Apocalypse: The Ride

Apocalypse: The Ride, formerly known as Terminator Salvation: The Ride, is a wooden roller coaster located at Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia, California. Manufactured by Great Coasters International, the roller coaster opened to the public on May 23, 2009. It is located in The Underground section of the amusement park on a plot of land formerly occupied by the Psyclone (1991–2007), Shockwave (1986–1988) and Sarajevo Bobsleds (1984–1986). It was the first wooden coaster to feature onboard audio, and its Terminator theme was short-lived following a corporate restructuring by Six Flags in 2011.

History

Terminator Salvation: The Ride (2009–2010)

Terminator Salvation: The Ride was originally announced as Terminator: The Coaster, but the name was later changed to coincide with the then-upcoming Terminator Salvation movie. Six Flags spent approximately $1 million on the ride's theme surrounding the film, most of which was placed in the line queue area. Guests waiting in line would also enter a preshow theater complete with video footage that featured actors from the film. The theme's storyline focused on trainees in a post-apocalyptic setting getting trapped by attacking machines at the amusement park, and the coaster serves as transportation to a safe house location.

Ride experience

Queue

Guests enter an industrial military research compound following a post-apocalypse. After passing underneath the entrance, guests cross a bridge over a drainage ditch. A right turn leads to the first switchback section. Some of the portions are surrounded in shading areas with rectangular tan roofs. Guests walk underneath the tracks and head into the next area, which features a jeep, barrels, water tanks and plants. On busier days, there will be an employee that controls the merge and only lets so many people beyond this point at a time, who then pass under the track again and into another holding area, just outside the pre-show building. In between the second and third switchback areas is a guard tower. Guests then gather in the staging area and as the doors open, they head into a warehouse with the first pre-show and multiple electronic devices. After this pre-show is over, guests walk through a hallway and watch the second pre-show on the television monitors. The next room features the third pre-show, yellow racks and cables. While the ride was called Terminator Salvation: The Ride, these racks held the upper torsos of Terminator robots, as if they were rolling through the assembly line. They would even roll back and forth a few inches in each direction as the guests were standing there. Following this area, guests climb up the stairs that lead to the loading station.[12]

Layout

As the train exits the station, riders make their way through a 180-degree left turn and begin climbing a 95 ft chain lift hill. At the top, the train turns left and drops 87.3 ft, reaching 50.1 mph. The train speeds underneath the exit bridge followed by a right-handed banked turn. Riders drop towards the first drop and turn left, passing by a fire effect mounted in the engine compartment of a truck. After the fire effect, the train zooms through the Sector 3 Transport Tunnel, the first two tunnels. Inside, there are red lights and fog effects. This tunnel also wraps around the outside of the first drop. Upon exiting the Sector 3 Transport Tunnel, the train flies through the station. Then, riders go through the Sector 12 Transport Tunnel. After this, the train emerges on the other side of the ride and moves through a 360-degree right turn around the queue line. Riders pass under the second tunnel and make a 360-degree left turn into the final brake run. The train slowly makes a left turn past the maintenance shed and transfer track. After a left turn, riders return to the station, where they exit the train.[12]

imagedimensions	250px
previousnames	Terminator Salvation: The Ride (2009–2010)
location	Six Flags Magic Mountain
opened	May 23, 2009
section	The Underground
type	Wood
status	Operating
capacity	1000
manufacturer	Great Coasters International
designer	Jeff Pike
lift	Chain lift hill
height ft	95
drop ft	87.3
length ft	2877
speed mph	50.1
duration	3:00
cost	$10,000,000
restriction in	48
previousattraction	Psyclone
trains	2
carspertrain	11
rowspercar	1
ridersperrow	2
virtual queue name	Fast Lane
virtual queue image	Cedar_Fair_Fast_Lane_availability_icon.svg
virtual queue status	available
rcdb number	4173

Apocalypse: The Ride

History

Terminator Salvation: The Ride (2009–2010)

Apocalypse (2011–present)

Ride experience

Queue

Layout

Awards

External links

References