airtime hill

Roller-coaster aficionados have their own extensive vocabulary to catalog all of the techniques that rides use to give you the impression you’re going to die. Stardust Racers, which a roller-coaster critic called “one of the greatest on the planet,” has “top hats” (abrupt rises and falls mimicking the shape of Abraham Lincoln’s stovepipe hat); “airtime hills” (which make you feel like you’re floating); “ejector airtime” (which tosses your body into the ride’s restraints); a “zero-g roll” (a 360-degree twist that spins you upside down and makes you feel weightless); “crossovers” (where the track loops back on itself); and several “head-choppers” (moments where the coaster seems like it’ll rip your skull off).

Inside the Very Expensive, Extremely Overwhelming, Engineered Fun of Theme Parks Bianca Bosker 2025