Superman: Escape from Krypton

Superman: Escape from Krypton, originally known as Superman: The Escape, is a steel shuttle roller coaster located at Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia, California. When it opened in 1997, it was the tallest roller coaster in the world, and its maximum speed of 100 mph was tied for the fastest with Tower of Terror II, a similar roller coaster which opened two months earlier at Dreamworld in Australia. Both were the first to utilize Linear Synchronous Motor (LSM) launch technology to propel vehicles, although the intended opening date in 1996 at Magic Mountain was postponed due to issues with the launch system.

Superman: The Escape closed in late 2010 for refurbishment, and it re-emerged in 2011 as Superman: Escape from Krypton. The refurbished ride introduced new trains that face backward and a new color scheme. As of 2023, Superman: Escape from Krypton has the second-tallest height, the fourth-fastest speed, and the third-longest drop of any operating roller coaster in the world.

Superman: The Escape (1997–2010)
During early planning, Six Flags Magic Mountain considered building a new roller coaster named Velocetron themed to The Man of Steel comic book series. Ultimately, the name Superman: The Escape was chosen, and the ride was announced on January 5, 1996. It would surpass Desperado and Phantom's Revenge to become the fastest roller coaster in the world and the first to reach 100 mph.

Superman: The Escape was designed by Swiss manufacturer Intamin, and construction began in late 1995. During the final stages, the last section of track was installed at the ride's highest point on May 3, 1996. Originally, the ride was scheduled to open on June 1, 1996, but it was delayed due to troubles with the launch system. In late 1996, there was a preview for season pass holders. After 10 months of testing and reengineering, the ride opened on March 15, 1997. Upon opening, it was recognized as the fastest roller coaster in the world. However, its delayed opening allowed Tower of Terror, which also reaches 100 mph, to open earlier at Dreamworld in Australia. Although tied with Tower of Terror as the fastest roller coaster in the world, Superman became the first to exceed 400 ft in height and opened as the tallest roller coaster in the world.

By early 1999, the ride remained closed for maintenance. After new brake fins were installed, one side reopened in late February. On March 22, 1999, Six Flags Magic Mountain announced that Superman: The Escape was fully operating with both sides running.

In June 2004, Superman: The Escape's seat belts were modified because of an incident on the Superman – Ride of Steel roller coaster at Six Flags New England. California State Regulators asked the park to make modifications to the rides' restraint systems to prevent a similar incident in the future.

Just after July 4 weekend of 2010, Superman: The Escape ceased operations with no reason given. A sign posted in front of the ride indicated that it would not reopen until the 2011 season, with hints that there would be improvements made to the ride experience. After Superman: The Escape's sister ride, the Tower of Terror II at Dreamworld, underwent a major refurbishment in 2010 which entailed a new vehicle which launches backward, speculation turned to the possibility of a similar modification to the Magic Mountain ride. Six Flags Magic Mountain officials quickly denied rumors that it would receive a Bizarro retheming, similar to roller coasters at other Six Flags parks.

Superman: Escape from Krypton (2011–present)
On October 20, 2010, Six Flags Magic Mountain officially announced the refurbishment and re-theming of Superman: The Escape, in addition to the construction of two new roller coasters. As part of the refurbishment, the ride was renamed to Superman: Escape from Krypton and featured new backward launching cars and a new color scheme. The upgraded ride reopened to the public on March 19, 2011.

Superman: Escape from Krypton closed again on February 5, 2012 (almost a year after the refurbishment), to prepare for the new 2012 attraction Lex Luthor: Drop of Doom. Two drop towers, also built by Intamin, were integrated into the existing sides of Superman: Escape from Krypton's structure. The ride reopened when construction was finished on July 7, 2012.

To enable the construction of the Full Throttle roller coaster, Superman: Escape from Krypton was temporarily closed from December 2012. It reopened in mid-January 2013, with Six Flags Magic Mountain stating the ride might have intermittent closures as the construction of Full Throttle continued.

Queue and station
At the entrance to the ride, the Superman "S" shield is imprinted and now painted onto the ground. The entrance area and queue are modeled after the Fortress of Solitude, Superman's headquarters. The queue line winds through the building and forks, giving guests the option to wait in line for either the left or right side. During slow days and in the off-season, there may be only one side operating. The fork is followed by a long tunnel down each side of the fortress, which is often kept cold from the air-conditioning. Guests then head into the waiting area, where they are separated into four rows and board after the doors open. The station is lit green, modeled as Krypton, the planet that is full of Kryptonite rock that can take away Superman's powers. Inside is a crystalline-looking environment which recreates Superman's fortress in the Arctic. If the Velocetron name had been chosen, the queue and station would have had ancient ruins and a giant laser. A page on display in the SBNO (Standing but not operating) Sky Tower, the park's observation tower, shows the concept art for Velocetron.

Layout
The roller coaster has two parallel tracks, which are identical. The vehicle is accelerated by Linear Synchronous Motors in reverse or forwards depending on the side riders choose out of the station from 0 to 100 mph in approximately 7 seconds. Riders experience a g-force of 4.5 during the launch. The vehicle then climbs up 415 ft at a 90-degree angle. Riders climb this vertical section facing directly downward, before slightly stopping near the top of the tower. During the vertical section of the ride, riders experience weightlessness for about 6.5 seconds. The vehicle drops 328 ft and is slowed down before re-entering the station.

Vehicles
The roller coaster originally featured two vehicles, each with three rows of four seats and one row of two seats for a total of 14 riders per vehicle. Both vehicles were built to only launch forward. After the ride was refurbished in 2010, new "streamlined" vehicles with the Superman logo were introduced. The new vehicles were designed with low-profile sides to enhance the open-air feeling. Although they are wider, the row of the three seats in the older vehicle was reduced to two, lowering the total number of riders to 14. Both of the new trains were configured to launch backward, although they were designed to launch forward as well. In late August 2021, the left side vehicle of Superman was once again placed forward, allowing riders to choose if they want to experience a forward or backward launch. This is the first time riders can choose between two different ride experiences.

Track
The steel track is approximately 1235 ft in length and the height of the tower is approximately 415 ft. The tower is in an "L" shape with two parallel tracks. When the ride opened, the entire structure was painted white. After the ride was refurbished, the top third of the structure was painted red, the track was painted yellow and the rest was painted blue.

Records
When it opened, Superman: Escape from Krypton was tied with Tower of Terror II as the fastest roller coaster in the world. The shared record stood for four years until Dodonpa opened in Japan in 2001, featuring a maximum speed of 106.9 mph. Superman: Escape from Krypton was also the tallest roller coaster in the world with the longest drop until the 420 ft Top Thrill Dragster opened at Cedar Point in 2003. The ride remains ranked in three major categories among steel coasters.

List of world records

 * Third tallest steel coaster at 415 ft
 * Fourth longest drop on a steel coaster at 328.1 ft
 * Fifth fastest steel coaster at 100 mph