[Music]
in 1992 a brand new type of roller
coaster made its debut
the first time a train would perform
inversions while under the track
an idea that became so successful it
would launch a young company
b m to the top tier of roller coaster
design
based on one of the most iconic comic
book characters of all time
batman the ride would be such a hit that
it would not open at just one park
or even two it will be cloned around the
world
over 10 times
if the world's only suspended outside
looping through ride
one rider said it felt like being in the
cockpit of a jet fighter plane
[Music]
batman the ride covers more than a half
mile of crack in about two minutes
even with a long wait riders felt this
was worth it
where are you i'm batman
[Music]
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[Music]
you ask me what's up doc okay i'll show
you what's up look up
for fun look up everyone it's marriott's
great america time warner
parent company of warner brothers were a
major influence at great america
since the beginning of the park's
existence through the licensing of the
looney tunes characters
when six flags finalized the purchase of
great america
from mario in 1984 it resulted in them
gaining the rights to use the warner
brothers
looney tunes characters in all other six
flags parks
by 1990 six flags were on the verge of
bankruptcy
and time warner would continue to buy
shares to the point that in 1991
they owned half the company this new
majority owner would not only provide an
increase of cash to spend on the park
but also the use of further warner
brothers characters
from quite a distance away you can hear
the screams from the brave riders who
are at six flags great america to be
among the first to experience the iron
wolf
after the success of the very first
boliga and mabilar coaster
stand up roller coaster iron wolf in
richie rich's garden
wait sorry at 6'5 great america in 1990
the park wanted more and would once
again turn to the young company
b m with a combination of teams working
together
warner brothers b m and six flags great
america general manager
jim wintrod would come up with a brand
new design for a roller coaster
jim went to bnm with an idea a roller
coaster where the trains would hang
under the track one that would be
capable of inversions
trains hanging under the track were not
new with suspended roller coasters
featuring swinging cars
when we come up with an idea for a new
thrill ride or screen maker if you will
such as a suspended coaster one of the
first things that we do
is we come up with an artist's
conception of the ride then many times
we find that
to check the ride dynamics we make a
scale model such as this
pete can you let it drop now
arrow even attempted to add a corkscrew
on their prototype originally
but unsurprisingly this didn't continue
any further
with help from engineer robert mamp dnm
would flesh out the design that would
become
known as the inverted roller coaster
rather than the train sitting on top of
the track
it would hang beneath the track design
would continue using the staple square
box track that the company had used in
the past
the trains under the track would not
swing instead they will remain
fixed in place and be quite similar to
the b m stand-up trains in essence
a unique aspect was that this new type
of roller coaster wouldn't need a zero
car
at the front of the train this is a
section ahead of the first seats to
stabilize a connection to the front axle
and is rigidly linked to the second car
to provide the wheelbase from which the
cars follow
on this brand new type of train all
inverted coasters were designed so that
seats could hang from the zero car
increasing the capacity and making the
front train
mean the very front well except one
i'm looking at you alpen geist a moving
metal floor was designed to give the
clearances
under riders feet to safely move the
train along while making the comfier
seats easy to get into
many promotions at the time compared the
ride seats to ski lift style seating
our guests hang below the track in high
speed chairlift type vehicles
similar to what you'd find at a ski area
as they whirl over
and around gotham city see the ride's
lift hill would have a much bigger track
spine section to hide the chain return
pusher tires will be used here after
leaving the station
to slow the approaching train to the
same speed of the lift hill as well as
engage the anti-roll backs
for the theme with warner brothers now
owning six flags
there was only one obvious tie-in
the batman was created by bob kane and
bill finger
when in 1939 dc comics were looking for
a new superhero
one that could build on the success of
their earlier comic mega hit
superman he will become a tv hit in the
1960s when adam west would don the cape
while there were two films in the 1940s
and an
adaption of the tv show as a film in
1966
it will be the 1980s when batman would
once again
become a mainstream mega hit on the
silver screen
warner brothers studios would produce
the first of a set of films
directed by tim burton and starring
michael keaton in the main role
the film just titled batman released in
1989
and would be a hit wait wrong batman
this version will gross over 400 million
dollars
and for many is seen as the best
portrayal of batman
ever seen on screen of course though it
isn't
that honor obviously goes to batman and
robin
the best of the best batman movie it's
all about those bat nipples
never leave the cave without him i'm
kidding it is terrible
hi frieze i'm batman however this wasn't
the first attempt to bring a batman
roller coaster to a theme park
after the success of the first movie
very early in development of cartoon
world or what would later be known as
ireland's
adventure one of the cartoon lands was
planned to be based around gotham island
and feature everyone's favorite bat
referred to as project x was being
prepared to try and compete further with
disney
and what better way to do that than with
cartoons
dc superhero land will be split between
superman and batman
batman would potentially get a show
maybe a joker attraction
as well as a batman roller coaster known
as
batwing batman vs the penguin to tie in
with the upcoming batman returns
the second movie that was set to be
released in 1992
it would be a dueling coaster where you
could ride either in batman's
batwing or penguins penguin
each would have their own loading
stations themed to the characters
and the two suspended coasters would
interact throughout the course
appearing to fight there were tons of
concepts thrown around for what would
come to the dc
land from catwoman's lair to a
riddler-themed area
and even a nightclub sadly universal and
warner brothers could not agree to terms
for using their rights
firstly due to profits as well as the
fact that they would have to compete
with a rival studio theme park
the fully fledged concepts didn't help
and all the plans that have been drawn
up were cancelled and by 1993
the deal was officially dead the plans
for the second universal part were
modified
and eventually would open with marvel
rather than dc
to six flags or disneyland a dog's view
we all know disneyland's a great place
to visit but if you don't have time for
the trip this year consider the
alternative
six flags bigger
faster
[Music]
closer no matter where you live there's
one nearby
plus you get home in time to feed your
dog no such issues will be present for
the parks the company would actually own
at the time
that revolutionary prototype roller
coaster will be coming
to six flags great america in illinois
for the park's 17th
season themed to the batman the new ride
was to be on the location of tidal wave
a schwarzkopf shuttle loop roller
coaster
located in a narrow strip of land in the
middle of the park
tidal wave was removed in 1991 and
eventually sent her over georgia
as viper and work began on the brand new
b
m inverted coaster the ride's layout
would specifically be designed to fit
into great america
the track and supports were painted
black while the seats were purple
and restraint yellow all classic batman
colors
this after all was his new vehicle b
m squeeze 2 700 feet of track in the
small space
batman the ride begins by heading up a
100 foot lift hill
and starts with a classic b m pre-drops
before quickly dropping to the left in a
curve in first drop
heading into that 77 foot tall vertical
loop
the next element was another first the
zero g
roll a very tight barrel roll that makes
riders feel a moment of weightlessness
sometimes called a heartlight spin this
is followed by a second vertical loop
and a tight spiral and more turns before
two corkscrews
known by bnm as a flat spin the tight
compact layout doesn't slow down
throughout reaching speeds of 50 miles
per hour
this was a unique six flags roller
coaster because it was
actually quite well themed while the cue
was at least
the designers feel the ride reflects the
legend of batman
it approximates the sort of high-tech
gadgets that batman would build in other
words
if batman ever built a thrill ride this
is what it would look like
riders enter gotham city park a pretty
park and relaxing atmosphere but as the
queue continues so you begin to see the
serious side of gotham
graffiti and junk everywhere as well as
a bullet-filled police car
heading into the sewers and taking a
wrong turn emerging in the bat cave
a large batman logo is on the ceiling
and the bat suit replica from the 1989
film is located on the unload side of
the station
on opening when the train left the
station blasts of fog would rise up out
of the floor
each employee operating the ride even
more butler tuxedos to represent the
fact they were bruce wayne's household
staff
what'd you guys think of the ride what'd
you think it was great
best coaster you've been on anything the
best yet you guys gonna go again
okay let's go again we're going again
we're going again
opening on may 9 1992 it kicked off the
batman summer spectacular at six flags
time warner heavily promoted their new
ride on their tv channel
mtv and in magazines such as
entertainment weekly
for the opening media guests were given
a purple gym bag
filled with batman goodies such as a
watch t-shirt
and other six flags items along with a
chance to ride
sounds like a real party cool party
the ride was a huge success described as
one of the smoothest
but most frightening looping rides in
existence
proof that new frills could still be
created through innovative
coaster design one newspaper said about
the ride
this is the first and only suspended
outside looping
nothing below your chair but air roller
coaster
there's nothing like it on earth not
even
at disney other parks around the world
cancelled whatever they were working on
to try and get their hands on the latest
and greatest
brand new roller coaster design before
the ride's first season had ended
over 1 million people had rode batman
the ride at great america
the ride could fit in a very small
footprint and six flags wanted to
recapture the magic of this ride
elsewhere in 1993 six flags great
adventure would get an inverted roller
coaster
replacing lightning loops the park
announced in 1992
an inverted high-tech chairlift style
vehicle roller coaster will be heading
to the park
as the batman stunt show had been the
biggest hit of the summer
they would call their new ride batman
the ride
it will be a 105 foot tall inverted
coaster
that was exactly the same as the world's
most exciting new roller coaster that
had come the year before
a few minor tweaks were made including
the q experience
but otherwise it would be exactly the
same and just like the year before
it was once again a hot addition to the
park
i find that unlikely what do you say we
heat things up
my passion thoughts for my bride alone
1994
six flags would once again get another
inverted roller coaster
this time at magic mountain called
batman the ride the biggest hit of the
summer
an inverted high-tech chairlift style
vehicle roller coaster
yeah it was again the same ride now on
the west coast
but the next six flags inverted bay m
would come to saint louis
in 1995 to coincide with batman forever
it would also be called batman right the
next biggest hit of the summer
an inverted high-tech chairlift style
vehicle roller coaster
hold on let's chill
yeah i think you get what i'm trying to
say here they clone the ride at each of
the parks
sometimes mirrored but essentially the
same i could keep this going
but let's speed this up a little it also
came to over georgia in 1997
to coincide with batman and robin
[Music]
seriously those bat nipples
over texas in 1999 and the final batman
the ride installation
at six flags new orleans in 2003.
this one had been relocated from thrill
valley in japan
where it was known as gambit from 1995
to 2002.
it would only operate for two seasons
before sadly hurricane katrina destroyed
the park
after standing but not operating for two
years in flood waters
it was removed and relocated to fiesta
texas
where it is known as goliath the track
being located high off the ground had
luckily saved this version of the ride
oh and if you thought the mr freeze
clips were a lot here
just wait till i cover reverse blast
[Music]
texas would actually have three nearly
identical
inverted coasters with another clone of
the rye being known as great white at
sea world san antonio
other versions without the batman name
included japan getting a version in 1994
canada in 2002 one in kuwait which was
one of the few closed b
m's to ever exist and finally another
called batman the escape in spain the
original version was repainted yellow in
2004
and continues today to be a popular
attraction even though
more thrilling versions of the inverted
coaster have been created
since between 2013 and 2015
select versions of the ride operated
backwards
this most recently happened at six flags
saint louis
in 2018. the ride behind us illustrates
the synergy of time warner and six flags
that we're able to create an entirely
new experience it probably has never
existed in the theme park
with the every element of a thrill ride
i mean this is the most exciting ride
just probably the
big daddy of them all now combined with
probably the most
exciting entertainment franchise batman
in 1992
six flags and b m created the most
cloned roller coaster
in the world batman the ride would
propel the relatively unknown
b m to the forefront of the coaster
industry
the inverted coaster was high capacity
low maintenance unique and just
plain fun there have been better
inverted roller coasters that have
followed
but batman the ride b m and six flags
great america
paved the way for them all to exist
some of the greats include nemesis that
other nemesis that isn't quite as good
as nemesis but still kind of fun
banshee montu dueling dragons black
mamba
silver bullet and many more in 1999
in south africa a new roller coaster
would open
located at gold reef city giovanola was
now making roller coasters for the south
still using that box style track that
had been designed
while b m had worked for them giovanola
would create one inverted roller coaster
for themselves
anaconda perhaps stories for other
expeditions
batman the ride received the american
coaster enthusiast coaster landmark
award in 2005.
bnm had created a revolutionary design
with unprecedented
intensity great pacing all while
remaining smooth
letting riders experience the thrills of
being a superhero
all while shouting i am batman
the ride
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we will see you next time
you