Six Flags Thrill Glider will bring riders face-forward beneath a roller coaster track on hovercycle-style vehicles in 2027. The new attraction at Six Flags Magic Mountain will reach 50 mph and turn riders upside down 5 times, as noted by the Baltimore Chronicle.
The project was announced by Six Flags Magic Mountain, which calls it the world’s first suspended multi-launch Thrillglider coaster. The ride is being developed with Dutch manufacturer Vekoma.
How the Six Flags Thrill Glider will work
The unusual part is not simply its speed. Riders will board hovercycles and take a prone, face-forward position below the track.
The system combines flying, motorbike and suspended coaster technologies. Instead of looking forward from a conventional seat, passengers will experience the track as if piloting a flying bike.
Six Flags says the Thrill Glider roller coaster will include:
- 2 launches;
- a top speed of 50 mph;
- 5 inversions;
- 12 airtime moments;
- 20 track elements;
- 3,380 feet of track;
- a maximum height of 107 feet.
The layout will cover nearly 3.5 acres. The official specifications list a total ride cycle of 1 minute 24 seconds.
That combination makes the riding position as significant as the raw numbers. Speed, inversions and terrain-following track will be experienced while passengers remain suspended beneath the rails.
Six Flags says the new coaster will set multiple records
Because Thrill Glider introduces a new coaster category, Six Flags is attaching several world-first claims to the project.
| Record | Six Flags specification |
|---|---|
| Category | World’s first Thrillglider |
| Launch system | World’s first multi-launch Thrillglider |
| Length | 3,380 feet |
| Speed | 50 mph |
| Height | 107 feet |
| Inversions | 5 |
The records are based on the newly defined Thrillglider category. Six Flags describes the attraction as the world’s fastest, longest and tallest coaster within that category.
A sci-fi story will surround the hovercycle ride
The hardware will sit inside a fictional technology story. Guests enter the world of QuantumPulse Propulsion Systems, a company supposedly developing a powerful energy source known as PSR B417.
The queue will pass through the Futurist Pavilion. Six Flags plans holographic presentations, scientific displays, lighting and synchronized onboard audio.
Park president Brian Oerding described Thrill Glider as a milestone in Magic Mountain’s redevelopment. He said the park intends to pioneer an entirely new coaster category.
When will Thrill Glider open at Six Flags Magic Mountain?
The Six Flags Magic Mountain new roller coaster is scheduled for 2027. An exact opening date has not been announced.
Construction is already underway on the former Golden Bear Theatre site. Thrill Glider will stand between Full Throttle and Lex Luthor: Drop of Doom, beside Looney Tunes Land.
The minimum height requirement will be 48 inches. Two trains are planned, each carrying 16 passengers.
For Magic Mountain, the bet is clear: the next headline coaster is not chasing speed alone. It is trying to change how a roller coaster feels by putting the rider underneath the track, face-first, on something resembling a flying motorcycle.
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