Inverted roller coaster

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Inverted roller coaster
Nemesis at Alton Towers 240 (4756752644).jpg
Nemesis at Alton Towers in 2010
StatusIn Production
First manufactured1992
No. of installations189
Manufacturers Bolliger & Mabillard, Vekoma, Intamin, Gerstlauer, and Mack Rides
VehiclesSuspended trains
Restraint StyleOver-the-shoulder (most common style)

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.

Contents

B&M style inverted roller coaster car. Inverted coaster car front view.png
B&M style inverted roller coaster car.

Versions of inverted coasters have since been produced by other major coaster manufacturers such as Vekoma and Intamin. Intamin has few designs classified as inverted coasters, although they do install inverted coaster trains on some of their launched designs. Vekoma, however, predominantly mass-produced the same design (Suspended Looping Coaster) with 41 identical coasters installed around the world, though Vekoma now markets a newer style of inverted coaster, the Suspended Thrill Coaster, which utilises lap-bar restraints instead of the traditional over-the-shoulder restraints. [1] Vekoma was also the first manufacturer to install a family-friendly inverted roller coaster with the opening of Flying Ace Aerial Chase at Kings Island in 2001. Giovanola also has a single inverted coaster operating, which uses the box-track design, also used by Bolliger & Mabillard.

The inverted coaster differs from the older suspended coaster, which runs under the track, but features cars that enclose the rider's legs and lower body and are attached to the track above by a pivoting bar, whereas the trains on inverted coasters are directly attached to the track. This direct attachment facilitates inversions, which aren't possible on suspended coasters. Inversions typically featured on inverted coasters include vertical loops, zero-g rolls, Immelmann loops, cobra rolls, and corkscrews, though Vekoma's suspended loopers typically feature sidewinder and in-line twist elements.

History

The inverted coaster was developed in the early 1990s by engineers Walter Bolliger and Claude Mabillard of the Swiss roller coaster manufacturer Bolliger and Mabillard in cooperation with engineer Robert Mampe and Jim Wintrode, at the time the general manager of Six Flags Great America, who first envisioned a suspended coaster capable of inversions. [2] [3] [4] The result of this partnership, Batman: The Ride, soft opened at Six Flags Great America as the first inverted coaster in the world on May 2, 1992, officially opening on May 9, 1992. [3] With the coaster's success, Time Warner, Six Flags' parent company at the time, moved to construct a series of duplicates of the ride at various Six Flags parks. In 1993, a second installation of Batman: The Ride at Six Flags Great Adventure opened as the second inverted coaster in the world. [5] Six Flags has since gone on to construct five additional duplicates of the ride. [6]

The second unique inverted coaster was Flight Deck which opened in 1993 at California's Great America as Top Gun. [7] Nemesis Reborn was the first inverted coaster constructed outside the United States when it opened at Alton Towers in Staffordshire, England in 1994. [8]

Installations

231 inverted roller coasters have been installed at various theme parks, some of which have been relocated. The following list is not exhaustive and only shows the most notable installations.

NameParkOpenedManufacturerStatus
Batman: The Ride Six Flags Great America 1992 Bolliger & Mabillard Operating
Batman: The Ride Six Flags Great Adventure 1993 Bolliger & Mabillard Operating
Flight Deck California's Great America 1993 Bolliger & Mabillard Operating
Nemesis Reborn Alton Towers 1994 Bolliger & Mabillard Operating
Batman: The Ride Six Flags Magic Mountain 1994 Bolliger & Mabillard Operating
Raptor Cedar Point 1994 Bolliger & Mabillard Operating
Condor Walibi Holland 1994 Vekoma Operating
Diavlo Himeji Central Park 1994 Bolliger & Mabillard Operating
Batman: The Ride Six Flags St. Louis 1995 Bolliger & Mabillard Operating
T3 Kentucky Kingdom 1995 Vekoma Closed
Eurostar German Traveling Fairs1995 Intamin/Giovanola Operating
Flight Deck Canada's Wonderland 1995 Vekoma Operating
Arkham Asylum - Shock Therapy
Lethal Weapon - The Ride
Warner Bros. Movie World 1995 Vekoma Closed 2019
The Great Nor'easter Morey's Piers 1995 Vekoma Operating
Mind Eraser Six Flags America 1995 Vekoma Closed
Montu Busch Gardens Tampa Bay 1996 Bolliger & Mabillard Operating
Batman: The Ride Six Flags Over Georgia 1997 Bolliger & Mabillard Operating
The Great White SeaWorld San Antonio 1997 Bolliger & Mabillard Operating
Mind Eraser Six Flags Darien Lake 1997 Vekoma Operating
The Riddler Revenge Six Flags New England 1997 Vekoma Operating
Mind Eraser Elitch Gardens 1997 Vekoma Operating
Pyrenees Parque Espana-Shima Spain Village 1997 Bolliger & Mabillard Operating
Alpengeist Busch Gardens Williamsburg 1997 Bolliger & Mabillard Operating
Great Bear Hersheypark 1998 Bolliger & Mabillard Operating
Linear Gale LaQua 1998 Intamin Operating
Volcano: The Blast Coaster Kings Dominion 1998 Intamin Closed 2018
Blue Tornado Gardaland 1998 Vekoma Operating
Kong
Formerly The Hangman
Six Flags Discovery Kingdom
Opryland
1998
1995
Vekoma Operating
Closed 1997
Anaconda Gold Reef City 1999 Giovanola Operating
Tornado Parque de Atracciones de Madrid 1999 Intamin Operating
Batman: The Ride Six Flags Over Texas 1999 Bolliger & Mabillard Operating
Dragon Challenge Islands of Adventure 1999 Bolliger & Mabillard Closed 2017 [9]
Afterburn Carowinds 1999 Bolliger & Mabillard Operating
Twisted Typhoon Wild Adventures 1999 Vekoma Operating
Invertigo Kings Island 1999 Vekoma Operating
Katun Mirabilandia 2000 Bolliger & Mabillard Operating
Batman: The Ride Six Flags Mexico 2000 Vekoma Operating
MP Xpress Movie Park Germany 2001 Vekoma Operating
Talon Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom 2001 Bolliger & Mabillard Operating
Tornado Särkänniemi 2001 Intamin Operating
The Flash: Vertical Velocity
Formerly V2: Vertical Velocity
Six Flags Great America 2001 Intamin Operating
Batman: Arkham Asylum Parque Warner Madrid 2002 Bolliger & Mabillard Operating
Stunt Fall Parque Warner Madrid 2002 Vekoma Operating
Wicked Twister Cedar Point 2002 Intamin Closed 2021
Le Vampire La Ronde 2002 Bolliger & Mabillard Operating
The Flash: Vertical Velocity
Formerly V2: Vertical Velocity
Six Flags Discovery Kingdom 2002 Intamin Operating
Sky Rocket Dreamworld 2002 Vekoma Operating
Jubilee Odyssey Fantasy Island 2002 Vekoma Operating
Nemesis Inferno Thorpe Park 2003 Bolliger & Mabillard Operating
Swamp Thing Wild Adventures 2003 Vekoma Operating
Kiddy Hawk Carowinds 2003 Vekoma Operating
Steel Venom Valleyfair 2003 Intamin Operating
Lightning Kuwait Entertainment City 2004 Bolliger & Mabillard Closed 2016
Silver Bullet Knott's Berry Farm 2004 Bolliger & Mabillard Operating
Bat Lagoon 2005 Vekoma Operating
Patriot Worlds of Fun 2006 Bolliger & Mabillard Operating
Black Mamba Phantasialand 2006 Bolliger & Mabillard Operating
Kumali Flamingo Land Resort 2006 Vekoma Operating
Infusion
Formerly Traumatizer
Pleasure Beach Blackpool
Pleasureland Southport
2007
1999
Vekoma Operating
Closed 2006
Jimmy Neutron's Atomic Flyer Movie Park Germany 2007 Vekoma Operating
Kvasten Gröna Lund 2007 Vekoma Operating
Phaethon Gyeongju World 2007 Bolliger & Mabillard Operating
Goliath
Formerly Batman: The Ride
Formerly Gambit
Six Flags Fiesta Texas
Six Flags New Orleans
Thrill Valley
2008
2003
1995
Bolliger & Mabillard Operating
Closed 2005
Closed 2002
Thunderhawk Michigan's Adventure
Geauga Lake
2008
1998
Vekoma Operating
Closed 2007
Possessed
Formerly Steel Venom
Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom
Geauga Lake
2008
2000
Intamin Operating
Closed 2006
Aftershock
Formerly Déjà Vu
Silverwood Theme Park
Six Flags Great America
2008
2001
Vekoma Operating
Closed 2007
Steel Lasso Frontier City 2008 Vekoma Operating
The Monster
Formerly Orochi
Walygator Parc
Expoland
2010
1996
Bolliger & Mabillard Operating
Closed 2007
Ednör - L'Attaque
Formerly Serial Thriller
La Ronde
Six Flags Astroworld
2010
1999
Vekoma Operating
Closed 2005
Battlestar Galactica: Cylon Universal Studios Singapore 2010 Vekoma Operating
Sky Mountain
Formerly Déjà Vu
Mirabilandia
Six Flags Over Georgia
2011
2001
Vekoma Operating
Closed 2007
Mountain Peak Jinjiang Action Park 2011 Vekoma Operating
Goliath
Formerly Déjà Vu
Six Flags New England
Six Flags Magic Mountain
2012
2001
Vekoma Operating
Closed 2011
OzIris Parc Astérix 2012 Bolliger & Mabillard Operating
Banshee Kings Island 2014 Bolliger & Mabillard Operating
Family Inverted Coaster Happy Valley 2014 Bolliger & Mabillard Operating
Arthur - The Ride Europa-Park 2014 Mack Rides Operating
Hals-über-Kopf Erlebnispark Tripsdrill 2020 Vekoma Operating
Monster Gröna Lund 2021 Bolliger & Mabillard Operating
Storm - The Dragon Legend Tusenfryd 2023 Gerstlauer Operating
Phoenix Rising Busch Gardens Tampa 2024 Bolliger & Mabillard Under construction
Infinity Inverted Coaster Parque del Café 2024 Gerstlauer Under construction
Fianna Force Emerald Park 2024 Vekoma Under construction

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stand-up roller coaster</span> Type of roller coaster

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bolliger & Mabillard</span> Swiss roller coaster manufacturer

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Floorless Coaster</span> Type of roller coaster

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Batman: The Ride</span> Roller coasters at seven Six Flags parks

Batman: The Ride is an inverted roller coaster based on the DC Comics character Batman and found at seven Six Flags theme parks in the United States. Built by consulting engineers Bolliger & Mabillard, it rises to a height of between 100 and 105 feet and reaches top speeds of 50 mph (80 km/h). The original roller coaster at Six Flags Great America was partially devised by the park's general manager Jim Wintrode. Batman: The Ride was the world's first inverted roller coaster when it opened in 1992, and has since been awarded Coaster Landmark status by the American Coaster Enthusiasts. Clones of the ride exist at amusement parks around the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Green Lantern (Six Flags Great Adventure)</span> Steel roller coaster

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 212 minutes. This steel coaster was designed and built by Swiss manufacturer Bolliger & Mabillard.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Riddler's Revenge</span> Stand-up roller coaster

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).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nemesis Reborn</span> Inverted coaster at Alton Towers

Nemesis Reborn, previously Nemesis, is an inverted roller coaster located at the Alton Towers theme park in Staffordshire, England. Manufactured by Bolliger & Mabillard (B&M), the ride was designed by Werner Stengel, while overall development was overseen by attraction developer John Wardley. It opened in the Forbidden Valley area of the park on 19 March 1994.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fourth-dimension roller coaster</span> Type of steel roller coaster

A fourth-dimension roller coaster is a type of steel roller coaster where riders are rotated independently of the track's orientation, generally about a horizontal axis perpendicular to the track. The cars do not need to be fixed to an angle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Montu (roller coaster)</span> Inverted roller coaster at Busch Gardens Tampa

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).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Superman: Ultimate Flight</span> Roller coasters at three Six Flags parks

Superman: Ultimate Flight is the name of three flying roller coasters currently operating at three Six Flags amusement parks in the United States, those being Six Flags Over Georgia, Six Flags Great Adventure and Six Flags Great America. Each of these steel coasters were designed and built by Swiss manufacturer Bolliger & Mabillard and opened in 2002 and 2003. Since 2003, Six Flags has installed Superman: Ultimate Flight in three of their parks. Themed to the popular comic book character, Superman: Ultimate Flight simulates flying by positioning its passengers parallel to the track, supported by harnesses and facing the ground through most of the ride. In the station, riders board the train sitting down. After the train is locked and checked, the trains are raised into the flying position. After the ride, the seats are lowered back into the sitting position for the next round of riders.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Giant Inverted Boomerang</span> Steel roller coaster

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 May 2024, four installations of the model are operating, with another one under construction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Suspended Looping Coaster</span> Type of roller coaster

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Batman: The Dark Knight (roller coaster)</span> Roller coaster at Six Flags New England

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">T3 (roller coaster)</span> Defunct roller coaster

T3 (stylized as T3; pronounced "T-three", "T-cubed", or "Terror to the third power") was an inverted roller coaster located at Kentucky Kingdom in Louisville, Kentucky. The Suspended Looping Coaster model manufactured by Vekoma originally opened as T2 on April 8, 1995. Following the amusement park's closure in 2009 due to financial difficulties, the ride sat idle for several years. Under new park ownership, the roller coaster was refurbished and renamed T3, which reopened to the public as T3 on July 3, 2015. The ride closed permanently following the 2022 season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dive Coaster</span> Roller coaster model

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Great White (SeaWorld San Antonio)</span> Steel inverted roller coaster

The Great White is a steel inverted roller coaster at SeaWorld San Antonio, and the first roller coaster to be built at a SeaWorld park. It is not only the first inverted roller coaster in Texas, but also the first one in the state to be built by Bolliger & Mabillard.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Goliath (Six Flags Fiesta Texas)</span> Steel inverted roller coaster

Goliath is an inverted roller coaster located at Six Flags Fiesta Texas in San Antonio, Texas, United States. Designed by Werner Stengel and Swiss manufacturer Bolliger & Mabillard, Goliath initially opened in 1995 at an amusement park in Japan, it then operated at Six Flags New Orleans until Hurricane Katrina caused the parks abandonment in 2005 and removal of Goliath to Six Flags Fiesta Texas where it has operated since 2008. It stands at a height of 105 feet (32 m), reaches a maximum speed of 50 mph (80 km/h), and features multiple inversions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wing Coaster</span> Type of roller coaster

Wing Coaster is engineering firm Bolliger & Mabillard’s designation for its winged roller coaster designs. Winged roller coasters are a type of steel roller coaster where pairs of riders sit on either side of a roller coaster track in which nothing is above or below the riders. B&M began development on the first Wing Coaster between 2007 and 2008 leading to the opening of Raptor at Gardaland on 1 April 2011. There were sixteen B&M-designed Wing Coasters either under construction or operating worldwide as of December 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Batman: The Ride (Six Flags México)</span> Roller coaster

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.

References

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