The Timber Mountain Log Ride is old school... and fast | How Your Favorite Ride Was Made

July 16, 2024 6:28 AM PT

An 85-foot-high mountain with around a 40-foot drop, the Timber Mountain Log Ride wants to take us back to the turn of the 20th century, to show us what life would have been like for loggers — a heavily romanticized vision of that life, of course. Originally, it was much more static, with taxidermied animals, but a refurbishment in 2013 added new animatronic figures and modernized this classic.

Los Angeles Times amusement park aficionado Todd Martens brings you a new series, breaking down his favorite amusement park rides in Southern California and pulling the curtain back on how they were made, what they mean to the park and why you cannot miss them.

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Todd Martens

Todd Martens is a features columnist at the Los Angeles Times who writes about theme parks and West Coast Experiences, among other topics. Martens joined the Los Angeles Times in 2007 and has covered a mix of interactive entertainment as its game critic and pop music as a reporter and editor. Previously, he reported on the music business for Billboard Magazine. Martens has contributed to numerous books, including “The Big Lebowski: An Illustrated, Annotated History of the Greatest Cult Film of All Time.” He continues to torture himself by rooting for the Chicago Cubs and, while he likes dogs, he is more of a cat person.

Mark E. Potts

Mark E. Potts is the senior editor for video at the Los Angeles Times. A native of Enid, Okla., Potts graduated from the University of Oklahoma with a master’s degree in broadcast journalism. He has created and edited video for DreamWorks, YouTube, Microsoft, Sony and BET.