Shockwave (Six Flags Great Adventure)

Infobox roller coaster
name = Shockwave


caption =
location= Six Flags Great Adventure
type = Steel
type2= Stand-up
manufacturer = Intamin AG
designer = Intamin AG
model = Stand-up
status = Relocated
opened = 1990
closed = September 1992
height = 90
drop = 85
length = 2300
speed = 46
duration = 1:37
inversions = 1
height restriction = 54
rcdb_number= 52

"Shockwave" was a steel stand-up roller coaster located at Six Flags Great Adventure from 1990 until the Labor Day Weekend of 1992. It was previously located at Six Flags Magic Mountain from 1986 until January 1989. It was located at Six Flags AstroWorld and known as Batman The Escape from 1994 until 2005. Shockwave was designed by Intamin. The coaster featured one loop.

History

The ride was originally built in 1986 for Six Flags Magic Mountain where it was known as Shockwave. It was one of the first stand up roller coasters in the world. The coaster was a very popular attraction at Magic Mountain regardless of its roughness due to the positions of the restraints. At the time, Six Flags had a ride rotation program, in which some coasters would remain at a park for a couple years and then transferred to another park.

Late in 1988, the Shockwave was closed, in 1989 removed, and in 1990 relocated to Six Flags Great Adventure and opened there. At Magic Mountain, the former Shockwave location would be where the California Psyclone wooden twister coaster would be built in 1992.

At Great Adventure, the Shockwave would open a month into the 1990 season and be plagued with many technical difficulties. The ride continued to be quite rough but would have some of the longest lines in the park. At times Shockwave would not even open until 12:00 p.m. while the rest of the park opened at 10:00 a.m.

In June 1992, it was announced that Six Flags Great Adventure would add Batman The Ride, a then-state of the art steel inverted coaster for the 1993 season and begin building it on the then-current site of Lightnin' Loops. Lightnin' Loops would shut down at the end of July to be disassembled and for construction of Batman to begin. Then in August, the park would be told they would also be losing Shockwave, which closed right after Labor Day weekend.

Shockwave would be dismantled in September 1992, relocated to Six Flags AstroWorld in 1993, and reopened in 1994. The coaster was painted a blue shade of white and renamed and re themed "Batman The Escape". Many coaster fans nicknamed this coaster "Batman The Mistake".

When Six Flags Astroworld closed permanently, this coaster was moved to Darien Lake where it is currently in storage. That park was sold to PARKS Management along with several other Six Flags parks and this coaster was included with the sale. So the former Shockwave/Batman Escape is no longer owned by Six Flags and may be added to one of the parks owned by PARKS Management.

Influence on Future Coasters

Shockwave was one of the first standup coasters in the world. Another stand up looping steel coaster called "Shockwave" was built at King's Dominion by Togo but has no association with this coaster at all. In 1988, a rollercoaster designing company called Bolliger & Mabillard was formed by two former employees of Intamin. Their first project would be a stand-up steel looping rollercoaster. This coaster would be much smoother and had more comfortable restraints than Shockwave. This coaster would be located at Six Flags Great America and known as Ironwolf. Bolliger & Mabillard then began designing steel inverted coasters as well as Steel floorless coasters. These would be come world class and be state of the art coasters.

In 1996, B & M designed a stand up steel looping coaster for Cedar Point called Mantis and another one in 1998 for Six Flags Magic Mountain called Riddler's Revenge. Both of these were even larger than Ironwolf and smoother rides. Though B & M perfected the Stand up Steel looping coaster, Intamin's Shockwave was the original which makes the coaster an important development. Without the Shockwave, these other stand up rides would have never been made.

Facts

*The ride featured a 66 foot tall vertical loop.
*The ride was originally blue and black. It was painted white in 1994 but was re-painted yellow and black in 2004.

References