Superman: Escape from Krypton

Coordinates: 34°25′30″N 118°35′53″W / 34.424996°N 118.59802°W / 34.424996; -118.59802
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"Superman: The Escape" redirects here. Not to be confused with
Superman: The Last Escape
.

Superman: Escape from Krypton
The 415 ft (126 m) tall tower of Superman: Escape from Krypton prior to the addition of Lex Luthor: Drop of Doom
Previously known as Superman: The Escape (1997-2010)
Six Flags Magic Mountain
Park section
Coordinates
 34°25′30″N 118°35′53″W / 34.424996°N 118.59802°W / 34.424996; -118.59802
Status Operating
Opening date March 15, 1997 (1997-03-15)
Cost
US$
20,000,000
General Statistics
Type
Dueling
Manufacturer Intamin
Model Reverse Freefall Coaster
Lift/launch system
Linear synchronous motor
Height 415 ft (126.5 m)
Drop 328.1 ft (100.0 m)
Length 1,235 ft (376.4 m)
Speed 100 mph (160.9 km/h)
Inversions 0
Duration 0:28
Max vertical angle 90°
Acceleration 0 to 100 mph in 7 seconds
G-force 4.5
Capacity 1,050 riders per hour
Height restriction 48 in (122 cm)
Flash Pass
Available
Must transfer from wheelchair
Superman: Escape from Krypton at RCDB
Pictures of Superman: Escape from Krypton at RCDB

Superman: Escape from Krypton, originally known as Superman: The Escape, is a steel

Linear Synchronous Motor
(LSM) launch technology to propel vehicles, although the intended opening date in 1996 at Magic Mountain was postponed due to issues with the launch system.

Superman: The Escape closed in late 2010 for refurbishment, and it re-emerged in 2011 as Superman: Escape from Krypton. The refurbished ride introduced new trains that face backward and a new color scheme. As of 2023, Superman: Escape from Krypton has the second-tallest height, the fourth-fastest speed, and the third-longest drop of any operating roller coaster in the world.

History

Superman: The Escape (1997–2010)

During early planning, Six Flags Magic Mountain considered building a new roller coaster named Velocetron themed to The Man of Steel comic book series.[1] Ultimately, the name Superman: The Escape was chosen, and the ride was announced on January 5, 1996.[2] It would surpass Desperado and Phantom's Revenge to become the fastest roller coaster in the world and the first to reach 100 mph (160 km/h).[2][3]

Superman: The Escape was designed by

Dreamworld in Australia.[9] Although tied with Tower of Terror as the fastest roller coaster in the world,[4]
Superman became the first to exceed 400 feet (120 m) in height and opened as the tallest roller coaster in the world.

The tower when it was known as Superman: The Escape

By early 1999, the ride remained closed for maintenance. After new brake fins were installed, one side reopened in late February. On March 22, 1999, Six Flags Magic Mountain announced that Superman: The Escape was fully operating with both sides running.[10]

In June 2004, Superman: The Escape's seat belts were modified because of

an incident on the Superman – Ride of Steel roller coaster 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.[11]

Just after July 4 weekend of 2010, Superman: The Escape ceased operations with no reason given.[12] A sign posted in front of the ride indicated that it would not reopen until the 2011 season, with hints that there would be improvements made to the ride experience.[13] 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 backward, speculation turned to the possibility of a similar modification to the Magic Mountain ride.[14][15] Six Flags Magic Mountain officials quickly denied rumors that it would receive a Bizarro retheming, similar to roller coasters at other Six Flags parks.[13]

Superman: Escape from Krypton (2011–present)

On October 20, 2010, Six Flags Magic Mountain officially announced the refurbishment and re-theming of Superman: The Escape, in addition to the construction of two new roller coasters. As part of the refurbishment, the ride was renamed to Superman: Escape from Krypton and featured new backward launching cars and a new color scheme.[16][17] The upgraded ride reopened to the public on March 19, 2011.[4][18]

Superman: Escape from Krypton closed again on February 5, 2012 (almost a year after the refurbishment), to prepare for the new 2012 attraction Lex Luthor: Drop of Doom.[19] Two drop towers, also built by Intamin, were integrated into the existing sides of Superman: Escape from Krypton's structure.[20] The ride reopened when construction was finished on July 7, 2012.[19]

To enable the construction of the Full Throttle roller coaster, Superman: Escape from Krypton was temporarily closed from December 2012.[21] It reopened in mid-January 2013, with Six Flags Magic Mountain stating the ride might have intermittent closures as the construction of Full Throttle continued.[22]

Ride experience

Queue and station

Superman Escape From Krypton 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.[23] 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.[23] 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.[1]

Layout

station from 0 to 100 miles per hour (160 km/h) in approximately 7 seconds. Riders experience a g-force of 4.5 during the launch. The vehicle then climbs up 415 feet (126 m) at a 90 degree angle. Riders climb this vertical section facing directly downward, before slightly stopping near the top of the tower. During the vertical section of the ride, riders experience weightlessness for about 6.5 seconds. The vehicle drops 328 feet (100 m) and is slowed down before re-entering the station.[3][4][24]

Vehicles

The roller coaster originally featured two vehicles, each with three rows of four seats and one row of two seats for a total of 14 riders per vehicle.[25] Both vehicles were built to only launch forward. After the ride was refurbished in 2010, new "streamlined" vehicles with the Superman logo were introduced. The new vehicles were designed with low-profile sides to enhance the open-air feeling.[16] Although they are wider, the row of the three seats in the older vehicle was reduced to two, lowering the total number of riders to 14.[23] Both of the new trains were configured to launch backward, although they were designed to launch forward as well. In late August 2021, the left side vehicle of Superman was once again placed forward, allowing riders to choose if they want to experience a forward or backward launch. This is the first time riders can choose between two different ride experiences.

Track

The steel track is approximately 1,235 feet (376 m) in length and the height of the tower is approximately 415 feet (126 m).[4] The tower is in an "L" shape with two parallel tracks. When the ride opened, the entire structure was painted white.[26] After the ride was refurbished, the top third of the structure was painted red, the track was painted yellow and the rest was painted blue.[18]

Records

For the first four years of operation, Superman: Escape from Krypton was tied with Tower of Terror II as the

Top Thrill Dragster at Cedar Point.[28] As of 2020, it has the fourth fastest speed, the second tallest structure and the third-highest drop in the world.[29][30][31]

Preceded by
World's Fastest Roller Coaster
Tied with Tower of Terror
March 1997 – December 2001[32]
 Succeeded by
Dodonpa
Preceded by
Tower of Terror
World's Tallest Roller Coaster
March 1997 – May 2003[33]
 Succeeded by
Top Thrill Dragster

References

  1. ^ a b "Velocetron", The Magic of the Mountain Museum, Valencia, California: Six Flags Magic Mountain
  2. ^ a b "Superfast roller coaster coming". Los Angeles Daily News. January 5, 1996. Retrieved December 6, 2012.
  3. ^ a b c Gerber, Larry (May 14, 1996). "Race for best ride status has heart rates soaring". Kentucky New Era. Retrieved December 6, 2012.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Marden, Duane. "Superman: Escape from Krypton  (Six Flags Magic Mountain)". Roller Coaster DataBase.
  5. ^ "'Superman' Ride Boasts Super Speed". Los Angeles Times. January 5, 1996.
  6. ^ Gerber, Larry (May 4, 1996). "Theme park tops off one for record books". The San Bernardino County Sun. The Associated Press. Retrieved November 28, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ a b c "Fastest roller coaster finally ready to ride". The Union Democrat. March 12, 1997. Retrieved December 6, 2012.
  8. Daily News of Los Angeles
    . Retrieved January 27, 2013.
  9. ^ a b "Dreamworld Disputes Claims Made by US Theme Park" (Press release). Dreamworld. October 1997. Archived from the original on February 5, 1998. Retrieved March 23, 2013.
  10. ^ "Superman The Escape Returns To Full Operation". Ultimate Rollercoaster.
  11. Daily News of Los Angeles. June 3, 2004. Archived from the original
    on March 5, 2016. Retrieved February 26, 2013.
  12. ^ "Superman: Escape from Krypton at Coaster-Net". Coaster-Net. Retrieved December 7, 2012.
  13. ^ a b "Superman coaster at Six Flags Magic Mountain to get major makeover in 2011". Los Angeles Times. August 3, 2010. Archived from the original on May 26, 2011. Retrieved December 7, 2012.
  14. ^ Trenwith, Courtney (August 10, 2010). "Reverse the terror". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  15. ^ Jabour, Bridie (September 17, 2010). "Dreamworld launches new Terror". Gold Coast Bulletin. Retrieved September 17, 2010.
  16. ^ a b MacDonald, Brady (October 19, 2010). "Six Flags Magic Mountain to run Superman coaster backward". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 7, 2012.
  17. ^ "Magic Mountain reveals new Green Lantern ride". KABC-TV. October 20, 2010. Retrieved October 21, 2010.
  18. ^ a b "Six Flags Magic Mountain: Superman coaster set to reopen in March". Los Angeles Times. January 12, 2011. Retrieved January 13, 2011.
  19. ^ a b Dahlin, Kurt (February 4, 2012). "Superman Closing On Feb 5th For Lex Luthor Construction". The Coaster Guy. Retrieved February 7, 2012.
  20. ^ MacDonald, Brady (September 1, 2011). "Six Flags Magic Mountain adding new thrill ride for 2012". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 2, 2011.
  21. ^ "Thrill Rides". Six Flags Magic Mountain. December 2012. Retrieved December 30, 2012. Superman: Escape from Krypton is temporarily closed.
  22. ^ "Superman: Escape from Krypton". Six Flags Magic Mountain. January 2013. Archived from the original on January 10, 2014. Retrieved April 6, 2013. SUPERMAN: Escape from Krypton will be closed intermittently during Full Throttle construction.
  23. ^ a b c Dahlin, Kurt (April 6, 2012). "Ride Profile: Superman: Escape From Krypton". The Coaster Guy. Retrieved November 27, 2012.
  24. ^ "Superman: Escape from Krypton POV". The Coaster Views. March 21, 2011. Archived from the original on December 21, 2021. Retrieved December 9, 2012.
  25. ^ "Superman: Escape from Krypton at Ultimate Roller Coaster". Ultimate Roller Coaster. Retrieved December 9, 2012.
  26. ^ Marden, Duane. "Superman: The Escape  (Photo)". Roller Coaster DataBase.
  27. ^ Marden, Duane. "Dodonpa  (Fuji-Q Highland)". Roller Coaster DataBase.
  28. ^ Marden, Duane. "Top Thrill Dragster  (Cedar Point)". Roller Coaster DataBase.
  29. ^ Marden, Duane. "Record Holders  (Statistic: Height, Type: Steel)". Roller Coaster DataBase.
  30. ^ Marden, Duane. "Record Holders  (Statistic: Speed, Type: Steel)". Roller Coaster DataBase.
  31. ^ Marden, Duane. "Record Holders  (Statistic: Drop, Type: Steel)". Roller Coaster DataBase.
  32. ^ Marden, Duane. "Record Holders – Steel – Speed". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved November 4, 2010.
  33. ^ Marden, Duane. "Steel Record Holders – Height". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved September 20, 2010.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Superman: Escape from Krypton.

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