Empires rise and empires fall, and the same goes for beloved theme park attractions. Theme park rides are always changing, from tweaking outdated concepts like the auction scene on Pirates of the Caribbean, to ride rethemings like Tiana’s Bayou Adventure (formerly Splash Mountain), both at the U.S. Disney Parks, to complete ride teardowns like the recently-retired Kingda Ka in New Jersey’s Six Flags Great Adventure. The newest subject of this trend is Superman: Escape from Krypton at Six Flags Magic Mountain in Southern California.
The nearly 3-decades-old ride shut down for maintenance in September, 2024, and park officials announced in March 2025 that the ride will close for good. “Some of the parts are obsolete,” Magic Mountain President Jeff Harris told the Orange County Register, explaining the difficulty in sourcing replacement parts. The decision to close the ride came down to what was best for guest experience and what made sense from a business perspective.
The ride debuted as Superman: The Escape in 1997 and was, at the time, the tallest and fastest roller coaster in the world. It featured two side-by-side, L-shaped tracks that were 1,315 feet long. The ride shot guests into the sky, like the iconic DC superhero, reaching a top speed of 100 mph in seven seconds. Riders experienced 6.5 seconds of weightless suspension before being brought back down on a near-vertical fall of 415 feet. In 2011, the ride was revamped with the name we know it as today and a backward launch, easily making it one of the scariest roller coasters in America.
The closure is a disappointment for thrill seekers
