Tatsu

Tatsu

Park	Six Flags Magic Mountain
Park section	Samurai Summit
Opening date	May 13, 2006
Closing date	Unknown
Height	170ft
Drop	111ft
Speed	62mph
Replaced	Unknown
Replaced by	Unknown

Tatsu is a notable Flying Coaster located at Six Flags Magic Mountain. It is the park's star attraction, alongside the famous X2.

Ride history[]

The park announced the ride on November 17, 2005, about half a year before the ride opened. The original opening date was April 8, 2006. In December, media watched as construction workers topped off the ride's lift. Construction started to fall behind near the winter season. After construction workers failed to make up for the four weeks, Tatsu's opening date was delayed. Following the park's opening delay, the opening was again stalled for two weeks due to bad weather. When construction began on the pretzel loop (March), one of the track could not hook up to the track. Finally, around the time Tatsu was told to open, construction was complete. After a month of testing, Tatsu officially opened with a grand ceremony on May 13, 2006. People were so anxious to get on the ride that they slept outside the main gates!

Ride synopsis[]

After the train converts from Inverted Coaster to Flying, the train pulls out of the station and into an S-bend that takes riders up the lift hill. Surrounding areas of the park and nearby Valencia can be seen while ascending the lift. Suddenly, the coaster makes a 111-foot downward right turn. After reaching the bottom of the infamous drop, the train enters the 103-foot corkscrew. Next, riders are taken into a downward, then upward turn into a 96-foot zero-G roll. The ride then enters an 83-foot horseshoe, before heading into the famous and notable pretzel loop. After exiting, riders make a slight inline twist. The train then reaches a 135-degree turn before reaching the brake system. Then, riders plunge downwards and then up into the final brake system.

Trivia[]

Records[]

The ride is the tallest, fastest, and longest Flying Coaster.
It has the only zero-g roll on a flying coaster ever.
The ride has the world's tallest pretzel loop, at an impressive 124 feet.

Statistics[]

The ride took 900 test runs and 163 days of construction to make.
Tatsu translates into "dragon" in Japanese.
The ride slogan is, "Fly at the speed of fear."
In 2006, Mega Builders promoted construction of Tatsu on one of their episodes.

Awards[]

Golden Ticket Awards[]

Year	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012
Ranking	40 (tie)	41 (tie)	36	32	40	39	28

Mitch Hawker's Best Roller Coaster Poll[]

Year	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010
Ranking	34	36	30	37	35

Coaster of the Week[]

Tatsu took the Wiki's coveted crown for Coaster of the Week from the week of April 14, 2013 - April 20, 2013. It is the second Six Flags Magic Mountain coaster to ever earn this title, after Full Throttle.