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Medusa (Six Flags Discovery Kingdom)
Encyclopedia
For the Six Flags Great Adventure
ride formerly known as Medusa, see Bizarro (Six Flags Great Adventure).
Medusa is a steel roller coaster
located at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom
in Vallejo, California
.
Medusa opened in 2000 as the first floorless roller coaster
on the west coast. Built by Bolliger & Mabillard
, the coaster features a 150 feet (45.7 m)-tall lift hill
with a 150 feet (45.7 m) drop, and the first Sea serpent roll element ever built on a B&M coaster. The ride is the longest coaster in Northern California at 3937 feet (1,200 m) long and is notable as having one of the largest vertical loops in the world at 128 ft. It also shares the height record in Northern California with another ride in the same park, V2: Vertical Velocity, at 150 feet high. It features the following seven inversions:
Discovery Kingdom's version of Medusa is often referred to as "Medusa West" by coaster enthusiasts because there are three rides with the same name, all with different layouts. "Medusa East", later renamed "Bizarro", is located at Six Flags Great Adventure
and features a significantly different layout that includes a Cobra Roll and Interlocking Corkscrews. "Medusa South," a wooden coaster built by CCI, is located at Six Flags Mexico
.
The ride starts with a large left-hand turnaround out of the station and onto the lift hill. At the top is a B&M pre-drop followed by a right turn. After that is the large 150' drop which achieves the same height as the lift hill despite the B&M Pre-Drop by dipping below ground level into a pit. The drop is followed by a 128' vertical loop. Medusa then features a dive loop to the left and a zero-G roll. The ride then enters a Sea Serpent roll. After a very quick breather during the mid-course brakes, the train whips into a twisting left-hand drop into a flatspin under the brake run. The on-ride photo
is taken directly after the first flatspin. The ride then travels through an inclined helix to the left before diving into the second Flatspin. The ride's finale is a quick 85 degree banked helix to the right before a quick S-Turn, which creates the sensation that the train will run into one of the lift supports. Then, the ride will either glide into the brake run and travel back toward the station, or may come to a sudden stop if it is operating with three trains and another train is already in the station.
Six Flags Great Adventure
Six Flags Great Adventure is a theme park in Jackson Township, New Jersey, owned by Six Flags Entertainment Corp., the world's largest amusement park corporation...
ride formerly known as Medusa, see Bizarro (Six Flags Great Adventure).
Medusa is a steel roller coaster
Steel roller coaster
A steel roller coaster is a roller coaster that is defined by having a track made of steel. Steel coasters have earned immense popularity in the past 50 years throughout the world...
located at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom
Six Flags Discovery Kingdom
Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, formerly Six Flags Marine World, Marine World, The New Marine World Theme Park, and Marine World Africa USA, is an animal theme park located in Vallejo, California. The park includes a variety of roller coasters and other amusement rides, along with a collection of...
in Vallejo, California
Vallejo, California
Vallejo is the largest city in Solano County, California, United States. The population was 115,942 at the 2010 census. It is located in the San Francisco Bay Area on the northeastern shore of San Pablo Bay...
.
Medusa opened in 2000 as the first floorless roller coaster
Floorless roller coaster
A floorless roller coaster is a roller coaster with trains that ride above the track and allow the passenger's legs to dangle. It is a fairly new concept in roller coaster design brought forth by manufacturers Bolliger & Mabillard. The first ever floorless coaster debuted in 1999 at Six Flags Great...
on the west coast. Built by Bolliger & Mabillard
Bolliger & Mabillard
Bolliger & Mabillard Consulting Engineers is a roller coaster design consultancy based in Monthey, Switzerland. The company was founded in 1988 by Walter Bolliger and Claude Mabillard, with Bolliger acting as president and Mabillard as vice-president...
, the coaster features a 150 feet (45.7 m)-tall lift hill
Lift hill
A lift hill, or chain hill, is often the initial upward-sloping section of track on a typical roller coaster that initially transports the roller coaster train to an elevated point or peak in the roller coaster ride...
with a 150 feet (45.7 m) drop, and the first Sea serpent roll element ever built on a B&M coaster. The ride is the longest coaster in Northern California at 3937 feet (1,200 m) long and is notable as having one of the largest vertical loops in the world at 128 ft. It also shares the height record in Northern California with another ride in the same park, V2: Vertical Velocity, at 150 feet high. It features the following seven inversions:
- 128 foot tall Vertical LoopLoop (roller coaster)The generic roller coaster vertical loop is the most basic of roller coaster inversions. Specifically, the loop refers to a continuously upward-sloping section of track that eventually results in a complete 360 degree circle. At the top-most piece of the loop, riders are completely inverted.-...
, - Dive Loop,
- Zero G roll,
- 2 Flatspins (commonly known as corkscrews)
- Sea Serpent roll
Discovery Kingdom's version of Medusa is often referred to as "Medusa West" by coaster enthusiasts because there are three rides with the same name, all with different layouts. "Medusa East", later renamed "Bizarro", is located at Six Flags Great Adventure
Six Flags Great Adventure
Six Flags Great Adventure is a theme park in Jackson Township, New Jersey, owned by Six Flags Entertainment Corp., the world's largest amusement park corporation...
and features a significantly different layout that includes a Cobra Roll and Interlocking Corkscrews. "Medusa South," a wooden coaster built by CCI, is located at Six Flags Mexico
Six Flags México
Six Flags México is an amusement park owned by Six Flags Inc. and the only Six Flags park operating in Latin America. It is located in the Tlalpan forest and borough, on the southern edge of Mexico City, Mexico. Six Flags México has become one of the most important theme parks in Mexico and the...
.
The ride starts with a large left-hand turnaround out of the station and onto the lift hill. At the top is a B&M pre-drop followed by a right turn. After that is the large 150' drop which achieves the same height as the lift hill despite the B&M Pre-Drop by dipping below ground level into a pit. The drop is followed by a 128' vertical loop. Medusa then features a dive loop to the left and a zero-G roll. The ride then enters a Sea Serpent roll. After a very quick breather during the mid-course brakes, the train whips into a twisting left-hand drop into a flatspin under the brake run. The on-ride photo
On-ride camera
An on-ride camera is a camera mounted alongside the track of a roller coaster, log flume or other thrill ride that automatically photographs all of the riders on each passing vehicle. They are often mounted at the most intense or fastest part of the ride, resulting in humorously distorted...
is taken directly after the first flatspin. The ride then travels through an inclined helix to the left before diving into the second Flatspin. The ride's finale is a quick 85 degree banked helix to the right before a quick S-Turn, which creates the sensation that the train will run into one of the lift supports. Then, the ride will either glide into the brake run and travel back toward the station, or may come to a sudden stop if it is operating with three trains and another train is already in the station.