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Favourite roller coaster inversions?

Matt N

Matt N

TS Member
Favourite Ride
Mako (SeaWorld Orlando)
Hi guys. There are all kinds of inversions on various rides out there, but I’d be intrigued to know; what are some of your favourite inversions on the coasters you’ve done?


I’ll get the ball rolling with some of my candidates:

  • The Swarm at Thorpe Park (Various) - In general, I just think Swarm has great inversions! My favourites, though, are the wing-over drop, the first zero-g roll and the final inline twist over the station; I love the epic hangtime you get on the wing-over drop, I love the lovely kick of sustained, floaty hangtime you get during the first zero-g roll, and I absolutely love the surprisingly forceful, sustained kick of what almost feels like inverted airtime during that final in-line twist! If I had to pick a favourite, I’d probably go with the final inversion, but I think all 3 are worthy of a mention!
  • Mine Blower at Fun Spot Kissimmee (Zero-g roll) - Mine Blower may only have one single inversion, but it’s a great one, in my opinion! This zero-g roll gives you a lovely kick of hangtime, and it’s also surprisingly sustained hangtime, which provides a great contrast to the more abrupt, erratic sensations throughout the rest of the ride, in my opinion!
  • The Smiler at Alton Towers (enclosed heartline roll) - I know that the one hidden inversion on Smiler isn’t exactly the prime candidate you’d typically think of for a favourite inversion on the ride when you have 14 inversions to pick from, but I’ll admit that I really like this inversion because I simply feel that it’s really well executed, and is just a very nice way to kick the ride off! It has a nice level of whip, yet is smooth and provides some very pleasant hangtime; the train goes through this element at just the right speed, such that the inversion isn’t uncomfortably slow, but also doesn’t pass through it too quickly, so that you get that nice level of comfortable whip, yet also get that lovely hangtime as well. I know you might be asking why Saw’s doesn’t make this as well, but Saw’s has never felt quite as nice to me, for some reason. On the whole, as much as Smiler isn’t my favourite coaster, I think they nailed the start of the ride, as this inversion is a great way to kick off the whole experience, in my opinion!
  • Shockwave at Drayton Manor (Zero-g roll) - This is possibly one of the most unique inversions I’ve ever experienced in terms of the sensation it provided, and I loved it! It kicks you off your seat with surprising force, and with it being a standup coaster, it added an entirely new sense of fear and thrill to the inversion! As much as Shockwave isn’t exactly my favourite coaster overall, the zero-g roll was a really unique, surprisingly fun sensation that I’ll admit I rather liked!
In terms of inversions I haven’t yet experienced; I’d love to try a zero-g stall at some point, as they look amazing, and the mosasaurus roll on VelociCoaster also looks sublime!


But what are some of your favourite inversions you’ve experienced?
 
MakoMania said:
Icon’s Immelmann with the airtime coming out of it is probably my favourite inversion. Perhaps because I’d nearly always take airtime over an inversion.
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Ah yes, I forgot about Icon’s Immelmann! That is a nice one, and would probably be up there, the more I think about it; I love the sharp pop of ejector you get coming out of it, and I also like the hangtime!

Oddly, though, Icon’s heartline roll didn’t seem to do too much for me compared to some other heartline rolls I’ve done; I don’t really remember it having any notable hangtime…
 
Lech has two of my favourite inversions; the sidewinder and the roll directly over the station. The seamless transitioning and the glass-smooth ride through both of them are superb, whilst the intensity generated at the exit to the former is ludicrous.

Steel Curtain's first drop is great as well. If it were much lower to the ground at that speed then it would be nothing to shout home about, but being suspended upside down at the height makes it far more enjoyable.

Also, I'm a sucker for pretzel loops on the B&M flyers. A moment of brutal intensity on the back row woven amongst some tranquil elements otherwise. Superb.
 
Zadra’s Zero G stall has to be up there for me. In the UK I’d probably lean towards icons Immelmann for the Hangtime and the Zero G roll on Nemesis for its aggression and whip.
 
Blue Fire's final inversion is just perfect. On the whole though, airtime moments tend to stand out more to me on coaster than inversions.

I'm sure some of the inversions on Steel Vengeance were pretty damn good, they're so smooth that you almost forget they're turning you upside down.
 
The vertical loops on Odyssey, Nemesis and any original Boomerang (back row in reverse). Also the heartline rolls on Saw and Colossus are cool.
 
+1 for Blue Fire's last inversion which is just absurd. "Is this innovation or a mistake" comes to mind.

I'm also a big fan of the extremely fluid sea serpent on the 2nd half of Smiler. It's a surprisingly rare element too, only found on a handful of other coasters, most of which are RnRC clones.

In terms of most reliably good element regardless of coaster, I'd go for the zero-g roll. I can't think of a single one that's not well-executed.
 
Can't remember the name of it, but it's that double concentrically loop feature on Thriller, Schwarzkopf genius there! Underrated IMO.
 
Vertical loops are my thing, shame they are often dropped in favour of new fangled stuff.

In no particular order, Full Throttle, Odyssey, Nemesis, Katun, Alpengeist, Dodonpa, Bullet, Dominator, MM Revolution.
 
The 270-degree double-inverting stall on Untamed!

Blue Fire's final inversion is a close second. :)
 
Another vote for the final inversion on Blue Fire. No idea were the speed it takes it at comes from.

The barrel rolls towards the end of Steel Vengeance, and the one at the end of Untamed.
 
I'm quite partial to loops, be it vertical or some Schwarzkopf almost circular stupidity. I'm yet to try a Pinfari loop yet, that might put me off forever.

I'm much more of a fan of inversions taken at speed, intensity is better than airtime in my book.
 
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