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.
Rougarou, formerly known as Mantis, is a floorless roller coaster located at Cedar Point amusement park in Sandusky, Ohio. Designed and built by Bolliger & Mabillard, the roller coaster originally opened in 1996 as a stand-up roller coaster called Mantis, which at the time was the tallest, fastest, and longest of its kind in the world. Cedar Point had planned to name the ride Banshee, but due to negative publicity following the announcement, the name was later changed to Mantis.
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).
Superman: Krypton Coaster is a steel roller coaster located at Six Flags Fiesta Texas amusement park in San Antonio. Manufactured by Bolliger & Mabillard, the Floorless Coaster model opened to the public in 2000 as one of the first of its kind in the world. The well-received ride held the title for the world's tallest vertical loop from its opening until 2013. Superman: Krypton Coaster stands 168 feet (51 m) tall and reaches a maximum speed of 70 mph (110 km/h).
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.
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).
Kraken is a steel roller coaster located at SeaWorld Orlando in Florida, United States. Manufactured by Bolliger & Mabillard, the ride opened as the second longest floorless coaster in the world on June 1, 2000, with a track length measuring 4,177 feet (1,273 m). It features a total of seven inversions and reaches a maximum speed of 65 mph (105 km/h). The coaster was named after a fictional sea monster of the same name. In late 2016, Kraken underwent a refurbishment and reopened as Kraken Unleashed in June 2017. A virtual reality experience was added to the ride, but due to technical difficulties and extensive wait times, the feature was permanently removed the following year.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 roller 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 roller 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.
Vortex is a stand-up roller coaster located at Carowinds amusement park in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States. Manufactured by Bolliger & Mabillard (B&M), the ride opened to the public on March 14, 1992. Vortex was built a year before Paramount Parks purchased Carowinds and is situated on the former site of the Carolina Speedway miniature car attraction. It was B&M's third coaster and features a loop and a corkscrew element in its relatively short track layout. Vortex represented a new era of stand-up coasters at the time, which were more advanced than the previous generation introduced in the 1980s.
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.
Nitro is a steel Floorless Coaster at Imagicaa amusement park in Khopoli, Maharashtra, India. Manufactured by Bolliger & Mabillard, the roller coaster reaches a maximum height of 132 feet (40 m) and a maximum speed of 65.2 miles per hour (104.9 km/h). The coaster also features five inversions. Nitro opened to the public in October 2013.
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