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US Thrill Rides
IndustryManufacturing and design
PredecessorPatent Lab, LLC
Founded1992; 32 years ago (1992)
FounderBill Kitchen (Inventor)
DefunctDecember 21, 2022; 22 months ago (2022-12-21)
Headquarters
Orlando, Florida
,
United States
Area served
Worldwide
ProductsAmusement rides, roller coasters

US Thrill Rides was an entertainment design and consulting company in Orlando, Florida. It was best known for creating thrill rides in several US locations, hence its name.

History

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In 1992, William Kitchen and Ken Bird invented the SkyCoaster. Kitchen founded Sky Fun I Inc. that same year to sell the product to amusement parks. Canadian firm ThrillTime Entertainment International purchased the company for $12 million in mid-1998, renaming it SkyCoaster Inc.[citation needed] All 12 employees kept their jobs, with Kitchen remaining linked to the company as a consultant.[1]

Kitchen's next invention was that of the SkyVenture, sold under SkyVenture, LLC. The first installation opened across from Wet 'n Wild Orlando on International Drive in July 1998. The attraction received a visit by George H. W. Bush.[2]

Kitchen next founded US Thrill Rides.[3] US Thrill Rides has since developed the UniCoaster flat rides and SkyQuest transport rides,[4] as well as the SkySpire and Polercoaster (in collaboration with Intamin).[5]

Martin & Vleminckx acquired Kitchen's portfolio of rides in November 2022.[6] On December 21, 2022, US Thrill Rides filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and quietly shuttered.[7][8]

Products and technologies

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US Thrill Rides specialized in amusement rides and attractions.[9]

Polercoaster

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Main article: Polercoaster

Polercoaster was an amusement ride offered as a joint venture by US Thrill Rides and Intamin. An installation consists of a large tower structure which featured glass elevators to an observation deck, as well as an El Loco steel roller coaster wrapping around the tower.[10] The model was first introduced in 2012. US Thrill Rides' Bill and Michael Kitchen invented the concept to allow amusement parks with little available space to be able to design a full-size roller coaster.[11][12][13] By November 2014 Kitchen had licensed the Florida rights for his invention to Skyplex where it was announced the first Polercoaster (called the "Skyscraper") would’ve been the tallest rollercoaster in the world and would be built by 2017.[14] The Skyplex project was claimed to be moving forward but had not broken ground and did not opened in 2020 as previously claimed by the developer.[15] In 2023, Winter Park Construction (WPC) confirmed that the project was not moving forward, resulting in its eventual cancellation.

SkyQuest

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SkyQuest was a people mover introduced in 2010. The cable-car style ride utilizes covered platforms and gondolas to move rides either around the track or from one platform to another.[16][17]

SkySpire

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SkySpire was an amusement ride offered by US Thrill Rides. An installation consists of a large tower structure which features glass elevators to an observation deck, as well as a ride featuring fully enclosed gondolas wrapping around the tower in the shape of a double helix.[18][19] Skyspire was chosen as one of the five finalists to anchor the San Diego Bay revitalization project.[20] Skyspire won the contract with 1HWY1 who took primary ownership of redesigning the initial concept and implementation, but encountered numerous obstacles that have hindered development to the present day.[21]

SkyView

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SkyView was a proposed concept for lightweight Ferris wheel designs with heights between 200 feet (61 m) and 1,000 feet (300 m) and able to withstand strong winds.[22] The wheel itself does not turn like a conventional Ferris wheel, instead a chain-like mechanism is used to move the gondolas around the structure, which could be constructed in shapes other than the traditional circle.[23] In 2009, Park World Online reported that US Thrill Rides planned to erect and operate 300-foot (91 m) tall SkyView rides in Orlando and Las Vegas,[23] however the 400-foot (120 m) Orlando Eye and 550-foot (170 m) High Roller giant wheels have since been constructed in those cities. No SkyView rides have yet been built.

UniCoaster

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UniCoaster was an amusement ride with a small footprint designed to mimic the experience of a looping roller coaster. The design was licensed exclusively to Chance Rides[24] until 2020 when Kitchen cancelled the exclusivity and began marketing variations such as "Unicoaster Roulette" to casinos[25] in an attempt to mitigate the financial impact of the COVID-19 theme park shutdown.

Notable installations

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Year Ride Location Notes
2010 BrainSurge (UniCoaster) Nickelodeon Universe – Bloomington, Minnesota
  • First park installation of ride
2010 Octotron (UniCoaster) Belmont Park – San Diego, California
2012 SkyQuest Indianapolis Zoo – Indianapolis, Indiana [16][17]
2013 Unicoaster (UniCoaster) Happy Valley Tianjin - Tianjin, China
2016 Trouble Twist (Formerly Zero Gravity) (UniCoaster) Galaxyland - Edmonton, Alberta
2019 Jimmy Neutron Atom Smasher (UniCoaster) Nickelodeon Universe American Dream - East Rutherford, New Jersey
2021 Time Tumbler (UniCoaster) Doha Quest [26]
2022 Rivet Town Roller (UniCoaster) Genting SkyWorlds – Genting Highlands, Malaysia

References

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  1. ^ Waddell, Ray (August 3, 1998). "ThrillTime Entertainment purchases Sky Fun 1; to be named SkyCoaster". Amusement Business. 110 (31): 19.
  2. ^ O'Brien, Tim (April 12, 1999). "Former President Bush takes a 'fall' at Orlando's Sky Venture". Amusement Business. 111 (15): 18.
  3. ^ "Reinventing the wheel". Park World Magazine. November 27, 2009. Archived from the original on March 19, 2014. Retrieved November 21, 2013.
  4. ^ "US Thrill Rides launches SkyQuest". Park World Magazine. December 29, 2010. Archived from the original on March 19, 2014. Retrieved November 21, 2013.
  5. ^ "Polercoaster". Park World Magazine. November 2012. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved November 21, 2013.
  6. ^ Attraction, Themed (November 8, 2022). "Martin & Vleminckx Acquires Patent Portfolio of Industry Innovator, Bill Kitchen". Themed Attraction. Retrieved November 25, 2023.
  7. ^ "US Thrill Rides files for bankruptcy". December 21, 2022. Retrieved December 23, 2022.
  8. ^ "US Thrillrides, LLC Bankruptcy (6:22-bk-04495), Florida Middle Bankruptcy Court". PacerMonitor Federal Court Case Tools. December 21, 2022. Retrieved March 4, 2023.
  9. ^ "Our Products". usthrillrides.com. US Thrill Rides. Archived from the original on July 17, 2015. Retrieved July 11, 2015.
  10. ^ "Polercoaster™". usthrillrides.com. US Thrill Rides. Archived from the original on July 27, 2015. Retrieved July 11, 2015.
  11. ^ "Parkworld Magazine November 2012". Parkworld Magazine: 36. November 2012. Retrieved July 12, 2015.
  12. ^ Kitchen, Michael (November 13, 2012). "IAAPA 2012 Trade Show Coverage". Theme Park Review (Interview). Interviewed by Robb Alvey. Retrieved July 11, 2015.
  13. ^ Kitchen, Michael (November 19, 2013). "S&S & US Thrill Rides Announce New Poler Coaster that will be Worlds Tallest Coaster". The Coaster Crew (Interview). Retrieved July 11, 2015.
  14. ^ "The World's Tallest Roller Coaster (Opens 2017)". Time. Retrieved January 21, 2021.
  15. ^ Pepperman, Kelly (January 10, 2019). "International Drive developer talks new coaster, more parking". WKMG. Retrieved January 21, 2021.
  16. ^ a b "US Thrill Rides launches SkyQuest". parkworld-online.com. Park World Online. December 29, 2010. Retrieved July 12, 2015.
  17. ^ a b "SkyQuest ride sold to Indianapolis Zoo". Orlando Business Journal. November 17, 2010. Retrieved July 12, 2015.
  18. ^ "SkySpire™". usthrillrides.com. US Thrill Rides. Archived from the original on June 30, 2015. Retrieved July 11, 2015.
  19. ^ Anstey, Tom (March 13, 2015). "AM2 News: Skyspire concept touted for New Orleans World Trade Center redevelopment". am2.jobs. Retrieved July 11, 2015.
  20. ^ "Soaring 'SkySpire' proposed for waterfront". FOX 5 San Diego. February 5, 2015. Retrieved January 21, 2021.
  21. ^ "Seaport San Diego tower is like nothing else on California's coast. That's the problem". San Diego Union-Tribune. July 20, 2019. Retrieved January 21, 2021.
  22. ^ "SkyView™". usthrillrides.com. US Thrill Rides. Archived from the original on July 19, 2015. Retrieved July 11, 2015.
  23. ^ a b "Reinventing the wheel : Park World Online – Theme Park, Amusement Park and Attractions Industry News". parkworld-online.com. Park World. November 27, 2009. Retrieved July 11, 2015.
  24. ^ "UniCoaster™". usthrillrides.com. US Thrill Rides. Archived from the original on July 19, 2015. Retrieved July 11, 2015.
  25. ^ "The UniCoaster an interactive ride". Casino Life Magazine. October 3, 2020. Retrieved January 21, 2021.
  26. ^ "Rides & Attractions".
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