Six Flags Announces New Record-Breaking Coaster Amid Lawsuits Over Another Ride

VALENCIA, CA — Six Flags Magic Mountain announced Thursday that a new roller coaster will open in 2027 as its X2 coaster remains closed following two serious injuries and is at the center of ongoing litigation over another rider's alleged injuries.

The new attraction, Thrill Glider, will combine flying, motorbike and suspended coaster technologies and carry riders in flying-bike vehicles dubbed "hovercycles," with riders positioned face down and suspended beneath the track, according to Six Flags.

The coaster, developed by manufacturer Vekoma, will reach speeds of 50 mph and feature 3,380 feet of track, a height of 107 feet, five inversions and 12 airtime moments. The ride will include multiple launches and 20 track elements over nearly 3.5 acres, with a ride time of about 80 seconds, officials said.

Six Flags billed the attraction as the world's first "Thrillglider" roller coaster and said it will be the world's longest, fastest and tallest coaster in that category when it opens. The company also said it will be the first multi-launch Thrillglider and have the most inversions in the category.

"Thrill Glider is more than a new attraction. It is the latest milestone in Six Flags Magic Mountain's renaissance and a reflection of the park's enduring role as an industry innovator," park President Brian Oerding said. "With a decades-long reputation for introducing record-breaking attractions and genre-defining rides, Magic Mountain is uniquely positioned to pioneer an entirely new coaster category and bring Thrill Glider to life."

The ride will feature synchronized onboard audio and lighting effects and will be themed around the fictional QuantumPulse Propulsion Systems, a technology company whose fictional energy source powers the hovercycles.

Thrill Glider will be built on the former site of the Golden Bear Theatre, between Full Throttle and Lex Luthor: Drop of Doom and adjacent to Looney Tunes Land. Construction is underway, and Six Flags has not announced a specific opening date.

The minimum height requirement will be 48 inches.

The announcement comes as X2 remains closed following two serious injuries reported in July.

Pamela Guillen, 40, suffered a severe subdural hematoma and brain compression after riding X2 on July 5, according to a CNN report. Her family said she underwent emergency surgery that required doctors to remove part of her skull.

Six days later, Naomi Greer-Wilkinson of Los Angeles, 25, lost consciousness after riding X2 and underwent emergency brain surgery, CNN reported. She remained in a coma as of late August.

The park declined to comment about the incidents. X2 was closed following Greer-Wilkinson's injury.

A separate lawsuit involving X2 is scheduled for trial Aug. 16, 2027. Yucaipa residents Sheila Katerelos, 56, and her husband, Ari, allege she suffered a traumatic brain injury and other medical complications while riding X2 in February 2020.

Magic Mountain and Six Flags were dismissed as defendants in that lawsuit in 2024. The case is continuing against S&S Worldwide Inc., which manufactured and designed X2's roller coaster vehicles, after a state appeals court reinstated the company as a defendant in February.

Magic Mountain and S&S Worldwide also previously settled with the parents of Christopher Hawley, a 22-year-old San Diego State University graduate who died in June 2022 after riding X2.

More information about Thrill Glider is available here.

City News Service