Many people love to ride roller coasters and consider it an amazing passtime. However, for others, just the thought of getting on one is enough to make them panic. But how many different types are there? And how much different do they look today than they used to? How will they change in the future? That's what you're here to find out.

Introduction

Before After

Past

The first roller coaster made was in Coney Island, New York in 1884, Gravity Switchback Railway. In order to build these roller coaster the materials used was a lot of wood and nails. The most common wood used in building roller coasters include Douglas fir and southern yellow pine. The wood was painted and treated for safety precautions. The wood track did have a lot of limitations like the designers couldn't make the roller coaster go upside down and it couldn't go as fast as the roller coasters nowadays.

This is the Thunderbolt, located at Kennywood in Pennsylvania. It was opened in 1925 and still runs today.

This is X-Flight, located at Six Flags Great America in Illinois. It was opened in 2012 and is popular at the park today.

Present

About 85% of roller coasters today are made out of steel, with tubular tracks that are extremely popular with passengers. This type of track allows for a smoother riding experience, faster speeds, and more inversions. Becoming popular at theme parks around the world are wooden roller coasters with steel tracks to provide the authentic look, but keep the ride experience the best it can be. Also, today roller coaster operators run multiple trains at a time to keep the line moving faster, which is a newer idea because in the past operators didn't know how to prevent a crash by doing this, but now they have figured it out.

Future

The future of roller coasters are going to be better and faster. With the technology that the developers are coming up with these roller coasters are going to be more scary, more fun, or even more larger than before. Roller coasters all over the world may start using more technology to make the roller coaster more advanced like adding in a VR headset that includes sound, going in the water underground and making this roller coaster more enjoyable for passengers that love roller coasters.

This roller coaster has been thought of, and if it was ever made into reality, would most likely be put somewhere in Vegas.