The Gravity Group

The Gravity Group

Company type	Private
Industry	Amusement ride design
Predecessor	Custom Coasters International
Founded	July 2002 (2002-07) in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States
Founder	Former engineers from Custom Coasters International
Headquarters	Cincinnati , United States
Area served	Worldwide
Products	Wooden roller coaster design, Timberliner trains, precut track systems
Website	www.thegravitygroup.com

The Gravity Group is a design company specializing in wooden roller coasters, based in Cincinnati, Ohio. Established in July 2002 by former engineers from the defunct Custom Coasters International, the firm capitalizes on its team's background in civil, structural, and mechanical engineering. To date, they have contributed to more than 40 wooden coaster projects worldwide.

Their portfolio features prominent roller coasters like The Voyage, Hades 360, and Ravine Flyer II, all of which have received significant industry accolades and bolstered The Gravity Group’s standing in the amusement sector. The company operates with a focus on cutting-edge design and engineering solutions, catering to a global clientele within the amusement park market.

Supporting their worldwide activities and product innovation are subsidiaries including Gravitykraft Corporation and Gravity Works, LLC, which concentrate on roller coaster and train development.

Roller coaster projects

The Gravity Group debuted with Hades in 2005 at Mt. Olympus Water & Theme Park Resort in Wisconsin Dells, earning the Best New Ride award at Amusement Today's Golden Ticket Awards that year. Their 2006 creation, The Voyage at Holiday World in Indiana, ranks as the world's second-longest wooden coaster and consistently appears among the top global wooden coasters.

In 2007, they unveiled Boardwalk Bullet at Kemah Boardwalk, Houston’s sole wooden coaster. The 2008 Ravine Flyer II at Waldameer & Water World received Best New Ride honors and is celebrated as a premier wooden coaster. In 2009, Wooden Coaster - Fireball launched at China’s Happy Valley, marking the country’s inaugural wooden coaster. Quassy Amusement Park introduced Wooden Warrior in 2011 as their sixth wooden coaster project. That same year, The Gravity Group contributed to Libertyland’s Zippin Pippin revival in Green Bay and designed Twister for Sweden’s Gröna Lund. Later works include Dauling Dragon (2012), China’s first racing coaster, and Fjord Flying Dragon (2013) at Happy Valley Tianjin.

Expanding their international presence, they created Roar-O-Saurus (2014) at Story Land in New Hampshire and Time Travel at Hot Go Park in China. In 2015 alone, five coasters opened including The Cú Chulainn Coaster at Ireland's Emerald Park and Switchback at ZDT's Amusement Park in Texas—the only wooden shuttle coaster globally. Between 2015 and 2017, several Jungle Trailblazer coasters featuring rare inversions for wooden coasters launched across various Chinese Fantawild parks. Timber debuted at France’s Walibi Rhône-Alpes in 2016, followed by Mine Blower at Fun Spot America – Kissimmee in Florida (2017), noted for its distinctive inversion element.

In 2018, The Gravity Group collaborated with Sesame Place Philadelphia to introduce Oscar's Wacky Taxi and also launched Wood Express at Parc Saint Paul in France. Kentucky Flyer opened at Kentucky Kingdom in 2019 as part of the park’s 30th anniversary celebration. Wooden Dragons Roller Coaster was introduced in 2021 at China’s Sunac Jinan. In 2022, Leviathan premiered at Sea World Gold Coast, becoming Australia’s first new wooden coaster in over three decades. Their most recent addition is The Bobcat, which opened at Six Flags Great Escape and Hurricane Harbor in 2024.

These projects exemplify The Gravity Group’s role as an industry innovator and strategic leader within the global amusement landscape, strengthening their market position through diverse international ventures and pioneering designs.

Timberliner trains

In 2008, The Gravity Group introduced Timberliners—wooden coaster trains manufactured by their affiliate Gravitykraft Corporation. These trains incorporate steering technology that allows for smoother navigation through curves, improving rider comfort while minimizing maintenance needs. Although initially intended for use on The Voyage at Holiday World starting in 2010, that installation was canceled in 2013 due to delays. Nevertheless, Timberliners made their debut on Wooden Warrior and Twister in 2011 and were subsequently fitted to Hades during its conversion to Hades 360 in 2013.

Since then, Timberliners have been deployed on numerous coasters including Roar-O-Saurus and Time Travel (2014), The Cú Chulainn Coaster along with multiple Jungle Trailblazer models across Oriental Heritage parks (2015–2018), Kentucky Flyer (2019), Wooden Dragons Roller Coaster (2021), Leviathan and Tonnerre 2 Zeus (2022), as well as The Bobcat (2024).

Precut track and retracking projects

The Gravity Group frequently undertakes retracking assignments using their engineered precut track system, often revitalizing rides originally designed by other companies. This innovative approach earned them the Golden Ticket Award for Innovation of the Year in 2021.

Name	Park	Country	Year of retrack
Tonnerre 2 Zeus	Parc Asterix	France	2019–22
The Racer	Kings Island	United States	2021
The Beast	Kings Island	United States	2021–22
Grizzly	Kings Dominion	United States	2022–23
Wildcat	Lake Compounce	United States	2023–24
Megafobia	Oakwood Theme Park	United Kingdom	2023
Mighty Canadian Minebuster	Canada's Wonderland	Canada	2025
Raven	Holiday World & Splashin' Safari	United States	2025
Woodland Run	Kentucky Kingdom	United States	2025

These retracking initiatives demonstrate The Gravity Group’s commitment to improving ride performance and extending the operational lifespan of wooden coasters worldwide, reinforcing their competitive edge within the industry.

List of roller coasters

As of 2025, The Gravity Group has designed a total of 29 roller coasters internationally, highlighting their proficiency with both wooden structures and steel support frameworks.

Name	Model	Park	Country	Opened	Status	Ref
Hades 360 Formerly Hades	Steel Support Structure	Mt. Olympus Water & Theme Park Resort	United States	2005	Operating
The Voyage	Steel Support Structure	Holiday World & Splashin' Safari	United States	2006	Operating
Boardwalk Bullet	Wood Support Structure	Kemah Boardwalk	United States	2007	Operating
Ravine Flyer II	Steel Support Structure	Waldameer & Water World	United States	2008	Operating
Wooden Coaster - Fireball	Wood Support Structure	Happy Valley Shanghai	Template:Country data ChinaTemplate:Namespace detect showall China	2009	Operating
Wooden Warrior	Wood Support Structure	Quassy Amusement Park	United States	2011	Operating
Twister	Steel Support Structure	Gröna Lund	Sweden	2011	Operating
Zippin Pippin	Wood Support Structure	Bay Beach Amusement Park	United States	2011	Operating
Dauling Dragon	Wood Support Structure	Happy Valley Wuhan	Template:Country data ChinaTemplate:Namespace detect showall China	2012	Operating
Fjord Flying Dragon	Wood Support Structure	Happy Valley Tianjin	Template:Country data ChinaTemplate:Namespace detect showall China	2013	Operating
Roar-O-Saurus	Wood Support Structure	Story Land	United States	2014	Operating
Time Travel	Wood Support Structure	Hot Go Park	Template:Country data ChinaTemplate:Namespace detect showall China	2014	Operating
The Cú Chulainn Coaster	Wood Support Structure	Emerald Park	Ireland	2015	Operating
Switchback	Steel Support Structure	ZDT's Amusement Park	United States	2015	Operating
Jungle Trailblazer (multiple locations)	Wood Support Structure	Various Fantawild Parks, China	Multiple years (2015–2018)	Operating
Timber	Wood Support Structure	Walibi Rhône-Alpes	France	2016	Operating
Mine Blower	Steel Support Structure	Fun Spot America – Kissimmee	United States	2017	Operating
Oscar's Wacky Taxi	Steel Support Structure	Sesame Place Philadelphia	United States	2018	Operating
Wood Express	Steel Support Structure	Parc Saint Paul	France	2018	Operating
Kentucky Flyer	Steel Support Structure	Kentucky Kingdom	United States	2019	Operating
Wooden Dragons Roller Coaster	Wood Support Structure	Sunac Jinan	Template:Country data ChinaTemplate:Namespace detect showall China	2021	Operating
Leviathan	Wood Support Structure	Sea World Gold Coast Australia	Australia	2022	Operating
The Bobcat	Wood Support Structure	Six Flags Great Escape and Hurricane Harbor	United States	2024	Operating

External links

• The Gravity Group