Thrill Rides

We’ve seen some pretty awesome backyard rollercoaster builds over the years. Now learn about the physics and complexities of building one, courtesy of NightHawkInLight and engineer Paul Gregg, who shows how to create a gravity-powered thrill ride for less than $500. We also recommend checking out Gregg’s books on the subject.

As we’ve seen previously, director Fernando Livschitz of Black Sheep Films likes to play with our assumptions of what could be real. In his latest short, he creates a new sort of theme park with some awesome-looking, but highly unlikely rides.

Car hacker Master Milo decided to take an old Ford Ka and give it new life as a thrill ride. By slicing it up, adding a roll cage, and setting it into a set of round tracks, he transformed the subcompact car into a dizzying ride for two. Check out Milo’s original video here.

Take a trip on latest LEGO thrill ride from builder Shadow Elenter. Comprised of close calls with spinning saw blades, collapsing walls, and swinging swords, the ride plays out more like a level from God of War than an amusement park ride.

Water slides can be fun, but they take up a lot of real estate – especially if you want to build up any speed. Thrill ride maker Wigand Maelzer is testing an insane new water slide that spins like a ferris wheel, providing faster, longer rides in a very small space.

If flying down a zipline isn’t thrilling enough, Skywalker Adventure Builders‘ crazy ride suspends a bendy track from an overhead structure, adding twists and turns to the mix. We’re not sure if it’s made by the same guys, but this one in Australia is 2.5 mi. long.

(LOUD) Imagine a merry-go-round that spins its passengers around at breakneck speeds, propelled by jet engines, and you’ve got this insane thrill ride. Madagascar Institute created this crazy thing a few years back, and so far, it hasn’t killed anyone.