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Batman: The Ride

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This article is about the steel inverted roller coasters. For the 4D spin roller coaster, see Batman: The Ride (S&S Free Spin). For the Vekoma SLC, see Batman: The Ride (Six Flags México). For other similarly named rides, see Batman Adventure – The Ride and Batman The Escape.

Batman: The Ride
A vertical loop and corkscrew on the ride at Six Flags Great America
General statistics
TypeSteel – Inverted
ManufacturerBolliger & Mabillard
DesignerWerner Stengel
ModelInverted Coaster – Batman
Lift/launch systemChain lift hill
Inversions5
Duration1:45
Capacity1280–1400[1][2] riders per hour
G-force4
Restraint styleOver-the-shoulder
Height restriction54 in (137 cm)
Trains2 trains with 8 cars. Riders are arranged 4 across in a single row for a total of 32 riders per train.
Height100 or 105 ft (30 or 32 m)
Length2,693 or 2,700 ft (821 or 823 m)
Speed50 mph (80 km/h)
Drop84.5 ft[3]
Flash Pass available
Single rider line available

Batman: The Ride is an inverted roller coaster based on the DC Comics character Batman and found at seven Six Flags theme parks in the United States. Built by consulting engineers Bolliger & Mabillard, it rises to a height of between 100 and 105 feet (30 and 32 m) and reaches top speeds of 50 mph (80 km/h). The original roller coaster at Six Flags Great America was partially devised by the park's general manager Jim Wintrode. Batman: The Ride was the world's first inverted roller coaster when it opened in 1992,[4] and has since been awarded Coaster Landmark status by the American Coaster Enthusiasts. Clones of the ride exist at amusement parks around the world.

History

The concept of an inverted roller coaster with inversions was developed by Jim Wintrode, the general manager of Six Flags Great America, in the early 1990s.[5][6] To develop the idea for the park, Wintrode worked with Walter Bolliger and Claude Mabillard – from Swiss roller coaster manufacturer Bolliger & Mabillard – and engineer Robert Mampe.[5] The ride soft opened to the public on May 2, 1992, with an official opening one week later on May 9.[5][7] The ride cost $7 million to build.[8] At the time, it was the single biggest investment made by Six Flags Great America on one attraction.[9]

Following the ride's success, then-parent company Time Warner devised an expansion plan to install clones of the original at the rest of the US parks in the Six Flags chain throughout the 1990s. In 1992, Six Flags Great Adventure announced the addition of Batman: The Ride in place of Lightnin' Loops.[10] It opened to the general public on May 1, 1993.[1] Six Flags Magic Mountain announced the addition of their installation on August 4, 1993.[11] The attraction opened on March 26, 1994 as part of a new Gotham City Backlot section.[12][13]

On September 7, 1994, Six Flags St. Louis announced that they would be receiving their installation of Batman: The Ride.[14] The attraction opened on April 22, 1995 and was the first location to be a flipped clone and feature a different queue line.[15][16] Six Flags Over Georgia announced the ride in 1996 as part of a new Gotham City section, which became the largest investment in 30 years for the park.[17] It opened for the first time on May 3, 1997.[18]

Six Flags Over Texas announced a copy of Batman: The Ride on November 4, 1998. The ride would sit next to Mr. Freeze, being located towards the back of the park in a new Gotham City area.[19] Batman: The Ride made its debut at Six Flags Over Texas on May 26, 1999.[20] This location features a unique loading station themed as the Wayne Foundation Industrial Park, unlike the others which are labeled Gotham Public Works.[21] As new Batman films were being released, Six Flags St. Louis opened their installation to coincide with 1995's Batman Forever, while Six Flags Over Georgia debuted theirs to coincide with 1997's Batman & Robin.

In 2002, La Ronde in Montreal opened a mirror clone of the ride under the name Le Vampire (The Vampire).[22] The name was the result of La Ronde, which is not a branded Six Flags park, lacking the necessary brand licensing agreement with Warner Bros. and DC Comics.[23] It was expected to receive the Batman label when the park was scheduled to be converted to a Six Flags park in the mid-2000s, however, the plans were abandoned.[24] Also in 2002, Warner Bros. Movie World Madrid opened another clone named Batman: La Fuga (Batman: The Escape).[25]

The final installation was constructed at Six Flags New Orleans in 2003,[26] which was formerly located at Japanese amusement park Thrill Valley, where it operated as Gambit from 1995 to 2002.[27] In 2005, the effects of Hurricane Katrina resulted in Six Flags abandoning the New Orleans park.[28] The coaster remained abandoned for two years and was then relocated to Six Flags Fiesta Texas, where it was refurbished and repainted. The ride reopened as Goliath on April 18, 2008.[29][30]

From 2013 to 2015, the Batman: The Ride coasters at five locations operated backwards at different times throughout the three years.[31][32][33][34][35][36] On February 1, 2018, it was announced that the St. Louis location would run backwards for the first half of the 2018 season.[37]

Installations

Batman: The Ride at Six Flags Magic Mountain
Locations for Batman: The Ride
Park Area Opening date Status Refs
Six Flags Great America DC Universe[a] May 9, 1992 Operating [7]
Six Flags Great Adventure Movie Town May 1, 1993 Operating [1]
Six Flags Magic Mountain DC Universe March 26, 1994 Operating [12]
Six Flags St. Louis Studio Backlot April 22, 1995 Operating [15]
Six Flags Over Georgia Gotham City May 3, 1997 Operating [18]
Six Flags Over Texas May 26, 1999 Operating [20]
Six Flags New Orleans DC Comics Super Hero Adventures April 12, 2003 Relocated and renamed[b] [26]

Characteristics

An overview of the ride's first drop and vertical loop at Six Flags Great Adventure

Structure

The original installation of the ride at Six Flags Great America features a maximum height of 100 feet (30 m), while the installations to follow reached 105 feet (32 m). Each installation of Batman: The Ride has a track length of approximately 2,700 feet (820 m). The rides reach a top speed of 50 miles per hour (80 km/h) and exert up to four times the force of gravity. There are five inversions, which are two vertical loops, a zero-g roll and two corkscrews.[38]

Batman: The Ride clones operate with two steel and fiberglass trains, each containing eight cars. Each car seats four riders in a single row for a total of 32 riders per train.[38]

The ride's original layout was specifically designed to fit in the Yankee Harbor (now DC Universe) themed area at Six Flags Great America, on the space previously occupied by Tidal Wave. The layout for each successive attraction is either identical or a mirror image of the original.[39]

Color scheme

Batman: The Ride at Six Flags St. Louis

While some later Batman: The Ride clones opened with dark blue track and supports, the originals were all black. Over the years there have been modifications in Batman: The Ride color schemes, with more incorporating yellows, blues and purples. The original ride at Six Flags Great America retained the original black color scheme until 2004, when the track was painted yellow and supports dark purple.[7] That year, the Six Flags Great Adventure location's original black color scheme was repainted with yellow track.[1] For the 2010 season, the Six Flags Magic Mountain and Six Flags Over Georgia locations were both repainted with medium blue track.[40] As of 2019, the only installation of Batman: The Ride to retain its all-black color scheme is Six Flags St. Louis.

Ride experience

Queue

Batman: The Ride theming at Six Flags Great America

The decorative theme of Batman: The Ride attempts to capture the spirit of the fictional Gotham City for those queuing to board the ride. As the queue moves through Gotham City Park,[41] the theme transitions from bright and peaceful, to dark and ominous.[42] Modeled after Nigel Phelps' award-winning art direction on the 1989 film Batman, the atmosphere indicates a crime-ridden and dirty environment, with discarded pieces of equipment, crumbling concrete, and in some versions, a Gotham City Police Department car riddled with bullet holes.[42] After the outside queue, guests enter the ride structure through an entrance themed after an access to a storm drain.[42] The ride passenger loading area is modeled after Batman's Batcave and features a replica of the Batsuit from the 1989 film.[41]

Layout

Batman: The Ride begins with the track floor in the station descending. The train moves out of the station and up a chain lift hill. At the top of the hill, the train dips down through a Bolliger & Mabillard pre-drop, coasts down a 190-degree swoop to the left and drops into the first vertical loop. It then flips through a Heartline Spin (zero-G roll), followed by another vertical loop. The train then travels upward around a tight spiral to the left, then through a wider turn to the right, drops slightly and quickly turns through the first corkscrew (referred to as a "flatspin" by the manufacturer). Following this is a tight right turn and another flatspin, then a tight left turnaround before the train enters the final brake run.[38][43]

Incidents

See also: Incidents at Six Flags parks
  • On May 26, 2002, a 58-year-old park employee working in the roller coaster's restricted area at Six Flags Over Georgia was killed after being struck in the head by the dangling leg of a 14-year-old girl riding in the front. The girl was hospitalized with a leg injury.[44]
  • On June 28, 2008, a 17-year-old South Carolina teenager was killed after being struck by the Batman roller coaster at Six Flags Over Georgia. The teen, who was on a trip to the park with his church's youth group, scaled two fences with a friend into a restricted area and walked into the ride's path. Although witnesses stated he was trying to retrieve his hat, a Cobb County police spokesman reported the teens were attempting to take a shortcut into the park.[45][46]

Reception

ACE Roller Coaster Landmark plaque for Batman: The Ride at Six Flags Great America

Batman: The Ride has generally received positive reviews. The Dallas Morning News stated the ride "is proof that new thrills on the cutting edge of technology generate excitement". They also praise the theme of the "smooth-riding coaster" stating "the mysterious crime-fighter is a proven crowd-pleaser".[47] American Coaster Enthusiasts have also praised the ride, awarding it Coaster Landmark status in 2005. They describe the ride as a "revolutionary design" which offers "unprecedented intensity, while maintaining remarkable smoothness, comfort, and pacing".[5][48] Ultimate Rollercoaster describes Batman: The Ride as "the ride of your life". They state "the sensation created by an inverted coaster is very different from that of traditional roller coasters. It is a sensation that every coaster fan must experience".[42]

Awards

In Amusement Today's Golden Ticket Awards for Best Steel Roller Coasters, Batman: The Ride ranked in the late 1990s before dropping off the poll and returning once in 2005. The original installation at Six Flags Great America was ranked 23 and 25 in 1998 and 1999, before returning in 2005 at position 45. In 1998, the Six Flags Great Adventure and Six Flags St. Louis installations ranked 19 and 21, respectively.[49][50][51]

Notes

  1. ^ Originally Yankee Harbor until the 2022 season.
  2. ^ The roller coaster was relocated to Six Flags Fiesta Texas and renamed Goliath.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Marden, Duane. "Batman The Ride  (Six Flags Great Adventure)". Roller Coaster DataBase.
  2. ^ "Batman The Ride (Six Flags Magic Mountain)". Parkz.
  3. ^ "Batman: The Ride". Beamer3K.
  4. ^ Meyer, Russell (May 12, 2014). "Coaster Tech: An Insider's look at inverted coasters". themeparkinsider.com. Retrieved May 21, 2015.
  5. ^ a b c d "Coaster Landmark Award – Batman: The Ride". American Coaster Enthusiasts. June 20, 2005. Archived from the original on January 7, 2014. Retrieved January 6, 2013.
  6. ^ O'Brien, Tim (March 24, 2003). "In my office: Jim Wintrode". Amusement Business. 115 (12).
  7. ^ a b c d Marden, Duane. "Batman The Ride  (Six Flags Great America)". Roller Coaster DataBase.
  8. ^ "A GUIDE TO WHAT'S NEW IN THEME PARKS". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved March 29, 2022.
  9. ^ Muret, Don (March 1994). "New attraction takes Six Flags into world of virtual reality". Amusement Business. 106 (10).
  10. ^ Daley, Margaret (September 9, 1992). "Batman ride to oust Lightnin' Loops". Asbury Park Press. Press Lakewood Bureau. Retrieved September 8, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "New bat-twist for Magic Mountain". The Signal. August 5, 1993. Retrieved September 8, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ a b c Marden, Duane. "Batman The Ride  (Six Flags Magic Mountain)". Roller Coaster DataBase.
  13. ^ "Batman Scales the Mountain : Gotham City Area, Roller Coaster Are Largest Expansion in Magic Mountain's 23-Year History".
  14. ^ Flannery, William (September 8, 1994). "Holy Thrills, Batman! New Ride At Six Flags". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Post-Dispatch Staff. Retrieved September 8, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ a b c Marden, Duane. "Batman The Ride  (Six Flags St. Louis)". Roller Coaster DataBase.
  16. ^ Levins, Harry (April 1, 1995). "Six Flags' Inverted Rails To Offer Cliffhanger". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Post-Dispatch Staff. Retrieved January 20, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ^ "Batman The Ride debuts in the spring at Six Flags". The Gaffney Ledger. December 31, 1996. Retrieved September 8, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. ^ a b c Marden, Duane. "Batman The Ride  (Six Flags Over Georgia)". Roller Coaster DataBase.
  19. ^ "Milestones at Six Flags Over Texas". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. November 5, 1998. Retrieved September 8, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  20. ^ a b c Marden, Duane. "Batman The Ride  (Six Flags Over Texas)". Roller Coaster DataBase.
  21. ^ "Batman: The Ride Six Flags Over Texas - SFOT Source".
  22. ^ Marden, Duane. "Vampire  (La Ronde)". Roller Coaster DataBase.
  23. ^ "Montreal-based theme park". Amusement Business. 115 (9). BPI Communications, Inc.: 6 March 3, 2003. ISSN 0003-2344.
  24. ^ O'Brien, Tim (May 13, 2002). "New Coasters Ready To Roll". Amusement Business. 114 (19): 23–25.
  25. ^ Marden, Duane. "Batman la Fuga  (Parque Warner Madrid)". Roller Coaster DataBase.
  26. ^ a b c Marden, Duane. "Batman: The Ride  (Six Flags New Orleans)". Roller Coaster DataBase.
  27. ^ Marden, Duane. "Gambit  (Thrill Valley)". Roller Coaster DataBase.
  28. ^ "New Orleans: Six Flags New Orleans". Six Flags. Archived from the original on March 27, 2007. Retrieved November 13, 2010.
  29. ^ "Six Flags' Flashback coaster will live on (somewhere else)". kvue.com. September 27, 2012. Archived from the original on January 22, 2013. Retrieved January 6, 2013.
  30. ^ Marden, Duane. "Goliath  (Six Flags Fiesta Texas)". Roller Coaster DataBase.
  31. ^ "Six Flags Great America Announces BATMAN: The Ride Backwards" (Press release). Six Flags Great America. February 21, 2013. Archived from the original on March 2, 2013. Retrieved February 21, 2013.
  32. ^ "Six Flags Announces a Full Season of Backwards". Six Flags. May 24, 2013. Archived from the original on July 2, 2013. Retrieved July 2, 2013.
  33. ^ "New for 2014". August 29, 2013. Archived from the original on September 1, 2013. Retrieved August 29, 2013.
  34. ^ "SFOT BB". March 25, 2014. Archived from the original on March 26, 2014. Retrieved March 26, 2014.
  35. ^ "Batman ride at Six Flags Over Georgia to run backward". Associated Press. January 27, 2015. Retrieved August 3, 2015.[permanent dead link]
  36. ^ Silverstein, Jason (March 24, 2015). "SEE IT: Batman ride at Six Flags Great Adventure to run backward for the first time". New York Daily News. Retrieved July 30, 2015.
  37. ^ "Batman fans can fly backward at Six Flags St. Louis this spring".
  38. ^ a b c See:[1][7][12][15][18][20][26]
  39. ^ Marden, Duane. "Roller Coaster Search Results  (Model = Batman)". Roller Coaster DataBase.
  40. ^ "Batman Blue Track (HD POV) Six Flags Magic Mountain". The Coaster Views. YouTube. Archived from the original on November 15, 2021. Retrieved May 21, 2013.
  41. ^ a b O'Brien, Tim (November 16, 1998). "Holy Thrills! Six Flags Over Texas Gets Batman Ride". Amusement Business. 110 (46): 3, 48.
  42. ^ a b c d "Batman The Ride". Ultimate Rollercoaster. Retrieved April 26, 2013.
  43. ^ Alvey, Robb. "Batman The Ride POV Roller Coaster Front Seat Onride Six Flags Over Georgia". Theme Park Review. YouTube. Archived from the original on December 13, 2021. Retrieved January 6, 2013.
  44. ^ "Six Flags' worker is killed in inverted coaster's path". Toledo Blade. May 28, 2002. Retrieved January 6, 2013.
  45. ^ "Teen Decapitated in Six Flags Accident". CBS News. June 28, 2008. Retrieved November 28, 2020.
  46. ^ Cook, Rhonda (June 28, 2008). "Boy Decapitated by Roller Coaster at Six Flags over Georgia is ID'd". Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Archived from the original on July 30, 2008. Retrieved January 1, 2011.
  47. ^ "Wild ride – Six Flags should keep thrills coming". The Dallas Morning News. A. H. Belo Corporation. May 28, 1999.
  48. ^ "ACE Coaster Landmark Awards". American Coaster Enthusiasts. Archived from the original on December 12, 2010. Retrieved January 1, 2011.
  49. ^ "Top 25 steel roller coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today. September 1998. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2013.
  50. ^ "Top 25 steel roller coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today. September 1999. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2013.
  51. ^ "Top 50 steel roller coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today. September 2005. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2013.
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