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Andy Warhol once said "The idea of waiting for something makes it more exciting". 




Coaster enthusiasts and Kings Island fans waited a lot longer than a very cold and snowy winter for Banshee.  In 1992 when Bollger & Mabillard blew the coaster worlds mind with Batman: The Ride the worlds first inverted looping coaster at Six Flags Great America.  Batman was revolutionary and quickly captured the worlds attention.  Customers flocked to Six Flags Great America in droves and seeing that huge success major amusement parks around the world beat down B&M's doors wanting one of these amazing rides for their park.  Park after park added a B&M Inverted coaster and everyone knew that soon (then Paramounts) Kings Island would have one the next year.



The years ticked past, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996 and so on and so on and no B&M Inverted for Kings Island.  In 1999 Paramounts added Invertigo; a Vekoma Inverted Boomerang coaster.  Invertigo may be a fun ride but any enthusiast with a decent number of coasters under their belt knows that Invertigo pales in comparison to one by Walter and Claude. 



Y2K came and went and more parks added B&M Inverted coasters but nothing for Kings Island.  Every once in a while a rumor would pop up saying it was finally coming but year after year no B&M for Kings Island.  In 2006 the last new B&M Inverted coaster was built in North America when Patriot opened at Worlds of Fun in Kansas City (Goliath at Six Flags Fiesta Texas was a used ride when it opened in 2008). 



Inverted coasters were not the hot new fashionable rides anymore as floorless, flying, wingrider coasters from B&M in their time became the big new attraction so it wasn't a stretch to think that we've seen the last of the new B&M's Inverteds here in the US.    



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Paul B. Drabek