Six Flags Magic Mountain

Story

X2 is a steel roller coaster operating at Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia, California. It is the world's first 4th Dimension roller coaster and was the final roller coaster conceived and installed by ride manufacturer Arrow Dynamics. The ride is unique in that the trains' seats pitch 360 degrees forwards and in reverse independent of the main chassis. The coaster initially opened to the public on January 12, 2002; numerous malfunctions delayed it from debuting in 2001 as was originally anticipated. On December 2, 2007, the ride closed for its transformation into X2. It was completely repainted, received new third generation vehicles, and featured new special effects including a sound system and a pair of flame throwers. The ride reopened on May 24, 2008, following the upgrades.DescriptionX2 is a unique prototype design in which the seats can rotate forward or backward 360 degrees in a controlled spin. This is achieved by having four rails on the track. Two of these are running rails while the other two are for spin control. The two rails that control the spin of the seats move up and down relative to the main track and spin the seats using a rack and pinion gear mechanism. The ride also has an on-board audio soundtrack.X2's lift-hill climbs 175 feet (53 m) into the sky with the ride's tallest point above ground at 190 feet (58 m). During this lift, riders are facing backwards. The first drop is 215 feet (65.5 m) and is sloped at 88.8 degrees, causing the train to reach a maximum speed of 76 mph (122 km/h) (faster than X, at about 70 mph). The 3,610-foot (1100 m) long layout features two inversions including a skydive, two "raven turns", one back flip, and a twisting front flip.