What Makes Rollercoasters So Fun? A look at the science, psychology and design behind rollercoasters - with a focus on ‘The Smiler’
I’m standing watching The Smiler at Alton Towers, one of the UK’s most popular theme parks.
It’s a one-of-a-kind steel rollercoaster which gives off an 'insanity’ vibe; after all, the logo isn’t a friendly, welcoming smile, but an ecstatic Cheshire cat grin which borders on the psychotic. The soundtrack that is blasting out is overly cheery and somewhat sinister, featuring repetitive, out-of-key chanting along to heavy, distorted beats. Carriages full of Alton Towers guests fly around the inverted track and the enraptured screams emanating from them bounce and curve with every loop.
I’m pointing my phone at a particular part of the track whilst waiting for my friends and partner to come rolling over - I’m filming in slow-mo mode, so that once they get off I can present to them their creasing faces and rippling hair as they are flung forwards at speeds of 85km per hour.
Once I review the footage, one thing is clear: the people on this ride are grinning ear-to-ear. It appears The Smiler does exactly what it says on the tin.
So why am I not on this ride? Put simply, I don’t enjoy rides with a high G-force or inversions as much as I used to. I have never been a fan of suspended coasters either due to an experience I had at age 15 (warning: gross) when I embarked on a suspended rollercoaster with several loops and a jet of snot evacuated my nostril as I was thrown about all over the place. Although The Smiler isn’t a suspended coaster, my friend warned me that if I thought that Nemesis (Alton Towers’s fastest suspended coaster which I went on in 2010) 'was a bit much, you probably won’t like this one’ - so I decided to sit it out.
I didn’t completely refrain from the rollercoasters, though. I still went on Galactica, Wickerman and Th13teen (which I particularly enjoyed). But these will still be considered pretty tame by the most extreme of thrill-seekers.
Rollercoaster Tycoon and real-world physics
Although I’m not crazy about riding intense rollercoasters, I still enjoy learning about what makes certain attractions so popular. I have been an avid Rollercoaster Tycoon fan since the age of 8/9 and on Steam I have racked up over 200 hours of playtime - that equates to over a week of my adult life spent trying to please tiny, whiney 2D theme park guests who all look identical.
Did you know that Rollercoaster Tycoon incorporates real-world physics to a T? When Scottish-born Chris Sawyer designed this game in the 90s, he wasn’t messing around - for any coaster you’re building, all the specs are there, such as lateral G-force, vertical Gs, inversions, drop height, etc.
In fact, the in-game physics of Rollercoaster Tycoon mirror reality so closely that if you perform a test which rollercoaster engineers use - the 'Brachistochrone Curve’ - in the game, you get the same results as you would in reality.
If you want to build a successful rollercoaster in Rollercoaster Tycoon, you have to have some understanding of ride mechanics. For example, knowing how to ensure your ride will produce enough momentum so that a coaster car doesn’t get stuck halfway round a loop; knowing how design makes a ride too intense or boring; but most importantly, knowing how to build a coaster that brings in THAT CASH MONEY.
So, how did John Wardley (designer of The Smiler) know it would be such a huge success? What is the science behind The Smiler and why is it so many peoples’ favourite Alton Towers attraction?
Using The Smiler, I will examine three essential elements which are considered when constructing a mind-blowing coaster - the physical design of the ride, the way the ride makes guests feel and the theming used.
Let’s twist again - Inversions and G-force
The Smiler has a record-breaking 14 inversions, the most of any rollercoaster in the world. Inversions come in a variety of shapes - loops, corkscrews, barrel rolls - and they create an exciting and intense ride when there’s only so much building space available. Designer John Wardley said that the engineers “packed more track per meter of space in this ride than any other rollercoaster in the world", which probably explains why The Smiler is also one of the longest-lasting rollercoasters in the world, taking almost 3 minutes to complete a full circuit.
The Smiler also packs a whole lot of G-force thanks to the ride’s drops, twists and turns; according to Wikipedia, The Smiler’s G-force rating is a nail-biting 4.8 - keep in mind that astronauts experience a G-force of 3.0 during a rocket launch. Also keep in mind that supposedly 5 Gs is the limit a person can usually withstand before passing out. Perhaps this is why people exit The Smiler giddy and grinning like idiots - because the heavy Gs deprived their brains of oxygen.
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