Add another coaster to the list of rides Six Flags has quietly shuttered. Six Flags Magic Mountain President Jeff Harris confirmed with the Orange County Register Friday that “Superman: Escape From Krypton” is permanently closed.
“It’s just reached a point in time where we need to make a wise decision on where we really should reinvest funds that improve the guest experience the most,” Harris said. “It just doesn’t make a lot of sense from a business perspective to put it back into Superman.”
The ride originally opened in 1997 as “Superman: The Escape.” At the time the tallest and fastest coaster in the world at 415 feet tall, with a 328 foot drop, and hitting a max speed of 100 mph, while accelerating from 0 to 100 in 7 seconds.
According to the OC Register the park had hoped to reopen it this year, but they determined the cost of replacing parts and equipment would have been cost prohibitive.
“Some of the parts are obsolete,” Harris said. “It’s really tough to even get parts to keep it alive.”
Superman: Escape from Krypton tower. (Credit: By Jeremy Thompson – Six Flags Magic Mountain 007, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=19118475)
The track isn’t being torn down yet, though, and Lex Luther: Drop of Doom, the drop tower attached to the ride, will still be running this year. Closing the ride is not part of the new coaster project coming to Magic Mountain in 2026, and the park is still figuring what their plans will be for the track and space.
“It’s too early to disclose what we’re going to do with the actual track, cars, queue, building structure and everything else that comes with the attraction,” Harris said. “That’s yet to be determined, but we’re working through what that potentially could look like for the future.”
Tower of Terror II in Australia, one of the two other Intamin “Reverse Freefall Coasters” built, faced a similar fate. It operated until 2019 and once closed the track was removed, but the tower holding the “Giant Drop” drop ride was left standing. Eventually I’d expect something similar to happen with Superman.
When Lex Luther: Drop of Doom permanently closed by 2026 or 2027 also Whistlestop Park is closing for Good along with Magic Flyer and Train ride to make room for another Bugs Bunny World expansion! However Superman is closed down for Good!