Narrator: Mountain View, CA. Population 74,000. At the epicenter of technology, there was another type of
revolution being pioneered here. Years, before William Shockley planted the seed which grew into Silicon Valley, The Santa Clara Valley was primarily known as an agricultural center. During World War II, however, the area was strategically important, and became a hotbed of growing military aerospace, and electronics industries. In a place where garages would make future billionaires, this one, in particular, has long been overlooked. If you've visited an amusement park in the past 70 years you've been touched by the groundbreaking work, that was done inside... The year is 1945. World War II is over. The post-war prosperity has barely begun. Workers at the Hendy Iron Works in Sunnyvale, CA are being pressured to go out on strike. Fed up with all the labor unrest at Hendy, Karl Bacon, Ed Morgan Angus "Andy" Anderson and William Hardiman, get the entrepreneurial bug, and decide to create their own manufacturing company. The four men, decide to settle on a plot of land just one train station to the north of their now former employer. The address? 243 Moffett Boulevard in Mountain View. Dana Morgan: One of the things that sticks in my mind is that, um, the original plant in Mountain View the way that they got the building is that they were able to purchase the land but they didn't have enough money to build the building. So they found a guy who wanted to go into the business of making cinder blocks for buildings. And this is right after World War II and everybody is just trying to get started. But that guy was also under capitalized so, they poured a little concrete slab and, had just one electrical outlet, and they owned one welding machine. And so on the concrete slab outside, they fabricated the molds for the concrete blocks My dad [Ed Morgan] and Karl and the other guys who were involved then were always very creative and they came up with a better way to make the molds than they'd been done before. They traded; so the guy then took the molds and made all the blocks for their building in trade, so they didn't get paid for it got him started, got them started, and they built the building themselves. Narrator: But what to call this new enterprise? When their lawyer asked Bacon and Morgan what they wanted to call their new enterprise they were stumped! In fact, they hadn't even thought about it. One of them noticed the stickpin in their tie, which resembled an Arrow. And that, is how the world's most famous amusement ride manufacturer, was named. The four men began by selling surplus machine tools. Their first big contract was an oven for the U.S. Navy. And over the next four years, Arrow did almost anything which would bring in a dollar. Fabricating replacement truck parts, foreign car repair and restoration, and even building models for a patent attorney in San Francisco. But, its their dabbling in kiddie attractions for Alum Rock Park in San Jose, CA, that garners the most attention. Customers, begin to comment on how well-built and reasonably priced their products are. Arrow's quality workmanship, and attention to detail, stands out from the other manufacturers of the time. And it won't be long before it catches the eyes of a successful businessman, originally from Missouri. For years, Walt Disney had been looking for ways to allow fans to experience, all the magic of the movies that had made him one of the most famous people on Earth. As the story goes, Walt took his daughters to amusement parks looking for family friendly entertainment. But nothing was clean, nothing seemed safe. There had to be a better way. When Walt mentioned to his wife Lillian that he wanted to build an amusement park, she reportedly replied, "Why would you wanna build one of THOSE?" Despite the task ahead of him, Walt got to work. His vision was like nothing anyone in America had seen before, and Arrow wanted to help. Hoping Disney would be interested in their Lil' Belle miniature paddlewheeler, Arrow responded to a request for information, from W.E.D.'s Dick Irvine. Walt was also busy touring other amusement parks for ideas on how to build his. One of them, was Children's Fairyland in Oakland where he saw Arrow's sternwheeler in action. There was only one problem. Disney wasn't interested in Lil' Belle. He was, however, intrigued by their antique cars. Arrow didn't just get a single contract from Disney, they eventually got six, worth $250,000. A refurbishment of the King Arthur Carrousel, Snow White's Scary Adventures, Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, Casey Jr. Circus Train, Dumbo the Flying Elephant, and The Mad Tea Party, would all emerge from Arrow's shop in Mountain View in time for the Park's opening. Despite the naysayers, "Walt's Folly", would eventually open on July 17th, 1955. And it was a very interesting first day, in front of, and behind the scenes. Soaring temperatures, no working water fountains, counterfeit tickets, and a gas leak were just some of the issues the Park faced. But one of the biggest headaches that day came courtesy of Dumbo the Flying Elephant. While Arrow had built the ride-system and hydraulics, Disney built the elephants. Making Dumbo's ears move had increased the weight of the cars, substantially, so much so, they overloaded the hydraulic lifts! An ex-NASA engineer had recommended using a type of hydraulic accumulator which let the high-pressure nitrogen gas dissolve into the hydraulic fluid, like charging soda pop. As the overweight Dumbos flew up and down, around and around, that gas expanded, and turned the hydraulic fluid into brown foam, like shaving cream. Arrow's Paul Harvey had to constantly skim the foam off the fluid tank after nearly every ride cycle. Which Karl Bacon called, "milking the elephants." Thankfully, both Arrow and Disneyland survived Black Sunday, and in the months to come, both the Park, and Arrow, found their groove. And while Dumbo was down for a month, Walt was impressed with Arrow's dedication, and willingness to work until things were made right. In the years following the park's opening, Disney would use Arrow to build the ride systems for several more legendary attractions. Including, Adventure Thru Inner Space, Alice in Wonderland, the Haunted Mansion, the Midget Autopia, and the infamous Flying Saucers. Bob Gurr: Now, it had two parts. It had a vehicle which was very simple, and then it had this very complicated floor-deck that underneath there was a series of air chambers that would allow air to go from these chambers through holes to support the bottom of the flying saucer when it would pass over the openings, and the valves would close with a certain closure rate. Karl Bacon was the inventor of that. It was the simplest doggone thing. Now the car, was completely simple. It was one of my favorite designs 'cause I did the styling of it. It's a car with no moving parts, nothing can break. I was delighted to have designed the flying saucer and still today that flying saucer is patented to me by the U.S. Patent Office. Narrator: At the same time, Arrow built and ran their own small amusement park, Palo Alto Playtown. Located next to Town and Country Village Shopping Center, this demonstration park showed off their miniature trains and boat rides, as well as their Arrowplane, and carousel. Walt said Disneyland would never be finished and as the park grew, he often tinkered with attractions to make them better. But one attraction in particular was in need of a tune-up, the Autopia. Guests were damaging the cars much faster than expected, and worse, they were damaging the employees! After a visit to the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, Walt saw Arrow's unique center-rail guide-system for their cars. Ted Whiting III: We had years ago a car ride, Autorama; self-propelled cars, two people could ride it. Very similar to the ride that Disney had when they opened up the Tomorrowland. I would say it was around 1963, give or take. We knew Walt Disney was coming. The word had gone out he was coming to look at our ride because we had a unique guidance system. We had a center rail that gave the car the ability to go so far to the left, so far to the right, different from what he had down at Disneyland. So the understanding that we had was he was coming to look at that guidance system. And those cars, were made by Arrow. Narrator: Thanks to Arrow's work at Santa Cruz, Walt had found his solution to Autopia's problem. Ever since the park opened, Walt was also perturbed with teenagers, who were using Holiday Hill as a make-out location, inside his family-friendly park. He also wanted to improve the look of the towers, for the Von Roll designed skyway. Because he had just finished production on his latest film, "Third Man on the Mountain," the Alps were still strong in Walt's mind. with one peak in particular standing out. Walt figured he could plus three things at once. Eliminate Holiday Hill, disguise the Skyway support, and, add a new attraction! But what type of attraction would this new E-Ticket be? Originally, Walt wanted to use real snow and ice for a bobsled-themed ride, which was deemed, impractical, at the time. But others at Disney had been seeing magazine articles on a novel, new roller coaster design. Known as a "wild mouse", it featured hairpin curves and drops, perfect for ducking into and out of a mountain cavern, just like a bobsled. The problem was, traditional roller coaster track such as the ones found on wild mice, couldn't be twisted without kinks and buckling. Ed & Karl began to look around the shop for a solution and working for Disney meant one thing, and one thing only. Ed Morgan: As far as, I won't call inventions, but, ideas coming to fruition we had to come up with them, or else! Narrator: Looking around the shop, one of them suddenly had an epiphany. There was one shape that would stay uniform when bent into a twist, or curve: a round tube. Tubes could be bent in any direction, even through compound curves, and they'd keep their uniform diameter. A modification to the shop's pipe bender would deliver the necessary results, and tubing was already being used by Arrow, on several of their other attractions. The basic wheel design that had been a staple of roller coasters for over fifty years would also have to be changed. The trucks would have to pivot independently. Urethane tires were substituted for steel ones, which smoothed and quieted the ride. And before they knew it, Arrow had invented the modern tubular steel-track roller coaster. With the track challenge now solved, Arrow went to work bending the tubes into what would become a thrilling bobsled run through the Alps. Bob Gurr: Well the Matterhorn was a curious project from the standpoint that I didn't like roller coasters
one bit, but Walt told me that I'm going to design both the preliminary shape of the car and I'm going to also design the course line for the track. While the decision had been made with Karl and Ed at Arrow Development up here in Mountain View that they were to manufacture whatever we came up with and that included the body of the car and also the track course. Narrator: They also created a unique speed-control system: tires rubbing against the bottom of the cars. Which allowed multiple trains to run simultaneously which greatly increased capacity, and preserved safety. Today, it's known as a block brake system, and is standard on roller coasters worldwide. After all of the planning and adjustments up until the night before, the Matterhorn Bobsleds opened to the public on June 14th, 1959 becoming the world's first tubular-steel roller coaster and setting the stage for half a century of roller coaster design. During this immense time of growth, it wasn't just Disney that Arrow had been building for. In addition to the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk's Great Auto Race, Arrow also built the much-loved Alice in Wonderland dark ride, for Blackpool Pleasure Beach in Great Britain. And at a newly-built children's fairy-tale-themed park in San Jose, California, dubbed Happy Hollow, Arrow built the legendary Danny the Dragon one of two such rides ever built. Unfortunately for Arrow, despite selling to other parks, and helping Disney realize his dream, they still struggled financially. The company lost money on every opening day attraction for Disneyland. When Walt found out, he was dismayed. Being the man that he was, he wrote a check to cover the difference, and also purchased a one-third stake in Arrow. Walt was a businessman first, and he recognized how critical that little Mountain View company had been to his success. By purchasing part of Arrow, he could ensure they would be around to help him continue to be successful. With the new capital, Arrow built and moved into a newer, larger facility: here, at 1555 Plymouth Avenue. Next to Hwy. 101, and behind the old Moffett Drive-In. And at that new location, there was a lot more space to build, and more importantly, to test. Upon hearing of the success with Disney, a Texas businessman, Angus Wynne, contacted Arrow in 1962 hoping to bring some of that Disney magic to his newly-opened theme park, Six Flags Over Texas. Celebrating the six nations that had ruled over his home state, Wynne had just built his own version of Disneyland, just outside of Dallas-Fortworth, a year ago, in 1961. And he already had an Arrow antique-car ride in the park. Working with just slide rules and scale models, Karl Bacon, crafted a modern, safer version of a thrill ride that used to be reserved only for lumberjacks and miners in the mountains. Using their knowledge of fiberglass fabrication from their carousels, Arrow constructed custom logging-themed vehicles to ride in and a sturdy flume for them to navigate in. In the spring of 1963, Six Flags Over Texas pulled back the curtain on one of the most popular theme park attractions of all time: El Aserradero, the world's first log flume. Tim Baldwin: Aside from like, the roller coaster, this is the go-to ride that was the big crowd pleaser. No one had ever seen anything like it, and obviously it was the first, and it became, 'we gotta go do this!' and then you wanted to go back to it because everyone loves it. Not just the kids, not just the thrill-seekers but it just had a wide audience. It became a staple for the amusement industry that everyone had to have one in their park. But, like most new attractions the prototype flume had its share of problems. During testing, it was discovered that the final splashdown wasn't long enough to slow the logs down. So, being the tinkerers they were, Arrow made the bottom of the splash pool deeper, and redesigned the log's boat nose to redirect the water forward, which helped to slow them down, and also made for wetter guests. However, in the Texas heat, there weren't many complaints. Sharon Parker: Our El Aserradero ride is definitely one of the most popular attractions here at the park especially once you hit the hot days of summer. Narrator: The ride proved so popular, the park was forced to build a second flume, right next to the original, just to handle the crowds. Of course, Walt Disney hadn't forgotten that he owned 1/3 of Arrow. He was being wooed by Pepsi, to create a ride pavilion for them, at the 1964 World's Fair in New York. And he needed something, fast! After the crash course in fluid dynamics while developing El Aserradero, Both Bacon and Morgan devised a novel way of keeping larger boats centered and constantly moving. By adding two guides below the boat! In 1964 at Flushing Meadows in New York guests were welcomed to the happiest cruise that ever sailed It's a Small World! Ed Morgan: And Walt Disney was here, a number of times, when we were testing the small world system out it was not complete, but we had a complete waterway. I discovered then that Walt Disney had serious acrophobia! He couldn't walk on a walkway that was a foot above water. So, I walked on the walkway, holding Walt Disney's hand, all the way, all the way around the whole thing. Narrator: The next year, Disney again kept Arrow busy with yet another water ride this time, a thrilling flume, complete with splashdowns, using boats similar to It's a Small World. At the same time, Arrow hired its first degreed engineer. A 36-year-old, named Ronald Valentine Toomer, after a decade without anyone on staff with academic engineering training! Toomer's first task on the job, wading through the waters of an unfinished Pirates of the Caribbean to determine water flow rates. But he wasn't limited to just that job. Six Flags Over Texas already reaping the rewards of a great collection of Arrow rides was already looking for something new. Without any roller coaster building or designing experience Ron Toomer, sketched out and designed a runaway mine train the first $1 million attraction outside of Disneyland. And, it was a runaway hit! Tim Baldwin: The mine train was an instant hit, it was just huge, so much so that every theme park that opened after Six Flags Over Texas, they demanded one. They wanted a mine train roller coaster, that was the state of the art in the 60's and the 70's and until Arrow brought in the looping inversions, mine train coasters created a genre that they still enjoy success today, everyone loves them. Narrator: Over the next 5 years, the company built 5 different mine trains: at Six Flags Over Texas Six Flags Over Georgia Six Flags Over Mid-America Cedar Point and Magic Mountain, in Southern California. Toomer was quoted as saying, "Given enough time, space, and money I can design and we can build just about anything the park can dream up. Pushing it to the limits is what a thrill ride is all about." With their string of successes, however - came devastating news. On December 15th, 1966, the company lost its greatest champion, and the world lost Walt Disney - only three months before his masterpiece was completed. On March 18th, 1967, the theme park world was awestruck when they first experienced Walt's magnum opus; Pirates of the Caribbean. By 1972, having steered the company since its initial inception, Ed Morgan and Karl Bacon decided it was time to sell the company. Under the financial guidance of the Harvard educated Walter Schulze, the company went from fledgling start-up, to profitable powerhouse. Schulze was instrumental in the sale of the company, handing over the reins to Rio Grande Industries; a railroad. Ed's son, Dana, stayed with the company to lead it as did then lead-engineer Ron Toomer. With the sale to Rio Grande, Arrow had the power of a railroad behind it - and a potentially unique opportunity - ownership of a local theme park to showcase their latest attractions. That park was Frontier Village, in San Jose. During this period, despite hinderances from their new corporate owners, Arrow was still able to debut several new ride experiences, including: The steeplechase... The hydroflume... And the spillway drop... But none would come close to the seismic impact on the amusement world as a small white coaster would, that was inspired from an airplane flight. Looping roller coasters were nothing new to the amusement industry People had been looping the loop since the turn of the century. But those rides all had a fatal flaw - literally If they didn't cause severe neck injuries, they'd find other ways to kill you. Arrow knew they could use their tubular track, but could they go upside down safely? On an airplane flight, Karl Bacon realized that their track could be bent into an elongated barrel roll, keeping a positive force on the riders - just like in a stunt plane. Essentially - he could take the vertical loop - and stretch it out. The name for the new element - a corkscrew loop. After sketching out an initial design and building several scale models on the futuristic idea, Arrow headed to the beach, to measure g-forces on the historic Giant Dipper, a wooden roller coaster at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. Sharp-eyed riders will notice that the first drop and pull out on the Corkscrew is identical to the Giant Dipper's. Never one to waste money on a doomed project, the company first built a 1/4 scale replica - just to make sure it COULD work. Test after test showed that it could be done, so Arrow got to work building a test section to see if it scaled up. And the two people who would ride it for the first time - Dana Morgan, along with company architect Norm Scott. Dana Morgan: What we did, we had run it a couple times, but we didn't have a complete track. So you had to pull it backwards up the lift, up the upper reverse lift - if you will. So I had taken competition seat belts out of my race car, and put them in, because we had not yet developed the over-the-shoulder restraint, we were still working on that. I can remember, like it was yesterday, because it looked at the warehouse and the sensation was that the warehouse turned over twice. I mean we never felt being upside down really, that was a fantastic experience to be the first one to do that. Narrator: After giving test rides for several months, the ride was sold and shipped to Marion Anderson, daughter of Walter Knott. When it opened to the public at Knott's Berry Farm in 1975, Corkscrew became not only the first modern looping roller coaster, but the first to invert riders - twice At a cost of only $700,000, the Corkscrew model was within the price range of many mid-sized parks - and 12 more models would be sold. Corkscrew's development also lead to new designs, starting with the launched loop... the loop corkscrew... and the multi-loop... and at every park that added an Arrow, attendance soared. If your local park didn't have an Arrow coaster - it just wasn't good enough. Jamie Matthews: And so when we saw these structures, it was amazing. Turn of the Century was absolutely epically sized. And so, over the years, you know, they continued to make little changes on it. My favorite roller coaster for all time, it combined everything that you want. Narrator: In 1978, Busch Gardens Williamsburg then known as Busch Gardens: The Old Country, unleashed what is considered by many to be the most beautiful steel roller coaster of all time - the Loch Ness Monster. Greg Thacker: It's been a unique, uh, coaster for us for years. It's another one where it has a 48 inch, uh ridership so, a lot of people can ride, uh steel, at that height. And it's been, uh, a good consistent coaster for us. It's always, has a line, there's always people that want to ride the Loch Ness Monster. People come from all over the world to ride the Loch Ness Monster, and it's unique and it was like, the second or third double looping coaster, in the country, so it has a unique distinction about it. Narrator: Also in 1978, Arrow created a hybrid coaster. One with wooden supports and their tubular steel track. Dubbed Gemini, Cedar Point's unique racing coaster was not only the world's tallest coaster when it debuted, it was also engineer Ron Toomer's all-time favorite. Carol Thornton: He was really proud of Gemini, he loved that coaster. Lydia Thornton: He loved Gemini. Carol Thornton: He did, that was a fantastic coaster. Still is. And I know the first time he was telling me, shortly before he died, when we were back at the park and we were talking about that. And he said the first time they ran that coaster, for a test run, the trains left and came back exactly at the same time. And the guy from the park that was there said, "Wow," he said, "I can't believe that happened." and my dad said, "Well, that's how I designed it." Narrator: Arrow would also go back to modify their Turn of the Century roller coasters, at the twin Great America parks in Santa Clara, CA and Gurnee, IL, to include two vertical loops.They were rethemed the next year as "The Demon." Jamie Matthews: It had loops in it, it had smoke effects, it had the monster's eyes, it had, it had the kind of scary little bit, that makes you as a teenager, excited, and it was fast. Narrator: And the innovation did not stop with custom looping coasters. Toomer and his engineers at Arrow, had also been working on a few new ideas... Their first, was a new twist on an old favorite - the flying turns. This true bobsled type ride, would use steel troughs instead of wooden ones. But, the prototype didn't work as planned... Paula Morgan: I remember Janey Karius, was the one that was with me, and off we went, and went around successfully part of the way, but in an area where, um they couldn't see us. All of a sudden, we just, crashed. and um, there were parts flying everywhere Well of course, we were quite a ways above the ground, I forget just how high, but it was pretty high. I remember that, and uh, Janet and I, were just speechless we couldn't say anything, because we were pretty scared of what had just happened and somehow was able to get from the track to the swinging basket and then, they lowered us down on that but uh, yeah it was a very memorable time in the marketing department of Arrow Development Narrator: Around the same time, Arrow had been in discussions with a European ride manufacturer - Vekoma of the Netherlands - to see if they could become the company’s broker and manufacturer of rides for the European market. Vekoma would build the track, while Arrow would supply the trains for the rides. The company went so far as to send two of its own engineers to Holland for six months, just to show Vekoma their manufacturing process. Back in the US, while the Flying Turns concept was eventually scrapped, a new coaster design was beginning to take shape. These coaster cars would hang below the track, instead of sitting on top of it - and swing freely through the turns. This was, after all - still before computer based simulation Prototyping was critical. On April 4th, 1981, Kings Island in Ohio unleashed Arrow’s latest creation: The Bat. But again, there were problems that arose shortly after the ride opened. It had to be closed more often than it was open, as the trains placed immense strain on the unbanked track and supports. Additional analysis by Arrow engineers uncovered the issues in the Bat’s design. The flight of The Bat, lasted less than two seasons and it was unceremoniously shut down in 1983 - and promptly torn down. Arrow had experienced its first major failure and now was on the brink of insolvency. At the same time that Arrow was working to correct the Bat’s ongoing issues, Rio Grande Industries was looking for a buyer to help them exit the Amusement Park business. One finally appeared; Huss Machinfabrik, - a German amusement ride manufacturer. The company’s new name, Arrow-Huss, was reflected in the new promotional material. Dana Morgan was lured away from his position as General Manager of the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, back to the company that his father helped found. Ron Toomer was promoted to Manager and Vice President of Engineering. To save on costs, in 1981 Arrow moved most of its offices out of California, away from the unions, here - to the Freeport Center, in Clearfield, Utah. After discovering why The Bat had failed, Arrow was once again ready to try the suspended concept - and this time, it worked. Opening in 1984, The Big Bad Wolf at Busch Gardens Williamsburg became one of the most recognized - and most beloved roller coasters of all time. Carl Lum: When you start talking to people, you hear things that I think made it unique and innovative in terms of the low height requirement so families could enjoy it, kids could ride on it the swinging coaster style, you know, kind of going through the European village real fast and this iconic, uh backdrop that you see behind me of how it dropped down towards the, uh, the Rhine river. You put all those things together, and you have something pretty special. 1984 also marked a turning point for the company. After Arrow, had partnered with European ride manufacturer, Vekoma - they had shown the Dutch company how they created their unique track system in hopes they could save on steel shipping costs for European orders. But, the plan backfired and Vekoma began building their own trains and manufacturing a variant of Arrow's track design - for themselves. Vekoma debuted their first Boomerang shuttle loop coaster that year, and Arrow's once revered skill and trade secrets - were all but gone. They had created their own rival who used their technology and know-how. While 1983, marked the departure of Dana Morgan, who would leave Arrow to form his own company, called D.H. Morgan Manufacturing Arrow would lose another President soon after Morgan's departure when payments for rides for the 1984 World’s Fair and the Darien Lake Theme Park were delayed. Ron Toomer, was quoted as saying "The attitude of the new management was.. let's make as much money as possible and to hell with the customer." Everything that the long-time employees had worked for was gone. Arrow-Huss officially filed for bankruptcy in November of 1984 - and it would be the first time the company did not exhibit at the annual IAAPA industry trade show. In the wake of the bankruptcy, thirteen former employees worked for over a year on a plan to help Arrow emerge from the ashes. Re-born under a new name - Arrow Dynamics - with Ron Toomer as the president, the company was ready to carry on the legacy, which was forged in Mountain View some thirty years before. First on the list - another suspended coaster - Iron Dragon - for Cedar Point. Then, a do-over for Kings Island - the six inversion Vortex - which used the station and some footers from the Bat. Shockwave followed in 1988, at Six Flags Great America, breaking Vortex’s world records... ...only to be matched by the Great American Scream Machine at Six Flags Great Adventure in 1989 ...culminating with the biggest and
baddest of them all - the seven inversion Viper, at Six Flags Magic Mountain. The new Arrow also continued its proud tradition of experimenting, with two very different coaster concepts. The first - a re-imagining of the “Virginia Reel” - which featured spinning tubs and sharp curves. It was ultimately abandoned after tests showed stress cracks in the vehicle bodies. The other concept - the Pipeline coaster received far more media attention. A full size prototype was built in Utah, but was eventually scrapped, when the main supports were found to be undersized for the loads. Despite these failures, Arrow was about to break into a whole new coaster stratosphere. Ron Toomer always had appreciation for the great wooden coasters of the “Golden Age” of rides. These massive coasters of the 1920’s were both elegant and thrilling - and Toomer thought he might be able to bring them back, using Arrow’s tubular steel rail technology. Cedar Point, already a park with several Arrow rides to boast of, was in the market for an attraction that would stand out. Then CEO Dick Kinzel was hearing about Japanese coasters, that were less about loops, and more about pure height and speed. He contacted Arrow, asking for a 187 foot tall ride. Arrow, however, convinced Kinzel to up the ante by eighteen feet - to 205 - because they thought the ride could be more marketable. On May 6th, 1989, the world entered the “hypercoaster era” with the debut of Magnum XL-200. Anne Irvine-Ondrey: It's very hard to convey what an impact the ride had on people's psyches. To the point that I very much so remember the very first time I saw Magnum. It was 1989, I come from a family of thrill seekers, and we were just driving into Cedar Point, like we normally do and we're so excited to ride this brand new ride and you can't phase us, we're thrill seekers and we drove out, onto the causeway and we saw Magnum peeking up above the trees and the car went silent. There was no more bravery, there was no more "I can't wait to ride", all we could think was, this isn't humanly possible, it's too tall and it's so hard to imagine that now, with coasters 300, 400 feet tall, and who knows, the sky's the limit it's so hard to understand what an impact that made. But in 1989, 200 feet, might as well have been somewhere to the moon it was incredible and it was really the cannon shot, that began the "coaster wars". From that point on, everything changed. Narrator: At 205 feet tall, and just short of a mile long - Magnum didn’t just break coaster records - it smashed through them. For five years, it held the title of the World’s Tallest Coaster. Anne Irvine-Ondrey: Everything was about how fast can we get, how tall can we get, how steep can we get, and Magnum was the coaster that started it all. And for enthusiasts, and for fans of Cedar Point, Arrow became the hero. Because we were so proud of this ride. It was known around the world, it was just an absolutely incredible force to be reckoned with in this park. It scared people, it exhilarated people, it made them cry, it made them scream, there was nothing quite like it. Narrator: Parks were clamoring for taller and faster hyper coasters - and Toomer’s engineers were more than happy to assist. In 1990, a small, traditional trolley park just outside of Pittsburgh contacted Arrow, with a question: Could they create a coaster that could utilize the park's unique terrain? Harry Henninger: Phantom came along because Cedar Point is our greatest competitor, and they had built this mega coaster, a 200 foot lift, a 200 foot lift in Kennywood wasn't realistic for two reasons. One: We didn't have the ground space, because 200 feet high, means you have to kill that much energy. And when you have that much length, Kennywood couldn't afford the product. And one night I was dreaming, and said: "But if you put the 200 foot drop, in the middle of the ride, you don't build up additional energy, and you overcome two problems." And I came out the next morning, and went straight and looked at the Thunderbolt, and ordered some gateway engineering surveying done, to see if the idea was possible. And it was. Narrator: When it opened in 1991, Steel Phantom at Kennywood became not only the fastest looping coaster on Earth, but the fastest on Earth, period. A European ride manufacturer - Intamin, of Switzerland, was slowly making a name for itself in the coaster world. After creating a new style of track, that utilized a larger, beefier ”backbone”, Walter Bolliger and Claude Mabillard, two of the company’s best engineers, decided that they should start their own company - aptly named B&M. When Batman The Ride, opened at Six Flags Great America, the amusement world gasped. Their trains held four people per row, instead of two but they were also shorter, so they could navigate tighter turns. and most importantly, the ride was smoother. Much smoother. Due to B&M's unparallelled precision machining. In spite of being twice as expensive per foot as Arrow's coasters, B&M’s were selling like hotcakes. Continuing their reach for the sky, Arrow built the aptly named Big One for Blackpool Pleasure Beach in 1994. But the large rides had slim profit margins, due to the sheer amount of material required to build them. Coupled with trying to compete with upstart B&M, Arrow was beginning to see its market share slip away from them. Around the same time the Steel Phantom was being designed for Kennywood, Busch Gardens in Virginia was once again looking for a manufacturer to bring their latest creation to life. Through a complicated set of circumstances, Arrow’s new rival - B&M - had dropped out of a custom coaster project for the Williamsburg park, leaving Busch searching for a new manufacturer. Already home to two wildly successful steel coasters, Arrow would officially take the reins of Drachen Fire in 1992 the custom layout and elements the park wanted proved too much for Arrow’s track design and trains. Kevin Russell: It was proof that we couldn't keep up with B&M. It was proof that our train, could not do the things that B&M could do. So every time you had something where your low rail changed, you would have a bad transition. You just, there's just no way to make that smooth. We just could not, make the ride smooth enough to match what B&M was doing. Narrator: The ride’s transitions were very rough - even by Arrow standards - so much so, the park had to remove one of the corkscrews. After several seasons of trying to smooth out the ride, Drachen Fire was closed in 1998 - and remained closed until it was finally dismantled in 2002. Arrow had finally found the limit to what their 40 year old track design could handle. By the late 1990’s, Arrow Dynamics’ fortunes were floundering once again. They needed something new – something different. Something… revolutionary. They needed to return to their roots as innovators and they began the process by designing a custom coaster for Dollywood; Tennessee Tornado. Using a slightly modified version of Arrow’s time tested track design and a completely different support structure - more similar to B&M’s design - Tennessee Tornado was distinctly un-Arrow like. The cost saving so-called “cookie cutter” elements seen on prior Arrow coasters such as standard sized loops, corkscrews and half loops - were gone. In their place were completely new features - a 110 foot tall loop and a sidewinder - found nowhere else on Earth. Most important - the ride experience was smooth. The jerky transitions of older Arrow rides were eliminated, thanks to computer aided design. When it opened on April 17th, 1999 - Tennessee Tornado was seen as the rebirth of the amusement ride legend. It was heralded as “the new Arrow Dynamics.” And it couldn’t have come fast enough. Alan Schilke: So when I just got there, there was a, uh, a team of us I'd say, that were working on how to make track a different way. and, how to analyze track a different way so we were not stuck making the same elements over, we could expand and do different things. and, uh, that's what led to the Dollywood coaster, with, those were the first non-standard Arrow loops. So, we were writing new programs, and uh, new stuff to be able to generate these giant loops and uh, different things easily as opposed to, Like 'cus, before that, if someone wanted to make a loop that was bigger than the one they made, I mean they'd spend weeks. You know, trying to make a loop and analyzing it. and we turned that into something you can just do, you know in an hour. Narrator: Innovators are only on top for as long as they innovate, and competition from the European firms was still very fierce. While the company was known for it’s large, multi-looping coasters, the profit margin on those designs was thin. In order to survive - Arrow had to think small - as small as a mouse. Around the same time as Tennessee Tornado was being built, Arrow decided to resurrect a classic coaster design - the Wild Mouse. Popular during the 1950’s, Wild Mice had small cars, sharp turns and little banking but were at a price point many smaller parks could easily afford. If Arrow could sell ten or more, they’d be able to make a profit. the first Wild Mouse debuted at Myrtle Beach Pavilion in 1998. Unfortunately, Arrows’ mice were so well built - they were a bit overkill - prompting some industry experts to joke, "If there's ever a natural disaster, get on an Arrow mouse." The extra materials drove costs up to $2 million dollars and put it out of the reach for the smaller parks that Arrow was targeting. Only four Arrow mice were ever built, one of which runs at Great America, in Santa Clara, CA. 1999 also brought the company’s ArrowBATic design - which was first revealed at the IAAPA industry trade show In November of 1998. Utilizing a similarly sized train to their Wild Mouse - only inverted, or hanging below the track the ArrowBATic could take tight turns and deliver vertical drops. And it was flexible - offering a sedate, family ride or an extreme thrill ride - whichever a park would want it to be. It was all the buzz at the IAAPA trade show that year. But no-one bought it. Combined with the lackluster sales on the Wild Mouse design, Arrow was still searching for the right park to do something new, different and one-of-a-kind. They found that partner - in the hills above Los Angeles. Looking to make a statement to the industry for their upcoming season, then Six Flags President, Gary Story flew to Salt Lake City in the year 2000 and - during a layover - asked to meet Arrow engineers at an airport conference room to see what they had coming down the pipeline. With several Arrow rides already at his flagship park - Magic Mountain - Story was in the market for something that nobody had seen before. At first, none of the designs piqued his interest, so engineer, Alan Schilke dug through his backpack where he found a Demo CD, containing a mockup of a “4th Dimension” coaster… 4D was radically different. The passengers sat *outside* the rails and the trains could spin around their horizontal axis, rolling the passengers like a log tumbling down a hill. No one had ever seen anything like it before. Story was interested - but he wasn’t sold on the small size of the ride that Arrow was proposing. This was for Six Flags Magic Mountain! It was going to become the banner coaster that drivers would pass on the way to the parking lot. It would also sit next to Arrow’s massive “Viper” looping coaster - itself a record breaker in its' time. The new coaster, would also make Magic Mountain the numerical king of coaster parks in the world. It had to command attention. It had to be bigger, much bigger. Alan Schilke: When we started the project, we weren't looking to build a 200 foot tall coaster, the idea was, hey, we can do something with seats that spin. And we don't need to build the biggest, giant-est coaster ever, We can build something small, and reasonable. But when it came to placing the ride, they had picked the location at Magic Mountain, and uh, he said this is going to be prominent, and I don't want a small coaster. That wasn't our intention for the ride, wasn't what we thought we wanted to sell But when someone gives you an order to sell a dream ride, um, you do what he says. Narrator: The research and design work would suck up nearly all of Arrow's resources – but they didn’t have a choice. They couldn’t live off parts sales, and the smaller coasters just weren’t selling. After building and testing a prototype track and car to prove the concept, work began immediately on the full-scale ride. The resource strain was immense. Arrow simply couldn’t build such a massive ride and pay the bills at the same time. Mid-way through construction, Arrow officially filed for bankruptcy on December 3rd, 2001. Tim Burkhart: In the course of that bankruptcy, Arrow had, uh, not finished fabricating all the steel for this ride and we were at a point, Six Flags was at a point where, uh, we could not just simply walk away from what we had started. So, it was incumbent on me, and my team to go in and pick up the pieces, that Arrow had left and finish the rest of the fabrication, get it all here, get it put up and, uh, and operate it. And we did that, and it was...it was eh, one of the most the highest of the personal satisfactions I've ever had in this industry, was getting this ride up and running with the team that I had to work with. The world finally got to ride “X” at Six Flags Magic Mountain, on January 12th , of 2002. While reviews for the ride were out of this world – so also was the estimated cost, which came in at $45 Million Dollars, making it the most expensive roller coaster in history. Much of that cost went into research and development of the trains. When they ended up heavier than expected, the track began to fatigue earlier, keeping the ride down for maintenance more often than it was running. In the midst of their struggles in the amusement industry, Arrow found an unlikely and increasingly rare success, closer to home. They won the contract to build the tower for the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympic Torch. It was beautiful, a stunning legacy piece, but it wouldn’t help fill up Arrow’s empty coffers. At the same time, Kennywood - just outside of Pittsburgh - and home to the record-breaking Steel Phantom, announced they would be retiring the Arrow multi-looper, partly due to its rough ride. Nick Paradise: The ridership just was not really there anymore, uh, people said the ride was too, too rough and I mean you can hear it if you listen to some of those old videos. Uh, a ride where you can't wear earrings, is a tough ride to, to handle. Um, and the way your head shot around and it roughed up your neck, um, you know, it was, it was challenging. Narrator: Ironically, the company tasked with renovating and rebuilding the Phantom was Morgan Manufacturing - founded by Ed Morgan’s son, Dana. His re-imagined ride, the “Phantom’s Revenge”, took away the four painful inversions, and over the shoulder restraints, in favor of airtime hills and lap bars. But he kept the ride’s signature element - the dizzying 230 foot drop through the Thunderbolt. In fact, he made it longer. And he did it, utilizing the same style of tubular track that his father had helped pioneer. Except his track profile, was smoother. Dana Morgan: We sort of integrated the two different, um styles of track construction, 'cus we had developed a, um, what I would consider a slightly more sophisticated method to build the track and primarily because of the use of the computers and the 3D Modeling. Narrator: Arrow had effectively sown the seeds of their own demise years earlier when they taught Vekoma how to build their own tubular track. B&M had refined that track further, to a level which Arrow could not compete with. X drained nearly all of the company’s remaining resources. and despite all of that, Arrow was not about to call it quits. Instead, with the small amount of resources they had left, Arrow decided to bet it all – on Vegas. Using the seat design they had worked on for the 4th dimension coaster, Arrow’s outlandish “fishhook coaster” right off the side of The Stratosphere – was to be nothing short of jaw dropping. Standing a staggering 750 feet tall, it would dwarf even today’s rides in nearly every category. And almost immediately, neighbors cried “foul.” The City Council held planning meeting after planning meeting – and every time, Arrow assumed, as they had done so many times in the past, that everything would just fall into place. But this time, it didn’t. Alan Schilke: Even after the first vote, um, we just thought still, it's like, okay... the first time it went in, they didn't like it. And, uh, we'll just go through some processes here and make sure it gets through and so, the first time it was a blow but I guess we still didn't believe that it was, the project still wouldn't go through and uh, yeah after time went by, and I think they rejected it again Yeah, it was devastating, um that was really the nail in the coffin at Arrow. Narrator: Arrow’s majority shareholder Hong Kong businessman James T. King, along with Florida developer Conrad Wagner, offered to buy the company out of bankruptcy on June 6th, 2002, sensing the end was near. But it all was for naught. This time – Arrow would not survive to ride another day. The company was officially shut down by November 1st, of 2002, and all remaining assets were absorbed in auction by Utah- based rival S&S Power. The once legendary Arrow had finally fallen. With so many of its rides in the pantheon of “classic” status – and so many others still operating around the world - what is the ultimate legacy of Arrow? How is it possible that so many of their rides have stood up to today’s latest thrills? Fred Grubb: I think they were able to put out reasonably priced rides with innovative tubular steel track, doing the things that they did, in that era.. is... you know, it was cutting edge. Tim Baldwin: I don't think Arrow will ever be forgotten, because they helped the theme park industry become a reality. Without all these great rides that they were coming up with, there wouldn't be, the, uh, the just resounding success of theme parks in the 60's, 70's and 80's. Without Arrow, It couldn't have happened. They were the principal company, that made this industry be able to be successful, to grow. Chris Gray: That's the legacy, that's really the push is they inspired so many people to do what we do now. And all the stuff that we base our ideas on, are basically stepping stones of Arrow's development. Nancy Bacon Franck: Creative...hard working.... dedicated men to building amusement rides... quality rides... and they were not doing it for publicity, they were doing it because they loved it. Anne Irvine-Ondrey: and we all look up to Arrow, and we all miss Arrow and know that they were truly a defining point in the industry. So, not only what was meant to the industry of creation of these incredible rides, and setting new standards constantly for themselves, but it was also what it did for the enthusiasts. And I really do believe that it was Arrow that created the incredible, strong, passionate fan base that enthusiasts enjoy today. Narrator: While Arrow – the company – is no more, the legacy of what was developed in Mountain View and Clearfield continues to live on… The elaborate detail that the company was known for in its early days would permeate through the industry, as theme parks began to overtake the traditional amusement park and guests began to embrace the idea of immersion. While many of the original Arrow rides at Disneyland have been upgraded - the core pieces are in many cases still the same. The tubular steel track that Arrow pioneered on Disney’s Matterhorn Bobsleds continues to be the de-facto design on most modern steel roller coasters, with one notable, ironic exception. Rocky Mountain Construction. Alan Schilke: Yeah, I've, I did in my early career at Arrow, I remember doing, uh, an interview and telling people why, round pipe was the only way to go. and this, you know, this is the thing that's the ultimate you can bend it and move it, in any direction but, I guess the thing with that is it's very hard to measure.. because engineers are designing the ride around the center of a pipe. and um, you can't...you can't put a tape measure on the center of the pipe. That's the advantage, to me, of..um, the flat track is We are burning the shape in the table that, uh, when we when put these boxes together that is exactly what the engineer has designed. And so, that the motivation to figure out a new way, for me, it started back then. And so it all came together, with the box track. Narrator: The company’s ArrowBATic design and research work would eventually be incorporated into what became the El Loco compact coaster model, which first debuted at Indiana Beach in 2008, albeit with the company that purchased Arrow, S&S. And the 4th dimension coaster would continue to be ordered, for two parks in the Far East. S&S would also take the lessons learned from X’s issues to partner with Rocky Mountain Construction on a smaller, more nimble 4D style ride that was much closer to Arrow engineer, Alan Schilke’s original vision for the concept. The first model, Batman: The Ride debuted at Six Flags Fiesta Texas in 2015. In fact, without Arrow’s foray into the 4D design, Bolliger & Mabillard, the Swiss startup that took the industry by storm in the 1990’s may have never attempted their own “wing rider” design – albeit without the rotating seats…for now. If your favorite park already has an Arrow ride – odds are the maintenance staff knows the name Carolyn Weaver. She’s the Director of Sales and Service at S&S in Utah - the lone person keeping many Arrow rides quite literally, afloat. Greg Thacker: She has taken care of us, for 29 years. When we needed parts, when we needed information... when we needed drawings, and she's been a blessing for uh, Busch Gardens Williamsburg, with the Arrow attractions. Narrator: As for their revolutionary designs – that’s a mixed bag. Several of the Arrow “megaloopers” were sent to the scrapheap in the past decade, in favor of B&M coasters. Adam Yerdon: These steel rides, they have a finite life, they're eventually gonna have to be replaced but, I don't think the tradition, the heritage will ever truly go away and that could be any of their rides. Log flumes, carousels, spinning rides... hopefully all of their roller coasters. The Matterhorn Bobsleds at Disneyland Park in Anaheim, California continues to be Arrow’s oldest coaster still in operation going strong since 1959. While rides such as Viper at Six Flags Magic Mountain and the Demon at California’s Great America continue to thrill riders several decades after first debuting. The Loch Ness Monster continues to thrill riders at Busch Gardens Williamsburg in Virginia and in addition, to being the only interlocking loop roller coaster still in existence It's also, one of the smoothest Arrow loopers still around. Other coasters, such as the award-winning Cannibal at Lagoon Park in Utah continue to push the limits of what tubular steel can do a ride which was designed by a former Arrow engineer, Dal Freeman. Arrow’s smaller attractions have enjoyed a much longer life. The oldest - Kiddie Speed Boats - at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, continues to operate to this day. One of their original car rides, that used two Ford bumpers to create miniature cars, continues to operate at Happy Hollow Park and Zoo in San Jose. The original Danny the Dragon was retired from Happy Hollow back in 2008, as part of a complete park renovation. However, the updated version, dubbed “Danny 2.0” runs entirely on electricity and used molds created from the original. Parts of the original Arrow-built Danny now grace downtown San Jose’s annual Christmas in the Park display. The Corkscrew, the ride prototype built at the Mountain View factory that became the first, modern looping coaster, was removed from Knott’s Berry Farm in 1989, ironically to make room for a Vekoma Boomerang – a ride that used Arrow’s track design. And with the finite life of a steel coaster you’d probably think that Corkscrew also met an unceremonious end… But…a funny thing happened on the way to that coaster scrapyard in the sky… Corkscrew found a retirement home... just north of Coeur D’Alene, Idaho… at Silverwood Theme Park. So what is Arrow’s ultimate legacy? Tim Burkhart: Arrow was a part of the birth, of the theme park business. They were original ride suppliers to Disneyland. They were original ride suppliers to Knotts Berry Farm. They were original ride suppliers to Six Flags, and a lot of other parks. So, they have been here since the birth of the business and they, they ran up and had a phenomenal run of success. They, they created some of the most successful, and best run, best built rides this industry has ever seen. And that right there, is, is the legacy that I think anyone would be proud to claim. Alan Schilke: I mean, you can be a "me too" company and try to beat people on price. But, if you're really going to go out in the industry and grow a company and make it into something special um, you have to come up with something new, and something different and you have to be able to push all boundaries of what's known.. and create something that nobody has ever seen and really, I think that's what Arrow showed everybody... is that not only that's what it takes.. but uh, that's what sells, that's what people want.. that's what the world wants. They want to see something, that nobody's ever done before. It really set the, set the goal in terms of what these other companies have to follow, and to know if you're gonna make a mark in this industry, you gotta do something spectacular like they did... you can't just, build more coasters. Michael Gough: They..They implant memories that... you know, last forever... and... it's a real gift, I think and... who knows how many... countless... experiences, and memories, and things were created out of what they...built. Narrator: So the next time you‘re screaming on a steel roller coaster, cooling down on your favorite flume ride or watching your kids drive their own antique autos – be sure to thank the men and women from Mountain View and Clearfield, who made having fun their business. YouTube Captions by: Brendan Graham
Never realized how close Walt Disney and Arrow were. Learned a lot of new things from this documentary.
It was a little hard on Vekoma. I don't think it was ever mentioned that Vekoma was required to buy only arrow made trains, brakes and lift technology for nearly 13 years. They were not free of this obligation until 1990, when the first vekoma trains came out. However they still sold Arrow trains as well into the early 2000's. it also didn't make sense there or on the wikipedia page with the timing of Arrow's consulting work with Vekoma - they started using Arrow's track design in the late 70's and used nothing but arrow trains and brakes until they designed their own in the 90's. The boomerang they talked about so much from vekoma used arrow trains and the first one was in 1986, well before the 90's timeframe they talked about. Park Vault has a great series of articles about Vekoma, and is currently working through one concerning Arrow to coincide with this documentary.
Awesome Documentary! You could cut that contempt for Vekoma with a knife. Haha
I've been waiting to see this for almost a full year now, and it was well worth the wait!
I wish I could've seen this at Santa Cruz or Magic Mountain in the theaters, then ride the rides themselves, but I'll have to wait until this coming season to ride the classics.
Great video. Please do one for B&M and Intamin ;)
Can we buy DVDs? Help fund the project?
This was awesome! Arrow sure has a legacy. For me, the biggest impact to my life was The Big Bad Wolf, my first roller coaster. I'm still bummed it's gone but I'll never forget it.
Thanks for sharing. I enjoyed watching it.
Thank You!!
Loved it!