May. 30th, 2008 -- Bolder, stronger, more primal, fiercer. X, the world’s first fourth-dimensional coaster from Arrow Dynamics has been transformed. Gone are the bright colors, sleek X-shaped decorative fiberglass panels and techno music borrowed from the “Matrix” films. Charcoal gray supports and blood-red track carve a new experience into the sky with hard rock music echoing in the air. X is no more.
X2
now rules here, and the weak need not apply.
Our story begins in the late 1990s. Arrow Dynamics, once the premier designer and manufacturer of the most popular coasters in the world, had been knocked off the top pedestal by European firms. B&M could provide smooth and precise multilooping extravaganzas, and it had invented a totally new genre with the inverted Batman: The Ride coasters. Arrow lost some of its talent to Morgan, who took over building Magnum-esque hyper coasters. Intamin reinvented itself and jumped into the hyper coaster contest as well, creating some of the most beloved airtime machines ever built. Arrow tried to provide new products in the form of Arrow-Batic and tried to show that it, too, could provide a large, smooth, multi-inversion coaster with Tennessee Tornado, but those efforts were unrewarded. To date, the Arrow-Batic concept has never been realized.
A bold, daring move would be needed to keep the company going. It bet on the long shot, a new concept with riders suspended to the side of the tracks, with an extra set of rails controlling rotation of the seats. A proof of concept vehicle and test track was produced, and the concept was shopped around. Six Flags decided to take the gamble, and Six Flags Magic Mountain was chosen to showcase this new concept. Announced with much fanfare, Six Flags Magic Mountain would install this ride as the third roller coaster added in a landmark year, joining one of the Déjà Vu triplets and the renamed Goliath Jr. The park would also claim for the first time the record for most roller coasters in a single park, much to the dismay of Cedar Point fanboys who still argue the validity of calling Superman: The Escape a roller coaster. Things did not go exactly as planned though.
Déjà Vu and Goliath Jr. opened on time, but X was met with many delays. X truly was the prototype, and while it did open up just barely in time in late December of 2001 to universal acclaim and generated legions of fans, the delays, cost overruns and excessive downtimes experienced eventually forced Arrow Dynamics into bankruptcy.
S&S bought the assets of the troubled company. Six Flags kept pouring money into X to keep it functioning. The fans and park guests loved it, and the ride became the new signature ride for the park. A signature ride cannot have frequent downtime and single-train operation that results in a capacity around 300 people an hour, so something had to be done.
A few years later word came that a second-generation 4-D coaster would be built in Japan. It would be taller, faster, feature more inversions and elements, and would use completely redesigned trains. The engineering improvements lightened the trains considerably and added a suspension system for a more comfortable ride. X was still limping along, and something had to be done.
Six Flags decided enough was enough. After the phenomenal success of Tatsu, it was time to restore X to the position of king of the park. S&S was contacted to apply all it had learned from the second 4-D coaster and produce new trains for the California park. These trains would feature even more improvements, and the final results are trains that are 18,000 pounds lighter than the originals. That is 9 tons (or one Goliath train) removed from the new trains. New trains do not a new experience make, and it would be difficult to form an advertising campaign around them. “Come back and ride X, now with new trains!” No, that just won’t work. The ride had to be transformed.
X2 is at once a fierce new beast and a familiar friend. The layout remains the same, but new speakers mounted to the seats add driving rock music and sound effects timed to match elements of the ride. Two below-ground pits have been filled with mist, forming a refreshing cool zone on hot days. And, the most anticipated new effect, two flame throwers have been added before the final raven turn to spray jets of fire at the trains rushing by. The seats are still as comfortable as ever.
Coaster geeks out there will be interested in operational changes. Instead of unloading and loading the train in separate locations, now riders load and unload in the same position, which is hoped to increase capacity. The park has also decided to switch to assigned seating, in part to help the line move more efficiently, and in part to ensure exiting riders do not mix with queuing riders. Seats still rotate in the station for loading, but thanks to more powerful pistons and much lighter seats, these rotations are much faster than they were previously.
The ride itself is just as intense as ever. There are no words to describe the experience of facing straight down as you plummet 200 feet, or rolling forward and sideways at the same time through the half-n-halves. The ride quality is the same; you will have a rougher ride in an outside seat, and it seems to be rougher the closer you get to the front. Those who have taken multiple rides on the coaster know that no two rides will be the same, even two taken in the same seat. Sometimes it will be rough, other times it will not, with no discernable pattern as to why. It may not be a ride you marathon on, but it is not to be missed!
The music fits the personality of the ride, and the sound effects of other riders will echo the thoughts in your head while climbing the lift. The mist pits do have a cooling sensation as you bottom out in the drops. And the fire, while not experienced by this writer due to windy conditions forcing the effect to stay dormant, does look impressive as viewed in the few photos that were captured on media day before the winds kicked up.
No matter how much you may debate various new effects or the smoothness of any one seat, one thing is undeniable: X2 is amazing. The new paint job, trains, sound system and effects have all helped to bring out the true personality of this thrill machine.
X2 demands respect and takes no prisoners as it returns trainloads of breathless, shocked and elated riders to the station after the ride of their lives. X2 is king once again, and it defies anyone to say differently. It is the first coaster you encounter driving into the park, inspiring awe and fear in all those who encounter it. It is an experience you will never forget. It is waiting for you. Will you accept the challenge?
Special thanks to Robb Alvey of Theme Park Review for use of a photo.
This is great. I'm hoping to make it out to California later this summer with the family and with luck, I can make a stop by Magic Mountain and finally see this beast of a ride.
I actually was somewhat disappointed with X2. X was my second favorite steel coaster after Magnum. The ride itself was great but the intensity seemed much less that with the previous trains. I rememeber X pretty much left me disoriented after the ride. X2 did not even come close to that. There still were some head banging with new firework at the end. This effect made the hot day even hotter but very effective.
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May. 30th, 2008 --