Ga naar Nederlandstalige versie

Six Flags America

Bowie, Maryland, USA

“A visit to Six Flags America during its final operating season”

We will forever remember 2025 as the opening year of Epic Universe in Orlando. Yet, there isn’t only good news in this year’s theme park newspaper. While Florida is becoming home to yet another theme park, the state of Maryland is losing its premier roller coaster destination. On 2 May 2025, it was announced that Six Flags America is closing for good after this season. The news came unexpectedly, but it’s not difficult to see why this decision was made. Despite its location in close proximity to Washington D.C., Six Flags America never managed to match the visitor numbers of its well-known sister parks. The park will be closing its doors for the last time on 2 November 2025, after which the terrain will be repurposed.

ROLLER COASTERS

When Six Flags America closes its gates, some rides will probably be moved to other theme parks. Unfortunately, it’s also a certainty that several rides will be lost forever. Both of the park’s wooden roller coasters seem to be in the danger zone. We are talking about Roar and Wild One, which were built by Great Coasters International and Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters respectively. GCI usually guarantees brilliant wooden coasters, while PTC is notorious for its rough and shaky rides. At Six Flags America, however, the experience is exactly the opposite. The younger Roar manages to give me an instant headache, while the antique Wild One delivers an excellent ride. This is extra remarkable when you consider that Wild One has been around since 1917 (!) and has already experienced a relocation. Kudos to Six Flags America for keeping this 100-plus-year-old roller coaster in such an excellent shape.

Firebird is the world’s oldest B&M. The ride once played a role in Richie Rich, but has changed almost beyond recognition since then. Firebird was moved, it was renamed, the colour scheme was refreshed and they even added a fire effect. Besides, the original stand-up trains were swapped for floorless ones. So despite its respectable age, this coaster has an surprisingly modern look. However, it isn’t difficult to notice that the company was still relatively inexperienced when it designed Firebird. Some transitions are rather abrupt and there is a noticeable rattle. Still, I’m glad we got to add Firebird to our counter, as it’s definitely a noteworthy ride in the history of roller coasters.

There’s no way to avoid the characters of DC Universe in the Six Flags parks. Here at Six Flags America, they found their home in an area known as Gotham City, a city full of superheroes and bad guys. The most notable bad guys are The Penguin, Harley Quinn and The Joker, represented by a spinning raft ride, a Zamperla Giant Discovery and a launched roller coaster called The Joker’s Jinx. Premier Rides delivered a spaghetti bowl coaster, named after its compact, highly intertwined layout. With four inversions and a considerable number of tight curves, the ride looks very spectacular. In terms of smoothness, however, Joker’s Jinx turns out to be slightly disappointing. So if Joker’s Jinx finds a new home in another park after 2025, I hope it will first receive a major refurbishment.

Six Flags America is the proud owner of Batwing, the last remaining Vekoma Flying Dutchman. This iconic roller coaster model was introduced in 2000, two years before B&M came up with its version of the flying coaster. The Flying Dutchman was innovative, but it didn’t become an overwhelming success. Two other installations already disappeared and there’s a good chance that Batwing won’t make a comeback either after 2025. That’s a shame, especially because I kind of liked the ride experience. I’ll gladly admit that the reclining position is rather uncomfortable when you’re in the station and final brake run, but that’s probably my only complaint about the Flying Dutchman. The ride is relatively smooth and the layout is filled with spectacular elements. The first lie-to-fly is incredible and I also enjoyed the vertical loop, which is somewhat reminiscent of B&M’s famous pretzel loop in terms of forces. Batwing is undoubtedly my favourite coaster at Six Flags America.

It seems as if the closure of Six Flags America has been a last-minute decision. Why else would Six Flags have purchased brand-new trains for the park’s biggest roller coaster at the start of the 2025 season? That ride is Superman – Ride of Steel, an Intamin Mega Coaster that opened in the year 2000. Not only is this the same coaster model as Millennium Force, but it also opened on the exact same date as that famous ride at Cedar Point. Unfortunately, Superman performs remarkably weaker than its Ohio-based sibling. The first drop is cool and those new vehicles guarantee an incredibly smooth ride, but Superman literally is one of the world’s most boring Mega Coasters. The layout consists of two endless/powerless helixes, a meaningless piece of straight track and some hills that barely provide airtime. Never thought I’d say this about a 200-ft-tall coaster with a top speed of almost 73 miles per hour, but I think I could take an afternoon nap while riding it.

Six Flags America’s coaster lineup is completed by Great Chase (a Zamperla kiddie coaster), Ragin’ Cajun (a standard spinning coaster by Reverchon) and Professor Screamore’s SkyWinder, one of the roughest Vekoma SLCs on the planet.

OTHER EXPERIENCES

We don’t always have tot talk about roller coasters. Six Flags America, like most other parks in the group, also has a nice collection of flat rides. Most of them are fairly ordinary: you’ll find dancing coffee cups, a swinging ship, an old-fashioned Scrambler, a Star Flyer, a Zamperla Giant Discovery and an Intamin drop tower called Voodoo Drop. Just a little less standard are Pirate’s Flight (a family-oriented carousel with flying pirate ships) and ElectroDerby, an indoor bumper car track in SteamTown. And while Six Flags America is rarely praised for its atmosphere and theming, I have to admit that most of these flat rides are looking quite good.

Since our visit took place in April, I’m not able to say anything meaningful about the park’s water attractions. Just like many other USA-based theme parks, Six Flags America doesn’t open its water rides until Memorial Day. The lineup consists of a rapid river, a shoot-the-chute and a spinning raft ride.

WORTH A VISIT?

I often conclude my reports with phrases like ‘I’d love to come here again soon’ or ‘I won’t visit this park again until they open a large new roller coaster’. However, I cannot say these things about Six Flags America, as I’m quite sure I’ll never have the chance to rediscover this park. Still, I’m glad that we decided to include Six Flags America in our 2025 East Coast trip. Admittedly… The park has a less impressive line-up than most other Six Flags properties. I’d never describe Six Flags America as a disappointing place, though. I enjoyed my rides on Wild One and Batwing, and I loved the atmosphere in the Main Street and Steamtown. Nevertheless, it is understandable that Six Flags America was struggling to survive. Kings Dominion, Busch Gardens Williamsburg, Hersheypark and Six Flags Great Adventure are all within manageable distance. Each of these parks is bigger and they offer a more sensational range of attractions. Six Flags America may be the nearest amusement park for D.C. residents, but it’s no secret that Americans are willing to drive two hours for something bigger and better.

Have you been able to visit Six Flags America before its closure? What’s your thought on Superman – Ride of Steel? And which rides deserve to be moved to other Six Flags parks? Share your opinion in the comments section at the bottom of this page.

This article reflects my personal experience at Six Flags America during a visit in April 2025.