NEW BERLIN, Wis. — Some people go to Six Flags in Gurnee to ride a roller coaster. But a New Berlin backyard is giving the amusement park a run for its money.
Evan Odya, 17, built a 50-foot-long roller coaster in his backyard.
“I like building things. So I’ve always been building projects. Things simple like benches and stuff like that. But then I saw a roller coaster I could build that didn’t seem too hard, and I like roller coasters, so I decided to build one in my backyard," he said.
It's not a loop. Rather, the track is a straight shot. When Odya makes the 8-foot drop, he goes back and forth on the rolling track until he stops.
He made sure it was safe. Odya tested the roller coaster multiple times before sitting in it. The roller coaster was tested to withstand a 300-pound passenger, but Odya says the weight limit is 150 pounds.
While it may not be the size of a 300-foot Six Flags ride, the 8-foot drop is still exhilarating.
“It’s a drop because you don’t know if you’re going to stay on the track.”
He started building the roller coaster in August 2022 and finished in July 2023. He was inspired by YouTube videos. Evan had some help from friends, but he basically designed and built the ride all on his own. The roller coaster is hand built too from the wood to the pipes to the container people sit in. It only cost him about $1,000 to make.
The rising high school senior wants to study physics and engineering in college at schools like the Milwaukee School of Engineering or UW-Madison. While each ride is just a few seconds, it reminds him of all the forces at work when he goes down. The hundreds of hours of work was worth it.
“It is yeah because it’s an exciting few seconds.”
Now that his first roller coaster is finished, he is thinking about what's next. He wants to create more speed, bigger drops, and better thrills.
“I was thinking a launch coaster but that would be a big challenge," he said.
That would mean having an air compressor launch the roller coaster rather than simply falling and letting gravity do all the work.
It's safe to say Six Flags is watching Odya closely.
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