Ride Tribute
parkworld-online.com Sunset on Colossus Magic Mountain’s wooden wonder poised for new dawn
As it undergoes a
transformation this winter into a new wood-steel
hybrid, Gary Kyriazi pays tribute to a classic Southern California coaster whose sprawling white wooden structure has been a major part of the skyline at Six Flags Magic Mountain since 1978
I
n the early part of the 20th Century, the Southern California coastline surpassed even Coney Island as the amusement centre of the world. Along the 50 mile stretch of beach from Santa Monica south to Seal Beach, there were no less than 20 amusement piers, which are given homage today at Disney’s California Adventure park. After the Depression and World War II, there were just two left: Ocean Park and the Long Beach Pike. With the opening of Disneyland in 1955, Santa Monica’s Ocean Park gamely reinvented itself as a theme park, Pacific Ocean Park. Although original and innovative, it was forced to close in 1967. The next year, the Long Beach Pike dismantled its legendary 1930 Cyclone Racer rollercoaster, arguably the most famous rollercoaster in the world due to its appearance in several motion pictures. The loss of the Cyclone Racer led to the closure of the Pike 10 years later.
Besides Disneyland and Knott’s Berry Farm as theme parks, there were no longer any traditional amusement parks in Southern California. And as far as wood coasters, the Los Angeles County Fairgrounds had a small yet respectable one, the Big Dipper. It was torn down by 1980.
Enter Magic Mountain Against this backdrop, Magic Mountain, co-owned by Sea World and the Newhall Land and Farming company, opened in 1971 during America’s theme/amusement park explosion. However, its only rollercoaster was a Runaway Mine Train from Arrow, in the manner of all the theme parks then, who believed that theme park coasters had to be mild and family- oriented. But the next year, Kings Island over in Cincinnati boldly opened with a major wooden coaster, The Racer, designed by the renowned John Allen. The coaster, and the park, were hits, causing the rest of the newer parks in the USA to respond with their own major wood coasters from 1973 through 1976, most of which were designed by Allen, with the Philadelphia Toboggan Company (PTC). Magic Mountain responded to the woodies in May of 1976 by opening a steel coaster, The Great American Revolution, that featured Intamin’s first vertical loop (at Cedar Point at the same time, Arrow presented its first vertical loop with the Corkscrew; it’s still debated which actually opened first, but they appeared to be days apart). The Great American Revolution was a hit, Magic Mountain’s attendance spiked at 46% and the park, after five years, finally hit pay dirt. During those five nervous years, Sea World bailed out, leaving Newhall Land and Farming to go it alone.
At the press party for the Great American Revolution, I had a conversation with then general manager Terry
44 NOVEMBER 2014
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76