Mr. Freeze, is a launched shuttle coaster at both Six Flags St. Louis and Six Flags Over Texas. Riders typically experience shuttle coasters with a forward trip followed by a backward trip back to the station. The Mr. Freeze coasters begin with an exhilarating magnet powered launch that propels the trains to a blistering 70 mph. For, 2012 Six Flags turned the trains around to add a new a wrinkle to the 14 year old attractions. Now, they have been re-branded: Mr. Freeze Reverse Blast.
I rode Mr. Freeze in 2011 at Six Flags Over Texas and Mr. Freeze Reverse Blast at Six Flags St. Louis in 2012. To be honest, there wasn’t quite enough of a difference between the forward-facing and backward-facing experiences to warrant separate reviews or different ratings.
The Pre-Ride Experience – A Hyped Up Dual Loading Station
The adventure begins with a pretty cool (no pun intended) station. The theming starts with the entrance. The queue is sparse, but appropriately industrial like most Batman and Batman villain-themed rides. As you work your way through the queue, it eventually splits and you can head to either side of the Mr. Freeze’s dual loading station. It’s a gamble as you never really know which side will have a longer wait.
Entering the station, you see two trains and one track, which is unusual for a shuttle coaster. Unaware of how the station worked, I was scratching my head for a moment the first time I saw it. As one train slides over into position and lines up with the tunnel, the other train moves over to the side where riders waited to board. The full train is a launched and disappears down a tunnel with daylight at the far end. Eventually, the train and its thrilled riders come flying back into the station. They’re moved over to be unloaded and now its the other trains turn and so on. I loved watching the dual loading station.
The evil Mr. Freeze watched over us, but thankfully it was an enthusiastic ride op that was running the show. Not a second tier Batman villain. The park’s signature ride should have some excitement and buzz in its station and thanks to the ride op (and of course the exciting launches) it did. She toyed with the riders as she made them anticipate the launch. Seemingly small things like this really do matter.
Mr. Freeze Reverse Blast – The Ride
After your train moves into place in front you and the previous riders leave, you can step through the train and leave your belongings right there on the platform. The seats are a little tight, but comfortable enough. Finally, the launch happens. Now, on Reverse Blast, you’re thrusted backwards out of the building. It was a pretty neat experience as it was my first reverse launch.
The train rockets out into the sunlight and climbs up into a 150-foot tall inside top hat inversion. It’s quite a memorable inversion as there’s a good bit more hang time. In the top hat you actually get the feeling of being upside-down more than your ordinary vertical loop. Next, the train plummets back to earth, just to rise back up once again. You traverse an uneventful, but large banked curve. Don’t expect to be able to keep your hands up to long on Mr. Freeze. My hands were basically pushed down by the g-forces any time the train got near the ground.
Rocketing Up the Spike
You travel back to the ground for a moment, before the train climbs the spike at the far end of the ride’s layout. The spike is a 200+ foot tall, 90-degree section of track. One of the highlights of the ride, on Reverse Blast, was feeling the train not only climb, but actually get powered up, straight up the spike, away from the ground. It was a pretty unusual experience. It was like looking out of the back window of a space shuttle climbing up into the sky.
Previously, on the old Mr. Freeze, riders towards the front of the train got a great view of a dead end as they rose up the spike. I remember feeling really high and wondering if the train was going to go all the way to the end. Both experiences were cool. The trip back was good and the top hat was just as fun as it was on the trip out. The train is slowed as it re-enters the station, your train rolls to one side, and your ride is over.
Mr. Freeze Reverse Blast is a quick ride, but it’s easily among the best shuttle roller coasters around. They’re definitely worth a wait if you’ve never ridden one. I’d put them right on par with the Flight of Fear coasters at Kings Dominion and Kings Island. Those are longer, complete circuit coasters, but they’re also a good bit rougher. Freeze is another solid attraction from Premier Rides. Final Rating 7.5 (Good Approaching Great)
Six Flags had some cold celebrities for the media days that re-launched these coasters. Here’s a video of Vanilla Ice riding Mr. Freeze Reverse Blast. There’s a reference and footage of the infamous Fabio-Apollo’s Chariot incident:
What’s your take? What do you think of the Mr. Freeze coasters? Leave a comment below.