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The Gravity Group is a roller coaster design firm based in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA. The group specialises in wooden roller coasters. It is made up of a core group of five people, who all have backgrounds in civil, structural and mechanical engineering.
History[]
Gravity Group was founded in July 2002 by employees of the famed, but now defunct Custom Coasters International. Because of this, it's employees have had experience with over 40 roller coasters. The first roller coaster designed under the Gravity Group name is Hades (now Hades 360) at Mt. Olympus Water & Theme Park, which opened in 2005.
Gravity Group then went on to design one of the best wooden roller coasters in the world, Voyage at Holiday World, currently ranked at #4 by Mitch Hawker's Best Roller Coaster Poll.[1]
The company also designed Ravine Flyer II at Waldameer in Erie, Pennsylvania, USA. It opened in 2008, and is currently ranked at #6. Another notable roller coaster designed by the firm is Wooden Warrior at Quassy Amusement Park, which gives a great ride, despite being only 35 feet tall.
Gravity Group were also involved in the rebuilding of Libertyland's Zippin Pippin at Bay Beach Amusement Park in Green Bay, Wisconsin, USA.
Timberliner trains[]
In 2008, members of The Gravity Group announced the development of their own wooden roller coaster trains, called Timberliners. They are manufactured by Gravitykraft Corporation,, a sister company of Gravity Group. The Gravity Group promotes their trains as the only wooden coaster trains capable of steering through curves, resulting in a more comfortable and maintenance friendly ride. Timberliners were planned to debut on Voyage at Holiday World for the 2010 season, but the trains faced delays. In 2011, Timberliners were installed on Wooden Warrior at Quassy Amusement Park and Twister at Gröna Lund in Sweden.
The Timberliners are also set to appear on Hades at Mt. Olympus Water & Theme Park for the 2013 season, when it is remodeled in to Hades 360.
Roller coasters[]
The Gravity Group have designed a total of 10 roller coasters, all of which are wooden.
| Name | Park | Location | Opened |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boardwalk Bullet | Kemah Boardwalk |  Kemah, Texas, USA
|
2007 |
| Dualing Dragon | Happy Valley |  Hongshan, Wuhan, Hubei, China
|
2012 |
| Hades 360 | Mt. Olympus Water & Theme Park | Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin, USA
|
2005 |
| Ravine Flyer II | Waldameer | Erie, Pennsylvania, USA
|
2008 |
| Roar-o-Saurus | Story Land | Glen, New Hampshire, USA
|
2014 |
| Twister | Gröna Lund |  Djurgården, Stockholm, Sweden
|
2011 |
| Voyage | Holiday World | Santa Claus, Indiana, USA
|
2006 |
| Wooden Coaster - Fireball | Happy Valley | Songjiang, Shanghai, China
|
2009 |
| Wooden Warrior | Quassy Amusement Park | Middlebury, Connecticut, USA
|
2011 |
| Zippin Pippin | Bay Beach Amusement Park | Green Bay, Wisconsin, USA
|
2011 |
| unknown | Happy Valley | Dongli, Tianjin, China
|
2013 |