Latest news with #MagicMountain
Gizmodo
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Gizmodo
DC Comics at Theme Parks Has Had a Bizarre History but ‘Superman' Could Change That
There's nostalgia for the Batman movie era at Six Flags as we head toward a new DC Studios era with Superman, On a recent visit to Magic Mountain, I found myself reminiscing fondly about the stunt shows from the '90s. Both Batman Forever and Batman & Robin were draws as WB movie-inspired attractions for folks who didn't want to only do roller coasters. The most vivid memory I have is Batman swinging into action and riding in the Batmobile for the explosive, stunt-heavy Magic Mountain version of the show. The Caped Crusader teamed up with Robin and Batgirl against Mr. Freeze and Poison Ivy for super abridged versions of the film's plot against perfectly dilapidated Gotham sets. At Astroworld in Texas, an early version of the show took place in a water arena where the iconic DC duo took on the Riddler and Two-Face in a high-octane show with jet skis and a helicopter. For a while, DC Entertainment seemed invested in being a worthy competitor to the outdoor staged experiences presented at Universal Studios Hollywood or even The Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular at Walt Disney World. But then, more and more, all the coaster-centric parks began to only license DC iconography to slip on steel coasters, including Batman: The Ride, Riddler's Revenge, and Superman: The Ride. With little to no effort on theming, investment in places where you could immerse yourself in the world of these characters was nowhere to be found for years. Sure, there would be some slight attempts, like a meet and greet here or there timed to ride openings, but gone was the value placed in thematic storytelling to draw repeat visits. Only the memories and the Batmobile from the long-gone stunt shows remain for photo ops. During Christopher Nolan's Batman era, the thing that most reinvigorated DC and Warner Bros.' interest in participatory entertainment was an ARG marketing campaign. The level of immersion with Animal Repair Shop's The Dark Knight: Why So Serious? experience made the world a theme park. Fans who wanted to learn more about the second Nolan film were able to participate in flash Joker Mobs at places like San Diego Comic-Con or follow clues in other major cities to shopping centers or college campuses to collect artifacts from the yet-to-be-released film. Even in the digital world, the internet landscape was changed as Batman fans unlocked the first look at Heath Ledger's Joker. It was a game changer and one that at least some major theme parks sought to bring into their offerings, except seemingly Six Flags. In 2010 things changed in theme parks when Universal Studios opened the first major themed land based on a film franchise with The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. The irony being, of course, that Warner Bros. partnered with a competing theme park for this—all while having DC Comics just be stickers to slap on any given coaster. Wizarding World lit a fire that would go on to motivate the landscape to evolve quickly from just having attractions or shows touting a major IP. Now, the blueprint was set to make whole areas that take you into the world of your favorite fandom, paving the way for Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge and Avengers Campus at Disney Parks and, most recently, Universal's own Epic Universe. Warner Bros. has had an international arm that's put familiar properties in various theme parks around the world, notably in Spain and Australia with Warner Bros. Movie World parks. These were essentially original regional parks in major metropolitan cities that partnered with WB to rebrand into Movie World Parks. They very often get better production value for their properties with DC Comics, The Wizard of Oz, and The Looney Tunes at their amusement parks, while we get paint refreshes on existing coasters. Before you surmise that 'Wow, DC fans really got the short end here,' you might be surprised to learn that there is a fully realized DC Universe land: Warner Bros. World on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi. The first from-the-ground-up WB theme park, it opened in 2018 and predates Galaxy's Edge with multiple themed lands designed by the Thinkwell Group, a hub of park and immersive designers. Here you'll find Gotham and Metropolis as two separate areas with attractions inspired by the worlds of Batman and Superman. There are meet and greets with multiple characters throughout, from heroes to villains; even the Looney Tunes get fully decked out in DC Comics gear too. The ads for this park are always making us feel like we're truly missing out. The most we got around that time of its opening was a single dark ride in the form of Six Flags' Justice League: Battle for Metropolis. Which brings us to the DCEU phase, in which Six Flags got some costume redesigns inspired by the New 52 on select DC characters with limited engagements on appearances throughout the country. The Warner Bros. Studios tour in Burbank expanded to feature interactive displays with costumes from the Snyderverse films and tour set stops. My favorite experience of this era was when the studio decided to try its hand at hosting its own Halloween after-dark ticketed event. With Horror Made Here, scary walk-throughs based on franchises like The Conjuring and Friday the 13th were joined by an Arkham Asylum maze where the Joker and Harley turned guests into inmates. It was scary and delightfully demented with elements of immersive storytelling and escape room antics. Alas, Horror Made Here was only around for one year; every year we hope it comes back. As the DCEU neared its end, a new Wonder Woman coaster opened at Six Flags Magic Mountain with little fanfare. By that point, fans' relationship with the brand had perhaps been pulled in too many directions. As we enter DC Studios' next chapter with the release of James Gunn's Superman, its heroes and villains are being scattered throughout various summer offerings. The most exciting-sounding one is being run in collaboration with the Gaylord Hotels, which is transforming a number of its resorts with a 'DC Summer' theme for the 2025 season. The offerings include superhero training with the Justice League, meet and greets, nighttime spectaculars, themed meals like a Harley and Joker buffet, a Riddler-themed immersive scavenger hunt, and a secret villains bar at select locations. There's even an expansive comic-book-come-to-life illuminated walk-through experience: Universe of Light at the Gaylord Texan, with heroic and splash-page-themed art installations for the whole family to enjoy. Meanwhile, as Six Flags undergoes its current phase of new ownership through Cedar Fair, there's been a resurgence of the characters at select locations, including Magic Mountain in California. For the summer, the West Coast park has 'DC Heroes and Villains Fest,' featuring a small parade cavalcade of characters from DC Comics and a cluster of themed food booths. With a new stage show that's more of a dance party than a stunt spectacular on the level of what was there in the '90s, there are some signs of progress with seeing how kids react to seeing Superman and his super friends take on Lex Luthor and the Joker. But on the whole, it's just a whole bunch of coaster-centric activities that are not as accessible as other places. It still just feels like a missed opportunity to start anew alongside DC Studios. The costumes still harken to the New 52 aiming to pull in fans with the recognizable iconography alone. On a recent visit to Six Flags Magic Mountain, we found the food was good but definitely still felt lacking in regard to theming, though that just might be because there were only three booths with a few options. Overall, it isn't too different from some of the recent things Six Flags has been doing anyway for the summer season around the country. It's just too all over the place to feel a part of what's next. The effort at the parks has room to evolve as Superman arrives. The Warner Bros. Studio Tour feels more connected to what's to come: the DC area of the walkthrough for the tour includes a celebration of past projects while shifting focus to the now. There are costumes from Matt Reeves' The Batman on display right out of the Batcave, which feels and sounds like it with incredible screens that transport you there with a touch of that Nolan feel. And James Gunn's mark is starting to take hold; you exit with a Daily Planet desk illuminating the new tone of the DC Studios era. The costumes for Clark Kent, Lois Lane, Lex Luthor, and the Superman suit fill the place with excitement against a Fortress of Solitude display. Even the WB store, which is a modern version of the ones from the mall in the '90s, got redone with Metropolis set pieces to admire while you shop, complete with a Krypto the dog plush fountain. Somehow that evoked more theme park vibes than anything else we've experienced so far in the world of DC comics this year. While we see places like WB World Abu in Dhabi soar, we hope that stateside we get more invested in incorporating everything this massive fandom is missing out on. With the arrival of more DC Studios here, let's hope their worlds immerse ours and we can go up, up, and away too. Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what's next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.
Irish Times
06-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Times
Thomas Mann's 150th birthday present to Germany and the world: a warning from history
Thomas Mann and James Joyce never met in life but, especially in death, found much in common. Both were writers of challenging fiction who ended their days in self-imposed exile in Zürich. Both are buried there, at opposite ends of town. During their lifetimes their respective homelands rejected them first with mockery, then hatred – Joyce's works were banned, Mann's burned. After decades of posthumous apathy, both were resurrected by their homelands for praise and monetisation purposes. Just 10 days before another episode of Ireland's Bloomsday malarkey, Germany is celebrating Thomas Mann's 150th birthday in a state of nervous jubilation. A new, hefty biography heads the long list of books, while critics and essayists have delivered fresh prophetic framings for Mann's major works in the present. READ MORE Is modern Germany and Europe, some wonder, heading back to the Zauberberg (Magic Mountain)? Mann's 1924 novel tells of a healthy young engineer, Hans Castorp, who visits a friend in a Davos mountain-top clinic only to succumb to its self-indulgent charms of introspection, hypochondria, disease and death. Running through the book, two polar-opposite patients - one a humanist democrat and the other a fascism-adjacent communist revolutionary - debate 'power and law, tyranny and freedom, superstition and science'. Mann was channelling the debates that dominated his world a century ago - and ours today. [ The Magician by Colm Tóibín: Beautiful, sweeping exploration of Thomas Mann's life Opens in new window ] For German writer Thomas Wiedermann, who wrote a novel based on the author, the Zauberberg is 'about a pre-war world, a burnt-out society … where the smallest spark is enough to make the world explode'. A century on, he fears the modern world is 'not repeating [the past] but at least mirroring it'. Others see worrying contemporary parallels to Mann's first novel, Buddenbrooks, drawing on his early years in the northern city of Lübeck where he was born on June 6th, 1875. This debut novel, published when he was 26, sweeps the reader through the rise and fall of a wealthy merchant family whose business is built by the first generation, managed by the second and ruined by the third. Last February, the Neue Zürcher daily suggested Switzerland was suffering from third-generation 'Buddenbrooks syndrome', happily living off the family fortune, 'studying art history, working less, retiring earlier'. Rather than citizens, the NZZ argued, 'the Swiss have become consumers of their own state'. Similar arguments can be heard in Germany, trapped in a never-ending recession, and a recent warning from Chancellor Friedrich Merz that holiday-loving Germans 'need to work more'. Mann won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1929 for his work, packed with universal, timeless themes that are finding new relevance and attention today. His 150th birthday today became a dual celebration of sorts. [ Opens in new window ] It marked the reopening of the fabled villa that Thomas and Katja Mann had built in California's Pacific Palisades. It was purchased and restored by the German state a decade ago - but it's a miracle there is even a house left. Last January, as wildfires raged through nearby Santa Monica and edged into Pacific Palisades, villa staff raced through the house, snatching the writer's handwritten papers, paintings and beloved Goethe complete works - but had to leave behind thousands of personal mementos and rare books. Much of the neighbourhood was consumed by fire but the worst damage to the Mann villa was a thick coating of soot on the facade, which has been scrubbed and repainted for Friday's party. Mann knew personally how quick disaster could strike. He was on a lecture tour of Europe a month after Hitler took power in 1933 when he decided not to return to Germany and settle in Switzerland. His denunciations of the Nazis from there saw them revoke his citizenship and burn his books. After their invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1939, Mann resettled his family in the US. Asked by a reporter there how he felt living in exile, Mann replied: 'Where I am is Germany! I carry my culture within.' It was here that Mann produced his perhaps most relevant works for our time. Not novels, but accessible and urgent essays and public lectures about democracy, its strengths and its enemies. In 1938, with Europe on the brink of war, Mann warned radio audiences that the greatest danger to democracy was the fascination and novelty of fascism. His observations carry eerie echoes today. 'Once [fascism] has subjugated the body through fear,' he warned from personal experience, 'it can even subjugate thought.' In 1943, with war raging in Europe, Mann warned, again on the radio: 'It is a terrible spectacle when the irrational becomes popular.' He eventually returned to Europe in 1952 but settled in Zürich, shunning Germany. His countrymen had never forgiven him – for fleeing, for surviving the war under Californian palm trees, but most of all for his BBC propaganda broadcasts into his homeland. Many Germans who convinced themselves later they they knew nothing of the Holocaust resented how, even in far-away California, Mann knew as early as 1942 of the mass murder of Polish Jews using poison gas. It was, he warned, 'an expression of the spirit and attitude of the National Socialist revolution'. Even worse than him knowing: he knew they knew, a point he kept ramming home. In another broadcast he lectured the Germans, literally, about the terrible irony of their situation: a dictator dangling before the noses of a people he viewed as 'cowardly, submissive and stupid' a bright future as a 'race destined for world domination'. In an open letter, published four months after Germany's capitulation, Mann insisted he would not return to a 'stupid, empathy-free' German people who 'would like to pretend that 12 years never happened'. The final kick came with his remark in the letter about the Allied bombings of German cities: 'Everything must be paid for'. No wonder, then, that his eventual return to Germany in 1949 was a chilly affair. Many Germans saw Mann as a traitor, even more so after he visited East Germany to accept a literary medal of honour. Two years later, learning that Mann had resettled in Switzerland, the Frankfurter Allgemeine daily denounced him as 'an exponent of an aversion to Germany that goes as far as stupidity'. Germany fell out of love with Mann but eventually warmed again to him in the 1980s. Mann didn't live long enough for that reconciliation - nor to fall back in love with America. A decade after taking US citizenship in 1944, Mann was dubbed a 'suspected communist' and brought before the House Un-American Activities Committee. There he heard himself described as one of the 'world's foremost apologists for Stalin and company'. A chastened Mann warned his adoptive homeland that, with its embrace of witch-hunts and 'loyalty checks', it was 'well on [its way] to a fascist police state'. To his diary, Mann confessed he was 'shockingly touched by the dwindling sense of justice in this country, the rule of force'. Given that, it doesn't take too much effort to imagine what Thomas Mann would have made of German-American president Donald Trump. As for his literary legacy: given that he died exactly 70 years ago, Mann's works enter the public domain next January to join fellow former Zürich resident James Joyce. Brace yourself for the mash-up, Chat-GPT fan fiction: Leopold Bloom on the Magic Mountain, anyone?
Los Angeles Times
29-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
Six Flags Magic Mountain's record-setting Superman coaster will fly no more
Six Flags Magic Mountain's 'Superman: Escape from Krypton,' once among the fastest and tallest roller coasters in the world, has taken its final flight. The ride, which shut down for maintenance last September, will be closed permanently, park officials told the Orange County Register. The theme park did not immediately respond to requests for comment from The Times Friday. Originally named 'Superman: The Escape,' the roller coaster set speed and height records when it debuted in 1997 — hurtling riders upward at a top speed of 100 mph before sending them back down on a near-vertical 415-foot plummet where they experienced 6.5 seconds of weightlessness, according to theme park's website. In 2011, the coaster was redubbed 'Superman: Escape from Krypton' and redesigned to run the terrifyingly exhilarating trip backward. 'You're about to shoot from 0 to 100 miles per hour in seven seconds flat — in reverse,' the Six Flags' website described the ride. 'This record-breaking speed and acceleration has never before been achieved in a thrill ride, let alone backwards.' Magic Mountain president Jeff Harris told the O.C. Register that the park had initially hoped to reopen the ride, but sourcing replacement parts for the aging roller coaster had proved cost prohibitive. 'Just like other roller coasters within the theme park industry, there's a life cycle with these coasters,' Harris told the Register. '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. It just doesn't make a lot of sense from a business perspective to put it back into Superman.' 'Lex Luthor: Drop of Doom' a ride that is attached to the Superman ride and hoists park visitors 40 stories into the air before dropping them back to earth, is currently undergoing maintenance and scheduled to reopen in April, Harris said. The end of the line for Superman was met with an outpouring of grief from adrenaline junkies. 'That saying they have about parents and their children applies here: 'You never know when it will be the last time you'll be able to hold your child in your arms,'' one user wrote on Reddit. 'Same goes for these rides when they go into refurbishment and the same for Superman. I loved Superman ... I never knew the last time I rode it would be the last time ever.' While the extreme ride had a strong fan base, it also experienced technical challenges and several extended periods of closure. Some of these were related to the linear synchronous motor launch system that allowed the ride to reach 100 mph. Currently, the fastest roller coaster in the world is the Formula Rossa at Ferrari World in Abu Dhabi, which opened in 2010 and boasts a top speed of 149.1 mph. Six Flags Magic Mountain is now down to 19 roller coasters, but the Valencia theme park has a new suspended motorbike coaster ride slated to open in 2026.
Yahoo
28-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Six Flags Magic Mountain permanently closes record-breaking coaster
Once known as the tallest and fastest coaster in the world, Superman: Escape from Krypton at Six Flags Magic Mountain was brought down by a lethal dose of kryptonite. Six Flags leadership confirmed to media outlets that the shuttle coaster, which hasn't been operational since last September, will not return. Magic Mountain President Jeff Harris told the Orange County Register that the ride was initially closed for refurbishment, but the necessary parts weren't readily available, so the most prudent option was to close it permanently. The Superman ride featured a pair of side-by-side L-shaped tracks that each curved toward the sky. The launch system shot riders from zero to 100 mph in 7 seconds to a height of 415 feet. The park hasn't decided what it will do with the queue, station, and launch track, but Lex Luthor: Drop of Doom drop ride attached to Superman's coaster tower will continue to operate. That ride is scheduled to reopen next month. Lawsuit claims man suffered fatal brain injury on Six Flags roller coaster Roller coaster enthusiasts on Reddit reacted to the news, with many calling Superman their favorite ride and disappointed that it won't reopen. Without Superman, Magic Mountain now has 19 roller coasters, which is still more than any other amusement park in the world, according to the Register. The new 2026 roller coaster will bring the park's coaster count back to 20. In 2011, the coaster, originally named Superman: The Escape, was rechristened Superman: Escape from Krypton when the ride vehicles were flipped around so riders were launched backward and looked toward the ground as they plummeted back toward Earth, according to Roller Coaster Database. Fans can still see Superman on the Justice League: Battle for Metropolis dark ride and meet the character in the park. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Miami Herald
21-03-2025
- Miami Herald
Their son died after a Magic Mountain roller-coaster ride. Now they're suing
A popular ride at Six Flags Magic Mountain caused a severe head injury that killed a 22-year-old, according to a lawsuit filed by a Garden Grove, California, family. The fatality occurred June 23, 2022, after Christopher Hawley rode the X2 roller coaster at Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia, California. He was in a row by himself with his cousin and younger brother in the row behind him, the lawsuit says. "The entirety of the X2 ride was extremely rough and jerked its riders around like rag dolls," according to the complaint. At the end of the trip, "the ride suddenly, abruptly, and violently jolted to a halt, jarring Decedent Christopher Hawley and the other two boys in their seats." "Me and my cousin Kyle and Chris - we had no idea that this was gonna happen," Hawley's brother Alex, now 21, told The Times on Tuesday. Six Flags Magic Mountain denied the claims in the lawsuit, which was updated from an earlier complaint filed in 2023. Immediately after getting off the ride, Hawley stumbled on the offramp, complained of head pain, collapsed and became unconscious. Hawley was in good health on the day of the trip, the lawsuit stated. Doctors found Hawley had severe brain bleeding and a poor prognosis. He died the next day from what the coroner's office said was head trauma caused by "a park ride accident," the complaint said. The ride was shut down for a time after Hawley's injury, the lawsuit says, but was reopened that day. Hawley's parents Anne and William are suing, alleging wrongful death, negligence, a design defect in the coaster and failure to warn riders of potential injury. "There's no outlet for this grief because, I mean, it's such a loss," Anne Hawley said in an interview Tuesday. "We went from a happy family of four to a grieving family of three because of tickets that I purchased for them to go have a fun day." Listed as defendants are Magic Mountain and Six Flags as separate entities and S&S Worldwide as the copyright owner for X2's style of coaster, a "fourth-dimensional" ride with seats that can rotate 360 degrees. The defendants have denied the claims. "So while you are careening down the rails at 76 miles per hour through an unreal assortment of dives, flips and twists, as well as two ultra-rare 'raven turns' - half loops that change their minds midway and become sheer drops - your body will also be flipping around 360-degrees over and over again," the ride's description reads on Six Flags' website. "Quite simply, you will be spun into another dimension." "This is not the first time someone has sustained a serious injury as a result of riding X2," the family's attorney, Ari Friedman, said in a statement. "X2 has been linked to previous incidents, where people received whiplash, head and leg injuries, and more, from the ride's sudden shuddering and jolts." The park was sued in 2014 after a Ninja roller-coaster car struck a downed tree on its tracks and partially derailed, causing minor injuries to passengers. A woman in 2001 died after a preexisting aneurysm burst while she was riding the Goliath roller coaster, the Los Angeles County coroner's office said. "Somebody at Magic Mountain should be able to explain to us - and everybody who goes to their park - what happened, why it happened," William Hawley said. Copyright (C) 2025, Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Portions copyrighted by the respective providers.
