Invertigo (roller coaster)

Invertigo
Invertigo at King's Island before 2012.
Status	In Production
First manufactured	1997
No. of installations	4
Manufacturer	Vekoma
Height	40.01 m (131.3 ft)
Length	308.99 m (1,013.7 ft)
Speed	80 km/h (50 mph)
G force	5
Capacity	840 riders per hour
Vehicles	1
Riders per vehicle	28
Rows	14
Riders per row	2
Duration	About 1:30 minutes
Restraint Style	Over-the-shoulder
Invertigo at RCDB

Invertigo is a type of shuttle roller coaster manufactured by Dutch company, Vekoma. It is a variation on their traditional Boomerang design.^[1]

History

Stinger when it was at California's Great America as Invertigo.

The first installation of an Invertigo roller coaster occurred at Liseberg in 1997. HangOver was originally scheduled to open in 1996 as a launched roller coaster, however, the technology at the time prevented this from occurring and forced the opening back by a year.^[2] On March 21, 1998, California's Great America opened a ride known simply as Invertigo.^[3] On April 17, 1999, Face/Off opened at Kings Island. It was originally themed after the 1997 Paramount Pictures film of the same name.^[4] On May 8, 1999, Two Face: The Flip Side opened at Six Flags America.^[5] It was themed after DC Comics' Batman rival, Harvey Dent A.K.A. Two Face.^[6]

In 2002, HangOver at Liseberg closed and was relocated to Allou Fun Park the following year.^[2][7] The ride, however, was never set up there and was relocated to Sommerland Syd where it operated under the name Tornado from July 2, 2005.^[7][8]

In 2008, Face/Off at Kings Island was renamed to Invertigo following the park's initiative to remove Paramount themes from the park after being sold to Cedar Fair two years prior.^[9]

On January 27, 2011, California's Great America announced that Invertigo would be removed from the theme park and relocated to a different amusement park. Cedar Fair stated that a new attraction would be placed at the former location of Invertigo. California's Great America also announced Invertigo will be going to a new home in a different Cedar Fair park.^[10][11] Invertigo was removed and moved into storage in Allentown, Pennsylvania. While in storage, the track received a new teal paint scheme, with the supports remaining in royal blue.^[12] On August 30, 2011, Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom announced that they would be opening Stinger for the park's 2012 season.^[13] In November 2011, Dorney Park has completed construction for the coaster and in December they are building the station and queue.^[14][15] In early January 2012, the coaster has gotten electricity, and the entrance and queue area is nearing completion to be finished.^[16][17]

In 2011, Sommerland Syd's installation of Tornado closed with the ride currently being relocated to Bagatelle where it operates as Triops from June 30, 2012.^[8][18][19]

On February 13, 2012, Kings Island posted a picture of Invertigo getting a new paint scheme on their Facebook page. The ride now has aqua track and royal blue supports, similar to Stinger at Dorney Park.^[20]

Installations

Stinger at Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom

Ride experience

The layout of an Invertigo roller coaster

Invertigo is an inverted version of the Vekoma Boomerang roller coaster where riders sit face-to-face, staring at fellow passengers through the course of the ride. The train completes the circuit twice running in the opposite direction as it returns to the station. This gives riders the opportunity to experience the ride in both directions moving forwards and backwards.

The ride begins when the train is pulled backwards from the station and up a 138-foot-tall (42 m) lift hill. It is held for several seconds before releasing riders into a 130-foot (40 m) drop sending them 55 miles per hour (89 km/h) through the loading station. The train then enters a Cobra roll element that transitions into a vertical loop. Upon exiting the loop, the train climbs the second lift hill making it most of the way up on its own momentum. Once towed to the top, the train is quickly released sending riders through the ride in reverse before being caught by the first lift hill and returned to the loading station.^[22]

Incidents

In 2003, Two Face: The Flip Side stalled on one of the lift hills, and had riders stuck on the ride for a lengthy period of time until they were rescued; the ride was shut down for inspection but later reopened after it was cleared for operation. The ride would undergo five years without incident until August 2007, when the ride had stalled once again while carrying riders; after being stuck for a period of time, the ride was shut down for inspection after riders were rescued. When the ride was cleared for operation later that month, the ride functioned properly without any incident.

Two Face: The Flip Side at Six Flags America

In October 2007, the same installation unexpectedly stopped on one of the lift hills. When one of the ride attendants attempted to rescue the riders, the train unintentionally moved back into the station and damaged one of the hydraulic lines. Hydraulic fluid was sprayed onto several riders, causing them minor injuries that required at least ten people to go to a local hospital as a result of being burnt from the temperature of the fluid, in addition to victims treated at the scene for back and neck injuries.^[23][24] Before the fluid sprayed, one of the riders (about 40 minutes into the situation) used their cell phone to dial 9-1-1 in request of assistance from Prince George's County rescue teams.^[25] Six Flags America officials stated that the ride had been inspected that same day and was clear of any problems; however, Maryland investigators said that roller coasters of the 2003-era feature technology that is more difficult to comprehend than older models, thus making it almost impossible to find the cause of the incident.^[23]

Maryland's Department of Labor, Licensing, and Regulation ordered the closure of Two Face: The Flip Side including retaining the certificate of operation for the ride, until the ride could be proven safe, which never occurred.^[24] Eventually it was noted that a safety sensor had malfunctioned and caused the coaster to stall and unexpectedly jolt back to the station.^[26] For the 2008 season, the ride sat not in operation while the investigation continued, although due to the many breakdowns of the ride, it was put up for sale and eventually bought by an unknown client.^[27] By 2009, the ride had been dismantled (its current whereabouts are unknown), and the site remains vacant as of 2010 with the Six Flags trademarked "Under Funstruction" sign.^[28]

On August 10, 2009, at 12:15pm PST, the Invertigo roller coaster at California's Great America experienced a mechanical failure, trapping 24 people 80 feet (24 m) in the air in 90 degree weather. The park requested police and firefighter assistance. After the last rider was brought to safety at 5:45pm PST the rescued riders were given free pizza and soft drinks.^[29]

On June 6, 2012, Stinger at Dorney Park experienced an incident where riders were stuck for approximately an hour and a half on the first lift. They were eventually brought to safety. According to Dorney Park officials, this incident was completely different from the 2009 incident when the roller coaster was installed at California's Great America.^[30]

On June 17, 2013, the roller coaster became stuck again for an hour and a half.^[31]

See also

• 2012 in amusement parks

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Invertigo.

• Official website
• Invertigo at Kings Island