TOGO

This article is about the Japanese roller coaster manufacturer. For African country, see Togo. For other uses, see Togo (disambiguation).

Fujiyama, a TOGO hypercoaster

TOGO was a Japanese roller coaster design company, famous for inventing the stand-up roller coaster. TOGO went bankrupt in the early 2000s due to a lawsuit by Knott's Berry Farm for problems with their Windjammer roller coaster. TOGO is also credited with creating the first working pipeline roller coaster, the Ultra Twister. TOGO has had quite the reputation among enthusiasts for rough, even painful rides. However, that was not the case in its native Japan, where the coasters were almost smooth. TOGO created several unique coasters, including its combination of a looping sit-down coaster and a hypercoaster with its Manhattan Express (Coaster) coaster in Las Vegas (now known as "Roller Coaster"). The looping wild mouse by TOGO was a style of ride with a drop into a vertical loop, followed by the hairpin turns and drops of a wild mouse coaster. The former Windjammer coaster at Knott's berry Farm was a variation of the looping wild mouse; it didn't feature any hairpin turns.

TOGO is also renowned for inventing the Twist-and-Dive roll, an inversion maneuver that started off in a half-heartline roll, but the ground in a half-loop, hence the name. A version of this maneuver included a half-oblique loop instead of a half-loop, so riders exited the element at an angle. This was used on the now-defunct Viper at Six Flags Great Adventure.

TOGO's first roller coaster was Roller Coaster at Hanayashiki Amusement Park in Japan.

Notable Rides

• Fujiyama - A hypercoaster at Fuji-Q Highland, Japan. Until 2000, it was the tallest roller coaster in the world.
• SkyRider - A looping stand-up roller coaster. Built at Canada's Wonderland.
• Shockwave - Another stand-up TOGO looping roller coaster, Shockwave, continues to operate (as of 2010) at Kings Dominion. It features a similar layout to King Cobra and SkyRider at Canada's Wonderland.
• King Cobra at Kings Island (1984–2001) World's first coaster designed specifically to be a stand-up looping coaster. It was taken down and scrapped after TOGO went out of business, making parts very expensive.
• Windjammer Surf Racers at Knott's Berry Farm - a twin racing coaster with 65-foot vertical loops. The coaster was a massive failure, and part of the lawsuits would lead to TOGO's bankruptcy.
• The Roller Coaster at New York-New York Hotel & Casino (first opened in 1997 as the "Manhattan Express").
• Ultra Twister - A pipeline roller coaster that uses single cars that ride between the rails. Because of the design, the cars are unable to make lateral turns and require switch tracks at either end of the ride.
• Viper at Six Flags Great Adventure - A roller coaster that featured a unique heartline roll. The ride was scrapped in 2005, and its station was re-used for El Toro.