Olympia Looping, also known as Munich Looping, is a portablesteel roller coasterowned and operated by R. Barth und Sohn Schaustellerbetriebe KG. The ride was designed by Anton Schwarzkopf and Werner Stengel, and built by BHS. It is the largest portable roller coaster in the world, and the only one with five inversions. It appears at many carnivals in Germany, most notably Oktoberfest, where it made its debut in 1989. It is named for its five vertical loops, which resemble the Olympic rings. Although they are clothoid-shaped, their shape is closer to circular than the ones on most other roller coasters, so they exert unusually high g-forces on the passengers. The entire structure weighs 900 tons and requires a space 85 m wide by 36 m deep. The ride usually runs with five cars per train, though at events such as Oktoberfest and Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park, London, it runs with seven to increase throughput in busy periods.
Name
The ride is almost always known as Olympia Looping in reference to its loops being painted to match those of the Olympic rings. However, there are two exceptions to this: When being designed, the ride was known as Fünfer Looping, continuing a sequence of travelling Schwarzkopf rides that previously included Doppel Looping and Dreier Looping. This name is occasionally used in trade literature. From 2016, the ride has appeared at London's Hyde Park Winter Wonderland event. In order to avoid reference to the Olympics, and to fit in with the Bavariantheme of other sections of the event, the ride appears under the name Munich Looping although branding on the ride itself uses the German München Looping.
Incidents
On September 27, 2008, a driving motor failed on the ride, stranding over 20 Oktoberfest attendees at the top of the first hill. They were freed with the help of the Munich Fire Department.
Awards
The ride was ranked in the Steel Roller Coasters Poll 11 Year Results Table awards from 1999 to 2010. Below is the table of the rankings of the traveling roller coaster.
