Six Flags to close Colossus roller coaster in August
When it opened in 1978, the Colossus roller coaster at Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia was the tallest and fastest in the world.
Today, the wooden coaster that peaks at 125 feet and reaches speeds of 62 mph doesn’t rank among the top 10 in either category.
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FOR THE RECORD:
Colossus ride: In the June 10 Business section, an article about the pending closure of the Colossus roller coaster at Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia said that an employee was killed in 1996 while working on the coaster. She was killed while working on the park’s Revolution roller coaster.
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That may explain why Six Flags has decided to dismantle the coaster to make way for a new attraction.
Colossus will carry its last riders on Aug. 16. Park officials declined to say what will fill the space.
“Six Flags Magic Mountain will announce exciting future plans for the park we think our guests will love at a later date,” the park said in a statement.
The ride was unique for having two sets of tracks that run parallel to each other, but the vehicles were not designed to race each other.
Six months after the ride opened, a 20-year-old woman was ejected from her car and killed. The ride has been upgraded and modified several times since it opened.
Theme park insiders say Colossus will likely be replaced by another coaster because Six Flags has been in a long-running rivalry with Cedar Point amusement park in Sandusky, Ohio, for the title of “roller coaster capital of the world.”
Including Colossus, Six Flags has 18 coasters, while Cedar Point operates 16. Six Flags will briefly increase to 19 later this month when it adds a new coaster for younger children titled Speedy Gonzales Hot Rod Racers.
