Stand-up roller coaster

The Shock Wave at Drayton Manor Park, the only Stand-up in Europe

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

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

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 Yomiuri Land in Tokyo, Japan. Three years later, TOGO built Dangai at the former Thrill Valley amusement park in Gotemba, Shizuoka, Japan. Both rides added stand-up trains in 1982, with Dangai opening one day before Momonga Standing & Loop Coaster.

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. In 1983, Arrow designed a stand-up train for the attraction, which was subsequently renamed Extremeroller (also known as EXT). 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.

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. 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. 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.

Design

Three manufacturers—TOGO, Intamin and Bolliger and 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 Shock Wave at Drayton Manor Theme Park in the United Kingdom, includes a zero-gravity roll.

Installations

Georgia Scorcher, the last 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	Yomiuri Land	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
SkyRider	Canada's Wonderland	TOGO	1985	Operating
Standing Coaster Formerly Unknown	Rusutsu Resort Otaru Expo	TOGO	1985 1984	Operating Closed 1984
Shockwave	Kings Dominion	TOGO	1986	Operating
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	SBNO since 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 Shock Wave	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	Operating
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	Under Construction Closed 2011

External links

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