ADA Compliance – Americans with Disabilities Act requirements for accessible queues, ride vehicles, and transfers.
Amusement Park – A park with rides, games, and food focused on thrills; usually pay-one-price or pay-per-ride.
Airtime – The sensation of weightlessness when a coaster train momentarily lifts riders out of their seats, creating a “floating” feeling (most common on hills).
ASTM F24 Standards – International safety standards for amusement rides and devices.
Attraction Downtime – When a ride is temporarily closed for technical or weather reasons.
Audio-Animatronics – Disney-patented robotic figures that move and speak with lifelike precision.
B-mode – A reduced-capacity or modified show version of an attraction when certain effects are broken (vs. full A-mode).
Back of House / Backstage – Areas guests never see: workshops, control rooms, employee tunnels.
Block Brake – A brake section that acts as a block boundary; it holds a train until the next block is clear, then releases it.
Block System – Safety system that divides a ride’s track into multiple “blocks.” Only one train is allowed in each block at a time to prevent collisions.
Blue Sky – Early concept phase of ride development where Imagineers/Creative teams dream without budget or physics constraints.
C-Ticket, D-Ticket – Lower-tier ride tickets in the old Disneyland A-E ticket system (C = minor flats, D = bigger but not headliners).
Capacity Per Hour (CPH) – Theoretical maximum number of riders an attraction can handle in one hour.
Capital Expenditure (CapEx) – Large-budget projects (new coasters, lands) vs. regular maintenance.
Dark Ride – An indoor attraction where riders travel in vehicles through themed scenes, usually with animatronics, special effects, lighting, and sound.
E-stop – Emergency stop button that instantly shuts down a ride and applies all brakes.
E-Ticket Attraction – Term originating at Disneyland for the most thrilling, expensive, and popular rides (now used by fans for any major headliner coaster or dark ride).
Exclusive Ride Time (ERT) – Private ride sessions for members of a club or event attendees, usually early morning or after park close.
Family Entertainment Center (FEC) – Smaller indoor/outdoor facility with attractions like go-karts, mini-golf, arcade, and kiddie rides.
FastPass – Disney’s original (now retired) free virtual queue system; replaced by Genie+ and Lightning Lane.
Flash Pass (Six Flags) – Six Flags’ paid line-skipping system.
Flat Ride – Any ride that operates on a single plane (no track): scrambler, tilt-a-whirl, enterprise, drop tower, etc.
Fright Lane (Six Flags) – Halloween-event version of Flash Pass for haunted houses during Fright Fest.
Front of House – All guest-visible areas: queues, ride platforms, gift shops, restaurants.
Giga Coaster – A complete coaster 300–399 ft tall (e.g., Millennium Force, Fury 325).
Gravitational Force (G’s) – The forces riders feel due to acceleration; measured in “G’s” (1 G = normal Earth gravity).
Hybrid Coaster – A coaster with wooden support structure but steel track (or vice versa). Most common: wood structure + steel track (e.g., Steel Vengeance).
Hyper Coaster – A steel coaster specifically designed to be 200–299 ft tall with an emphasis on airtime (term coined by Cedar Point & Arrow for Magnum XL-200).
IAAPA – International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions – the industry’s biggest trade organization.
Intellectual Property (IP) – Licensed characters, films, or brands used in rides (Marvel, Harry Potter, Nintendo, etc.).
Inversion – Any element that turns riders upside down (loop, corkscrew, zero-G roll, etc.).
Inverted Coaster – A coaster where the train runs beneath the track and riders’ feet dangle (e.g., Batman: The Ride).
Kiddieland – Area of a park dedicated to small children’s rides.
Lateral G’s – Side-to-side forces that push riders left or right (common in sharp turns or helixes).
Lift Hill – The chain-driven hill that pulls the train to the top before the first drop.
Linear Synchronous Motor (LSM) – Electromagnetic launch system using magnets to propel coaster trains (used on rides like Maverick, Soaring with Dragon).
LOTO (Lockout/Tagout) – Safety procedure to isolate energy sources before maintenance.
Mega Coaster – European term roughly equivalent to hyper coaster (200+ ft), used by Intamin and B&M.
Mid Course Brake Run (MCBR) – A set of brakes halfway through a coaster layout that slows or stops the train before the second half.
Multi-looper – Coaster with 5+ inversions (e.g., 7+ is common on modern multi-loopers).
NAARSO – National Association of Amusement Ride Safety Officials.
Negative G’s – Forces that lift riders upward against restraints, creating “airtime” (negative because they oppose gravity).
Out and Back – Coaster layout that goes far out from the station, turns around, and comes straight back.
Over-The-Shoulder-Restraints (OTSR) – Hard plastic shoulder harnesses that lock over the rider’s torso (common on older looping coasters).
Positive G’s – Downward forces that push riders into their seats (strongest at the bottom of drops).
Queue Line Management – Techniques to make wait times feel shorter: switchbacks, themed props, videos, single-rider lines.
Ride Envelope – The invisible 3D space a ride vehicle can occupy; used to ensure no collisions.
Rope Drop – The moment the park officially opens and the entrance ropes are dropped, triggering the morning rush.
SBNO – “Standing But Not Operating” – a ride that is complete and still standing but no longer runs for the public.
Show Control – Computer system that synchronizes audio, lighting, animatronics, and effects.
Stand-by – The regular queue line without any skip-the-line pass.
Strata Coaster – A coaster 400–499 ft tall (currently only two exist: Top Thrill Dragster/Kingda Ka class, now Top Thrill 2 is 420 ft).
Suspended Coaster – Trains hang below the track and swing side-to-side (e.g., old Arrow suspended coasters like Big Bad Wolf).
Theme Park – An amusement park with immersive storytelling, themed lands, and attention to detail (Disney, Universal, etc.).
Thoosie – Slang for an extreme amusement-park enthusiast (“thrill + enthusiast” = thoosie). Pronounced “THOO-see.”
Universal Creative – Universal Parks & Resorts’ in-house design team (equivalent to Imagineering).
Upcharge Attraction – Extra-cost experience not included in regular admission (go-karts, slingshot, skycoaster).
Uptime – Percentage of operating hours an attraction is actually available to guests.
Virtual Queue – System where guests reserve a ride time via app instead of physically waiting in line (Rise of the Resistance, Tron, Guardians Cosmic Rewind).
Walt Disney Imagineering (WDI) – Disney’s creative division that designs parks and attractions.
Wooden Coaster – Traditional coaster with laminated wood track and steel running rails (or modern Topper Track/ Titan Track).