The Ride
In 1992 B&M released a ride that would make people think of them when an inverted coaster was mentioned. The very first Batman The Ride opened in Gurnee Illinios an threw riders for a loop. More like five of them to be exact. B&M had introduced the first successful inverted coaster, but many said it couldn't be done. They were all proved wrong when Batman The Ride took it's first run on May 9, 1992. Since then Batman The Ride has proved to be a great space filler. It was installed at Six Flags Magic Mountain in 1994, Six Flags St. Louis in 1995, Six Flags over Georgia in 1997, and Six Flags over Texas in 1999. There are three other coasters that follow the Batman The Ride layout, Vampire at La Ronde, Warner Brothers Moive World as Batman The Ride, and the new installation of the Gambit coaster at Jazzland for 2003.
The Experience
Riders enter the queue line and walk through the estate of none other than Bruce Wayne. Guest then wind up in the Batcave and board the inverted coaster trains. Riders secure the over-the-shoulder restraint and begin the climb up the 105 foot lift hill. Batman then soars down a sweeping first drop and into the first inversion, the vertical loop. The trains dive out of the loop and into the zero-g roll. Then the riders find themselves going through a second vertical loop. Riders then make an upward-banked curve and into a flat spin. The spin exits over the entrance of the zero-g roll and enters a second quick flat spin. Riders feel one last moment of air time as they hit a final u-turn and enter the brakes.
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