Scream! is the floorless coaster at Six Flags Magic Mountain where your legs dangle free through seven inversions, and it’s one of the park’s most-searched rides for a reason: riders want to know the height cutoff, what the seats actually feel like, and how it stacks up against its twin, Medusa, before they get in line.
This guide covers everything you need before you ride, from the exact height requirement and train layout to the ride’s history, its 2015 repaint, and how it compares to its East Coast clone.
Quick Answer
Scream! is a Bolliger & Mabillard floorless steel coaster at Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia, California. Riders must be at least 54 inches (137 cm) tall. It has 7 inversions, reaches 63 mph, stands 150 feet tall, and runs a roughly 3-minute circuit with no floor beneath riders’ feet.
Height Requirement and Who Can Ride
The minimum height to ride Scream! is 54 inches (137 cm), a standard threshold for B&M floorless and inverted coasters given the strength of the shoulder-style restraints needed for inversions. There is no listed maximum height, but riders need to comfortably fit the over-the-shoulder harness, which locks down tighter than a lap bar because there’s no floor to brace against.
Six Flags does not publish a dedicated single-rider line for Scream!, so solo riders typically join the standard queue, though it’s worth asking a team member at the entrance since park policies can shift season to season.
Seating Layout: Trains, Rows, and Best Seat
Scream! runs three trains, each with eight rows seating four riders across, for a total of 32 riders per train. Every seat is floorless, so the “legs dangling” sensation is identical whether you’re in row one or row eight — the main difference is intensity and airtime.
Front-row seats give the clearest view into each inversion and the sharpest sense of speed on the drop, while back-row seats deliver more whip and hang-time through the loops and corkscrews as the rest of the train pulls through ahead of you. Middle rows offer the smoothest overall ride if you’re sensitive to the snap of transitions.
The Ride Experience
From the moment the floorless train leaves the station, Scream! wastes no time building speed before diving into its signature elements: a 128-foot vertical loop, a 96-foot dive loop, a zero-g roll, a 78-foot cobra roll, and two interlocking corkscrews. With riders’ feet hanging free beneath them, every inversion feels more exposed and intense than on a traditional sit-down coaster.
The full circuit lasts about three minutes and generates forces up to 4 g, delivered across three 32-passenger trains that keep the line moving with a theoretical hourly capacity of 1,440 riders.
Where Scream! Is Located in the Park
Scream! sits in Magic Mountain’s Screampunk District, an industrial-horror-themed area built on what was formerly a parking lot near the park’s western side. The 2015 repaint gave the ride its current blue track and orange supports to fit the district’s steampunk-meets-horror aesthetic, though the ride itself carries minimal storyline theming compared to some other Screampunk District attractions.
History and Safety Record
Scream! opened to the public on April 12, 2003, becoming the sixteenth coaster added to Magic Mountain. Parts for the ride arrived and construction was announced in November 2002, with the build taking about five months.
On April 9, 2004, during a pre-opening test run, a 21-year-old Six Flags employee was fatally struck by the train after walking onto the track near the load station, an act the park said deviated from safety training procedures. California OSHA investigated, found no mechanical fault with the ride itself, and Scream! reopened to guests after the required clearance. There have been no reported rider-safety incidents on the coaster since.
Scream! vs. Medusa: How the Twin Coasters Compare
Scream! is a mirror-image clone of Medusa at Six Flags Great Adventure in New Jersey, which opened in 1999 as the world’s first floorless coaster. Both were designed by Werner Stengel’s engineering firm and built by B&M, but they aren’t identical: Scream! is about 8 feet taller and roughly 2 mph faster than Medusa.
The biggest difference today is theming. Medusa was rebuilt as Bizarro in 2009 with fire effects, mist, and a redesigned queue before reverting to the Medusa name and a fresh repaint in 2022, while Scream! has kept a comparatively plain presentation within the Screampunk District. Layout-wise, the two rides deliver essentially the same inversions and pacing in reversed order.
Planning Your Visit
Six Flags Magic Mountain sells single-day tickets, season passes, and membership plans with monthly payment options, and pricing tiers generally get cheaper the further in advance and the more days you commit to. Park hours shift seasonally, typically opening around mid-morning and closing earlier on weekdays than on weekends or during summer, so it’s worth checking the calendar for your exact visit date before you go.
For current hours, ticket prices, parking rates, and any ride closures affecting Scream! or the Screampunk District, check the official Six Flags Magic Mountain website, which maintains a live calendar and hours page for the park.
Design and Legacy
Scream! shares its blueprint with Medusa at Six Flags Great Adventure, built as a mirror image with minor variations in height and speed. Both rides were engineered by Werner Stengel’s design firm and manufactured by B&M, a pairing responsible for many of the world’s most acclaimed floorless coasters.
More than two decades after opening, Scream! continues to rank among Magic Mountain’s most consistently ridden thrill attractions, even though it has yet to crack Amusement Today’s Golden Ticket Awards top 50 the way Medusa has.
Scream! roller coaster guide FAQs
What type of roller coaster is Scream!?
Scream! is a Bolliger & Mabillard floorless coaster, meaning riders sit in open trains with no floor, leaving their legs dangling during the ride.
What is the height requirement for Scream!?
Riders must be at least 54 inches (137 cm) tall to ride Scream!.
How many inversions does Scream! have?
Scream! has seven inversions: a vertical loop, a dive loop, a zero-g roll, a cobra roll, and two interlocking corkscrews.
How many rows and seats does Scream! have?
Each of Scream!’s three trains has eight rows seating four riders across, for a total capacity of 32 riders per train.
Is Scream! similar to any other coaster?
Yes, Scream! is a mirror-image counterpart to Medusa at Six Flags Great Adventure, sharing the same B&M floorless design with slight differences in height and speed.
Where is Scream! located at Six Flags Magic Mountain?
Scream! is located in the park’s Screampunk District, built on a site that was formerly a parking lot.
Has Scream! ever had a safety incident?
In April 2004, a park employee was fatally struck by the train during a pre-opening test run after deviating from safety procedures; investigators found no mechanical issue with the ride, and it has had no reported rider-safety incidents since.
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