=Steel Vengenace|RCDB_number=15411|access-date=16 July 2023|location=Cedar Point}}

Zadra

|Energylandia

|2019

|Poland

Hakugei

|Nagashima Spa Land

|2019

|Japan

|First hybrid roller coaster in Asia{{cite RCDB|coaster_name=Hakugei|rcdb_number=15515|access-date=7 February 2024|location=Nagashima Spa Land}}

Iron Gwazi

|Busch Gardens Tampa Bay

|2022