Batman: The Dark Knight (formerly Batman: The Ride) is a

steel Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistant ty ...

floorless roller coaster A Floorless Coaster is a type of steel roller coaster manufactured by Bolliger & Mabillard where riders sit with no floor underneath them, allowing their feet to swing freely just above the track. Development of the Floorless Coaster model began ...

Bolliger & Mabillard Bolliger & Mabillard, officially Bolliger & Mabillard Consulting Engineers, Inc. and often abbreviated B&M, is a roller coaster design consultancy based in Monthey, Switzerland. The company was founded in 1988 by Walter Bolliger and Claude Mabil ...

located in the Gotham City section of

Six Flags New England Six Flags New England, formerly known as Gallup's Grove (1870–1886), Riverside Grove (1887–1911), Riverside Park (1912–1995) and Riverside: The Great Escape (1996–2000), is an amusement park located in Agawam, Massachusetts, a western s ...

. The roller coaster has of track, reaches a maximum height of and features five inversions. The coaster was released to the public on April 20, 2002. In 2008, the ride's name was changed to ''Batman: The Ride'' to avoid confusion with Six Flags New England's installation of

The Dark Knight Coaster The Dark Knight Coaster is the name of three enclosed steel roller coasters located at Six Flags Great Adventure, Six Flags Great America, and Six Flags México. They opened in 2008 and 2009, timed closely to the theatrical release of ''The Dar ...

that was planned to be built at the park, but after the project was cancelled, the ride's name reverted to Batman: The Dark Knight.

History

Batman: The Dark Knight was announced to the public in February 2002, though construction had started in September 2001. After construction and testing was completed by Martin & Vleminckx, the ride officially opened on April 20, 2002. In 2007, Six Flags announced that three

roller coasters would be built at

Six Flags Great Adventure Six Flags Great Adventure is an amusement park located in Jackson, New Jersey. Owned and operated by Six Flags, the park complex is situated between New York City and Philadelphia and includes a water park named Six Flags Hurricane Harbor, Hu ...

, Six Flags Great America and

. Because Batman: The Dark Knight's name was so similar to the new roller coaster, it was temporarily renamed Batman: The Ride to avoid confusion with the upcoming attraction. However, as construction on the new roller coaster progressed, the city of Agawam forced Six Flags to stop construction after it was discovered the park had not received the appropriate construction permits. In April 2008, Six Flags cancelled the project due to the delays and so the name was reverted to Batman: The Dark Knight.

Ride experience

Plaza

Riders enter a plaza with an arched entrance, where they see the Batman logo covering the ground with Gotham theming. Riders then wind through either the Flash Pass queue directly to the station or the regular standby queue. When attendance is high, an extra switchback section is used.

Layout

Once the

train In rail transport, a train (from Old French , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles that run along a railway track and Passenger train, transport people or Rail freight transport, freight. Trains are typically pul ...

is ready to dispatched, part of the

station Station may refer to: Agriculture * Station (Australian agriculture), a large Australian landholding used for livestock production * Station (New Zealand agriculture), a large New Zealand farm used for grazing by sheep and cattle ** Cattle statio ...

's floor is lowered. The train then departs and immediately begins to climb the

lift hill A lift hill, or chain hill, is an upward-sloping section of track on a roller coaster on which the roller coaster train is mechanically lifted to an elevated point or peak in the track. Upon reaching the peak, the train is then propelled from th ...

. Once at the top, the train goes through a pre-drop before making a sharp downward left turn back to the ground. When the train reaches the bottom, it then enters a

vertical loop The generic roller coaster vertical loop, where a section of track causes the riders to complete a 360 degree turn, is the most basic of roller coaster inversions. At the top of the loop, riders are completely inverted. History The vertical ...

. Upon exiting the loop, the train then rises back up and goes through a

dive loop Roller coaster elements are the individual parts of roller coaster design and operation, such as a track, hill, loop, or turn. Variations in normal track movement that add thrill or excitement to the ride are often called "thrill elements". Comm ...

. The train then makes a 180 degree left turn through the loop before going through a set of trim brakes. Next, the train enters a

zero-gravity roll This list of roller coaster elements contains the individual parts of roller coaster design and operation. Introduction Roller coaster elements are the individual parts of roller coaster design and operation, such as a track, hill, loop, or turn. ...

followed by a right turn leading into interlocking corkscrews. After exiting the first corkscrew, the train makes a left turn before going through the second corkscrew. The train then makes another left turn into the final

brake run A brake run on a roller coaster is any section of track meant to slow or stop a roller coaster train. Brake runs may be located anywhere along the circuit of a coaster and may be designed to bring the train to a complete halt or to simply adjust ...

which leads back to the station. One cycle of the ride lasts about 2 minutes and 20 seconds.

Track

The steel box track of Batman: The Dark Knight is approximately long and the lift is tall. It was manufactured by Clermont Steel Fabricators located in

Batavia Batavia may refer to: Historical places * Batavia (region), a land inhabited by the Batavian people during the Roman Empire, today part of the Netherlands * Batavia, Dutch East Indies, present-day Jakarta, the former capital of the Dutch East In ...

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

who manufactures

's roller coasters. The track is colored purple (with blue rails) while the supports are black.

Trains

Batman: The Dark Knight operates with two steel and fiberglass trains. Each train has seven cars that can seat four riders in one row for a total of 28 riders per train. The trains have similar colors as the track, the seats are purple and uses black over-the-shoulder restraints. The black restraints replaced the yellow shoulder harnesses that were in place when the ride opened.

References

External links

Batman - The Dark Knight website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Batman - The Dark Knight Roller coasters introduced in 2002 Roller coasters operated by Six Flags Steel roller coasters Six Flags New England Batman in amusement parks 2002 establishments in Massachusetts Warner Bros. Global Brands and Experiences attractions Floorless Coaster roller coasters manufactured by Bolliger & Mabillard