Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, its Superman: The Escape, an over 400-foot shuttle roller
coaster that had a very troubled start, using technology that was way ahead of its time.
Roller coaster records have consistently been a huge bonus to marketing a new attraction. Tallest,
Fastest, Longest, Steepest, Most Inversions, no matter the records parks wanted it. This was no
more prevalent than the coaster wars of the 90s and early 2000s. Parks around the world wanted the
next record-breaking thing, repeatedly trying to outdo the competition to show what they offered,
was the best. While the results of this were some of the biggest and most exciting attractions to
ever exist, it did feature one negative. Coasters were starting to appear that broke these records
by doing only one thing. Rather than a complete layout offering a full length experience,
they would focus on that one record with a single element to achieve what they wanted to beat
and that was it. In the Coaster War, every single foot,
every single inversion or every single speed increase over the competition mattered.
While you could say the Coaster Wars Started earlier, it is normally considered to have
begun with Cedar Point and Magnum XL-200, the first coaster to stand more than 200 feet opened
in 1989. What followed only attempted to offer more than what had come before. In the previous
decade only 122 roller coasters were built. In the 10 years following, over 400 would be.
One such record that parks would want to have first was the first coaster in the world to
go faster than 100 miles per hour. There were many rumours that rides as early as the 1920s
achieved this but that could never be proven. During the mid-1990s work began to try and
achieve this for real. Six Flags were a constant innovator in the attractions they would offer.
To be able to achieve the 100 miles per hour speed with a traditional
full circuit roller coaster the rides lift hill would have to exceed 350 feet. In the mid-90s
this was thought to be basically impossible, with the current highest roller coaster
barely over 200. It wouldn’t be until 96 when Fujiama opened at 259 feet that 300
feet would even be close. A different way to achieve this had to be used.
Announced on January 5th 1996, Six Flags Parks would usher in the next generation of thrills
with the announcement of their brand new roller coaster located at Six Flags Magic Mountain.
"The wait is over, Superman the Escape, up to 100 miles per hour,
41 stories and a heart stopping backwards plummet.
Superman: The Escape. Worlds Tallest. Worlds Fastest. World's Only."
It would be the tallest, fastest and most technologically advanced roller
coaster ever built, that would accelerate riders from 0-100 mph in just 7 seconds,
climbing a record-breaking 41 stories into the sky, 415 feet up a tower.
Estimated to cost 20 million dollars the new attraction would far surpass
the previous highest cost attraction in the park, the 11 million Batman The Ride.
While originally intended to be called Velocetron it would be announced as Superman:
The Escape. The first roller coaster in the world to be themed after the iconic
Super Hero. It would be designed by Intamin and planned to open in late May 1996.
In a decade filled with attractions, Superman The Escape would fly alone,
raising the stakes in the thrill rides arms race. Before it had even opened many claimed
that Six Flags had won the coaster war. The worlds tallest and fastest roller coaster,
would use electromagnetic catapults to attain the long-coveted speed of 100 mph,
shattering the records of the previous speed holders in the US. Steel Phantom & Desperado
"ARghhhh"
You knew that was coming.
"That was stupid.....ugh..... that was really stupid."
The ride would race along a flat stretch of track, reaching its top speed in seven
seconds before curving up and climbing 370 feet of the 415-foot vertical tower, giving riders
6 and a half seconds of weightlessness before plummeting back to the ground.
To achieve this, the ride would employ linear synchronous motors, making use of the same forces
that cause two magnets to repel each other. The ride’s six-ton cars are equipped with powerful
magnets that pass over electromagnetic elements placed every few feet along the track. The
magnets are repelled by each successive element pushing riders along faster and faster reaching
an acceleration force of around 1.5gs. With two parallel tracks accommodating one car each it
would stretch 900 feet from the centre of the park to its northern boundary before heading up and
reaching the point of floating called air time. Not only would this ride go fast, but it would
also feature huge amounts of air time compared to other companies offerings. So much so that a
banana would float in front of you during the top of the ride. Why a banana you may ask? Well......
"Look at me and my weightless coaster riding banana! Woohooo haha"
On the return trip back down the electromagnetic elements can be reversed to slow the car as it
enters the station. The use of LSM Launches was groundbreaking technology at the time.
A complicated computer system would be required to monitor the exact position of the train on the
track. The LSM System was created by Intrasys, Innovative Transport Systems. They were founded
in 1989 in Germany they would provide both the Linear Drive System and the Eddy Current Brakes,
this system used was also designed to be used in Ronald Reagans Star Wars defense program.
This would be the first use of an LSM Launch on a roller coaster.
It would later be adapted to power electric catapults that could fling fighter jets
weighing as much as 37 tonnes off the deck of an aircraft carrier at take-off speed.
The brand new, technologically advanced launch system came with issues. Construction of the
ride was completed in early 1996, with it being topped off in May
just a month before the ride was set to open. Just two weeks before the June 1st opening,
it was announced the ride would be delayed. Six Flags said the ride would hopefully open
mid june. It would be over a year later that the ride would publicly open.
Superman: The Escape was delayed for months to tinker and iron out the kinks.
The park stated that the ride had been delayed due to a late arrival of parts necessary in the
construction of the attraction, and this caused the testing of the launch system to be behind.
The power required to fuel the rides acceleration would be so high that it
briefly doubles the entire park’s electricity use for a few seconds. The stators along the
track would have to be fired a fraction of a second after the one that came before,
directly as the train was about to reach them. This caused a huge headache with the computer
system of the time and tinkering was required to get the trains up to the 100 mph promised speed.
As the June 1st opening got closer the ride was able to only reach the 60-70 miles per
hour. One newspaper described it as more of a mild Clark Kent during test runs, not a superman.
Engineering teams worked around the clock to try and get it up to the promised speed.
The troubled Superman attraction began to be the focus of rumour, The ride was too fast for
the ride vehicles causing the wheels to burn, it couldn't go faster than 60 mph, if it went
full speed it would snap off the top of the tower. Even rumours stating that it had flown off the top
of the track. The park, however, continued to state they were fine-tuning the launch system
and by August 1996 they began to state that they had no estimate on when it may open.
By December 1996 it had reached the 90 to 95 miles per hour range.
The park offered select pass members a ride on the attraction in November 1996.
It still did not reach the 100 mph speed but a few lucky people did get to fly on superman.
Magic Mountain was proud that during the parks 25th anniversary, the park was once again making
theme park history. The ride was actually the basis for the first website of the park ever,
this was full of information on the upcoming attraction. With the continued delay,
roller Coaster fans began to pressure the park to find out when it would open,
but the delay just became longer and longer.
The official opening would not make the 25th anniversary and
would in fact open the following year in 1997.
"It has amazing speed, amazing g-forces, and an amazing amount of air-time. Coaster
enthusiasts will travel hundreds of miles for a moment of air-time. And this one gives you more
than 6 seconds of it. On a number of categories this one is definitely on the top of the list."
Due to delays the 96 attendance was poor for the park, but they were extremely hopeful
that this would be fixed when it finally opened. In March 1997 Superman The Escape would finally
become the worlds tallest and fastest roller coaster, well kind of. Over on the other side
of the world, at Dreamworld on the Gold Coaster of Australia, another Intamin shuttle rollercoaster
using the same technology had managed to open first and while not as tall as Superman The Escape
it had beaten the California version to be the first coaster to go 100 miles per hour. Not
only had Superman missed the parks anniversary, but it wasn’t even now the first of it’s kind
to open. Superman The Ride would have to share the title of the worlds fastest roller coaster.
What was a big success for the Six Flags chain was the use of Superman
for the rides theming. Six Flags said that combining the Superman brand with Six Flags new
out of this world ride experience, was the perfect marriage of entertainment and innovation.
The adventure begins at the Fortress of Solitude, a crystalline ice cavern. Confronted by enemy
forces inside the fortress guests would escape through a special effects tunnel
in the 15 passenger vehicles. The earlier plans for the theming when it was called Velocetron
would have had the station set in ancient ruins as well as a laser on top.
With a total track length of 1315 feet and a ride time of just around 30 seconds
the experience would be extremely short however it could be extremely fun.
Just 2 years after opening,
Cedar Point would announce their plans to make roller coaster history once again,
when it unveiled Millenium Force, announced as the world’s tallest and fastest roller coaster.
Six Flags Magic Mountain were not happy and they challenged the rides titles,
stating Superman was taller and faster. Which technically
it was. Millennium Force would be 310 feet high and reach 92 mph.
The park stated that their ride already held those titles in the Guinness Book of Records.
Six Flags said that Superman The Escape set the industry on fire
with its record-breaking dimensions. Reaching those types of feat in the industry
is monumental and they were not going to let this record go without a fight.
The response from Cedar Point, Superman was not a roller coaster,
it was a free-fall drop tower, that sparked a fierce debate if Superman counted for the
record or not. For Six Flags they just said, just open a Guinness book of records, you will see.
The argument didn’t last long because in 2003 Cedar Point would take the record without any
questions, for 2 years at least. The Coaster War was in full effect and it would be Six Flags that
could once again say with no opposition that they operated the tallest coaster in the world.....
Superman The Escape would get some changes over the years, undergoing a major refurbishment in
2011. As part of the refurbishment, the ride would get a new name, Superman Escape from Krypton,
the trains would now launch backwards, with riders facing down the drop when at the highest point.
The ride was also repainted with a new colour scheme. Over the years since, it has often
hoped that one track would face forward and the other backwards but this has never happened.
Just a year after a drop tower was added to the
side of the coaster with Lex Luthers, Drop of Doom.
Superman: The Escape only did one thing, but it did that thing extremely well. Over the years
it seems at times superman doesn’t quite have the launch speed and height that it used too
but still it offers a great experience, even if it is a really short one.
The LSM Launch created for the ride was way ahead of its time. It wouldn’t be
until over a decade later that the system became more popular and easier to operate
on roller coasters around the world, becoming the more popular launch system.
It would keep the title of joint world’s fastest coaster for 4 years until it was
exceeded by Dodonpa at Fuji-Q Highlands, that story, however, is for another time. Six Flags
had not won the coaster war with Superman, the battle would go even taller, faster and steeper.
While Superman no longer sits atop of his ride in Magic Mountain,
Six Flags took a leap of faith and dreamed big to create something special, something
that would break records. A task that seemed impossible, It isn’t the most forceful launch,
it is extremely short and for quite a few didn’t even count as the tallest coaster in the world but
it can’t be argued that the attraction remains as an example of a huge leap forward in technological
advancements for roller coasters, one which captured the attention of fans around the world,
even i had heard of Superman The Escape, as a young kid living 5000 miles away from
Magic Mountain, though that may have been in part due to Roller Coaster Tycoon 2.
There are those that dislike coasters that only do one thing for a record, however, if the experience
is fun, offers something unique and dreams big, than it can never be considered a bad ride to me.
Superman The Escape may have had a troubled start but by the time the kinks were worked out,
the joint world’s fastest and contested tallest roller coaster in the world could certainly fly.
Thank you so much for watching this episode of Expedition Six Flags, If you enjoyed it make sure
you subscribe to join the Expedition and follow us on Twitter and Instagram for updates on upcoming
episodes. Do you think shuttle coasters count in world records? Let me know in the comments below!
A special thank you to our Patreons for supporting the channel and we will see you next time.