| Colossus | |
 Colossus Sign |
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| Location | Six Flags Magic Mountain |
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| Park section | Colossus County Fair |
| Type | Wood |
| Status | Open |
| Opened | June 29, 1978 |
| Manufacturer | International Amusement Devices, Inc. |
| Designer | International Amusement Devices, Inc. |
| Model | Wooden Racer |
| Track layout | Twin out-and-back |
| Lift/launch system | Chain lift |
| Height | 125 ft (38 m) |
| Drop | 115 ft (35 m) |
| Length | 4,325 ft (1,318 m) |
| Max speed | 62 mph (100 km/h) |
| Inversions | 0 |
| Duration | 2:30 |
| Max vertical angle | 64° |
| Capacity | 2600 riders per hour |
| Cost | $34,000,000 |
| Height restriction | 4 ft 0 in (120 cm) |
| Colossus at RCDB Pictures of Colossus at RCDB |
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Colossus is a wooden roller coaster located in the Colossus County Fair area of Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia, California. When it opened on June 29, 1978, it was one of the tallest and fastest wooden roller coasters in the world, and the first roller coaster in the world with two drops in excess of 100 feet.[1] Colossus features two identical side-by-side tracks, but it is not considered a racing roller coaster since the trains do not normally race due to the timing of the part going to the lift. They can line up at the lift to race, however the chance is so very slim that it is extremely rare.
Colossus was built by International Amusement Devices, Inc. and opened on June 29, 1978. The coaster's six trains are six cars long; each car contains two rows of two seats, for a total of 24 seats per train.
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Description
The ride features two drops greater than 100 feet: a 115-foot one at the beginning and a 105-foot one later. Its duration is two and a half minutes and it goes as fast as 62 miles per hour.[1] In October, Six Flags runs the old Psyclone trains backward up the track because of the Fright Fest Halloween Celebration.
History
The coaster was designed by Doug Bernards, who is president of Bernards Brothers Construction in San Fernando. Magic Mountain specifically asked for an all-wood coaster because it would "rumble and sway." It cost $7 million to build the coaster.[2]
During construction, a tornado caused part of the structure to collapse.[2] When testing began a problem with the brakes caused the train to not stop when needed and caused the train to complete up to 3 circuits before it was stopped. This is known to be one of the reasons the block brakes was added in place of the bunny hills later on.
Changes
Colossus has been reprofiled several times since it opened. The most significant reprofiling was in 1979. One very visible change was done in 1991 to a pair of camelback hills on the parking lot side. The valley between the hills was leveled off and a block brake was added. The original track can still be seen below the block brake.
During the Halloween season, the coaster's web-like structure is accompanied by a giant black spider. The cars on one side of the track are also run backwards, using the old trains from the now defunct Psyclone roller coaster.
Film and television
It was featured in the 1983 film, National Lampoon's Vacation as Screemy Meemy. It is also the coaster that the family rides in the opening sequence of the sitcom Step by Step. The coaster was featured in a game on the Nickelodeon kids' game show Wild & Crazy Kids. The game, hosted by Omar Gooding, pitted boys against girls to see which team could keep the most water in mugs while on the ride. The boys won, but just barely.
References
- ^ a b Entertainment/Travel Editors. "ADVISORY/After 20 Years -- Six Flags Magic Mountain's Colossus Is Still the West Coast's Most Thrilling `Woodie'." Business Wire. 4 December 1998. Retrieved June 5, 2008
- ^ a b Apodaca, Patrick. "Three of a Kind Bernards Brothers Fame Rides on Projects Like Magic Mountain's Giant Roller Coaster." Los Angeles Times. November 7 1989. Retrieved June 5, 2008,
External links
- Colossus Review Photos and more information on Ultimate Rollercoaster.com.
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| Preceded by Screamin' Eagle |
World's Fastest Roller Coaster June 1978–April 1979 |
Succeeded by The Beast |
Coordinates: 34°25′40″N 118°35′51″W / 34.42778°N 118.5975°W
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
