Intamin facts for kids
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| Industry | Manufacturing |
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| Founded | 1967 |
| Founder |
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| Headquarters | , |
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Number of locations
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8 |
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Area served
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Worldwide |
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Key people
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Patrick Spieldiener (CEO) |
| Products |
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| Subsidiaries |
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Intamin Amusement Rides is a company from Schaan, Liechtenstein. They are famous for designing and building exciting thrill rides and roller coasters. You can find their rides in many theme parks and amusement parks around the world.
The name Intamin comes from "international amusement installations." The company has offices in different countries, including Europe, Asia, and the United States.
Contents
What Intamin Builds
Intamin makes two main types of products: fun rides and transportation systems.
Amusement Park Rides
Roller Coasters
Intamin created the first hydraulic launch system for roller coasters. This system, called the Accelerator Coaster, shoots roller coaster trains from a stop to very high speeds in just a few seconds. For example, Kingda Ka at Six Flags Great Adventure was North America's tallest and fastest coaster. It launched riders from 0 to 128 miles per hour in 3.5 seconds.
Intamin also uses special computer-controlled methods to build its wooden roller coasters. Instead of building everything on-site, they make parts of the track in a factory. Coasters like Colossos at Heide Park and El Toro at Six Flags Great Adventure use this method. This design helps the wooden coasters go very fast and have smooth turns, almost like steel roller coasters.
Ferris Wheels
Intamin has also helped create many large Ferris wheels. They worked with another company, Waagner-Biro, on some of these. One example was the Giant Wheel at Hersheypark, which had multiple arms, each holding a Ferris wheel.
Sky Whirl was the world's first triple Ferris wheel. It opened in 1976 at parks like Six Flags Great America. This huge wheel was 33 meters (108 feet) tall.
More recently, Intamin designed and built the Orlando Eye, which opened in April 2015.
Transportation Systems
Beyond amusement parks, Intamin also builds monorail transportation systems. These are used in cities and at tourist spots around the world.
Intamin designed and built the Moscow Monorail in Russia. This monorail is 4.7 kilometers (2.9 miles) long and has six stations. It helps people travel in the city.
In 2016, two more monorails using Intamin equipment opened. These were the 5.2-kilometer (3.2-mile) Ashgabat Monorail in Turkmenistan and the 1.1-kilometer (0.68-mile) Calabar Monorail in Nigeria.
In 2020, the Marconi Express Monorail opened in Italy. It connects the Bologna Guglielmo Marconi Airport to the main Bologna Centrale railway station.
Intamin has also built monorails inside amusement parks in places like Xi'an and Ningbo in China, and in Da Nang in Vietnam.
Famous Intamin Rides
- 1981: American Eagle at Six Flags Great America, Intamin's first wooden coaster.
- 2000: Superman: Ultimate Escape at Geauga Lake, the first LIM-launched Twisted Impulse coaster.
- 2000: Superman The Ride at Six Flags New England, a five-time Golden Ticket Award winner.
- 2000: Millennium Force at Cedar Point, the world's first Giga coaster. (A giga coaster is at least 300 feet tall.)
- 2001: Incredicoaster (formerly California Screamin') at Disney California Adventure, the first coaster to use a LIM launch hill.
- 2001: Colossos at Heide Park, the first wooden coaster with prefabricated track.
- 2002: Xcelerator at Knott's Berry Farm, the first hydraulic catapult launch coaster.
- 2003: Top Thrill Dragster at Cedar Point (now Top Thrill 2), the world's first Strata coaster. (A strata coaster is at least 400 feet tall.)
- 2005: Kingda Ka at Six Flags Great Adventure, the world's tallest roller coaster from 2005 until it closed in 2024.
- 2010: Formula Rossa at Ferrari World Abu Dhabi, the world's fastest roller coaster at 240 kilometers per hour (150 mph).
- 2025: Falcons Flight at Six Flags Qiddiya, expected to be the world's first Exa coaster. (An exa coaster is at least 600 feet tall.)
Safety and Improvements
Over the years, Intamin has been involved in discussions about ride safety. It's important to know that amusement parks and ride manufacturers always work to make rides as safe as possible. When safety concerns arise, rides are often checked, modified, or even removed to ensure everyone's safety. Many rides mentioned in past reports have since been updated or are no longer operating.
- In 1984, a ride called The Edge at Six Flags Great America had a malfunction, and some riders were injured.
- In 1991, an incident occurred on Flight Commander at Kings Island. After this, the ride's design was reviewed to prevent similar issues.
- In 1999, a guest was injured on Ride of Steel at Six Flags Darien Lake when a safety bar did not properly secure. This led to safety system improvements.
- In August 1999, an incident happened on Drop Tower: Scream Zone at California's Great America. Investigations followed to understand what happened.
- In September 2001, an incident occurred on Perilous Plunge at Knott's Berry Farm. Safety procedures for riders were reviewed.
- In April 2004, an incident happened on Hydro (now Drenched) at Oakwood Theme Park. This led to further checks on rider restraints.
- In 2004, an incident on Superman: Ride of Steel at Six Flags New England led to changes in how ride operators check restraints.
- In July 2004, metal debris came off the launch cable of Top Thrill Dragster at Cedar Point, injuring some guests. The ride was later modified and reopened as Top Thrill 2.
- In June 2007, an incident on Superman: Tower of Power at Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom caused a cable to snap. The park was fined, and the ride was improved.
- In September 2009, the launch cable snapped on Xcelerator at Knott's Berry Farm, causing injuries.
- In April 2010, a ride train on Expedition GeForce partially derailed, but all passengers were safely removed.
- In July 2011, an incident occurred on Superman: Ride of Steel. Park officials reviewed rules for who can ride.
- In February 2012, an incident happened on La Tour Eiffel at Hopi Hari in Brazil. Investigations looked into mechanical parts.
- In July 2012, the launch cable of Rita at Alton Towers snapped during a test run, with no passengers on board.
- In July 2013, a boat on the Shoot the Rapids log flume at Cedar Point flipped over, injuring some riders. The ride was later closed.
- In July 2014, an incident occurred on Inferno at Terra Mítica.
- In May 2017, an incident happened on the Splash Canyon ride at Drayton Manor Theme Park. The ride has remained closed for safety checks.
- In July 2021, an incident occurred on the Raging River at Adventureland Park. The ride's maintenance and emergency systems were investigated.
- In August 2021, a guest was injured by a dislodged object from Top Thrill Dragster at Cedar Point. The ride was shut down and later reopened as Top Thrill 2 with major changes.
- In April 2023, a battery caught fire on a train car at Futuroscope, injuring two guests. The ride was reopened after modifications.
These events show that safety is always being reviewed and improved in the amusement park industry.
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See also
In Spanish: Intamin Amusement Rides para niños
