SIX FLAGS GREAT AMERICA
MAXX FORCE
Chicago, Illinois
Six Flags Theme Parks
Review by: Randall
(7/16/19) So far we’ve shown you Randal’s amazing ride on Maxx Force (see videos below), and he has assured me that his eyes are now back in his head where they belong after that forceful launch. Now we present his full review of the new Maxx Force coaster for everyone to enjoy.
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Maxx Force is one of two S & S Sansei new-style roller coasters to open this year. Steel Curtain at Kennywood is the other. I say new style because they both feature the same track and train styles and to some extent support structure.
Maxx Force is a second-generation air launch coaster from S & S Sansei. The trains are stylish and sleek looking. I am 6’4” and found the seat belt and lap restraint which also has leg restraints to be very comfortable.
You move slowly out of the station and the train engages the pull car/launch car and you sit for several seconds as the air pressure builds up. Soon an alarm sounds and the brake fins drop down in sequence from the far end to where the train is at. And then it happens. Without warning, you are shot down the track at an incredible rate of acceleration. It is powerful, but very comfortable. You want your head against the headrest and your hands down. I found the launch to be not as intense as Powder Keg at Silver Dollar City or Xcellerator at Knott’s Berry Farm. Perhaps we’ve reached a peak of comfortable launches with Maxx Force. I liked it.
Going up into the world's tallest double inversion you feel comfortably snug in your seat, there is no feeling of hang-time or weightlessness. Transitioning out of the first inversion, you have a VERY brief view of the park from the middle of the double inversion. Rolling back over you dive down into the drop out of the double inversion. There are all sorts of cross supports with head chopper effects, but unless you’re focusing on them, you probably won’t notice them the first few times you ride, I did not until my third ride of the day.
At the bottom of the drop you curve under the launch track and rise into the world’s fastest inversion, and it is somewhat a blur, but very smooth. I was surprised as to how elongated the track looks from the ground as opposed to how it feels when you ride it. It feels like a heartline roll, not a corkscrew as it looks from the ground when observing it.
Leaving this you enter the final element; one I am calling a double inversion dive loop. It’s what it feels like, a dive loop with a 90-degree element that takes you out of being upside down briefly. You leave the 0 G-roll spinning to the right and then enter the double inversion dive loop spinning to the left. It is a strange sensation to be 90 degrees sideways to the ground. It looks like you would feel gravity pulling you down towards the earth, but again you are snugly in your seat sideways before the train flips upside down to scream into the brake run which starts halfway up, similar to the brake run on Full Throttle at Six Flags Magic Mountain.
Overall, I was very impressed with Maxx Force. It’s very much a coaster that I could ride over and over (which is not the case with most coasters). It has great forces, but they aren’t uncomfortable. It was thrilling from start to end. For bang for your buck, you get it on this coaster.
I’ll address the elephant in the room. I was floored by the comments I saw on Media Day on our Screamscape Facebook page. “it’s so short”, etc., when I know for a fact, they hadn’t ridden it yet as it has only been ridden by the actors who did the commercial shoot and b-roll films and the media. Folks, size doesn’t matter. Height, length, or duration for a roller coaster really doesn’t matter. If you found it thrilling and you enjoy yourself, it’s a good coaster. If you don’t want to wait in line for 2 or more hours for a 22 second ride, don’t. Buy a skip-the-line pass or go early when the park first opens for a shorter wait time. Wait until next year when the lines will probably be shorter. Wait to say how a coaster is after you’ve ridden it. Experience it first. I hope that with two four-car trains and some operator experience, the dispatches will happen quicker, and the line will move decently as the season wears on.
Maxx Force is something that is done well. No one on Media Day (which included dignitaries and invited guests) said it was too short. They all said it was exciting, smooth and a crazy experience. And I for one agree with them.
Randal – Screamscape Midwest Rep
(7/3/19) Screamscape Mid-West rep was in attendance at Six Flags Great America on Tuesday morning to take one of the first rides on their new Maxx Force coaster. Even better, they were able to broadcast it all out on Facebook Live this morning if you were watching, but if not you can catch the replay below to see it in action.
The look on their faces during the launch is priceless, because that launch is said to be quite intense and takes your breath away. Smooth and fast, the whole experience is over in about 22 seconds, launch to brakes, but they cram enough inversions and g-forces into those few seconds to create a ride that you won't soon forget.
There is a second video posted below that showing off the launch from off-ride, letting you hear the roar and “kaboom!” of the launch, followed by the rush of the train as it returns overhead.
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