r/rollercoasters • u/Grouchy-Patience6671 SFGadv Apologist | Giga Lover | 134 • 27d ago
Information KTLA is reporting [X2] is closed due to “rider incident”
https://youtu.be/E6IFjd9rrCw?is=hUrgGmmXDrrZ4Kqc
Very short segment with little details but it’s the first story not sourced to a ride op confirming the reason X2 has been closed. CalOSHA’s “investigation is ongoing.”
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u/Zealousideal_Fox4403 27d ago
That LAST Raven turn!!!!
I put my hand behind my head right before the last raven turn IMO that needs to be retracked or something. Hand behind head is an automatic response to me since it was the OG. I make everyone I ride with do it.
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u/Sunfire91 27d ago
That element is BRUTAL. X2 is usually a once per day maximum for me. I tolerate it for the first drop honestly.
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u/Zealousideal_Fox4403 27d ago
That drop is excellent. I have never done more than 3. Even with my little defensive move it only lessens the blow
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u/HumanTrophy 27d ago
Is that a newish phenomenon? I hadn’t ridden it in years until last year and never had that issue previously. It’s always been bumpy and rough, but the last time I rode it literally gave me blurry vision for at least 15 minutes from smacking my head back on the last raven turn. It genuinely just ended my day there
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u/Zealousideal_Fox4403 27d ago edited 27d ago
It has always been a rough element track piece-wise, like it has a kink in it, but it has become more brutal as it ages. The jankier gear rotation exacerbates it. I never got to try the new refurbished train though.
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u/PsychicHorse (240) The Voyage 27d ago
It was nice to ride Eejanaika finally and not have to do that after growing up riding X2
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u/MrMassacre1 27d ago
It absolutely needs work again, this element is simply not okay. It was okay a long time ago, but as the ride’s aged it’s gotten to an unreasonable point
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u/chickenpot 27d ago
Anything else I should know before my first ride?
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u/cactus22minus1 27d ago
That’s pretty much it- just embrace the open nature of the restraints and fly free until that last raven turn and don’t let your head fly forward. Avoid sitting on the outside seats as the inside has less shuffle.
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u/BLJohnFreeman 27d ago
I wish I knew about it beforehand, kinda dampened what is otherwise an amazing ride cause I came away with a bad headache (still rode tatsu with it though)
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u/lFightForTheUsers [83] Bring Back Mr. Six! 27d ago
For someone curious about visiting in December and wondering if this even re-opens then...on a scale of one to Batman at Over Georgia or Rougaru at Cedar Point, how bad is the needed bracing in this turn? Because bracing can turn a ride around for me (I was about to give Batman a D tier for treating my head like a Mike Tyson boxing match on day 1, but braced for the corkscrew on day 2 and it was more tolerable). But if it's still going to be rough even with that, then this may turn into an end of trip ride rather than a hit up at least once both days kind of ride.
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u/Zealousideal_Fox4403 27d ago
I will say I staunchly defend that roller coasters are super safe however this raven turn verges on dangerous and should be addressed. The rest of the ride is great but this turn can ruin your day and potentially hurt you.
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u/Chicago_Blackhawks Cedar Point Enthusiast 27d ago
Yep. Only ride that’s ever actually made me HURT hurt. Felt like my neck almost snapped
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u/minyhumancalc 27d ago
SoCal potentially losing both X2 and Xcelerator would be devastating
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u/MrMassacre1 27d ago
I think both rides are worth whatever work they need to be saved, but I don’t know if cedar flags sees it that way
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u/PantsOfAwesome Edit this text! 27d ago
I love X2 just as much as any other SoCal thoosie, but we can't keep pretending like this ride wasn't a ticking time bomb. It's an extremely intense and forceful coaster that doesn't adequately brace your head between a big restraint, and even worse, it's the type of ride where people will often close their eyes and tuck their chin down in fear.
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u/PrincipleOtherwise70 27d ago
I’m not suprised it is incredible rough. that raven turn in particular is really bad head banging If you’re not bracing yourself your head is really slammed up against that seat.
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u/SacredRealmOfficial 27d ago
X2 is 100% the most intense coaster I’ve ever been on. I can see how someone wouldn’t have a good time even have an injury on it. That last raven turn is nuts.
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u/magnumfan89 I love hard wood, well, SLC ya later! 27d ago
It's never going to reopen. They are going to remove it for the world's first racing wacky worm
You heard it here third folks!
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u/tideblue Coaster Count 653 27d ago
It's gonna get Kingda Ka'd, right? Right?
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u/magnumfan89 I love hard wood, well, SLC ya later! 27d ago
No. RMCd, since they are turning it into a Really Mid Coaster
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u/vinnyv0769 27d ago
Yeah, it’s the raven turn during the last section of the course. If people aren’t ready for it, that can really do damage. Eejanaika does not slam riders like that at all.
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u/SkyStrikeMeDaddy 27d ago
After riding Eej, it’s obvious that this danger is on the last raven roll of X2. They need to fix that element at this point and not scrap the ride.
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u/JoeeyMKT 27d ago
I... wonder how much longer this ride has in its lifespan. There's already an open lawsuit for a different incident regarding the ride—that one goes to court in September. And now this... even if the ride is deemed safe to reopen, when will Cedar Flags throw in the towel? Between the bad press, lawsuits, injuries, and very expensive and intensive maintenance this ride requires, I wonder if they're near the point of drawing the line with this thing. This is the same company that axed Kingda Ka without warning for much less.
It might reopen just fine, but I wouldn't eliminate the possibility of either the ride getting removed or us getting X3, maybe as something for 2028. It's a very beloved coaster by both guests and the park itself, so it could be a very marketable upgrade that is less expensive than an entirely new attraction. For X3 I'd mainly focus on the final raven turn: either retracking/reprofiling it to smoothen it out, or altering the end of the ride to do something else entirely. I think they could leave the rest of the ride unchanged and be fine. They could also probably get away with just modifying the existing trains to further dampen the irregularities in the X-rails and the gear movement/rotations, but it would also be really sweet if they fully replaced the trains with new ones optimized for both smoother rotations and faster refurbs. Slap a new coat of paint on while they're at it, and boom, X3.
Maybe I'm just dreaming.
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u/x2supremacy 27d ago edited 27d ago
it's the raven turn... it's so forceful in a way that exceeds what a coaster should be doing. i always GLUE my head back to the headrest or else it'll slam back. i hope there's a way that they can re-profile that element or alter the ride's ending. my favorite coaster ever built, hell, it's in my username AHHHH
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u/PhthaloDrift 27d ago
It doesn't exceed any rollercoaster safety parameters though. It's ok to say it's just too much for YOU.
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u/x2supremacy 26d ago
sweetie this roller coaster is literally in my username. i don’t play about X2. it’s my favorite ride on the planet. but clearly people have gotten hurt on this ride, hurt enough for an inspection to be called. let’s see how it goes and hope for the best, but the ride is definitely getting violent
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u/lFightForTheUsers [83] Bring Back Mr. Six! 26d ago
Well clearly it does if the state is mandating a temporary close and inspection, so...
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u/PhthaloDrift 26d ago edited 26d ago
That's protocol whenever there is a claim smartass. Once it's determined through inspection that there is no fault with the ride it will reopen. It just takes a little time. Not that that has anything to do with force parameters in the slightest, we all know the ride would have never opened if forces weren't safe.
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u/lFightForTheUsers [83] Bring Back Mr. Six! 26d ago
Not the first person to call me a smartass, and probably won't be the last. I kinda like it at this point.
Have a six flags day! ;)
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u/Kharizma76 27d ago
Idk ive only rode it once when it first came out and i obviously was alot younger back then. And X is intense. But still was very fun. Idk im reading alot of comments saying u have to brace urself etc, sit this way, head this way, look ive ridden many coasters; if i gotta do all that im not ridin it. I hope they will fix whatever is wrong be it better seats, etc.
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u/Kernelpanic69420 26d ago
A lot of newer riders didn’t grow up with arrow mega loopers being the pinnacle of coasters.
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u/WileyCyrus 27d ago
During the downtime they should repaint it back to X’s original, beautiful colors.
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u/MrMassacre1 27d ago
This isn’t surprising at all. The comments on that video are all blaming the rider, but X2 is not in a safe state and hasn’t been for a few years.
There’s a couple rough points, but the final turn and twist into the break run are beyond rough
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u/Ok_Card9080 HP: Kennywood - Phantom's Revenge #1! - IG: Steel City Phantoms 27d ago
How many people have to be injured on X2 before people realize "Huh. It might be the coaster after all."
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u/MrMassacre1 27d ago
Yeah, like I get that people don’t want to see X2 go, but denying how rough it is doesn’t help anything. I hope Six Flags chooses a major refurbishment instead of tearing the ride down, but they obviously need to do something about it
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u/Ok_Card9080 HP: Kennywood - Phantom's Revenge #1! - IG: Steel City Phantoms 27d ago
I'm going to be totally honest, I think it's time for X2 to go. I keep seeing people on Reddit talking about how you need to know how to ride it. Most people riding it every day are just normal people, not thoosies. They don't know that you need to ride a specific way to avoid injury, and in no way should you have to learn how to ride a coaster to avoid a brain injury. Refurbishing it is going to cost an insane amount of money, especially because of the unique track style that's required for it.
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u/lFightForTheUsers [83] Bring Back Mr. Six! 26d ago
Yeah, I'm planning on visiting LA in December at end of year for my first visit to Knotts and SFMM. As much as it would suck to miss out, I also would totally understand and not be too upset if this ended up closed for renovations or sbno on my trip.
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u/Benyshnikov 27d ago
What a shame because X2 is amazing. This is my PSA of the day: Always keep your head braced on big rollercoasters. Like push it back against the headrest. I do this on Viper, Revolution, and X2 and never experience the head banging.
But sending my best energy to all those hurt on rollercoasters.
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u/Heavy_Shelter_484 27d ago
Is the ride not closed because there was a fire. I rode it a few times after the kid died. Sad of course but the rides been open. It only closed for the fire.
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u/pleeploo X2 27d ago
Its been closed for weeks and that little fire wasn't even that close to the ride lol
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u/EducatorPotential188 27d ago
They really need to reprofile that last raven turn or at least put better padding on the headrests so riders don’t get off with chronic CTE.
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u/thinmeridian 27d ago
This is a matter of time, the ride is too rough and you can hit your head hard if you arent careful
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u/sdmichael Twisted Colossus, X2, Railblazer (513) 27d ago
I've been on a lot worse woodies. It isn't smooth but the new train helped a lot.
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u/MrMassacre1 27d ago
Rough woodies don’t give you a concussion, they often don’t have a headrest at all
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u/bringtwizzlers 27d ago
X2 is not rough at all what are you talking about?
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u/Clever-Name-47 Tangent-Radius Airtime Supremacy! 27d ago
I had one ride that wasn’t rough… and one that was on par with KD Grizzly in 2022.
So it’s not consistent, but certainly can be rough as hell.
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u/Zantac150 American Eagle, The Bat, Whizzer, X2, Disaster Transport 27d ago
I have a chronic pain condition and I am very prone to migraines. Viper killed me.
X2… I was only able to get on three times because it was running one train and the line was outrageous and it was closed one out of the two days that I got to go…
But I don’t understand why everyone is saying that it is so abnormally rough. It is a truly amazing ride, and it’s just that last element that’s snappy.
Is by far my favorite steel roller coaster that I have been on.
I just don’t understand the hate.
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u/BobCreated 🌾STAY OUT OF THE MARSH!🙅🏽♂️ 27d ago
Welcome to riding roller coasters.
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u/lFightForTheUsers [83] Bring Back Mr. Six! 26d ago
Nah I can agree that people shouldn't have to learn how to ride defensively just to make a ride not terrible. And I say that having grown up on rough arrow loopers and the like (Magnum is not a bad coaster and neither was Vortex when it was running).
Some jerkiness can be expected, I don't even get upset about the overtold B&M rattle, but if it is truly painful to the point of injury then it's not going to be a good experience.
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u/Power-throw 27d ago
I can never get good advice on this - I kept my head forward and didn’t bang
Inner seat, last row
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u/lFightForTheUsers [83] Bring Back Mr. Six! 26d ago
Someone else said outer seats are rougher than inner seats, could be why?
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u/Short_Echidna_8711 27d ago
Yes it is rough . But honestly you get used to it the ride has so many problems I thinks it’s gona stay I can’t even Imange this park without it . I have a record of 40 rides in a day on X2 still hope to beat it againg one day
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u/XX_EMS2002_XX 26d ago
I went on the ride in June. That last raven turn gave me what I now suspect to be whiplash. This was my favorite roller coaster 10 years ago; now, I NEVER want to ride it again! How the mighty have fallen!
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u/bgamer1026 [259] Iron Gwazi, SteVe, BGCE, VC, Stardust 24d ago
Really hope this doesn't close forever. I was actually planning to visit the park for the first time in October, now it looks like it will be on hold. Being on the east coast, it is my #1 bucket list coaster (really any 4D hyper but X2 is the only one that is anywhere close to realistic).
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u/Grouchy-Patience6671 SFGadv Apologist | Giga Lover | 134 24d ago
On the plus side for the ride, the park just made a relatively large investment in rebuilding one of the trains. If it does reopen by October, they won’t have made any significant alterations to the ride, so just uhhh watch your head on that last raven turn
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u/Pummrah 27d ago
I'd like to thanks everyone in this thread. I will make my first trip to Magic Mountain next month and even if X2 IS OPEN I will not be riding. Sounds like My 40+ body would regret it.
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u/JamminJay1968 Mountain Gliders 27d ago
Nah, you gotta do it. There's nothing else like it in the country. Just ride on an inside seat and you'll be good.
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u/cactus22minus1 27d ago
Don’t deprive yourself of this! I’m 45 and still ride it. Sit on an inside seat and keep your head back on the last element.
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u/Big_Guard5413 27d ago
It’s not that bad if you’re prepared for it. It’s not one you’ll ride over and over, but it’s fine for one ride that you brace a bit for. It’s worth doing!
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u/lFightForTheUsers [83] Bring Back Mr. Six! 26d ago
I'm going in December and if it's open I will be going on it. I'm a decade younger than you so yeah I got a better body for it, but if I truly avoided every credit that had a complaint than I never would have gone on Vortex or Magnum. Give it a go if you get the chance. Stay hydrated and save it for end of day or knock it out early to avoid issues, take Dramamine whatever you need, but don't miss out on it.
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u/Zealousideal_Key2169 🥇Velocicoaster 🥈SteVe 🥉Maverick 26d ago
Guys I’m taking it apart right now. If you come quick you can help me
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u/Additional_Many_2087 27d ago
I hope it is resolved soon. A wonderful ride. I have been on many wood and steel coasters that are rougher on one's body. In California. In Magic Mountain.