originally posted on 7/21/2023
Photo: Samuel Di Bartolomeo. View full-sized image.
When Time Warner had its hands all over the Six Flags chain in 1992 and heavily invested in the Batman branding across the company, enthusiasts were enthralled with the original Bolliger & Mabillard inverted coaster, Batman The Ride, at Six Flags Great America (Gurnee, Illinois).
Before the previous millennium ended, there were Batman clones everywhere. Each was a solid installation and did well for its respective park. After numerous installations, it was easy for the well-traveled enthusiast to say, “Been there, done that.” Three decades later, the Batman concept served its purpose, but it is by no means “new.”
The Batman theme has been affixed to many different types of coasters across the last three decades, but Batman Gotham City Escape is the first example of it being used on Intamin’s new generation of LSM Launch Coaster.
Photo: Samuel Di Bartolomeo. View full-sized image.
Not even in Spain. When Parque Warner Madrid opened in 2002, its Batman clone was called Batman la Fuga, meaning “Batman the Escape”. When it toyed with the virtual reality (VR) trend in 2017, it was renamed Batman: Arkham Asylum. Now this year, it is Shadows of Arkham. Cool name, but why the removal of Batman from its title? Well, there’s a new Batman in town.
The Super Hero section of the park hasn’t had a lot of activity since the park was built (aside from the dalliance with VR). Now, Parque Warner Madrid has a spectacular new coaster if not a new name.
Parque Warner Madrid’s new ride is no doubt a Batman coaster, featuring ride vehicles resembling something the Caped Crusader would pilot through Gotham City.
Photos: Courtesy of Parque Warner Madrid. View full-sized image.
New for 2023 is Batman Gotham City Escape. A serious argument can be made that a phenomenal new coaster deserves more than a variation on a former name, but that debate can be postponed for another time.
This new ride is unlike any other Batman-themed coaster. The queue leads visitors into Wayne Manor. A sudden threat from the Joker causes an escape route to materialize, and guests travel down corridors to the Batcave and into a subway where an escape vehicle awaits.
That escape vehicle is a super-slick, 12-passenger Intamin train. (Three, to be exact.) This is the size and length of train that has thrilled riders on Cedar Point’s Maverick in Sandusky, Ohio, since 2007. However, these trains come with the new comfortable restraints universally acclaimed from enthusiasts everywhere. There is also onboard audio.
Batman Gotham City Escape utilizes short three-car trains to better negotiate its four inversions, including two corkscrews.
Photo: Samuel Di Bartolomeo. View full-sized image.
The ride itself is pointless to describe blow by blow, so, it is easier to talk about the highlights. Once dispatched from the station, riders are held in a tunnel on the first launch, as a Joker animatronic from Sally Dark Rides makes his threats from overhead. The first launch then sends riders into a corkscrew, the first of four inversions. The second launch sends riders up to 65 mph into the tallest part of the ride, the 147-foot-tall top hat. At the apex, magnetic brakes pause the trains just before the beyond-vertical drop. The rest is a delicious madness of curves, flips and another launch. Also, as a credit to its status as a signature attraction, the layout often flies through structures and darts into trenches or into buildings. Riders are breathless.
Similar to Intamin’s recent VelociCoaster installation at Universal’s Islands of Adventure (Orlando, Florida), Parque Warner Madrid’s new coaster includes a top hat with magnetic brakes to slow the train immediately before its largest drop.
Photo: Samuel Di Bartolomeo. View full-sized image.
The final inversion bears further discussion. Typically called a zero-G stall, on Batman Gotham City Escape, it traverses the element far differently than most. Usually, momentum is propelling riders through the inversion upside down at a nice clip. Here, it is more of a “hanging stall” than a zero-G stall. It’s unique. It differentiates itself from the element seen on Universal’s Islands of Adventure’s VelociCoaster in Orlando, Florida.
One of Batman Gotham City Escape’s 12-passenger trains navigates a prolonged, high-rising zero-G stall.
Photo: Samuel Di Bartolomeo. View full-sized image.
And then there’s the ending. Instead of just hitting the brake run, this Intamin jewel does something never really seen before. The magnetic brakes are curved upward into a spike. Trains are slowed while rising heavenward from below ground, and further slowed as they descend back down the spike. Interesting! A turntable moves the train back into the station.
Bravo, Intamin!
Needless to say, Batman Gotham City Escape is notable enough to deservedly place it high on most enthusiasts’ wish lists.
— Tim Baldwin, ACE News
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