Diabolik

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Diabolik

Two-Face: The Flip Side at Six Flags America in 2007

Movieland Park
Location	Lago di Garda, Veneto, Italy
Coordinates	45°28′38″N 10°43′34″E / 45.477254°N 10.726019°E / 45.477254; 10.726019
Status	Operating since 24 April 2015
Rider height	120 cm minimum

Six Flags America
Name	Two-Face: The Flip Side
Location	Upper Marlboro, Maryland, USA
Coordinates	38°54′32″N 76°46′18″W / 38.908963°N 76.771692°W / 38.908963; -76.771692
Operated	8 May 1999 to 16 October 2007
Replaced	Python
Replaced by	Ragin' Cajun

Statistics

Manufacturer

Vekoma

Product

Invertigo

Type

Steel - Inverted - Shuttle - Semi-Backwards

Riders per train

28

Area

86 metres × 30 metres

Height

40 metres

Top speed

80.5 km/h

Length

309 metres

Track inversions

3

Rider inversions

6

Duration

1:30

G-Force

5.0

Diabolik is a steel inverted shuttle roller coaster located at Movieland Park in Lago di Garda, Veneto, Italy. The ride was previously located at Six Flags America in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, USA, where it was called Two-Face: The Flip Side. It is an Invertigo unit built by Vekoma.

History

Built in 1999 (after Adventure World was rebranded by Premier Parks in 1998), it was two of the three rides to be built by Six Flags (Roar being the first and Joker's Jinx being the other) for their newly rebranded park. The ride was built and manufactured by Vekoma as a Boomerang Invertigo model, with the theming of the Batman villain Two-Face (Harvey Dent), the first and only Six Flags ride to be themed to him. Unlike other Six Flags parks that featured regular models of the Boomerang design, called Boomerang: Coast to Coaster, this ride featured an orange colored track and teal beam supports. It was also the only Invertigo model to operate at a Six Flags park. The ride was located in the park's Southwest Territory area and was located on the spot previously occupied by Python, an Arrow Development launched loop which closed the previous year.^[1] For eight years, the ride remained popular and suffered few malfunctions. Besides a major stall in August 2003, the ride had not featured any type of major malfunction as that of October 2007. The ride was closed following its 2007 incident on October 16, 2007.

For the 2008 season, the ride did not operate while the investigation continued, although due to the many breakdowns of the ride, it was put up for sale on International Rides Management and was eventually bought by an unknown client.^[2] By 2009, the ride had been dismantled and removed from the park and the site remained vacant with a video game advertisement and the former station. In 2014, Ragin' Cajun replaced the ride as part of the retheme from Southwest Territory to Mardi Gras.

After sitting around in storage for many years, Two-Face: The Flip Side was eventually shipped out of the USA, being sold and relocated to Movieland Park in Italy.^[3] It was repainted blue and renamed Diabolik. The ride had a new theme based on the Italian comic book character Diabolik. Diabolik opened to the general public on 24 April 2015, nearly eight years after it closed at its original location. Diabolik also features on board audio featuring Diabolik and other characters from the comic.

Design

Elements
Chain lift hill Cobra roll Vertical loop Chain lift hill

Color scheme

Blue track and supports.

Trains

Single train with 7 cars. In each car, riders are arranged 2 across in 2 rows, for a total of 28 riders per train.

Incidents

In 2003, the train stalled on one of the lift hills leaving riders stranded for two hours due to an apparent electrical fault.^[4]

On October 16, 2007, the ride unexpectedly stopped on one of the lift hills. When one of the ride attendants attempted to rescue the riders, the train unintentionally moved back into the station and ripped a pipeline that carried hydraulic fluid. This hot fluid sprayed onto the faces of 12 riders, causing minor injuries that required two people to go to a local hospital. In addition, ten victims were treated at the scene for back and neck injuries. Before the fluid sprayed, one of the riders used their cell phone to dial 911 in request of assistance from Prince George's County rescue teams. Park officials stated that the ride had been inspected that same day and was clear of any problems; however, Maryland investigators said that the newer technology of roller coasters of the 2003 era feature technology that is more difficult to comprehend than older models, thus making it almost impossible to find the cause of the incident. Maryland's Department of Labor, Licensing, and Regulation ordered the closure of the ride including retaining the certificate of operation for the ride, until the ride could be proven safe, which never occurred. Eventually it was noted that a safety sensor had malfunctioned and caused the coaster to stall and unexpectedly jolt back to the station.