![]() The goal is to give parks an option for easily retracking sections of their rides. The Gravity Group developed a proprietary system that uses precisely precut wooden tracks to alleviate builders from needing to make and shape tracks in difficult and dangerous positions atop coasters. Today, Lawrence is working to help protect wooden coasters for generations to enjoy in the future. Lawrence says if parks can’t afford the maintenance - or don’t feel that it’s worth it - they’re usually torn down. Over time, the tracks become worn out and bumpy. It’s almost like it’s still alive.” The natural material shrinks, expands, and rots. “We get the chance to preserve something that already exists and to make sure that parks don’t destroy their wooden coasters, which unfortunately does happen,” she says. With refurbishment projects, Lawrence feels the most fulfilled. All of the materials are chosen very specifically to be safe and optimized in different ways.” “All of the parts have been designed or redesigned. “These train cars have hundreds of parts,” she says. While most riders simply hop on a coaster and trek up that first hill without considering the minute details, it’s Lawrence’s passion - and her job - to pay attention to every single bolt and plank. “A lot of hands touch these projects because the scale of what needs to be done is this huge, giant ride.” The four owners handle the design process, while Lawrence tracks pieces, oversees production, and inspects sites to ensure everything runs smoothly. The small company, founded by a group of veteran wooden roller-coaster designers in 2002, is one of very few that work as an outsider contractor on wooden coasters at theme parks. Between her current role and her first job out of school at Great Coasters International, Lawrence has worked on attractions such as the Tonnerre 2 Zeus at Parc Astérix in France, The Beast at Kings Island near Cincinnati, and the Texas Stingray at SeaWorld San Antonio - a 100-foot twister that opened in 2020. Now based in Cincinnati, Ohio, she works on wooden coasters with The Gravity Group. ![]() Lawrence graduated from Carnegie Mellon University with a civil engineering degree in 2018. There’s thousands of coasters in the world, but there are less than 200 wooden roller coasters operating.” “It’s important to me to keep them from dying out. “It’s the feel of riding, the smell of the grease, the sound of going up the lift hill, the bubbly feeling you get when you’re riding and experiencing all the forces,” she says. Courtesy Hunter LawrenceĪs she grew older, Lawrence became increasingly interested in how coasters were designed and constructed with a particular fascination in wooden coasters, the old-school attractions made primarily of lumber. Hunter Lawrence atop the Texas Stingray at SeaWorld San Antonio. Keeping those places alive so that memories can still be made is a cool feeling.” “I was just looking through old photos from my parents,” Lawrence recalls, “and I found a strip of pictures of them at Kennywood in the ’70s. It started as a “picnic park” or “trolley park,” an outdoor venue at the end of a local streetcar line that folks would ride to on weekends to unwind and gather. Kennywood, which opened in 1899, is one of the only theme parks in the area to survive the Great Depression. “I would tell people about the ride,” she says, “and because I was a nerd and specifically interested in the park, I added a little bit more to people’s days by telling them random facts about the park.” When she was on duty in the operator’s booth at Phantom’s Revenge, Kennywood’s largest steel coaster, she’d forgo playing the prerecorded spiels in favor of personal introductions. Lawrence, who joined the American Coaster Enthusiasts fan group in high school, had always been fascinated by the giant spectacles towering in the sky. Joy Makers: Meet Playlist Maker Akim Bryant.Joy Makers: Meet Floral Designer Tabia Yapp.
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