Hybrid roller coaster


A hybrid roller coaster is a type of roller coaster where the track is made out of one material, either steel or wood, and the support structure is made from another. Early hybrid coasters include mine train roller coasters from Arrow Development, which feature steel track with a wooden support structure. Becoming increasingly more common are hybrids with wooden tracks and steel supports, such as The Voyage at Holiday World & Splashin' Safari.
Rocky Mountain Construction 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. 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.

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, which classifies a ride as a hybrid coaster. Hybrid coasters have existed for a long time, with one of the oldest being the Coney Island Cyclone at Luna Park, which opened in 1927. Its track is made from wood, while its support structure is made of steel. Arrow Development built a vast amount of mine train roller coasters beginning in the 1960s, featuring tubular steel track and wooden supports. One of their last such installations is Adventure Express at Kings Island, which opened in 1991.
Rocky Mountain Construction and The Gravity Group are at the forefront of modern hybrid coaster construction. RMC is most well-known for refurbishing old wooden roller coasters by 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, which has been consistently ranked as one of the best steel coasters in Amusement Todays Golden Ticket Awards. The Gravity Group designs coasters with wooden track and steel support structures, such as Hades 360 at Mt. Olympus Water & Theme Park.

Terminology

The term "hybrid roller coaster" began to be used by coaster enthusiasts when New Texas Giant opened in 2011 and Six Flags classified the roller coaster as wood, despite having steel tracks. In response to the confusion over this ride classification, Six Flags reclassified the roller coaster as a "hybrid", which has since been used to refer to many other coasters that incorporate both steel and wood. Coasters are typically classified as steel or wood based on what their track material is made from. The use of the phrase is controversial.

Examples of hybrid roller coasters