Six Flags Magic Mountain unveils Thrill Glider coaster for 2027

Vekoma has stopped refining other people’s coaster types and started inventing its own, and Thrill Glider at Six Flags Magic Mountain is the first one.

Thrill Glider at Six Flags Magic Mountain folds three established coaster types into a single vehicle: flying, motorbike and suspended. Vekoma built it exclusively for the California park and is calling the result a category of its own, the Thrillglider.

Riders board bike-style vehicles suspended beneath the track, reaching 50 mph and a top height of 107 feet. The layout carries 12 airtime moments and five inversions, with synchronised onboard audio and lighting effects running through the course.

It replaces the Golden Bear Theatre, slotting in between Full Throttle and Lex Luthor: Drop of Doom, next door to the recently reimagined Looney Tunes Land. Minimum height is 48 inches, which on a coaster of this scale is low enough to put most of a family in the same train.

Six Flags frames the ride as a blend of storytelling and futuristic design, and park president Brian Oerding has positioned it as the latest step in an ongoing Magic Mountain renaissance. The concept art released so far shows an open-air layout with the track doing most of the talking.

Construction is already underway, with opening scheduled for 2027.

The TT Take:

Vekoma has earned the benefit of the doubt here. F.L.Y. at Phantasialand showed the company can build a flying coaster people queue twice for, and a 48-inch minimum means most of the family gets to find out what this new sensation actually feels like. The press release promises storytelling. The concept art shows track and sky, and one of those is considerably easier to build.