Last Member Drive of 2025!

Your year-end tax-deductible gift powers our local newsroom. Help raise $1 million in essential funding for LAist by December 31.
$700,442 of $1,000,000 goal
A row of graphics payment types: Visa, MasterCard, Apple Pay and PayPal, and  below a lock with Secure Payment text to the right
Audience-funded nonprofit news
radio tower icon laist logo
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
Subscribe
  • Listen Now Playing Listen

This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.

This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.

Arts & Entertainment

Photos: Magic Mountain's Colossus Joins More SoCal Roller Coasters That Bit The Dust

Truth matters. Community matters. Your support makes both possible. LAist is one of the few places where news remains independent and free from political and corporate influence. Stand up for truth and for LAist. Make your year-end tax-deductible gift now.

Colossus, the wooden roller coaster that has stood at Six Flags Magic Mountain since 1978 as a rite of passage for young Angelenos looking to ride their first roller coaster, will shut down permanently on Aug. 16, joining a slew of roller coasters Six Flags and other SoCal amusement parks have shut down over the years.

However, Colossus fans might have something to look forward to. There’s speculation that Idaho-based Rocky Mountain Construction, which is known for its work on wooden coasters, could turn Colossus into an 8,000-foot-plus looping wood-steel hybrid coaster. This could break the previous record for world’s longest coaster, according to the Los Angeles Times. Rocky Mountain has previously added loops to the Rattler at Six Flags Fiesta Texas in 2013 and Six Flags Mexico’s Medusa in 2014, so there’s some precedence there.

For now, Six Flags has announced a Colossus-riding marathon on Aug. 14 and 15, and will hold closing ceremonies for the ride on the 16th, which is National Roller Coaster Day.

Watch this amazing ABC preview of Colossus from 1978 below:

You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our connected community. We are free to tell the full truth, to hold power to account without fear or favor, and to follow facts wherever they lead. Our only loyalty is to our audiences and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen our community.

Right now, LAist has lost $1.7M in annual funding due to Congress clawing back money already approved. The support we receive before year-end will determine how fully our newsroom can continue informing, serving, and strengthening Southern California.

If this story helped you today, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.

Your tax-deductible donation keeps LAist independent and accessible to everyone.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief

Make your tax-deductible year-end gift today

A row of graphics payment types: Visa, MasterCard, Apple Pay and PayPal, and  below a lock with Secure Payment text to the right