Bolliger and Mabillard (B&M) was founded in 1988 by Walter Bolliger and Claude Mabillard. They had previously worked for Giovanola until a shake-up in management led them to start their own company. They had originally not planned to build roller coasters after leaving Giovanola. However, an old relationship with Robert Mampe who was Six Flags Great America’s staff engineer lured them back. That relationship would expand until they finally designed the roller coaster which made them who they are today.
Bolliger and Mabillard and Batman
This historically significant Roller Coaster was designed by the legendary designer Werner Stengel. The impact that Batman: The Ride at Six Flags Great America cannot be overstated. It truly feels like when looking at the history of roller coasters it is when Batman premiered in 1992 things were never the same. The model which is officially called the B&M invert became pretty much a needed coaster if you wanted your park to be taken seriously. Batman: the Ride has been cloned many times. However, almost everyone agrees that it is a great coaster. For this reason, the American Coaster Enthusiasts (ACE) awarded the original its Landmark status.
Bolliger and Mabillard and Oblivion aka the Dive Coaster
B&M didn’t create the inverted roller coaster with Batman. Yet, they did invent the Dive Coaster. The first of which was Oblivion for Alton Towers. Premiering in 1998 as their Secret Weapon 4. The cars have two rows with 8 seats in each row. When looking into great roller coasters Werner Stengel’s name comes up a bunch. So of course he designed this new concept for B&M. Not Surprisingly this has become one of their most famous Models.
Bolliger and Mabillard and the Floorless Coaster
The next innovation that B&M unleashed onto the world was the Floorless. Medusa opened in 1999 at Six Flags Great Adventure. The trick here is that instead of a train below your feet you instead see the track. Bolliger & Mabillard had another hit with this coaster type. On top of ground-up coasters with this design, they have converted some of the older stand-ups to a Floorless. Do I even need to mention again that Werner Stengel designed it? Medusa is still running strong just under the new name of Bizzaro.
B&M redefines the Flying Coaster
B&M wowed the theme park industry again with this new Flying Coaster. This time as Galactica for Alton Towers. For those keeping score this was Secret Weapon number 5. Shockingly Werner must have been exhausted since they brought in John Wardley.
Riders sit in an inverted seat. Then the rows are brought into a flying position prior to dispatching. That way you can get the complete Superman experience. Evidently, Six Flags was paying attention and ordered 3 of this model and themed them to the Man of Steel.
The B&M Flying Coasters are a very expensive ride to add to a park. In addition, they are very complex coasters that can require a bit of maintenance. Due to this, they haven’t made many of them recently. Though they seem to be big hits at any park that has one. For example Tatsu at Six Flags Magic Mountain for how good these can be. The inversion known as a pretzel loop is crazy intense. In the video below go to 1:20 to see that.
The B&M Hyper Coaster
The B&M Hyper is one of the most popular coaster models. You will almost never find anyone that likes roller coasters that don’t like B&M Hypers. A great man once said, “You can never go wrong with a B&M Hyper.” How right he is.
The ride experience is varied but the main attraction on them is airtime hills after airtime hills. Hypers mean that the coaster stands 200 feet. The very first one of these was Apollo’s Chariot. This has been thrilling guest at Busch Gardens Williamsburg since 1999. These have the most comfortable restraint of any coaster I have ever been on. The B&M clamshell is the gold standard. Werner Stengel must have been irritated for not designing the flying coaster because he outdid himself on this one.
The B&M Giga
If Hypers are too small for you then try the Giga. Here the ride experience is similar to the hyper but now at 300 feet! The first was for Canada’s Wonderland. Leviathan opened in 2002. Yep, we have Stengel to thank! The most popular of the Giga models has to be Fury 325 at Carowinds. It is the tallest and fastest of them.
Bolliger and Mabillard Known for Quality
The future is bright for the experts at B&M. Because we are never far behind the next innovation. They have a new patent for something called a Wave Coaster.
Companies looking to save a couple of dollars on their new roller coaster usually bypass B&M. Without a doubt that is a mistake. Consistently their coasters are hugely popular and capacity monsters. Also, they are known as some of the most reliable coasters than compared to other coaster manufacturers. The theme Park industry has been so much more thrilling since Bolliger and Mabillard got designing.
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Reviews of B&M Roller Coasters
Batman: The Ride at Six Flags St. Louis
Wildfire at Silver Dollar City
Thunderbird Roller Coaster at Holiday World – Theme Park Coaster Crazy