Six Flags Over Texas is a 212-acre amusement park, in Arlington, Texas, east of Fort Worth and west of Dallas. It is the first amusement park in the Six Flags chain, and features themed areas and attractions. The park opened on August 5, 1961, after a year of construction and an initial investment of US$10 million by real estate developer Angus G. Wynne Jr.
A steel roller coaster is a type of roller coaster classified by its steel track, which consists of long steel tubes that are run in pairs, supported by larger steel columns or beams. Trains running along the track typically rely on wheels made of polyurethane or nylon to keep each train car anchored to the track. The introduction of tubular steel drastically changed roller coaster innovation, allowing for greater speeds, higher drops, and more intense elements such as inversions.
Six Flags Over Georgia is a 290-acre (1.2 km2) amusement park in Austell, Georgia, United States. Opened in 1967, it is the second park in the Six Flags chain following the original Six Flags Over Texas, which opened in 1961.
Six Flags Magic Mountain, formerly known and colloquially referred to as simply Magic Mountain, is a 209-acre (85 ha) amusement park located in Valencia, California, 35 miles (56 km) northwest of downtown Los Angeles. It opened on May 29, 1971, as a development of the Newhall Land and Farming Company and Sea World Inc. In 1979, Six Flags purchased the park and added "Six Flags" to the park's name.
Bolliger & Mabillard, officially Bolliger & Mabillard Consulting Engineers, Inc. and often abbreviated B&M, is a roller coaster design consultancy based in Monthey, Switzerland. The company was founded in 1988 by engineers Walter Bolliger and Claude Mabillard, both of whom had worked for Giovanola.
Six Flags Great America is a 304-acre (123 ha) themed amusement park located in Gurnee, Illinois, within the northern Chicago metropolitan area. The amusement park originally opened as Marriott's Great America on May 29, 1976, as one of two theme parks built by the Marriott Corporation. Six Flags acquired the amusement park in 1984 after the theme park division was an earnings disappointment for Marriott. The sale gave Six Flags rights to the Looney Tunes intellectual properties.
Arrow Dynamics was an American manufacturing and engineering company that specialized in designing and building amusement park rides, especially roller coasters. Based in Clearfield, Utah, the company was the successor to Arrow Development (1946–1981) and Arrow Huss (1981–1986), which were responsible for several influential advancements in the amusement and theme park industries. Among the most significant was tubular steel track, which provided a smoother ride than the railroad style rails commonly used prior to the 1960s on wooden roller coasters. The Matterhorn Bobsleds at Disneyland, built in 1959, was Arrow's first roller coaster project.
Green Lantern, formerly known as Chang, is a decommissioned stand-up roller coaster located at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson Township, New Jersey. Green Lantern stood 155 feet (47 m) tall and featured a top speed of 63 miles per hour (101 km/h). The 4,155-foot-long (1,266 m) ride featured five inversions and had a duration of approximately 21⁄2 minutes. The steel coaster was designed and built by Swiss manufacturer Bolliger & Mabillard.
The Riddler's Revenge is a steel stand-up roller coaster located at Six Flags Magic Mountain. Manufactured by Bolliger & Mabillard, the ride opened as the park's eleventh roller coaster on April 4, 1998, setting multiple world records among stand-up coasters. Originally located in the Movie District section of the park, which later became Metropolis in 2017, The Riddler's Revenge was also the park's single biggest investment at a cost of $14 million. It features a height of 156 feet (48 m), a maximum speed of 65 mph (105 km/h), six inversions, and a track length of 4,370 feet (1,330 m).
El Toro is a wooden roller coaster located at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson Township, New Jersey. Designed by Werner Stengel and manufactured by Intamin, the ride opened to the public on June 11, 2006. Intamin subcontracted Rocky Mountain Construction to build the ride, and the coaster's track was prefabricated, allowing for quicker installation and lower construction costs. El Toro is the main attraction of the Mexican-themed section of the park, Plaza Del Carnaval. It replaced another roller coaster, Viper, which closed following the 2004 season.
Viper is a steel roller coaster located in the Baja Ridge area of Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia, California. Viper is the last operating roller coaster with seven inversions to be built by American manufacturer Arrow Dynamics. The other two, Shockwave at Six Flags Great America and the Great American Scream Machine at Six Flags Great Adventure, were demolished in 2002 and 2010, respectively. The roller coaster replaced a HUSS ride type named Condor.
A bobsled roller coaster is a roller coaster that uses a track design that is essentially a "pipe" with the top half removed and has cars that are sent down this pipe in a freewheeling mode. The name derives from the great similarity to the track design used for the winter sport of bobsleigh.
Swiss Bob was a Bobsled roller coaster in the Efteling amusement park in the Netherlands.
Viper was a steel roller coaster located at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson Township, New Jersey. Manufactured by TOGO at an estimated cost of $4 million, the ride opened to the public in June 1995. It replaced another steel coaster manufactured by TOGO, Ultra Twister, which was removed in 1989. Viper stood nearly 89 feet (27 m) tall and reached a maximum speed of 48 mph (77 km/h). It featured two inversions, including a heartline roll and a unique dive loop element developed specifically for this ride. Following years of maintenance issues, extensive downtime, and low ridership due to roughness, Viper was permanently closed after the 2004 season and demolished the following year. A record-breaking wooden coaster called El Toro opened in its place in 2006.
Roller coaster amusement rides have origins back to ice slides constructed in 18th-century Russia. Early technology featured sleds or wheeled carts that were sent down hills of snow reinforced by wooden supports. The technology evolved in the 19th century to feature railroad track using wheeled cars that were securely locked to the track. Newer innovations emerged in the early 20th century with side friction and underfriction technologies to allow for greater speeds and sharper turns. By the mid-to-late 20th century, these elements intensified with the introduction of steel roller coaster designs and the ability to invert riders.
Amusement rides and stunt shows themed to the Batman franchise its derivative elements are commonly found at Warner Bros. and Six Flags amusement parks across the world.
Apocalypse: The Ride, formerly known as Terminator Salvation: The Ride, is a wooden roller coaster located at Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia, California. Manufactured by Great Coasters International, the roller coaster opened to the public on May 23, 2009. It is located in The Underground section of the amusement park on a plot of land formerly occupied by the Psyclone (1991–2007), Shockwave (1986–1988) and Sarajevo Bobsleds (1984–1986). It was the first wooden coaster to feature onboard audio, and its Terminator theme was short-lived following a corporate restructuring by Six Flags in 2011.
Full Throttle is a launched roller coaster located in Six Flags Plaza at Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia, California. Designed and manufactured by Premier Rides, the ride opened to the public on June 22, 2013. It featured the world's tallest vertical loop of 160 feet (49 m) when it opened, a record that was surpassed in 2016 by Flash at Lewa Adventure in Xianyang, China. Its top hat element is also unique in the way it is situated on top of a vertical loop. It is the only roller coaster to have track on the bottom and top of a vertical loop.
This is a list of events, openings, and closings that occurred in amusement parks in 2023.
Flash Pass Available
Single rider line available