Park section Cyclone Bay Cost USD $10,000,000 Type Wood Max speed 81 km/h Duration 3 minutes | Status Operating Replaced Psyclone Height 30 m Opened 23 May 2009 | |
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Opening date May 23, 2009 (2009-05-23) Address 26101 Magic Mountain Parkway, Valencia, CA 91355, USA Similar X2, Gold Rusher, Canyon Blaster, Viper, Tatsu | ||
Apocalypse is a wooden roller coaster located at Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia, California. It is located in the Cyclone Bay section of the amusement park, on a plot of land formerly occupied by the Psyclone (1991-2007), Shockwave (1986-1988) and La Vibora (1984-1986) roller coasters.
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Terminator Salvation: The Ride (2009—2010)
Apocalypse was originally announced as "Terminator: The Coaster" but was later changed to suit the then-upcoming Terminator Salvation movie. It debuted to the media on May 21, 2009, and opened to the public two days later. Magic Mountain spent $1 million adding the incongruous Terminator-factory-turned-safe-house theme to the wooden coaster, mostly in the pre-show queue areas. The original storyline featured a series of videos encouraging riders to "join the resistance" and help fight the Terminator robots.
Apocalypse (2011—present)
Late in 2010, Six Flags announced that as part of its post-bankruptcy corporate restructuring, it would be moving away from its intellectual property licensing agreements, outside of those involving DC comic book characters, Hanna-Barbera cartoon characters or Looney Tunes cartoon characters. Accordingly, rides such as Terminator Salvation: The Ride, which had been branded under those agreements were re-themed in a generic fashion. On January 8, 2011, the roller coaster began operation as Apocalypse. The debranding removed the animated Terminator robots from the queue, forcing the park to re-shoot the pre-show videos as well as change all signs for the ride. The new storyline is based on the premise that riders are survivors and must head into a bunker to prepare to battle. Apocalypse retains the existing pyrotechnic and fog effects from the previous theming.
Ride elements
The ride had on-board audio via speakers in the back of each car, a first for any wooden roller coaster. The audio for the coaster was linked to an audio box at the back of the train. The ride also consists of two tunnels, one a "fly-through station" where the trains pass through over the top of the ride's boarding area and other guests. Other elements include several detailed pre-show rooms and pyrotechnic effects during the coaster's lap.
Fourteen months after its opening, the ride's audio no longer functioned properly. Currently there are no plans to run audio effects again and the speakers have been removed.
Height requirements
In order for guests to ride Apocalypse, riders must be at least 48 inches. Each seat includes an individual lap bar for the guest. Each row contains a seat belt which is shared by two guests. Due to the aggressiveness and high speeds of this ride, it is not labeled by Six Flags Magic Mountain as a family friendly ride.