Traveling the Globe for the Best Coasters and Theme Parks
Due to the pandemic our last visit to Six Flags Magic Mountain (Sean and Alex) was early 2020. We were so excited to head back and spend a day and night at the Valencia theme park. The housing development behind the park that’s currently under construction provides some great views of the park. Let’s see how Magic Mountain’s collection of coasters is holding up!
Continue reading “The Backside of Magic – Magic Mountain Fall 2021”
For about as long as Six Flags Magic Mountain has been in operation, nearby Hollywood has frequently mined the park for on-location filming of amusement park scenes for feature films, television, advertisements, and more. Classic sequences, like National Lampoon’s Vacation at “Walley World”, remain cultural iconography.
In 1990 the opening of Viper (and the advent of a professional camera rig that could be mounted to the nose of the train) catapulted Magic Mountain even further into Hollywood notoriety, with major productions now having utilized the enormous Arrow Looper countless times over the last 3 decades. Let’s take a look at some, shall we?
Continue reading “Viper: Hollywood’s Favorite Coaster”
With the opening of Corkscrew in 1975 Arrow Development not only introduced the first modern looping roller coaster it also introduced the first inverting coaster element that wasn’t a vertical loop. Though people complain about Arrow’s use of “cookie cutter” elements on its looping coasters we still see almost every element Arrow introduced being used today. For over 20 years these “cookie cutter” inversions were what it meant to ride a looping coaster and I think Arrow loopers continue to be the first “upside down” ride for many people. In celebration of 45 years of the modern looping roller coaster enjoy this ranking of five classic Arrow inverting elements.