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Featured Photo #28 – Invertigos A No-Go

Joel
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Two Face at Six Flags America
Six Flags America’s Two Face was one of the roller coasters that Six Flags added to Adventure World when it bought  the park. Along with launch coaster Joker’s Jinx, hyper coaster Superman: Ride of Steel and flying coaster Batwing, the park’s lineup of modern thrill rides boomed in only a few years.

Two Face had a run of accidents before it was removed in 2008 and I’m baffled as to why the Vekoma Invertigo coaster model has seemed to never catch on. I’m sure that an inverted version of the successful Vekoma boomerang coasters seemed like a good idea. Aside from sharing the same layout as those common sitdown shuttle loopers (with a reverse chain lift, boomerang, and a vertical loop), the Invertigo model features seats where riders face each other. I found my rides on Six Flags America’s Two Face and Kings Island’s Invertigo pretty fun.  And I don’t remember a whole lot of head banging like I’ve experienced on the Vekoma SLC’s (appropriately called Mind Erasers).

But for some reason, this roller coaster model has had a pretty doomed existence. Two Face in particular has been at the center of several accidents. I wrote about the 2007 incident where riders were stuck on the lift and the rest are detailed on Wikipedia. I was surprised to find out that the doomed-ness wasn’t limited to Six Flags America. RCDB lists the four Invertigos that were built. The other three include Kings Island’s Invertigo which may have been the best installation, another coaster that has been relocated twice, and California’s Great America’s Invertigo that has been relocated to Dorney Park for a 2012 rebirth. Relocations aren’t necessarily a sign that a ride is troubled, but you may remember the Invertigo accident at California’s Great America where riders were stranded for hours. Hopefully, Vekoma has solved these issues and Dorney’s re-themed Invertigo will be trouble free.

What’s Your Take?
Do you have a theory as to why these coasters have had incidents and why they never caught on? Leave a comment below.

Photos, content, and the most insightful, entertaining, or amusing reader comments from my Photo of the Week posts will be included my new book. Read more about my book project. All images are the property of TheCoasterCritic.com

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Joel
Founder of CoasterCritic.com. My favorite coasters are B&M hypers and gigas. I'm also a huge fan of terrain roller coasters.

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18 Responses

  1. I'm actually gonna miss Invertigo when it leaves CGA and while I thought it was a little rougher than California's, KI's model was a pleasant surprise as well. Too bad I wasn't able to complete the trifecta with this one. I still think Dorney deserves something better though, they've become Cedar Fair's dumping ground.

  2. I always thought that riding face to face with strangers was a little wierd, but if you subtract the headbanging and the accidents, these are fun rides. I really have no idea why these coasters didn't catch on. Once Dorney gets one of these, it'll be their third suspended (or inverted) coaster. They deserve better.

  3. I've heard about these. But you forgot to include the water coaster at Hershey Park in PA that was an Invertigo-ish model Roller Soaker.

  4. Haven't been on an Invertigo, but I HAVE been on Vekoma's Giant Invertigo Boomerang, Deja Vu. While I hear it's a maintenance nightmare, the ride is definitely thrilling. The straight down drop definitely adds a level of thrill beyond the standard Boomerang model, and also adds a bit more speed going through the cobra roll and loop. I wish Vekoma would concentrate on making that model reliable as Deja Vu is definitely a ride that any park could use.

  5. Many will remember KI's the Bat. It was torn down due to what was called an underdeveloped train. Maybe the Invertigo trains are of the same problem.

  6. Rode Invertigo at King's Island and it is easily one of the worst, most rough coasters I've ever ridden. The coaster violently vibrated the whole ride and to keep it PG it was very painful in a very private area. Awful awful ride!

  7. I agree with Gearhart and coasterer22. Dorney does deserve better. Dorney is my home park, and hasnt received a new (not relocated) ride since 2005's Hydra. Possessed was a dissapointment, and IMO all inverted impulse coasters are a sorry excuse for a coaster. They have no inversions, no hills, not even a first drop. All they do is go back and forth like Dorney's dragon swing. Anyway, Dorney deserves something better. It doesnt need to have the new best ride or new biggest ride in park, but something that dorney doesnt have that most other parks do. Like an indoor coaster, or a complete curcuit launching coaster, or a woodie cause thunderhawk is all theyve got and it is horrible. Anyway, the invertigo is better than nothing.

    1. Have to disagree with you about Possessed. That was probably my most favorite ride at Dorney when I visited there this summer. No, it wasn't the BEST ride there, but sitting in the backrow was pretty thrilling for me, especially when the breaks caught you the second time. And given its relatively small footprint, it would benefit a lot of parks. I'd rather have one of Intamin's impulse coasters than a standard boomerang any day.

      1. I would definitely pick an impulse over a boomerang, but i dont like them because they dont have a good layout, just a big U. They do offer great thrills, but a good coaster is one that has a unique layout that has turns and hills. I am not a big fan of shuttles and impulses, but I would pick an impulse over a boomerang for its smoothness and thrills. Steel Force is my favorite ride at Dorney.

        1. Which is why I'd turn to rides like Hydra, Talon, and Steel Force for the more traditional coaster thrills. Possessed throws a nice balance to the type of thrills the park has. And like I said, I especially like it because we don't have any shuttle-type rides whatsoever in Florida so it was a unique experience for me. I do agree that Dorney could use MORE traditional coasters and especially a woodie as Thunderhawk was pretty rough. But I definitely like the park's variety. They definitely don't need an Invertigo with Possessed already there. I agree with adding a closed-circuit launcher.

  8. Coaster Critic, whenver I go on your site it says "trojan horse blocked" and "threat has been detected" the infected files are JS:IFrame-DK (Trj) you need to sort this out because it keeps happening.

  9. One word for ANY Vekoma coaster: OUCH!!!

    They are tick rides. Check it off the list and then avoid riding it ever again at all costs. Inverted, SLC, flying, it doesn't matter.

    O U C H ! ! !

  10. I found Kings Island's Invertigo a reasonable ride in the middle but head-bangy (is that a word?) in the front seat. I enjoyed the middle seat ride but found the front seat painful.

    I've been on two Giant Inverted Boomerangs – SFMM's Deja Vu and Silverwood's Aftershock. The latter is claimed to have almost no maintenance issues but it was completely refurbished after they bought it from Six Flags. It's a great ride, not rough although not something you could marathon all day.

    As for the SLC's, the less said about them the better.

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