Six Flags Magic Mountain will permanently retire the X2 coaster after two riders suffered brain hemorrhages and more than 100 injury claims followed.
The Hollywood Reporter reported that Magic Mountain President Brian Oerding announced the permanent shutdown of the high-speed ride in Valencia, California.
The coaster has sat closed since July 12. Two women rode it six days apart. Both lost consciousness and ended up in surgery with similar brain hemorrhages.
Those injuries, a wave of new claims, and fresh lawsuits pushed the park to pull the plug on a ride that once drew throngs of enthusiasts.
Oerding framed the decision as a safety and trust move after nearly two decades.
Magic Mountain’s president said:
"After almost 20 years, we have decided to permanently retire X2,"
He continued in the same statement:
"Since X2 [re-]opened in 2008, it has welcomed more than 16 million guests and earned a passionate following among ride enthusiasts. We recognize the special place X2 holds in the coaster community, and we are grateful to our team members who operated and maintained it throughout its run. While X2 consistently passed a multitude of safety tests, we have decided to close the ride because we believe it’s the right thing to do. Ride safety is a cornerstone of our business, and when we see guest confidence affected, we take it seriously. Our purpose is to create FUN, thrills and a lifetime of memories by creating unforgettable experiences that are underpinned by comprehensive safety policies."
The park had already defended the coaster by pointing to warning signs about “inherent risks,” regular testing, and industry safety rules. Company attorneys have argued the forces are not strong enough to cause a brain injury in a “normal” rider if the ride is used “as instructed.” In at least one case, park lawyers said a rider’s injury stemmed from her own negligence.
A CNN investigation, cited in the Hollywood Reporter account, described the hemorrhages as the kind typically linked to high-speed collisions.
Three neurosurgeons who treated the women put their view in writing. In an email, they stated that “the severe brain injuries requiring emergent neurosurgical attention were the result of a traumatic rapid acceleration-deceleration event experienced while on the X2 ride.”
One parent of an injured rider told CNN that whoever chose to keep X2 open after the first July injury “has a lot to answer for.” The parent added, “It’s got to stop.”
That sequence matters. The ride stayed open long enough for a second rider to suffer a matching injury days later. Only then did the long shutter begin.
In the weeks after the CNN report, three lawsuits were filed, ABC 7 reported. Attorneys for the plaintiffs say more than 100 additional people have come forward with injury claims of their own.
The complaints put Six Flags and Magic Mountain on the defensive over a coaster marketed for extreme thrills. X2 is a “4D” ride with near-vertical drops and seats that rotate on their own. It first opened in 2002, won “Coaster of the Year,” and reopened in 2008 after changes. Media Day riders Jacque Marquez and Sarah Martinez were among the early guests that May.
Sixteen million riders later, the same design now sits at the center of medical claims, civil suits, and a permanent retirement notice.
Oerding’s statement insists X2 passed “a multitude of safety tests.” The neurosurgeons’ email points the other way on the two hemorrhage cases. The park’s lawyers lean on signage, rider instructions, and force levels. The families and their doctors describe traumatic acceleration and deceleration on the ride itself.
No government enforcement order appears in the available reporting. The pressure came from injured guests, treating physicians, media scrutiny, and the claim count climbing past 100. The company answered by retiring the attraction rather than fighting to reopen it.
Theme parks sell speed and spectacle. When riders leave on stretchers and surgeons tie the damage to the machine, the ledger stops being about thrills alone.
Guests pay for fun. They should not have to underwrite brain surgery because a park waited for the second hemorrhage before it got serious.
