Revolution (roller coaster)
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| Revolution | |
| Location | Six Flags Magic Mountain |
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| Park section | Baja Ridge |
| Type | Steel |
| Status | Open |
| Opened | May 8, 1976 |
| Manufacturer | Anton Schwarzkopf |
| Designer | Werner Stengel |
| Track layout | Terrain |
| Lift/launch system | Chain lift hill |
| Height | 113 ft (34 m) |
| Length | 3,457 ft (1,054 m) |
| Max speed | 55 mph (89 km/h) |
| Inversions | 1 |
| Duration | 2:12 |
| Max g-force | 4.9 |
| Revolution at RCDB Pictures of Revolution at RCDB |
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Revolution is a steel roller coaster manfactured by Anton Schwarzkopf of Switzerland and designed by Werner Stengel. The coaster is located in the Baja Ridge area of Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia, California. It opened on May 8, 1976 as Great American Revolution and was the the world's first modern roller coaster to feature a vertical loop. It is an ACE Coaster Landmark.[1]
The coaster was named after the American Revolution, which began in 1776, 200 years before the ride opened. Unlike almost all of the previous attempts to create looping roller coasters in the nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries, Revolution's loop was clothoid-shaped instead of a completely circular. Eight days later, Corkscrew opened at Cedar Point on May 15, 1976 with a vertical loop and two corkscrews for a total of three inversions.
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[edit] History
Magic Mountain developed the loop coaster with designer Anton Schwarzkopf to be the first true loop coaster since the Loop the Loop at the Coney Island amusements.
When the ride opened, the ride staff were outfitted with Continental Army style uniforms to match the American Revolutionary War of 1776 theme. The ride was later changed to a Mexican Revolution theme and called just Revolution when Six Flags purchased Magic Mountain in 1979. In June of 2002, a plaque was erected in front of the ride, marking it as one of the American Coaster Enthusiasts "Coaster Landmarks", for being the first steel looping roller coaster. The coaster was surpassed in the park in 1978 by the Colossus which held the record for a short time as the highest and fastest roller coaster.
During the construction of Six Flags Magic Mountain's roller coaster Tatsu in 2005, parts of Revolution had to be dismantled to make way for the new ride; it reopened along with Tatsu on Tatsu Media Day on May 11, 2006.
[edit] Pop Culture
Revolution was prominently featured in the climax of the 1977 suspense thriller Rollercoaster. It was also featured in the film National Lampoon's Vacation. Dubbed the “Whipper Snapper,” the Griswold family and kidnapped security guard Russ Lasky (John Candy) rode this coaster in the final scenes of the film.
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