Forty years ago the thrill of the traditional roller coaster almost became extinct thanks to Walt Disney. He wanted to distance his new Disneyland from traditional amusement parks that had so many roller coasters in disrepair. The success of Disneyland launched the age of theme parks, and many traditional parks either folded or tried to emulate Disney with more theming and family genre rides, but no coasters.

Ironically, a Disney innovation set the stage for the coaster resurgence of the 1980s and 1990s, with each new ride trying to out-thrill all predecessors. Disneyland's Matterhorn Bobsled, which opened in 1959, was the first to put polyurethane wheels on steel track, the world's first tubular steel coaster. This medium allowed designers eventually to add loops, corkscrews and a variety of seating profiles.

The Midwest foreshadowed the roller revival when Cedar Point introduced the Blue Streak woodie in 1964. After Coney Island closed its property on the Ohio River in Cincinnati in 1972 and reopened as Kings Island 25 miles northeast of the city, the new park included one section celebrating Coney Island traditionalism. It featured the twin-track Racer wooden coaster as part of that nod to nostalgia.

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