Vipère (roller coaster) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Vipère |
|
|---|---|
| La Ronde | |
| Coordinates | 45°31′26″N 73°31′57″W / 45.523790°N 73.532505°W |
| Status | Under Construction |
| Six Flags Magic Mountain | |
| Name | Green Lantern: First Flight |
| Park section | DC Universe |
| Coordinates | 34°25′37″N 118°35′49″W / 34.427°N 118.597°W |
| Status | Relocated |
| Opening date | July 1, 2011 |
| Closing date | July 2017 |
| General statistics | |
| Type | Steel – 4th Dimension |
| Manufacturer | Intamin |
| Designer | Werner Stengel |
| Model | Ball Coaster – ZacSpin |
| Height | 107 ft (33 m) |
| Length | 825 ft (251 m) |
| Speed | 37 mph (60 km/h) |
| Inversions | 0 |
| Height restriction | 52–77 in (132–196 cm) |
| Trains | 5 trains with a single car. Riders are arranged 4 across in 2 rows for a total of 8 riders per train. |
 Flash Pass available |
|
 Single rider line available |
|
 Must transfer from wheelchair |
|
| Vipère at RCDB | |
Vipère is an upcoming 4th Dimension roller coaster under construction at La Ronde, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Vipère will be the first 4th Dimension coaster to operate in Canada.
The roller coaster was previously located at Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia, California from 2011 to 2017 where it operated as Green Lantern: First Flight. Manufactured by Intamin, Green Lantern: First Flight was the first ZacSpin model in the United States and the second 4th Dimension coaster at Magic Mountain following X2 from Arrow Dynamics, which opened on January 12, 2002. The coaster also allowed Magic Mountain to reclaim the title from Cedar Point for having the most roller coasters in the world. The coaster was closed abruptly in 2017. Removal of the coaster began in late 2019.
History
Six Flags Magic Mountain (2011–2019)
.jpg)
On October 20, 2010, six days after a leaked video revealed plans for a new roller coaster at Six Flags Magic Mountain, Six Flags officially confirmed that Green Lantern: First Flight would open in spring of 2011. The new coaster, a ZacSpin model from Intamin, would be the first of its kind in the United States. According to the press release, it was scheduled to be built in a "newly themed section" of the park, later revealed as DC Universe in place of Gotham City Backlot. Reports surfaced in February 2011 that portions of track had arrived on site.
After delaying the ride's opening multiple times, Six Flags eventually settled on an opening date of July 1, 2011. Park officials clarified that the delays were due to unplanned design changes to the loading station and not because of mechanical issues. Primary construction was completed in May 2011. In addition to Green Lantern's premiere on July 1, other rides in the DC Universe themed area made their debut as well, including The Flash: Speed Force, and Wonder Woman: Lasso of Truth.
The coaster had a mechanical flaw where the trains would reportedly get stuck upside down. As a solution, Green Lantern received modifications to the trains to reduce the spinning. This, however, resulted in unnatural, painful and shaky movements which caused the ride to receive negative reviews from those who experienced the coaster.
La Ronde (2021–)
In July 2017, the coaster at Magic Mountain in California closed unexpectedly for unknown reasons. It remained standing but not operating at the park for two years before Six Flags announced on March 24, 2019, that the coaster would not be reopening. On August 29, 2019, Six Flags announced that coaster (now renamed "Vipère") would be relocated to La Ronde in Canada, and open for its 2020 season.
Due to the growing concerns of the COVID-19 pandemic, Six Flags announced a suspension of operations across the company on March 13, 2020. This included all operations at La Ronde, including the construction for the new coaster. While the park resumed normal operations on August 3, 2020 (with a soft limited reopening starting July 25, 2020), it did not include Vipère as its construction was still on hold. Earlier in April 2020, in order to financially survive the coronavirus pandemic, Six Flags announced measures for the company that would defer capital projects across the company slated for the 2020 season. According to a park representative, the construction work for the new coaster was delayed and Vipère is tentatively expected to open for the 2021 season.
Ride
Vipère is an Intamin ZacSpin roller coaster where riders zig zag along a 825-foot (251 m) track at speeds of up to 37 miles per hour (60 km/h). Riders flip head over heels several times throughout the ride in a somewhat uncontrolled manner, but due to the way the ride vehicles are loaded, it sometimes didn't flip at all. The ride has the same layout as Insane at Gröna Lund in Sweden.
Vipère is similar to X2, which is also a 4th Dimension roller coaster at Six Flags Magic Mountain that opened in 2002. The difference between the two roller coasters was based on the spinning or rotation of the vehicle. On Vipère, the rotation of the vehicle is controlled by the unequal gravitational pull on different sides of the rotational axis. This uncontrolled spinning results in a slightly different ride experience every time.
Theme
When located at Magic Mountain, Green Lantern: First Flight was themed to the DC Comics superhero, Green Lantern. Its opening was preceded by Green Lantern at Six Flags Great Adventure as well as the Green Lantern film. The ride's name also appears as a title for a DC Animated Universe film, Green Lantern: First Flight.
Each of the ride's five cars are themed to throwing-stars. The entrance of the ride was marked by a 10-foot (3.0 m)-tall lantern icon that glowed green at night. The Green Lantern battery was located at the entrance of the ride.
