Invertigo (roller coaster)

Invertigo is a type of shuttle roller coaster manufactured by Dutch company, Vekoma. It is a variation on their traditional Boomerang design.

History
The first installation of an Invertigo roller coaster occurred at Liseberg in 1997. HangOver was originally scheduled to open in 1996 as a launched roller coaster, however, the technology at the time prevented this from occurring and forced the opening back by a year. On March 21, 1998, California's Great America opened a ride known simply as Invertigo. On April 17, 1999, Face/Off opened at Kings Island. It was originally themed after the 1997 Paramount Pictures film of the same name. On May 8, 1999, Two Face: The Flip Side opened at Six Flags America. It was themed after DC Comics' Batman rival, Harvey Dent A.K.A. Two-Face.

In 2002, HangOver at Liseberg closed and was relocated to Allou Fun Park the following year. The ride, however, was never set up there and was relocated to Sommerland Syd where it operated under the name Tornado from July 2, 2005.

In 2008, Face/Off at Kings Island was renamed to Invertigo following the park's initiative to remove Paramount themes from the park after being sold to Cedar Fair two years prior.

On January 27, 2011, California's Great America announced that Invertigo would be removed from the theme park and relocated to a different amusement park. Cedar Fair stated that a new attraction would be placed at the former location of Invertigo. California's Great America also announced Invertigo will be going to a new home in a different Cedar Fair park. Invertigo was removed and moved into storage in Allentown, Pennsylvania. While in storage, the track received a new teal paint scheme, with the supports remaining in royal blue. On August 30, 2011, Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom announced that they would be opening Stinger for the park's 2012 season. In November 2011, Dorney Park has completed construction for the coaster and in December they are building the station and queue. In early January 2012, the coaster has gotten electricity, and the entrance and queue area is nearing completion to be finished.

In 2011, Sommerland Syd's installation of Tornado closed with the ride currently being relocated to Bagatelle where it operates as Triops from June 30, 2012.

On February 13, 2012, Kings Island posted a picture of Invertigo getting a new paint scheme on their Facebook page. The ride now has aqua track and royal blue supports, similar to Stinger at Dorney Park.

Ride experience
Invertigo is an inverted version of the Vekoma Boomerang roller coaster where riders sit face-to-face, staring at fellow passengers through the course of the ride. The train completes the circuit twice running in the opposite direction as it returns to the station. This gives riders the opportunity to experience the ride in both directions moving forwards and backwards.

The ride begins when the train is pulled backwards from the station and up a 138 ft lift hill. It is held for several seconds before releasing riders into a 130 ft drop sending them 55 mph through the loading station. The train then enters a Cobra roll element that transitions into a vertical loop. Upon exiting the loop, the train climbs the second lift hill making it most of the way up on its own momentum. Once towed to the top, the train is quickly released sending riders through the ride in reverse before being caught by the first lift hill and returned to the loading station.