Medusa at Six Flags Great Adventure

The world's first floorless coaster, Great Adventure's Medusa is still among the best of its kind. It's quite smooth, yet has some serious attitude. It also offers some good bursts of airtime.

Medusa Up-Front Info

• Thrill Scale (0=Wimpy!, 10=Yikes!): 8
  Inversions, floorless style leaves riders feeling exposed
• Coaster type: Floorless
• Top speed: 61 mph
• Height restriction to ride: 54 inches
• Height of lift hill: 142 feet
• First drop: 132 feet
• Ride time: 2 minutes, 20 seconds
• Medusa and other Six Flags Great Adventure Rides Photo Gallery

Ticket Info
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Um, where's the floor?

Floorless coasters, for the uninitiated, have no floor. (Duh!) Like inverted coasters (SFGA'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.

Medusa offers a layout similar to its sister floorless coaster, Scream-Ride out Loud at Six Flags Magic Mountain in California. A follow-up coaster, also called Medusa, at Six Flags Marine World near San Francisco, is more or less a clone as well.

Hands--and feet--up!

After passengers board the train, Medusa's loading platform descends to leave riders' 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, Medusa also inspires riders to extend their legs. (Over-the-shoulder harnesses keep everyone snug and secure.)

The elements are inspired and include an initial 128-foot vertical loop, a heartline spin, and a dive loop. Perhaps the most striking feature of Medusa 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 Medusa, the ride is surprisingly smooth and a real treat.