This "Space Diver" roller coaster was one-of-a-kind and advertised as the world's only hairpin drop roller coaster. Flashback had a stacked design featuring six steeply banked vertical 180-degree dives, each entered from the top. Fast steel switchbacks traversing the structure end-to-end connected the turns. This innovative design was to produce a powerful freefall experience as the train plunged through each turn. The ride's finale was a lunge into a gravity-defying 540-degree upward spiral. To increase the diving sensation Flashback used trains with four-abreast seating widening the width of the train.
There is a valid reason why this has remained the only roller coaster of its kind&ndash it sucked! Flashback was built for a compact footprint, but the ride experience was painful, uneventful, and boring. Instead of screaming in joy, riders were more often screaming from the discomfort of having the over-the-shoulder restraints taking alternating jabs at your head. Good riddance.
See related: Flashback Review for pictures.
| Year | Track | Type | Designer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Steel | Space Diver | Intamin AG |
1985 – Built and operated at Six Flags Great America under the name Z-Force.
1998 – Relocated to Six Flags Over Georgia where it operated through 1990.
1991 – Z-Force is placed in storage for a year before its move to California.
1992 – Relocated to Six Flags Magic Mountain and renamed Flashback.
2002 – Final year of operation. It remains standing, but not operating (SBNO).
January 2007 – The park announces that Flashback will be dismantled and removed to make room for future expansion.
Opening date: April 25, 1992
Estimated cost: $4 million
Train has five cars with one row each, seating four abreast per row.
Height requirement: Riders must be at least 48 inches tall
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