Superman: Krypton Coaster is a steel floorless roller coaster at Six Flags Fiesta Texas in San Antonio, Texas. Built by Swiss manufacturer Bolliger & Mabillard and designed by Ing.-Büro Stengel, it opened to the public on March 11, 2000, as one of the very first floorless coasters ever built, a design that lets riders sit with nothing below their feet while the track passes underneath the seats.
The $20 million ride was a centerpiece of a major park expansion and quickly became known for its terrain-hugging layout, which winds through a former quarry and sends trains out over cliff edges at both the top of the lift hill and the helix following the loop. Its signature 145-foot vertical loop held the record as the tallest on a steel coaster in the world from 2000 until Six Flags Magic Mountain’s Full Throttle surpassed it in 2013.
Stats at a Glance
- Park: Six Flags Fiesta Texas, San Antonio, Texas
- Manufacturer: Bolliger & Mabillard
- Opened: March 11, 2000
- Height: 168 feet
- Top speed: 70 mph
- Length: 4,025 feet
- Inversions: 6
The Ride Experience
Trains climb a lift hill before dropping into a sequence of six inversions, starting with the massive 145-foot vertical loop that made the ride famous. Riders then move through a zero-g roll, a 78-foot cobra roll, and interlocking corkscrews, all while seated in floorless trains that heighten the sense of speed and exposure. The full circuit takes about 2 minutes and 35 seconds to complete.
Because the layout was built into the park’s old quarry terrain, the coaster feels more intense than its stats alone suggest, with track passing close to rock walls and the train appearing to launch out over open cliffs at two points in the ride.
Legacy and Updates
When it opened in 2000, Superman: Krypton Coaster was among the first floorless coasters B&M ever produced, a format that has since become a staple at parks worldwide. Its record-setting vertical loop kept it in coaster enthusiast conversation for over a decade. In 2016, Six Flags Fiesta Texas briefly outfitted the ride with Samsung Gear VR headsets as part of a virtual reality coaster experiment, a feature that has since been removed in favor of the traditional ride experience.
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Superman: Krypton Coaster FAQs
How fast does Superman: Krypton Coaster go?
The coaster reaches a top speed of 70 mph during its first drop and loop sequence.
How many loops and inversions does the ride have?
It has 6 inversions total, including a 145-foot vertical loop, a zero-g roll, a cobra roll, and two corkscrews.
Is Superman: Krypton Coaster a floorless coaster?
Yes, it’s a B&M Floorless Coaster, meaning riders sit in open-floor seats with the track visible directly beneath their feet.
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Photo: Jpp858 / CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.