A roller coaster inversion is a roller coaster element in which the track turns riders upside-down and then returns them to an upright position. Early forms of inversions were circular in nature and date back to 1848 on the Centrifugal railway in Paris. These vertical loops produced massive g-force that was often dangerous to riders. As a result, the element eventually became non-existent with the last rides to feature the looping inversions being dismantled during the Great Depression. In 1975, designers from Arrow Development created the corkscrew, reviving interest in the inversion during the modern age of steel roller coasters. Elements have since evolved from simple corkscrews and vertical loops to more complex inversions such as Immelmann loops and cobra rolls. The Smiler at Alton Towers holds the world record for the number of inversions on a roller coaster with 14.
Incredicoaster is a steel roller coaster at Disney California Adventure in Anaheim, California. Manufactured by Intamin, it opened to the public as California Screamin' in 2001. It is the only roller coaster at the Disneyland Resort with an inversion, and is the fastest at the park with a top speed of 55 miles per hour (89 km/h). At 6,072 feet long, is the longest inverting roller coaster in the world as of 2020. At 122 feet high, it is the tallest roller coaster of any Disney resort.
The Riddler's Revenge is a stand-up roller coaster located at Six Flags Magic Mountain. Manufactured by Bolliger & Mabillard, the ride opened as the park's eleventh roller coaster on April 4, 1998, setting multiple world records among stand-up coasters. Originally located in the Movie District section of the park, which later became Metropolis in 2017, The Riddler's Revenge was also the park's single biggest investment at a cost of $14 million. It features a height of 156 feet (48 m), a maximum speed of 65 mph (105 km/h), six inversions, and a track length of 4,370 feet (1,330 m).
Nemesis is an inverted roller coaster located at the Alton Towers theme park in England. It opened to the public on March 19, 1994. The ride was manufactured by Bolliger & Mabillard and designed by Werner Stengel, in collaboration with attraction developer John Wardley. It is located in the Forbidden Valley area of the park, adjacent to Galactica and The Blade attractions.
A fourth-dimension roller coaster is a type of steel roller coaster whereby riders are rotated independently of the orientation of the track, generally about a horizontal axis that is perpendicular to the track. The cars do not necessarily need to be fixed to an angle.
Colossus is a steel roller coaster at Thorpe Park in Surrey, England, and the park's first major attraction. It was built by Swiss manufacturers Intamin and designed by Werner Stengel as an adaptation of Monte Makaya in Brazil. Colossus was the world's first roller coaster with ten inversions; an exact replica, called the 10 Inversion Roller Coaster, was later built at Chimelong Paradise in Guangzhou, China. It retained its title of having the most inversions on any other roller coaster in the world until The Smiler at Alton Towers took the record in 2013.
Nemesis Inferno is a steel inverted roller coaster at the Thorpe Park theme park in Surrey, England, UK. Its layout was conceived and designed by John Wardley and then built by Bolliger & Mabillard with Werner Stengel providing the layout calculations, the same Swiss firm that built the related Nemesis inverted roller coaster at Alton Towers. As a result, Nemesis and Nemesis Inferno are often compared. It is also listed on the Alton Towers website that the ride is “Nemesis’ Sister”.
The Dive Coaster is a steel roller coaster model developed and engineered by Bolliger & Mabillard. The design features one or more near-vertical drops that are approximately 90 degrees, which provide a moment of free-falling for passengers. The experience is enhanced by unique trains that seat up to ten riders per row, spanning only two or three rows total. Unlike traditional train design, this distinguishing aspect gives all passengers virtually the same experience throughout the course of the ride. Another defining characteristic of Dive Coasters is the holding brake at the top of the lift hill that holds the train momentarily right as it enters the first drop, suspending some passengers with a view looking straight down and releasing suddenly moments later.
Chimelong Paradise is a major amusement park in Panyu District, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China. Opened on April 12, 2006, Chimelong Paradise is the largest amusement park in China and boasts the 10 Inversion Roller Coaster, which prior to the opening of The Smiler at Alton Towers, England shared the record for most inversions with Colossus at Thorpe Park in Surrey, England. It is classified as a AAAAA scenic area by the China National Tourism Administration.
A motorbike roller coaster is a type of steel roller coaster designed with motorcycle type cars. Booster Bike at Toverland was the world's first motorbike roller coaster. Vekoma was the first company to design such a ride, although Intamin and Zamperla have since created similar designs.
Monte Makaya was a steel, looping roller coaster manufactured by Intamin and located at Terra Encantada in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. When it opened in 1998, Monte Makaya's eight inversions tied the world record previously set by Dragon Khan. It was located in the Terra Africana section near the rear of Terra Encantada in the northwest corner prior to the park's closure. Its location is now in the newly relocated Mirabilandia amusement park under construction in Paulista, Pernambuco, Brazil as of 2017.
Roller coaster elements are the individual parts of roller coaster design and operation, such as a track, hill, loop, or turn. Variations in normal track movement that add thrill or excitement to the ride are often called "thrill elements".
Goliath is an inverted roller coaster located at Six Flags Fiesta Texas in San Antonio, Texas, United States. Designed by Werner Stengel and Swiss manufacturer Bolliger & Mabillard, Goliath initially opened in 1995 at an amusement park in Japan, and has been operating at Six Flags Fiesta Texas since 2008. It stands at a height of 105 feet (32 m), reaches a maximum speed of 50 mph (80 km/h), and features multiple inversions.
Dive Coaster is a Floorless Dive roller coaster operating at Chimelong Paradise in China. It is built by Swiss coaster manufacturers Bolliger & Mabillard. A photo update on the parks website shows the coaster's first and second drop along with the water splash, the coaster's final brake run and a row of a train in the station with 10 seats in the row, as well as two pictures of SheiKra.
Afterburn is an inverted roller coaster located at Carowinds amusement park in Charlotte, North Carolina. After more than two years of planning and construction, the roller coaster opened on March 20, 1999. The ride previously operated as Top Gun: The Jet Coaster, before it was renamed following Cedar Fair's purchase of Paramount Parks in 2006.
SheiKra is a steel Dive Coaster roller coaster at the Busch Gardens Tampa Bay amusement park in Tampa, Florida, United States. The roller coaster was proposed by Mark Rose, vice-president of design and engineering for the park, and designed by Bolliger & Mabillard. The ride was planned to be 160 feet (49 m) high, but the park's executives rejected this and the height was changed to 200 feet (61 m). SheiKra reaches a maximum speed of 70 miles per hour (110 km/h) and has a total track length of 3,188 feet (972 m). It first opened on May 21, 2005, and was converted to a floorless roller coaster on June 16, 2007, following the opening of its sister Dive Coaster Griffon at Busch Gardens Williamsburg that year.
Full Throttle is a steel launched roller coaster located in Six Flags Plaza at Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia, California. It was designed and manufactured by Premier Rides, and opened on June 22, 2013.
Sky Rocket II is a steel roller coaster model made by American manufacturer Premier Rides. The first Sky Rocket II was Superman: Ultimate Flight at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, which opened on June 30, 2012, and the latest is Sky Loop at Riyadh Winter Wonderland in 2022. The ride model features a height of 150 feet (46 m), a length of 863 feet (263 m), a maximum speed of 62 miles per hour (100 km/h), and includes one inversion. The ride has been noted for its low-cost and small foot-print.
Parrot Coaster is a steel Wing Coaster at Chimelong Ocean Kingdom in Zhuhai, Guangdong, China. Manufactured by Bolliger & Mabillard, upon its opening in 2014, it became the first Wing Coaster in Asia and also features the first splashdown on a Wing Coaster. With a height of 164.1 feet (50.0 m), it is also the third tallest of its kind, behind Wild Eagle at Dollywood and GateKeeper at Cedar Point. The roller coaster is the longest Wing Coaster in the world, at 4,192.9 feet (1,278.0 m) in length and reaching a top speed of 67.1 miles per hour (108.0 km/h). The ride was named Flying Over the Rainforest for the first two months of it operating before being renamed at the end of March, 2014.
Chimelong Group Co., Ltd. is a Chinese company that owns and operates theme parks in China. The company also owns restaurants, hotels, and other businesses. It is one of the leading Chinese amusement park operators. The company was founded in 1989 by Su Zhigang, a local resident in Panyu, Guangzhou, Guangdong, who first established Xiangjiang Restaurant, his first enterprise under Chimelong Group, prior to its upgrading into the current Xiangjiang Hotel in 1994. Inspired by his success in the catering business, Su, after several field research visits to safari parks overseas, soon set up his mind to open a private zoo; his aim was to allow the Chinese citizens to see wildlife from all over the world, without going abroad. This gave birth to the establishment of Chimelong Safari Park, formerly known as Xiangjiang Safari Park in Guangzhou, China, the biggest wildlife theme park in Asia at present.
The sign stating the ride's name
One of the inversions
The ride under construction in 2006
