With Six Flags Magic Mountain officially announcing the closure of 4th-dimension coaster X2, enthusiasts now look ahead to what could potentially take its place.
Amid a firestorm of bad press and lawsuits surrounding the equally beloved and controversial X2, Six Flags Magic Mountain made the expected announcement on Tuesday that the coaster would permanently close – particularly citing the public’s likely lack of confidence in any reopening of the ride.
The announcement puts an unceremonius end to a nearly 25-year tenure for one of the world’s wackiest, most intense roller coasters ever built. The final project for Arrow Dynamics and the first-ever 4th-dimension coaster, X2 was beloved by thrillseekers and coaster enthusiasts for its mind-boggling intensity and one-of-a-kind ride, while the ride’s high cost and barrage of maintenance issues affected the attraction throughout its lifespan.
I ultimately never got to ride X2, and I previously wrote about how I’m not all that upset about it. A coaster meant to thrill and scare above all else, this was a ride unlike any other before its time to exist – and the forces it exerted onto riders were atypical and likely caught many who didn’t know what they were in for off-guard.
I don’t mean to speculate on where on the ride reported injuries occurred or how exactly the coaster contributed to people getting hurt, but there did seem to be a hard truth that even the fiercest defenders of this coaster had come to terms with – this was an incredibly rough ride that had only gotten more aggressive as the years have gone on. What may have been an uncomfortable ride with a little head-banging for some may very well have been a car crash-like impact for others – especially considering the sheer violence the coaster exerts on riders during the final raven turn and ensuing brake run.
While retiring X2 is undoubtedly the correct move, it also leaves a massive void in a flagship park that still markets itself as the “Thrill Capital of the World.” X2 was added to the park during a time when Magic Mountain was in relentless pursuit of proving this slogan to the rest of the planet, with additions of other massive coasters such as Goliath and Superman: Escape from Krypton also coming around the turn of the century.
Throughout the past 15 years or so, the additions to Magic Mountain have been much more modest, with the lineup beefed up by kiddie/family coasters as well as coasters with a more novel ride experience, such as West Coast Racers, Twisted Colossus and Wonder Woman: Flight of Courage. While these are all undoubtedly bona fide thrill attractions, they aren’t quite at the level of a top-notch attraction that rises above as scarier and more exciting than all of the rest.
Which does make me think that Magic Mountain is going to replace X2 with a top-dollar investment that will make the park a top destination for thrillseekers worldwide once again – much in the way that Six Flags Great Adventure will be next year upon the opening of Bakunawa, an insane Mack Rides Xtreme Spinning coaster that is replacing former world recordholder Kingda Ka.
While there are a handful of possibilities I can see for replacing X2, I don’t think that this will be a family coaster, or even a shorter thrill ride with unique characteristics – as that need is going to be fulfilled by the first-of-its-kind Thrill Glider, which is slated to open at the park next year.
As one of the country’s most recognizable and beloved amusement parks enters a period of uncertainty, here’s a look at seven possibilities for X2‘s replacement, ordered from what I believe to be the most likely to least likely outcomes:
1. B&M gigacoaster
Why it could happen: This is a slam dunk investment and feels like the most obvious choice as an X2 replacement. There are currently just three of these models, and all three of them are located in the eastern third of North America – Leviathan (Canada’s Wonderland), Fury 325 (Carowinds) and Orion (Kings Island).
While B&M gigacoasters are merely supersized versions of their hypercoaster model, the three existing gigacoasters certainly have a different feel to them – with their layouts emphasizing the coaster’s sheer speed over the floater airtime, camelback hill-filled layouts that many standard hypercoasters employ.
At Magic Mountain, the opportunity is there to build B&M’s next flagship coaster – perhaps one that even eclipses Fury 325‘s namesake height of 325 feet – still making it the tallest roller coaster in the world with a traditional lift hill. Given X2‘s prominent position at the park, visible from nearby Interstate 5 and the first thing many guests see upon entering Magic Mountain, I’d imagine that the park would like to replace the ride with one that is just as visually prominent.
This would also make sense just for the fact that B&M hypers and gigas are disproportionately found out east – with none of the models currently operating anywhere west of Texas. A massive B&M giga in California would stand out as a one-of-its-kind ride in the region, and would come with the reputation of being a safe, reliable, crowd-pleasing ride that has been a smash hit at every park its landed at.
Why it may not happen: The only notable reason for Six Flags to pump the brakes on this would be cost. While Six Flags Entertainment Corporation has been pretty relentless since the merger with Cedar Fair in adding major rides to parks, they may have a change of heart in the coming years – especially with another slew of X2-related litigation on the way.
B&M gigas are remarkably expensive, with Orion boasting a final cost of $31 million at its July 2020 opening – meaning a similar ride today is probably going to approach upwards of $35 million in cost. Although it’s hard to think of a ride where the investment is more likely to pan out, Six Flags may also want to slow down its spending spree of the last few years – especially with the company having a noticeably tougher summer in 2026.
2. B&M dive coaster
Why it could happen: This is a popular, crowd-pleasing model that has become one of the best-selling B&M offerings, known for its thrilling first drop and an ensuing glass-smooth ride experience.
Similar to B&M gigas and hypers, this is a common model that is still mostly found in the eastern two-thirds of the country, with just one of these coasters in operation west of Texas – that being Emperor at SeaWorld San Diego, one of the smaller iterations of the model.
A dive coaster also feels like a notable omission at Magic Mountain, an absolutely stacked park that delivers on most other popular coaster models seen across the world. Despite dive coasters having been in existence for nearly 30 years, Magic Mountain has never pulled the trigger on one – and it’s an addition that would make a good amount of sense for the park.
This is also a choice that would give Magic Mountain a majestic, front-of-park attraction to greet guests as they make their way onto the property – with dive coasters sporting an intimidating appearance thanks to their vertical or beyond-vertical drops that could help the park live up to its Thrill Capital of the World reputation.
Why it may not happen: Just like with a B&M gigacoaster, cost remains a potentially prohibitive issue for Six Flags here, if they opt to slow down on their spending spree in an effort to avoid digging a hole that would require the company to sell off more properties.
Yet in addition to the financial concern, Six Flags may avoid the dive coaster if only for the reason that they’ve been incredibly high on them in recent years – adding five versions of the model all within just the last seven years, with dive coasters being added to Canada’s Wonderland, Six Flags Fiesta Texas, Dorney Park, Six Flags Great America and Six Flags Over Texas – the last of which is the first dive coaster to reach gigacoaster heights.
The company may simply want to give the light of day to a different model, although I wouldn’t rule out Six Flags adding the definitive dive coaster to Magic Mountain – one with gigacoaster heights that does reach a drop length of 300 feet. If it’s not the tallest and fastest of its kind, I think there’s a good chance Six Flags opts for something else.
3. Vekoma tilt coaster
Why it could happen: Despite being well over 20 years old, this model just made its American debut last year at Cedar Point with Siren’s Curse – and a second one, Circuit Breaker, just debuted and the newly-opened COTALAND in Austin, Texas.
Needless to say, this is a hot model with a great deal of novelty and thrill to it – and it doesn’t even need a crazy height to deliver on its thrill, with the coaster tilting 90 degrees down to meet up with the main section of track before plunging riders on a vertical descent.
After debuting at Cedar Point to mostly positive reviews, it wouldn’t surprise me at all if Six Flags wants to add one of these at their most crowded park out west – especially after the company added the tallest of its kind to Six Flags Qiddiya City, the 208-foot tall Iron Rattler.
Six Flags could try to outdo that height with at Magic Mountain, but I could see this being an addition even if it didn’t break the height record – with the park perhaps opting to break the five-inversion record instead with the next addition.
Why it may not happen: Throughout its lifespan, the novelty of X2, combined with the fact that it was the final coaster built from a defunct manufacturer, made it a consistent maintenance nightmare that impacted the attraction for the duration of its lifespan.
While Siren’s Curse appears to be a fairly reliable ride, operating one of these coasters at a year-round theme park is a different ballgame – and parks remain entirely unsure of what kind of maintenance issues may be common with the model, as it hasn’t even operated for two full seasons in North America yet.
This may make some at Six Flags feel like they’re replacing one money pit with another – and the company may opt to replace the coaster with a more common model that they’re more familiar with.
Furthermore, a tilt coaster, while intimidating, would not have the same majestic, eye-grabbing appearance that a B&M giga or dive coaster would. I’m not sure how much that matters, but if the park is intent on maintaining their high-thrill imagery and marketing, I would think that it isn’t completely meaningless.
4. Mack Rides Xtreme Spinning Coaster
Why it could happen: Another hot model rapidly rising in popularity, this would be a novel addition to a Magic Mountain lineup that has never had a spinning coaster – while living up to every bit of the thrill and intensity that a ride like X2 offered – albeit in a much different way.
These coasters gained worldwide recognition with the installments of Time Traveler at Silver Dollar City and The Ride to Happiness at Plopsaland Belgium – with Six Flags upping the ante in an unforeseen way next year at Six Flags Great Adventure with the opening of Bakunawa.
The opportunity is certainly there for a west coast version of Bakunawa, a coaster that would likely tower over the rest of the park’s attractions while giving West Coast thrillseekers a chance to experience a kind of ride that can only be found in a few parks across the world right now.
With Bakunawa reaching a height of 382 feet, it should be expected that a similar ride at Magic Mountain would be at a similar height – or would perhaps approach 400 feet tall.
Why it may not happen: The obvious reason this is likely out of play is simply the existence of Bakunawa – while it’s a fair argument to want a similar coaster at a major west coast park, I’d also imagine that Six Flags will want to have at least some exclusivity with Bakunawa – giving people all across the world a reason to make it to New Jersey in the same way that Kingda Ka did when it opened 21 years ago.
While I would have to think that an Xtreme Spinner would eventually make it to Magic Mountain, the timing doesn’t exactly add up in the best way.
It’s also worth considering potential maintenance costs – something the company can’t truly foresee until Bakunawa opens to the public next year. With an upside-down 100 mph launch and a floorless spinning train, there are plenty of unique moving parts that remain variables when assessing the long-term cost. If this ultimately becomes another wildly unreliable ride, the company would be left with the same host of issues that X and X2 dealt the park over the past 25 years.
5. Add ArieForce One
Why it could happen: There’s really only one reason for why this could happen (I suppose two if you consider X2‘s plot of land) – and that would be cost.
Widely viewed as one of the best coasters in the world and my second-favorite coaster of all-time, ArieForce One operated for just four seasons at Fun Spot Atlanta before the park was forced to close last month – almost certainly because of the massive investment into the ground-up RMC coaster.
It was revealed earlier this month that Six Flags had already purchased the coaster from Fun Spot, and has been waiting to reveal where it could land.
While this coaster would make tremendous sense at a park like Carowinds or Kings Island where a ride like ArieForce One is not already present, Six Flags could get away with adding a world-class coaster to Magic Mountain without spending any extra money – although it would be a very bizarre addition.
Why it won’t happen: Twisted Colossus already exists. While ArieForce One is undoubtedly a distinct ride, the two coasters offer relatively similar experiences and also share a similar appearance. For a park of Magic Mountain’s caliber, it would be hard to believe that they would offer two coasters that don’t offer all that much to differentiate from each other.
While all three B&M gigas are accompanied by a traditional B&M hyper, ArieForce One sharing a park with Twisted Colossus feels different – especially given the fact that both coasters share many of the same elements and boast a similar height, drop angle and speed. Outside of the dueling of Twisted Colossus, the rides share far too much in common to also share a park.
6. B&M wing coaster
Why it could happen: This was a vastly popular model in the early-to-mid 2010’s that quickly died off, but the coasters that were built remain very popular at their respective parks.
After having not built one in the U.S. since the addition of Thunderbird to Holiday World in 2015, B&M brought the model back to the states just last year with the addition of Rapterra at Kings Dominion – which, like Thunderbird, includes a launch.
These coasters are large and photogenic, providing a welcoming sight when entering the park while also boasting a mostly comfortable, crowd-pleasing experience.
B&M has also yet to build a wing coaster to reach hypercoaster heights, with this providing a decent opportunity to do so – as this model provides more opportunities for creativity than the dive coaster, which has exhausted just about everything it has to offer in recent years.
Why it won’t happen: If Magic Mountain were to give B&M a major investment to replace X2, I’d simply have to think that they are more likely to go with one of the company’s more popular models that have a track record of being the lead attraction at their parks.
While B&M’s wing coasters are well-received and popular, they are also all supporting coasters at their respective parks – and Magic Mountain is looking for a new headliner. Even with the room to push the boundaries with this design that would also pay homage to X2‘s winged seating, I think it’s more likely that the park opts to go in a more straightforward direction.
Still, this is the true sleeper of the possibilities, and I wouldn’t completely rule this out.
7. Add Gold Striker from California’s Great America
How it could happen: There are so many obvious reasons for why this won’t happen, so I’ll skip that part entirely and simply explain how I think this is even anywhere in the realm of possibility.
This outcome would of course require California’s Great America to proceed with its closure at the end of the 2027 season, which would then make its collection of rides available for possible relocation – although only Rail Blazer feels like it’s a guarantee to get moved.
Gold Striker is one of the most acclaimed coasters in California and is often cited by enthusiasts as one of the best wooden coasters in the country. Despite its unimposing height and speed, Gold Striker absolutely rips through its compact layout with blistering velocity – making it a highlight at the park and a beloved attraction among those who love woodies.
And it is those enthusiasts that love woodies who are at a bit of a loss when visiting Magic Mountain – a massive park that boasts just one wooden coaster, the very solid Apocalypse: The Ride, also from Great Coasters International.
If Six Flags wants to give Gold Striker some extra life, they could bring in the park’s second wooden roller coaster to replace X2, a move that would table the addition of a top-dollar thrill ride to a later time – perhaps when financials are a bit more stable.
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