Superman was closed after a busy 4th of July weekend this year at
Six Flags Magic Mountain (SFMM for short). At first, it was thought to be down for temporary maintenance but is now confirmed the ride is closed for the remainder of the season and will reopen in Spring 2011 with some sort of
new change. It was originally rumored that it was getting a makeover and one of the tracks would be transformed into a
Bizarro themed side. It was also an initial idea to have the new side run backwards, but it is
very unlikely due to the force of the emergency brakes when needed. Currently, and rarely, when the magnetic brakes fail and the emergency brakes are used, the car is pretty much slammed to a hault. Since the car is moving backwards when this happens, the force is absorbed by the guests back and they just get pushed back into their seat. If the car was running backwards, guests would be facing the same direction as the force, and they would be pushed forward, putting strain on the lap bar or even potential over the shoulder harness. This would most likely cause extreme injuries to guests, so the idea is most likely down the drain. I will keep my ears open if I find out anything new, but we can only wait and see. I'm guessing this transformation will make use of both tracks, so they will
finally run them together again.
To the right is a picture of the ride, with the emergency brakes in view. They are between the station and the ice wall with the Superman logo on them. Most people never see these brakes, even while in the station or on the ride because they are used so rarely, which is obviously a good thing
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