Вращающиеся американские горки: история и современные модели

Type of roller coaster

A spinning roller coaster is a roller coaster with cars that rotate on a vertical axis.

The first spinning roller coaster was the Tickler, built in 1908 by Henry Riehl at Luna Park. Instead of trains, the ride had tubs with seats built around the perimeter facing inward. These tubs spun freely on their chassis as they travelled down the track, sitting in a trough configuration similar to that of a side friction roller coaster. Known as a Virginia Reel, these spinning coasters did not have big hills or drops, but instead, were designed to feature many sharp turns. Toward the end of the track layout were two helices, followed by a drop into a dark tunnel. The last full size Virginia Reel operated at Blackpool Pleasure Beach and closed in 1982.

In 1997, the first spinning wild mouse roller coaster opened at the defunct Dinosaur Beach pier at Wildwood, New Jersey. Similar to the design of other wild mouse coasters, the ride features a track layout and cars similar to a Virginia Reel, except the ride is made of steel rather than wood, and the seats face in one direction instead of toward each other. The layout of the ride boasts many hairpin turns and small hops. The design, noted for its portability and small footprint, became popular at smaller amusement parks and fairs. One well known installation of the ride was Primeval Whirl at Disney's Animal Kingdom, which closed in 2020. The spinning wild mouse was first manufactured by Reverchon Industries of France. In 2003, the company merged with Italy's Zamperla. Both companies eventually split apart again by 2006, when each began releasing their own spinning wild mouse coasters. Italy's Fabbri Group introduced a spinning model in 2006, and Maurer Söhne has been developing and constructing spinning coaster models since the early 2000s. In China, the amusement ride company Golden Horse has also released its own version.