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Colossus (Six Flags Magic Mountain)
Encyclopedia
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 (30.5 m). 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 setup of both tracks pre-lift. They can line up at the lift to race, however the chance is so slim that it almost never happens.
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.
In October, Six Flags runs the old Psyclone trains backward up the track because of the Fright Fest Halloween Celebration.
because it would "rumble and sway." It cost $7 million to build the coaster.
During construction, a tornado
caused part of the structure to collapse. 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 were added in place of the bunny hills later on.
trains were replaced with new "California" style trains from Morgan Manufacturing, these new trains are able to make speeds go faster. 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. This change was to allow a three-train operation on each track to increase ridership capacity.
During the Halloween season, the coaster's web-like structure is accompanied by a giant black spider, and the height restriction becomes 54 inches (137.2 cm). The cars on one side of the track are also run backwards, using the old trains from the now defunct Psyclone roller coaster.
Colossus, although not yet open to the public, was nearing completion in May 1978 when it was used as a backdrop for fight scenes in the NBC TV Movie KISS Meets The Phantom Of The Park
. It was also 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. The roller coaster was also seen on an episode of Doogie Howser, M.D.
, Knight Rider and The A-Team. The coaster could be seen in the background when they filmed a scene in the parking lot.
It is also featured in the film, Zapped!
The protagonists Barney and Bernadette ride the coaster when they visit Magic Land (Six Flags
).
Roller coaster
The roller coaster is a popular amusement ride developed for amusement parks and modern theme parks. LaMarcus Adna Thompson patented the first coasters on January 20, 1885...
located in the Colossus County Fair area of Six Flags Magic Mountain
Six Flags Magic Mountain
Six Flags Magic Mountain is a theme park located in Valencia, California north of Los Angeles. It opened on Memorial Day weekend on May 30, 1971 as Magic Mountain, by the Newhall Land and Farming Company. In 1979, Six Flags purchased the park and added the name Six Flags to the park's title. In...
in Valencia, California
Valencia, California
Valencia is an affluent planned community located in the City of Santa Clarita, California and Los Angeles County, California, U.S. in the northwestern corner of the Santa Clarita Valley, adjacent to Interstate 5. In 1987, it was one of the four unincorporated communities that merged to create the...
. 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 (30.5 m). Colossus features two identical side-by-side tracks, but it is not considered a racing roller coaster
Racing roller coaster
A racing roller coaster, sometimes referred to as a dual track coaster, consists of one whole track or two separate coasters that travels along parallel or mirrored tracks to simulate a race between the trains. The coaster trains travel along tracks just a few feet apart of one another...
since the trains do not normally race due to the setup of both tracks pre-lift. They can line up at the lift to race, however the chance is so slim that it almost never happens.
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.
Description
The ride features two drops greater than 100 feet (30.5 m): a 115 feet (35.1 m) one at the beginning and a 105 feet (32 m) one later. Its duration is two and a half minutes and it goes as fast as 62 mi/h.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 coasterWooden roller coaster
A wooden roller coaster is most often classified as a roller coaster with laminated steel running rails overlaid upon a wooden track. Occasionally, the structure may be made out of a steel lattice or truss, but the ride remains classified as a wooden roller coaster due to the track design...
because it would "rumble and sway." It cost $7 million to build the coaster.
During construction, a tornado
Tornado
A tornado is a violent, dangerous, rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. They are often referred to as a twister or a cyclone, although the word cyclone is used in meteorology in a wider...
caused part of the structure to collapse. 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 were added in place of the bunny hills later on.
Changes
Colossus has gone through a number of changes over the years. The "speed hill" between the second drop and the double-up hill was reprofiled in 1979 to reduce roughness. In 1988, the original PTCPhiladelphia Toboggan Company
The Philadelphia Toboggan Company is one of the oldest existing roller coaster manufacturing companies in the world.Mack Rides of Germany dates back to 1781, but it did not start building coasters until 1921 Based in Hatfield, Pennsylvania, it was established in 1904 by Henry B...
trains were replaced with new "California" style trains from Morgan Manufacturing, these new trains are able to make speeds go faster. 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. This change was to allow a three-train operation on each track to increase ridership capacity.
During the Halloween season, the coaster's web-like structure is accompanied by a giant black spider, and the height restriction becomes 54 inches (137.2 cm). 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
KISS Meets the Phantom of the Park
Kiss Meets the Phantom of the Park is a 1978 television film, starring American hard rock band Kiss...
. It was also featured in the 1983 film, National Lampoon's Vacation
National Lampoon's Vacation
Vacation, sometimes referred as National Lampoon's Vacation, is a 1983 comedy film directed by Harold Ramis and starring Chevy Chase, Beverly D'Angelo, Randy Quaid, Dana Barron and Anthony Michael Hall...
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
Nickelodeon (TV channel)
Nickelodeon, often simply called Nick and originally named Pinwheel, is an American children's channel owned by MTV Networks, a subsidiary of Viacom International. The channel is primarily aimed at children ages 7–17, with the exception of their weekday morning program block aimed at preschoolers...
kids' game show Wild & Crazy Kids. The game, hosted by Omar Gooding
Omar Gooding
Omar M. Gooding is an American actor. He is the younger brother of veteran actor Cuba Gooding, Jr. and the son of singer Cuba Gooding, Sr....
, 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. The roller coaster was also seen on an episode of Doogie Howser, M.D.
Doogie Howser, M.D.
Doogie Howser, M.D. is an American television comedy-drama starring Neil Patrick Harris as a 16-year-old doctor who also faces the problems of being a normal teenager. Created by Steven Bochco and David E. Kelley, ABC aired the show from 1989 to 1993 for four seasons totaling 97 episodes.-Plot:Dr....
, Knight Rider and The A-Team. The coaster could be seen in the background when they filmed a scene in the parking lot.
It is also featured in the film, Zapped!
Zapped!
Zapped! is a 1982 teen sex comedy starring Scott Baio as a teen who acquires telekinetic powers. The film is regarded as a parody of Carrie but also includes spoofs of The Exorcist, Taxi Driver, Star Trek and the 1969 Kurt Russell film The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes.-Cast:Baio stars as Barney...
The protagonists Barney and Bernadette ride the coaster when they visit Magic Land (Six Flags
Six Flags
Six Flags Entertainment Corp. is the world's largest amusement park corporation based on quantity of properties and the fifth most popular in terms of attendance. The company maintains 14 properties located throughout North America, including theme parks, thrill parks, water parks and family...
).
External links
- Colossus Review Photos and more information on Ultimate Rollercoaster.com.