Six Flags Magic Mountain, located in Valencia, California, found itself in the middle of a “roller coaster building war” with Cedar Point in Sandusky , Ohio. For years the two amusement parks went back and forth, trying to one-up the other by building an amazing roller coaster. While the war has ended (with Cedar Point still holding the title of most roller coasters in one park), it provided both parks with a wide array of amazing rides. Six Flags Magic Mountain offers 15 roller coasters, and while each brings something interesting to the park, there are five that really stand out.X2,Tatsu, Scream!, Goliath, and Superman; The Escape. All information on the following roller coasters was found at The Roller Coaster Database.
X2
Originally known as “X”, what is now known as X2 was a groundbreaking ride. Built in 2002, X featured something that no other roller coaster had offered before. While the trains followed the track, the seats, which were suspended over the sides, could rotate a full 360 degrees. This meant that riders position (upside down, face down, face up) could be manipulated by the track itself, and offered a ride unlike any other. The only downfall, however, was that the ride wound up with quite a few malfunctions. These issues lead to a lot of down-time for the ride, and a lot of disappointed park guests. New trains were added in 2008 in an attempt to alleviate many of the problems associated with X.
Tatsu
Tatsu is Magic Mountain’s newest roller coaster. Built by B&M;, this is a flying roller coaster that soars 170 feet in the air. The ride takes it’s riders upside down a total of 4 times as they switch from a flying to an “on-your-back” position. Built in 2006 at a cost of $21 million,Tatsu flies through 1600 riders per hour. “Tatsu”, in Japanese, means “Flying Beast”.
Scream!
Built in 2003, Scream! (Yes, with the exclamation mark and all…) was also built by B&M.; This floorless roller coaster is actually a clone (or copy) of an earlier roller coaster named “Medusa”. The ride features 7 full inversions, and is hard to miss; it’s colors are blue, yellow, and hot pink. The ride sits on what used to be a parking lot for Magic Mountain. Because the lines of the parking lot were still visible, it was known by many roller coaster fans as a “parking lot roller coaster”.
Goliath
Goliath could easily be known as Six Flags Magic Mountain’s pride and joy. The roller coaster, built by now bankrupt roller coaster manufacturer Giovanola, reached heights of 235 feet. What is interesting about this roller coaster is that it’s first drop ends in an underground tunnel. This underground tunnel allows for a total drop height of 255 feet. The ride hits a top speed of 85 miles per hour, and takes it’s riders through an interesting web of twists, turns, and helix’s to produce strong g-forces. These g-forces pin you to your seat for an exhilarating ride.
Superman The Escape
Who knew that roller coasters could be the point of such controversy? This roller coaster is not full circuit, so it’s claim of being the first roller coaster to reach 300 feet is often ignored. The ride launches two cars (side by side) to a maximum speed of 100 miles per hour. The cars race as they climb up a huge tower; a tower over 400 feet tall. While the tower is huge, the cars only actually reach a height a little under 330 feet. What is most interesting about the ride is that it gives its riders 6.5 seconds of weightlessness.
While the roller coaster war has ended, both sides benefited, as each park has a multitude of innovate, exciting roller coasters. Six Flags Magic Mountain offers 15 of these scream machines, and each one is sure to thrill anyone looking for it. For more information, visit www.sixflags.com.
