Fun Spot Atlanta closure - ArieForce One Six Flags Magic Mountain relocation (page 6)

[Peet]

I don't really get the negativity. SFMM desperately needs a World Class coaster to replace the gap left by X2, so this makes total sense. Alright it already has an RMC I-Box but I think AF1 is a very different ride experience to Twisted Colossus. I imagine Scream and Riddler's will be more similar than Twisted Colossus and AF1.
Hopefully Carowinds and Kings Island get ground-up RMCs before too long though.

 

[CaliAngel]

This makes zero sense.

There were plenty of other parks in the chain that could have used this.

Stupid Six Flags continuing to do stupid Six Flags things.

 

[ECG]

Hopefully Carowinds and Kings Island get ground-up RMCs before too long though.

Carowinds before KI

I guess King Island president, Tony Carovillano, turned it down. He didn't want an RMC, doesn't like them.

 

[Hyde]

Hopefully Carowinds and Kings Island get ground-up RMCs before too long though.

I mean, if ArieForce One were to have instead gone to either park…

 

[Newtrek5]

Yes, how stupid to put an elite coaster at one of your largest markets in the country...

 

[GeminiOP03]

I don't really get the negativity. SFMM desperately needs a World Class coaster to replace the gap left by X2, so this makes total sense. Alright it already has an RMC I-Box but I think AF1 is a very different ride experience to Twisted Colossus. I imagine Scream and Riddler's will be more similar than Twisted Colossus and AF1.
Hopefully Carowinds and Kings Island get ground-up RMCs before too long though.

Same. I genuinely don't understand all the hate?

AFO operated in the southeast for three years, why not send it to the west coast. Thoosies begged Six Flags to save the damn thing, they did, and now everyone's mad they picked MM. After reading the multi-year plan Six Flags published for Magic Mountain, it actually makes sense.

 

[Matt N]

This does feel like a very strange choice, of all the parks Six Flags own. Not least because Six Flags Magic Mountain already has two RMCs, including another IBox in Twisted Colossus, and they’re getting a different brand new coaster in 2027. Yes, X2 may have just closed, but Magic Mountain has nearly 20 coasters, so with them getting another new one next year, I don’t think they’re exactly the most in need of a new headline coaster out of Six Flags’ properties.

Surely it would have made more sense to at very least send it to one of Six Flags’ parks with 0 RMCs? To me, one of their smaller parks would have been a good fit; Fun Spot Atlanta was a much smaller park than anything Six Flags owns, and I imagine a big RMC, even if a used one, could have been an absolute boon for one of the company’s smaller parks in terms of raising profile and getting a big new headline ride in much more cheaply than buying something brand new and bespoke.

I do wonder if the ride will have high enough throughput for Magic Mountain; as it was built for Fun Spot Atlanta, a park which reportedly hardly got any attendance and would never have attracted high crowds if the park in Kissimmee is anything to go by, it surely wasn’t built for the sort of large crowds a park like Magic Mountain attracts.

 

[Peet]

I do wonder if the ride will have high enough throughput for Magic Mountain

I'm pretty sure it will have a better throughput than Thrill Glider with its 16 person trains.

Anyway here's a photo of the track on site:


Source here, accompanied by a typically negative comment:

It's actually true | Facebook

It's actually true What a bad decision

www.facebook.com

I suppose I'm biased because I have vague plans to revisit SFMM in a few years but will very likely never go back to Carowinds or KI, but I do feel like SF will get bashed by enthusiasts no matter what they do. Remember only a few months ago most people thought the ride would be torn down as soon as the park closed, now everyone's cross that it's going to the "wrong" park.

The only question remaining is the site, it might be able to use the X2 site. Does this work? Probably not but it's the best I can do:

 

[davidm]

ElToro Ryan has had a few goes at placing it in the park;

Having the lift hill / first section directly replacing X2 does make sense aesthetically, but so many issues squeezing it in that spot!

 

[Hyde]

My main issue with SFMM is opportunity cost. It already has a 2027 coaster on the way, so why make ArieForce One its 18th ride a year later when other Six Flags parks have no RMC and no major coaster in years? It’s a world-class ride and would be popular anywhere. The question is where it moves the needle most on attendance and sales.

Here's the updated roster of current Six Flags parks, and most recent three major roller coasters (excluding kiddie and family coasters):

Park	Location	New for 2027 (non-family)	Most recent	2nd most recent	3rd most recent
Cedar Point	Sandusky, OH	None announced	Siren’s Curse (2025)	Top Thrill 2 (2024)‡	Steel Vengeance (2018)
Kings Island	Mason, OH	None announced	Orion (2020)	Mystic Timbers (2017)	Banshee (2014)
Carowinds	Charlotte, NC	None (water ride instead)	Copperhead Strike (2019)	Fury 325 (2015)	Intimidator/Thunder Striker (2010)
Kings Dominion	Doswell, VA	None announced	Rapterra (2025)	Twisted Timbers (2018)	Tumbili (2018)
Canada’s Wonderland	Vaughan, ON	None (water ride instead)	AlpenFury (2025)	Yukon Striker (2019)	Leviathan (2012)
Knott’s Berry Farm	Buena Park, CA	None announced	HangTime (2018)	Pony Express (2008)	Silver Bullet (2004)
California’s Great America	Santa Clara, CA	None	RailBlazer (2018)	Patriot (2017)	Gold Striker (2013)
Dorney Park	Allentown, PA	None announced	Iron Menace (2024)	Possessed (2008)	Hydra the Revenge (2005)
Six Flags Magic Mountain	Valencia, CA	Thrill Glider	Wonder Woman Flight of Courage (2022)	West Coast Racers (2020)	Twisted Colossus (2015)
Six Flags Great Adventure	Jackson, NJ	Bakunawa	Barrels O’ Fun (2026)†	The Flash: Vertical Velocity (2025)	Jersey Devil Coaster (2021)
Six Flags Great America	Gurnee, IL	Sky Hawk	Wrath of Rakshasa (2025)	Maxx Force (2019)	The Joker (2017)
Six Flags Over Texas	Arlington, TX	None announced	Tormenta Rampaging Run (2026)	Aquaman: Power Wave (2023)	The Joker (2017)
Six Flags Fiesta Texas	San Antonio, TX	Werewolf Gorge	Dr. Diabolical’s Cliffhanger (2022)	Wonder Woman Golden Lasso (2018)	Batman The Ride (2015)
Six Flags Over Georgia	Austell, GA	None announced	Georgia Gold Rusher (2025)*	Twisted Cyclone (2018)	Dare Devil Dive (2011)
Six Flags New England	Agawam, MA	None announced	Quantum Accelerator (2026)	The Joker (2017)	Wicked Cyclone (2015)
Six Flags Discovery Kingdom	Vallejo, CA	None announced	Batman: The Ride (2019)	The Joker (2016)	Superman Ultimate Flight (2012)
Six Flags Darien Lake	Corfu, NY	None announced	Tantrum (2018)	Moto Coaster (2008)	Ride of Steel (1999)
Frontier City	Oklahoma City, OK	None announced	Steel Lasso (2008)	Diamondback (1993/94)†	Wildcat (1991)†
Six Flags México	Mexico City	None announced	Wonder Woman (2018)	Medusa Steel Coaster (2014)	Superman el Último Escape (2004)

There's just a lot of parks on the roster that are:

• High attendance
• Without an RMC
• Have had more recent dry-spell on major coaster additions

Using that as simple criteria, you would land on a top three Six Flags parks of:

Criterion	Knott’s Berry Farm	Kings Island	Carowinds
2025 attendance	4,315,000 (No. 11 in North America)	3,226,000 (No. 18)	Below the North American top 20
RMC coaster?	No	No	No
Last new major coaster	HangTime, 2018 (about 8 years). MonteZOOMa in 2026 was a rebuild.	Orion, 2020 (about 6 years)	Copperhead Strike, 2019 (about 7 years)
Nearby non-Six Flags additions	Universal Studios Hollywood’s Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift recently soft-opened (2026), about 30 miles away	Holiday World’s Mack water coaster Cannonball! (2027). Kentucky Kingdom’s suspended Flying Fox family coaster (2026).	Dollywood’s NightFlight Expedition, a Mack indoor adventure coaster (2026). A single-rail RMC Raptor at Family Kingdom in Myrtle Beach is rumored for 2027. 2025 theme park attendance revealed: Epic Universe boosts Orlando +6

There’s clearly a different calculus at play for SFMM. It might be as simple as relocation and installation being cheaper than taking on the permitting, site prep, and other soft costs of building a major new coaster at another park. Even so, doubling up on I-Box RMCs is a head-scratcher. Cedar Fair finished rolling out B&M hypers across its parks before circling back for Gigas.

 

[Lucy]

I don't really get the negativity. SFMM desperately needs a World Class coaster to replace the gap left by X2, so this makes total sense. Alright it already has an RMC I-Box but I think AF1 is a very different ride experience to Twisted Colossus. I imagine Scream and Riddler's will be more similar than Twisted Colossus and AF1.
Hopefully Carowinds and Kings Island get ground-up RMCs before too long though.

I don’t either, I mean I haven’t been to SFMM but wouldn’t mind going at some point in the future. At least AF1 isn’t being scrapped, which is great because it is a coaster I would like to go on!

 

[Newtrek5]

I think thoosies are stuck on this whole RMC thing.

If this were a MACK rides steel coaster with the exact same elements, few would be complaining.

Having been on Arie Force One and Twisted Colossus, Arie is far more aggressive, the airtime more powerful, and the pacing more relentless. It's like comparing Raven at Holiday World to Legend. Same manufacturer, similar style, different execution, different purpose.

 

[Boodangy]

Now I will semi likely never in my life go to Magic Mountain so like my opinion is not very valuable, but more than two RMCs in one park or other parks in the chain needing this, my main confusion with putting it in MM as sort of an X2 replacement is it's in no way as spectacular from a GP perspective.

Like obviously in reality it is a tall and fast, intense coaster, but it's still a standard sit down coaster and it's not the tallest or fastest in the park, not by a long shot. I guess what I'm saying is, is it marketable? Siren's Curse is also not the most stature or speed wise impressive coaster at Cedar Point, but it was the US' first tilt coaster. X2 was such a unique beast, one of only three in the world that non-enthusiasts from across the country knew about it and if someone went to Magic Mountain the first question is "Oh, did you do X2?" decades after it's opening. I suspect this won't have that effect.

 

[Newtrek5]

^ No. But it also won't be nearly as rough and will be an elite attraction.

 

[SeanC]

Yes, how stupid to put an elite coaster at one of your largest markets in the country...

This is really the post. As a SoCal resident, I'm psyched about this. This is the second largest market in the country and we lack an elite thrill coaster (I view F&F, which is awesome, halfway between family and thrill). Ghostrider is really fun but not elite imo. and i think is twisted colossus is great but a bit weird since it doesn't race. I know other enthusiast locals probably wanted a mack spinner or giga or something novel to replace x2 but six flags isn't going to shell out the $ for that. This is the best we were going to get. I've never ridden it and hopefully the layout changes won't make it too much worse.

I also think the USA theme is perfect for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics for what it's worth.

I'm in my 40s, and when I was a kid, Magic Mountain and Cedar Point were on similar levels. This doesn't return MM to that but at least now I feel it's not in imminent danger of closing as I felt a few weeks ago and now might again be a place I want to visit with some regularity.

 

[SeanC]

Now I will semi likely never in my life go to Magic Mountain so like my opinion is not very valuable, but more than two RMCs in one park or other parks in the chain needing this, my main confusion with putting it in MM as sort of an X2 replacement is it's in no way as spectacular from a GP perspective.

Like obviously in reality it is a tall and fast, intense coaster, but it's still a standard sit down coaster and it's not the tallest or fastest in the park, not by a long shot. I guess what I'm saying is, is it marketable? Siren's Curse is also not the most stature or speed wise impressive coaster at Cedar Point, but it was the US' first tilt coaster. X2 was such a unique beast, one of only three in the world that non-enthusiasts from across the country knew about it and if someone went to Magic Mountain the first question is "Oh, did you do X2?" decades after it's opening. I suspect this won't have that effect.

I think it will be marketable given the theme and you can bill it as a gold medal American coaster during the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics

 

[lukpac]

I guess King Island president, Tony Carovillano, turned it down. He didn't want an RMC, doesn't like them.

Was that reported somewhere?

 

[roomraider]

This is really the post. As a SoCal resident, I'm psyched about this. This is the second largest market in the country and we lack an elite thrill coaster (I view F&F, which is awesome, halfway between family and thrill). Ghostrider is really fun but not elite imo. and i think is twisted colossus is great but a bit weird since it doesn't race. I know other enthusiast locals probably wanted a mack spinner or giga or something novel to replace x2 but six flags isn't going to shell out the $ for that. This is the best we were going to get. I've never ridden it and hopefully the layout changes won't make it too much worse.

I also think the USA theme is perfect for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics for what it's worth.

I'm in my 40s, and when I was a kid, Magic Mountain and Cedar Point were on similar levels. This doesn't return MM to that but at least now I feel it's not in imminent danger of closing as I felt a few weeks ago and now might again be a place I want to visit with some regularity.

While I get what you mean it just feels wrong to me. This is an elite coaster but I don't think it's the elite coaster the park really needed. (As a side note I disagree with the park not having an elite thrill coaster but the ones I like are like me rather old now haha)

There are much much better options. Something like a Vekoma tilt coaster on the X2 site overlooking the entrance plaza would have been a proper statement, a real "we're back" ride.

This is not that. It's a good ride but it won't stand out at SFMM, there are plenty of parks they could have placed this where it would be "The" standout ride in the park, here it's just one of many.

 

[SeanC]

While I get what you mean it just feels wrong to me. This is an elite coaster but I don't think it's the elite coaster the park really needed. (As a side note I disagree with the park not having an elite thrill coaster but the ones I like are like me rather old now haha)

There are much much better options. Something like a Vekoma tilt coaster on the X2 site overlooking the entrance plaza would have been a proper statement, a real "we're back" ride.

This is not that. It's a good ride but it won't stand out at SFMM, there are plenty of parks they could have placed this where it would be "The" standout ride in the park, here it's just one of many.

If Six Flags had money, then I'd agree. But I don't think they'd build those better options. MAYBE there's light with bakunawa in terms of the company making bigger buys, but I'm just not sure we'll see anything major built at any of these parks for a while. I hope I'm wrong but it feels like it will be a very long, multi-year winter for SF.

 

[ECG]

Was that reported somewhere?

No.