WThe G.A. Dentzel Company was an American builder of carousels in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
WTony Wayne Baxter is the former senior vice president of creative development in Walt Disney Imagineering and was responsible for creating designs and carrying out the construction of attractions all over the world. He announced his departure from his full-time position to become a part-time adviser on February 1, 2013, which was also his 66th birthday. During his 47-year tenure with the company, he oversaw the construction of multiple contemporary Disney theme park attractions, including Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Star Tours, Splash Mountain, The Indiana Jones Adventure, and Journey Into Imagination, and served as the executive producer of Disneyland Paris.
WChance Morgan Coasters, Inc. is a roller coaster and amusement ride manufacturer. It was formed on June 14, 2001 when Michael Chance, grandson of Chance Rides founder Richard H. Chance, acquired the assets of roller coaster builder D. H. Morgan Manufacturing of La Selva Beach, California. At the time, Chance Rides was going through bankruptcy reorganization and neither Chance Industries nor Chance Rides had any equity in the company. Michael Chance was the main investor along with a few silent partners. The company operated separately for a few years under the Chance Morgan name and handled the sales for Chance Rides Manufacturing.
WChance Rides Manufacturing is a roller coaster and amusement ride manufacturer. The company was formed on May 16, 2002, when the former Chance Industries Inc. emerged from bankruptcy. The main office and manufacturing facility are located in Wichita, Kansas.
WCrown Metal Products was a manufacturer of railroad rolling stock based in Wyano, Pennsylvania. The company was founded by Ken Williams in 1946 and initially sold pot cleaners and then electric fence wires and other products. In 1959, the company began to transition into producing narrow gauge locomotives, a personal interest of Williams. The company went on to produce steam locomotives and passenger cars of various sizes for amusement park railroads. The firm ceased production in 1989; however, much of its rolling stock continues to operate at various locations around the world.
WD. H. Morgan Manufacturing, later simply known as Morgan, was a manufacturer of roller coaster trains, custom amusement rides, roller coasters, children's rides and other amusement devices. Founded in 1983, the company was originally headquartered in Scotts Valley, California. In 1991, the company moved to La Selva Beach, California, and into a new 55,000-square-foot indoor manufacturing facility. That facility was later increased to 75,000 square feet. The company produced a variety of rides from 1983 until 2001, but is probably best known for its steel hyper coasters.
WGustav Dentzel was a German immigrant who built some of the earliest carousels in the United States.
WDynamic Structures of the World is an American company with a history of steel fabrication dating back to 1927. They create amusement rides, theme park rides, observatory telescopes and other complex steel structures.
WTollemache Heriot Eslick (1877–?), more commonly known as T. S. Eslick, who also used the name Thomas Henry Eslick, was a twice-bankrupt showman, prone to exaggeration, who indicated he was an English-born construction engineer specialising in amusement parks and ballrooms. He was given to be a 'bluff and good natured Cornishman with a hearty sense of humour and a ready wit', taller than 6 feet (1.8 m), and of good health. Not much has been independently written of Eslick, and much information derived from newspaper interviews – the entrepreneur indicating in 1914 he was born in India, contrasting with his usual stated English origins.
WETF Ride Systems is a Dutch manufacturer of amusement ride systems. It was founded in 1999 and is owned by the ETF Group. The company has manufactured both tracked and trackless systems for both dark and outdoor rides.
WGeorge Washington Gale Ferris Jr. was an American civil engineer. He is mostly known for creating the original Ferris Wheel for the 1893 Chicago World's Columbian Exposition.
WThe Allan Herschell Company specialized in the creation of amusement rides, particularly carousels and roller coasters. The company manufactured portable machines that could be used by traveling carnival operators. It was started in 1915 in the town of North Tonawanda, just outside Buffalo, New York, USA.
WHopkins Rides is an amusement ride manufacturer based in Palm City, Florida. The company has had experience in amusement rides for over 45 years and currently specializes in water rides.
WWendell "Bud" Hurlbut (1918–2011) was a designer, builder, entrepreneur, and one of the first creators of theme parks in the United States.
WHUSS Park Attractions is a company that specializes in developing and manufacturing amusement rides at a factory in Budapest, Hungary.
WMarcus Charles Illions (1871–1949) was a master carver of wooden carousel horses and other figures at Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York City in the early 20th century. The New York Times referred to him as "the Michelangelo of carousel carvers".
WLarson International is a designer and manufacturer of amusement rides based in Plainview, Texas. The company has designed its own collection of amusement rides, as well as owning rights to rides originally designed by Bisch-Rocco and Sellner Manufacturing.
WCharles I. D. Looff was a German master carver and builder of hand-carved carousels and amusement rides, who immigrated to the United States of America in 1870. Looff built the first carousel at Coney Island in 1876. During his lifetime, he built over 40 carousels, several amusements parks, numerous roller coasters and Ferris wheels, and built California's famous Santa Monica Pier. He became famous for creating the unique Coney Island style of carousel carving.
WMack Rides GmbH & Co KG, also known simply as Mack Rides, is a German company that designs and constructs amusement rides, based in Waldkirch, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is one of the world's oldest amusement industry suppliers, and builds many types of rides, including flat rides, dark rides, log flumes, tow boat rides and roller coasters. The family that owns Mack Rides also owns Europa-Park.
WWilliam F. Mangels (1866–1958) was an amusement manufacturer and inventor. He worked at Coney Island and was a major player in the development of American amusement parks at the start of the 20th century. In addition to manufacturing carousels and inventing rides, including The Whip, he wrote a book titled The Outdoor Amusement Industry: From earliest times to the present (ISBN 0848820029). Mangels is interred at Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York.
WMidea Group is a Chinese electrical appliance manufacturer, headquartered in Beijiao town, Shunde District, Foshan, Guangdong and listed on Shenzhen Stock Exchange. As of 2018, the firm employs approximately 135,000 people in China and overseas with 200 subsidiaries and over 60 overseas branches. Midea Group is listed on Shenzhen Stock Exchange since 2013. It has been listed on the Fortune Global 500 since July 2016. Midea produces lighting, water appliances, floor care, small kitchen appliances, laundry, large cooking appliances, and refrigeration appliances. It also has a long history in producing home and commercial products in heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC). It is the world's largest producer of robots and appliances.
WMondial is a Dutch company specialising in the manufacture of amusement rides.
WPhiladelphia Toboggan Coasters (PTC) is one of the oldest existing roller coaster manufacturing companies in the world. Based in Hatfield, Pennsylvania, it was established in 1904 by Henry Auchey and Chester Albright under the name Philadelphia Toboggan Company. The company manufactured carousels, wooden roller coasters, toboggans and later, roller coaster trains.
WPolin Waterparks is a Turkish manufacturer of water slides and water parks. They are known for their design, engineering, manufacturing, and installation of water slides, water play attractions and water parks. The company was founded in İstanbul, Turkey in 1976.
WPreston & Barbieri is an amusement ride manufacturing company based in Reggio Emilia, Italy. The company was founded in 2000 as a merger of the Preston and Barbieri Rides companies. The company manufactures a wide range of flat rides, water rides and roller coasters out of its 70,000-square-metre (750,000 sq ft) property in Italy.
WRide & Show Engineering, Inc. is an American private company that conceptualizes, develops, and produces, i.e. builds entertainment attractions, show action equipment and transportation systems. In 1984 Eduard Feuer and William Watkins, formerly the Senior Project Engineer and Chief Mechanical Engineer, respectively, for Walt Disney Imagineering, established Ride & Show in the state of California; it was later incorporated in 1996.
WRide Entertainment is a firm based in the United States specializing in the construction, sales, service, and operation of amusement rides and attractions.
WRonald A. Bussink has been a leading designer of giant Ferris wheels and similar structures for over 25 years. Bussink entered the amusement industry market in 1985 and designed, manufactured, and delivered more than 60 giant observation wheels between 1990 and 2005.
WSally Corporation is a dark ride and animatronic manufacturing company based in Jacksonville, Florida, United States. The company serves amusement parks, attractions, museums, and retail clients worldwide. It offers complete design/build services from concept to installation, including scripting, audio and music production, props and sets, lighting and special effects, electronics, and project management.
WS&S – Sansei Technologies is an American company known for its pneumatically powered amusement rides and roller coaster designing.
WSanoyas Hishino Meisho Corporation is a Japanese company that consists of four principal business groups and twelve affiliated companies. The business groups are: the Ship and Steel Structure Group, the Parking System & Engineering Group, the Construction Machines Group, and the Leisure Business Group.
WSBF Visa Group is an Italian company known for its amusement rides and roller coaster designing. SBF was founded in 1952 by Italo Frison, who initially constructed bumper cars and then children's rides.
WSenyo Kogyo is a Japanese entertainment company. The company manufactured Ferris wheel.
WWerner Stengel is a German roller coaster designer and engineer. Stengel is the founder of Stengel Engineering, also known as Ingenieurbüro Stengel GmbH.
WThe Sudden Impact! Entertainment Company is an entertainment company based in New York City, United States. The company has created temporary and permanent scare attractions for amusement parks and traveling carnivals across the globe.
WLaMarcus Adna Thompson was an American inventor and businessman most famous for developing a variety of gravity rides and Roller coasters.
WThe Tornado is an amusement ride manufactured by Wisdom Industries Ltd. Most tornados travel with a traveling midway company to many fairs with many other rides.
WUniversal Creative designs, develops, and delivers themed attractions, rides, resorts, and parks globally for Universal Parks & Resorts, a division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast. Its divisions include master planning, creative development, design, engineering, project management, and research and development. The Universal Creative team is composed of artists, architects, engineers, designers, producers, builders, writers and more who conceive, design and build all of the themed entertainment experiences for Universal Orlando Resort, Universal Studios Hollywood, Universal Studios Japan, Universal Studios Singapore, and Universal Beijing Resort.
WUS Thrill Rides is an entertainment design and consulting company in Orlando, Florida. It is best known for creating thrill rides in several US locations.
WVekoma Rides Manufacturing is a Dutch amusement ride manufacturer. Vekoma is portmanteau of Veld Koning Machinefabriek which was established in 1926 by Hendrik op het Veld.
WWalt Disney Imagineering Research & Development, Inc., commonly referred to as Imagineering, is the research and development arm of The Walt Disney Company, responsible for the creation, design, and construction of Disney theme parks and attractions worldwide. The company also manages The Walt Disney Company's properties, from Walt Disney Studios in Burbank to New Amsterdam Theatre and Times Square Studios Ltd. in New York City. Founded by Walt Disney to oversee the production of Disneyland, it was originally known as Walt Disney, Inc. then WED Enterprises, from the initials meaning "Walter Elias Disney", the company co-founder's full name. Headquartered in Glendale, California, Imagineering is composed of "Imagineers", who are illustrators, architects, engineers, lighting designers, show writers and graphic designers.
WWhiteWater West is a manufacturing company based in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada. It was established in 1980 and manufactures a variety of products for water parks including water slides and water play areas. The company also owns FlowRider, which produces a line of surf simulators.
WAntonio Zamperla S.p.A. is an Italian design and manufacturing company founded in 1966. It is best known for creating family rides, thrill rides and roller coasters worldwide. The company also makes smaller coin-operated rides commonly found inside shopping malls.
WZierer Karussell- und Spezialmaschinenbau GmbH & Co. KG is a German company located close to Deggendorf. Zierer manufactures Tivoli and Force line of roller coasters, as well as panoramic wheels, wave swingers, flying carpets, Hexentanz, and Kontiki rides. The company also has partnered with Schwarzkopf to build Lisebergbanan at Liseberg and Knightmare at Camelot Theme Park.