Scream Roller Coaster Up-front Info
- Thrill Scale (0=Wimpy!, 10=Yikes!): 8
Inversions, floorless style leaves riders feeling exposed - Coaster type: Floorless
- Height: 150 feet
- Top speed: 63 mph
- Height restriction: 54 inches
Floorless coasters, for the uninitiated, have no floor. (Duh!) Like inverted coasters (SFMM's Batman the Ride, for example), riders' legs dangle freely as the train careens along the track. Unlike inverted coasters, which are suspended from an overhead track, floorless models sit on top of the track. There is nothing above riders...or beneath them or to their sides. Essentially, the wacky designers at master coaster manufacturer Bolliger & Mabillard have stripped away the car and left a train of flying seats.
Scream offers a layout similar to the prototype floorless coaster, Medusa at Six Flags Great Adventure in New Jersey. A follow-up coaster, also called Medusa, at Six Flags Marine World near San Francisco, is more or less a clone as well.
After passengers board the train, Scream's loading platform descends to leave riders' floorless feet dangling. It's quite a sight to see 64 feet tentatively kicking the air. With a dramatic flourish, a gate swings open, and the train leaves the station to ascend the lift hill.
As the coaster goes through its paces, its open-air design offers an incredible sense of freedom. In addition to the look-Ma-no-hands pose coaster junkies love to strike as they soar through the air, Scream also inspires riders to extend their legs and take in the whole experience. (Over-the-shoulder harnesses keep everyone snug and secure.)
The elements are inspired and include an initial 128-foor vertical loop, a heartline spin, and a dive loop. Perhaps the most striking feature of Scream is its 78-foot cobra roll. It both flips riders over and delivers some healthy doses of delirious airtime. From the ground, the maneuvers look insane as exposed daredevils, their limbs flailing, get tossed unmercifully this way and that. But aboard Scream, the ride is surprisingly smooth and a real treat.
At the far end of the park, Scream's landscaping and themeing are almost non-existent. The mountains just beyond the park provide beautiful vistas, but the immediate area around the coaster includes a bone yard of coaster seats and parts. Still, if you go to Six Flags Magic Mountain to scream--and let's face it, who doesn't?--you'll want to head over to Scream and let your hollers reverberate through the hills and valleys.
