A roller coaster is a type of amusement ride employing a form of elevated railroad track that carries passengers on a train through tight turns, steep slopes, and other elements usually designed to produce a thrilling experience. Trains consist of open cars connected in a single line, and the rides are often found in theme parks around the world. Roller coasters first appeared in the 17th century, and LaMarcus Adna Thompson obtained one of the first known patents for a roller coaster design in 1885, based on the Switchback Railway which opened a year earlier at Coney Island.
Canada's Wonderland, formerly known as Paramount Canada's Wonderland, is a 134-hectare (330-acre) amusement park located in Vaughan, Ontario, a municipality within the Greater Toronto Area. Opened in 1981 by the Taft Broadcasting Company and the Great-West Life Assurance Company, it was the first major theme park in Canada and remains the country's largest. Cedar Fair purchased the park from Paramount Parks in 2006, and they have owned and operated the park since then. In 2019, it was the most-visited seasonal amusement park in North America with an estimated 3.9 million guests. The park still retains this record, with an estimated 3.8 million guests in 2022 amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
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.
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.
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 reopened 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 Dutch manufacturer 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.
Nighthawk is a steel flying roller coaster located at Carowinds. Constructed by Vekoma, it is located in the Thunder Road section of the park. The roller coaster originally opened as Stealth at California's Great America on April 1, 2000. In 2003, Paramount Parks decided to relocate the roller coaster to Carowinds. It reopened as Borg Assimilator – the first coaster in the world to be themed to Star Trek – on March 20, 2004. After Cedar Fair purchased Carowinds in 2006, Paramount themes were soon removed from the park, and the ride was renamed Nighthawk. It is one of only two Flying Dutchman models still in existence from Vekoma, the other being Batwing at Six Flags America.
Flight Deck is a steel inverted roller coaster located at California's Great America in Santa Clara, California. Built by Bolliger & Mabillard and designed by Werner Stengel, the roller coaster made its debut on March 20, 1993, as Top Gun. The roller coaster was built as Paramount, who had purchased the Great America theme park in 1992 along with several other parks, sought to expand its entertainment opportunities and promote its films. After Paramount sold off its Great America park to Cedar Fair, the roller coaster was rebranded as Flight Deck.
Vortex is a suspended roller coaster at Canada's Wonderland in Vaughan, Ontario. It officially opened during the 1991 season.
The Bat is a suspended roller coaster located at Kings Island in Mason, Ohio, United States. Built by Arrow Dynamics, the roller coaster originally opened as Top Gun in 1993, themed to the 1986 film Top Gun. It is the second suspended coaster to open at the park following an earlier prototype from Arrow Development — also called The Bat – that briefly operated at Kings Island from 1981 to 1983.
Thunderhawk is an inverted roller coaster located at Michigan's Adventure amusement park in Muskegon, Michigan. Designed and built by Vekoma, the roller coaster originally debuted in 1998 as Serial Thriller at Geauga Lake in Aurora, Ohio. It was renamed Thunderhawk in 2004 following Cedar Fair's acquisition of the park. After Geauga Lake's permanent closure in 2007, Thunderhawk was dismantled and moved to Michigan's Adventure, where it reopened in 2008.
Fantasy Island is a Resort Theme Park located in Ingoldmells on the East Coast of Lincolnshire.
Behemoth is a steel roller coaster located at Canada's Wonderland in Vaughan, Ontario. Designed and developed by Swiss manufacturer Bolliger & Mabillard (B&M), Behemoth opened to the public in May 2008 as the tallest and fastest roller coaster in Canada, a claim it held until 2012 when Leviathan opened at the same park. Behemoth is similar to Diamondback, Intimidator (Carowinds), Goliath and Nitro.
Backlot Stunt Coaster is a launched roller coaster located at three Six Flags amusement parks. The first two installations opened at Kings Island and Canada's Wonderland in 2005 under the name Italian Job: Stunt Track, while the third opened at Kings Dominion in 2006 as Italian Job: Turbo Coaster. All three were themed to the climactic chase scene at the end of the 2003 film The Italian Job. Special effects were incorporated throughout the ride to reproduce the scene, although some of the effects were removed in later years. The Italian Job theme was also dropped in 2008 following Cedar Fair's acquisition of the amusement parks from Paramount.
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.
Leviathan is a steel roller coaster located at Canada's Wonderland in Vaughan, Ontario, Canada. Located in the Medieval Faire section of the park, the Hyper Coaster model from Swiss firm Bolliger & Mabillard is the first roller coaster manufactured by the company to exceed a height of 91.5 metres (300 ft), putting it in a class of roller coasters commonly referred to as giga. At 1,672 metres (5,486 ft) long, 93.3 metres (306 ft) tall, and with a top speed of 148 kilometres per hour (92 mph), Leviathan is the tallest and fastest roller coaster in Canada, taking the records previously held by Behemoth on the opposite side of the park. As of July 2020, Leviathan is ranked as the seventh-tallest roller coaster in the world, the sixth tallest coaster by drop height, and the fourth-tallest traditional lift-style coaster in the world.
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.
Yukon Striker is a steel roller coaster at Canada's Wonderland in Vaughan, Ontario. Designed as a dive coaster from manufacturer Bolliger & Mabillard, the ride opened to the general public on 3 May 2019 in place of SkyRider, a roller coaster that was removed from the park in 2014. Featuring a height of 68 metres (223 ft), a length of 1,105 metres (3,625 ft), and a maximum speed of 130 km/h (81 mph), Yukon Striker is the world's tallest, longest, and fastest dive coaster, sharing its height record with Valravn at Cedar Point. Its four inversions and drop length of 75 metres (245 ft) also set world records among dive coaster models.
Batman: The Ride is a steel inverted coaster at Six Flags Mexico that has been operating since 2000. It is a standard Vekoma Suspended Looping Coaster model themed to the famed Batman franchise, and was part of Premier Park's massive renovation in 2000.
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