Pipeline roller coaster facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Pipeline roller coaster
Ultra Twister at the defunct Six Flags Astroworld, a TOGO pipeline coaster
Status	Discontinued
First manufactured	1984
No. of installations	12
Manufacturers	TOGO Arrow Dynamics Intamin
Riders per row	2
Restraint Style	Over-the-Shoulder

A pipeline roller coaster is a special kind of roller coaster. Unlike most coasters where the cars ride on top of the track, pipeline coasters have their cars running between the tracks. Imagine the track as a tube, and the cars are inside it! This unique design gives riders a different feeling. The idea first came from a Japanese company called TOGO. They created a model called the Ultratwister. Other companies like Arrow Dynamics and Intamin also tried to make their own versions of this exciting ride.

The Story of Pipeline Coasters

Early Designs by TOGO

The very first pipeline roller coasters were made by a company called TOGO from Japan. They named their design the "Ultratwister." The first two of these exciting rides opened in 1986. One was in Tokyo, Japan, at Tokyo Dome City. The other was in the United States, at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, New Jersey. Both were called "Ultra Twister."

TOGO's Ultratwister rides had some cool features. They started with a steep hill that lifted the cars up. Then, riders would go through three "heartline rolls." A heartline roll makes you feel like you're spinning around your own heart! Some of these rides even had a special track section. This section would tilt the cars and send them through part of the ride backwards! One special Ultratwister at Rusutsu Resort had a "dive loop" instead of the backward section.

Other Companies' Attempts

Another company, Arrow Dynamics, also tried to create a pipeline roller coaster. They built a test version at their factory in Utah. In 1990, a famous ride designer named John Wardley worked with Alton Towers park to consider building one. However, after riding the test version, he didn't like how it felt. So, the park decided to build a different, very popular coaster called Nemesis instead.

Later, in 1996, a company called Intamin built their own pipeline coaster. It was called the "Spiral Coaster" and opened at Sky Plaza in South Korea. This ride moved to Al-Sha'ab Leisure Park in Kuwait in 2000. It stopped running in 2005 and was eventually taken down in 2017.

Where to Find Pipeline Coasters

Here is a list of some pipeline roller coasters that have been built: