Six Flags New England is the self-proclaimed thrill capital of New England.
And it’s not hard to see why.
The park has nearly 50 different rides and attractions, including 12 different roller
coasters.
So in this video, I will rank my top 15 rides currently at Six Flags New England, both on
the dry side and water side.
During this countdown, I will mix in some defunct rides I rode as well, but they won’t
be part of the official 15.
15) Houdini- the Great Escape- This Vekoma madhouse is arguably the best themed attraction
in the park.
It features a solid pre-show establishing a creepy atmosphere.
And then the ride tricks you that you’re actually inverting as the room spins around
you.
And because of the range of movement of the seats on this particular version, the inverting
effect on this one is far more convincing.
Splash Water Falls- This was a relatively rare spinning raft ride.
While the ride looked like a water ride, it was really more of a spinning ride.
You would come off this attraction bone dry, but you’d spin non-stop the whole way down.
And that final double down sometimes gave a tummy tickling sensation.
Red River Rapids- This is the ride that Splash Water Falls actually replaced.
It was a small log flume, but it was my favorite ride when I visited Riverside as a young kid.
It was your average, classic Arrrow log flume.
14) Cyborg Hyper Drive- This indoor Chance freestyle is the spiritual successor to the
old Joker’s Wildcard.
The ride has some light theming, although the audio is challenging to hear over the
ride itself.
The indoor setting’s biggest advantage is the near-misses that it creates throughout
the ride.
While this ride does have a short cycle, it does have a few intense spots, most notably
on the final spin which is oddly the fastest part of the ride.
13) Swiss Family Toboggan- The first of two water slides on this list is the park’s
family raft slide.
This one may look innocent, but you really slide up the sides of the slide and it really
feels like you’re raft will tip over.
12) Blizzard River- This is a decent rive rapids ride.
None of the rapids are overly wild, but this one features a double waterfall on hot summer
days and a mist-filled tunnel with some theming to the penguin.
11) Typhoon- This is the signature attraction in Hurricane Harbor.
This ProSlide water coaster doesn’t offer as much airtime as their newer water coasters.
Plus this one uses conveyor belts to propel rides uphill, which isn’t as exciting as
magnets or water jets.
However, it’s still a wonderful water slide because of all the sizable drops.
10) Riddler Revenge- Before 2017, this ride would have been nowhere near this list.
But the new trains with the vest restraints turned Riddler Revenge into a ride I avoided
for a decade into one I try to ride every visit.
This Vekoma SLC doesn’t track the best, but the new trains eliminate all headbanging
which allows me to appreciate the wild and compact layout’s disorienting inversions.
Time Warp- This was a rare Vekoma air jumper wedged inside Pandemonium’s turnaround.
This ride looked similar to the other inverting pendulums out there, but Time Warp’s vehicle
was more open and the hangtime seemed more sustained.
Cyclone- I only rode this after Six Flags modified the original Riverside Cyclone, so
unfortunately it was a relatively slow and awkwardly paced coaster.
However, it still had four steep and sizable drops with some powerful ejector airtime if
you rode in the back.
The ride was bumpy, but I did enjoy it for the ride’s few intense moments.
9) Thunderbolt- The park’s only remaining wood coaster is a decent one.
The figure 8 layout has several smaller pops of airtime, but the final bunny hill delivers
a powerful pop of airtime throughout the train.
Plus, this ride is quite smooth considering its 70 years old.
Catapult- This was one of two S&S sky swats ever produced.
The ride was a maintenance and capacity nightmare, but the ride was an exciting one.
The feeling of being flung towards the ground, only to peel out at the last second, was a
unique visual.
And the motion resulted in some freaky hangtime.
8) Scream- The park’s 205 foot or 62 meter tall drop tower can operate with three different
programs.
Space shot mode where it blasts you up.
Turbo drop mode where it blasts you down.
Or combo mode where it does both.
This ranking is indicative of combo mode.
The ride’s placement atop the hill gives fantastic views of both the park and Connecticut
River.
And you get some decent floater airtime atop the launch and a solid stomach dropping sensation
on the descent.
7) Batman- the Dark Knight- This is an extremely compact Bolliger & Mabillard floorless coaster.
While the ride isn’t as forceful as a Batman the Ride clone, it’s a relatively smooth
ride with a few decent inversions, most notably the awesome zero-G roll.
The hangtime that element provides is incredible.
I have a separate review that goes into more detail on this mutli-looper.
6) Pandemonium- The park’s premier family coaster is a guilty pleasure of mine.
This spinning coaster has a few solid drops, especially if you take them sideways or in
reverse.
And the cars usually spin quite a bit through the helixes and finale.
5) New England SkyScreamer- Once the world’s tallest star flyer, the New England SkyScreamer
is still an imposing attraction.
Standing 400 feet or 122 meters tall, this swing ride offers breathtaking views of the
park and surrounding area.
Plus, it’s downright thrilling seeing you’re supported by these tiny chains as your swing
dances in the wind.
And if you visit during Fright Fest, the park operates this star flyer backwards for an
even greater thrill.
4) Joker- This S&S free spin is a solid ride.
The flipping is more plentiful on the green side, but the flips are better timed on the
purple side.
I love how the top section violently flips you after the first drop and if you can manage
to get a flip on a raven turn- an occurrence that seems more common on the purple side-
you’re in for a treat.
This ride is a disorienting blur and unlike anything else in the park.
3) Harley Quinn Spinsanity- The park’s best non-coaster is this Zamperla giant discovery.
This frisbee swings perilously close to Joker and offers some fantastic forces.
The max swings deliver some nice, sustained floater airtime and on the downswings, you
really feel the ride’s speed and power.
Plus this ride runs a super long cycle.
Before jumping into Six Flags New England’s amazing top two, there is one other closed
ride that would have made the top three.
And that is none other than Goliath…when it was running the original Vekoma trains.
With the Premier trains, Goliath became an uncomfortable, jackhammering mess.
But the old trains tracked very smoothly which allowed me to enjoy the intense vertical drops
and forceful inversion.
2) Wicked Cyclone – This ride is a frenetic blitz of airtime and hangtime filled inversions.
I love the abrupt ejector airtime on the first drop, outward banked turn, and bunny hills.
And it feels like time stands still while you gracefully invert through the ride’s
dense support structure.
While the ride does slow down towards the end, a large majority of the elements still
deliver great airtime outside of the ride’s turnarounds.
I have a separate review that goes into more detail, but my first RMC is still one I really
enjoy.
1) Superman the Ride- This is not only my favorite ride at Six Flags New England, but
it’s still a top 10 steel coaster for me.
Superman has one of the best layouts ever devised.
It starts as an out-and-back coaster with some camelbacks that deliver several seconds
of powerful and sustained ejector airtime.
Then the second half is a twister combining quicker pops of airtime with strong positive
Gs.
While the current restraints are bulky, I’ve learned to accept the U-bricks and find a
comfortable riding position that allows me to appreciate all the things this Intamin
hyper coaster does well.
I have a separate review going into more detail, but this is still a world class coaster.
So those are my top 15 favorite rides at Six Flags New England, plus a few bonus cameos
from defunct rides I rode previously.
What are your favorite rides at Six Flags New England?
Or what are your favorite rides from the park’s Riverside days?
I would love to hear your thoughts down in the comments.
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Thanks for watching!