Floorless Coaster

Type of roller coaster From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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 model began between 1995 and 1996 with Medusa at Six Flags Great Adventure, which opened on April 2, 1999, as world's first Floorless Coaster. Floorless Coasters typically feature between three and seven inversions in the layout of the coaster.

StatusIn production
First manufactured1999
No. of installations14
Quick facts Status, First manufactured ...
Floorless Roller Coaster
StatusIn production
First manufactured1999
No. of installations14
ManufacturerBolliger & Mabillard
Vehicle typeFloorless seats located above the track
Vehicles6-8-car Floorless Coaster trains
Riders per row4
Restraint StyleOver-the-shoulder harness
Floorless Roller Coaster at RCDB
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Since 2007, 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 the company classifies them as another model. Maurer Söhne has designed their own version of the Floorless Coaster, a variant of their X-Car model called X-Car Floorless, but currently do not have any installations.

History

Medusa's cobra roll at Six Flags Great Adventure

According to Walter Bolliger, development of the Floorless Coaster began between 1995 and 1996.[1] In 1999, the world's first Floorless Coaster opened at Six Flags Great Adventure as Medusa. With the success of Medusa, 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. B&M has built 13 Floorless Coasters from the ground up, with Dominator at Kings Dominion being the only one relocated to another park.[2] They have also converted three of their stand-up roller coasters to Floorless Coasters: Rougarou at Cedar Point, Patriot at California's Great America, and Firebird at Six Flags America.

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: there is no floor under the seats.[3] While a train is parked 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 retracts 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 for the next group of riders to load and unload.[4] Aside from the station, Floorless Coasters have similar layouts to B&M's sit-down coasters.[2][5]

Installations

One of Kraken's trains going through a corkscrew at SeaWorld Orlando in Orlando, Florida.

Bolliger & Mabillard has built thirteen Floorless Coasters from the ground up, with three additional that were converted from stand-up roller coasters. The roller coasters are listed in order of opening dates.

More information Name, Park ...
NameParkCountryInversionsOpenedStatus
Medusa
Formerly Bizarro
Six Flags Great Adventure United States72 April 1999Operating[6]
Superman: Krypton CoasterSix Flags Fiesta Texas United States611 March 2000Operating[7]
MedusaSix Flags Discovery Kingdom United States718 March 2000Operating[8]
KrakenSeaWorld Orlando United States71 June 2000Operating[9]
Insane SpeedJanfusun Fancyworld Taiwan42001Operating[10]
Superman: La Atracción de AceroParque Warner Madrid Spain76 April 2002Operating[11]
Batman: The Dark KnightSix Flags New England United States520 April 2002Operating[12]
ScreamSix Flags Magic Mountain United States712 April 2003Operating[13]
DæmonenTivoli Gardens Denmark316 April 2004Operating[14]
Hydra the RevengeDorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom United States77 May 2005Operating[15]
Dominator
Formerly Batman: Knight Flight
Kings Dominion
Geauga Lake
 United States524 May 2008
5 May 2000
Operating
Closed 16 September 2007
[16]
Hair RaiserOcean Park Hong Kong Hong Kong48 December 2011Operating[17]
NitroAdlabs Imagica India5October 2013Operating[18]
Rougarou[a]Cedar Point United States49 May 2015Operating[19]
Patriot[a]California's Great America United States225 March 2017Operating[20]
Firebird[a]Six Flags America United States217 May 2019Closed[21]
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Note: Although nearly all Dive Coasters (such as SheiKra, Griffon, Valravn and Yukon Striker) feature floorless trains, they are not considered Floorless Coasters.[22][23]

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.[24][25] As of 2019, no X-Car Floorless roller coasters have been manufactured.[24]

See also

Notes

  1. Converted from a stand-up roller coaster to a floorless coaster

References

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