Arrow Development, founded in 1946 by Ed Morgan, Karl Bacon, Angus Anderson, and William Hardiman holds a significant place in the history of the theme park industry, revolutionizing the way amusement rides were designed and constructed.
Over its decades-long existence, Arrow laid key foundations that nearly all major coaster and ride manufacturers use today. No other manufacturer has been as influential as Arrow. Let’s look at how this Arrow changed the theme park industry and continues to leave an indelible legacy.
Humble Beginnings and A Man With A Dream
In its early years, Arrow Development focused on creating custom machinery for a variety of industries, including some kiddie rides. Their rides were reliable and well-built and caught the attention of the one and only, Walt Disney. Arrow was hired to aid in manufacturing several rides for Disneyland’s opening day including Snow White’s Scary Adventures, Mr. Toads Wild Ride, Mad Tea Party, and the iconic Dumbo the Flying Elephant.
Walt Disney was so impressed with Arrow Development that Walt Disney Productions purchased a 1/3 stake in the company in 1960 and over the years Arrow would assist in the creation of over 2 dozen Disney attractions.
The company’s true breakthrough, however, came in 1959 when it designed and built the first tubular steel track roller coaster for Disneyland: Matterhorn Bobsleds. Arrow’s success in introducing tubular steel track technology propelled the company to the forefront of the amusement ride industry. The unique design featuring tubular steel tracks set a standard for future roller coaster designs and inspired a wave of imitations around the world. Nearly every future and competing coaster manufacturer would go on to use their own tubular steel track.
Revolutionizing The Theme Park Industry
Arrow’s impact extends beyond roller coasters to other attractions though. Their log flume, El Aserradero opened at Six Flags Over Texas in 1963 and was the first of its kind. This log flume became a staple in many theme parks and Arrow would go on to build over 40 variations.
Arrow Development would also create the runaway mine train coaster with the first opening at Six Flags Over Texas in 1966. The mine train model would become extremely popular, and a dozen would be installed throughout the 1960s and 1970s. However, the 1970s would see Arrow Development push the boundaries of ride design even further with the introduction of the first modern inverting roller coaster.
Premiering at Knott’s Berry Farm in 1975, Corkscrew featured two thrilling corkscrew inversions. It was the first coaster to invert riders twice. It currently still operated at Silverwood Theme Park. Arrow Development would build ten more exact replicas of Corkscrew in the following four years.
Soon, Arrow would create the teardrop loop and add loops to their steel coaster model. In the late 1970s and 1980s, Arrow would create massive looping coasters like Loch Ness Monster which included the first interlocking inversions, and Great America Scream Machine which featured a whopping seven inversions.
Arrow would not be known for only their inverting steel coasters, however. In 1978 they would create a racing hybrid coaster (long before the creation of Rocky Mountain Construction). Gemini at Cedar Point features Arrow’s steel tubular track with a wood support system and dueling tracks.
In 1981, Arrow installed the first suspended roller coaster, The Bat at Kings Island. Although this installation would close after only two seasons, the company would work out the kinks and go on to build other successful suspended coasters like The Big Bad Wolf at Busch Gardens Williamsburg. They would even get the chance to redeem themselves at Kings Island when Top Gun, now known as The Bat, opened in 1993.
Arrow Development were not afraid of taking big risks and making big leaps…
Big Leaps and Big Risks
By the 1980s Dutch manufacturer Vekoma had begun manufacturing its own steel coasters. In fact, Arrow had been the one who taught their competitor how to manufacture tubular steel tracks and as their competitor grew, Arrow began to decline. Arrow, known as Arrow-Huss at the time, would face its first bankruptcy in 1984 but would reemerge as Arrow Dynamics Inc. Arrow Dynamics sought to reclaim its power in a big way.
In 1989, Cedar Point would debut the world’s first hypercoaster, Magnum XL-200 manufactured by Arrow Dynamics. Magnum XL-200 would be the tallest full-circuit coaster in the world and would set the stage for a period of immense growth and innovation amongst coaster manufacturers called “The Coaster Wars.”
After manufacturing many more steel looping coasters throughout the 1990s, Arrow would once again face financial difficulties. They sought to create something new and innovative that would bring them back from the brink of bankruptcy. In the early 2000s, Six Flags Magic Mountain sought to add one of the biggest and most ambitious coasters of all time.
Six Flags wanted to purchase Arrow Dynamics’ 4-dimensional coaster model; however, they would ask for the coaster to be much larger than the initial prototype. Arrow began manufacturing X for the park in 2000. Unfortunately, the coaster would drain all of Arrow’s resources and finances. The company would lose millions of dollars and ultimately end up filing for bankruptcy before the coaster was completed in 2002. It is said that the coaster ended up costing 45 million dollars.
Arrow’s assets would be sold to S&S Power (now S&S Worldwide). S&S would continue to maintain the Arrow coasters still operating and even use some of Arrow’s ideas to create new coasters. S&S would work with Rocky Mountain Construction to improve upon Arrow’s initial 4D concept.
The S&S Free Spin coaster is now the most popular 4D coaster on the market. They would also improve upon the concepts used to build X and go on to create Ejanaika and Dinoconda in Asia.
The impact of Arrow Development on the theme park industry is immeasurable. Their groundbreaking work in tubular steel track technology revolutionized roller coaster design, paving the way for other coaster manufacturers who nearly all use variations of Arrow’s track technology.
The company’s legacy lives on not only in the rides that still operate today but also in the inspiration it provided to subsequent generations of ride designers and manufacturers. It is undeniable that many of the attractions we love today would not exist without Arrow’s pioneering innovations.
