Superman: Escape from Krypton is a launched

Launched roller coaster

The launched roller coaster is a modern form of roller coaster which has increased in use in the last decade. In place of a traditional chain lift, the launched coaster initiates a ride with high amounts of acceleration via one or series of Linear Induction Motors , Linear Synchronous Motors ,...

 steel

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...

 shuttle

Shuttle roller coaster

A shuttle roller coaster is any roller coaster that ultimately does not make a complete circuit, but rather reverses at some point throughout its course and traverses the same track backwards...

 roller coaster

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 Samurai Summit 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...

 that opened in 1997. It is similar to Tower of Terror II, which opened two months prior in Dreamworld

Dreamworld

Dreamworld is a large theme park situated on the Gold Coast in Queensland. It is currently Australia's largest theme park with over 27 rides including 4 roller coasters. The park is made up of several themed lands: Ocean Parade, Kid's World, Wiggles World, Gold Rush Country, Rocky Hollow, Tiger...

, Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

. These two coasters were the first to utilize Linear Synchronous Motors (LSM) technology to propel vehicles to top speed. The ride closed throughout the latter half of 2010 to aid in a major redevelopment and transformation into "Superman: Escape from Krypton" from "Superman: The Escape". The refurbished ride opened on March 19, 2011.

Superman: The Escape (1997-2010)

Originally known as Superman: The Escape, the ride was intended to open in 1996. However, due to a range of problems Superman: The Escape opened on March 15, 1997. At the end of July 4 weekend of 2010 Superman: The Escape ceased operations with no reason given. A sign posted in front of the ride indicated that it would reopen during the 2011 season, with hints indicating that there would be improvements made to the ride experience. A Los Angeles Times

Los Angeles Times

The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....

 report on August 3, 2010, announced the plans for Superman: The Escape to undergo a major refurbishment before the 2011 season. After Superman: The Escape's sister ride, the Tower of Terror II at Dreamworld, underwent a major refurbishment in 2010 which entailed a new vehicle which launches backwards, speculation turned to the possibility of a similar modification to the Magic Mountain ride.

Superman: Escape from Krypton (2011-present)

On October 14, 2010, an official video was leaked announcing several new experiences for Six Flags Magic Mountain in 2011. Six days later, Six Flags Magic Mountain officially announced the attractions. The announcement featured further information about the planned refurbishment of Superman: The Escape. As part of the refurbishment, the ride would be renamed to Superman: Escape from Krypton and would feature new backwards launching cars and a new color scheme. The upgraded ride re-opened to the public on March 19, 2011, just in time for Spring Break. On September 1, 2011, Six Flags Magic Mountain announced plans to add Lex Luthor: Drop of Doom

Lex Luthor: Drop of Doom

Lex Luthor: Drop of Doom is a drop tower ride currently under construction at Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia, California. The ride will be integrated into the existing Superman: Escape from Krypton tower structure.-History:...

. Set to open in spring 2012, Lex Luthor: Drop of Doom will feature two drop towers integrated into the existing structure of Superman: Escape from Krypton.

Queue and station

The design team of Six Flags Magic Mountain aimed to create an experience that would be true to the character for which the ride is named. Riders must walk up the large hill in order to get to the ride. The riders come to a concrete clearing, which has the Superman "S" shield imprinted and now painted into the ground. The loading area is modeled after Superman's Fortress of Solitude

Fortress of Solitude

The Fortress of Solitude is the occasional headquarters of Superman in DC Comics. Its predecessor, Superman's "Secret Citadel", first appeared in Superman #17, where it was said to be built into a mountain on the outskirts of Metropolis...

. Now it is modeled as Krypton, the planet that is full of the rock that can take Superman's powers away. Inside is a crystalline-looking environment which tries to recreate Superman's fortress in the Arctic. Before getting on the ride a Kryptonian Battle Suit and statues of Superman's parents, (Jor-El

Jor-El

Jor-El is a fictional character, an extraterrestrial in the . He was created by the writer Jerry Siegel and the artist Joe Shuster, and he first appeared in a newspaper comic strip in 1939 as Superman's biological father....

 and Lara

Lara

Lara may refer to:Places:* Lara , Venezuela* Lara, Victoria, township in Australia* Electoral district of Lara, an electoral district in Victoria, Australia* Lara, Antalya, urban district in Turkey* Lara de los Infantes in Spain...

) holding up a globe of Krypton

Krypton (comics)

Krypton is a fictional planet in the DC Comics universe, and the native world of the super-heroes Superman and, in some tellings, Supergirl and Krypto the Superdog. Krypton has been portrayed consistently as having been destroyed just after Superman's flight from the planet, with exact details of...

, however with the transformation these statues were removed and replaced with a rocket ship.. Throughout the waiting area, John Williams

John Williams

John Towner Williams is an American composer, conductor, and pianist. In a career spanning almost six decades, he has composed some of the most recognizable film scores in the history of motion pictures, including the Star Wars saga, Jaws, Superman, the Indiana Jones films, E.T...

' original score for Superman plays outside and in the "Fortress".

Ride

The roller coaster has two parallel tracks. Riders are accelerated in reverse from 0 to 100 miles per hour (44.7 m/s) in approximately 7 seconds (about 0.65 g). The track then pitches up 90 degrees to the vertical. Riders climb this vertical section facing directly downward, before slowing and following the same path back to the start. During the entire vertical section of the ride, riders are completely weightless for about 7.5 seconds, half going up and half coming back down. The ride is known for being very loud and can be heard from many areas of the park.

Records

For the first six years of operation, Superman: Escape from Krypton was tied with Tower of Terror II as the fastest roller coaster in the world for four years. In 2001, the speed record was taken by Dodonpa

Dodonpa

is a roller coaster at Fuji-Q Highland, Fujiyoshida, Yamanashi in Japan. It opened in 2001 and is a steel sit-down roller coaster with a compressed air launch. The ride was built by S&S Power of Utah, U.S.A....

 in Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

. In 2003, Superman: Escape from Krypton's height record was taken by Top Thrill Dragster

Top Thrill Dragster

Top Thrill Dragster is a steel, Hydraulic-launched roller coaster located at Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio. It was the first "Strata Coaster", loosely defined as a complete circuit coaster that is over tall. It was built by Intamin and debuted to the public on May 4, 2003...

 at Cedar Point

Cedar Point

Cedar Point is a 364 acre amusement park located in Sandusky, Ohio, United States on a narrow peninsula jutting into Lake Erie. Cedar Point is the only amusement park with four roller coasters that are taller than...

. Today it is ranked as the fifth fastest and third tallest steel roller coaster in the world.

External links

• Superman: Escape from Krypton official website
• Superman: Escape from Krypton at the Roller Coaster DataBase
  Roller Coaster DataBase
  The Roller Coaster DataBase is an extensive roller coaster and amusement park database. RCDB was started in 1996 by Duane Marden, who still operates the site...
  
  
• Superman: Escape from Krypton Photos and Review at Ultimate Rollercoaster.com
• Lex Luthor Drop of Doom official website