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.
Ronald Valentine Toomer was an American roller coaster designer credited for designing 93 roller coasters around the world. He graduated from the University of Nevada, Reno in 1961 with a degree in mechanical engineering and was a part of the design team responsible for the Apollo spacecraft heat shield.
Great American Scream Machine was a steel roller coaster located at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson Township, New Jersey. The 173-foot-tall (53 m) ride opened in 1989 as the tallest and fastest looping roller coaster in the world, reaching a maximum speed of 68 mph (109 km/h). It was designed by Ron Toomer and manufactured by Arrow Dynamics, which built two other coasters with similar layouts – Shockwave at Six Flags Great America and Viper at Six Flags Magic Mountain. Great American Scream Machine featured seven inversions including a batwing and double corkscrew. Records set by the ride were succeeded by Viper the following year in 1990. It operated until July 2010 and was replaced by a stand-up roller coaster, Green Lantern, in 2011.
Drachen Fire was a steel roller coaster located at Busch Gardens Williamsburg in Williamsburg, Virginia. Manufactured by Arrow Dynamics based on initial designs from industry newcomer Bolliger & Mabillard, the ride opened to the public in 1992. Drachen Fire featured a 150-foot tall (46 m) lift hill, six inversions, and a zero-gravity camelback element. One of the inversions was removed after the 1994 season to improve ride comfort. The track was light blue with silver supports, and it was located in the Oktoberfest portion of the park behind Big Bad Wolf and Das Festhaus. It was originally configured with three trains, each consisting of red cars with grey seats, and featured red trim lights that illuminated the trains at night. Drachen Fire was closed in the middle of the 1998 season following a history of low ridership and complaints of roughness. It remained standing until its demolition in 2002.
Kumba is a steel roller coaster located at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay in Tampa, Florida. Manufactured by Bolliger & Mabillard, the ride opened in 1993. It stands 143 feet (44 m) tall and has a top speed of 60 miles per hour (97 km/h). Kumba features a total of seven inversions across the 3-minute ride.
Montu is an inverted roller coaster at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay in Tampa, Florida. Designed by Swiss manufacturer Bolliger & Mabillard, it is the park's second roller coaster designed by that company following the success of Kumba, which opened 3 years prior. When the ride opened on May 16, 1996, it was the world's tallest and fastest inverted roller coaster, a title it has since conceded to Alpengeist at sister park Busch Gardens Williamsburg. The ride stands 150 feet (46 m) tall and reaches speeds of 60 miles per hour (97 km/h).
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. Then, in 2022, it was repainted and rethemed back to Medusa.
Viper is a steel roller coaster located at Six Flags Darien Lake amusement park in Darien, New York, United States. Built by the newly-formed Arrow Huss, the ride opened in 1982 as the first roller coaster in the world to feature five inversions, surpassing Carolina Cyclone at Carowinds which featured four. Viper retained the inversions record until Vortex opened at Kings Island in 1987.
Loch Ness Monster is a steel roller coaster located at Busch Gardens Williamsburg. It was the first coaster in the world to feature two interlocking loops. The ride is classified as a Coaster Landmark by American Coaster Enthusiasts.
Arkham Asylum – Shock Therapy was a Vekoma SLC roller coaster located at Warner Bros. Movie World on the Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia. When the ride was introduced in 1995, it was themed to the Lethal Weapon film series created by Shane Black and was named Lethal Weapon – The Ride. In 2012, the ride was rethemed to Batman: Arkham Asylum and renamed Arkham Asylum. The ride was the first steel inverted roller coaster at an Australian theme park.
The Riddler Mindbender, previously named Mind Bender, is a steel roller coaster located at Six Flags Over Georgia near Atlanta, Georgia. Billed as "the world's first triple-loop roller coaster" when it opened on March 31, 1978, Mindbender has maintained its popularity since its opening. In its 30th anniversary season in 2008, Mindbender was ranked #15 by Amusement Today magazine in its annual Golden Ticket Awards, and was one of only two roller coasters built before 1980 on the list; the other was its "fraternal twin," Shockwave, at Six Flags Over Texas.
Katun is a steel inverted roller coaster at the Mirabilandia amusement park, Savio, outside Ravenna, Italy. It is the longest inverted roller coaster in Europe. The coaster stands 164 feet (50 m) tall, has a track length of 3,937 feet (1,200 m), a top speed of 65 mph (105 km/h) and six inversions:
Shockwave was a roller coaster manufactured by Arrow Dynamics at Six Flags Great America in Gurnee, Illinois. Standing 170 feet (52 m) tall and reaching speeds of 65 miles per hour (105 km/h), it opened in 1988 as the world's tallest and fastest looping roller coaster with a record-breaking seven inversions: three vertical loops, a boomerang, and two regular corkscrews. Shockwave was closed in 2002 and has been dismantled.
Medusa is a steel roller coaster located at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom in Vallejo, California. Built by Bolliger & Mabillard, Medusa opened in 2000 as the first floorless roller coaster on the West Coast. The coaster features seven inversions, a 150-foot (46 m)-tall lift hill with a 150-foot (46 m) drop, and the first Sea serpent roll element ever built on a B&M coaster. The ride is the longest coaster in Northern California at 3,937 feet (1,200 m) long and is notable as having one of the largest vertical loops in the world at 128 feet (39 m). It also shares the height record in Northern California with another two rides in the same park, The Flash: Vertical Velocity, and Superman: Ultimate Flight at 150 feet (46 m) high.
Firehawk was a flying roller coaster located at Kings Island in Mason, Ohio. Manufactured by Vekoma, it originally opened as X-Flight at Six Flags Worlds of Adventure on May 26, 2001, billed as the Midwest's first and only flying roller coaster. Cedar Fair purchased Worlds of Adventure in 2004 and began efforts to downsize the park. X-Flight was relocated to Kings Island following the 2006 season, where it reopened as Firehawk on May 26, 2007.
Jaguar! is a junior roller coaster located at Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, California. Built by Zierer and designed by Werner Stengel, the coaster opened to the public in 1995.
Diamond Back is a Shuttle Loop roller coaster located at Frontier City in Oklahoma City and formerly at Six Flags America in Largo, Maryland as Python and both were previously at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, New Jersey known as Lightnin' Loops. Manufactured by Arrow Development, the ride opened on May 23, 1978, with a unique feature at the time. Both tracks interlocked at their vertical loop element. The ride's popularity declined in the mid-to-late 1980s, and a fatal incident occurred in 1987. The ride had limited operation when it reopened later that year and was eventually dismantled in 1992.
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".
Crazy Coaster is a steel roller coaster at Janfusun Fancyworld in Taiwan. Sometimes known as Crazy Coaster on the park's website, or Floorless Coaster, as the sign in front of the ride's queue announces, the ride in Chinese is known as 衝瘋飛車. Insane Speed has two trains numbered 1 and 2, but the park usually only uses one on off-peak days due to the extremely low number of riders in the queue. Insane Speed has a removable metal floor in the station which collapses after the train has loaded and the restraints have been checked, allowing the air gates to open and the trains to depart. The floor rises again to let the next train unload once it has come to a complete stop. For restraints, riders have a simple over-the-shoulder restraint with grab bars mounted on them, and a seat belt which must be inserted into a catch mounted on the restraint.
The TMNT Shellraiser is a steel indoor roller coaster at Nickelodeon Universe amusement park, within the American Dream Meadowlands shopping and entertainment complex, at the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, New Jersey, United States. The roller coaster is a Euro-Fighter model manufactured by Gerstlauer, and themed to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT). It is the steepest roller coaster in the world with a vertical drop of 121.5 degrees. The TMNT Shellraiser has the exact same layout as Takabisha at Fuji-Q Highland in Japan, the previous record holder for world's steepest roller coaster.
