| Not to be confused with Superman: Krypton Coaster at Six Flags Over Georgia. |
Superman: Escape from Krypton is a launched steel shuttle roller coaster at Six Flags Magic Mountain, located on Samurai Summit. The ride originally opened as Superman: The Escape on March 15, 1997.
The ride closed throughout the latter half of 2010 to accommodate its major redevelopment and transformation into "Superman: Escape from Krypton". The refurbished ride opened on March 19, 2011.
As its name suggests, Superman: Escape from Krypton is named after the famous plot point in the Superman mythos where as a child, young Kal-El is sent off-world to Earth as Krypton meets its untimely end.
History[]
Superman: The Escape (1997–2010)[]
In 1994 after Eagles Flight had closed, development began on an all-new, record-breaking roller coaster for Six Flags Magic Mountain, starring Superman. Almost from the start, Six Flags designers wanted this new coaster to boast speeds of up to 100 mph. However to do this in the means of a conventional steel coaster, the ride's lift would have to be 350 feet high. At the time, no one had ever built a roller coaster with a lift higher than 200 feet.[1]
While in the planning stages, the ride was going to be named Velocetron and themed after "The Man of Steel", a popular Superman comic book series from 1986.
Construction of Superman: The Escape in April 1996
The ride was officially announced on January 5, 1996 as Superman: The Escape, and it would break records as the first roller coaster to reach 100 miles per hour, passing Desperado at Buffalo Bill's and Phantom's Revenge at Kennywood, both of which had speeds of 80 miles per hour. The ride itself was designed by Intamin, a Swiss roller coaster firm that Six Flags had worked with in the past. The theming of the Fortress of Solitude entrance area was designed by Kevin Barbee Experience Design (KXBD).[2]
Superman: The Escape was originally intended to open on June 1, 1996. However, due to a range of problems, the ride was delayed a year and opened on March 15, 1997. In late 1996, there was a preview for season pass holders.
In 1999, Superman: The Escape was closed. The trains had new brake fins installed. In late February, a single track reopened. A month later on March 22, it was announced that the ride was open full time again.
The entrance to Superman: The Escape when the tower was still white
Superman: The Escape was closed again in June 2004 to modify the restraints.
At the end of July 4 weekend in 2010, Superman: The Escape ceased operations with no reason given. A sign posted in front of the ride indicated that it would reopen during the 2011 season, with hints indicating that there would be improvements made to the ride experience. A Los Angeles Times report on August 3, 2010, announced the plans for Superman: The Escape to undergo a major refurbishment before the 2011 season. After Superman: The Escape's sister ride, the Tower of Terror II at Dreamworld, underwent a major refurbishment in 2010 which entailed a new vehicle which launches backwards, speculation turned to the possibility of a similar modification to the Magic Mountain ride.
Superman: Escape from Krypton (2011–present)[]
On October 14, 2010, an official video was leaked announcing several new experiences for Six Flags Magic Mountain in 2011. Six days later, Six Flags Magic Mountain officially announced the attractions. The announcement featured further information about the planned refurbishment of Superman: The Escape. As part of the refurbishment, the ride would be renamed to "Superman: Escape from Krypton" and would feature new backwards launching cars and a new red-and-blue track color scheme applied by Baynum Painting.[3] The upgraded ride re-opened to the public on March 19, 2011, just in time for Spring Break.
The coaster closed again after February 5, 2012 so that Lex Luthor: Drop of Doom could be built on the side of the tower.[4] The construction was complete by the second week of May. The coaster reopened, along with Lex Luthor, on July 7, 2012.[5]
In July 2024, Superman: Escape from Krypton was closed after a brush fire cause by the ride's power system.[6]
Six Flags' website listing the ride in November 2024 as "Closed for Refurbishment"
In November 2024, the ride's status was revised to SBNO (standing but not operating) at the Roller Coaster DataBase, with it last known to be operating in the preceding September.[7] A unique and difficult-to-replace part had reportedly failed on the expensive-to-operate LSM launch coaster. At about that time, Six Flags updated their website to indicate that the coaster was "Closed for Refurbishment", though with no re-opening date indicated.[8][9]
Experience[]
Queue[]
At the entrance to the ride, the Superman "S" shield is imprinted and now painted onto the ground. The entrance area and queue are modeled after the Fortress of Solitude, Superman's headquarters. The queue line winds through the building and forks, giving guests the option to wait in line for either the left or right side. During slow days and in the off-season, there may be only one side operating. The fork is followed by a long tunnel down each side of the fortress, which is often kept cold from the air-conditioning. Guests then head into the waiting area, where they are separated into four rows and board after the doors open. The station is lit green, modeled as Krypton, the planet that is full of Kryptonite rock that can take away Superman's powers. Inside is a crystalline-looking environment which recreates Superman's fortress in the Arctic. If the Velocetron name had been chosen, the queue and station would have had ancient ruins and a giant laser. A page on display in the SBNO (Standing but not operating) Sky Tower, the park's observation tower, shows the concept art for Velocetron.
Layout[]
The roller coaster has two parallel tracks, one with the car pointing forwards and the other pointing backwards. Riders are electromagnetically accelerated from 0 to up to 104 miles per hour (167 km/h) in approximately 7 seconds (about 0.65 g) through the use of massive linear synchronous motors (LSM). The track then pitches up 90 degrees to the vertical. Riders climb this vertical section facing directly downward, before slowing and following the same path back to the start. During the entire vertical section of the ride, riders are completely weightless for about 7.5 seconds, half going up and half coming back down. The ride is known for being very loud and can be heard making jet-like sounds from many areas of the park.
Trivia[]
Superman: The Escape (known as "The Escape") in the Six Flags Magic Mountain scenario in RollerCoaster Tycoon 2.
- Superman: The Escape appears in RollerCoaster Tycoon 2 as a pre-built ride in the Six Flags Magic Mountain scenario. However in the game it is by default named simply "The Escape" since the game does not include DC Comics licensing.
Gallery[]
Videos[]
Photos[]
References[]
- ↑ Taub, Eric (August 30, 2001). HOW IT WORKS; The Latest at the Theme Park: a Magnetic Attraction. The New York Times.
- ↑ Superman: The Escape, Kevin Barbee Experience Design. Accessed 2024-10-03.
- ↑ Superman, Baynum Solutions. Accessed 2024-11-19.
- ↑ Superman Closing On Feb 5th For Lex Luthor Construction, The Coaster Guy. 2012-02-04.
- ↑ Lex Luthor Drop of Doom Opens at Magic Mountain by Norman Gidney, MiceChat. 2012-07-07.
- ↑ The park had a brush fire about a month ago behind buccaneer and swashbuckler caused by a downed electrical line on Superman. by Presidunt_DRBZ-202, Reddit. 2024-08-02.
- ↑ Recent update to RCBD: Superman EFK is officially SBNO![sic] by California Coasters, X. 2024-11-18.
- ↑ Our Rides - Six Flags Magic Mountain, Six Flags Entertainment Corporation. Archived 2024-11-12.
- ↑ A World After Dragster & Kingda Ka: The Updated Lineup of Record Breaking Roller Coasters by Brian Krosnick, Theme Park Tourist. 2024-12-13.
See also[]
- Full Throttle, another launched coaster that opened in the park in 2013.
- West Coast Racers, another launched coaster that opened in the park in 2020.
External links[]
- Superman: Escape from Krypton - Six Flags Magic Mountain at Six Flags
- Superman The Escape : Six Flags Magic Mountain (archived 2007-03-20, 2001-07-03, 1997-05-21)
Superman: Escape From Krypton at Coasterpedia- Superman: Escape from Krypton at the Roller Coaster DataBase
- Superman: Escape From Krypton at the Roller Coaster Wiki
- Superman: Escape from Krypton (roller coaster) at the Superman Wiki
- Superman: Escape from Krypton at Wikipedia
