Invertigo (Kings Island)

Infobox roller coaster
name=Invertigo

---

caption=The cobra roll element.
location=Kings Island
section=Action Zone
type=Steel
type2=Shuttle
status=Operating
opened=April 17,1999
manufacturer=Vekoma
model="Invertigo"
lift=Chain lift hill
height=160
drop=138
length=1013
speed=55
inversions=6
duration=1:30
capacity=850
cost=$11 million
acceleration=50
gforce= 5
restriction=54
rcdb_number=530

Invertigo is an inverted shuttle roller coaster at Kings Island in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Invertigo was formerly known as FACE/OFF, themed to the Paramount Pictures film, but the name was changed upon the sale of Paramount Parks to Cedar Fair Entertainment Co.. Amongst most guests familiar with the park, the ride is still called FACE/OFF and is expected to be known that way for years. The official page on the King's Island website still describes the ride as an oppurtunity to "scream your face off", having been unaltered after the name change.

Invertigo is an inverted version of the Vekoma Boomerang coaster where riders sit face-to-face, staring at fellow passengers as they're put through the ride cycle and returned through it backwards (or forwards depending upon their initial direction). Because of it's location as the first ride guests encounter upon entrance and it's striking color scheme, it is one of Kings Island's more famous rides, and the waits tend to be a bit longer.

The ride is essentially the train being pulled out of the station backwards (though with the face-to-face seating arrangement, some riders are facing forward at this time). When the train reaches the apex of the hill, it is released forward, traveling into a cobra roll element (2 inversions) and one vertical loop, the excess speed spent as the car travels up a second hill parallel to the first. The train is then released backwards (or forwards for those facing backwards in the initial experience) through the loop and cobra roll into the station. As such, the ride structure includes three inversions, but by its very nature the roller coaster ride has six.

Ride Experience

The riders are firstly accelerated out of the station backwards onto the first lift hill backwards. At the top of this hill, the lift disengages and the train travels down the hill, through the station, and into the cobra roll element. Following the cobra roll is a vertical loop. The train then climbs the second lift hill. At the end of that hill, the lift disengages, and the train rolls backward through the loop and cobra roll back through the station and up onto the original hill, then back down into the loading area.

External links

* [http://www.kicentral.com/attractions/faceoff.php Kings Island Central information] - Alternate source of details and stats.
* [http://www.visitkingsisland.com/attractions/detail.cfm?ai_id=158 Kings Island official site - Invertigo]