Last summer, in 2025, I visited Cedar Point in Ohio and purchased a Six Flags Gold Pass for $116 that included access to all Six Flags parks through the end of 2026 along with free parking. I decided to make use of the pass and planned to visit Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia, CA.
I had been to Magic Mountain once before, 25 years to the month prior to this visit. I had just graduated high school and went with a friend. I remember we got on a total of five rides back then due to long lines but I was impressed by the coasters.
Magic Mountain originally opened in 1971 by the SeaWorld company. It sold to Six Flags in 1979, and has been owned by them ever since (despite attempts to sell it).
Cedar Point and Magic Mountain are often compared as they each have such a large number of coasters. However, I don’t think Magic Mountain is in the same league as Cedar Point. I found Cedar Point to have better coasters (that were less painful and less likely to shake up your brain), was better themed, cleaner, nicer staff, better maintained, and had way better food. I honestly can’t think of one way that Magic Mountain beats Cedar Point except for smaller crowds (at least on the days I visited).
I visited Magic Mountain on a Tuesday in late June. Thinking it would be crowded, I purchased the $129 Fast Lane pass that allows you to cut the line on all of the major rides except X2. In the end, it was a waste of money as the park was very quiet and the Fast Lane didn’t save me any time as nearly all the rides had no lines. The couple of rides where there was a line, the Fast Lane maybe saved me 5 minutes. Although I wasted $129, I shouldn’t complain because it was nice to visit on a quiet day without crowds or lines.
I was able to ride all 15 coasters at the park; though there are technically two additional kiddie coasters but I did not attempt to go on those. Rumor is that Magic Mountain is getting a new coaster in 2017 which will bring the total in the park to 18 (including the two kiddie coasters).
I ranked each coaster on the following criteria, just like I did at Cedar Point:
- Speed – How fast did the coster go?
- Height – How big were the drops?
- Comfort – How did it feel to ride? Was it painfully jerky or smooth?
X2
Year Opened: 2002 (Updated in 2008)
Maximum Height: 175′
Top Speed: 76 mph
Track Length: 3610′
X2 was so extreme that it bankrupted the company that created it. It first opened as X in 2002 but due to problems that would plague the ride into the present, it shut down and received a $10 million overhaul in 2008. Today X2 runs only one train at a time. Each train has seats for just 28 passengers at a time, and I would guess on average it takes at least 5+ minutes per ride including loading and unloading. That means in the best scenario you are only getting around 500 guests through the ride per hour. Many other coasters can get three times that number of guests through.
But it is a great ride! The seats you are in can move 360° independent of the ride car. When you get in, you are strapped in with a chest harness and immediately tipped back so you are essentially laying down as you go up the lift hill.
Then things just go crazy. You drop down the biggest hill facing the ground. The seats swing and you are back up facing the sky. You can’t see the track ahead of you so you don’t know what is going to happen next. It’s a lot of fun. Apparently there can be added effects like fog, music, and even flames, but on my two rides there was none of that.
This is a ride where the overall experience is better than the sum of all the parts. It isn’t the highest or fastest coaster but it is a lot of fun. The only bad part is that they can’t figure out how to get more guests through.
- Speed – 8
- Height – 8
- Comfort – 8
- Overall – 9
Goliath
Year Opened: 2000
Maximum Height: 255′
Top Speed: 85 mph
Track Length: 4500′
Goliath was my favorite coaster when I visited in 2001 and it is still a nearly perfect roller coaster. The only reason I give X2 the top spot is because it is just so unique. Goliath is a fantastic coaster that gets everything right. It is comfortable to ride except for when it purposefully isn’t. It has two huge drops and it is fast. It even has a great piece of theming at the start of the line. It opened the same year as Millennium Force in Cedar Point and is very similar (but Goliath is just a slightly lesser coaster in every aspect). My two complaints: first, during my visit it was also running only one train at a time and even in the Fast Lane I had to wait 30+ minutes. Second, it is over too fast.
- Speed – 9
- Height – 9
- Comfort – 9
- Overall – 9
Tatsu
Year Opened: 2006
Maximum Height: 170′
Top Speed: 62 mph
Track Length: 3602′
Next up my list is Tatsu. Magic Mountain absolutely strives for extreme, and Tatsu exemplifies this perfectly. Once loaded in the train, you are flipped forward so you are soaring over the ground (or looking up at the sky) throughout the ride. There is one huge roll (apparently the biggest “pretzel roll” on a flying coaster) where you definitely verge on blacking out. You also hit zero gravity at one point. The ride itself isn’t uncomfortable (except when it is meant to be), however before returning to the unload area there was a long stop which isn’t fun as you are dangling facing the ground.
- Speed – 7
- Height – 8
- Comfort – 8
- Overall – 8
Full Throttle
Year Opened: 2013
Maximum Height: 164′
Top Speed: 70 mph
Track Length: 2200′
Full Throttle is a smooth launch coaster that immediately shoots you into one of the tallest loops on any coaster. At the end of the quick ride, you go back over the top of the loop. It’s only a minute long but offers a full 60 seconds of thrill including a surprise in the middle of the ride.
- Speed – 8
- Height – 8
- Comfort – 9
- Overall – 8
West Coast Racers
Year Opened: 2020
Maximum Height: 67′
Top Speed: 55 mph
Track Length: 4000′
West Coast Racers isn’t extreme but it is a lot of fun. I had a hard time deciding if I enjoyed this or Full Throttle more. The premise is that you are racing another train throughout the first half of the ride. Then half way through you pause and a new train races you the second half of the ride that follows the first half. You get very close to the other train as you twist above and below each other. It is a well done ride.
- Speed – 5
- Height – 4
- Comfort – 9
- Overall – 8
Wonder Woman Flight of Courage
Year Opened: 2022
Maximum Height: 131′
Top Speed: 58 mph
Track Length: 3300′
Wonder Woman Flight of Courage is a single track coaster. The train seats passengers in a single file line. The ride doesn’t fully stop when in the loading station, so you walk up and hop on. It has a zippier feel than a traditional roller coaster and offers a fun ride with a few moments of true exhilaration.
- Speed – 5
- Height – 7
- Comfort – 8
- Overall – 7
Twisted Colossus
Year Opened: 1978 (Colossus), 2015 (Twisted Colossus)
Maximum Height: 121′
Top Speed: 57 mph
Track Length: 4990′
Typically I am not a big fan of wooden coasters. They jolt you around too much. Twisted Colossus is an old wooden roller coaster that received a steel upgrade in 2015 (similar to Steel Vengeance at Cedar Point). The result is an even more extreme coaster that can go upside down.
At the time it was built as the Colossus, it was the tallest and fastest wooden coaster in the world. It is featured in National Lampoon’s Vacation and other films and TV shows.
- Speed – 5
- Height – 7
- Comfort – 8
- Overall – 7
The Great American Revolution
Year Opened: 1976
Maximum Height: 113′
Top Speed: 55 mph
Track Length: 3457′
One of the oldest rides at the park (celebrating its 50th birthday in 2026), The Great American Revolution is a really fun coaster that goes up and down the hillside through trees and foliage. It was also the first modern coaster to feature a loop. While today there are tons of more thrilling coasters, The Great American Revolution still manages to hold its own. Below you see The Great American Revolution with the white track in the shadow of Tatsu.
- Speed – 5
- Height – 6
- Comfort – 8
- Overall – 7
Ninja
Year Opened: 1988
Maximum Height: 85′
Top Speed: 55 mph
Track Length: 2700′
Ninja is a suspended roller coaster that allows the car to sway as they hang from the track above. It passes over a water ride and pool as it goes up and down the hillside. It’s a fun ride and really comfortable.
- Speed – 5
- Height – 4
- Comfort – 9
- Overall – 6
Now we move into the more painful rides. These rides tend to whip you around more and/or knock your head against the headrest. Some of these I would not go on a second time to be completely honest as they are just too painful to be fun in my opinion.
Batman: The Ride
Year Opened: 1994
Maximum Height: 105′
Top Speed: 50 mph
Track Length: 2700′
Batman: The Ride has clones at six different Six Flags parks. It is an inverted coaster which means your legs dangle free. I rode it first thing in the morning and stayed on for a second ride. I was the only guest on the entire train. My only complaint is that it shakes your head a lot and my ears hurt after two rides on it from hitting the shoulder restraint.
- Speed – 5
- Height – 5
- Comfort – 6
- Overall – 6
Scream
Year Opened: 2003
Maximum Height: 150′
Top Speed: 63 mph
Track Length: 3985′
To me Scream is just a more intense (and more painful) version of Batman: The Ride, except that Scream is not inverted, but it is still floorless. After you get into the train, the floor retracts. So your legs dangle free over the track rather than in air. It also is built over an old parking lot and they did nothing to make it seem like it is anything other than a parking lot. There are broken down pieces of old rides and shows under the ride, which just looks like a dump.
- Speed – 6
- Height – 7
- Comfort – 5
- Overall – 6
The Riddler’s Revenge
Year Opened: 1998
Maximum Height: 156′
Top Speed: 65 mph
Track Length: 4370′
What sets The Riddler’s Revenge apart from other coasters at the park is that it is a stand up coaster. This means you sit on a bicycle type seat with your legs straight and your feet on the ground. While an interesting idea, I don’t think it adds much besides some discomfort. Your head also gets bashed around pretty good on this ride. It is a thrill but overall pretty similar to both Batman: The Ride and Scream.
- Speed – 6
- Height – 7
- Comfort – 5
- Overall – 6
Viper
Year Opened: 1990
Maximum Height: 188′
Top Speed: 70 mph
Track Length: 3830′
Viper is cruel. It flips you upside down a total of seven times. It shakes your brain hard. The positive is that it does have a good drop. But you will be trying to survive it until it is over and will need some recovery time after.
- Speed – 8
- Height – 8
- Comfort – 2
- Overall – 4
Gold Rusher
Year Opened: 1971
Maximum Height: 70′
Top Speed: 35 mph
Track Length: 2590′
Gold Rusher is Magic Mountain’s original roller coaster. There isn’t a ton to say about it except that it likes to slam on the brakes at various times, giving you whiplash. It doesn’t go upside down, and at one point it slammed me across the seat.
- Speed – 3
- Height – 3
- Comfort – 3
- Overall – 3
Apocalypse: The Ride
Year Opened: 2009
Maximum Height: 95′
Top Speed: 50 mph
Track Length: 2877′
I don’t like wooden roller coasters and this ride is a perfect example of why. It shakes you up like no other. It smashes your brain and body. It’s jerky. I don’t know how they built this in 2009 and made it this horrible. Or maybe it has gotten worse with age; I don’t know. There is some very minor theming and it looks cool when you aren’t on it. I hated this ride.
- Speed – 5
- Height – 5
- Comfort – 1
- Overall – 2
Family Coasters
There are two kiddie coasters in the Looney Tunes Land (Canyon Blaster and Road Runner Express). I didn’t try to go on them, but they are probably fine for kids.
There are only a few other rides in Magic Mountain. I tried two others. Lex Luther: Drop of Doom which is built on the now closed Superman towers. It is the world’s largest drop tower at 400′ and a fun ride with great views. The other one I went on was Justice League: Battle for Metropolis which is an indoor dark ride with both screens and animatronics. You get to shoot lasers at bad guys and earn points. It can be found at many Six Flags parks. It is also one of the only places in Magic Mountain with air conditioning.
How does my ranking compare to yours? I imagine younger people than myself might like some of the less comfortable rides more than I did (I’ve seen others rank Tatsu as number one, for example). Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below.
