The Thrill is Gone for Magic Mountain's Psyclone and Flashback
Monday January 29, 2007
I doubt any ride fans will be particularly upset or surprised to learn that Six Flags Magic Mountain is giving the heave-ho to its Psyclone and Flashback coasters. According to the Los Angeles Daily News, neither of the coasters will be operating at the California park this season. The wooden Psyclone, a replica of Coney Island's legendary Cyclone coaster, had deteriorated terribly and was among the roughest coasters I'd experienced when I rode it two years ago. It's apparently beyond repair as Six Flags plans to scrap it within four weeks. However, Magic Mountain may relocate Flashback elsewhere in the park at some point in the future. The steel coaster has not been operating the past few seasons. Removing the coasters will free up space that could be used to add more family-friendly attractions, something that Six Flags CEO, Mark Shapiro, is emphasizing throughout the chain. Once engaged in a coaster war with Ohio's Cedar Point for having the most number as well as the tallest and fastest thrill machines, the removal of the two coasters will bring Magic Mountain's coaster count down to 15. Cedar Point will be opening its 17th coaster, Maverick, this season.
Comments
I rode Psyclone last summer and calling the ride rough would be an understatement. It was painful. The coaster has become so warped and rickety that only a masochist or a teenager with something to prove would enjoy the ride.