Six Flags Magic Mountain’s Colossus is scheduled to close Aug. 16, and park officials are planning to host a 36-hour coaster marathon to say “goodbye” to the coaster.

Don’t miss a thing. Get breaking Santa Clarita news alerts delivered right to your inbox.

Park officials are looking for 24 riders who will be riding the coaster for the full 36 hours, according to Kurt Dahlin, owner of “The Coaster Guy” website.

“So far, I know of four or five people who have been contacted by the park who will be participating in the event,” he said. Six Flags Magic Mountain park officials could not be reached for comment about the 36-hour marathon event.

The marathon is scheduled to begin Monday at 9 a.m. and run through Tuesday at 9 p.m.

Every hour, riders will ride for 45 minutes with a 15-minute break, according to The Coaster Guy website.

At 3 a.m., the park will move riders to Apocalypse for three hours while Colossus receives it’s regularly-scheduled maintenance. At 6 a.m., riders will be brought back to Colossus to finish the marathon. 

“I did some rough math calculations and I found that if the coaster is cycled once every five minutes, that’s eight rides per hour,” Dahlin said. “That’s about 288 rides total (for both Colossus and Apocalypse), and a little north of 250 rides on Colossus.”

Related: Coaster Enthusiasts, Former Six Flags Employees Petition Colossus Closure

There are several requirements being asked of riders, such as a medical waiver.

All riders also are allowed to bring a “support” person who will wait in the area next to the ride and supply the marathon rider with additional food and drinks during the event, according to the website. Riders under the age of 18 must have a parent or guardian be their “support” person.

“I am very excited about the potential replacement (for Colossus),” Dahlin said. “Other than the park (officials), nobody knows what will be the replacement.”

All of the 24 participants will receive a Six Flags 2015 Season Pass, according to the website.

The marathon riders are encouraged to post to social media about their experience. The winner of the best post will receive four Six Flags Gold Passes, which get the passholder into all of the Six Flags parks around the country

Meals will be provided by the park, Dahlin said. Any special dietary needs are the responsibility of the rider and officials will allow the food to be brought in.

To be a part of this event, email the park at sixflagsevent@gmail.com and tell the park officials why you should be considered to be a part of the 24 riders for the event.

Do you have a news tip? Call us at (661) 298-1220, or drop us a line at community@hometownstation.com.

“I’m looking forward to (the event),” Dahlin said. “It will be a fun event and it will be interesting to see how many people make it all 36 hours.”

Colossus is more than 4,000 feet long and takes up more than 10 acres of land, according to the Six Flags Magic Mountain website. The coaster was built in June of 1978.

Related: Six Flags Magic Mountain Honors Wounded Military Service Members

The coaster has been featured in films including “The A-Team”, “Wonder Woman” and “National Lampoon’s Vacation”.

Rumors about the replacement of Colossus include taking out the wood and turning the ride into a steel coaster, retaining a similar structure of the current ride or creating a whole new ride, according to multiple sources.

“There’s a rumor going around that Six Flags is going to transform it into something better,” said Mike Thompson, a Six Flags roller coaster historian. “They are going to retain a lot of the structure but the chain that has been happening throughout the years is taking the aging wooden coasters and turning them into steel coasters which they can do more acrobatic maneuvers with the track and it requires less maintenance and they are much more exciting for today’s audiences.”

The plans for the new ride that will be replacing Colossus will be released Aug. 28, Thompson said.

“Whatever they do — it will be bigger, faster taller, more extreme, and more thrilling,” Dahlin said. “Whatever they do it, will be fantastic.”

[node:title]

Article: [node:title]
Source: Santa Clarita News
Author: [node:author]