Less than six months after announcing the end of one of the world’s fastest roller coasters, Six Flags Great Adventure invites coaster fans to enter the Speed Force. The Flash: Vertical Velocity debuted to invited media today, and I was invited to represent Theme Park Insider to experience the first Vekoma Giant Boomerang to open in the United States.
The Flash is a far cry from the rough, nauseating, and uncomfortable Vekoma boomerang/shuttle coasters of the past, many of which are still operating around the world. This is a very modern coaster - with comfy seats, high tech features, and modern coaster elements - that is bound to thrill not just coaster fans, but even normal theme park guests. Six Flags has included an expected level of theming to the coaster with a few signs referencing the titular character and prominent Justice League member who is also featured in the shooting gallery dark ride next door.
The ride starts with a LSM swing launch that propels the 24-person train forward and halfway up the first inversion until gravity pulls the train back through the station and an extra boost of speed to push the train up a 172-foot high vertical spike. Gravity then takes back over, sending the train back through the station and giving it another needed boost of speed to get the train through a stalling Immelmann that leaves guests literally hanging upside down for a solid two to three seconds.
The amount of hangtime on this element is equivalent to what riders experience on Velocicoaster or Pantheon. After turning right-side up, there is another LSM boost that speeds the train towards the back portion of the course, featuring a quick airtime hill and dive loop.
There’s another quick LSM booster following the dive loop into an inline twist inversion before shooting straight up the opposite side of the 172-foot spike tower.
Once the train stalls on the spike, gravity pulls the train backwards and through the course in reverse, with the LSMs providing additional velocity to ensure the train completes the course back to the station. The best part is that riders get to experience that immense hangtime element a second time with a slow motion-like effect before dropping back into the station.
It's a clever design that takes the concept of a shuttle coaster to an entirely new level. The one drawback is that the 1,430 feet of track takes a bit longer to traverse than your typical shuttle coaster, so guests can expect some slow-moving lines despite 24-person trains. Six Flags isn’t publishing official capacity numbers, but I would guess that The Flash will struggle to exceed 500 people per hour. However, that’s still probably better than the Cyborg Spin flat ride that was sacrificed for this new coaster – in fact, part of the coaster’s queue reutilizes switchbacks from the now removed flat ride. The queue area is mostly covered to provide shade on hot days. Also, it appears that Six Flags will employ small double-sided lockers that may be free for guests to store their loose articles – though there weren’t any metal detectors installed that I could see. For larger items, standard pay lockers are located near the main entrance to the ride.
Overall, I was quite surprised with how good The Flash is, with an excellent mix of elements to create one of the more unique coasters I’ve ever ridden. The seats are quite comfortable with the modern OTSR vest restraints that are infinitely better than Premier’s "comfort collars."
It’s possible that some guests with larger legs may have an issue fitting on the coaster, and unfortunately there was not a test seat for guests to check whether they can fit before getting in line (perhaps this will be added before the coaster officially opens on this weekend). Also, while the theming is what you would expect from a Six Flags park, it would have been nice if there were more to it beyond a few signs and a soundtrack the fits well with the STAR Labs concept.
The queue goes through a small building, which may eventually include some video and perhaps other theming elements, but during today’s media event it was a dark and mostly empty warehouse-type building. Considering that Six Flags has been working on this coaster since last spring, my guess is that any more additions to the theming will probably be minimal.
Despite the limited theming and likely low capacity, The Flash: Vertical Velocity is an excellent roller coaster. I was really struck with how smooth and exciting the ride was, highlighted by the stalling Immelmann element. With just a 48-inch height requirement, it will be a great coaster for smaller thrill seekers, and the overall experience is intense without being nauseating (though repeated rides might be a bit stomach churning). Given how good this coaster is, I could see similar installations being built at other Six Flags parks around the country just as the Vekoma Family Boomerangs have been growing in popularity. While The Flash might not be the main reason to take a trip to Six Flags Great Adventure, it is an excellent addition to their lineup, and for me sprints up to be the third best remaining coaster in the park.
Here is the on-ride video:
And for those who prefer just the POV:
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Looks better than anticipated. I was invited to cover this - I've covered everything which opened at Great Adventure since 2014 and regarded that as my park - but had to decline due to severe degenerative changes in spine. Getting old sucks. At 73, I thought I might be finished with roller coasters but just found a spine doctor who says that he can get me back on them.
Sounds like a very good option for a small footprint coaster, and third in a park with an Intamin, a RMC, and four B&Ms is certainly high praise. I've heard some that did both events saying Flash is better than Rapterra, which sounded pretty out there but makes a lot more sense after reading both your reviews. Perhaps the one-two punch of this and next year's coaster will indeed make up for the loss of Green Lantern and Kingda Ka, but I guess we'll just have to wait until next season to see.
Regarding capacity, Vekoma claims 800 riders per hour on their website for this model (aka 33.3 trains), but judging from the duration of the videos I'm guessing 17-18 trains per hour is probably going to be typical (aka 408-432 riders). That's definitely the lowest of any major coaster in the park, and I'd fully expect 60-90 minute waits to be the norm for this one the next few years.
Its hilarious to me that they removed the worlds second fastest rollercoaster and the same year are opening a ride called and themed to The Flash which is less than half the speed.
IMO this is another ride that doesn't belong at the park that its at. This would be a great addition to Michigan's Adventure or the Great Escape in upstate NY.
@the-man25...totally agree...or even six flags st. louis which really needs some love
Bobbie, great news on the doctor. Hope you’re up to speed again soon!
@the_man25 - Let's not forget that in addition to Kingda Ka, the park also removed Green Lantern, Cyborg Spin, and a handful of smaller kids rides too, so a lot of attraction capacity has been sacrificed for a coaster that has extremely limited throughput. However, I don't think this is a bad addition per se, particularly given that this is the first coaster of this type in the world. I could definitely see SF installing something like this at a smaller park in the chain as a "major addition", but it's pretty clear to me that this coaster is just a routine improvement in advance of what is likely to be a world class roller coaster for 2026.
Yes, it's a shame that SFGAdv lost a number of attractions over the past year only to be replaced with this, but next year promises to be a banner coaster addition for the park that could be one of the best coasters in the entire chain.
@mbrussco - I'm not sure if Vekoma has developed a multi-train load platform for any of their shuttle coasters before (they created duel-train stations for their 2nd generation Flying Dutchman models). However, this coaster does have a maintenance bay (and a switch track). FWIW, the only shuttle coasters that I've ridden with multi-train operations are Ice Breaker (SWO), Mr. Freeze Reverse Blast (SFoT and SFStl), and Switchback.
I never thought any park would purchase a Vekoma boomerang again. Deja Vu at Six Flags Gurnee never worked once any time I was there. Not once.
FYI - Reports from SFGAdv noted lines for the new coaster averaged between 2-3 hours with multiple breakdowns. Even guests with Flash Pass were waiting upwards of 2 hours to ride the new coaster, though reviews are highly praiseworthy.
Why do they bother naming their coasters after DC characters if there's no theming? Just call it something like Super Fast :-D
Russell Meyer - "FYI - Reports from SFGAdv noted lines for the new coaster averaged between 2-3 hours with multiple breakdowns."
That sounds like Vekoma.
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looks like a pretty decent ride but why oh why didn't they do a dual load platform
like mr. freeze? and even if they had, the waits would still be BRUTAL