An inverted roller coaster is a type of steel roller coaster in which the train runs under the track with the seats directly attached to the wheel carriage. Riders are seated in open cars,letting their feet swing freely. The inverted coaster was pioneered by Swiss roller coaster manufacturer Bolliger &Mabillard in the early 1990s with the development of Batman:The Ride,which opened at Six Flags Great America on May 9,1992.
A stand-up roller coaster is a roller coaster where passengers aboard a train stand throughout the course of the ride. The first manufacturer to employ the format was TOGO,a Japanese company that converted two traditional roller coasters in 1982 to stand-up configurations. Arrow Dynamics followed suit in the United States the following year with their own conversion. The first roller coaster designed from the ground up as a stand-up coaster was King Cobra,built by TOGO,which opened at Kings Island in 1984. Intamin and Bolliger &Mabillard (B&M) have also designed stand-up models beginning in the 1990s,with the latest opening in 2023 as Pipeline:The Surf Coaster in SeaWorld Orlando.
Bolliger &Mabillard,officially Bolliger &Mabillard Consulting Engineers,Inc. and often abbreviated B&M,is a roller coaster design consultancy based in Monthey,Switzerland. The company was founded in 1988 by engineers Walter Bolliger and Claude Mabillard,both of whom had worked for Giovanola.
A Floorless Coaster,commonly known as a Floorless Roller Coaster,is a type of steel roller coaster manufactured by Bolliger &Mabillard where riders sit with no floor underneath them,allowing their feet to swing freely just above the track. Development of the Floorless Coaster model began between 1995 and 1996 with Medusa at Six Flags Great Adventure opening on April 2,1999,making it the world's first Floorless Roller Coaster. Floorless Roller Coasters also tend to have 3 to 7 inversions incorporated in the layout of the coaster.
Batman:The Ride is an inverted roller coaster based on the DC Comics character Batman and found at seven Six Flags theme parks in the United States. Built by consulting engineers Bolliger &Mabillard,it rises to a height of between 100 and 105 feet and reaches top speeds of 50 mph (80 km/h). The original roller coaster at Six Flags Great America was partially devised by the park's general manager Jim Wintrode. Batman:The Ride was the world's first inverted roller coaster when it opened in 1992,and has since been awarded Coaster Landmark status by the American Coaster Enthusiasts. Clones of the ride exist at amusement parks around the world.
Giovanola Frères SA was a prominent steel manufacturing company based in Monthey,Switzerland. It was known for building electrical power stations,water storage tanks,pipelines,boilers,highway bridges,submarines,ski lifts and many other steel products. The company started out as a small metal forging shop,founded by Joseph Giovanola in 1888. Joseph Sr. died in 1904,and the company was taken over by his sons,the eldest of which,Joseph Jr.,was just 17 years of age. By 1930 the company had grown to the point that it required a new factory which was constructed in Monthey.
A hypercoaster is either any continuous-circuit roller coaster with a height or drop measuring greater than 200 feet (61 m) or any complete-circuit roller coaster with a height or drop between 200 and 299 feet.
Green Lantern,formerly known as Chang,is a stand-up roller coaster located at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson Township,New Jersey. Green Lantern stands 155 feet (47 m) tall and features a top speed of 63 miles per hour (101 km/h). The 4,155-foot-long (1,266 m) ride features five inversions and a duration of approximately 21⁄2 minutes. This steel coaster was designed and built by Swiss manufacturer Bolliger &Mabillard.
The Riddler's Revenge is a steel 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).
Firebird is a floorless roller coaster located at Six Flags America in Prince George's County,Maryland. The roller coaster had originally debuted in 1990 as a stand-up roller coaster named Iron Wolf at Six Flags Great America. It was later relocated to Six Flags America in 2012 and renamed Apocalypse,under which it operated until 2018.
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 carts do not necessarily need to be fixed to an angle.
Medusa,formerly known as Bizarro,is a steel roller coaster located at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson Township,New Jersey. Manufactured by Bolliger &Mabillard,the ride debuted as the world's first floorless roller coaster on April 2,1999. It was repainted and rethemed to Bizarro in 2009. In 2022,it was repainted and renamed back to Medusa.
A Giant Inverted Boomerang is a type of steel shuttle roller coaster manufactured by the Dutch firm Vekoma. The ride is a larger,inverted version of Vekoma's popular Boomerang sit down roller coasters. As of November 2023,four installations of the model are operating,with another one under construction.
Dominator is a floorless roller coaster located at Kings Dominion amusement park in Doswell,Virginia. Built by Bolliger &Mabillard,it originally opened in 2000 as Batman:Knight Flight at Six Flags Ohio,in Aurora,Ohio. It was given its current name when Cedar Fair purchased the Ohio park in 2004. However,following Six Flags Ohio ’s eventual permanent closure in 2007,the coaster was relocated to Kings Dominion,where it soon opened on May 24,2008. Dominator is located fairly close to the park’s main entry plaza,in the area known as International Street.
The Suspended Looping Coaster is a model of steel inverted roller coaster built by Vekoma. There are at least 39 different installations across the world. The minimum rider height requirement is 130 centimetres. Vekoma is now marketing a Suspended Thrill Coaster as a successor to the Suspended Looping Coaster. The Odyssey is the largest,fastest and tallest SLC ever built at Fantasy Island in the UK.
Scream is a steel roller coaster at Six Flags Magic Mountain. Manufactured by Bolliger &Mabillard,the Floorless Coaster model was the park's sixteenth roller coaster and is located in the Screampunk District area of the park. The 150-foot-tall (46 m) ride consists of a series of roller coaster elements including seven inversions ranging from a zero-g roll to interlocking corkscrews. The ride is a mirror image of Medusa at Six Flags Great Adventure.
Batman:The Dark Knight is a steel floorless roller coaster designed by Bolliger &Mabillard located in the Gotham City section of Six Flags New England. The roller coaster has 2,600 feet (790 m) of track,reaches a maximum height of 117.8 feet (35.9 m) and features five inversions. The coaster was released to the public on April 20,2002. In 2008,the ride's name was changed to Batman:The Ride to avoid confusion with Six Flags New England's installation of The Dark Knight Coaster that was planned to be built at the park,but after the project was cancelled,the ride's name reverted to Batman:The Dark Knight.
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.
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.
Wing Coaster is engineering firm Bolliger &Mabillard’s designation for its winged roller coaster designs. Winged roller coasters are a type of steel roller coaster where pairs of riders sit on either side of a roller coaster track in which nothing is above or below the riders. B&M began development on the first Wing Coaster between 2007 and 2008 leading to the opening of Raptor at Gardaland on 1 April 2011. There were sixteen B&M-designed Wing Coasters either under construction or operating worldwide as of December 2020.
