Wicked Cyclone at Six Flags New England is a Rocky Mountain Construction hybrid conversion
of the park’s former Cyclone wooden coaster. Wicked Cyclone is a frenetic barrage of airtime
and hangtime. This was the first RMC I ever experienced back in 2015 and it absolutely
took my breath away. But over the past 6 years, I have managed to ride almost every operating RMC.
So how does Wicked Cyclone compare to the rest of the company’s offerings? Is it an elite
ride? Find out in this review of Wicked Cyclone. In 1983, the then Riverside Amusement Park built
the Riverside Cyclone, a super compact wood coaster designed by William Cobb.
Despite the limited land available, Cobb designed an imposing ride standing 112 feet
or 34 meters tall with covered 3600 feet or 1097 meters of twisted track. In its early years,
the Cyclone was very well received and considered to be one of the best wood coasters in the world.
However, after Riverside was purchased by Six Flags, the ride was heavily modified.
The ride’s first drop was shortened from 90 feet or 27 meters to just 75 feet or 23 meters. The
ride had an aggressive layout and was becoming rough, so Six Flags added trim brakes to save
on maintenance costs. And the ride’s Morgan trains were replaced by 2 bench PTC trains.
For the 2014 season, the Cyclone had sections retrofitted with Rocky Mountain Construction’s
Topper Track, which were a series of steel plates replacing the ride’s original laminated wood.
This was intended to smooth out sections of the ride and reduce maintenance. And from experience,
these sections of the ride were significantly smoother. I was skeptical if the park would add
more Topper Track in the following seasons, but Six Flags New England had bigger plans in mind.
In June of 2014, Six Flags New England announced that the Cyclone would permanently close
on July 20, 2014. Enthusiasts immediately began speculating the coaster would be converted by RMC
into a steel hybrid coaster, similar to what the chain did with some of their other aging
wood coasters. And sure enough, on August 28, 2014, Wicked Cyclone was announced.
While I still found Cyclone decently enjoyable, especially in the back for the strong ejector
airtime on the ride’s four largest drops, this was a welcome conversion since the Cyclone was a
shell of its former self. I have a separate review going into more detail on the history of the ride
and my experience on this classic wood coaster. Unlike a lot of the hybrid conversions that were
made taller, Wicked Cyclone was actually 3 feet shorter than the original Cyclone, standing just
109 feet or 33 meters tall. Wicked Cyclone also was a bit shorter at just 3320 feet or 1012 meters
in length, but a lot of the conversions have been shortened from their original layouts.
Wicked Cyclone opened in May of 2015 and early reviews were extremely favorable.
Everyone considered it an upgrade over the old Cyclone. But further, many thought it was the
new best ride in the park and many enthusiasts thought it was one of the world’s best coasters.
However, that sentiment has started to fade in recent seasons. So what changed?
For one, Wicked Cyclone ran extremely fast in its opening year. Throughout its first season,
Six Flags experimented with different wheel combinations on the ride
and it usually ran a bit faster than it does today. I know a lot of people who criticize
Wicked Cyclone’s pacing and the fact that it slows down towards the end, but that doesn’t bother me
too much since the ride still delivers great hangtime or airtime on a majority of its hills.
Two, Wicked Cyclone was only the fourth RMC conversion.
This was the first RMC I ever rode and after I got off it in 2015, I immediately proclaimed it
my new number one since it was unlike any coaster I had previously ridden. As I rode more RMCs,
particularly the newer ones, I realized Wicked Cyclone was no longer in contention as the
world’s best coaster. In fact, I now think it’s towards the bottom half of the RMCs out there.
But that still makes it a fantastic ride since RMC has yet to make a bad ride.
Wicked Cyclone is a decent looking coaster and it borrowed some of its looks from the prior RMCs.
The ride sports bright red rails like Iron Rattler and Medusa Steel Coaster.
But even more curious is the design on the lead car. The storm chaser bares a
lot of similarities to Medusa with the long strands of hair going in every direction.
The queue line is themed to the wreckage from a cyclone. And this type of theme
is right up Six Flags’s wheelhouse. The less its maintained, the better it looks over time.
I also love the station. The walls are adorned with newspaper clippings from
the devastating storm the coaster is themed to and I especially love the custom safety
video that pays homage to the ride’s designers. But arguably the best part of the queue line are
the vantage points of Wicked Cyclone. The queue travels through the heart of the ride’s structure,
so you see the train whizzing past you in every direction. It really amps you up for your ride.
And there’s a decent chance you’ll have to spend some time in this line since Wicked Cyclone is
among the park’s most popular attractions and it also doesn’t have the best throughput. Dispatches
on this ride tend to be on the slower side since the employees need to first check the seatbelts
and then lower the restraints. And if guests accidentally lower their lap bar
despite multiple warnings not to, the operators need to restart the restraint check process.
The restraints are the standard ones found on most RMCs.
You have a seatbelt and lap bar complete with shin guards. The trains are definitely snug and
cramped, but I’ve never found them uncomfortable. In terms of seat selection, every hill offers
great airtime but I have a slight preference for the back to experience the full power of the
first drop. In the ride’s early years, seating was assigned due to how narrow the ride’s station is.
But now you are free to wait for whatever row you’d like.
Once dispatched, the train rumbles out of the station to the beat of We Will Rock You.
I’m not sure if it was intentional or not, but it’s a quirky touch.
You then round a corner and ascend the ride’s lift hill.
The view for a majority of the lift is nothing to write home about, as you have a roadway to your
right. On the left is the park, but the ride’s structure obstructs your view most of the way up.
Once at the top, you get a brief but gorgeous view of the park.
And then Wicked Cyclone goes berserk. The first drop is over in a flash,
but it’s wild. It has a max angle of descent of 78 degrees and it absolutely launches back row riders
out of their seat. Heck, the drop is so steep that even front row riders get a tiny pop of airtime.
It’s the best drop at both Six Flags New England and all of New England.
The pullout from this drop offers some solid positive Gs and those G-forces
are maintained through the subsequent overbank, so I always start to greyout.
When I regain my vision, I find myself being rocked out of my seat on a tiny speed hill.
No matter where you’re sitting, you get a strong pop of ejector airtime.
And it’s extra intense since you’re traveling at 55 mph or 88.5 kph over this hill.
The train then shoots up into the first zero-G stall on a steel coaster. The visual of diving
into a sea of supports is fantastic and something all three inversions on Wicked Cyclone share. And
the hangtime on this element is top-notch. Riders will levitate out of their seat for a few seconds.
And then at the last second, the element snaps in the opposite direction from which you entered
delivering a small burst of laterals. Wicked Cyclone then cruises around a turnaround.
There’s an overbank with a pinch of laterals and then the exit from the first turnaround is
a double down. The first part of the double down gives a nice pop of ejector airtime and laterals,
especially if you’re in the front, since the dip is relatively small.
The second part of the double down, especially in the back row,
has some of the best ejector airtime on the ride. That’s followed by a bunny hill that runs parallel
to the queue line. In its opening year, this ride delivered some insane ejector airtime.
Now it offers sustained fl-jector airtime up front and weak but sustained ejector airtime towards the
back. It’s still a great element and one of the ride’s most sustained airtime moments though.
That’s followed by the ride’s second turnaround. The entrance sharply banks to the left,
which offers a jolt of laterals. Then comes my favorite part of the ride,
the outward banked turn. This is easily the most violent part of the ride and it’s downright
insane. You are diagonally ejected out of you’re seat with the ride’s strongest ejector airtime.
At the same time, you also are surrounded by supports which creates a freaky headchopper.
And this element especially caught me off-guard on my first ride. I studied the Wicked Cyclone
animation religiously and this was originally supposed to be a standard overbanked turn.
Sometime in the design process, this was element was transformed into an
outward banked turn and I’m sure glad it was. The exit from this turnaround is this banked hill
that jerks you to the side and then you gracefully flip through a zero-G roll. Like the prior stall,
you’re in a mess of supports while levitating out of your seat. It’s a great inversion.
Wicked Cyclone then charges over a fantastic bunny hill, providing another powerful burst
of ejector airtime. And then Wicked Cyclone cruises around yet another turnaround.
And this is easily the dullest part of the ride. The original Cyclone was known for having
lackluster turnarounds. They were slow and uneventful. Wicked Cyclone takes its
turnarounds with more speed, but they definitely feel like filler elements outside of that
aforementioned outward banked turn on the prior turnaround. The turnarounds just don’t
have the same intensity as the rest of the ride. This turnaround is followed by the double reverse
banked airtime hill, which I have nicknamed the Schilke special. This element should not
work. It’s basically a speed hill with trick track both on the ascent and descent. And it’s
a testament to how smooth RMCs are that this element doesn’t break your back. Instead, it
delivers a violent jolt of ejector airtime while tossing your body side-to-side like a ragdoll.
And this is where the on-ride photo is, so the reactions of riders are priceless.
At this point, it feels like Wicked Cyclone is out of gas. You are crawling. In its opening year,
that wasn’t the case. But more often than not, Wicked Cyclone now limps to the finish.
Thankfully, it still has some good elements remaining.
That is followed by another zero-G roll. This one takes place below the prior one,
but you have very little speed through it. And I honestly think that enhances the element.
It feels like time is standing still as you’re suspended upside down. And you also
get this unique headchopper with the ground. You then coast over these two tiny hills that
fail to offer any airtime, but the first has a tiny bit of laterals. Then comes another
outward banked hill. This one is far less extreme than the first, but it delivers some
solid fl-jector airtime as you’re diagonally lifted out of your seat towards a support.
Wicked Cyclone then passes over a little hump that does nothing and one last bunny hill. This bunny
hill delivers a great pop of airtime throughout the train and then you hop into the brake run,
which gives one last pop of airtime. And that airtime pop is considerably stronger up front.
You then hit the brake run, ending the ride. Wicked Cyclone’s pacing is solid, but a few of
the turnarounds provide breathers and the final few elements don’t have the same intensity as
those earlier in the ride. In terms of smoothness, Wicked Cyclone is about as smooth as a coaster
can be. In its opening year, it was possible to get a ride that vibrated heavily when the
park was experimenting with different wheels, but every ride since 2016 has been smooth as glass.
So what would I rate Wicked Cyclone? I would give New England’s only RMC hybrid a 9 out of 10. This
is a great coaster. The ride claims to have more airtime than any other ride in New England
and I believe it. The coaster is a sea of airtime hills and a majority of them deliver
abrupt ejector airtime. Most of the airtime isn’t sustained, but the power more than compensates.
And the coaster also mixes things up with three inversions with oodles of hangtime.
While the pacing may not be as good as some of the other RMCs, it’s still better than a majority
of coasters and it’s impressive how quickly Wicked Cyclone throws elements at riders.
I still think Superman is the best ride at Six Flags New England,
but Wicked Cyclone gives the park one of the best one-two punches in the world.
So those are my thoughts on Wicked Cyclone, the awesome RMC hybrid coaster at Six Flags
New England. What are your thoughts on Wicked Cyclone? Do you think it’s elite?
I would love to hear your thoughts down in the comments. If you enjoyed his review, I’d
appreciate it if you gave this video a like and you considered subscribing since there will be a
lot more roller coaster and amusement park videos here at Canobie Coaster. Thanks for watching!