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Six Flags Theme Parks: Extreme Fun For All
Six Flags theme parks welcome 25 million guests annually to their 20 parks: 18 around the United States; La Ronde in Montreal, Quebec, Canada; and Six Flags Mexico in Mexico City. Two of the busiest (and two of our favorites) are Magic Mountain in California and Great Adventure in New Jersey. Both offer a mix of rides and attractions that cater to families wanting either a leisurely time or a more harrowing and "extreme" experience. Check out the Six Flags park nearest your family, and you're likely to find a similar combination of fun for all ages.
Six Flags Magic Mountain, California
Want to experience the thrill of flight? Six Flags Magic Mountain outside Los Angeles just may have the adrenaline rush you're looking for with roller coasters that will test your ability not to lose your lunch.
Magic Mountain has its share of thrill rides that may be of interest to those who want to ride fast-moving coasters. You may be interested in Tatsu, where you'll fly through the mountainous terrain of the park at speeds in excess of 62 mph. You'll be flying, spiraling, and falling -- a lot, as there are 263 feet worth of plunges -- on the tallest, fastest and longest flying coaster in the world.
Déjà Vu is another ride that will give riders a taste of the extreme. First, you go up a 20-story tower while seated in ski-lift-style chairs. Then you take the first dive, go through a vertical loop, and go through a 110-foot butterfly. You then fly up the second tower and the whole ride repeats again -- backwards.
The courageous and fearless can also test their stomachs on Goliath, as it features an initial drop of 61 degrees and speeds up to 85 mph. It is so fast, that during the ups and downs of the ride it will feel like there is zero gravity.
X was the world's first 4th dimension thrill ride but this year, it has been rechristened as X2, a coaster so thrilling that it teeters on being a 5th dimensional coaster. Magic Mountain has invested $10 million in making the coaster even more extreme than it already was with sleeker, lighter trains as well as state of the art special effects. This is how X2 differs from other coasters: riders are seated aboard wing-shaped trains where the seats extend off to the sides of the vehicle. The seats are then allowed to independently rotate, giving the riders an experience they will surely never forget.
The park announced recently that the design team behind X2 will return to design a new roller coaster for the theme park. TERMINATOR®: THE COASTER will be a wooden coaster with five up-and-down hills and six high-speed banked turns that will provide riders with modern thrills on an old-fashioned kind of coaster. The coaster will also have state-of-the-art sound effects and sights on the ride and on the waiting line. TERMINATOR®: THE COASTER is slated for a spring 2009 opening; the coaster will be located near Déjà Vu on the former site of Psyclone, another wooden roller coaster.
Parents and young children, do not be alarmed. While Magic Mountain may sound more like an "extreme park," it still offers rides and attractions for those who aren't as interested in fast rides. The Canyon Blaster in Bugs Bunny World is a much tamer and friendlier coaster (you won't be going anywhere near 80 mph, for sure). Those who want to ride on an even calmer, slower train can enjoy Thomas The Tank Engine in Thomas Town.
Six Flags Great Adventure, New Jersey
Thrill-seekers on the east coast, don't get too jealous over what Magic Mountain has to offer. Six Flags Great Adventure in New Jersey also has its share of attractions and extreme record-setting coasters.
Kingda Ka is heralded as being the fastest roller coaster on Earth, with a top speed of 128 mph. It is also the tallest, as its zenith reaches 456 feet (45 stories) above the ground. Nitro can also provide the adrenaline rush thrill-seekers are looking for. This award-winning coaster (Theme Parks magazine had voted Nitro as the #7 top steel roller coaster) is not as tall (23 stories) and not as fast (speeds only approach 80mph) but you still might lose your lunch, or whatever you had eaten before the ride.
El Toro is more of an old-school roller coaster (it's made of wood instead of steel) but it still provides tons of thrills. Its 76-degree initial drop is the steepest of any wooden coaster. Plus, Theme Parks voted El Toro as the #2 wooden roller coaster. The drops on this coaster will give riders feelings of weightlessness while the numerous high-banked turns will definitely make the ride feel extreme.
Great Adventure does offer many alternative family activities (after all, not everyone wants to ride Kingda Ka seven times). Various Looney Tunes characters welcome children at the gate. If you can't find them by the gate, you'll be sure to find them wandering around the park, either posing for pictures or ensuring everyone is having a great time. Kids turned away from other rides because they don't meet the height requirements can ride on mini-versions of rides in Bugs Bunny Land. There is also the Looney Tunes Seaport where parents can accompany their children on a variety of rides.
And for those who want to experience something "wild" that doesn't entail a ride on a roller coaster, the adjoining Six Flags Wild Safari theme park may be what you are looking for. Families can drive along a trail in the 350-acre wildlife preserve and get up close to all sorts of animals. Kids will enjoy being face to face with giraffes, lions and kangaroos.
In the warm weather, don't forget to spend an extra day experiencing the splash and thrills of the Six Flags waterparks called Hurricane Harbor. There's one next door to each of these theme parks, with its own special variety of fun for all ages.
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