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Posted at 7:45 PM EST (0045 GMT)  Feb. 11th, 2007 -- It drops riders down an opening 215-foot plunge headfirst at speeds of 76 mph. Riders are pitched forwards and backwards in somersaulting flips in their seats that travel on a separate axis from the steel track. The high-tech "X" roller coaster at Six Flags Magic Mountain is one of the world's premier thrillrides and is the only one of its kind in the Americas. However, it all came at a cost.
"It was supposed to be the nuke bomb in the coaster war," said Robert Niles, the Pasadena-based editor of ThemeParkInsider.com. "The specs on the ride were just audacious. It switched the war from being who could build the tallest, fastest coaster to who can create the most intense experience." X, which initially costed $6.6 million, ended up at more than $17 million according to court documents. And even after five years of operation, technical kinks are still being worked out. The coaster is still not running at its full capacity of 1680 people per hour, contributing to the lengthy wait times. X's problems extend further than its long queue waits and mechanical issues. The ride's manufacturer, Arrow Dynamics of Clearfield, UT, a pioneer in amusement rides, went bankrupt the same year X made its debut as a result of a fierce legal battle with Six Flags over the ride. The coaster proved so complicated in design and construction that Six Flags had its own engineers redesign parts of it because they didn't work, according to a complaint filed in federal bankruptcy court. Six Flags claimed an ownership stake in the ride's technology because of modifications from its own engineers. Quin Checketts of S&S Power confirmed that Six Flags has hired the company to redesign X's vehicles to make them lighter in weight, in hopes of increasing operational efficiency.
Visit LA Daily News for the complete and original article.
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rlrcstrfreak
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 1333
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Let's hope they don't try to make X family oriented. Haha.
I just hope that, by becoming more of a "Family" Place, SFMM still makes nice coasters in the future.
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| 2/11/2007 8:00 PM |
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coasterman1234
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 1462
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^agreed
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| 2/11/2007 8:40 PM |
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Zingoman
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 1294
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So does anybody know exactly what parts of X have had to be redesigned by Six Flags engineers and what about the coaster is in such constant need of maintainence? I know all about how the ride works, and I am familiar with most of the parts that make it work. I just don't know why it is such a pain and what they keep having to deal wih. Has the new one in Japan had a lot of problems yet, or did they manage to work them out on that one? They said in the full article that they plan on making lighter trains, but given the coaster's history in stalling, and valleying, won't that increase the possibility, or will they design it with less friction? Arrow coaster trains have notoriously stiff wheels and high friction. X seems to be no exception.
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| 2/11/2007 9:59 PM |
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Mrceagle
Joined: Sep 2002
Posts: 1909
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I read this article this morning. Interesting! I'm amazed that Arrow actually thought they could bring in The coaster for only 6.6 million an SLC is Close to 7 and is far less complex.
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| 2/11/2007 10:12 PM |
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mikey53
Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 243
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And when they realized that it was going to cost more, they wanted Six Flags to fork over more money which was the begining of the legal battles.
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| 2/11/2007 10:56 PM |
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coolstarwasim
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 1165
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6.6 million to 17 million! Wow!
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| 2/11/2007 11:16 PM |
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saxman47
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 35
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I'm pretty sure the $6.6 million figure is incorrect. There is no possible way that X cost less than $20 million. Eejanaika was ~$31 million, so I'm sure X was in that ballpark. Even Viper was $8 million back in 1990.
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| 2/11/2007 11:19 PM |
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bk2004
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 7723
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YAY at least they are trying to FIX this coaster and not DISMANTLE it!
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| 2/11/2007 11:31 PM |
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vedved82491
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 905
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Hmmm. maybe they meant 6.6 Billion..haha just kidding. I think the cars were customized by six flags which caused the whole legal chaos. If you look at the orginal car design for X, its different from what we see today...obviously. The shells/scenery were removed to [i guess] make the trains lighter...but looking at Eejanaika, I haven't heard of a single problem from it. So X's new cars should be a problem. Hopefully that'll be the end to any major bugs X has.
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| 2/12/2007 1:35 AM |
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Jhcbiinoc
Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 556
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I totally agree with bk2004-"at least they are trying to FIX this coaster and not DISMANTLE it!" I'm not a big Shapiro fan, but the fact that they are putting the money in trying to fix the problems X has and getting it to run to capacity impresses me.
To think that X cost only $23 million total is also pretty impressive to me-that's only a little more than Tatsu!
I don't think they need to nor do I think they will make X more "family oriented"-as extreme a ride as it is, I am always amazed at how many young kids are riding it when I'm there. A lot of the kids not tall enough to get on Tatsu, Scream, Batman or Riddlers ride X with Mom or Dad due to the 48" height requirement. And while it is intense, I think it has enough wow factor to make it more exhilarating than scary. Everyone I have talked to who has been on it is too blown away by the ride experience to be freaked out about it, and I know several people who are scared to death to ride Goliath who love X.
I think the only coaster you will see at SFMM in coming years is maybe a wooden coaster in the next 3-5 years, but in reality, they already have a stellar coaster collection. I'm not a big fan of Shapiro and his overemphasis on "families" (it's almost as if he is going to the opposite extreme of the previous management) but I have to say that I am pleased and impressed to hear that they are taking the steps to make X what it should be.
As much as I love X, and hope it stays open and running two trains all this season, I would rather see them close the ride again, get new trains and redesign the station similar to Eejanaika's with the dropping floor, and reopen it to offer an even better ride experience than it already is. Having X running smoothly and to capacity, as well as having the other 14 coasters up and running and balancing out the park's offerings for the rest of the family is just what I think the park needs.
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| 2/12/2007 3:59 AM |
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mikey53
Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 243
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The first half of X until that big fan Turn are pretty scary for new riders and even for some hardcore thrill seekers that love loopers like myself. The first two drops are in my opinion are much scarier than Goliaths total ride experience. There's something about falling face first to the ground that kicks this ride into high gear and then you have the other acrobatic manuvers that make this ride exhilarating no doubt.
X looks very ominous and oh so intimidating sitting at the front corner of the park with it's sky high track and near 90 degree 200+ first drop. This coaster alone sets the tone for this park, and it just screams extreme. Based off of the look, there is no way that they could re-tool this to remotely appear family friendly aside from completely removing it. A better question is why would they anyway, X is is one of the most sought after ride experiences at the park just because of it's high thrill factor and uniqueness.
I am digging the news that they want better trains for a better ride experience.
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| 2/12/2007 4:26 PM |
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Wes
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 10807
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I'm hoping they can get this thing working properly now.
I've never had a chance to ride it and hope to one day.
This also proves that manufacturers really need to know what they are doing before trying to be too radical with design. In my opinon, the more moving parts you have, the more you have a chance for a breakdown.
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| 2/13/2007 11:22 AM |
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CHILLERLC1
Joined: May 2001
Posts: 7086
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Let's hope they don't remove the g-roll like on a certain East Coast ride. hehe
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| 2/15/2007 4:22 PM |
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