Glossary of Terms and Acronyms for the Confused Theme Park Enthusiast, Roller Coaster Abbreviations and Definitions.
What are coaster/theme park enthusiasts talking about? What does something mean? This might clarify some of it. Find common acronyms, sayings, and abbreviations in our glossary.
Have an addition? Comment below!AC: Apollo's Chariot, a roller coaster at Busch Gardens Williamsburg
ACE: American Coaster Enthusiasts.
Airtime: It is simply when you go into Negative-G's on a ride. You are lifted out of your seat. "Floater airtime" is seen on B&M's (Negative G's just under 0.0g) and "Ejector air" is seen on Intamin's and RMC's (More Negative G's, -0.6 and approaching -2.0 in today's coasters)
Arrow: Arrow Dynamics was arguably the company that did the most for the Roller Coaster industry, Arrow were pioneers until their operations ceased in 2002, they were taken over by S&S Worldwide.
AT: Alton Towers, a theme park in Alton, England.
B&M: Bolliger and Mabillard create some of the smoothest coasters of today. Hyper Coasters, Dive Coasters, and Inverted Coasters are what you are most likely to associate this company with. They usually feature four-across trains but do feature other designs.
BBW: Big Bad Wolf, Busch Gardens Williamsburg. Popular coasters often have their own acronym.
Block System/Block Brake: When a coaster car clears a lift hill or brake run, the train behind it is allowed to move forward with its run until it comes to the same block section as the train in front. This makes it so trains (in a perfect world) can never collide. It's used to increase capacity in rides in a safe manner. This system was manually disengaged during "Smiler's" famous collision, an accident caused by human error.
BGT or BGA: Busch Gardens Tampa, or Busch Gardens Africa. Theme Park in Florida.
BGW or BGE: Busch Gardens Williamsburg, or Busch Gardens Europe. Theme Park in Virginia.
BTR: Batman: The Ride. A collection of inverted coasters at Six Flags Parks. The coaster model has made its way into other theme park chains as well and can be found all over the world.
CCI: Custom Coasters International.
CF: Cedar Fair. A Theme Park chain that owns Cedar Point, Kings Island, Kings Dominion, Canada's Wonderland, and other notable parks and attractions.
CP: Cedar Point. A theme park in Ohio with a massive coaster collection.
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| The very recognizable Cedar Point skyline. |
Dark Ride: An indoor amusement ride where riders travel through scenes that commonly contain animatronics, special effects, and/or a storyline.
DCA: Disney's California Adventure.
DL: Disneyland, CA.
DP: Dorney Park, a theme park in Pennsylvania.
DVC: Disney Vacation Club.
E-Ticket Attraction: An attraction with the latest technology or highest popularity. The term comes from the admission ticket system used at the Disneyland and Magic Kingdom parks before 1982. An E-ticket would allow the guest entry to one of these attractions.
EL: Energylandia, a park in Zator, Poland.
DCA: Disney's California Adventure.
DL: Disneyland, CA.
DP: Dorney Park, a theme park in Pennsylvania.
DVC: Disney Vacation Club.
E-Ticket Attraction: An attraction with the latest technology or highest popularity. The term comes from the admission ticket system used at the Disneyland and Magic Kingdom parks before 1982. An E-ticket would allow the guest entry to one of these attractions.
EL: Energylandia, a park in Zator, Poland.
Enthusiast: One who tends to know a lot about theme parks, roller coasters, and attractions.
EPCOT: Stands for "Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow." A Walt Disney World park. (Commonly joked on with other Acronyms, such as "Every Pocket Comes Out Thinner" $$)
ERT: Exclusive Ride Time.
G's: Gravitational Force. A pressure that can be experienced during a ride. See also, Lateral, Positive and Negative.
GASM: Great American Scream Machine. The SBNO steel coaster at Six Flags Great Adventure, or the wooden coaster at Six Flags Over Georgia.
GCI: Great Coasters International: A manufacturer out of Pennsylvania that offers some of the smoothest, most-twisted, and highest-quality wooden coasters in the industry. Formed in 1994. Known for rides like Mystic Timbers and Prowler.
Giga: A coaster that is over 300 feet tall, and under 400 feet tall. See "Strata" for over 400.
GP: General Public, a term enthusiasts use to describe "General Public" or non-enthusiast guests. Sometimes used in a negative light.
Gravity Group LLC: Known for their steel supported wooden coasters, Gravity Group makes some of the most unique coasters you'll find. Never scared to take on a task no matter what the plot of land they're given. The team of engineers at The Gravity Group has more experience designing wooden roller coasters than any other company in existence today.
Hybrid: Combines two building materials. For example, a roller coaster with steel supports and wooden track (Invadr at Busch Gardens), or wooden supports and steel track (New Texas Giant at Six Flags). The class of the coaster is usually determined by its track type (NTG is steel, Invadr is wooden).
Hyper: A coaster type that is over 200 feet tall, but under 300. See also "Mega." See "Giga" for over 300.
IAAPA: International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions.
Intamin: Intamin Worldwide makes some of the best coasters and rides in the world. You'll mostly associate them with Hyper Coasters like Superman: Ride of Steel or Goliath at Walibi, and Strata-coasters like Kingda Ka/Top Thrill Dragster. They also create family thrills like Cheetah Hunt at Busch Gardens Tampa.
IOA: Islands of Adventure, a theme park in Orlando Florida owned by Universal/Comcast.
Lats (Lateral G's): A force felt during a ride. A side-to-side force. When you turn a car fast you experience lateral G-forces. Lats are usually used as an asset on wooden coasters and some steel coasters. It gives you an out-of-control feeling that also makes the ride seem faster. The most common laterals you will feel are on classic out-and-back coasters. Some of the most popular and extreme laterals can be found on The Legend, a popular coaster at Holiday World; and Ghostrider, found at Knotts Berry Farm.
LIM: Launch System, Linear Induction Motor. An induced magnetic field is used to launch the coaster. This is not common anymore as LSM's have proven to be much more efficient.
LROTNOB: ("el-rot-knob") Last Ride of the Night on Beast. Kings Island enthusiasts will always try to get the last ride on Beast at night, as the track and wheels are warmed up most (creating the fastest ride), and the ride is the darkest. The best ride all day is the LROTNOB. The B can be interchanged with other ride abbreviations.
LSM: Launch System, Linear Synchronous Motor. The motor has a fixed magnetic field to launch the coaster. It is the most common way to launch coasters built today thanks to its efficiency.
MCBR: Mid Course Brake Run, the Brake in the middle of a coaster that is there for blocking purposes.
Mega Coaster: A coaster with a drop or height above 200 feet. See also "Hyper."
Negative G's: A force felt while riding a roller coaster. Usually felt at the top of a hill when the train is being forced back down by the track, causing you to lift out of your seat.
NL2: NoLimits 2, a coaster simulator. Also, NL for NoLimits, the original version.
OTSR's: Over-The-Shoulder-Restraints. Used on many steel coasters, the restraints that pull down over your shoulder. Rides like HULK and Nemesis use OTSR's.
Positive G's: A force pushing you down into your seat, felt at the bottom of a hill during a pull-up.
POV: "Point of View," usually an on-ride video of the ride from the front of the train. Low-angle POV's mounted low to the track and back-seat POV's are also common.
EPCOT: Stands for "Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow." A Walt Disney World park. (Commonly joked on with other Acronyms, such as "Every Pocket Comes Out Thinner" $$)
ERT: Exclusive Ride Time.
G's: Gravitational Force. A pressure that can be experienced during a ride. See also, Lateral, Positive and Negative.
GASM: Great American Scream Machine. The SBNO steel coaster at Six Flags Great Adventure, or the wooden coaster at Six Flags Over Georgia.
GCI: Great Coasters International: A manufacturer out of Pennsylvania that offers some of the smoothest, most-twisted, and highest-quality wooden coasters in the industry. Formed in 1994. Known for rides like Mystic Timbers and Prowler.
Giga: A coaster that is over 300 feet tall, and under 400 feet tall. See "Strata" for over 400.
GP: General Public, a term enthusiasts use to describe "General Public" or non-enthusiast guests. Sometimes used in a negative light.
Gravity Group LLC: Known for their steel supported wooden coasters, Gravity Group makes some of the most unique coasters you'll find. Never scared to take on a task no matter what the plot of land they're given. The team of engineers at The Gravity Group has more experience designing wooden roller coasters than any other company in existence today.
Hybrid: Combines two building materials. For example, a roller coaster with steel supports and wooden track (Invadr at Busch Gardens), or wooden supports and steel track (New Texas Giant at Six Flags). The class of the coaster is usually determined by its track type (NTG is steel, Invadr is wooden).
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| New Texas Giant features steel track and wooden supports. |
IAAPA: International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions.
Intamin: Intamin Worldwide makes some of the best coasters and rides in the world. You'll mostly associate them with Hyper Coasters like Superman: Ride of Steel or Goliath at Walibi, and Strata-coasters like Kingda Ka/Top Thrill Dragster. They also create family thrills like Cheetah Hunt at Busch Gardens Tampa.
IOA: Islands of Adventure, a theme park in Orlando Florida owned by Universal/Comcast.
Lats (Lateral G's): A force felt during a ride. A side-to-side force. When you turn a car fast you experience lateral G-forces. Lats are usually used as an asset on wooden coasters and some steel coasters. It gives you an out-of-control feeling that also makes the ride seem faster. The most common laterals you will feel are on classic out-and-back coasters. Some of the most popular and extreme laterals can be found on The Legend, a popular coaster at Holiday World; and Ghostrider, found at Knotts Berry Farm.
LIM: Launch System, Linear Induction Motor. An induced magnetic field is used to launch the coaster. This is not common anymore as LSM's have proven to be much more efficient.
LROTNOB: ("el-rot-knob") Last Ride of the Night on Beast. Kings Island enthusiasts will always try to get the last ride on Beast at night, as the track and wheels are warmed up most (creating the fastest ride), and the ride is the darkest. The best ride all day is the LROTNOB. The B can be interchanged with other ride abbreviations.
LSM: Launch System, Linear Synchronous Motor. The motor has a fixed magnetic field to launch the coaster. It is the most common way to launch coasters built today thanks to its efficiency.
MCBR: Mid Course Brake Run, the Brake in the middle of a coaster that is there for blocking purposes.
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| A train traveling into the MCBR on Hollywood Rip, Ride, Rockit at Universal Orlando. |
Negative G's: A force felt while riding a roller coaster. Usually felt at the top of a hill when the train is being forced back down by the track, causing you to lift out of your seat.
NL2: NoLimits 2, a coaster simulator. Also, NL for NoLimits, the original version.
OTSR's: Over-The-Shoulder-Restraints. Used on many steel coasters, the restraints that pull down over your shoulder. Rides like HULK and Nemesis use OTSR's.
Positive G's: A force pushing you down into your seat, felt at the bottom of a hill during a pull-up.
POV: "Point of View," usually an on-ride video of the ride from the front of the train. Low-angle POV's mounted low to the track and back-seat POV's are also common.
Pull-Through: A Roller Coaster Train Pull-Through is done before testing to make sure everything is correct with the track and no collisions will occur. A large metal and wooden structure is placed on the car for future rider arm/leg clearance and a crane and pulley system slowly pulls the car through. The most known issue during this process was a support issue on the first turn of Millennium Force at Cedar Point. The support still has an indent that is visible from when they fixed the issue.
RCT: Roller Coaster Tycoon, a theme park management video game. Also, RCT2 and RCT3 for the later sequel editions.
RMC, Rocky Mountain Construction: One of the newer coaster companies that recently blew up in popularity, they are designing and opening multiple coasters a year all with very high ratings. In a category of their own, their transformations of old wooden coasters and out-of-the-box elements make their coasters a favorite among many riders. RMC is introducing new track types such as the Single Rail, and continues to develop coasters that can traverse elements other track types cannot.
Rolling Thunder Hill: This is the last airhill on El Toro, right before it heads into the twister section. It is known as Rolling Thunder Hill because when El Toro was constructed, this airhill went over the Rolling Thunder wooden coaster. Remains of Rolling Thunder can still be seen under this hill from the "Zumanjaro" queue.
S&S: Sansei Technologies, moving the industry forward with new designs each year, S&S is one of the leading thrill companies out there. They're known for their air-launch coasters that can take riders up to extreme speed in a short amount of time and space.
SBNO: Standing But Not Operating. A ride is erect yet not running for a period of time. The most infamous would probably be Orphan Rocker.
Strata Coaster: A roller coaster that is 400-499 feet. Under 5 of these exist worldwide.
RCT: Roller Coaster Tycoon, a theme park management video game. Also, RCT2 and RCT3 for the later sequel editions.
RMC, Rocky Mountain Construction: One of the newer coaster companies that recently blew up in popularity, they are designing and opening multiple coasters a year all with very high ratings. In a category of their own, their transformations of old wooden coasters and out-of-the-box elements make their coasters a favorite among many riders. RMC is introducing new track types such as the Single Rail, and continues to develop coasters that can traverse elements other track types cannot.
Rolling Thunder Hill: This is the last airhill on El Toro, right before it heads into the twister section. It is known as Rolling Thunder Hill because when El Toro was constructed, this airhill went over the Rolling Thunder wooden coaster. Remains of Rolling Thunder can still be seen under this hill from the "Zumanjaro" queue.
S&S: Sansei Technologies, moving the industry forward with new designs each year, S&S is one of the leading thrill companies out there. They're known for their air-launch coasters that can take riders up to extreme speed in a short amount of time and space.
SBNO: Standing But Not Operating. A ride is erect yet not running for a period of time. The most infamous would probably be Orphan Rocker.
Strata Coaster: A roller coaster that is 400-499 feet. Under 5 of these exist worldwide.
PC: Planet Coaster
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