Six Flags Magic Mountain has permanently retired X2, bringing an end to one of the most distinctive and influential roller coasters of the past two decades.
Park President Brian Oerding confirmed the decision on 29 September, saying the California park had decided to permanently close the attraction after almost 20 years.
X2 had remained closed since July and had recently faced renewed scrutiny following reports of rider injuries and a number of lawsuits connected with the coaster.
Six Flags confirms X2 will not reopen
In an operational update, Six Flags said X2 had welcomed more than 16 million guests since reopening in its current form in 2008.
Oerding acknowledged the coaster's particularly passionate following among enthusiasts and thanked the team members who had operated and maintained the attraction throughout its run.
Six Flags said X2 had continued to pass its safety testing, but added that the park had decided closure was the right course of action after seeing guest confidence affected.
The company did not directly attribute the closure to any individual incident or legal case.
A coaster unlike almost anything else
X2 was best known for its unusual ride system, with seats positioned either side of the track that could rotate independently as the train travelled through the course.
Riders began the experience travelling backwards up the lift hill before their seats rotated as the train descended the coaster's enormous first drop.
The result was an experience where riders could find themselves facing forwards, backwards or towards the ground independently of the direction the train itself was travelling.
The coaster originally opened as X in 2002 and was the world's first so-called fourth-dimension roller coaster.
It underwent a major transformation several years later, receiving redesigned trains alongside new visual and audio effects before reopening as X2 in 2008.
Its unusual layout and rotating seats helped make it one of Magic Mountain's signature attractions and one of the most recognisable roller coasters in the United States.
Closure follows months of scrutiny
X2 had already been unavailable to guests since July following reports involving riders who allegedly suffered serious injuries after riding the attraction.
A number of lawsuits have also been filed against Six Flags in connection with alleged injuries sustained on X2.
Those remain allegations and the permanent closure does not itself establish the cause of any reported injury.
California's Division of Occupational Safety and Health had also been carrying out an inspection following incidents reported earlier this year.
Six Flags has maintained that X2 consistently passed its safety tests and reiterated that ride safety remains central to its operations.
The end of a Magic Mountain icon
Whatever eventually happens to the site, X2 leaves behind a significant legacy.
When the original X opened, its rotating seats offered an experience unlike almost anything else operating at the time and helped establish the concept of the 4D coaster.
Variations on the idea would later appear elsewhere around the world, but X and subsequently X2 remained particularly famous for combining the concept with a huge, high-speed coaster layout.
Its retirement also removes another major attraction from Magic Mountain's already substantial roller coaster collection.
The park is continuing to invest in new rides, however, with the previously announced Thrill Glider currently planned to join the line-up in 2027.
What happens next?
Six Flags has not yet announced what will replace X2 or what will happen to the attraction's substantial structure.
Given the coaster's size and prominent position within the park, its eventual removal or redevelopment could create an interesting opportunity for Magic Mountain.
For now, though, the announcement marks the end of an attraction that spent more than two decades building a reputation as one of the world's most unusual roller coasters.
For many coaster enthusiasts, X2 will be a difficult ride to replace.
