TOGO

TOGO was a Japanese roller coaster design company, famous for inventing the stand-up roller coaster. TOGO went bankrupt in the early 2000s due to a lawsuit by Knott's Berry Farm for problems with their Windjammer roller coaster. TOGO is also credited with creating the first working pipeline roller coaster, the Ultra Twister. TOGO has had quite the reputation among enthusiasts for rough, even painful rides. Unfortunately, a TOGO coaster in Japan was the cause of death of a young woman, after the seats of the car became detached from the wheel bogey. She was killed when her seat slammed into the railing of a catwalk running alongside the track.

TOGO's first roller coaster was the Roller Coaster at Hanayashiki Amusement Park in Japan.

Notable Rides

*Fujiyama - A hypercoaster at Fuji-Q Highland, Japan. Until 2000, it was the tallest roller coaster in the world.
*King Cobra - A looping stand-up roller coaster. Built at Kings Island and has since been disassembled in storage at the park since 2002. Another TOGO looping stand-up roller coaster, Shockwave, continues to operate (as of 2008) at Kings Dominion and features a similar layout to King Cobra as does SkyRider at Canada's Wonderland
*Windjammer Surf Racers at Knott's Berry Farm - a twin racing coaster with 65-foot vertical loops. The coaster was a massive failure, and part of the lawsuits would lead to TOGO's bankruptcy.
*The Roller Coaster at New York-New York Hotel & Casino (first opened in 1997 as the "Manhattan Express").
*Ultra Twister - A pipeline roller coaster that uses single cars that ride between the rails. Because of the design, the cars are unable to make lateral turns and require switch tracks at either end of the ride.
*Viper at Six Flags Great Adventure - A roller coaster that featured a unique heartline roll. The ride was scrapped in 2005, and its station was re-used for El Toro