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Six Flags Magic Mountain set to debut new thrill ride

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Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

Six Flags Magic Mountain will add a new 40-story thrill ride on June 30 themed to DC Comics villain Lex Luthor that will rank as the world’s tallest and fastest drop tower.

> Photos: New attractions coming to Six Flags parks in 2012

The 400-foot-tall Lex Luthor: Drop of Doom will be attached to both sides of the Valencia amusement park’s 415-foot-tall Superman: Escape from Krypton coaster tower.

After ascending to the top of the new drop tower, Lex Luthor riders will freefall for five seconds at speeds reaching 85 miles per hour before a magnetic braking system stops the drop.

Themed to Superman’s arch-enemy, the Lex Luthor drop tower will feature green and purple floorless gondolas with riders sitting eight abreast.

Superman trains will rocket up and down the L-shaped shuttle coaster track at 100 mph while Lex Luthor riders rise and fall nearby on the new drop tower built by Switzerland-based Intamin.

Magic Mountain’s Lex Luthor ride bests the reigning 390-foot-tall Giant Drop at Dreamworld amusement park in Australia, which has reigned as the tallest drop tower since debuting in 1998. Giant Drop also reaches an approximate speed of 85 mph.

In 2007, Magic Mountain removed an earlier generation of an Intamin-built vertical drop ride known as Freefall after 25 years of service.

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