[cwgator]

From Screamscape:

http://www.screamscape.com/html/six_flags_magic_mountain.htm

A new promotional video for SFMM’s 2011 plans has been discovered, announcing THREE (3) new coasters coming to the park in 2011. Superman: The Escape will now be called Superman: Escape from Krypton, and does indeed feature backwards trains with a new paintjob on the tower. The top third looks to be all red, with the rest blue, with yellow rails throughout. The big surprise however is next… Green Lantern is coming. Yes, a large green and black coaster is going in the shadow of Batman and Riddler that will be America’s first Intamin ZacSpin. The themeing is very appropriate and looks awesome. Along with the tentatively named “Kids Coaster” coming in 2011 (I guess it really wont be called Mr. Six’s Dance Coaster anymore.) the video ends by pointing out that The Mountain “Recaptures the Coveted Thrill Park Crown” with a record-setting 18 roller coasters. More than any other park on the planet. Go big at SFMM in 2011 for the park’s 40th Anniversary. God Bless Six Flags… they’ve done right by SFMM once again as we say hello to Project 18.

Here is the promotional video:

[youtube]LS5jyNsKIWQ[/youtube]

I guess it's time for Cedar Point to get back on the ball....

[CarowindsFreak]

I guess it's time for Cedar Point to get back on the ball....

I was thinking the same thing when I read this on Screamscape earlier today.

[RiDeWaRrIoR]

Wow, nice. I would love to ride superman and the new green lantern coaster... I wonder why they didnt keep one side of the superman coaster going forwards? Interesting... Looks to be a new type of thrill I guess, going 100mph backwards would be sweet, not sure how fast it went before on the backwards freefall? I have always liked the superman coaster. I wonder if they will try to "blend" the paint where it changes colors to give it a nice effect rather than just color after color, like Cyclone. Nevertheless, the coaster looks pretty sweet with that new color scheme...

[cwgator]

Today was the official announement.

Six Flags Magic Mountain to run Superman coaster backward

The Superman coaster at Six Flags Magic Mountain will get a makeover in spring 2011 that will send riders rocketing 100 mph straight up into the air -- backwards.

Superman: Return to Krypton will add new coaster trains that run backward instead of forward, as they have since the $20-million magnetic launch shuttle coaster opened in 1997 at the Valencia amusement park.

After the ride operates for a few months, one of the cars on the twin tracks will be turned around to run forward, allowing riders to choose between both options, amusement park officials said.

A new paint job in classic Superman colors will feature red on the top third of the 415-foot-tall track and blue on the lower portion with yellow rails.

New streamlined cars with the Superman logo will have lower-profile sides for a more exposed feeling. Superman: Return to Krypton will feature over-the-shoulder restraints similar to the Tower of Terror II makeover at Dreamworld in Australia. (Watch a concept video of Superman: Return to Krypton at Screamscape.)

For the first time, riders will see the load station as they race down the vertical incline toward what looks like a pair of pinholes beneath a gleaming Superman logo. The iconic Fortress of Solitude ice cave entrance will remain.

The old ride, known as Superman: The Escape, which closed earlier this year, featured a gravitational force of 4.5 Gs and 6.5 seconds of weightlessness, according to Roller Coaster Database.

Six Flags Magic Mountain aims to reclaim coaster crown with Green Lantern in 2011

Six Flags Magic Mountain will reclaim the Roller Coaster Capital of the World title with the addition of two coasters in spring 2011, including a first-of-its-kind ride in the U.S., amusement park officials said.

The Green Lantern will bring Magic Mountain's coaster count to 18, allowing the Valencia amusement park to recapture the coaster crown, taken by Ohio’s Cedar Point in 2008. Magic Mountain snatched the crown from Cedar Point around the turn of the millennium after adding a coaster a year during a building binge that stretched from 1997 to 2003. Cedar Point, with 17 coasters, plans to add a tower swing thrill ride in 2011.

The Green Lantern vertical coaster, with green zigzag track and black supports, will sit on a compact footprint near the Batman and Riddler’s Revenge coasters. The new-concept 4th dimension coaster, similar in style to X2 but more tame, will reach a top speed of 37 mph over 825 feet of serpentine track during the two-minute ride. (Watch concept video of the Green Lantern at Screamscape.)

The Intamin ZacSpin coaster will be the first of its kind in the U.S. The Grona Lund theme park in Stockholm added an identical ZacSpin called Insane last year, with smaller versions of the ride also operating in Spain and Finland.

Coaster enthusiasts who have ridden the European ZacSpins invariably describe the experience as fun, intense and weird but gripe about capacity issues.

Upon boarding a train that straddles the track, eight riders per car face in two directions, forward and backward. A chain lift carries each car up an inverted curved section to a height of 107 feet. From there, the suspended trains rock back and forth on the straight-aways and rotate head over heels as the cars plunge over freefall drops.

Six Flags Great Adventure in New Jersey will also add a stand-up coaster called Green Lantern in 2011, relocated from a shuttered park in Kentucky. The debut of both themed coasters will coincide with the 2011 release of the "Green Lantern" movie based on the DC Comics superhero with otherworldly powers.

Magic Mountain will also add a kiddie coaster in spring 2011, relocated from a now-shuttered Six Flags park in New Orleans. Mr. Six's DanceCoaster was announced as a new addition for 2010 and later postponed because of construction delays. Magic Mountain has since dropped the Mr. Six name from the coaster.

The as-yet-renamed red-and-black junior coaster will replace the Sierra Falls water slide between the Thomas Town and Bugs Bunny World kiddie lands. Eventually, the kids' coaster will likely get a Looney Tunes theme, officials said.

[arby]

It seems like Six Flags is getting their act together. I looked at their stock back in August but didn't buy any. I wish I had because it's gone up nearly 50% since then. I'm keeping an eye on it now.