Firebird at Six Flags America is the original Bolliger & Mabillard roller coaster.
This was a meaningful ride for the industry and it has undergone several changes,
being relocated and also being transformed from a stand-up coaster into a floorless.
So in this video, I will discuss Firebird’s history and explain if it’s actually a good ride.
Walter Bolliger and Claude Mabillard got their start in the amusement industry working for
Giovanola, a subcontractor for Intamin. This duo formed their own company in the late 1980s.
They didn’t originally plan to make more amusement rides, but Six Flags Great America asked them to
build a stand-up roller coaster and B&M agreed. In 1990, they opened Iron Wolf. This ride opened
as the tallest and fastest stand-up coaster in the world, reaching heights of 100 feet or
30 meters and speeds of 55 mph or 89 kph. This coaster operated at Great America for 21 years
until it was removed to clear space for Goliath, the extreme RMC Topper Track wood coaster.
But this was not the end of Iron Wolf. The coaster was relocated to Six Flags America as Apocalypse.
Opening in 2012, this coaster was well-themed to a post-apocalyptic wasteland with fire
effects and ruins. As I’ve always said, Six Flags nails this theme to perfection
since it looks better the more it’s neglected.
While the coaster had a more prominent place in Six Flags America’s smaller coaster lineup,
guests still complained about the ride experience being rough.
I’ve developed a technique to comfortably ride B&M stand-up coasters. I have an entire video on this
method, but the key is to get the bike seat low enough so it isn’t contacting your crotch. This
also jams the bulky over-the-shoulder harness into your shoulders, which places you head higher to
mitigate headbanging. And it has worked on all the B&M stand-ups except one, Apocalypse. This coaster
was simply too rough and riddled with shaking. It was one of the worst coasters I ever experienced.
So when the park announced Apocalypse was being converted into a floorless coaster named Firebird
for the 2019 season, I was skeptical. On one hand, I had seen how the conversion of California’s
Great America’s Vortex into Patriot had made the experience more comfortable. On the other hand,
Vortex was never as rough as Apocalypse. One thing that cannot be denied is that Firebird
looks fantastic. The orange track has a beautiful glow to it, particularly on a sunny day. While
the apocalyptic theming has mostly been removed, the fire effect was supposedly retained. However,
I have never seen this effect in use during my visits since the ride’s conversion to Firebird.
I also have never seen a line for this coaster. The ride routinely runs two trains, each seating
up to 24 riders across 6 rows. The ride did lose one row of riders when it was converted
to a floorless coaster, but the ride’s hourly capacity increased since the floorless trains
are significantly easier and faster to check. Rather than having to adjust each seat to each
rider, the floorless trains have just a simple over-the-shoulder harness and redundant seatbelt.
These harnesses are pretty hard and can cause headbanging, especially if you sit
in the wrong row. On most rides, the coaster is smoother towards the front. But Firebird is the
exact opposite. The front has considerably more headbanging. If you ride in this row,
you’ll need to lean forwards to avoid smacking your head. The headbanging is still less than it
was when it operated as Apocalypse at least. But I definitely recommend the back. It’s the smoothest
row. There’s only one spot of bad headbanging in this row and the forces are superior as well.
As I describe the ride experience, the forces on the former Apocalypse are identical to what I’ll
describe with Firebird. Just add in a whole lot more headbanging plus potential crotch
pain if you didn’t set the bike seat low enough. Once dispatched, you turn out of the station and
ascend the lift hill. At the top, you get a great view of the park’s roller coaster collection. You
then navigate a short pre-drop and twist 90 feet or 27 meters back down to the ground.
While this drop offers no airtime, it’s slightly underbanked so you get some laterals.
You don’t get this on B&M’s later coasters since the banking is more refined. Then if you’re in the
back, you also get some whip. And if you’re up front, you get some headbanging in the valley.
You then navigate a vertical loop. You don’t really get any positive Gs on
this element as with most B&Ms, but you do slow down at the top to cause some hangtime.
Next is a turnaround. This element is brutal up front,
repeatedly bashing your head. It’s thankfully much smoother in the back and the resultant
drop even gives some floater airtime as well. This is followed by a 360 degree upwards helix.
While it’s not particularly strong on the positive forces, it does have a great sense of speed.
You then navigate this weird bit of straight track high above the ground. It looks like a spot
where a mid-course brake run should be placed, but neither Firebird nor Iron Wolf ever had one here.
The drop off this element is great in the back rows. You get some good floater airtime. It’s
my favorite moment on the ride by far. It’s rare to get airtime like this on a B&M looper.
Next is a corkscrew. It has decent whip, but watch out if you’re up front. It can
cause some more headbanging up there. The following turnaround is easily the
worst part of the ride. No matter where you’re sitting, you will get some violent headbanging.
You really want to lean forwards here if possible to minimize the damage.
The rest of the second half consists of a low figure 8. It’s reasonably smooth,
but it is pretty dull in terms of forces. It just feels like filler in my opinion.
This ultimately leads into the brake run, ending the 2900 foot or 880 meter long coaster.
I touched on this ride’s smoothness, but what about the pacing? It’s not as strong
as the later B&M loopers that pile on more inversions in faster order. While this ride
does have a weak finale, the first 2/3 has some solid moments if you ride towards the back.
Compared to two other early B&M stand-ups, Firebird has more length to it, primarily
because of that extended finale. But I preferred both the Vortex coasters at California’s Great
America and Carowinds since they offered smoother rides, more force, and less filler.
But again, this was B&M’s start so that needs to be taken into consideration.
So what would I rate Firebird? I would ultimately give this coaster a 4 out of 10.
This rating balances the experience between the front and back. The back is probably a
5 or 6 while the front is a 2. Firebird isn’t the strongest layout from B&M, but it has its moments.
I like the two drops with floater airtime in the back. Then the two inversions are solid as well.
The biggest issue with this coaster is the headbanging if you ride towards the front.
So make sure to ride in back and you’ll get a pleasant experience.
While this ride cannot compete with B&M’s later and mostly larger coasters, it paved the way for
this Swiss firm to construct the larger coasters we love today. Firebird can still offer a decent
experience if you’re in the back row. As long as I’m in that seat, I’ll happily ride this at least
once every time I’m at Six Flags America. This may be one of the weakest floorless
coasters out there, but it’s significantly better than when it ran as a stand-up.
So those are my thoughts on Firebird at Six Flags America, the first coaster ever from
Bolliger & Mabillard. What are your thoughts on this coaster, whether as a stand-up or a floorless
coaster? Let me know what you think about this ride down below. If you enjoyed this 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!