Stand-up roller coaster

A stand-up roller coaster is a roller coaster designed to have the passengers stand through the course of the ride. These roller coasters are very intense, and generally carry taller height restrictions than other rides.

History

The first stand-up roller coasters in the world were actually built as standard roller coasters. Japanese manufacturer TOGO built Momonga Standing & Loop Coaster in 1979 for Yomiuriland in Tokyo, Japan.^[1] Three years later, TOGO built Dangai at the former Thrill Valley amusement park in Gotemba, Shizuoka, Japan.^[2] Both rides added stand-up trains in 1982, with Dangai opening one day before Momonga Standing & Loop Coaster.^[2]

The first stand-up roller coaster in the United States was, like the Japanese roller coasters before it, a modified attraction. Arrow Dynamics built one of its signature corkscrew roller coasters, named Screamroller, at Worlds of Fun in Kansas City, Missouri in 1976.^[3] In 1983, Arrow designed a stand-up train for the attraction, which was subsequently renamed Extremeroller (also known as EXT).^[3] However, the track and structure were never designed for stand-up trains, and the original sit-down trains were reinstalled in 1984, remaining in place until the attraction was removed in 1988.^[3]

The 1984 season saw two stand-up roller coasters open in the United States. One was, like Extremeroller, yet another retrofit. The River King Mine Train was an Arrow-built roller coaster that opened with its park, Six Flags St. Louis, in 1971. Stand-up trains were added for 1984, and the attraction's name was changed to Rail Blazer.^[4] However, like Extremeroller the season before, the track wasn't intended to use stand-up trains and, prior to the start of the 1985 season, the original trains and name were restored.^[4] Also in 1984, 350 miles east of Six Flags St. Louis, Kings Island at Mason, Ohio opened the TOGO-designed King Cobra as the world's first purpose-built stand-up roller coaster. The attraction operated from 1984 to 2001.

The last new stand-up roller coaster to be constructed was Georgia Scorcher at Six Flags Over Georgia in 1999. In 2005, Batman: The Escape at the now-defunct Six Flags Astroworld was disassembled and placed in storage at Darien Lake.^[5]

Design

Trains feature saddle seats that move vertically to accommodate various heights. (The Riddler's Revenge at Six Flags Magic Mountain)

Three manufacturers—TOGO, Intamin and Bolliger & Mabillard—have constructed multiple stand-up roller coasters. TOGO's stand-up models feature cars that seat four passengers in two rows of two. Models from Intamin and B&M also seat four riders per car, but in a single four-abreast row.

On a standard roller coaster, the rider is held in their seat by some form of harness, such as a lap bar or an over-the-shoulder restraint. As stand-up roller coasters, by their design, do not have "seats," the harness system must both restrain and support the rider. Typical stand-up roller coaster harnesses are mounted on vertical posts, which allow the harness to adjust to riders of different heights. At the bottom is a seat resembling that on a bicycle, while at the top is an over-the-shoulder harness. TOGO models normally use a lap bar to further secure riders, while B&M models add a seat belt to connect the bicycle seat to the shoulder harness.

With some exceptions, stand-up roller coasters normally feature at least one inversion. These inversions can include vertical loops, incline loops, dive loops and corkscrews. Only one stand-up roller coaster, the Shockwave at Drayton Manor Theme Park in the United Kingdom, includes a zero-gravity roll.

Installations

Georgia Scorcher, the latest stand-up coaster to be built

The first Bolliger & Mabillard stand-up coaster, Iron Wolf

Mantis, a former Bolliger & Mabillard stand-up coaster

Modified stand-up roller coasters

Purpose-built stand-up roller coasters

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Stand-up roller coasters.

• Intamin Official Site
• Bolliger & Mabillard Official Site
• List of stand-up roller coasters at RCDB