Road Runner Express is a steel junior roller coaster at Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia, California. On November 4, 2010, Six Flags corporate had an Investor Meeting webcast where they released the new name for the kid's coaster[1] and that it will have a new location in Bugs Bunny World.[2] As of April 25, 2011, the entire coaster has been constructed on site and is ready to go.[3] The ride opened on May 28, 2011, for Memorial Day Weekend.[2]
History[]
Six Flags New Orleans (2000—2009)[]
Road Runner Express originally opened at Jazzland in New Orleans on May 20, 2000. It operated under the name Rex's Rail Runner[4] in the Kid's Carnival section of the park.
Six Flags took over the lease of Jazzland in 2002 and changed the park's name to Six Flags New Orleans.[5] The ride was renamed to Road Runner Express in the Looney Tunes Adventures section of the park. When Hurricane Katrina hit the park on August 29, 2005, the park was severely flooded causing the park to shut down and rides to remain standing but not operating.[4][6] In 2007, Six Flags began the process of moving rides from the park to their other properties. In 2009, Road Runner Express was removed and relocated to Six Flags Magic Mountain.[4][7][8][9]
Six Flags Magic Mountain (2010—present)[]
Road Runner Express was dismantled and moved in 2009 to its current location at Six Flags Magic Mountain. The ride was due to open for their 2010 season as Mr. Six's Dance Coaster in the Cyclone Bay section of the park, however, the opening was delayed for a year.[7][10][11]
On August 3, 2010, the LA Times reported "the junior coaster will keep the current red and black color scheme and stay in the same planned location in the northwest corner of the park but will likely receive a new name and theme."[12] On November 4, 2010, Six Flags announced that the ride will not use the originally planned Mr. Six's Dance Coaster name and theme, but will operate from early May 2011 as Little Flash which is, themed to the DC Comics superhero sidekicks in Bugs Bunny World.[1][7]
On January 18, 2011, the LA Times reported after considering a new theme based on DC Comics superhero sidekicks, the park opted for simplicity and would name the coaster Road Runner Express.[13] Two days later, Six Flags Magic Mountain confirmed that the kid's coaster would be called Road Runner Express and that it would open on March 19, along with the revamped Superman: Escape from Krypton.[14] However, the construction of the ride was delayed forcing the opening day to be bumped back. On April 25, 2011, the construction of Road Runner Express was complete and is expected to open for Memorial Day Weekend.[3] The coaster officially opened on May 28, 2011.[2][15] This resulted with the Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote theme, rockets on the roller blade-style train, and Arizona desert background.
Ride[]
Guests board a train which seat 16 riders. The train is taken up using a drive tire system to a height of 9.1 metres (30 ft). 207 metres (679 ft) of twists, turns, and elevation changes follow, before the ride comes to a halt in the brake run. Riders will reach a top speed of 40.2 kilometres per hour (25.0 mph) on the one-minute ride.[7] The background blends in with the ride's Road Runner theming. The station is surrounded by rocks and ACME crates to decorate the area and Wile E. Coyote can be seen standing on top of some ACME crates.
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Six Flags Entertainment Corporation Investor Meeting. WebCast. Six Flags (November 4, 2010). Retrieved on November 4, 2010.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Six Flags Magic Mountain. Family Rides. Six Flags Magic Mountain. Retrieved on November 4, 2010.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Hart, Lance (April 25, 2011). Six Flags Magic Mountain. Screamscape. Retrieved on April 29, 2011.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Template:Cite RCDB
- ↑ Six Flags New Orleans (November 14, 2002). Six Flags to Fly Over The Crescent City in 2003. Press Release. RCDB. Retrieved on November 13, 2010.
- ↑ New Orleans: Six Flags New Orleans. Six Flags. Archived from the original on March 27, 2007. Retrieved on November 13, 2010.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 Template:Cite RCDB Cite error: Invalid
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tag; name "RCDB" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ Mr. Six's DanceCoaster (Six Flags Magic Mountain). Database Entry. Parkz. Retrieved on August 1, 2010.
- ↑ MacDonald, Brady (January 27, 2010). Six Flags Magic Mountain to add Mr. Six’s coaster for 2010. News Article. LA Times. Retrieved on August 1, 2010.
- ↑ Shrout, Ryan. Mr. Six's Dance Coaster Delayed. News Release. Coaster Net. Retrieved on August 1, 2010.
- ↑ MacDonald, Brady (May 27, 2010). Six Flags Magic Mountain delays launch of 17th coaster until 2011. News Article. LA Times. Retrieved on August 1, 2010.
- ↑ MacDonald, Brady (August 3, 2010). Superman coaster at Six Flags Magic Mountain to get major makeover in 2011. News Article. LA Times.
- ↑ MacDonald, Brady (January 18, 2011). Five 'new' coasters coming to Six Flags Magic Mountain? Not so fast. News Article. LA Times.
- ↑ Six Flags Magic Mountain (January 20, 2011). Six Flags Magic Mountain's Photos. Facebook. Retrieved on April 30, 2011.
- ↑ Six Flags Magic Mountain (May 23, 2011). Six Flags Magic Mountain's Facebook. Facebook. Retrieved on May 24, 2011.