Q: Why does Six Flags love Vekoma Boomerangs?

Buy 30 and get 10 for 1/2 price discount!

I like boomerangs, and kinda wish my home park had one.

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Rob Ascough said:
Because they're better than the Arrow loopers that they were installing in the late 80's?

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Arrow is da ****... No way is a Boomerang better then an Arrow.

A: Because they are better then the crap they call SLC's. Now those are worse.

Katie

A: To keep away whiny enthusiasts ... it's not working well

I like them, especially Two Face: The Flip Side at SFA. They are a lot of fun, and cheaper than the usual coaster. The only thing that stinks about them is that you can only have one train, so you have to wait longer.

Maximum coaster inversion/thrill value on minimal footprint and minimal pricetag.

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DawgByte II said:
A: They bought the Boomerang at Sams Club & they only come in packs of 12.

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ha

After boarding a Boomerang train, riders are pulled backwards to the top of a nearly vertical 12-story tower and then released to plummet at nearly 50 miles per hour down a steep hill. They turn and go through two corkscrew turns and a vertical loop, flipping upside down three times. Riders then head up another nearly vertical 12-story tower where the whole trip begins again... in reverse!

A. They fit in well with an organization that has no idea whether it's coming or going.

First, I *love* RGB's answer to the question! :)

On to my post: I do NOT consider Invertigos or GIBs to be the same thing at all as your stadard Boomerang. I will always give ONE lap to any coaster that's new-to-me. Some Boomerangs clearly are better than others....

Invertigos (like PKI's, SFA's, or PGA's) are clearly the superior ride IMO. If a park doesn't already HAVE a "feet-dangly ride", then an Invertigo isn't a bad idea. WAY less headbanging than the sitdown models.

Vus, OTOH, are the "jumped-the-shark" version, and are rife with operational, mechanical, and even logisitical headaches. Even during enthusiast events, the seating configuration proved tricky. SFoG has the correct answer to Vu: We'll spend our maintenance time and effort on it when EVERYTHING else is ready to open for the public, then we'll open and staff Vu if we can...

As for the standard (i.e., sit-down) Boomerangs, they ARE inexpensive, small, loopy, and for some reason most of the GP is willing to accept the beating that the rides dish out...

*** Edited 6/6/2005 9:55:13 PM UTC by rollergator***

I agree Gator. Invertigos and Boomerangs are two quite different rides despite the similarities in their layouts. In addition to being much better rides, Invertigos also are quite different mechanically.

How many Boomerangs did SF actually install though?

Not counting inverted...

Kentucky Kingdom had their's prior to purchase.

SFO, or WOA or GL had their's prior to purchase by SF.

SFNew England's came from KK, so it was not purchased by SF specifically for the park.

SFOT obviously was a SF purchase.

SFDL... wasn't that pre-SF?

What others?

Shaggy

I like boomerangs very well, in Europe i've do 3 boomerangs. The one in SixFlags Holland, the SixFlags belgium one and the one in Bellewaerde

Elitch Gardens has a boomerang.

40% [8 of 20] Six Flags parks in the US have Boomerangs: SFDL, SFEG, SFFT, SFMW, SFNE, SFNO, SFoT, and Great Escape.

43% [3 of 7] Cedar Fair parks have Boomerangs: Geauga Lake, Knotts, and WoF.

So who's the Boomerang lover now?

edited...thanks RGB! *** Edited 6/8/2005 3:37:27 AM UTC by Mamoosh***

Hehe, I've ridden 4 of the SF Boomerangs, and 3 of the CF ones....so I guess it (the Boomerang lover) is ME? Arrrrrgggghhhh! ;)

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SFDL... wasn't that pre-SF?

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It was before SF was branded, but it was still a premier parks / six flags owned park at the time

-- alan jacyszyn *** Edited 6/7/2005 7:12:19 PM UTC by SFDL_Dude***

It's not just Six Flags that likes Boomerangs. Take Paramount Canada's Wonderland: The Bat (a Vekoma Boomerang), is the tallest coaster in the park. Last season, PCW attracted 3.4 million guests. Cedar Point only had 3.2 million guests, but has 8 coasters that top The Bat's 116 vertical feet.

It ain't how big your stick is, it's how you swing it!

^ That and the fact that they offer a general admission for the adjacent waterpark (which gets slammed)

OTOH, PCW is probably the most popular Boomerang in the world. That thing has always got a line.