Terminology

This page is a glossary; a list of all roller coaster and amusement park terminology used both on this website and in the wider enthusiast community.

Status

Type

Class:

Track material:

Category: (pick up to one)

Category: (pick any amount)

Environment:

Combination: (pick any amount, for tables where only one category will fit)

Ride experience

  • Airtime - Another name for negative g-force. It is the floating sensation felt when the train crests a hill at speed.
  • Footchopper - The inverted equivelant of a headchopper - Areas of the ride's structure or the ground that come particularly close to rider's feet.
  • Headchopper - Part of a rides structure that comes particularly close to riders' heads.
  • Inversion - A section of track that turns riders upside-down. Some roller coasters, particularly shuttle roller coasters traverse the same inversions more than once. In this case, each inversion is only counted once.

Other

  • Car - A single ride vehicle in which riders are secured. Multiple cars linked together form a train.
  • Cookie-cutter - Slang for model.
  • Dimensions - The two-dimensional area a roller coaster takes up; length x breadth.
  • Model - A roller coaster design or product located at multiple parks. Sometimes called a cookie-cutter roller coaster by enthusiasts.
  • Pull through - A process in which an extra-large car is moved round the track to check that all scenery and supports are out of reach to riders.
  • Riders per hour - The theoretical amount of rides a roller can give per hour when operating at full capacity. The actual capacity of a roller coaster is almost always lower due to a number of factors.
  • Station - The area where riders embark and disembark the ride vehicles.
  • Train - Two or more cars linked together form a train.