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Revision as of 02:20, 30 November 2004 by 141.154.21.209 (talk)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)The floorless rollercoaster design is a modification of the standard multiple-inversion steel coaster that features cars with no bottoms for foot placement. This gives the rider a much more open feeling than the "looking out of a bathtub" view of older looping coaster trains. Once riders board the trains and lower the over-the-shoulder restraints, the floor that they walked on to board separates and drops away, leaving the track completely exposed when viewed from above. Due to this view, the front row of the floorless train is the place to be, since you see absolutely no part of the train and only the track rushing beneath your feet.
As of 2004, only Bolliger and Mabilliard is in the game of floorless coasters, and their designs employ a multi-inversion layout( usually 5-7), and the high capacity ( often 2-3 trains) makes them very smart investments for parkowners, and they are becoming more common with each passing year. Ranging in heights of 80 feet or so for a small one in Europe, to 168 feet at a park in Texas, these coasters offer a smoother ride than the older loopers, have very good reliability, and are often the fastest queues at the park when running all trains. The first floorless was Medusa; a 142 foot 7 inversion coaster at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson NJ. A tall, fast, and very smooth ride, it throws the rider through one inversion after another in rapid succession after a steep left hand dive from the crest of the hill. Most floorless coasters follow a pattern of drop-series of inversions-brake run-second set of inversions-brake run. A few custom layouts exist that offer different features. The 7 inversion 164 foot "Superman Ride of Steel" at Warner Brothers Movie World in Madrid Spain adds an airtime hill in place of a mid course brake run, and in 2005 Dorney Park near Allentown PA will open "Hydra the Revenge", a low compact ride that will utilise the terrain of the hill it stands on to produce perhaps the most exciting floorless design yet.
More of them are sure to follow, since they make an impressive skyline to a park, have good capacity, and offer a great return on investment due to their crowd pleasing designs and rare downtime.