The Valencia amusement park is cherished for its mix of coaster styles — be it wooden, loop-based, single-rail or ones with mind-confounding seats that rotate 360 degrees.
Six Flags Magic Mountain, in its more than 50 years of existence, has solidified itself as one of the most thrill-packed amusement parks in America.
And while my stomach may not always agree, there’s no denying that Magic Mountain’s coasters are engineering wonders. Here’s a ranking.A risk for the top choice, as this coaster is not for the faint of heart. But since Magic Mountain prides itself on being a park for those seeking roller-coaster intensity, there’s an argument to be made that its top ride should be the one that arguably offers its most thrills, at least that was the one Thompson made to me.
“There’s a moment,” he says, “when you crest the lift and you’re looking straight down 200 feet, and then it flips you upside while you’re plummeting. No matter how many times I’ve gone on it, it always gives me the reaction of, ‘I don’t know if I’m going to make it.’ And then I make it.”I like that Tatsu’s signage features a dragon.
But, situated as it is near the front of the park, it also serves as a sort of an introduction to Magic Mountain thrills, reaching a speed of about 55 mph while boasting multiple ground-hugging curves centered around the centerpiece loop. It also resides in one of the park’s lushest, greenest settings.
If everything aligns correctly, the dual coasters of Twisted Colossus will appear to be racing one another, looking, at times, to be flipping around each other. But that requires some deft timing, and race or not, there’s a mix of elements, including a steep drop and a bevy of rolls, that all result in a coaster that constantly feels buoyant as we repeat each of its elements twice.
“It’s a very modern coaster by Rocky Mountain Construction, one of the most popular and celebrated manufactures among coaster enthusiasts,” Thompson says. “This one, from the moment you crest the lift into the brake, it’s all killer. There’s no dead spots on it. It’s breathless.”Goliath’s entrance — large blocks of stone-like letters that tower over guests — lets it be known that Six Flags is trying to make a statement with this coaster.
“It’s always a good ride. That helix at the end with sustained positive G-forces is pretty crazy,” Thompson says. “You don’t really get that anywhere else.”In about a minute, Full Throttle changes its mind multiple times. Its launch near-instantly sends guests shooting into a vertical loop, one that was the tallest in the world when it opened. After rocketing into that arc at 70 mph, it lets you hang at the top for about a second before continuing down.
“Doing the inside and outside of the track that spans the vertical loop is really inventive engineering,” he says. “The biggest downside to it is just its length. You go over that last hill, and you’re literally hitting the brakes at a 90-degree angle. I just need something more. If it could have just gone over the midway and done one more inversion and roundabout to wrap it up, then I think you would have had a complete top-tier ride.
“The choreography between the two sides — the way they flip over and on top of one another and race side-by-side — is very dynamic,” Thompson says. “It’s not the most extreme coaster here. It’s a very good reliable ride. I do ride it every time I’m here, but it’s not necessarily the one I’m most looking forward to. But it doesn’t beat you up. It’s a modern, creative design.”Superman: Escape from Krypton does, essentially, one thing. It goes up, and then it comes down.
It’s still a sight to see at Magic Mountain, its blue track drawing guests in from a distance. Take a photo with a Batmobile, and then wind through an industrial queue that is essentially leading us into the Batcave. The actual ride, which lasts under two minutes, is relatively elegant, boasting an introductory 10-story lift that leads straight into a 360-degree loop.
Ninja is set among one of Magic Mountain’s more hilly terrains, and it attempts to closely hug the environment. Throughout, riders may swing up to 180 degrees, and near its launch, we experience an 85-foot plummet before segueing into a spiral. It then follows a largely circuitous path with another steep drop before reaching its conclusion.
Though it’s only about 25 years old, Thompson says Viper holds a nostalgic appeal. “Growing up in the ’90s, Viper was the star of the park,” Thompson says. “It’s the last of the major seven-looping Arrow Dynamics coasters, so I respect it for that. They had built three or four of them, and this is the last remaining. I hope that it can stick around.”
“It hasn’t aged quite as gracefully as some of the other coasters,” Thompson says. “A mine train, you really want to feel like you’re going through the woods and through the tunnels, but with Superman and Full Throttle being built on top of it, it kind of loses some of that feeling. I wouldn’t say it’s one of the better mine train coasters out there, but as a 1971 original, it’s cool that it exists at all.
And yet Drop of Doom has a twist no other drop tower can match. If the timing works out and the ride is moving in sync with the Superman attraction, expect some added thrills.of Drop of Doom, “If you’re lucky and the timing is just right, the twin Superman trains will rocket out of the coaster station below at 100 mph just as the dual Lex Luthor gondolas reach the top of the tower. And that’s when the shaking starts. The gondola seats rumble violently as the coaster climbs the track. ...
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