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Apocalypse Opens at Six Flags America | Early Reviews

Joel
Roller Coaster Reviews

Apocalypse at Six Flags America

Apocalypse Now Open at Six Flags America

The foretold zombie apocalypse is here! Or, at least Six Flags America’s Apocalypse roller coaster is open. Sorry to get your hopes up. Anyway, the Washington D.C.-area park now has their first new roller coaster in what seems like an eternity. While it’s actually a not a completely new ride (formerly Iron Wolf at Six Flags Great America), I have to give them credit for the great job they did re-theming and refurbishing the ride. It’s got a great, unusual color scheme, wrecked planes through out its course, misters and a flame.

Here are some early reviews of Apocalypse at Six Flags America:

There are not that many rough transitions. I wish the ride was longer. The loop is pretty smooth and it really doesn’t have much headbang – Larry Theme Park Review Video

I will admit as skeptical I am with Six Flags America they did such a AWESOME job with this coaster! The theming is awesome – I give them 11 out of 10 on it! The ride was not really open to the public all day as advertised but I did get 3 rides in (back, middle, and front). I will say this… the coaster is good for this park. They finally got something after 10 years and that makes me happy with this being my home park – alilstronger on Theme Park Review

And here’s a video of Apocalypse at Six Flags America. Warning– From the videos start to 2:45 there are ZOMBIES riding Apocalypse. From then on it’s there’s a reverse POV with a representative from Theme Park Review.


This second video is probably more interesting to me personally than it may be to others, but it features a news anchor I remember from when I lived in the D.C.-area, Six Flags Chief Engineer Larry Chickola (also behind the New Texas Giant), a female(!) ACE representative, and a train full of zombies.

Note – These videos were filmed by the park. For safety reasons, please DO NOT take a camera on a roller coaster.

I’m not sure Apocalypse is a must ride (I ranked it 9 on the Top 11 New Coasters) new coaster, but it’s definitely some much needed rain in the coaster drowt that Six Flags America fans have endured.
See a full report from Media Day including tons of photos (with zombies).
Visit Six Flags America’s official Apocalypse page.

Apocalypse - Six Flags America

Believe It Or Not – Smaller Could Be Better

While a small stand-up coaster is the most exciting attraction from some enthusiasts’ view, it’s likely more ridable and for that reason more accessible by the masses. While I loved Chang when it was at Kentucky Kingdom, there were many complaints about the ride when it re-surfaced as Green Lantern at Six Flags Great Adventure. And I’m not the only one who experienced a good bit of leg pain on Cedar Point’s Mantis. My experiences were matched by tens of other reviews on that post. I think stand-ups are dead for now and we’re not likely to see new installations as the trend has moved to other types. But part of me wonders if they would have been more successful if they stayed a little smaller.

Have you ridden Apocalypse at Six Flags America? What’d you think? Leave a review and vote in this poll.

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Joel
Founder of CoasterCritic.com. My favorite coasters are B&M hypers and gigas. I'm also a huge fan of terrain roller coasters.

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21 Responses

  2. They took this out of Busch Gardens for Verbolten!!! Bad judgement by Busch Gardens.

  3. A bit of leg pain of mantis? How about tunnal vision from all the blood flooding your feet! Anyways, could a shorter standing coaster make it in the roller coaster feelding frezey today? Even if they go for lenght (with mutipule lift hills) and a large amout of elements with this extra lenght. I personaly woulden't mind seeing a park try this out.

  4. I didn't really care for it in its Iron Wolf days, so I'm in no hurry to get to ride it. I, also, am not of fan of stand-up coasters. To put it bluntly, they are not "guy" friendly and can punk your junkl. The only two I've ever really liked were Chang and Georgia Scorcher.

    Personally, I'd rather head north for 90 minutes and try Skyrush!

  5. actually this is exacly like the vortex in carowinds the exact same thing but silver and orange

  6. When i went On The Coaster, There was a certain sharp turn which cracked my back out of alignment, i couldn't ride anymore rides, and it still hurts.

  8. I was delightfully surprised to come off the ride with no pain in my legs. Mantis gave me a bad impression of B&M stand-up coasters, but the Apocalypse after its relocation was actually pretty decent. It's nothing to write home about, but it's pretty fun, though perhaps with a couple of minor headbanging moments.

  9. I rode Apocalypse today for my first and only time. It was my first stand up and I thought it felt very cool inverting while standing. I also had no leg pain. I was also locked in a bit too high and very worried about it hurting but no pain downstairs if you know what I mean. I will never ride it again though. I have heard about head banging before but never experienced it myself before today. I have been on many supposed headbangers before but due to being tall my head always stays above any banging points. Not on this coaster. The over the shoulder restraints are very tall and It seemed as if my head was hitting each side 2 or 3 times on each turn. I thought it was funny at first then I wished I had left the shades in my pocket because they were digging into the sides of my skull. I was in the last row left side. The theming was very impressive on and off the ride.
    As far as Six Flags America's bad rep… I think it's improving. Everything was clean. All of the staff I encountered were very outgoing and friendly, and every single ride op had a lot of energy and their own way of trying to pump up the riders.
    Only one train running on each coaster today [Thursday 7/12/12]. An op that I spoke to said they run two trains on Wednesdays, and Fridays.
    Superman was way better than I remembered and I think it's also better than it's rep. I was happy to ride the Jokers Jinx because I've always wondered what was going on in the darkness while riding Flight of Fear at Kings Dominion. Very cool to do a looping coaster with no over the shoulder restraints.
    I like Americas Batwing flying coaster a lot more than Great Adventure's Superman due to the laying on your back orientation during the lift and waiting to unload. I rode superman at Great Adventure only once years ago. Only once due to the pain associated with hanging in the restraints waiting to unload.
    Don't miss the Mind Eraser This old little suspended coaster really surprised me. It was absolutely fantastic. Very intense.

      1. I finally got the front today, it was fine, 2nd row is also acceptable. I was able to prevent some head-banging by leaning my head forward a bit. It was a much more enjoyable ride near the front…

  10. I rode this recently and got horrible "head bang" from the middle of the train. People around me were commenting on it as well. It seemed like it might be a decent short ride, but I could not stop my head from banging the head rests. Very uncomfortable.

  11. Rode it today. Front seat is the only way to go.

    Back seat was much rougher and the view sucks.

    Great theming and a fun little ride. Ride it threw times. A little head banging seems positively unavoidable but besides that I liked this ride a lot from the front seat. Nice addition to this park.

  12. this is my third stand up coaster and it was great! I have never had a problem with ball bashing or head banging. Although I do recommend Talking sunglasses off before the ride begins because it did hurt a bit when I did have them on. Once I took them off though it was a great ride. I actually enjoyed my day at six flags America. People said it was dirty and hot but I liked it. The staff was probably the most fun set of workers I've encountered in a park and the rides are great! plus it wasn't crowded. Anyway make sure you get on Apocalypse if you do get to Six Flags America. Great Theming.

  13. I rode it today and I found it to be pretty boring with lots of headbang. I had no leg pain though because I bent my legs during loading. I haven't ridden that many B&M coasters, but this is easily the worst B&M I've ever been on.

    Six Flags America is great, but I wish they could get a sit down or inverted B&M instead.

  14. When my hometown park decided to get rid of my favorite attraction; and to install a ride I had heard nothing but terrible things about; (for the most part; I have found one or two devoted Iron Wolf fans online) you can imagine that I wasn’t very happy. Skull Mountain was about as close to a Disney-style themed ride as Six Flags America could have ever hoped to have. Sure, the lift hills only traveled at 1 mile per hour, but they provided the best views of the park since they were in a central location, and even better, they were so slow you could easily take pictures without worrying about dropping your camera. I was easily the best water ride in the park, and personally my favorite ride overall in the park.

    After biding my beloved Skull Mountain farewell in June of 2011, I watched online with sadness as pictures surfaced showing the destruction of the 6 minute boat ride’s trough and themed tunnels. Sure, they kept the Skull, but that really does nothing to cement Apocalypse as a worthy addition to the pirate themed “Skull Island” section of the park. (Then again, I305 makes no sense in the Congo themed section of Kings Dominion either)

    I knew that I had to ride Apocalypse at least once to say I did it; and to say I had ridden the successor to my all time favorite ride at the park. So in May of 2012, I found myself and a few friends in line for what was to be the first stand up coaster any of us had ever been on. You know the stories. “Every man should fear the stand up coaster” they say. The dramatic music playing in the elaborate themed queue made the act of getting on this 20 year old hand-me-down seem all the more epic. I though to myself while waiting that this could very well be the last time I stand up right with my manhood in-tact; and the music made that idea all the more dramatic, yet noble. You had to hear the music, and be there to really get it. Anyhow, boarding wasn’t as intimidating as I thought it would be. We got in the third row of the train; that much I know. On the way up the lift hill, speakers on either side played the main guitar rift from Metallica’s “Enter Sandman” making the ride ahead seem like it could be something incredibly awesome. The drop wasn’t as intense as I though it would be standing up, nor was the loop. It was all fine until we reached the section that was clearly built with a mid-course break run in mind.

    That straight section of track jostles your head against the restraints no matter where you are in the train. The rest wasn’t to terrible, but not as smooth as the first act. As the train came to a halt in the break run while waiting for the train ahead to load, I though to myself, “I did it, and my manhood is still in-tact!” the stop provides a nice breather before unloading.

    Later on that summer, we made the mistake of choosing a row that wasn’t the third row. Let me make this clear: standing anywhere but the third row will result in a ride where the restraints play head hockey for the entire duration of the ride once the train comes off the lift hill. Normally, a ride in the front seat of any coaster is one most people would enjoy. I will never again make the mistake of standing in the front row on Apocalypse. It was an utter disaster. Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! I will not even consider trying the back row. I can only imagine how bad it must be. I’ll stick with the third row. Even the fourth row provides a painful ride, and it’s only a row back from the third! I don’t know what it is about the third row, but if you want to have any chance of enjoying your first ride on Apocalypse, I suggest you make sure that it is the row you stand in… no sitting on this one.

    Overall, I’d give it a 7.0, and that’s a very generous rating. It’s the third row rides that make me fell like this could have been a worthy replacement for my all time favorite attraction at the park. The themeing is a step above what Six Flags America is used to receiving, although it’s only on par with Skull Mountain IMHO. It can be enjoyable, but that’s only if you pick the proper row, and know where and when to brace yourself. Also, it’s the park’s only B&M, so it’s special for us who call SFA our home town park. Sadly, Straight-Away Superman takes the crown for the best ride in the park now that Skull Mountain is gone. Only a Stand-Up B&M could have failed to conquer the King of Kryptonite Creek.

  15. It’s really weird because the first time i rode it it was really smooth(summer 2012) and now i went on it again a few weeks ago and my head got hit a lot, i didn’t quite enjoy it has much why is that?

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