What is Twisted Colossus?
Twisted colossus is a wooden hybrid roller coaster located at Six Flags Magic Mountain in California, USA
The ride is classified as a hybrid coaster as it features a wooden support structure and a steel track,
specifically Rocky Mountain Construction's I-box track technology.
This technology enables more creative elements to be used on a wooden roller coaster such as multiple inversions.
Twisted Colossus officially opened to the public on the 23rd of May 2015.
It was built by Rocky Mountain Construction,
widely known as RMC.
However like many other RMC projects the ride was a renovation of a previous coaster, Colossus.
Colossus opened in 1978 as a wooden racing roller coaster,
constructed by International Amusement Devices.
It operated for roughly 36 years before closing in 2014.
Similar to colossus Twisted Colossus features two distinct tracks; the blue track, and the green track.
A single train can traverse each track at the same time,
allowing for two trains to duel throughout the experience.
As a result the layout has been cleverly designed with this aspect in mind.
Riders of Twisted Colossus begin their experience with a left-hand turn out of the station,
into a series of flat and banked of bunny hills.
They then start to ascend the 37m lift hill (121ft) and crest the 39m (128ft) drop.
At this point in time the first train navigates the blue track,
while riders halfway through the experience navigate the green track.
Both trains plummet down the first drop at the maximum vertical angle of 80 degrees,
and enter a small airtime hill.
They do this at the top speed of 92 kmh (57 mph),
before climbing a large hill.
Riders then complete a banked 180-degree turn,
traverse several airtime hills and enter a zero g roll.
The first half of the ride ends is double up and another turn into the second lift hill.
As the trains enter the lift hill once again, the track changes colour.
Riders are dragged up to the maximum height and experience the first drop,
airtime hill and banked turn a second time.
They then enter a double down element which leads directly into a top gun stall.
Interestingly this still takes place above the blue track allowing the one train to run above the other.
The green track then intersects the zero g roll, allowing for even more interaction between the two trains.
Riders go on to experience the double up once more,
before undergoing several turns into the final brake run.
The overall layout of the coaster measures a huge 1521m long (4990 ft).
This leads to an impressive 85 seconds of ride time,
which excludes the time spent on the multiple lift hills and brake runs.
Apart from the two inversions, Twisted Colossus also features a high five element.
During this element, both trains enter parallel over banked turns,
giving the illusion that riders from one train can high-five those in the other.
Unfortunately unlike some other coasters,
this is not possible.
The trains themselves are made up of six cars with riders seated in two rows of two.
This leads to a total of 24 riders per train
Due to the nature of the ride, multiple trains can run on the track at once.
The coaster itself is located within the Screampunk district of the park.
As a result, includes steampunk related seeming in the form of cogs and other machinery items.
This can be seen reflected on the trains of the ride as well as throughout the station area.
Twisted Colossus was a success for Six Flags Magic Mountain,
gaining great reviews from both the general public and roller coaster enthusiasts.
Many have said that the dueling aspect of the ride drastically increases its appeal.
Sadly the trains don't always duel to timing and dispatch issues.
Overall, the ride become one of the many RMC roller coasters across the United States.
Is Twisted Colossus the best RMC in America?
What's your opinion?