Once the world’s tallest roller coaster, Superman permanently closes

By BRADY MACDONALD

The Orange County Register (TNS)

ANAHEIM, Calif. — The Superman roller coaster that was once the tallest and fastest in the world has been exposed to a lethal dose of kryptonite and will never _y again at Six Flags Magic Mountain.

Six Flags Magic Mountain has permanently closed the Superman: Escape from Krypton shuttle coaster, according to Magic Mountain President Jeff Harris.

“Just like other roller coasters within the theme park industry, there’s a life cycle with these coasters,” Harris said in a video conference call. “It’s just reached a point in time where we need to make a wise decision on where we really should reinvest funds that improve the guest experience the most. It just doesn’t make a lot of sense from a business perspective to put it back into Superman.”

The Lex Luther: Drop of Doom attached to the coaster tower will remain in operation after Superman: Escape from Krypton closes. The drop tower ride will reopen in April following a seasonal refurbishment.

Magic Mountain crews had hoped to x Superman: Escape from Krypton when the coaster closed for maintenance in September, but the necessary parts weren’t readily available and the most prudent option was to permanently close the ride, according to Harris.

“Some of the parts are obsolete,” Harris said. “It’s really tough to even get parts to keep it alive.”

Now Magic Mountain is trying to gure out what to do next with the record-setting coaster.

“It’s too early to disclose what we’re going to do with the actual track, cars, queue, building structure and everything else that comes with the attraction,” Harris said. “That’s yet to be determined, but we’re working through what that potentially could look like for the future.”

Superman: Escape from Krypton is not closing to make room for the new rst-of-its-kind coaster coming to Magic Mountain in 2026, according to Harris.

The loss of Superman: Escape from Krypton will drop Magic Mountain’s coaster count to 19 – still more than any other amusement park in the world. The new 2026 coaster will bring the park’s coaster count back to 20.

“We are still the Thrill Capital of the World for guests of all ages,” Harris said. “We’re still the reigning park when it comes to the quantity and variety of roller coasters.”

The $20 million Intamin Reverse Freefall Coaster debuted in 1997 at Magic Mountain as Superman: The Escape, according to Roller Coaster Database.

The shuttle coaster featured a pair of sideby- side 1,235-foot-long L-shaped tracks that each curved toward the sky.

The electro-magnetic propulsion launch system shot riders from zero to 100 mph in 7 seconds. Riders experienced 6.5 seconds of weightlessness on the vertical section of track before dropping backward toward the launch station.

In 2011, the coaster was rechristened Superman: Escape from Krypton when the ride vehicles were _ipped around so riders were launched backwards and looked toward ground as they plummeted back toward Earth, according to RCDB.

It’s been a tough few years for the world’s tallest roller coasters.

Ohio’s Cedar Point closed the 420-foot-tall Top Thrill Dragster for the entire 2022 and 2023 seasons after a metal piece _ew off the ride and seriously injured a woman waiting in the attraction queue in 2021.

The rechristened Top Thrill 2 replaced the Intamin hydraulic launch system with a Zamperla electro-magnetic propulsion launch system in 2024 – but the ride only operated for about a week before the park closed the coaster again due to mechanical issues.

New Jersey’s Six Flags Great Adventure demolished the 456-foot-tall Kingda Ka and Zumanjaro: Drop of Doom in February – marking the nal demise of the world’s tallest roller coaster and world’s tallest drop tower, respectively.

Now Superman: Escape from Krypton has been relegated to the history books.

The 415-foot-tall Magic Mountain ride debuted in 1997 as the world’s tallest coaster and held the title for ve years until Top Thrill Dragster opened in 2003 at Cedar Point.

Superman: Escape from Krypton took the coaster height title from Dreamworld’s 377-foot-tall Tower of Terror II in Australia. The 100 mph shuttle coasters shared the speed record until the 107 mph Do-Dodonpa debuted in 2001 at Japan’s Fuji-Q Highland.

The Tower of Terror II shuttle coaster track was removed in 2019 – leaving behind only the tower supporting the Giant Drop thrill ride.

Superman will remain a presence at Magic Mountain on the Justice League: Battle for Metropolis dark ride, during the DC Heroes and Villains Fest this summer and in character meet-and-greet photo ops in the DC Universe themed land.

Six Flags Magic Mountain has permanently closed the Superman: Escape from Krypton shuttle coaster.

Six Flags Magic Mountain / TNS