Six Flags New England facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Six Flags New England

Previously known as Gallup's Grove (1870–1886) Riverside Grove (1886–1911) Riverside Amusement Park (1912–2000)
Location	Agawam, Massachusetts, United States
Coordinates	42°02′16″N 72°36′57″W / 42.0377°N 72.6157°W / 42.0377; -72.6157
Opened	1870
Owner	Six Flags
Slogan	Thrill Capital Of New England
Operating season	April through late December
Area	235 acres (95 ha)
Attractions
Total	63
Roller coasters	12
Water rides	1
Website	Official Website: http://www.sixflags.com/newengland

Six Flags New England is a fun amusement park located in Agawam, Massachusetts. This town is a western suburb of Springfield, Massachusetts. The park opened way back in 1870. This makes it the oldest amusement park in the Six Flags family. One of its most famous rides is Superman the Ride. It has been ranked as one of the best steel roller coasters for many years.

History of the Park

For most of the 1900s, the park was known as Riverside Park. It started as a picnic area called Gallup's Grove in 1870. Later, it was renamed Riverside Grove, then Riverside Park. In the early days, most visitors arrived by steamship. A streetcar line reached the park in 1900.

In the early 1900s, the park added a few mechanical rides. It also got a carousel. Henry J. Perkins bought the park in 1911. He turned it from a picnic spot into a real amusement park. He built the park's first roller coaster, The Giant Dip, in 1912. It was so popular that another coaster, The Greyhound, was added in 1915. More fun rides were added, including a large pool called Lake Takadip. The Giant Dip coaster was replaced in 1920 by a bigger, faster coaster named Lightning. A third coaster, Whirlwind Racer, joined the park in 1928.

Park Closures and New Beginnings

Postcard from the 1940s

The Great Depression in 1929 caused problems for the park. By 1931, it was in financial trouble. In 1933, the park closed down. It stayed closed until 1939. During this time, a drive-in movie theater operated in the parking lot.

Edward Carroll Sr. bought the closed park in 1939. He made many improvements and reopened Riverside Park on May 29, 1940. Carroll helped make Riverside the biggest theme park in New England. He bought parts of the Cyclone Roller Coaster from the 1939 New York World's Fair. He opened a new coaster in 1941. This coaster, now called Thunderbolt, is still running today. It is the oldest coaster in its original spot in any Six Flags park. The park kept adding new rides and removing older ones.

Carroll also liked auto racing. He built the Riverside Park Speedway in 1948. This replaced an outdoor bandstand. NASCAR even held races at the speedway starting in 1976. In 1977, Riverside Park added its first looping roller coaster, The Loop Coaster. It was later called Black Widow. The park became very popular. By the 1980s, visitors paid one price to enter and ride everything.

In 1983, Riverside Park added its third roller coaster. This was its second wooden coaster. It was named the Riverside Cyclone. In 1987, the park tried to build a white-water rafting ride. But it had many problems and never opened. Most of it was torn down in 1989. This made space for Wild River Falls, a set of water slides. Wild River Falls was popular until Island Kingdom Waterpark opened in 1997.

Becoming Six Flags

In 1996, the Carroll family sold the park to Premier Parks. Premier Parks renamed it Riverside: The Great Escape.

The new owners made many changes. In 1997, they spent over $20 million on improvements and new rides. These included the Island Kingdom Waterpark. It had a children's water play area, slides, and a wave pool. Other new rides were Mind Eraser and Shipwreck Falls. Some older rides were removed. The main street was redesigned. A section called Rockville was made to look like a 1950s city. The park also got a new entrance. The carousel was moved and fixed up.

The water park at Six Flags New England

In 1998, the park added more attractions. These included a lazy river and a children's play area called Hook's Lagoon. They also added a speed slide tower called Cannonball. A family raft slide named Swiss Family Tobaggan and a multi-slide tower called Big Kahuna were also built. The park also added The Hellevator, a 21-story tall drop tower.

On April 1, 1998, Premier Parks bought the larger Six Flags company. The park was still called "Riverside" until the end of 1999. In 1999, the Riverside Park Speedway was removed. The waterpark was made twice as big. New additions included a slide tower called Shark Attack and a second wave pool called Hurricane Bay. The park also added a river raft ride called Blizzard River. A new western area called Crack Axle Canyon was added with four rides. In 2000, Riverside became "Six Flags New England." The main street was renamed "Carroll Drive" to honor the family who owned the park for so long. A new area based on DC Comics characters was built where the racetrack used to be. This area included Superman – Ride of Steel, a huge hypercoaster.

In 2008, Six Flags New England planned to open The Dark Knight Coaster. This was an indoor roller coaster based on the movie The Dark Knight. But due to problems, the ride was cancelled. It was sent to Six Flags Mexico instead. On November 8, 2008, the town of Agawam allowed Six Flags to build roller coasters up to 200 feet (61 m) tall. This made it possible for many future tall coasters.

In 2010, a new children's area called Mr. Six's Splash Island opened in Hurricane Harbor. In 2011, Gotham City Gauntlet: Escape From Arkham Asylum opened. This ride replaced the football field. In late 2011, it was announced that Goliath would open in 2012. Shipwreck Falls, a water ride, closed to make room for Goliath. Goliath opened in 2012 in the CrackAxle Canyon area. In 2013, a new water ride called Bonzai Pipelines opened in Hurricane Harbor. At the end of 2013, Taz's DareDevil Dive closed. Twister, another ride, was also removed. In 2014, New England SkyScreamer opened. It was the world's tallest swing ride at 408 feet (124 m) high.

On July 20, 2014, Cyclone closed. It was announced that Rocky Mountain Construction would change it into a steel-wood hybrid coaster. This new ride, called Wicked Cyclone, opened in May 2015. In 2016, two new attractions were added: Fireball and Superman: The Ride. Fireball is a large looping ride. Bizarro was changed back to Superman, with a new red track. In 2017, The Joker, a 4D FreeFly coaster, opened. It replaced SplashWater Falls. MindEraser also got new trains. In 2018, Harley Quinn Spinsanity opened. The Tea Cups ride was moved to a new spot. The South End of the park became Gotham City. Mind Eraser was renamed The Riddler Revenge. For 2019, Cyborg: Hyper Drive, a spinning ride, was added. It is inside the former Hall of Justice building.

For the 2020 season, the park announced Supergirl Sky Flyer. This ride is in the spot where Kryptonite Kollider used to be. The DC Superhero Adventure section of the park will also be rethemed to DC Universe. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the park did not open for the 2020 season. This meant Supergirl Sky Flyer and the new DC Universe area could not open yet.

Attractions

Six Flags New England has many exciting rides. Two of its most famous roller coasters are Wicked Cyclone and Superman the Ride. Superman the Ride is 208 feet (63 m) tall. It drops 221 feet (67 m) into a tunnel and reaches speeds of 77 mph (124 km/h). It is considered one of the best steel roller coasters in the world. Wicked Cyclone is the first hybrid roller coaster on the East Coast. It is 109 feet tall and goes up to 55 mph. It has three inversions and many airtime hills. Wicked Cyclone was voted the 2nd Best New Roller Coaster in the world in 2015.

Roller Coasters

Ride Name	Picture	Opened	Manufacturer	Model/Type	Location	Notes	Thrill Rating
Thunderbolt		1941	Joseph E. Drambour	Figure 8 wooden roller coaster	Main Street	This is the oldest roller coaster in the park.	Moderate
The Great Chase		1996	E&F Miler Industries	Family Coaster/ 16 ft Outside Spiral CCW	Looney Tunes Movie Town	It was first called Rolling Thunder.	Mild
The Riddler Revenge		1997	Vekoma	Suspended Looping Coaster	Gotham City	This ride was called Mind Eraser from 1997 to 2017.	Aggressive
Superman The Ride		2000	Intamin	Megacoaster	DC Universe	It was known as Superman – Ride of Steel (2000-2009) and Bizarro (2009-2015).	Aggressive
Catwoman's Whip		2000	Zierer	Tivoli - Large	DC Universe	It was originally named Poison Ivy's Tangled Train.	Mild
Flashback		2000	Vekoma	Boomerang	North End	This ride used to be at other parks before coming here.	Aggressive
Batman: The Dark Knight		2002	Bolliger & Mabillard	Floorless Coaster	Gotham City	Its name was briefly changed in 2008 to avoid confusion with another ride.	Aggressive
Pandemonium		2005	Gerstlauer	Spinning Coaster Model 420/4	North End	It was first called Mr. Six's Pandemonium.	Moderate
Gotham City Gauntlet: Escape from Arkham Asylum		2011	Maurer Söhne	Wilde Maus Classic	DC Universe	This ride used to be at Kentucky Kingdom.	Moderate
Goliath		2012	Vekoma	Giant Inverted Boomerang	Crack Axle Canyon	It was originally Déjà Vu at Six Flags Magic Mountain.	Aggressive
Wicked Cyclone		2015	Rocky Mountain Construction	I-Box	North End	This ride was rebuilt from the old wooden Cyclone coaster.	Aggressive
The Joker		2017	S&S Worldwide	4th Dimension roller coaster	Gotham City	It replaced the Splashwater Falls ride.	Aggressive

Other Fun Rides

Rides for Younger Kids

Images for kids

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  Formerly The Hall of Justice