The generic roller coaster vertical loop, where a section of track causes the riders to complete a 360 degree turn, is the most basic of roller coaster inversions. At the top of the loop, riders are completely inverted.
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 Walter Bolliger and Claude Mabillard, both of whom had worked for Giovanola.
Boomerang is a model of roller coaster manufactured and designed by Vekoma, a Dutch manufacturer. The roller coaster model name is from the hunting implement based on the traditions of the Indigenous Australians. As of January 2023 there are 55 Boomerangs operating.
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.
An Accelerator Coaster is a hydraulically launched roller coaster model from Intamin. The model usually consists of a long, straight launch track, a top hat tower element, and magnetic brakes that smoothly stop the train without making contact. The technology was developed by Intamin engineers as an alternative to electromagnetic launch systems, such as the Linear Induction Motor (LIM) and Linear Synchronous Motor (LSM), that are found on earlier launched roller coasters like the Flight of Fear and The Joker's Jinx. Unlike the earlier linear induction motors, the Accelerator Coaster's launch system exhibits constant acceleration and is capable of reaching greater speeds.
Nighthawk is a steel flying roller coaster from Vekoma located at Carowinds amusement park. The roller coaster is located in the Celebration Plaza 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.
Batwing is a steel flying roller coaster built by Vekoma at Six Flags America in Prince George's County, Maryland. This is nearly identical to Nighthawk at Carowinds, however that ride has a slightly different ending, and different paint scheme. The ride is also a clone of the now-defunct Firehawk at Kings Island.
The Tower of Terror II was a steel shuttle roller coaster located at the Dreamworld amusement park on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. When the Tower of Terror opened on 23 January 1997, it was the first roller coaster in the world to reach 100 miles per hour (160 km/h), making it the tallest and fastest roller coaster in the world of its time. The ride was situated on the Dreamworld Tower, which also houses The Giant Drop free fall ride. The ride was originally known as the Tower of Terror until it was modified and relaunched in September 2010 as Tower of Terror II.
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.
Shuttle Loop is a type of steel launched shuttle roller coaster designed by Reinhold Spieldiener of Intamin and manufactured by Anton Schwarzkopf. A total of 12 installations were produced between 1977 and 1982. These 12 installations have been located in a total of 22 different amusement parks.
Mack Rides GmbH & Co KG, also known simply as Mack Rides, is a German company that designs and constructs amusement rides, based in Waldkirch, Baden-Württemberg. It is one of the world's oldest amusement industry suppliers, and builds many types of rides, including flat rides, dark rides, log flumes, tow boat rides and roller coasters. The family that owns Mack Rides also owns Europa-Park.
Backlot Stunt Coaster is a launched roller coaster located at three Cedar Fair 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.
Goliath is a steel roller coaster located at the Walibi Holland theme park in Biddinghuizen, Dronten in the Netherlands. It was described as "the fastest, highest and longest coaster in the Benelux", since 2021 both these records belong to Kondaa in Walibi Belgium. It was mainland Europe's second Intamin "Mini Hyper Rollercoaster", so named as the ride is styled on the larger ride, but with a lower maximum height of 47 metres (154 ft). The train travels at speeds of up to 107 kilometres per hour (66 mph) along 1,214 metres (3,983 ft) of track.
Speed of Sound is a steel Boomerang roller coaster in Walibi Holland. It was manufactured by Vekoma and opened on April 22, 2000 as La Via Volta. It was open until 2007 when the park announced it would be shut down. That year, the train was sold to Pleasurewood Hills in England and now operates on Wipeout and the track remained in place at Walibi World. On 30 January, Walibi Holland announced that the La Via Volta will reopen in 2011, with a new style train from Vekoma under the name of Speed of Sound. P&P Projects was responsible for the design and build of this new attraction. Walibi Holland announced that it held a competition to win tickets for the opening of the roller coaster on April 6, 2011
Shambhala: Expedición al Himalaya is a steel hypercoaster roller coaster located at PortAventura Park in Salou and Vilaseca, Spain. Manufactured by Bolliger & Mabillard, it was the tallest and fastest coaster in Europe at the time of its opening. The height and speed records were beaten in April 2017 by Red Force, which was also opened in PortAventura World in its new theme park Ferrari Land. Among coasters with a lift hill, the height and speed records were beaten in July 2018, when Hyperion opened at Energylandia in Poland. Shambhala is named and themed after the inaccessible land in the Himalayas: Shambhala. The coaster was announced on 24 October 2011, and opened to the public on 12 May 2012.
SkyLoop is a type of steel roller coaster manufactured by Maurer Söhne. There are currently 10 SkyLoops operating worldwide, nine of which are identical XT 150 models, and one of which is an extended XT 450 model. The first SkyLoop to open was Sky Wheel in 2004 while the sole XT 450, Abismo, opened in 2006. There are also three other models—XT 900, Custom, and Launch—which have no installations as of 2021.
The Infinity Coaster is a roller coaster design by Gerstlauer. A variant of the popular Euro-Fighter model, the Infinity Coaster allows for higher capacity through longer trains. The coaster also features a magnetic rollback system on rides with lifthills, to allow for easier evacuation of riders in breakdown situations. The ride car can now roll backwards with the magnetic fins deployed and the lift motor in reverse.
Aquaman: Power Wave is an upcoming steel launch shuttle roller coaster at Six Flags Over Texas in Arlington, Texas themed to the DC Comics character Aquaman.
Tiki-Waka is a steel family roller coaster located at Walibi Belgium in Wavre, Belgium. The Polynesian-themed coaster opened for the 2018 season as the headlining attraction in the newly re-themed Exotic World area, and kickstarted a multi-year, €100,000 expansion plan.
