Six Flags drops news about new coaster
Six Flags drops news about new coaster
Wrath of Rakshasa coming to Great America
Coaster number 16 is on its way in 2025 to Six Flags Great America, just outside of Chicago. And it’s going to be a doozie.
Wrath of Rakshasa, a dive coaster from Swiss ride manufacturer, Bolliger & Mabillard, will add another major thrill machine to the park’s skyline. Boasting a 171-foot drop and a top speed of 67 mph, it won’t be for the faint of heart. And it’ll have plenty of wild elements that will distinguish it from Great America’s other coasters.
First introduced in 1998 with Oblivion at Alton Towers in England, a dive coaster takes passengers in extra-wide trains just beyond the edge of a long, steep first drop and holds them in that precarious position for what seems like an eternity (but is really only a few seconds) before finally releasing them. That’s typically followed by a series of inversions.
Because parks and their PR reps feel compelled to market every new coaster as a record-breaker–no matter how convoluted the record–Six Flags is selling Wrath of Rakshasa as “the steepest and most inverted dive coaster in the world.” Let’s parse that one, shall we? At a beyond-vertical 96 degrees along with a course that includes five inversions, the ride bests existing B&M dive coasters by adding one degree to its drop and introducing one additional inversion. However, Gerstlauer Amusement Rides also manufactures dive coasters such as Hang Time at Knott’s Berry Farm, which also has a 96-degree drop and five inversions. So the Six Flags record only applies to B&M dive coasters. Such are the absurdities of many so-called ride “records.”
Regardless of the strained bragging rights, Wrath of Rakshasa looks like it will be a great ride. Passengers will sit seven across in three-row, floorless vehicles. After the crazy-steep dive, they will soar into an Immelmann, the first inversion that is a staple on all B&M dive coasters. Named after a WWI pilot, the maneuver starts by sending the train into a vertical loop, but then inverting it and heading away from the loop. It’s a disorienting sensation. That’ll be followed by a dive loop, a zero-G roll, a corkscrew, and a barrel roll. Along with their signature first drops, navigating the elements in such compact, wide trains makes B&M dive coasters unique and hairy experiences-especially for the passengers on the outer edges of the cantilevered cars. Unlike many similar rides, the Great America coaster will not include a mid-course brake run, which should allow it to wildly careen all the way to the end.
Rakshasa isn’t an offbeat character from the DC Comics universe. Apparently, it’s a mythical Hindu demon. From Six Flags’ concept art, it doesn’t appear that the coaster will capitalize on the mythology or include much in the way of themeing beyond its cool-sounding name. Considering the nice storytelling features that Dorney Park incorporated into this year’s Iron Menace dive coaster and Six Flags Fiesta Texas offered with Dr. Diabolical's Cliffhanger dive coaster in 2022, that’s a shame.
With coasters such as the wonderful RMC woodie, Goliath, the B&M hypercoaster, Raging Bull, and the world’s first inverted coaster, Batman The Ride, Six Flags Great America has quite the ride arsenal. According to recently released attendance estimates, the park attracted 3 million visitors in 2023, which placed it in the top 20 for North America, ahead of the flagship Six Flags Great Adventure in New Jersey. With the addition of Wrath of Rakshasa, the turnstiles should continue to click huge numbers next year.
What are your favorite dive coasters? How do you think Wrath of Rakshasa will compare? What are your thoughts about parks’ dubious record-breaking claims?