Thursday, March 3, 2016

Virtual Reality Roller Coasters Arriving at 9 Six Flags Parks in 2016


Six Flags has partnered with Samsung Electronics to bring a whole fleet of virtual reality roller coasters to life starting as soon as this month.  In total nine Six Flags parks will offer the virtual reality experience this summer, adding the feature to existing roller coasters with two distinct themes.  One is the New Revolution Virtual Reality Coaster and the second is the Superman Virtual Reality Coaster.

© Six Flags
Riders will have the option to wear one of Samsung's Gear VR powered by Oculus (example seen above in an image from Six Flags) during the roller coaster ride.  The three dimensional world that riders enter will depend on which of the two themes their coaster has been set to.

The headsets are optional, do not come with any additional fees, and are only for riders ages 13 and above.  Naturally Six Flags plans to fully clean the sets between each use.  Worth noting is that the FAQ for the additions describe a three strap headset in reality (around back of head, over top of head, and a chin strap) which is a bit more invasive than the image above.

Six parks will be opening the New Revolution Virtual Reality Coaster.  Six Flags has produced an introduction video to this ride:

This new experience will put riders into a world where you are on a fighter plane trying to stop an alien invasion.  It sounds like during the coasters' lift there will be interactive game play on the headsets, then the ride portion will feature a battle with the mothership, of course eventually seeing it destroyed before the brake run.

The New Revolution Virtual Reality Coaster will be featured on:

- Shock Wave at Six Flags Over Texas in Arlington, opening March 10 to Season Pass Holders as a special sneak preview;
- Dare Devil Dive at Six Flags Over Georgia outside of Atlanta, opening March 12 to Season Pass Holders as a special sneak preview;
- The New Revolution at Six Flags Magic Mountain near Los Angeles, opening March 26 to Season Pass Holders as a special sneak preview;
- Ninja at Six Flags St. Louis in Eureka;
- Steamin’ Demon at The Great Escape in Lake George, New York and
- Goliath at La Ronde in Montreal.

The second experience coming to three parks is the Superman Virtual Reality Coaster.  This ride experience will feature a tour of Metropolis where Lex Luther uses an anti-gravity gun to shake things up.  Superman will intervene and destroy the anti-gravity gun, causing all floating objects to fall as the coaster's train speeds around the course.  This new experience will open at:

- SUPERMAN Krypton Coaster at Six Flags Fiesta Texas in San Antonio;
- SUPERMAN The Ride at Six Flags New England in Agawam, Massachusetts; and
- SUPERMAN Ride of Steel at Six Flags America in Upper Marlboro, Maryland.

For more information and details on the set of new virtual reality experiences at Six Flags, check out their webpage.


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