D. H. Morgan Manufacturing

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D. H. Morgan Manufacturing
TypePrivate
IndustryAmusement ride manufacturing
Founded1983
DefunctJune 14, 2001
FateAcquisition
SuccessorChance Morgan
HeadquartersLa Selva Beach, California
Key people
Dana H. Morgan, Paula Morgan
ProductsRoller coasters, Carousels, thrill rides, family rides, gentle rides

D. 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.[1] In 1991, the company moved to La Selva Beach, California, and into a new 55,000-square-foot indoor manufacturing facility.[2] That facility was later increased to 75,000 square feet.[3] The company produced a variety of rides from 1983 until 2001, but is probably best known for its steel hyper coasters.

History[]

Dana Morgan, the son of Arrow Development co-founder Ed Morgan, founded D. H. Morgan Manufacturing in 1983. He got his start in the amusement industry at age 14 as a ride operator at Playtown, a small children's park in Palo Alto, California, that was owned by Arrow Development.[4] Upon graduation from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo he went to work for Disney, primarily doing design work for the Walt Disney World project. During the construction of Disney World, Morgan went to work for Arrow Development which was building rides for Disney World.[4] In 1974 Morgan left Arrow Development to become the general manager of the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk.[2] When Huss Maschinenfabrik purchased Arrow Development in 1981, Morgan was appointed president of the newly formed Arrow-Huss.[5] Morgan left Arrow-Huss in 1983 to form his own company, D. H. Morgan Manufacturing. Morgan had originally intended to build carousels, but the company's first contract was to build new trains for the Giant Dipper wooden roller coaster at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk.[2] The demand for new coaster vehicles was so great that the carousel-building business had to be put on hold until 1988.[4] In the meantime, the Electric Antique Car Line was developed, and customer requests came in for custom attractions as well.[4] In March 1991, the company moved to larger facilities in La Selva Beach, California.[4] Dana Morgan continued building trains for wooden coasters until 1994 when on June 8, he sold the wood train manufacturing operation to competitor Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters.[6] The last Morgan trains built for a wooden coaster were delivered to Yomiuriland in Japan.

In 1995 Morgan built a Mine Train type ride for Michael Bonfante for what was then called Hecker Pass — A Family Adventure in Gilroy, California. The coaster, Quicksilver Express, was manufactured in 1995 but sat at the Morgan Manufacturing facility for five years before it was finally installed in 2000. Bonfante Gardens opened to the public a year later in 2001. In 1995, Richard Kinzel of Cedar Fair asked Morgan to build a 200-foot hypercoaster for Valleyfair in Minnesota. Utilizing designer Steve Okamoto, whom he had worked with at Arrow Dynamics, Morgan opened Wild Thing in 1996.[7] Morgan went on to build seven more steel coasters, including two more for Cedar Fair. D. H. Morgan Manufacturing also redesigned the former Arrow Coaster Steel Phantom at Kennywood Park in Pennsylvania.[8]

Dana Morgan retired from the amusement industry in 2001 and sold the assets of his company on June 14, 2001 to Michael Chance, who was the sales representative for competitor Chance Industries, Inc.

List of roller coasters[]

As of 2019, D.H. Morgan Manufacturing has built 9 roller coasters around the world.[9]

Name Model Park Country Opened Status Ref
Phantom's Revenge
Formerly Steel Phantom		 Hyper Coaster Kennywood United States United States 2001 Operating [10]
Wild Thing Hyper Coaster Valleyfair United States United States 1996 Operating [11]
Santa Monica West Coaster Junior Coaster Pacific Park United States United States 1996 Operating [12]
Steel Force Hyper Coaster Dorney Park United States United States 1997 Operating [13]
Mamba Hyper Coaster Worlds of Fun United States United States 1998 Operating [14]
Steel Eel Hyper Coaster SeaWorld San Antonio United States United States 1999 Operating [15]
Steel Dragon 2000 Hyper Coaster Nagashima Spa Land Japan Japan 2000 Operating [16]
Quicksilver Express Mine Train Coaster Gilroy Gardens United States United States 2001 Operating [17]
Superman el Último Escape Hyper Coaster Six Flags Mexico Mexico Mexico 2004 Operating [18]

Wooden roller coaster trains[]

Opened Name Park Notes Ref
1983 Giant Dipper Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk [19]
1985/86 Le Monstre La Ronde Replaced by PTC trains in 2013 [20]
1985 Cyclone Six Flags New England Replaced by PTC trains in 2000 [21]
1986 The Grizzly California's Great America [22]
1987 Texas Cyclone AstroWorld Closed 2005, demolished March 2006, trains moved to La Ronde [23]
1987 Colossus Six Flags Magic Mountain Coaster converted to Twisted Colossus running RMC trains [24]
1989 Anaconda Walygator Parc [25]
1988 Dragon Coaster Playland (New York) [26]
1989 Jack Rabbit Seabreeze Amusement Park [27]
1989 Giant Dipper Belmont Park (San Diego) [28]
1992 The Rattler Six Flags Fiesta Texas replaced by PTC trains in 1996 [29]
1994 White Canyon Yomiuriland Coaster closed in 2013 [30]

Steel roller coasters trains[]

Opened Name Park Notes Ref
1987 Polar Coaster Story Land Hopkins Rides coaster with train supplied by D. H. Morgan Manufacturing. [31][32]

Carousels[]

Opened Venue Location Size Notes Ref
1989 Town Center Mall Thornton, Co. 30 foot Menagerie carousel (may have been removed from mall) [33]
1989 Belmont Park San Diego, Calif. 30 foot Liberty themed with 12 custom paintings of San Diego's history. Features replicas of Looff and Dentzel menagerie characters [33]
1990 Vallco Fashion Park Cupertino, Calif. 30 foot North American wildlife theme (may have been removed from mall) [33]
1991 Playland Park Vancouver, B.C. 30 foot Restoration of Arrow Dynamics Carousel. 12 hand painted scenes of B.C. Landscape [33]
1992 Fiesta Texas San Antonio, Tex. 47 foot German themed, 16 scenes of Germany countryside [33]
1993 Entertainment City Kuwait 47 foot Arabian horse themed, 56 custom Arabian horses [33]
1996 Carousel Park, Broadway at the Beach Myrtle Beach, Calif. Restoration of Allan Herschell carousel. New fiberglass horses [3]
1999 Islands of Adventure Orlando, Fla. 47 foot Dr. Seuss themed, 54 animals from classic Dr. Seuss stories [33][34]
2001 Disney's California Adventure Anaheim, Calif. 47 foot King Triton themed (Now Jessie themed), 56 sea creatures and multiple icons of Calif. historic seaside parks and as of 2019, Toy Story 2 animals [33]

Electric guide-limited auto rides[]

Morgan produced two styles of cars: Classic Antique cars with two or four-passenger vehicles, and 1950s-themed cars with a working radio that played classic 1950s tunes.

Opened Park Notes Ref
1985 Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk Antique style cars (removed 1999) [33]
1986 Lake Compounce Antique style cars [33]
1987 Kennywood Antique style cars (removed 2009, currently in storage) [33]
1987 Six Flags Magic Mountain Antique style cars (removed 2008) [33]
1992 Fiesta Texas Dual track, 1950s style cars with radio — '56 T-bird, '57 Vette, '59 Caddy (closed August 2014) [33][35]
1995 Dollywood Dual track, 1950s style cars with radio — '56 T-bird, '57 Vette, '59 Caddy
2001 Bonfante Gardens 1950s style cars with radio — '57 Chevy, '57 Vette, '59 Caddy [33]
2001 Bonfante Gardens Antique style cars — 1900s Mercer Raceabouts [33]
2002 Michigan's Adventure Dual track, 1950s style cars with radio — '56 T-bird, '57 Vette, '59 Caddy (removed 2020)

Miscellaneous projects[]

Opened Ride Park Notes Ref
1988 Train crash mechanism Universal Studios Hollywood [33]
1988 Children's Boat Ride Lotte World Under water track and drive system [33]
1988 Children's Chariot Lotte World [33]
1990 Tour boat ride Haw Park Villa, Singapore 16-passenger boats themed as 100-year-old Chinese junks [33]
1992 8 Ball Ride Fiesta Texas Teacup-style ride, named Hustler. [33]
1992 Dark Ride Transport System Kings Island Originally for Phantom Theater, later re-used for Scooby-Doo and the Haunted Castle and Boo Blasters on Boo Hill [33]
1992 Teddy Bear Ferris Wheel Lotte World Highly themed with teddy bears holding candy canes [33]
1992 Balloon Ride Knotts Berry Farm [33]
1993 Outrigger Canoes Leofoo Village Theme Park 300-foot underwater track and drive system [33]
1996 Delta boat ride Opryland Hotel 20-passenger ADA accessible battery-powered boats [3]
1999 Fairy Tale Brook Legoland California 4-passenger rail-guided boats themed to look like floating leaves. [3][34]
2001 Garlic Clove Ride Bonfante Gardens Teacup-style ride, named Garlic Twist. [33]
2001 Balloon Ride Bonfante Gardens [33]
2001 Children's Hand Car Ride Bonfante Gardens [33]
2001 Custom Monorail Bonfante Gardens [33]
2001 Circular Boat Ride Bonfante Gardens [33]
2001 Artichoke Ride Bonfante Gardens [33]
2001 Strawberry Ride Bonfante Gardens [33]

References[]

  1. ^ D. H. Morgan Manufacturing, Inc. product catalog (undated)
  2. ^ a b c "Dana Morgan", Morgan Fun Times, Fall 1997
  3. ^ a b c d D. H. Morgan Manufacturing Inc. Fact Sheet (undated)
  4. ^ a b c d e Schwabe, Lee (1992). "Morgan Manufacturing: More Than Just Trains ACEers Love to Hate". RollerCoaster! Magazine. 13 (3): 17–23. ISSN 0896-7261.
  5. ^ O'Brien, Tim. Legends: Pioneers of the Amusement Park Industry, Ripley Entertainment Inc., 2006, p:224
  6. ^ Althoff, David. "The Roller Coaster Almanac". Retrieved September 2, 2017.
  7. ^ "Roller Coaster Census: Wild Thing". Archived from the original on 8 September 2018. Retrieved 15 January 2012.
  8. ^ "Roller Coaster Census: Phantom's Revenge". Archived from the original on 14 December 2010. Retrieved 15 January 2012.
  9. ^ D. H. Morgan Manufacturing - rcdb.com
  10. ^ Marden, Duane. "Phantom's Revenge  (Kennywood)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved July 4, 2011.
  11. ^ Marden, Duane. "Wild Thing  (Valleyfair)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved July 4, 2011.
  12. ^ Marden, Duane. "Santa Monica West Coaster  (Pacific Park)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved July 4, 2011.
  13. ^ Marden, Duane. "Steel Force  (Dorney Park)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved July 4, 2011.
  14. ^ Marden, Duane. "Mamba  (Worlds of Fun)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved July 4, 2011.
  15. ^ Marden, Duane. "Steel Eel  (SeaWorld San Antonio)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved July 4, 2011.
  16. ^ Marden, Duane. "Steel Dragon 2000  (Nagashima Spa Land)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved July 4, 2011.
  17. ^ Marden, Duane. "QuickSilver Express  (Gilroy Gardens)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved July 4, 2011.
  18. ^ Marden, Duane. "Superman el Último Escape  (Six Flags México)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved July 4, 2011.
  19. ^ "Roller Coaster Census: Giant Dipper". Archived from the original on 14 March 2012. Retrieved 15 January 2012.
  20. ^ "Roller Coaster Census: Monstre". Retrieved 15 January 2012.[permanent dead link]
  21. ^ Marden, Duane. "Cyclone  (Six Flags New England)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 15 January 2012.
  22. ^ "Roller Coaster Census: Grizzly". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 15 January 2012.
  23. ^ Marden, Duane. "Texas Cyclone  (AstroWorld)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 25 January 2012.
  24. ^ "Roller Coaster Census: Colossus". Archived from the original on 2 March 2017. Retrieved 15 January 2012.
  25. ^ "Roller Coaster Census: Anaconda". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 15 January 2012.
  26. ^ "Roller Coaster Census: Dragon Coaster". Archived from the original on 12 December 2010. Retrieved 15 January 2012.
  27. ^ "Roller Coaster Census: Jack Rabbit". Retrieved 15 January 2012.[permanent dead link]
  28. ^ "Roller Coaster Census: Giant Dipper". Archived from the original on 19 August 2011. Retrieved 15 January 2012.
  29. ^ "Roller Coaster Census: Rattler". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 19 January 2012.
  30. ^ "Roller Coaster Census: White Canyon". Archived from the original on 3 September 2014. Retrieved 19 January 2012.
  31. ^ Baldwin, Timothy; Seifert, Jeffrey (2000). Guide to Ride 2000. Zanesville, Ohio: American Coaster Enthusiasts Worldwide Inc. p. 67. ISBN 0-9703987-0-0.
  32. ^ Marden, Duane. "Polar Coaster  (Story Land)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved July 4, 2011.
  33. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae 1996 D. H. Morgan Mfg. Inc. Partial list of Clients and Projects
  34. ^ a b O'Brien, Tim (May 17, 1999). "New Family Rides Add Plenty Of Capacity". Amusement Business. 111 (20): 20.
  35. ^ "Farewell to an Iconic Classic - the Motorama Car Ride". sixflags.com. "Six Flags Entertainment Inc. August 1, 2014. Retrieved September 2, 2014.
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