Alpengeist continues Busch Garden's trend of not only building a fantastic ride, but constructing theming to enhance the ride. The theme of Alpengeist is a skylift ride gone arry on account of some mysterious wilderness beast. The ride is littered with fake snow and skiing props. Closer inspection reveals tracks left by previous skiers and even some of their skies or bodies embedded in various obstacles. The ride begins with a plunge into a valley and pulls the train right across the top of a building into an immelman. A loop follows and immediately after is the absolutely huge cobra roll over the Rhine River. A quick breather comes in the form of mid-course brakes, but the train wastes no time in plunging down into a heartline roll, then finishing with a wingover and a helix before hitting the station brakes.
The first inverted coaster was introduced in 1992 at Six Flags Great America. It was a revolutionary ride, unlike anything ever made before. The trains hung below the track and had no floor so that riders' feet would dangle. Batman is a short and intense coaster. Currently six Six Flags parks have a clone of Batman. All are identical except for Six Flags Mid America's, which is a mirror image. The normal layout starts with a steep drop to the left directly into a loop. Next follows a heartline twist and another loop. A high-speed spiral to the left takes the train up, which then dives to the right and into two consecutive corkscrews before flying into the station brakes.
Name Batman: the Ride
Opened 1993 - present
Height 100 ft
Length 2,700 ft
Max Speed 52 mph
Inversions 2 Loops
1 Heartline Twist
2 Corkscrews
Trains 2
Capacity 32 riders per train
Cost $10 million ?
This pair of dragons makes up B&M's only duel-track coaster and the only duel-track inverted coaster in the world.
Great Bear is one of the most unique inverted coasters. Its first drop is 34 feet longer than the lift, mainly because of the ravine it flies into. However, the oddest feature is the turnaround that occurs before the first drop. No other inverted coaster has this element, setting it apart from all the other rides out there. For its height the ride is short, but it packs four inversions into its quick trip. A vertical loop comes first, followed by an immelman, a heartline twist, and finally a corkscrew. The ride finishes with a helix, just as it starts.
Name Great Bear
Opened May, 1998
Height 90 ft
(124 ft drop)
Length 2,800 ft
Max Speed 58 mph
Inversions 1 Loop
1 Immelman
1 Heartline Roll
1 Corkscrew
Trains 2
Capacity 32 riders per train
Cost $13 Million
Great White is a Batman clone, the first of which is not called Batman: the Ride. It was the first inverted coaster in Texas and Sea World's first roller coaster. The ride stands proud at 100 feet with its brilliant blue structure towering over the rest of the park. It features two vertical loops, a heartline twist, and two corkscrews. The ride is very intense, like all Batmans, and fits nicely with the theme of the rest of the park. Katun is very similar to Raptor, Cedar Point's inverted coaster. Katun dives left off the left into a giant vertical loop and a heartline twist. A high speed turn close to the ground lines the train up for the cobra roll which is followed by the mid-course brakes. Once off of these, the train whips through a wingover and down underground, only to emerge with another wingover. The ride concludes with a high speed helix before hitting the brakes. Nemesis is probably the most original inverted coaster built so far. Because of local restrictions, the ride had to be built complete below treeline. Obviously this means it couldn't be sticking up some 100 feet, so instead John Wardley, Alton Tower's official ride designer, thought up the idea of digging large ravines for the track to travel through.The end result is stunning. The station sits in the middle, with track going in every direction around it. The ride starts off with a short lift hill and then a small drop to the left. The first inversion is a corkscrew, right above the queue line. A downward helix to the right leads into the heartline twist. A quick turnaround and dive sets up the train for the vertical loop, which is nicely position in front of a wall. The trains fly up and around, then plunge into a tunnel. A wide left turn dives into another tunnel, and the ride finishes with one more corkscrew before flying into the brakes. Raptor was the first large inverted coaster. When it opened it 37 feet taller than the next largest of its type. This comes as no surprise as Cedar Point is always interested in getting the biggest and best. Raptor is no different; it has no less than six inversions including the world's first inverted boomerang, or cobra roll as B&M likes to call it. The first drop plunges 119 feet to the midway below before flying through a 100-foot loop. Following that is the heartline twist, cobra roll, midcourse brakes, and it finishes with two corkscrews and a 540-degree helix. This ride was top-10 ride when it opened and many still consider it the best of its kind. Top Gun is similar to Montu in its layout. The main difference between the two is that Top Gun does not have a mid-course brake-run, thus allowing it to run only two trains instead of three. From an enthusiasts point of view this is a good thing because it is not possible to slow the train once it has crested the lift hill. The ride begins with a 180-degree drop to the right into the large loop. It then flies up into the Immelman and directly into the heartline spin. Following this is the batwing, which inverts the train twice. In the process of disorienting the rides, the train dives underneath a walkway below, giving non-riders an up-close view of the ride. The ride finishes with a wingover and a helix, then hits the brakes. Top Gun was the second inverted coaster produced, following Batman: The Ride at Six Flag's Great America. Unlike its succesor, it has a large footprint and uses the terrain to its advantage. The ride begins with a drop to the left into the vertical loop. A 270-degree upward helix follows and leads into the heartline twist. The train then flies above the people waiting in line, dives toward the lake, and executes a wingover before pulling a tight left turn right above the water.
Home
Opened March 7, 1997
Height 100 ft
Length 2,600 ft
Max Speed 52 mph
Inversions 2 Loops
1 Heartline Twist
2 Corkscrews
Trains 2
Capacity 32 riders per train
Cost $10 million ?
Name Katun
Opened April, 2000
Height 160 ft
Length 4,000 ft ?
Max Speed 65 mph
Inversions 1 Vertical Loop
1 Heartline Twist
1 Cobra Roll(2 inversions)
2 Wingovers
Trains 3
Capacity 32 riders per train
Cost $12 million ?
Name Montu
Length 3,983 ft
Max Speed 61 mph
Inversions 2 Vertical Loops
1 Immelman
1 Batwing(2 inversions)
1 Heartline Twist
1 Wingover
Trains 3
Capacity 32 riders per train
Cost $12 million ?
Name Nemesis
Opened 1994
Height 105 ft
Length 2,362 ft
Max Speed 54 mph ?
Inversions 2 Corkscrews
1 Heartline Twist
1 Vertical Loop
Trains 2
Capacity 32 riders per train
Cost £10 million
Name Raptor
Opened May, 1994
Height 137 ft
Length 3,790 ft
Max Speed 60 mph
Inversions 1 Loop
1 Heartline Twist
1 Cobra Roll(2 inversions)
2 Corkscrews
Trains 3
Capacity 32 riders per train
Cost $11.5 Million
Name Top Gun
Opened March, 1999
Height 113 ft
Length 2,956 ft
Max Speed 62 mph
Inversions 1 Loop
1 Immelman
1 Heartline Roll
1 Batwing(2 inversions)
1 Wingover
Trains 2
Capacity 32 riders per train
Name Top Gun
Opened March, 1993
Height 100 ft
Length 2,260 ft
Inversions 1 Loop
1 Heartline Roll
1 Wingover
Trains 2
Capacity 28 rides per train.
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