Boomerang (roller coaster)

Boomerang
Boomerang at Pleasure Island
Status	In Production
First manufactured	1984
No. of installations	45
Manufacturer	Vekoma
Height	35.51 m (116.5 ft)
Length	285 m (935 ft)
Speed	47 mph (76 km/h)
G force	5.2
Capacity	760 riders per hour
Vehicles	1
Riders per vehicle	28
Rows	14
Riders per row	2
Duration	About 1:48 minutes
Restraint Style	Over-the-shoulder
Inversions	6
Boomerang at RCDB

Boomerang is a model of roller coaster built by Vekoma, and named after the hunting implement based on the traditions of the Indigenous Australians. As of 2012 there are 45 Boomerangs operating.

Design and ride experience

The Boomerang consists of a single train with seven cars, capable of carrying 28 passengers. The ride begins when the train is pulled backwards from the station and up the first lift hill by a catchcar. After being released, the train passes through the station, enters a Cobra roll element (referred to as a boomerang by the designers), and then travels through a vertical loop. After being pulled up a second lift hill, the train is released to head backwards through each inversion once more, making the total amount of inversions per ride six. The train slows down as it passes through the station backwards, and then comes to a complete stop in the station. This coaster model is popular among Six Flags and Herschend amusement parks in the United States, but it has appeared at amusement parks around the world.

Boomerang coasters have occasionally stalled, often in the Cobra Roll element. As a precaution, many Boomerang coasters are built with an access platform just under the Cobra Roll/Boomerang element.

Variant designs

There are three main design variants based on the Boomerang layout, all of which are produced by Vekoma.

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

Invertigo

The first variant of the Boomerang is the Invertigo. While retaining the same layout as the Boomerang, the Invertigo has inverted track, turning it into an inverted roller coaster. Each car has two rows of seats that are back-to-back, so the riders in the back row of each car would be facing those in the front of the trailing car. The first Invertigo, HangOver at Liseberg, was supposed to open in 1996 with a new linear induction motor (LIM) or LSM lift. However, development problems delayed the ride's opening to 1997, and the design was remade to include a traditional chain lift like the original Boomerang. Only four Invertigo models were ever built.

Giant Inverted Boomerang

Stunt Fall at Parque Warner Madrid is one of five Giant Inverted Boomerangs built

The second design is known as both the Giant Inverted Boomerang and the Super Invertigo. While maintaining a similar layout to the Boomerang, the track is again inverted, and the size of the ride is increased. The track is 270 feet (82 m) longer, the two lift hills are almost 80 feet (24 m) taller, and both hills are vertical. The track also crosses over, with the station underneath the vertical loop. The train has 8 cars, with the four seats of each car arranged in a chevron. As of 2011, four Giant Inverted Boomerangs operate, and one is currently under construction. The ones that operate currently are Goliath at Six Flags New England (Previously located at Six Flags Magic Mountain as Déjà Vu), Aftershock at Silverwood Theme Park (Previously located at Six Flags Great America as Déjà Vu), and Stunt Fall at Parque Warner Madrid. Sky Mountain at Mirabalandia (Previously located at Six Flags Over Georgia as Déjà Vu) is currently in storage. In late 2011, the first Vekoma Giant Inverted Boomerang to have been built brand new in about ten years opened. It resides at Jinjiang Action Park under the name Mountain Peak.

Family Boomerang

In late 2010, Vekoma announced that they would be manufacturing a Family Boomerang. The prototype opened in Drayton Manor Theme Park as Ben 10 - Ultimate Mission in April 2011.^[1] Unlike the other Boomerang roller coasters a Family Boomerang does not feature any inversions but it still has a similar shuttle design. The ride has two end spikes and generally a figure-8 design in the layout.

Layouts

Layouts of the different variations

Boomerang

Invertigo

Giant Inverted Boomerang

Ride locations

Coaster name	Amusement park	Variant	Original opening	Status
Aftershock Formerly Déjà Vu	Silverwood Theme Park Six Flags Great America	Giant Inverted Boomerang	2001	Operating	[2][3]
The Bat	Canada's Wonderland	Boomerang	1987	Operating	[4]
Ben 10 – Ultimate Mission	Drayton Manor Theme Park	Family Boomerang	2011	Operating	[5]
Boomerang	La Ronde	Boomerang	1984	Operating	[6]
Boomerang	Pleasure Island	Boomerang	1993	Operating	[6]
Boomerang	Bellewaerde	Boomerang	1984	Operating	[7]
Boomerang	Knott's Berry Farm	Boomerang	1990	Operating	[8]
Boomerang	Parc Touristique des Combes	Family Boomerang	2011	Operating	[9]
Boomerang	Six Flags Mexico	Boomerang	1987	Operating	[10]
Boomerang Formerly Flashback	Six Flags St. Louis Six Flags Over Texas	Boomerang	1989	Operating	[11][12]
Boomerang	Walibi Sud-Ouest	Boomerang	1992	Operating
Boomerang	Wild Adventures	Boomerang	1998	Operating	[13]
Boomerang	Worlds of Fun	Boomerang	2000	Operating	[14]
Boomerang	Siam Park City	Boomerang	2007	Operating
Boomerang: Coast to Coaster	Darien Lake	Boomerang	1998	Operating	[15]
Boomerang: Coast to Coaster	Elitch Gardens Theme Park	Boomerang	1999	Operating	[16]
Boomerang: Coast to Coaster (A.K.A. "The Stride" as many rides here were sponsored)	Great Escape	Boomerang	1997	Operating	[17]
Boomerang: Coast to Coaster	Six Flags Discovery Kingdom	Boomerang	1998	Operating	[18]
Boomerang: Coast to Coaster	Six Flags Fiesta Texas	Boomerang	1999	Operating	[19]
Carolina Cobra Formerly Head Spin/ "Mind Eraser"	Carowinds Geauga Lake	Boomerang	1996	Operating	[20][21]
Cobra	PowerPark	Boomerang	2005	Operating
Flashback Formerly Vampire Formerly Boomerang	Six Flags New England Kentucky Kingdom Nanhu Amusement Park	Boomerang	1985	Operating	[22][23][24]
Goliath Formerly Déjà Vu	Six Flags New England Six Flags Magic Mountain	Giant Inverted Boomerang	2001	Operating	[25][26][27]
Invertigo (Formerly known as "Face/Off")	Kings Island	Invertigo	1999	Operating	[28]
Mountain Peak	Jinjiang Action Park	Giant Inverted Boomerang	2011	Operating	[29]
Ragin' Cajun Formerly Boomerang	Dixie Landing' Hafan y Môr Holiday Park	Boomerang	1987	Operating	[30]
Sea Serpent	Morey's Piers	Boomerang	1984	Operating	[31]
Sidewinder	Hersheypark	Boomerang	1991	Operating	[32]
Sky Mountain Formerly Déjà Vu	Mirabilandia Six Flags Over Georgia	Giant Inverted Boomerang	2001	In Storage	[33][34]
Space Shuttle Max Formerly Cobra	Enchanted Kingdom West Midland Safari Park	Boomerang	1995	Operating	[35][36]
Speed of Sound Formerly La Via Volta	Walibi Holland	Boomerang	2000	Operating	[37]
Stinger Formerly Invertigo	Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom California's Great America	Invertigo	1998	Operating	[38][39]
Stunt Fall	Parque Warner Madrid	Giant Inverted Boomerang	2002	Operating	[40]
Tidal Wave	Trimper's Rides	Boomerang	1986	Operating	[41]
Triops Formerly Tornado Formerly unknown Formerly HangOver	Bagatelle Sommerland Syd Allou Fun Park Liseberg	Invertigo	1997	Operating	[42][43][44][45]
Diabolik Formerly Two-Face: The Flip Side	Movieland Park Six Flags America	Invertigo	1999	Operating	[46]
Wipeout Formerly Missile Formerly Coca-Cola Roller	Pleasurewood Hills The American Adventure Theme Park Glasgow Garden Festival	Boomerang	1988	Operating	[47][48][49]
Zoomerang Formerly The Demon Formerly Titan	Alabama Adventure Wonderland Sydney World Expo Park	Boomerang	1988	Defunct from 2011	[50][51][52]
Zoomerang	Lake Compounce	Boomerang	1997	Operating	[53]
Zydeco Scream Formerly Boomerang	Six Flags New Orleans Parc de Montjuic	Boomerang	1990	SBNO since Hurricane Katrina in 2005	[54][55]
Boomerang	Freizeit-Land Geiselwind	Boomerang	2000	Operating	[53]
Speed of Sound	Sky Ranch Tagaytay	Boomerang	2014	Construction
Boomerang	Fantasilandia	Boomerang	1996	Operating
Boomerang	Parque de la Costa	Boomerang	1998	Operating
Anaconda	Luna Park, Tel Aviv	Boomerang	2000	Operating	[56]

References

1. http://www.draytonmanor.co.uk/park-guide.php?sub=new-for-2011
2. Marden, Duane. "Déjà Vu  (Six Flags Great America)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 20 August 2011.
3. Marden, Duane. "Aftershock  (Silverwood Theme Park)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 20 August 2011.
4. Marden, Duane. "Bat  (Canada's Wonderland)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 19 February 2012.
5. Marden, Duane. "Ben 10 – Ultimate Mission  (Drayton Manor)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 18 February 2012.
6. Marden, Duane. "Boomerang  (La Ronde)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 19 February 2012.
7. Marden, Duane. " (Bellewaerde Park)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 16 September 2013.
8. Marden, Duane. "Boomerang  (Knott's Berry Farm)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 19 February 2012.
9. Marden, Duane. "Boomerang  (Parc Touristique des Combes)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 18 February 2012.
10. Marden, Duane. "Boomerang  (Six Flags Mexico)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 19 February 2012.
11. http://content.sixflags.com/newfor2013/stlouis/boomerang/
12. Marden, Duane. "Flashback  (Six Flags Over Texas)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 19 February 2012.
13. Marden, Duane. "Boomerang  (Wild Adventures)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 19 February 2012.
14. Marden, Duane. "Boomerang  (Worlds of Fun)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 19 February 2012.
15. Marden, Duane. "Boomerang Coast to Coaster  (Darien Lake)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 19 February 2012.
16. Marden, Duane. "Boomerang  (Elitch Gardens)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 19 February 2012.
17. Marden, Duane. "Boomerang Coast to Coaster  (Great Escape)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 19 February 2012.
18. Marden, Duane. "Boomerang Coast to Coaster  (Six Flags Discovery Kingdom)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 19 February 2012.
19. Marden, Duane. "Boomerang  (Six Flags Fiesta Texas)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 19 February 2012.
20. Marden, Duane. "Carolina Cobra  (Carowinds)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 19 February 2012.
21. Marden, Duane. "Head Spin  (Geauga Lake)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 19 February 2012.
22. Marden, Duane. "Flashback  (Six Flags New England)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 19 February 2012.
23. Marden, Duane. "Vampire  (Kentucky Kingdom)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 19 February 2012.
24. Marden, Duane. "Boomerang  (Nanhu Amusement Park)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 19 February 2012.
25. Marden, Duane. "Déjà Vu  (Six Flags Magic Mountain)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 20 August 2011.
26. MacDonald, Brady (19 August 2011). "Six Flags Magic Mountain to remove Deja Vu coaster". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 20 August 2011.
27. MacDonald, Brady (1 September 2011). "Six Flags unveils new attractions for every park in 2012". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 1 September 2011. Retrieved 1 September 2011.
28. Marden, Duane. "Invertigo  (Kings Island)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 18 February 2012.
29. Marden, Duane. "Mountain Peak  (Jinjiang Action Park)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 20 August 2011.
30. Marden, Duane. "Ragin' Cajun  (Dixie Landing')". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 20 August 2011.
31. Marden, Duane. "Sea Serpent  (Morey's Piers)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 19 February 2012.
32. Marden, Duane. "Sidewinder  (Hersheypark)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 19 February 2012.
33. Marden, Duane. "Déjà Vu  (Six Flags Over Georgia)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 20 August 2011.
34. Marden, Duane. "Sky Mountain  (Mirabilandia)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 20 August 2011.
35. Marden, Duane. "Space Shuttle  (Enchanted Kingdom)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 19 February 2012.
36. Marden, Duane. "Cobra  (West Midland Safari Park)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 19 February 2012.
37. Marden, Duane. "Speed of Sound  (Walibi Holland)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 19 February 2012.
38. Marden, Duane. "Stinger  (Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 18 February 2012.
39. Marden, Duane. "Invertigo  (California's Great America)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 18 February 2012.
40. Marden, Duane. "Stunt Fall  (Parque Warner Madrid)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 20 August 2011.
41. Marden, Duane. "Tidal Wave  (Trimper's Rides)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 30 September 2012.
42. Marden, Duane. "Triops  (Bagatelle)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 18 February 2012.
43. Marden, Duane. "Tornado  (Sommerland Syd)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 18 February 2012.
44. Marden, Duane. "unknown  (Allou Fun Park)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 18 February 2012.
45. Marden, Duane. "HangOver  (Liseberg)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 18 February 2012.
46. Marden, Duane. "Diabolik  (Movieland Park)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 18 February 2012.
47. Marden, Duane. "Wipeout  (Pleasurewood Hills)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 19 February 2012.
48. Marden, Duane. "Missile  (American Adventure Theme Park)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 19 February 2012.
49. Marden, Duane. "Coca-Cola Roller  (Glasgow Garden Festival)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 19 February 2012.
50. Marden, Duane. "Zoomerang  (Alabama Adventure)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 19 February 2012.
51. Marden, Duane. "Demon  (Wonderland Sydney)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 19 February 2012.
52. Marden, Duane. "Titan  (World Expo Park)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 19 February 2012.
53. Marden, Duane. "Zoomerang  (Lake Compounce)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 19 February 2012.
54. Marden, Duane. "Zydeco Scream  (Six Flags New Orleans)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 19 February 2012.
55. Marden, Duane. "Boomerang  (Parc de Montjuic)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 19 February 2012.
56. Marden, Duane. "Anaconda  (Luna Park Tel Aviv)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved April 17, 2016.

External links

• Listing of Boomerang roller coasters at RCDB
• Listing of Invertigo roller coasters at RCDB
• Listing of Giant Inverted Boomerang roller coasters at RCDB
• Detailed Technical Article about Boomerang Roller Coasters
• Boomerang official website
• Family Boomerang official website