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B&M's Old Dogs

Darren B

Darren B

Giga Poster
So Bolliger and Mabillard have brought out the Wingrider rollercoaster to bring their ride type count to 8, So what now does the future hold for their other 7 coaster types, specifically their sit-down looping model and their stand-up model (i think its safe to say that the floorless,flying,invert,hyper,diving models all have a bright future still ahead of them), Even though the floorless model was expected to replace the sit-down model there have still been 2 (3 if you count the Hulk which was the same year as Medusa at SFGA) that have been built since the debut of the floorless so does it still have a future?, And of course the stand-up model which we havent seen for 12 years now!

My personal opinion..... undecided, I have ridden Kraken and Dragon Khan and i enjoyed both equally, for me the floorless element of the ride didnt make a difference, So maybe we might see another sit-down model in the future. As for the stand-up model, I think this is less likely, And even if we were to see another one in the future my guess would be for a terrain layout (Scorcher,Iron wolf etc) rather than a larger looping model (Gl,Mantis,RR), But you never know, Everyone thought the Dive machine model was dead for many years so who really knows........... So lets discuss :)
 
I think if any park orders any of their coaster types they will build one. The only reason we haven't seen a stand-up is because simply no park has ordered one, im sure B&M will build one if someone orders one.

As for the sit-down and floorless coasters they are both very similar but I can't see B&M scrapping the sit-down concept or vice-versa.

What is going to be even more interesting is the B&M 4D, now the wingrider has arrived I believe it can only be a matter of time before B&M creates a 4D coaster.
 
The sit-down model has generally been ordered by small chains of parks or independent parks so there is no telling who may order in the future but the large chains have never ordered a sit-down model (Cedar fair,six flags etc), As for the stand-up? well they do have that in their favour, But generally speaking the production of the Floorless coaster put an end to the Stand-up coaster, especially in Six flags parks.

As for the 4D coaster... I hope it doesn't happen!! B&M are best left doing the simple things perfectly. And anyway i dont think the production of the wingrider 100% guarentees that the 4D is next on B&M's agenda and someone please correct me if im wrong but theve never gone on record to say they will produce a 4D, And to make a further point Intamin never developed their wingrider concept into a 4D design, To me the Zacspin was a completely different concept and was thought of before the wingrider.
 
I don't think B&M will discontinue their old models especcially the stand up as although TOGO do a similar model, The B&M model I think looks better, has better capacity, will be smoother and probably cheaper. The sit down has a lot of competition though and if they do stop making a model, I think it will be the sit down.
 
The only reason that I can imagine why they would discontinue a model would be that they no longer wish to devote time and resources to continue refining that model. I could see stand-ups going down this path, since they were very much a fad of the 80's and 90's and no park has even ordered one in 12 years.

But with that being said, why would they discontinue the sit-down? Even though it seems that most parks who have the space and money to order a B&M usually opt for one of their unique models (i.e. floorless, dive machine, inverted, flying), a sitting coaster is essentially identical from a design standpoint to a floorless, so as long as those are being offered, I'd imagine regular sitters will too.
 
They wouldn't stop the sit-downs, all manufacturers should have normal sit-downs,and they are still in demand. I think the stand up will be the first to go, there hasn't been a new one in ages, and I have a feeling the wing rider is gonna be in high demand...
 
I too believe that the stand-up may just be a thing of the past. In my personal opinion I like Riddler's Revenge but otherwise the stand-ups are kinda more painful than interesting (maybe because I'm tall). That has nothing to do with this discussion though. Honestly I just don't see parks ordering any more of them. As for the sit-down, they probably still have a significant future as I don't ever see them becoming obsolete. Even floorless, none since Dominator and although there may be a few more I think they are becoming much less prevalent. Inverters will never die haha and I think flying, hyper, and dive machines also still have plenty in store. No need to say anything about wing riders, they will be a big hit though. As for this discussion of 4D, eh, they don't need to even think about that yet and I would much rather when they do come up with a new model they make it unique.
 
There is currently a floorless coaster under construction in China ;) , But your right the constructions numbers are dwindling. I think it will be interesting to see how the wingrider develops..... it could potentially merge into the other coaster types, who's to say that they dont put wingrider trains on their Hyper models in the future? may sound far fetched now but its do-able.
 
I think the next "fad" of coasters will be either the flying type or the dive type...so I hope to see more great B&M models out!
 
Personally I'd really like to see a little more creativity with the dive machines. I like immelmans but that is the only inversion they have attempted with that design and I think there is so much more potential there. Also I really love B&M flying coasters like Tatsu in particular. They are no question better than Vekoma's and I really want to see more of these beauties.
 
^I think the problem with the Dive Machines is the size of the trains. It makes a lot of inversions difficult to do. Having said that, now they've pushed the wing-walker trains through some bigger inversions, we might see something new soon, but I'm not expecting much.
 
^ Yes, I agree with your point but I think they could go for dive loops (practically a reverse immelman) and maybe even some sort of in-line roll. Perhaps wishful thinking but sometimes that's what it takes...
 
At this point in the game, there's no point to B&M discontinuing their models. For instance, they haven't built a new stand-up since 1997.

It is all about catering to the client: whatever roller coaster model they are looking for, that they shall receive. Currently, trends are leaning towards vertical drops and tighter layouts. Trends change overtime, so B&M wants to be sure that all of their bases are covered.
 
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