Six Flags Magic Mountain has finally revealed its new roller coaster for 2027, and it is unlike anything currently operating at the California theme park.
Named Thrill Glider, the new attraction is being billed as the world's first suspended multi-launch "Thrillglider" coaster. Created exclusively for Six Flags Magic Mountain with manufacturer Vekoma, the ride will combine elements of flying, motorbike and suspended roller coasters into a new ride system.
Instead of sitting in a traditional coaster train, riders will board suspended hovercycle-style vehicles, positioning them face-forward beneath the track as they race across Magic Mountain's hillside.
And while the unusual riding position is likely to grab most of the attention, the layout sounds equally ambitious, featuring two launches, five inversions and more than half a mile of track.
What is Six Flags Magic Mountain's Thrill Glider?
Thrill Glider will reach a height of 107 feet and a top speed of 50 mph, with its 3,380 feet of track designed around the park's mountainous terrain.
Six Flags has confirmed that the coaster will feature two launches, five inversions and 12 airtime moments during a ride cycle lasting approximately one minute and 24 seconds.
The five inversions have also been named, comprising a wing-over, zero-g roll, over-banked stall turn, barrel roll and upward barrel roll.
Two trains will operate on the attraction, each carrying up to 16 riders, while the minimum height requirement will be 48 inches.
A completely new Vekoma coaster experience
Perhaps the most interesting part of the announcement is the way guests will actually ride Thrill Glider.
Vekoma has combined characteristics from several existing coaster styles to create the new Thrillglider concept. Riders will be suspended beneath the track on individual bike-like vehicles, but rather than sitting upright as they would on a conventional motorbike coaster, they will adopt a prone, face-forward position.
The result is designed to give riders the sensation of flying as the vehicles dive, twist and navigate the terrain.
It is an intriguing combination. Flying coasters already use a prone riding position, while suspended coasters place the train beneath the track and motorbike coasters use individual bike-style seating. Thrill Glider brings elements of all three together before adding multiple launches into the mix.
With much of the track following Magic Mountain's natural hillside, the unusual position could also make the coaster's drops and near-ground sections feel considerably more dramatic than its 107-foot height might suggest.
Six Flags is claiming five world records
Six Flags is unsurprisingly leaning heavily into the record-breaking potential of its newest coaster.
When Thrill Glider opens, the park says it will hold five world records:
- World's first multi-launch suspended Thrillglider
- World's fastest Thrillglider
- World's longest Thrillglider
- World's tallest Thrillglider
- Most inversions on a Thrillglider
There is a slight caveat to those claims. Thrill Glider is the first coaster in a newly created ride category, so it will naturally establish the initial height, speed, length and inversion records for that category.
That said, being the first installation of a genuinely new coaster concept is arguably more interesting than the records themselves.
Thrill Glider is getting a sci-fi storyline
Six Flags is also giving the new attraction a surprisingly detailed backstory.
Thrill Glider will centre around the fictional QuantumPulse Propulsion Systems, led by engineer and futurist Rebecca Silva. Within the story, the company has selected Six Flags Magic Mountain to demonstrate a powerful new energy source through its experimental suspended hovercycles.
Guests will enter the "Futurist Pavilion" before boarding, with the queue expected to introduce the fictional technology and the story behind the vehicles.
Fresh reporting following the announcement says the experience will include holographic presentations and scientific exhibits in the queue, while the ride itself is set to feature synchronised onboard audio and immersive lighting.
It suggests Six Flags is putting more emphasis on the complete experience than simply installing another large coaster at Magic Mountain.
Where will Thrill Glider be built?
Thrill Glider is already under construction at Six Flags Magic Mountain and will occupy the former Golden Bear Theatre site.
The attraction's 3,380-foot layout will make extensive use of the surrounding terrain, with Six Flags describing the track as twisting, turning and diving across the park's mountainside.
That should make the terrain itself an important part of the ride experience rather than simply providing a backdrop.
The coaster will also overlook the recently refreshed Looney Tunes Land area, placing a major new thrill attraction close to one of the park's family-focused areas.
When will Thrill Glider open?
Six Flags has confirmed that Thrill Glider will open in 2027, although an exact opening date or season has not yet been announced.
That leaves plenty still to be revealed over the coming months, particularly as construction progresses and we get a better look at the finished trains, queue and terrain-hugging layout.
One of 2027's most interesting new coasters?
Magic Mountain is hardly short of roller coasters, so simply adding another one was always going to need something distinctive.
Thrill Glider certainly appears to deliver that.
Its 50 mph top speed and 107-foot height are not enormous by modern coaster standards, particularly at a park already home to considerably larger rides. But those figures only tell part of the story.
Being suspended face-forward beneath the track while accelerating through two launches, five inversions and repeated airtime moments could make Thrill Glider feel very different from anything else in the park's line-up.
More importantly, it represents something we do not see particularly often: the first installation of an entirely new roller coaster concept.
We'll be watching closely as construction continues ahead of its 2027 debut.
