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| Manufacturer | Intamin | ||||||||||||||||
| Product | Reverse Freefall Coaster | ||||||||||||||||
| Type | Steel - Launched - Twin - Shuttle | ||||||||||||||||
| Riders per train | 14 | ||||||||||||||||
| Propulsion | LSM Launch | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 415 feet | ||||||||||||||||
| Drop | 328.1 feet | ||||||||||||||||
| Top speed | 100 mph | ||||||||||||||||
| Length | 1235 feet | ||||||||||||||||
| Inversions | 0 | ||||||||||||||||
| Drop angle | 90° | ||||||||||||||||
| Duration | 0:28 | ||||||||||||||||
| G-Force | 4.5 | ||||||||||||||||
Superman: Escape From Krypton (formerly known as Superman: The Escape) is an Intamin launched shuttle roller coaster located at Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia, California, USA.[1] It is one of only two reverse freefall coasters built by Intamin. Opened in 1997, Superman: Escape from Krypton was the first coaster to be themed to Superman.[citation needed]
The coaster was tied for the fastest with Tower of Terror II, a similar roller coaster which opened two months earlier at Dreamworld in Australia. These two coasters were the first to utilize LSM technology to propel vehicles to top speed. With the closure of Tower of Terror II in November 2019, it is now the only Reverse Freefall Coaster still operating.[2]
Like Kingda Ka at Six Flags Great Adventure, a drop tower is attached to the coaster. However, Superman: Escape From Krypton's drop tower, Lex Luthor: Drop of Doom is attached to the back of the coaster, while the drop tower on Kingda Ka is beneath the ride. Therefore, Kingda Ka and its drop tower, Zumanjaro: Drop of Doom cannot run at the same time. This was changed in 2021 however, with both Kingda Ka and Zumanjaro now able to run side by side.[3]
The launch and brake systems were provided by IntraSys GmbH.[4]
Superman: Escape from Krypton has one of the tallest structures, the one of the fastest speeds, and one of the longest drops on any roller coaster in the world. After the closure of Kingda Ka at Six Flags Great Adventure in mid-November 2024, Superman: Escape from Krypton stands to be the world's tallest operating roller coaster, soon to be surpassed by Top Thrill 2 at Cedar Point and Falcon's Flight at Six Flags Qiddiya, standing at 420 feet and 531 feet respectively.
History
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While in the planning stages, the ride was going to be named Velocetron and themed as The Man of Steel. The ride was announced on January 5, 1996 as Superman: The Escape, breaking records as the first roller coaster to reach 100 miles per hour, surpassing Desperado at Buffalo Bill's Resort & Casino and Steel Phantom at Kennywood, both of which reached speeds of 80 miles per hour. The ride would be a prototype Reverse Freefall Coaster designed by Intamin. Construction had begun before the announcement in late 1995.[5]
Superman: The Escape was originally planned to open on June 1, 1996, but the coaster suffered problems with the launch system which caused the opening to be delayed until March 15, 1997.[6][7][8]
Superman: The Escape was closed in early 1999 for repairs. New brake fins were installed on the ride vehicles. In February, one of the tracks resumed operation. The ride was in fully operational mode by March 22.[9]
In June 2004, Superman: The Escape's seat belts were modified because of an incident on Superman: Ride of Steel at Six Flags New England. California State Regulators asked the park to make modifications to the rides' restraint systems to prevent a similar incident in the future.[10]
In 2010, Six Flags announced that they would be updating the ride for the 2011 season. The new cars from Intamin could run either forwards or backwards, however, the park decided to run both backwards. The track was repainted to blue, red, and yellow and the ride's name was changed from "Superman: The Escape" to "Superman: Escape From Krypton".[11] It then reopened on March 19, 2011.[12]
Superman: Escape From Krypton closed on February 5, 2012 to start construction on Lex Luthor: Drop of Doom, two drop towers themed after Superman's archenemy. It reopened when Lex Luthor: Drop of Doom opened on July 7, 2012.[13]
During the 2021 season, the car on the left track was turned to face forwards as in the original ride. This allowed riders to experience the coaster both forwards and backwards.
Design
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The ride uses Linear Synchronous Motors (LSM) to propel the cars to the 100 mph top speed in seven seconds. Viewed from the side, Superman's shape resembles a giant "L" shape. The ride was most likely themed after Kal-El's exile to Earth, where he would become Superman, in a rocket as his home planet of Krypton blows up. Riders experience 6.5 seconds of airtime.[14]
Color scheme
Yellow track and blue supports. The ride used to feature all white track and supports.
Trains
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2 cars. Riders are arranged 4 across in 4 rows, except for the last row which has 2, for a total of 14 riders per car.
In video games
- An Intamin Reverse Freefall coaster is available for building on sim game Planet Coaster dubbed In-Descent. The default colors match Superman: Escape from Krypton's. It is also featured in RollerCoaster Tycoon 2 as the Reverse Freefall Coaster.
Images
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View of the coaster -
The launch system -
The Superman robot -
The rocket in the queue -
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References
- ↑ Six Flags Magic Mountain website information
- ↑ "The thrill is over as Dreamworld Tower of Terror II ride to close".
- ↑ "[Kingda Ka & Zumanjaro: Drop Of Doom] are now permitted to run together with humans".
- ↑ IntraSys webste
- ↑ "'Superman' Ride Boasts Super Speed".
- ↑ "It's A Bird! It's A Plane! No, It's A Ride! Superman The Escape Promises To Break 100 Mph Barrier".
- ↑ "'Superman' Ride Still Grounded".
- ↑ "It's . . . Superman: It was..."
- ↑ Superman The Escape Returns To Full Operation - Ultimate Rollercoaster
- ↑ Two Roller Coasters Closed For Restraint Modifications - Ultimate Rollercoaster
- ↑ "Six Flags Magic Mountain to run Superman coaster backward".
- ↑ "Six Flags Magic Mountain opens Superman: Escape from Krypton ride March 19".
- ↑ "Lex Luthor: Drop of Doom Debuts at Six Flags Magic Mountain".
- ↑ Superman The Escape - Ultimate Rollercoaster
External links
- Superman: Escape From Krypton on the Roller Coaster DataBase.
| Tallest roller coaster March 1997–May 2003 | ||
| Preceded by Tower of Terror |
Tallest roller coaster March 1997–May 2003 |
Succeeded by Top Thrill Dragster |
| Tallest roller coaster drop tied with Tower of Terror March 1997–May 2003 | ||
| Preceded by Fujiyama |
Tallest roller coaster drop tied with Tower of Terror March 1997–May 2003 |
Succeeded by Top Thrill Dragster |
| Fastest roller coaster tied with Tower of Terror March 1997–December 2001 | ||
| Preceded by Fujiyama |
Fastest roller coaster tied with Tower of Terror March 1997–December 2001 |
Succeeded by Dodonpa |
