Invertigo is a Vekoma inverted shuttle coaster at Kings Island in Mason, Ohio, best known for seating riders in face-to-face rows as the train is launched backward and forward through a vertical loop and a cobra roll. It’s one of only four Invertigo-model coasters Vekoma ever built, making it a genuinely rare ride type in the modern coaster landscape.
The ride opened on April 17, 1999 as Face/Off, themed to the 1997 action film of the same name as part of the Paramount Parks era. When Cedar Fair acquired the park and stripped away movie branding, the coaster was renamed Invertigo on April 20, 2008. It got a fresh aqua-and-blue paint scheme in 2012, and after its sister ride Stinger closed at Dorney Park in 2017, Cedar Fair transferred those trains to Kings Island, making Invertigo the last of its kind still operating in the United States.
Stats at a Glance
- Park: Kings Island (Mason, Ohio)
- Manufacturer: Vekoma
- Model: Invertigo (inverted shuttle coaster)
- Opened: April 17, 1999 (as Face/Off); renamed Invertigo in 2008
- Height: 131.3 ft (40 m)
- Top speed: 50 mph (80 km/h)
- Length: 1,013.8 ft (309 m)
- Inversions: 3, each traversed twice (forward and backward)
The Ride Experience
Riders board in pairs of back-to-back rows so they face each other rather than the direction of travel, an unusual setup for a coaster of this style. The train is pulled backward up one spike, then released to launch forward through a vertical loop and a cobra roll before climbing the opposite spike. Gravity then sends it backward through the same elements in reverse, giving riders two very different perspectives on the same three inversions during the roughly 90-second cycle.
With over-the-shoulder restraints and forces reaching about 5 G, the ride is intense for its modest footprint, closer in feel to a compact thrill machine than its 1,013-foot track length would suggest.
From Face/Off to Invertigo
The coaster debuted as Face/Off, one of several Kings Island attractions themed to Paramount film properties during the park’s ownership by Paramount Parks. When Cedar Fair bought the Paramount parks chain in 2006, it began removing licensed movie theming, and the ride was rebranded Invertigo in 2008.
The coaster’s rarity grew after Dorney Park’s nearly identical Stinger was dismantled following the 2017 season. Rather than scrap the trains, Cedar Fair moved them to Kings Island for the 2018 season, leaving Invertigo as the only operating example of Vekoma’s four-unit Invertigo model left in the U.S.
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Invertigo FAQs
When did Invertigo open at Kings Island?
It opened April 17, 1999 as Face/Off, a movie-themed ride from the Paramount Parks era, and was renamed Invertigo on April 20, 2008.
Who manufactured Invertigo?
Vekoma, the Dutch ride manufacturer, built Invertigo as one of only four coasters of its specific inverted shuttle model.
How many inversions does Invertigo have?
It has 3 inversions, a vertical loop and a cobra roll, and riders experience each one twice since the train runs both forward and backward.
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Photo: HoodedBeast09 / CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.