Five More Coasters I’d Love To Ride

Spring is in full swing, and my Six Flags season pass is still burning a hole in my proverbial pocket. Over the last week, I’ve seen a healthy digital pile of news articles stating Six Flags has plans to open sometime this month. Almost every single one mentions increased cleaning, required reservations, and masks. In this new normal, all of these things are becoming more and more ubiquitous. Give it another week or two, and I probably won’t bat an eyelash. But I did bat an eye. 

Masks and amusement parks seem like two things that will never go well together. A large scale oil and vinegar experiment. Obviously, with that many people mulling around, social distancing would be difficult, making masks a necessity. I just can’t see masks staying securely fastened as the ride car careens down the lift hill at sixty miles an hour, let alone eighty or ninety. 

All I can imagine is the nets hung to catch the unwillingly discarded flotsam and jetsom wholly covered in paper and cloth masks. Even sagging under their weight by the end of the day. An odd way to manufacture extra shade for patrons, but whatever works, I guess.

How do you enjoy a slice of pizza or an ice cream cone? The number of masks you’d need to bring with you would be a pain to carry around. My list goes on and on. But I don’t want to spend our time on that.

Instead, I’m going to turn my head back to those coasters that keep singing the siren’s call.

El Toro – Six Flags Great Adventure

I’ll start off with a gargantuan of a wooden coaster. The first drop is a whopping hundred and seventy-six feet. And what a drop it is. The track curves into a 76-degree angle. This bull doesn’t let up on riders for the whole minute and forty-two-second ride. Riders careen along the track at a top speed of seventy miles per hour. 

As impressive as the first drop is, don’t think it’s the only draw the ride has to offer. The banked turns are intense. It feels like you are being pulled parallel to the ground, which isn’t the case, but it’s close. At any rate, you get up close and personal with your fellow rider as the car whips through these turns. 

El Toro’s design also makes excellent and frequent use of the head-chopper effect. For those non-riders, head-choppers are where the track or some piece of scenery appears to come close to riders’ heads. When done well, the effect forces people to drop their raised hands back to the lap bar. El Toro’s constant speed sells it hard because the ride doesn’t allow for much critical analysis while in motion.

Unlike the Wicked Cyclone in New England, El Toro is a genuine wooden coaster with one exception. This coaster was designed with a cable lift instead of a chain. Minor details, though. Every time we go to visit, I can’t help but think this ride inspired the invention of the hybrid model popping up all over the place these days.

X2 – Six Flags Magic Mountain

Labeled the first fourth-dimensional roller coaster, I’d argue it’s still the case only one. The company behind this ride, Arrow Dynamics, has since gone out of business. Other coaster manufacturers have put forth similar efforts, quite a few of them landing in other Six Flags parks under various names. The magic and excitement in X2 failed to carry over to the later designs.

From the loading area, it was clear this wasn’t going to be your average ride. The trains have an unusual design like they flattened the cars from inverted coasters. Two seats are on one side of the track, and car support and two are on the other. Oh, and riders are loaded on to the cars with their backs to the start of the ride.

When the car leaves the station, riders are facing away from the first drop. The view of the park as you are lifted skyward is delightful. If you could have your phone out, it would be a great photo. But alas, you’re not there for a photo op. Just as the car crests the first hill, your seat’s backward-facing position pivots, so you’re facing straight down for almost for the whole duration of the drop. Your seat pivots again at the bottom to roll you into a new position.

The shifting continues through the whole ride but never in a loose and jerky way. Every position transition is smooth and controlled, so you can enjoy the experience rather than be battered by your restraints. Which happened every time I’ve tried the other 4th dimensional coasters. The worst of which also resides in Magic Mountain. There was absolutely a reason why we walked on to that ride and had to wait for X2.

This ride was also on our list of things to do in 2020, but it’s looking like we’re going to have to wait a little longer to ride this crazy train.

Millennium Force – Cedar Point