Holy backwards, Batman! Six Flags ride goes in new direction

JACKSON, N.J. (WPVI) -- It's counterintuitive. It flips the script.

And roller coaster enthusiasts say riding backwards at speeds of up to 50mph on Six Flags Great Adventures' popular Batman coaster is a ride you won't forget.

"At first it was terrifying. I was scared, but I love this ride so it was just a completely different experience," Sydney Bonelli of Kinnelon, NJ said.

"I felt like my face was getting ripped off, which was kind of cool. I was concerned the minute and a half wouldn't be long enough, but it was just right because my breakfast might have come up otherwise," Jordan Roman of So. Plainfield, NJ said.

Riders make an 11-story climb, backward, before plummeting and twisting through corkscrews on 2,700 feet of track.

The ride is intensified because when you can't see behind you, you don't know what's coming.

"You can't really see so you're anticipating. You really want to just have it go. But you're waiting, waiting and then it finally goes and it's a lot of fun after that," Alex Young of Closer, NJ said.

With the help of Batman and Robin, Acting Governor Kim Guadagno was at the park to kick off the festivities as part of what she calls Tourism Tuesday highlighting different attractions.

"I live at the Jersey Shore. I love the beach. Everybody knows the beach is there, but there's a lot of other things to do in New Jersey," Guadagno said.

Guadagno gamely boarded and rode the Batman ride, which has more twists and turns than New Jersey politics.

"It was great. It was fabulous," Guadagno said.

Backwards, forwards, I could never go on this ride. But there are people who love the thrill and say the ride is even more fun in reverse.

"It was great. I'm dizzy. Maybe I'm too old for this, but it definitely put a new game to Batman," Lisa Ginther of Hamilton, NJ said.

82-year-old Ted Hunter rode the backward Batman six times.

"Oh it doesn't bother me at all. I think it's great. You do it anyway if it were upside down, whatever, fine with me," Hunter of American Coaster Enthusiasts said.

Holy backwards coaster, Batman!