Superman: Ride of Steel was a steel hypercoaster that towered over Six Flags America in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, from its opening on May 13, 2000. Built by Swiss manufacturer Intamin and designed by engineer Werner Stengel, it was a mirror-image twin of the Ride of Steel coaster that had debuted a year earlier at Six Flags Darien Lake in New York, sharing the same record-chasing blueprint but running the layout in reverse.
At 208 feet tall with a 205-foot first drop taken at a 68-degree angle, the coaster reached 73 mph and stayed a fan favorite for over two decades, once ranking as high as #12 in the Golden Ticket Awards’ best steel coaster rankings. It ran until the very end of Six Flags America’s history, closing along with the entire park on November 2, 2025, when its parent company shut the property down as part of a broader portfolio consolidation.
Stats at a Glance
- Park: Six Flags America, Upper Marlboro, Maryland
- Manufacturer: Intamin (Mega Coaster model)
- Opened: May 13, 2000
- Closed: November 2, 2025 (with the park)
- Height: 208 feet
- Top speed: 73 mph
- Length: About 5,350 feet
- Inversions: 0
The Ride Experience
Riders climbed a 197-foot chain lift before plunging 205 feet at 68 degrees, the signature move that briefly made Superman: Ride of Steel and its Darien Lake twin among the tallest and fastest coasters in the world at their debut. From there the layout raced through a 540-degree helix, a second 500-degree helix, and a series of airtime hills that kept the two-minute ride relentless from start to finish.
With no inversions, the coaster leaned entirely on sustained speed and floating airtime rather than loops, a hallmark of Intamin’s hypercoaster designs from that era. For a stretch in 2016, riders could even experience the drop wearing VR goggles, one of several themed experiments the park tried during the ride’s run.
A Park’s Final Farewell
Six Flags announced in May 2025 that Six Flags America and its adjoining Hurricane Harbor water park would permanently close at the end of the season, citing the property as not a strategic fit following the 2024 Six Flags–Cedar Fair merger. Superman: Ride of Steel operated through the park’s last day on November 2, 2025, closing out a run of more than 25 years as one of the region’s marquee thrill rides.
As of this writing, Six Flags has not announced plans for the ride’s structure, though its trains were reported moved off-site in the weeks after closure while the nearly 500-acre property was listed for redevelopment.
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Superman: Ride of Steel Photo Archive: July 2001
These are original ThrillZing photos of Superman: Ride of Steel taken at Six Flags America on July 13 and 14, 2001, restored and upscaled from the original camera files. They show the Intamin hypercoaster in its second season, red track on blue lattice supports: the entrance sign, the 200-foot lift from the midway and from below, trains leaving the station and cresting the lift, the camelback hill, and the queue at the station. All photos are free to reuse under a CC BY 4.0 license with credit to ThrillZing and a link to this page.
Superman: Ride of Steel FAQs
Is Superman: Ride of Steel still operating?
No. It closed permanently on November 2, 2025, when its home park, Six Flags America, shut down for good.
Who manufactured Superman: Ride of Steel?
Intamin, the Swiss ride manufacturer, built the coaster as part of its Mega Coaster hypercoaster line, with design work by Werner Stengel.
How tall and fast was the coaster?
It stood 208 feet tall, dropped 205 feet at a 68-degree angle, and reached a top speed of about 73 mph, with no inversions.
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