Superman: The Escape
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| Superman: The Escape | |
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| Location | Six Flags Magic Mountain |
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| Park section | Samurai Summit |
| Type | Steel - Launched |
| Status | Operating since March 15, 1997 |
| Opened | March 15, 1997 |
| Manufacturer | Intamin AG |
| Model | Shuttle roller coaster |
| Lift/launch system | linear motor Launch Track |
| Height | 415 ft (126 m) |
| Drop | 328 ft (100 m) |
| Length | 1,235 ft (376 m) |
| Max speed | 100 mph (160 km/h) |
| Inversions | 0 |
| Duration | 0:28 |
| Max vertical angle | 90° |
| Capacity | 1050 riders per hour |
| Cost | US$ 20,000,000 |
| Superman: The Escape at RCDB Pictures of Superman: The Escape at RCDB |
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For the similarly named roller coaster located in Australia, please see Superman Escape.
Superman: The Escape is a launched shuttle roller coaster loated in the Samurai Summit area of Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia, California that opened in 1997. It is nearly identical to Tower of Terror, which opened two months prior in Australia. These two coasters were the first to utilize Linear Synchronous Motors (LSM) technology to propel vehicles to top speed. Superman: The Escape was for a while the tallest roller coaster in the world, although its drop was the same as Tower of Terror. It was also tied with Tower of Terror as fastest roller coaster in the world. Today, it is fifth fastest. In 2001 the speed record was taken by Dodonpa in Japan. In 2003 Superman's height record was taken by Top Thrill Dragster at Cedar Point.
The design team of Magic Mountain worked very hard in order to create an authentic experience that's true to the character for which the ride is named. Walking up the large hill in order to get to the ride, riders come to a concrete clearing, which has the Superman "S" shield imprinted into the ground. The actual loading area is modeled after Superman's Fortress of Solitude. Walking inside, you find an air-conditioned, crystalline style environment in order to emulate the experience of being in Superman's fortress in the Arctic. Before you get on the ride, you even see a Kryptonian Battle Suit, and statues of Superman's parents, Jor-El and Lara holding up a globe of Krypton. Throughout this whole climactic wait, John Williams' original score for Superman plays outside and in the "Fortress."
The coaster has two parallel tracks. Riders are accelerated horizontally from 0 to 100 mph (160.9 km/h) in approximately 7 seconds (about 0.65 g). The track then pitches up 90 degrees to the vertical. Riders climb this vertical section, stop and follow the same path back to the start. During the entire vertical section of the ride, riders are completely weightless for about 6.5 sec, half going up and half coming back down.
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Superman: The Escape at the Roller Coaster DataBase
- Superman The Escape Photos and Review at Ultimate Rollercoaster.com
| Preceded by Tower of Terror (roller coaster) |
World's Fastest Roller Coaster Tied with Tower of Terror (roller coaster) March 1997–December 2001 |
Succeeded by Dodonpa |
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