| For similarly-named attractions, see Batman: The Ride. |
Batman: The Ride is an inverted steel roller coaster located in the DC Universe area of Six Flags Magic Mountain. It opened on March 26, 1994, and was manufactured by the Swiss manufacturing company Bolliger & Mabillard.
Batman: The Ride is the second "clone" of the original ride at Six Flags Great America, the first clone being at Six Flags Great Adventure.
Originally, Batman: The Ride opened alongside the all-new Gotham City Backlot section of the park, which replaced the Back Street. The area was closed after the 2010 season, and was replaced with DC Universe in 2011.
History[]
Batman: The ride was announced on August 4, 1993.[1] When the decision was made to import Batman: The Ride to the park, officials saw the Back Street area as the perfect location. The ride would have to go behind a cement channel (used when it rains to transport the rainwater away from the park and avoid damage) and this in fact led the park to design a brand new Gotham City Park queue line to accommodate the fact the ride would be set back further than at other locations. The park also took the decision to build a large extended queue to the left of the entrance to further accommodate the expected record crowds that would descend toward the park. This would also cause Back Street to become Gotham City Park. The attraction opened on March 26, 1994.[2]
From the ride's opening in 1994, Batman: The Ride had medium gray track and black supports. In 2010, the track was repainted blue like the one at Six Flags Over Georgia.
Batman: The Ride Backwards[]
To celebrate the 20th anniversary of Batman: The Ride, the carriages were suspended on the tracks in reverse to create a very different ride experience. This, along with Colossus, were both run backwards from March 2014 for a limited time.[3]
Changes[]
- While walking through Gotham City Park, you would hear ambient sound effects such as birds chirping and kids playing coming from speakers hidden in the bushes. As you progressed through the park, these pleasant sounds would be replaced with approaching vehicles, police sirens and gunshots. These were removed sometime in the late 2000s.
- In 2010, the track was repainted blue. Some of the elements were also removed from the bad area of the queue, including the GCPD police car. However, the police car moved to the ride area by one of the two corkscrews.
- In 2011, the extended queue area was downsized to make room for Green Lantern: First Flight.
- When the ride re-opened with the renovated DC Universe area for the 2022 season, the entrance was updated and the queue line was re-routed. Guests now enter the attraction by taking what was formerly the original exit path. The original first half of the queue line became an exit which leads to the Brave and the Bold DC Store. A new pathway was built in the former spot of the police car. Several other original themed elements were also pulled from the queue line. The second half of the queue line remained the same.
- For the 2023 season, new trains were installed to greatly improve the smoothness of the ride. Headrest warnings were also added to the lift hill, in a similar fashion as The New Revolution.
- The ride's official Six Flags Photo location "Gotham City Photo" (later renamed "Souvenir Video") was shuttered and has since sat abandoned. In early 2024, the last remainders of the ride photo system were removed.[4][5]
Experience[]
Queue[]
The entrance archway to Gotham City Park in 2018.
The entrance is an archway that says Gotham City Park. In the queue, guests walk through Gotham City Park. Prior to 2022, the first two paths were an extended queue area. The third path will take guests to the station. Guests down the path, go right past some vending machines and then go through some curves passing a fountain. They then head into the streets section, which contains graffiti, junk, and bullet-ridden cars. In this area, guests go through a switchback section below a broken freeway overpass. There is an elevator on the left side of the area. It is followed by a sewer tunnel which leads to the station.
The station in 2016.
Ride[]
As the train exits the station, it climbs a 105-ft chain lift hill. Then the ride drops 85 feet to the left, reaching speeds of 50 mph. It goes into a vertical loop, then a Zero-G-Roll and then a second vertical loop. The ride goes through several turns and 2 corkscrews. Then, the ride goes into the final brake run.
Trivia[]
- Six Flags Magic Mountain's Batman: The Ride is likely the most famous one due to its Los Angeles location. It was shot in many TV specials when it first opened.
- Unlike Six Flags Over Georgia's version, Magic Mountain's has black supports instead of midnight blue.
Gallery[]
Videos[]
Queue photos[]
Ride photos[]
Exterior photos[]
Layout photos[]
References[]
- ↑ "New bat-twist for Magic Mountain", The Signal, August 5, 1993.
- ↑ Levine, Robert (March 26, 1994). Batman Scales the Mountain: Gotham City Area, Roller Coaster Are Largest Expansion in Magic Mountain's 23-Year History. Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on June 18, 2020.
- ↑ Gidney, Norman (2014-03-23). Batman Backwards at Six Flags Magic Mountain. MiceChat.
- ↑ File:Batman Souvenir Video interior SFMM 2024-01-28.jpg by Pippinitis, Six Flags Wiki. 2024-01-28.
- ↑ File:Batman Souvenir Video interior SFMM 2024-02-25.jpg by Pippinitis, Six Flags Wiki. 2024-02-25.
See also[]
External links[]
- BATMAN The Ride - Six Flags Magic Mountain at Six Flags
- BATMAN The Ride BACKWARDS - Six Flags Magic Mountain (archived 2014-03-23)
- Batman The Ride - Ride Details (archived 2004-02-05, 2001-07-09, 1997-05-21)
Batman The Ride (Six Flags Magic Mountain) at Coasterpedia- Batman The Ride at the Roller Coaster DataBase]
- Batman The Ride (Six Flags Magic Mountain) at the Roller Coaster Wiki
- Batman: The Ride at Wikipedia
