The trip ends at a certain point, close to the summit of a 309-foot tower in Arlington, Texas. For three seconds, the coaster car is positioned over the brink of a 95-degree drop, tipping the riders forward so they are facing nearly straight down. By any standards, three seconds is hardly a long time. Being suspended at that height and angle while you wait is a very long period. After that, the vehicle lets go and dives at 87 miles per hour, thus setting another record for Texas.
The world’s first and only giga dive coaster, Tormenta: Rampaging Run, debuted at Six Flags Over Texas in Arlington as part of the park’s 65th anniversary celebration. Before this ride was constructed, there was no categorization that combined the “dive” coaster format, which was invented by Bolliger & Mabillard, with the “giga” label, which applied to coasters with a height or drop of 300 feet or more.
The machine designed by the Swiss firm needed a new category. At the same time, it broke six world records: the tallest vertical coaster loop, the quickest dive coaster, the longest dive coaster, the highest beyond-vertical drop, and the highest inversion loop. If Six Flags decided to go that far with the metaphor, there would be six flags for six records.
The ride is housed in the Spanish-themed Rancho de la Tormenta portion, which provides it with a visual context that makes the approach feel purposeful rather than routine. Although themed areas surrounding large coasters are common, Six Flags Over Texas is taking this moment very seriously, as evidenced by the investment in the surrounding area. The park appears to grasp that anniversary celebrations need to be more than a temporary culinary event or a repainted queue in order to connect with aficionados. The 65th anniversary backdrop is somewhat marketing, but the ride itself is truly new territory for the coaster industry.
In a way that wasn’t quite foreseeable even five years ago, Texas has turned into a battlefield for this kind of competitiveness. The state’s amusement parks, including SeaWorld San Antonio, Six Flags Over Texas, Six Flags Fiesta Texas in San Antonio, and others, have been investing in increasingly unique attractions in an effort to set a record or a “first” that would give them a unique marketing position. Records are closely monitored by the enthusiast community that follows these events, which is sizable, well-organized, and produces a great deal of word-of-mouth. A new world record coaster produces social media and earned publicity that cannot be purchased with advertising.
Additionally, there is a more general competitive dynamic at play. With tens of millions of tourists visiting Disney World, Universal, and SeaWorld Orlando each year, Florida has long been the leading destination for American theme park tourism. That ecosystem is unmatched by Texas. However, it may create rides that those parks don’t have, and it can use record-breaking stats as a technique to place itself on the schedule of coaster aficionados who would otherwise travel west instead of south.
In this case, the name Bolliger & Mabillard is important. The Swiss firm is considered the industry leader in steel coasters; their rides are renowned for their dependability, smoothness, and the kind of engineering integrity that allows a machine to run at 87 miles per hour without breaking. The enthusiast community reacts in a certain way when a park announces a B&M coaster. Coverage of Tormenta’s six records was inevitable. The fact that B&M is the manufacturer increases the likelihood that the coverage will be followed by in-person visits.
