A Steeplechase roller coaster is a type of

roller coaster A roller coaster, or rollercoaster, is a type of amusement ride that employs a form of elevated railroad track designed with tight turns, steep slopes, and sometimes inversions. Passengers ride along the track in open cars, and the rides are o ...

that has several side-by-side tracks in a dueling "racing" arrangement. Riders straddle horse-shaped single cars and launch simultaneously, as from a horse-race starting line.

Examples

The Steeplechase ''Mickey Mouse'' (originally known as ''Mickey Mouse Sound Cartoons'') is a series of American animated comedy short films produced by Walt Disney Productions. The series started in 1928 with Steamboat Willie and ended in 1953 with ''The Simple ...

at Blackpool Pleasure Beach is the last remaining example of a steeplechase roller coaster still in operation. Motorcycle Chase was a modernized steeplechase roller coaster built at Knott's Berry Farm in 1976 featuring single motorbike-themed vehicles racing side by side, each on one of four parallel tracks, launched together. One or two riders straddled each "Indian motorcycle" attraction vehicle. The tubular steel monorail track closely followed dips and bumps in the “road" and tilted to lean riders about the curves. Gasoline Alley, an electric steel-guide rail car ride below, was built together and intimately intertwined, which enhanced ride-to-ride interaction thrill value. Rider safety concerns of the high center of gravity coupled with the method of rider restraints caused it to be re-themed to

Wacky Soap Box Racers Eccentricity (also called quirkiness) is an unusual or odd behavior on the part of an individual. This behavior would typically be perceived as unusual or unnecessary, without being demonstrably maladaptive. Eccentricity is contrasted with nor ...

with vehicles now attached in four-car trains, each car seating two riders, strapped in low (nearly straddling the track), surrounded by the close fitting car sides, and the dips and bumps of the track were straightened flat in 1980. Motorcycle Chase/Wacky Soap Box Racers was removed in 1996 for a dueling loop coaster

Windjammer Surf Racers Windjammer Surf Racers was a steel racing roller coaster located at Knott's Berry Farm amusement park in Buena Park, California. It sat on the former spot of Wacky Soap Box Racers. The ride was plagued with mechanical issues and only operated sp ...

and now a launched coaster named

Xcelerator Xcelerator is a steel launched roller coaster at Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, California. It was Intamin's first hydraulically launched coaster, while also the fourth Intamin installation at Knott's, alongside Sky Cabin, Calico River Rapid ...

takes its place. The former Steeplechase Park at

Coney Island Coney Island is a peninsular neighborhood and entertainment area in the southwestern section of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is bounded by Brighton Beach and Manhattan Beach, Brooklyn, Manhattan Beach to its east, L ...

, New York City, was named for its thrilling Steeplechase attraction, and is perhaps the most famous of this type of coaster. In 2017, S&S - Sansei Technologies announced that they would be reviving the Steeplechase coasters with redesigned trains and restraints.
"S&S-Sansei Steeplechase Concept"

References

Types of roller coaster {{amusement-ride-stub