Sometimes the birth of a groundbreaking ride can be a painful one. But thanks to Shilke’s perseverance and Magic Mountains refusal to give up on the ride something amazing and timeless was created!
@@christianortiz-v1lI can see how X2 could be the best arrow, I think I just didn’t get the best ride on X2 though, I think I need to ride it again and my opinion might change
Mad respect for Arrow taking a massive risk to entertain everyone and not compromising on their vision. They should not be out of business right now after X2 succeeding.
I remember riding the original X before X2. 3 hour minimum wait time due to the boarding woes. We spent the queue time talking about Arrow going bankrupt and taking the patents for the 4D coaster down with it, and how this would be the only ride of its kind for the foreseeable future. It's interesting that even though the patents/rights were bought up, we've still seen very few 4D coasters. Goes to show how insane they are. Luckily, X2 is basically the same. Though I do miss the ridiculous pink monster look of the original.
When you are exiting X2, or on the ride coming back into the station. Look a the storage barn where they store the trains. The track, & supports still have the original pink & yellow color scheme to honor its past.
Well Alan Schilke is now working at RMC which is doing very well i believe. They rebuilt the wooden coaster Robin Hood at Walibi Holland and made it a hybrid called Untamed.
yeah he was there for about a decade but i’m pretty sure he retired and now joe draves designs the rmc layouts now, not sure if schilke will come back to design another ride unfortunately
@@newhyperspace43He's not retired. Schilke now works as a design engineer at Ride Centerline LLC and still occasionally works with Rocky Mountain Construction.
The first Arrow modern corkscrew coaster at Knott’s Berry Farm was my very first looping coaster when I was only 10 years old and that ride made me a coaster addict for life. ❤
You can still ride the old KBF Corkscrew today. It was my first coaster I ever rode in 1981 when I was 5 years old. In 1989 Knott's sold The Corkscrew to Silverwood Theme Park, & it was moved to Northern Idaho. The Corkscrew is still there today, & is the parks crown jewel. The last time I had a reunion with my #1 favorite coaster, I rode it 75 times in 1 day. It is still pretty smooth after 48 years of service, because of Silverwood's love & passion for this historic coaster. Hello from Phoenix Arizona🌡🔥
@@pinball541 I believe I rode it in 1982 (I remember having to wear a big tag on my wrist around the park for some reason, maybe as a child visitor). But I was 10 at the time and we lived in South Dakota. My dad had to attend a convention in San Diego so we packed up the car and drove west. We went to Disneyland, Knotts and Sea World on that trip but my dad kinda forced me onto that coaster so I was crying. But I came off laughing and went back on it 2 more times that day. The next year we went to a convention in Miami Beach so we stopped at Magic Kingdom, Epcot Center and Opryland and to my surprise Opryland had the exact same coaster! (Wabash Cannonball)
If we ever get another full scale 4D coaster, it needs an original layout. A vertical loop (with extra front flip on top) or an upwards Raven turn (to complete a backflip) would be two elements I’d love to see
Do we know if the one in China is the same layout? I have heard the one in Japan is better then X2......I've been wanting to ride X since it opened...one day.
They're different layouts, but are very similar. It's sort of like Arrows corkscrews, where they're all a little different but have the same elements.
I would say Eejanaika is a very good coaster. I love the flip at the top of the first raven turn. I’d say both X2 and Eejanaika are great but slightest different so can’t say one is better than the other. I doubt I’ll be able to ride Dinoconda anytime soon.
Imagine if Walt Disney never saw the potential in Arrow Dynamics and didn't invest into Arrow. If that had happened, rollercoasters most likely would have never gone this far.
Unlikely. People say this stuff about everything... "if so and so didn't do this or that, we'd never have this or that". Simply not true. Hence, Arrow failed at the X and somebody else picked it up. You think airplanes would never exist had it not been for wright brothers? Ridiculous. Rollercoasters would have been developed even if Disney and Arrow never existed.
@@marcuslinton310”Never” isn’t the correct word but certainly we’d be WAY further behind in that type of development. It’s like how many movie studios have funding from a hedge fund like BlackRock. Studios could get money from others but they wouldn’t have gotten it as quick and it would’ve had a significant impact on any future decisions
I'm not a person who likes to ride roller coasters, never have been, but I am always so interested in the engineering side of things. I live near Magic Mountain, and I remember seeing X2 for the first time years ago now, and it's honestly just so impressive to look at. Even today it's just a marvel of engineering.
I got to ride the original X in the spring of 2002, There was no line at all due to the low attendance that day and the fact that NO ONE could figure out where the entrance was.
I remember being there on January 16 2002 riding X and thinking it was the greatest ride of all time. I was 9 and I can still hear the incredibly loud chain and remember the feeling of the first face first drop...
i love your documentary style videos. the fact that you include a mix of high definition new footage, and vintage footage, helps keep the pacing fast and interesting
It only really "failed" in that its original trains were a maintenance nightmare and the fact that its extremely expensive construction bankrupted what was once one of the most influential companies in the amusement industry's history.
Still my all time favorite coaster, vastly prefer the original aesthetic to X2. My dad even got that badass jacket they were selling when we went just after it first opened. Absolutely love X.
Throughout history, it is often the most controversial and forward-thinking ideas that fail, only to be found how genius they are down the road. This coaster is an icon.
X was the first proof of concept...which was cool, but a whole lot of it just did not work. Eejanaika was the tinkering and refinement of the concept...learning from where X failed to see how far they actually could take it. X2 genuinely is X 2.0...implementing Eejanaika's fixes to bring the ride up to its potential.
This is the best coaster I have ever been on, same with my dad. Crazy to hear about it’s old history. Great job to Magic Mountain for sticking it through and making the best coaster ever :)!!
X2 was the first like big world class coaster I rode at the age of 15. I was screaming in terror, my dad was scared out of his mind as well but was laughing the whole ride because my reaction was just too funny.
@@zacharyyamashita8554what was the audio? I’ve never gotten to ride it with the audio or smoke although they have brought the flames back which is nice!
I was lucky enough to ride the OG "pink monster." The seat rotation was silky smooth. X2 is so rough, you need non riders to remind you of your name. Anyone know why the Arrow trains tracked so much more smoothly than their S&S successors? Could it be the reduced weight?
My 8 year old daughter and I love X2. We have ridden it at least a dozen times. This summer, we rode The Joker at Six Flags Over Texas and Batman at Six Flags Fiesta. They are smaller, tamer versions of X2. My little thrill seeking roller coaster snob (LOL) found them to be unimpressive and didn't even want to re-ride. I was obligated to take her to Magic Mountain again before the end of summer.
I've never ridden this coaster, but it looks like the scariest experience of all time! I hope to get to California again someday, so I can ride this monster!
Magic Mountain isn't run very well at the moment, but it has a great ride collection. The main ones you'll want to ride are X2, Twisted Colossus, Wonder Woman, and Tatsu.
Man, I rode X when I was 11-12 years old and I remember the seats being really uncomfortable as hecc. Like that ride didn't feel like I was supported enough that I thought I would fall. And man the wait times were horrible especially waiting in the Valencia heat during summer.
I first found out about X through a booklet that talked about roller coasters, and it was a coaster that really intrigued me from its concept, and I wanted to eventually ride it. I ultimately wouldn't get to ride the coaster until after it had already been rebranded to X2, but regardless, I'm more than happy that I got to experience such a unique coaster.
In an interview with Alan Shilke about X, he said he got a very quick meeting with the SF president at the airport between flights. He pitched a few different things, and didnt catch his interest. He pitched X as a last resort, and he loved it. I think Alan probably knew the technology wasnt quite there, but pitched it anyways. After all, nothing speeds up progress faster than a deadline.
I love learning about old arrow coasters! I love a good classic and arrow holds a special place in my heart! Definitely would love to learn more about arrow coaster or even Chang at Six Flags KY Kingdom
I'm so glad that I got to ride the modle at Japan's Fuji Q Highland! This is genuinly one of my favourit coasters of all time as even having ridden it back to back a number of times it is imposible to know whats coming. I had no idea of its difficult past - perservirance is progress and I can't wait to see what will be next for the world of coasters!
The two versions built in Asia (Dinoconda in Jiangsu, China, and Eejanaika in Fujiyoshida, Japan) are far more intense than X & X2 ever were. The layout is modified slightly so that there is an additional inversion, and the top speed is higher than that of X2.
I remember getting hyped for X and Deja Vu to open at Magic Mountain in 2001. I would watch videos of the 3D renderings on Magic Mountain’s website using a 56K modem. I was bummed that X was not open during my first visit to Magic Mountain later that year, but I made sure that I rode it the next year.
I knew about the Matterhorn (and space mountain) but I didn’t know Arrows relationship with Disney was that deep. It’s such a small world in these rollercoaster/theme park companies. Lots of stories of bankruptcy, and designers shuffling companies.
Shockwave was removed before i was tall enough to ride it my brother LOVED IT was his favorite but it gave you a HORRIBLE headake from poor head guard placements
More like the straw that broke the camel's back. Arrow Dynamics were pushers and innovators and made a lot of important design contributions to the amusement park industry.
Arrow did not attempt to replicate OR mimic B&M's structural support designs on Drachen Fire. It was 100% an original design from Arrow. El Toro Ryan explains it well early on in his Drachen Fire video. Keep in mind that B&M was still a fairly new company during Drachen Fire's construction in 1991-92. Arrow was still the highly praised company back then (though that would change several years after the fact).
Off topic but i feel like SFMM recent teasing of a giga is gonna be all about their new solar project, supposedly the largest in the state. Get it, giga-watts? Id be very disappointed.
Excellent idea, bad implementation; it was a _really_ new idea though, and there's going to be problems. At least Six Flags and S&S had the perseverance and vision to fix the problems.
A WDI engineer once told me that since arrow and Disney were so close, and since Arrow "manufactured" the omni-mover... (not designed, that was WDI) Arrow was inspired to build X with the same technology. Haunted Mansion uses the same dual rail to control the facing direction of the doom buggies.
I rode X2 with my brother and mum only a few months after it opened on our, to date, only visit to California. My brother and I thought it was awesome but my mum hated being thrown about so much. I really need to go back to Six Flags Magic Mountain to ride this again!
200 people were behind me; when I was first in line for X2. An attendant informed, “CLOSED for the next hour.” I take my chances, and everyone else leaves. Literally, moments after the crowd disappears behind the curve, another attendant comes down the que. “Won’t be open today….No, I am joking. X2 is operational.” I busted out laughing 😂 Six Flags: MM staff are unmatched!
I'm honestly also interested in what a smaller 4D coaster similar to Schilke's original proposal. We only have 3 4D coasters in the world that arent free spinning, and all of them are hyper coaster sized.
X was super innovative in concept, and turned into something great, but Arrow really should have started smaller. The more moving parts a ride has, the more things that can go wrong. And X has a TON of moving parts
I had a poster as a kid with the top ten coasters in the usa. Many went extinct by the time i actually could get the chance to go. The og x was on it. I never got to ride it but a year or two after x2 opened i got to finally ride it. To this day x2 is my favorite roller coaster followed closely with el toro.
Okay, I'm gonna be the ONLY one that noticed this-at 15:45 the lady in the seat putting her sunglasses on top of her head. THIS is one of the reasons people get hit with "flying objects" and why you're told to remove any "loose" items like SUNGLASSES, cell phones, necklaces, etc! It's so sad that Arrow Dynamics kept having the money issues, but it's also pretty cool that Walt actually helped them out. Parks don't do these things like this anymore because they either don't care OR it's ALL about money...money that they don't want to "give" out!
Lookin forward to the video on that hook coaster at the Strat. Especially how you think it may have saved Arrow Dynamics; because it sounds like yet another high-risk project that would likely exacerbate their financial deficits. That and the structural integrity of the Strat is not exactly the most trustworthy.
Great ride, but the finer mechanics just did not work upon its premier. Thankfully, many of its issues were later addressed by the company that absorbed Arrow's assets, and their subsequent overhaul of X into X2 helped ensure it would last.
I recently watched ‘True Romance’ and there’s a scene on a roller coaster and wondered which one it was, maybe you could make a video on rides/coasters that have been featured in movies? (If you haven’t already?) also, love the new intro music!!
i remember waiting for 3+ hours with my family for X when it first opened. I was too young (under 8 i think) but i vividly remember people getting off the ride crying or laughing. my dad (who has claustrophobia) saw someone get their restraints stuck and started to panic. crazy it's been around for over 20 years!! edit: i got to ride it in my 20s and i have to say it is probably the best coaster out there. that first drop is AMAZING
I remember that when I went on X2 for the first time in 2017, at Magic Mountain. It feels like that this coaster is going to be a crazy spin that I can’t think of going straight from riding the nausea thrill ride. I know that I would feel a lot of headache with the spin but I finally made it without passing out of the ride. It’s a tough call for the number one favorite roller coaster In Magic Mountain, but it’s not as bad as it handles the ride itself. From the best of Twisted Colossus to X2. It’s a tough choice but believe me. It’s a great ride. I don’t remember X being named for the first coaster in Magic Mountain since it first opened.
Only rollercoaster ever to make me scream and close my eyes. I rode it another eight times that day - giggling and eyes wide open. It's my favorite still standing rollercoaster. Looking forward to next time!
I wonder if Story hadn't said make it bigger, if things would've been different for the coaster itself and Arrow. They were ready to march into the 21st Century, and it's a shame what happened.
Thanks for the video! I have always wanted to ride this coaster, but I am also terrified of it because I have heard that it is really intense. I think I might also get dizzy on it because of the rotation on the seats, but to be honest, I think it would be worth it!
Can you please make a video about Millenium Force it is my favorite ride!!!! I LOVE your channel so much!! I have been subscribed for as long as I can remember and have watched pretty much every one of your videos. Keep making videos you are the best channel on youtube. P.S. I reeeeaallly want a Millenium Force video.
Shockwave was around when I was a teen and had a season pass….it was big and fast…there was a park after the 2 loops where you brakes hit before the corkscrews that really shook you around….good times
I rode the original x in the front row listening to insane in the brain by cypress hill…they had speakers in the seats…there was also a tropical storm rolling through so we had to wait extra long
I think the coolest thing about X2 is the fire that shoots out when you go through one of the elements. I didn't get to ride it the first time I went to Six Flags, but I hope I get to the next time I go
I remember getting to ride this before it opened to the public. As my mom worked for the company. Can’t believe that it’s been 20 something years now since then.
That’s why coming out of the outside raven turn going into the twist into the brake run I put my legs straight out so they don’t slam against the seats leg rests it’s a really good riding tip for the back seats
CORRECTION: I mixed up Road Runner Express with Road Runner Railway. Damn you, synonyms.
Awe it's okay. No one's gonna fault you for confusing a road runner with a road runner hehe
"Express" is not a synonym for "Railway"
It’s ok. That ride is the best ride at six flags anyways.
Where did you get the original X logo? I can’t find it on google anywhere.
Sometimes the birth of a groundbreaking ride can be a painful one. But thanks to Shilke’s perseverance and Magic Mountains refusal to give up on the ride something amazing and timeless was created!
Well said!
Pilgrims’ Plunge
Lightning Rod
Ejineiker
At least, Arrow went out with an intense coaster. Still the best coaster by Arrow Dynamics!
Thank god there last wasn’t a wacky work or something like that
Magnum exists
In my opinion Magnum is the best arrow, but that’s a somewhat unpopular opinion
@@Wildcattttt I think Magnum is the 2nd best arrow behind X2
@@christianortiz-v1lI can see how X2 could be the best arrow, I think I just didn’t get the best ride on X2 though, I think I need to ride it again and my opinion might change
@@Wildcatttttmagnum is by no chance better than X2 lmfao
Mad respect for Arrow taking a massive risk to entertain everyone and not compromising on their vision. They should not be out of business right now after X2 succeeding.
I was gonna say.. X2 is amazing!!
Why is X 2 always closed though
I remember riding the original X before X2. 3 hour minimum wait time due to the boarding woes. We spent the queue time talking about Arrow going bankrupt and taking the patents for the 4D coaster down with it, and how this would be the only ride of its kind for the foreseeable future. It's interesting that even though the patents/rights were bought up, we've still seen very few 4D coasters. Goes to show how insane they are.
Luckily, X2 is basically the same. Though I do miss the ridiculous pink monster look of the original.
When you are exiting X2, or on the ride coming back into the station. Look a the storage barn where they store the trains. The track, & supports still have the original pink & yellow color scheme to honor its past.
@@pinball541really it's still there?
@@godkinghell15- Yes!
i always wondered if there wasn't such a wide gap between the patent changing owners if we would see a ton more 4D coasters in north america.
Unfortunate how there’s only 2 of this kind in service not counting 4d free spins and zag spins bc the rides are different
8:06 “Making it the first high-level official to rename a property [X]” I see what you did there 😅
took me a few seconds but I LOLed
Yh I realised the refrence too
Are you referencing you know who? He who shall not be named. 😅
@@romeohart7558 elon musket
X is my favorite roller coaster of all time! Even though arrow failed with X i'm happy they kept it alive as X2! Hope to ride it again soon!
Get on the Asian 4Ds if you get a chance. They take this concept and crank up the insanity even higher.
Well Alan Schilke is now working at RMC which is doing very well i believe. They rebuilt the wooden coaster Robin Hood at Walibi Holland and made it a hybrid called Untamed.
yeah he was there for about a decade but i’m pretty sure he retired and now joe draves designs the rmc layouts now, not sure if schilke will come back to design another ride unfortunately
@@newhyperspace43He's not retired. Schilke now works as a design engineer at Ride Centerline LLC and still occasionally works with Rocky Mountain Construction.
The first Arrow modern corkscrew coaster at Knott’s Berry Farm was my very first looping coaster when I was only 10 years old and that ride made me a coaster addict for life. ❤
You can still ride the old KBF Corkscrew today. It was my first coaster I ever rode in 1981 when I was 5 years old. In 1989 Knott's sold The Corkscrew to Silverwood Theme Park, & it was moved to Northern Idaho. The Corkscrew is still there today, & is the parks crown jewel. The last time I had a reunion with my #1 favorite coaster, I rode it 75 times in 1 day. It is still pretty smooth after 48 years of service, because of Silverwood's love & passion for this historic coaster.
Hello from Phoenix Arizona🌡🔥
@@pinball541 I believe I rode it in 1982 (I remember having to wear a big tag on my wrist around the park for some reason, maybe as a child visitor). But I was 10 at the time and we lived in South Dakota. My dad had to attend a convention in San Diego so we packed up the car and drove west. We went to Disneyland, Knotts and Sea World on that trip but my dad kinda forced me onto that coaster so I was crying. But I came off laughing and went back on it 2 more times that day. The next year we went to a convention in Miami Beach so we stopped at Magic Kingdom, Epcot Center and Opryland and to my surprise Opryland had the exact same coaster! (Wabash Cannonball)
My first looper too.
If we ever get another full scale 4D coaster, it needs an original layout. A vertical loop (with extra front flip on top) or an upwards Raven turn (to complete a backflip) would be two elements I’d love to see
I made my own in RCT3 a few years ago, & the drop was a large half loop, a bit like the B&M wing coasters
Do we know if the one in China is the same layout? I have heard the one in Japan is better then X2......I've been wanting to ride X since it opened...one day.
They're different layouts, but are very similar. It's sort of like Arrows corkscrews, where they're all a little different but have the same elements.
I would say Eejanaika is a very good coaster. I love the flip at the top of the first raven turn. I’d say both X2 and Eejanaika are great but slightest different so can’t say one is better than the other. I doubt I’ll be able to ride Dinoconda anytime soon.
El Toro Ryan did a video on why Eejanaika is the perfect version of X2.
Imagine if Walt Disney never saw the potential in Arrow Dynamics and didn't invest into Arrow. If that had happened, rollercoasters most likely would have never gone this far.
Ironic how vekoma a ride maker who brought arrow rides to europe is now making rides for disney amusement parks
Unlikely. People say this stuff about everything... "if so and so didn't do this or that, we'd never have this or that". Simply not true. Hence, Arrow failed at the X and somebody else picked it up. You think airplanes would never exist had it not been for wright brothers? Ridiculous. Rollercoasters would have been developed even if Disney and Arrow never existed.
@@marcuslinton310 the entire amusement industry gave up on coasters with a loop before arrow bc they were dangerous and had awful capacity
@@staringcorgi6475 So, that still doesn't mean it would never happen without Arrow. Some other company would have come around to do it.
@@marcuslinton310”Never” isn’t the correct word but certainly we’d be WAY further behind in that type of development. It’s like how many movie studios have funding from a hedge fund like BlackRock. Studios could get money from others but they wouldn’t have gotten it as quick and it would’ve had a significant impact on any future decisions
I'm not a person who likes to ride roller coasters, never have been, but I am always so interested in the engineering side of things. I live near Magic Mountain, and I remember seeing X2 for the first time years ago now, and it's honestly just so impressive to look at. Even today it's just a marvel of engineering.
Even if X couldn't save the company, it's at least nice to know that the concept was able to be preserved for thrill seekers to enjoy.
Nice information.
I remember seeing this roller coaster in Roller Coaster Tycoon 2, which included the Six Flags parks. It's nice to know more about the ride.
Wait does roller coaster tycoon 2 just have a bunch of six flags rides in it?
I got to ride the original X in the spring of 2002, There was no line at all due to the low attendance that day and the fact that NO ONE could figure out where the entrance was.
Don’t let Elon Musk hear about this
It's private.
Oh don't worry, Elon holds the title for biggest X "Twitter" failure, no one can take that medal from him.
Crazy how a failed coaster can garner a 4 hour wait. They went out with a bang atleast. RIP Arrow
I agree.
I remember being there on January 16 2002 riding X and thinking it was the greatest ride of all time. I was 9 and I can still hear the incredibly loud chain and remember the feeling of the first face first drop...
Four days since opening.
i love your documentary style videos. the fact that you include a mix of high definition new footage, and vintage footage, helps keep the pacing fast and interesting
We like them.
I'm a roller coaster mechanic at Magic Mountain and am currently building the seats for X2. Hands down the most complex ride at the park by miles.
Pretty good.
This wasn't really a failed coaster, it never got demolished, just got a big makeover.
Why did it need such a drastic overhaul just a few years into its life?
If it needed a big makeover after a couple years I would say that the original coaster was a failure
It only really "failed" in that its original trains were a maintenance nightmare and the fact that its extremely expensive construction bankrupted what was once one of the most influential companies in the amusement industry's history.
Still my all time favorite coaster, vastly prefer the original aesthetic to X2. My dad even got that badass jacket they were selling when we went just after it first opened. Absolutely love X.
I gotta see this jacket
I had no idea Arrow contributed so much to the way rollercoasters are nowadays, this was super interesting 👍
Throughout history, it is often the most controversial and forward-thinking ideas that fail, only to be found how genius they are down the road. This coaster is an icon.
General public & high end leader are reluctant to big changes & innovation...they are scare of their public reaction and financial risk
X was the first proof of concept...which was cool, but a whole lot of it just did not work.
Eejanaika was the tinkering and refinement of the concept...learning from where X failed to see how far they actually could take it.
X2 genuinely is X 2.0...implementing Eejanaika's fixes to bring the ride up to its potential.
6:20 I still use CD-ROMs to this day. Good reliable tech.
This is the best coaster I have ever been on, same with my dad. Crazy to hear about it’s old history. Great job to Magic Mountain for sticking it through and making the best coaster ever :)!!
X2 was the first like big world class coaster I rode at the age of 15. I was screaming in terror, my dad was scared out of his mind as well but was laughing the whole ride because my reaction was just too funny.
X2 is a shell of its former self.
The fact that they didn't just invent a wing coaster first, but an more complicated rollercoaster concept 🤯
Lol right?
I’m glad that a coaster in this series at least had a happy ending.
Along with it still going strong today, just wish they’d get the audio restored again.
@@zacharyyamashita8554used to freak me out listening to the audio going up the lift hill but it made it so much better idk why
@@zacharyyamashita8554what was the audio? I’ve never gotten to ride it with the audio or smoke although they have brought the flames back which is nice!
This coaster may have been too ambitious for Arrow, but they picked an incredible coaster to go out on!
Of course.
I was lucky enough to ride the OG "pink monster." The seat rotation was silky smooth. X2 is so rough, you need non riders to remind you of your name. Anyone know why the Arrow trains tracked so much more smoothly than their S&S successors? Could it be the reduced weight?
My 8 year old daughter and I love X2. We have ridden it at least a dozen times. This summer, we rode The Joker at Six Flags Over Texas and Batman at Six Flags Fiesta. They are smaller, tamer versions of X2. My little thrill seeking roller coaster snob (LOL) found them to be unimpressive and didn't even want to re-ride. I was obligated to take her to Magic Mountain again before the end of summer.
I've never ridden this coaster, but it looks like the scariest experience of all time! I hope to get to California again someday, so I can ride this monster!
Monster is the right word. It is not for everyone. The roughness doesn't really bother me due to how crazy it is.
The original was better. X2 is still awesome though.
Magic Mountain isn't run very well at the moment, but it has a great ride collection.
The main ones you'll want to ride are X2, Twisted Colossus, Wonder Woman, and Tatsu.
You HAVE to ride it.
Am I the only one who liked the old X's colour scheme? It kinda reminds me of Princess Peach
Right I wish it was still pink
Man, I rode X when I was 11-12 years old and I remember the seats being really uncomfortable as hecc. Like that ride didn't feel like I was supported enough that I thought I would fall. And man the wait times were horrible especially waiting in the Valencia heat during summer.
I first found out about X through a booklet that talked about roller coasters, and it was a coaster that really intrigued me from its concept, and I wanted to eventually ride it. I ultimately wouldn't get to ride the coaster until after it had already been rebranded to X2, but regardless, I'm more than happy that I got to experience such a unique coaster.
In an interview with Alan Shilke about X, he said he got a very quick meeting with the SF president at the airport between flights. He pitched a few different things, and didnt catch his interest. He pitched X as a last resort, and he loved it. I think Alan probably knew the technology wasnt quite there, but pitched it anyways. After all, nothing speeds up progress faster than a deadline.
The only thing bad about X was the wait times back in 2002 some line waits were an incredible 8hrs long!! And people still waited. 😂
Dealing with patience.
I love learning about old arrow coasters! I love a good classic and arrow holds a special place in my heart! Definitely would love to learn more about arrow coaster or even Chang at Six Flags KY Kingdom
I'm so glad that I got to ride the modle at Japan's Fuji Q Highland! This is genuinly one of my favourit coasters of all time as even having ridden it back to back a number of times it is imposible to know whats coming. I had no idea of its difficult past - perservirance is progress and I can't wait to see what will be next for the world of coasters!
The two versions built in Asia (Dinoconda in Jiangsu, China, and Eejanaika in Fujiyoshida, Japan) are far more intense than X & X2 ever were. The layout is modified slightly so that there is an additional inversion, and the top speed is higher than that of X2.
Obviously. X was the prototype and those were built by S&S who perfected arrows design
I was waiting for this vid for so long. Thanks! Also keep up the amazing work.
What are the chances Top Thrill 2 kills Zamperla?
I can image the trains will run horribly on the track.
I remember getting hyped for X and Deja Vu to open at Magic Mountain in 2001. I would watch videos of the 3D renderings on Magic Mountain’s website using a 56K modem. I was bummed that X was not open during my first visit to Magic Mountain later that year, but I made sure that I rode it the next year.
I knew about the Matterhorn (and space mountain) but I didn’t know Arrows relationship with Disney was that deep.
It’s such a small world in these rollercoaster/theme park companies. Lots of stories of bankruptcy, and designers shuffling companies.
Shockwave was removed before i was tall enough to ride it my brother LOVED IT was his favorite but it gave you a HORRIBLE headake from poor head guard placements
More like the straw that broke the camel's back. Arrow Dynamics were pushers and innovators and made a lot of important design contributions to the amusement park industry.
Arrow did not attempt to replicate OR mimic B&M's structural support designs on Drachen Fire. It was 100% an original design from Arrow. El Toro Ryan explains it well early on in his Drachen Fire video.
Keep in mind that B&M was still a fairly new company during Drachen Fire's construction in 1991-92. Arrow was still the highly praised company back then (though that would change several years after the fact).
Yes, I forgot that detail. I will be cutting that moment out of this video.
Fan of your videos for years brotha. Keep em comin!!
Off topic but i feel like SFMM recent teasing of a giga is gonna be all about their new solar project, supposedly the largest in the state. Get it, giga-watts? Id be very disappointed.
Excellent idea, bad implementation; it was a _really_ new idea though, and there's going to be problems. At least Six Flags and S&S had the perseverance and vision to fix the problems.
A WDI engineer once told me that since arrow and Disney were so close, and since Arrow "manufactured" the omni-mover... (not designed, that was WDI) Arrow was inspired to build X with the same technology. Haunted Mansion uses the same dual rail to control the facing direction of the doom buggies.
Just stumbled onto your channel and I’m really enjoying it, thanks for your hard work and entertaining videos :)
Very nice.
Honestly, I kinda prefer the old color scheme. Crazy colors for a crazy ride.
The gravitron is very harsh on the ankles when the wall moves above the bottom of support bracket.
I came off of X2 white as a sheet... it was at that point I realized that I'd gotten too old for roller coasters... 😞
I rode X2 with my brother and mum only a few months after it opened on our, to date, only visit to California. My brother and I thought it was awesome but my mum hated being thrown about so much. I really need to go back to Six Flags Magic Mountain to ride this again!
Thanks for the detailed explanation, I didn’t know the trains changed.
200 people were behind me; when I was first in line for X2. An attendant informed, “CLOSED for the next hour.” I take my chances, and everyone else leaves. Literally, moments after the crowd disappears behind the curve, another attendant comes down the que. “Won’t be open today….No, I am joking. X2 is operational.” I busted out laughing 😂 Six Flags: MM staff are unmatched!
Hey! This is an awesome! It’s so cool how the most beloved coaster now was one of the most hated by six flags then! I really like this channal!
I'm honestly also interested in what a smaller 4D coaster similar to Schilke's original proposal. We only have 3 4D coasters in the world that arent free spinning, and all of them are hyper coaster sized.
X was super innovative in concept, and turned into something great, but Arrow really should have started smaller.
The more moving parts a ride has, the more things that can go wrong. And X has a TON of moving parts
The customer asked for it to be the size it ended up being
@@sharkheadism yeah... the customer asked them to bite off more than they could chew, and they agreed.
@@ariczair Don't have much of a choice when no one else is buying your products
The color change for X was the best thing to ever happen
Fr it looked like mcdonalds coaster
The old paint job gave pink lemonade realness
I wish they kept the same color scheme from X. I loved the pink and yellow.
They repainted that.
I had a poster as a kid with the top ten coasters in the usa. Many went extinct by the time i actually could get the chance to go. The og x was on it. I never got to ride it but a year or two after x2 opened i got to finally ride it. To this day x2 is my favorite roller coaster followed closely with el toro.
I remember as a kid going on X2 and swing how amazing this was. Didn’t know it was a failure at first! Great story 👍
Okay, I'm gonna be the ONLY one that noticed this-at 15:45 the lady in the seat putting her sunglasses on top of her head. THIS is one of the reasons people get hit with "flying objects" and why you're told to remove any "loose" items
like SUNGLASSES, cell phones, necklaces, etc!
It's so sad that Arrow Dynamics kept having the money issues, but it's also pretty cool that Walt actually helped them out. Parks don't do these things like this anymore because they either don't care OR it's ALL about money...money that they don't want to "give" out!
Lookin forward to the video on that hook coaster at the Strat. Especially how you think it may have saved Arrow Dynamics; because it sounds like yet another high-risk project that would likely exacerbate their financial deficits. That and the structural integrity of the Strat is not exactly the most trustworthy.
Aw, I appreciate my comment being featured. Thank you!😊 Awesome vid!
I'm going to be honest: I clicked on this video from my feed solely for Twitter jokes.
The first 4th dimension coaster and still the best one. Too bad we cant get more like this type of 4th dimension ride.
I was never alive when arrow was around. X opened roughly 3 months before I was born
Even though we lost arrow because of X, at least they went out on a high note
it was not the only reason, as he said they wasted too much on vegas one too
@@williamhaynes7089 true
If X is a failure, we need more failures. X is one of my favorite coasters I’ve been on
Great ride, but the finer mechanics just did not work upon its premier. Thankfully, many of its issues were later addressed by the company that absorbed Arrow's assets, and their subsequent overhaul of X into X2 helped ensure it would last.
X2 is amazing! I’m so glad SFMM is my home park, because I get this rare, incredible coaster right next to where I live!
OMFG YES!!! You finally changed that loud and jarring theme track! THANK YOU!! ❤
I recently watched ‘True Romance’ and there’s a scene on a roller coaster and wondered which one it was, maybe you could make a video on rides/coasters that have been featured in movies? (If you haven’t already?) also, love the new intro music!!
i remember waiting for 3+ hours with my family for X when it first opened. I was too young (under 8 i think) but i vividly remember people getting off the ride crying or laughing. my dad (who has claustrophobia) saw someone get their restraints stuck and started to panic. crazy it's been around for over 20 years!!
edit: i got to ride it in my 20s and i have to say it is probably the best coaster out there. that first drop is AMAZING
I remember that when I went on X2 for the first time in 2017, at Magic Mountain. It feels like that this coaster is going to be a crazy spin that I can’t think of going straight from riding the nausea thrill ride. I know that I would feel a lot of headache with the spin but I finally made it without passing out of the ride. It’s a tough call for the number one favorite roller coaster In Magic Mountain, but it’s not as bad as it handles the ride itself. From the best of Twisted Colossus to X2. It’s a tough choice but believe me. It’s a great ride. I don’t remember X being named for the first coaster in Magic Mountain since it first opened.
I wish there were more of these riders, but they are far too expensive, and likely far too intense for the average park guest.
Eejanaika: Hold my sake...
Only rollercoaster ever to make me scream and close my eyes. I rode it another eight times that day - giggling and eyes wide open. It's my favorite still standing rollercoaster. Looking forward to next time!
I wonder if Story hadn't said make it bigger, if things would've been different for the coaster itself and Arrow. They were ready to march into the 21st Century, and it's a shame what happened.
For what it's worth, Arrow went out with a bang with X. It was a ride concept that was, frankly, well ahead of its time.
I get this.
I remember going on the old X as a kid, I’ll never forget it. One of the best roller coasters I’ve ever been on
Thanks for the video! I have always wanted to ride this coaster, but I am also terrified of it because I have heard that it is really intense. I think I might also get dizzy on it because of the rotation on the seats, but to be honest, I think it would be worth it!
Trust me, I rode it recently and it is absolutely worth it
Often wonder what an arrow dynamics inverted coaster like Batman would have been like if they where first to the idea.
Can you please make a video about Millenium Force it is my favorite ride!!!! I LOVE your channel so much!! I have been subscribed for as long as I can remember and have watched pretty much every one of your videos. Keep making videos you are the best channel on youtube. P.S. I reeeeaallly want a Millenium Force video.
I Went on X in 2003 and loved it. Did not return to Six Flags until 2019 and X2 was completely awesome.
I seriously need to ride this coaster! Its just getting to California from Ohio thats the main problem.
Do Invertigo/Stinger next, from it’s original first 12 years at CGA, to it’s last 5 years at Dorney Park.
Because Great America's was considered the prototype we knew of in America.@@reedspace8267
Shockwave was around when I was a teen and had a season pass….it was big and fast…there was a park after the 2 loops where you brakes hit before the corkscrews that really shook you around….good times
We got to ride this at Six Flags Magic Mountain. It was a really fun experience.
I rode the original x in the front row listening to insane in the brain by cypress hill…they had speakers in the seats…there was also a tropical storm rolling through so we had to wait extra long
A little off topic. But nice use of custom animations for the storytelling!
I think the coolest thing about X2 is the fire that shoots out when you go through one of the elements. I didn't get to ride it the first time I went to Six Flags, but I hope I get to the next time I go
I remember getting to ride this before it opened to the public. As my mom worked for the company. Can’t believe that it’s been 20 something years now since then.
Another reason for the bankruptcy of Arrow Dynamics was the decline of amusement park attendance after the September 11 attacks!
Although this coaster ultimately killed Arrow Dynamics, at least it ends with the bang.
X2 can legitimately tear someone’s acl if they sit in the back. It’s a fun ride but stay away from the back seats
That’s why coming out of the outside raven turn going into the twist into the brake run I put my legs straight out so they don’t slam against the seats leg rests it’s a really good riding tip for the back seats
Being the designers of the Matterhorn track and bobsleds gets you into Rollercoaster ValHalla.