Viper (Six Flags Magic Mountain)

Viper
Viper, from X's queue. X2's lift hill is in the foreground.
Six Flags Magic Mountain
Park section	Baja Ridge
Coordinates	34°25′15″N 118°35′43″W / 34.42083°N 118.59528°WCoordinates: 34°25′15″N 118°35′43″W / 34.42083°N 118.59528°W
Status	Operating
Opening date	April 7, 1990
Cost	$8,000,000 USD
Replaced	Condor
General statistics
Type	Steel
Manufacturer	Arrow Dynamics
Designer	Arrow Dynamics
Model	Custom Looping Coaster
Lift/launch system	Chain lift hill
Height	188 ft (57 m)
Drop	171 ft (52 m)
Length	3,830 ft (1,170 m)
Speed	70 mph (110 km/h)
Inversions	7
Duration	2:30
Max vertical angle	55°
Capacity	1700 riders per hour
G-force	4.1
Height restriction	48 in (122 cm)
Trains	3 trains with 7 cars. Riders are arranged 2 across in 2 rows for a total of 28 riders per train.
Flash Pass available
Single rider line available
Must transfer from wheelchair
Viper at RCDB Pictures of Viper at RCDB

Viper is a steel roller coaster made by Arrow Dynamics of the United States. The roller coaster is located in the Baja Ridge area of Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia, California. Viper is the last of the three 7-looper roller coasters built by Arrow Dynamics to remain operating. The other two, Shockwave at Six Flags Great America and the Great American Scream Machine at Six Flags Great Adventure, were demolished in 2002 and 2010, respectively. The roller coaster replaced a HUSS ride type named Condor.

Record holding

When Viper opened in April 1990, it was the tallest and fastest looping coaster in the world. However, it was eclipsed by the opening of the Steel Phantom roller coaster at Kennywood in May 1991, which had a top speed of 80 miles per hour (130 km/h). Viper would appear to almost beat the current record for world's tallest 360-degree loop at 140 feet (43 m). Technically though, it is a standard size loop of which the top is at 144 feet (44 m). Arrow Dynamics never changed the size of their vertical loops, only the height at which they start. The current world record holder for the tallest vertical loop is held by Full Throttle, also at Six Flags Magic Mountain, at a height of 160 feet (49 m); it opened to the public on June 22, 2013.

Viper remained the tallest looping coaster in the world until the opening of Alpengeist in 1997. When Steel Phantom was modified in 2001 to become Phantom's Revenge and it lost its inversions, Viper recaptured the title of one of the fastest multi-looper coasters in the world, tying with Superman Krypton Coaster which opened at Six Flags Fiesta Texas in 2000. Both have a top speed of 70 miles per hour (110 km/h).

It was only when Storm Runner opened in 2004 at Hersheypark, with a top speed of 75 miles per hour (121 km/h), that Viper once again lost the title of fastest multi-looping coaster. Viper however, is taller than both Storm Runner (150 feet (46 m)) and Superman Krypton Coaster (168 feet (51 m)) with a height of 188 feet (57 m), which then made it the third tallest complete-circuit, multi-looping in the world, behind Alpengeist and Griffon, both at Busch Gardens Williamsburg. It could be argued that when the Vekoma Giant Inverted Boomerang coasters opened in 2001, they were, at 194 feet (59 m), taller than Viper; however, since they are shuttle coasters, not every vehicle of the train reaches that height.

Ride experience

Upon exiting the station, the train immediately begins climbing the 188-foot (57 m) lift hill. At the top, the train curves into the 171-foot (52 m) drop and enters a 140-foot (43 m) tall vertical loop. The train then makes a sharp left, entering two vertical loops and climbing into the mid-course brake run, followed by a zig-zag into a batwing element, where it goes through a half-corkscrew followed by a half loop. Next, the train goes up into another half loop and half corkscrew so that it returns in the opposite direction. Riders are photographed by an on-ride camera in the middle of this element. Riders then make a right turn and immediately enter a double-corkscrew, followed by a flat track with two turns before hitting a final brake run and turning into the station.

Cinema

Viper was used in the 1992 Brendan Fraser movie Encino Man (referred to in the movie as the "Vaper"). It was also used in the 1993 Christian Slater movie True Romance and the 2000 movie Space Cowboys, as well as in commercials for Toyota and Cheetos.

Viper was featured in a 1993 episode of Beverly Hills, 90210, "She Came in Through the Bathroom Window", in which the cast goes to Magic Mountain on Senior Skip Day and Andrea conquers her fear of roller coasters. In 2012, it appeared in Glee's Big Brother episode when the cast rides it during their visit to the park on senior ditch day.^[1] The song "Up, Up, Up" is sung over the experience.

References

1. Six Flags Magic Mountain (April 10, 2012). "Six Flags Magic Mountain has a cameo appearance ...". Facebook. Retrieved April 10, 2012.

External links

• Viper POV on YouTube