Superman The Ride

Superman: Ride of Steel was re-themed as Bizarro at the start of the 2009 season. Six Flags had to work with the Zoning Board of Appeals to file a permit for the new effects because the ride sits on the Connecticut River floodplain.[8] Although no changes were made to the track layout, a new theme highlighting Superman's evil clone, Bizarro, was added. The track was repainted purple with dark blue supports, and multiple special effects were added; including building structures that give riders the impression of speeding through a city, rings in the shape of Bizarro's S shield that the train passes through, and flame effects. The two trains were repainted purple with new on-board audio. Six Flags introduced an "alternate reality game" to market the newly themed ride.[9] Bizarro opened on May 22, 2009, at the start of Memorial Day weekend.[10] Since the transformation, some of the effects have been removed. The fire effects were relocated to the New Texas Giant at Six Flags Over Texas.

On September 3, 2015, it was announced that Bizarro's theme would be restored to Superman The Ride for the 2016 season.[11] On March 3, 2016, Six Flags announced that the ride would be one of several rides at various Six Flags parks to feature a VR system. Riders have the option of wearing a Samsung Gear VR headset, powered by Oculus to create a 360-degree, 3D experience while riding. It is themed to Superman saving a city from Lex Luthor's Lex Bots who are causing chaos with an anti-gravity ray. This theming also came to the Superman: Krypton Coaster at Six Flags Fiesta Texas and Superman - Ride of Steel at Six Flags America.[12] Starting July 25, 2016, the Virtual Reality experience was offered during the afternoons.[13][14] VR was removed for the 2017 season.[15]

After departing from the station, the train climbs the 208-foot (63 m)-tall chain lift hill. To the left of the lift hill is the Connecticut River, which is parallel to much of the coaster. After reaching the top, the train drops 221 feet (67 m) into a fogged headchopper tunnel. The ride reaches its top speed of 77 miles per hour (124 km/h). After the train exits the tunnel, it climbs a second hill before dropping down into a 120 degree overbanked turn to the right. Riders then ride through cutouts of buildings and climb the third and fourth major hills. The third hill is where the on-ride photo is taken. After the fourth hill, the train drops through Superman's S shields. Riders crest a small hill, turning right into a clockwise helix, known as the spaghetti bowl. It then jumps over a bunny hill into a counter-clockwise helix. The train makes a right turn drop into a fogged tunnel followed by three bunny hills before banking right into the station.[16][17]

Train in the station prior to the theme change in 2009

The roller coaster features two fiberglass trains with stadium-style seating.[18] Each train has nine cars with two rows of paired seats per car. When the ride was re-themed in 2009, onboard audio was added to the trains. On each one, the two rear seats of the fifth car have speakers mounted in the headrests of the seats that play a soundtrack. This reduced the capacity of the trains from 36 to 34.[4][19] Upon reopening following the change, a recording of various film quotes played while the train was in motion, ending with a loop of Bizarro and several other people chanting his name. Eventually, the audio track was switched to a compilation of clips from different rock songs, although the ending portion of the audio loop was kept due to popular demand. While on the final brake run waiting to return to the loading station, riders hear Bizarro chanting his name and "Bizarro #1".[16] The new trains paint scheme was changed from blue and red to purple.[9] Each seat originally had an individual hydraulic T-shaped lap bar restraints, but after several safety modifications, the restraints now consist of two metal bars on each side.[20]

The steel track is 5,400 feet (1,600 m) in length and the height of the lift is approximately 208 feet (63 m).[4] The track was originally painted red with blue supports, to fit the theme of Superman. In 2009, after the re-theme to Bizarro, the track was repainted purple while the supports were painted a darker shade of blue.[17] In 2016, the track and supports were repainted to their original colors but using more vibrant shades.[21]

Superman The Ride has undergone numerous safety upgrades. After the 2001 incident, the PVC airlines were replaced with steel reinforced air hoses to prevent a similar accident from occurring.[23] After the 2004 incident, metal bars were installed on both sides of the "T-bar" restraint, encasing the rider's legs. Shin restraints were added to the lower portion of the restraint, preventing riders' feet from leaving the car. In addition, all of the seat belts on both 36-passenger trains were replaced with ones at a consistent length, as well as a "go or no go" belt for each seat and T-bar restraint. The "go or no-go" belt ensured the T-bar restraint was in an effective position before leaving the station.[20] During the 2009 rebranding, new trains were deployed with new restraints added. The new lap bars eliminated the center pole, leaving only the exterior poles. New seat belts provided more strength and were less likely to come undone unintentionally.[26]