A shuttle roller coaster is any roller coaster that ultimately does not make a complete circuit, but rather reverses at some point throughout its course and traverses the same track backwards. These are sometimes referred to as boomerang roller coasters, due to the ubiquity of Vekoma's Boomerang coaster model.
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 July 2022 there are 55 Boomerangs operating.
Phantasialand is a theme park in Brühl, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany that attracts approximately 2 million visitors annually. The park was opened in 1967 by Gottlieb Löffelhardt and Richard Schmidt. Although starting as a family-oriented park, Phantasialand has also added thrill rides, especially during recent years. Furthermore, following the example of Europa-Park, they have decided to attract business customers beside the regular ones, calling it "Business to Pleasure".
Steel Vengeance, formerly known as Mean Streak, is a steel roller coaster at Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio. The roller coaster was rebuilt by Rocky Mountain Construction (RMC) and opened to the public on May 5, 2018. It features RMC's patented I-Box Track technology utilizing a significant portion of Mean Streak's former support structure. Upon completion, Steel Vengeance set 10 world records.
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 July 2022, four installations of the model are operating, with another one under construction.
Boomerang: Coast to Coaster is a steel roller coaster of shuttle design currently in use at four different Six Flags & EPR theme parks. The ride was designed and manufactured by Vekoma, and is considered as one of its boomerang models. Each coaster has one train with a capacity of 28, two across in each row. Unlike Vekoma's suspended trains, "Boomerang: Coast to Coaster" operates a sit-down design. When the coaster starts, the train is pulled backwards up the lift hill, then dropped through the loading gate through a cobra roll and then one loop. At the end of this cycle the train is pulled up the lift hill at the end of the track, then dropped once again allowing the train to go back through the loops backwards, hence the name "Boomerang: Coast to Coaster."
Corkscrew is an Arrow Development prototype Corkscrew roller coaster located at Silverwood Theme Park. Ten exact replicas of this same design were produced 1975–1979 at other scattered parks, followed by numerous other installations around the world featuring updated supports. After being sold as the prototype, this corkscrew originally operated at Knott's Berry Farm from 1975 to 1989. Developed by Ron Toomer of Arrow Dynamics, a Utah-based design firm, the "Corkscrew" was the first modern steel inverting roller coaster open to the public, with identical models opening at three other parks days later.
Boomerang is a boomerang roller coaster located at Six Flags St. Louis in Eureka, Missouri. It opened to the public on June 8, 2013. The ride originally opened as Flashback in 1989 at Six Flags Over Texas, where it operated through 2012.
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".
Invertigo is the name of an inverted shuttle roller coaster model developed and manufactured by Dutch company Vekoma. Four roller coasters based on this model were built, with the first installation opening in 1997 as HangOver at Liseberg amusement park located in Sweden. Three of the four are still in operation. Invertigo is designed as an inverted variation of their traditional Boomerang model, which first appeared in 1984. Invertigo's seat configuration is also a departure from its predecessor, in that riders sit back-to-back, resulting in all rows facing one another with the exception of the first and last.
The Flying Cobras, formerly known as the Head Spin, Carolina Cobra and The Mind Eraser, is a steel boomerang roller coaster located at Carowinds in Charlotte, North Carolina. Manufactured by Vekoma, The Flying Cobras was the first roller coaster addition to Carowinds following the park's purchase by Cedar Fair in 2006. It originally operated at Geauga Lake from 1996 to 2007 until its relocation to Carowinds in 2009. Following the 2016 season, the roller coaster was refurbished and renamed again in 2017.
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
The Road Runner Roller Coaster is a Vekoma Junior Coaster which opened on 26 December 2000 at Warner Bros. Movie World on the Gold Coast, Australia. The 335-metre (1,099 ft) ride features an incline of 13 metres (43 ft) and reaches a top speed of 45.9 km/h (28.5 mph). The ride has a height restriction of 100 centimetres (39 in). It is themed to Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner.
Accelerator is a steel Family Boomerang roller coaster at Drayton Manor Resort.
El Loco is a model of steel roller coaster manufactured by S&S Worldwide. The rides are characterised by a vertical or beyond-vertical drop, tight corners and abnormal banking. As of November 2013, there are six El Locos operating around the world.
White Lightning is a wooden roller coaster located at Fun Spot America amusement park in Orlando, Florida. Manufactured by Great Coasters International (GCI), White Lightning opened to the public on June 8, 2013, as the first wooden coaster to be built in Orlando. Unlike traditional wood designs, the support structure is made of steel to reduce maintenance costs, and it was the first time GCI incorporated the design into one of their coasters. White Lightning has also been well-received, consistently ranking in the top 50 among wooden roller coasters in the annual Golden Ticket Awards from Amusement Today.
Taron is a multilaunch steel roller coaster manufactured by Intamin located at Phantasialand in Germany. It was the fastest multi-launched roller coaster in the world when it opened. Taron opened on 30 June 2016.
The Flying Dinosaur is a steel flying roller coaster at Universal Studios Japan. Designed by Swiss firm Bolliger & Mabillard, Flying Dinosaur restrains riders in the prone position. This attraction opened on March 18, 2016, and is currently the world's second longest flying roller coaster, as the track length has been surpassed by F.L.Y. in Phantasialand, which opened in September 17, 2020.
River Quest is a river rapids ride in German theme park Phantasialand. The ride was built in 2002 by Hafema and notably has two lifts near the start of the ride to take the boats to their highest point. The ride previously held the record for the largest drop on a rafting ride. This record was taken in 2018 by Infinity Falls at SeaWorld Orlando.
F.L.Y. is a flying launched roller coaster at Phantasialand in Brühl, Germany. The coaster is the sole attraction of the Rookburgh area, a highly themed immersive Steampunk city, which was soft opened in September 2020 following several years of development and construction. During the ride, passengers sit in a prone position - facing the ground - while traversing two launches and navigating a heavily themed environment.
