Stand-up roller coaster

Stand-up roller coaster

The Shockwave at Drayton Manor Theme Park, the only Stand-up roller coaster to feature a zero-g roll inversion.
Status In Production
First manufactured 1982 (modified), 1984 (purpose-built)
No. of installations 21
Manufacturers Arrow Dynamics (modified), Bolliger & Mabillard, TOGO, and Intamin

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 Bolliger & Mabillard stand-up coaster

Modified stand-up roller coasters

Name Park Manufacturer Opened Status
Momonga Standing & Loop Coaster Yomiuriland TOGO 1979
Stand-up trains added 1982
Operating
Dangai Thrill Valley TOGO 1982 or earlier
Stand-up trains added 1982
Closed 2002
Extremeroller Worlds of Fun Arrow Dynamics 1976
Stand-up trains added 1983, removed by 1984
Closed 1988
Rail Blazer Six Flags St. Louis Arrow Dynamics 1971
Stand-up trains added 1984, removed by 1985
Operating
Star Jet Washuzan Highland TOGO 1986
Stand-up train added on or before 1998
Operating

Purpose-built stand-up roller coasters

Name Park Manufacturer Opened Status
King Cobra Kings Island TOGO 1984 Closed 2001
Standing Coaster
Formerly Unknown
Rusutsu Resort
Otaru Expo
TOGO 1985
1984
Operating
Closed 1984
Shockwave Kings Dominion TOGO 1986 Closed 2015
Milky Way Mitsui Greenland TOGO 1991 Operating
Vortex California's Great America Bolliger & Mabillard 1991 Operating
Vortex Carowinds Bolliger & Mabillard 1992 Operating
Fujin Raijin II Expoland TOGO 1992 Closed 2007
Batman The Escape
Formerly Shockwave
Formerly Shockwave
Six Flags AstroWorld
Six Flags Great Adventure
Six Flags Magic Mountain
Intamin 1993
1990
1986
Closed 2005, in storage at Darien Lake.
Closed 1992
Closed 1988
The Shockwave Drayton Manor Theme Park Intamin 1994 Operating
Cobra
Formerly Stand Up
La Ronde
Skara Sommarland
Intamin 1995
1988
Operating
Closed 1994
Mantis Cedar Point Bolliger & Mabillard 1996 Closed 2014

Operating as a floorless coaster under the name of Rougarou.

Riddler's Revenge Six Flags Magic Mountain Bolliger & Mabillard 1998 Operating
Georgia Scorcher Six Flags Over Georgia Bolliger & Mabillard 1999 Operating
Green Lantern
Formerly Chang
Six Flags Great Adventure
Kentucky Kingdom
Bolliger & Mabillard 2011
1997
Operating
Closed 2009
Apocalypse
Formerly Iron Wolf
Six Flags America
Six Flags Great America
Bolliger & Mabillard 2012
1990
Operating
Closed 2011
Freestyle
Formerly Skyrider
Cavallino Matto
Canada's Wonderland
TOGO 2015
1985
Operating[6]
Closed 2014

References

  1. "Momonga Standing & Loop Coaster (Yomiuriland)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 2009-10-14.
  2. 1 2 "Dangai (Thrill Valley)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 2009-10-14.
  3. 1 2 3 "Extremeroller (Worlds of Fun)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 2009-10-14.
  4. 1 2 "River King Mine Train (Six Flags St. Louis)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 2009-10-14.
  5. "unknown (Darien Lake)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved 2009-10-14.
  6. Marden, Duane. "Freestyle  (Cavallino Matto)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved August 10, 2015.

External links

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