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Floorless Coaster

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Floorless Coaster
Dominator at Kings Dominion
StatusIn production
First manufactured1999
No. of installations12
ManufacturerBolliger & Mabillard
Vehicle typeFloorless seats located above the track
Riders per row4
Restraint StyleOver-the-shoulder
Floorless Coaster at RCDB

A Floorless Coaster is a type of steel roller coaster manufactured by Bolliger & Mabillard where riders sit with no floor underneath them allowing their feet to swing freely just above the track. Development of the Floorless Coaster began between 1995 and 1996 with Medusa (now known as Bizarro) at Six Flags Great Adventure opening on April 2, 1999, making it the world's first Floorless Coaster. Floorless Coasters also tend to have 3 to 7 inversions incorporated in the layout of the coaster. Recently, Bolliger & Mabillard have used floorless trains on their Dive Coasters, such as Griffon and SheiKra. Though they contain floorless trains, the coasters are still not considered Floorless Coasters as B&M classifies them as another model. Also, Maurer Söhne have designed their own version of the Floorless Coaster, a variant of their X-Car called X-Car Floorless, but currently do not have any installations.[1]

History

Medusa's cobra roll at Six Flags Great Adventure

According to Walter Bolliger, development of the Floorless Coaster began between 1995 and 1996.[2] In 1999, the world's first Floorless Coaster opened at Six Flags Great Adventure as Medusa. In 2009, the coaster was renamed Bizarro and re-themed. After the success of Bolliger & Mabillard's prototype Floorless Coaster, SeaWorld, Cedar Fair, Six Flags, and independent parks, Janfusun Fancyworld, Parque Warner Madrid, Tivoli Gardens, and Ocean Park Hong Kong have built other coasters of this model at their parks. As of 2012, there are currently 12 Floorless Coasters in operation with Dominator being the only one relocated to another park.[3]

Design

Hydra the Revenge's first drop at Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom

The design of a Floorless Coaster has one main difference from traditional steel roller coasters around the world: it has no floors between the seats.[4] While a train is in the station, a floor is used only for loading and unloading purposes. Because the front row has nothing in front of it to stop riders from walking over the edge of the station, a gate is placed in front of the train to prevent this from happening. Once all the over-the-shoulder restraints are locked, the floor separates into several pieces and moves underneath the station. The gate then opens, allowing the train to move forward. When the train returns to the station, the floor is brought back up and the gate is closed as the next riders board the roller coaster.[5] Aside, from the station, a Floorless Coaster has several inversions[3] similar to B&M's Sitting Coaster's.[6]

Installations

One of Kraken's trains going through a corkscrew at Sea World Orlando

Bolliger & Mabillard has built 12 Floorless Coasters as of 2012 with an additional one scheduled to open in 2013. The roller coasters are listed in order of opening dates.

Name Park Country Inversions Opened Status
Bizarro
Formerly Medusa		 Six Flags Great Adventure  United States 7 April 2, 1999 Operating [7]
Superman: Krypton Coaster Six Flags Fiesta Texas  United States 6 March 11, 2000 Operating [8]
Medusa Six Flags Discovery Kingdom  United States 7 March 18, 2000 Operating [9]
Kraken Sea World Orlando  United States 7 June 1, 2000 Operating [10]
Insane Speed Janfusun Fancyworld  Taiwan 4 2001 Operating [11]
Superman: La Atracción de Acero Parque Warner Madrid  Spain 7 April 6, 2002 Operating [12]
Batman: The Dark Knight Six Flags New England  United States 5 April 20, 2002 Operating [13]
Scream Six Flags Magic Mountain  United States 7 April 12, 2003 Operating [14]
Dæmonen Tivoli Gardens  Denmark 3 April 16, 2004 Operating [15]
Hydra the Revenge Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom  United States 7 May 7, 2005 Operating [16]
Dominator
Formerly Batman: Knight Flight		 Kings Dominion
Geauga Lake		  United States 5 May 24, 2008
May 5, 2000		 Operating
Closed September 16, 2007		 [17]
Hair Raiser Ocean Park Hong Kong  Hong Kong 4 December 8, 2011 Operating [18]
Nitro Adlabs Imagica  India 5 2013 Operating [19]
Batman: Knight Flight Six Flags Great Adventure  United States 5 May 7, 2024

Note: Although some Dive Coasters (such as SheiKra and Griffon) feature floorless trains, they are not considered Floorless Coasters.[20][21]

Similar rides

Maurer Söhne, a German roller coaster and steel manufacturer, has developed their own version of the Floorless Coaster called the X-Car Floorless. The car is the same as the original X-Car with the only difference being that there is no floor during the ride.[1][22] As of 2012, no X-Car Floorless roller coasters have been manufactured.[1]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c "X-Car Floorless". Maurer Söhne. Retrieved March 1, 2012.
  2. ^ "IAAPA 2011 Trade Show Part 4 Theme Park Review Fishpipe Water Ride B&M Zamperla". Theme Park Review. YouTube. November 16, 2012. Retrieved July 20, 2012.
  3. ^ a b Marden, Duane. "Roller Coaster Search Results  (Floorless Coaster)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved July 20, 2012.
  4. ^ Niles, Robert (November 14, 2002). "Scream leaves you dangling". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 21, 2012.
  5. ^ "Dominator at Kings Dominion". woodencoasterfan (YouTube). September 4, 2012. Retrieved July 20, 2012.
  6. ^ Marden, Duane. "Roller Coaster Search Results  (Sitting Coaster)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved July 20, 2012.
  7. ^ Marden, Duane. "Bizarro  (Six Flags Great Adventure)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved July 20, 2012.
  8. ^ Marden, Duane. "Superman: Krypton Coaster  (Six Flags Fiesta Texas)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved July 20, 2012.
  9. ^ Marden, Duane. "Medusa  (Six Flags Discovery Kingdom)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved July 20, 2012.
  10. ^ Marden, Duane. "Kraken  (Sea World Orlando)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved July 20, 2012.
  11. ^ Marden, Duane. "Insane Speed  (Janfusun Fancyworld)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved July 20, 2012.
  12. ^ Marden, Duane. "Superman: La Atracción de Acero  (Parque Warner Madrid)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved July 20, 2012.
  13. ^ Marden, Duane. "Batman – The Dark Knight  (Six Flags New England)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved July 20, 2012.
  14. ^ Marden, Duane. "Scream!  (Six Flags Magic Mountain)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved July 20, 2012.
  15. ^ Marden, Duane. "Dæmonen  (Tivoli Gardens)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved July 20, 2012.
  16. ^ Marden, Duane. "Hydra the Revenge  (Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved July 20, 2012.
  17. ^ Marden, Duane. "Dominator  (Kings Dominion)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved July 20, 2012.
  18. ^ Marden, Duane. "Hair Raiser  (Ocean Park Hong Kong)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved July 20, 2012.
  19. ^ Marden, Duane. "Nitro  (Adlabs Imagica)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved April 9, 2013.
  20. ^ Marden, Duane. "SheiKra  (Busch Gardens Tampa Bay)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved July 21, 2012.
  21. ^ Marden, Duane. "Griffon  (Busch Gardens Williamsburg)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved July 21, 2012.
  22. ^ "X-Car". Maurer Söhne. Retrieved July 21, 2012.
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