Two members of the Coaster101 team recently visited Six Flags Magic Mountain. For John, it was his first visit, while I (Eric) am a somewhat regular visitor (usually a few times a year). Together we’ve decided to rate every full-size coaster at the park (sadly, no kiddie coasters).
The record-setting coasters of Six Flags Magic Mountain.
We’ve decided to use a 5-star scale, to avoid worrying about ranking coasters that are hard to compare. Here’s what we mean by each of the different ratings:
- 5 – This is one of the worlds best coasters, it’s worth a trip just to ride it. These are what you find on top 10 lists, and most small to medium sized parks won’t have any. They’re also likely to be unique, or the best in their category.
- 4 – This is an excellent coaster. These are the rides that you re-ride multiple when you’re at a park or the one that you’ll make a detour to ride if you’re nearby. If your regional park has one of these, you should be very happy.
- 3 – A solid roller coaster, the mainstay of any park (and most coasters should fall here). You try to ride them on any visit to the park, and on a slower day would happily ride these an extra time or two. These aren’t bad coasters, and if we grade one of your favorite rides a 3, that doesn’t mean we think you’re crazy, that’s reasonable.
- 2 – A “meh” ride. If you’re with someone who’s never been on it, you’ll ride it. If it’s a really slow day, you’ll ride it once. But generally you don’t have any problem skipping it.
- 1 – You avoid riding it. If you really want the credit, you can get it, but after that you say “never again”.
Ok, does that all make sense? Great! With all that said, here are our grades for every full-size coaster at Six Flags Magic Mountain in alphabetical order!
1. Apocalypse: The Ride – 3*
Eric: 3 – A solid GCI coaster. It’s not one of my favorites of theirs, but I’d put it comfortably in the middle. Sadly it was closed on our most recent visit, as the West Coast Racers Construction has torn up most of the park in front of it.
John: TBD. The coaster was closed for West Coast Racers construction. Guess I’ll just have to go back. Darn it!
2. Batman: The Ride – 3.5*
Eric: 3 – I don’t think I’ve ever been on a B&M invert that I would consider bad, and this Batman clone is as good as the others I’ve been on. I definitely ride it on any visit, and the short lines are a nice bonus.
John: 4 – I’m a sucker for this ride, partially because I spend so much time at Six Flags Great America where the original was built. The immersive (for Six Flags) queue, the Bat-cavernous station and the relentless second half make it one of my favorite inverts. No shame.
3. Full Throttle – 3*
John: 3 – I had high expectations for this ride but was somewhat underwhelmed. The giant combo loop/tophat element was stunning to look at but wasn’t as fun to ride. I thought the reverse launch was a nice touch, though.
Eric: 3 – Like John kind of mentions, I think Full Throttle suffers from always looking like it should be better than it is. It has neat elements, and the launches are fun, but it always feels like half a ride to me. It’s fun, but I don’t think it’s a must-ride.
Full Throttle
4. Gold Rusher – 2.5*
Eric: 3 – If you’d asked me before this most recent trip, I probably would have given it a 2. It had been a while since I’d ridden Gold Rusher, and it’s a lot more fun than I remembered. The way it hugs the hillside and runs through the thick trees sets it aside from most coasters.
John: 2 – This was one of the more painful mine train coasters I can recall riding. The built-on-a-hillside layout was interesting, and I liked how it interacted with the terrain. But I’m 99% sure the bruise on my back I left with came from this coaster.
5. Goliath – 2.5*
Eric: 2 – I think Goliath is without question the dullest Hyper Coaster out there. It’s not that it’s painful or unpleasant, it’s just surprisingly boring. Despite reaching 85 mph, it doesn’t feel fast. The mid-course brake trim also kills any pacing in it. The end helix is nice, and I’ll go on it when it has a short wait, but I find it very skippable.
John: 3 – I blame Eric for lowering my expectations for this ride which may have been a good thing. I can now see why there are only two Giovanola coasters in the world. The ride was shockingly slow paced and forceless. The entrance was cool, though!
6. Ninja – 3*
John: 3 – I’m a sucker for any coaster that ends with a lift hill as it (usually) means that it’s a terrain coaster. But I loved how Ninja interacted with not only the terrain but the log flume as well. And with as rare as these Arrow suspended coasters are, I have to appreciate each ride on one that I get.
Eric: 3 – As John said, Ninja does a great job interacting with the terrain and neighboring rides. This is another one that I sort of forgot how fun it is. It’s longer and has more going on than I think I used to give it credit for.
7. The New Revolution -3*
We like the way New Revolution uses the terrain and heads through the woods in the park.
Eric: 3 – It’s much better with the new trains and restraints that it got when it was updated a few years ago. I think the historic factor of being the first vertical looping coaster sort of overshadows that the rest of the ride is a long, fun, terrain coaster through the woods. There’s a lot more to it than I think a lot of people realize, and it’s well worth a regular ride.
John: 3 – The woodsy vibe reminded me so much of Whizzer at Six Flags Great America — but taller and with a loop, of course. It wasn’t the best ride of the day, but the historical significance of this coaster and the effect it had on the industry earns it a few bonus points in my book.
8. The Riddler’s Revenge – 4.5*
Eric: 4 – Without question the best stand-up coaster I’ve ever been on, and maybe the only good one I’ve been on. Riddler’s is just a fantastic ride, and of the “older” coasters at the park (pre-2000), I don’t think there’s any question it’s the best.
John: 5 – Am I really giving a Bolliger & Mabillard stand-up coaster a 5? I was so blown away by this coaster, perhaps because I went in with such low expectations. I saw this as the grownup version Georgia Scorcher at Six Flags Over Georgia, which is also great. I loved its speed, length and the diversity of inversions. The world needs more dive loops.
9. Scream! – 3*
Eric: 2 – Ok ok, it’s not like Scream is bad, I just think it’s so uninspired compared to the other coasters at the park. It’s built over a parking lot, out of the way, and doesn’t stand out from other floorless coasters. I’m sort of breaking my own rules here, but compared to the other coasters at Magic Mountain, this is one of the most skippable for me.
John: 4 – I guess I’m a sucker for B&M in general. Scream was far from the best of their creations, but it’s like a summer blockbuster movie. It’s fun in the moment but rather forgettable in the long run. But can we start a fund to at least plant some grass under the coaster? It looks so bad.
10. Superman: Escape From Krypton – 2*
John: 2 – Meh. I’m sure this coaster was amazing when it opened, but I found it to be a waste of however many seconds I spent waiting for it (thankfully not too many). I did like that the train now launches in reverse.
Eric: 2 – It’s probably better to think of Superman like a drop tower than a roller coaster. The launch is fun, and the view is nice, but generally, I find it pretty skippable. It’s not that it’s bad, it’s just very “meh”, as John says.
11. Tatsu – 4.5*
Eric: 5 – In my mind, Tatsu is the pinnacle of flying coasters (although I haven’t been on Manta or any overseas). The setting and scale of it make it stand out such a special experience, I love the way it lives on top of the hill in the middle of Magic Mountain. Admittedly, my body hurts after the pretzel loop, so I only ride it once, but I’d make a detour to the park just to ride it.
John: 4 – I was obsessed with this coaster when it was announced. I closely followed construction. The mountaintop layout mesmerized me. While I’m generally not a fan of flying coasters (partially because of the painful pretzel loops Eric referenced). However, it was an amazing ride from start to finish. I can’t think of a better coaster to start the day with. Those views!!
12. Twisted Colossus -4*
Eric: 4 – It remains one of my favorite RMC coasters, and I might actually consider it my favorite coaster at the park (even though others are graded higher), but a lot of that is because the operations generally mean it has a shorter line than the higher rated rides at the park. It’s certainly one of my top 3 at the park.
John: 4 – Twisted Colossus has been near the top of my coaster bucket list ever since the day it was announced. My expectations were very, and the coaster exceeded them. Every element seemed so carefully crafted and purposeful. Even though our trains didn’t race, we were close enough that I could see the other train throughout the duration of the ride. I wish I could have ridden it once (or twice) more — there’s really too much to appreciate in one ride alone.
13. Viper – 3*
Eric: 3 – Yeah, it has the same problems as most Arrow loopers, in that it can be painful. But, it’s not egregiously rough (especially if you know how to brace yourself). It’s the last 7-inversion Arrow Looper left, and the collection of elements is pretty fun. I think between all that, I make it a regular ride on any visit. We never know how much longer it’ll be around.
John: 3 – Viper is another Six Flags Magic Mountain coaster that I’ve admired for years. Sure, I knew it was an aging Arrow that’s long past its prime. But it looks so majestic standing tall above the park. And it’s an increasingly rare breed of coaster. Though it was rough and I may have needed some ibuprofen after riding, I have no regrets. Like Eric, I worry that its time is limited.
14. X2 – 5*
Eric: 5 – Man, X2 is hard for me. I don’t think I like it as much as Tatsu (or Twisted Colossus), but there is no doubt that it is a one of a kind coaster experience you can only get at Magic Mountain. It might be the most disorienting coaster out there. I’m sort of breaking my own rules about the scoring because I admit I don’t always ride it (it gets really long lines), but I feel like I have to grade it this high. There’s just nothing like it, and it’s such disorienting fun. Hard to believe the original X is 17 years old at this point!
John: 5 – X2 joins an elite class of coasters that literally left me speechless. I knew this would be a wacky ride, but I really was stunned. Videos can do it no justice. And the fire effect (which I assumed had been done away with) really caught me by surprise. I don’t know if my body would be able to ride it more than once per visit, but I would definitely need to ride it a few more times to process it all.
There you have it, our grades for every Six Flags Magic Mountain non-kiddie coaster. The main take away is that Magic Mountain doesn’t really have any “bad” coasters anymore. Yeah, there are a couple of rides that we would skip, but none that we actively avoid, and that’s pretty good for any amusement park. PLus there are a few coasters that we think are real “best in class” rides, especially X2.
So how’d we do? If you agree or disagree with any of our takes on these, let us know in the comments below, or yell at us (or praise us) on Twitter or Facebook. And if we inspired you to take a trip to Magic Mountain, you can find their full operating schedule and hours on their website.
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