In California’s theme park known for its five-decade history of world records and scandals

Screaming across 209 acres on the California coast, a towering theme park has earned a place among the most sought-after attractions for adrenaline junkies for five decades.

Last year, Six Flags Magic Mountain opened its 20th roller coaster – the lightning-fast behemoth ‘Wonder Woman: Flight of Courage’ – completing its lucrative history of scandals, deaths and disasters.

Given its location just 30 miles from Hollywood, the hot spot has also become known for surprising celebrity sightings, with the likes of Jeremy Renner who was injured in April and Madonna enjoying the park in recent months.

The park opened its doors more than 50 years ago and announced itself in 1971 with an impressive 33 rides and an admission fee of just $5 for adults.

Within five years, Magic Mountain became the first park in the world to feature a full 360-degree looping roller coaster, aptly dubbed the “Great American Revolution.” Among several other groundbreaking rollercoasters, Barbra Streisand was also included in the top attractions lineup, becoming the first of a long list of headliners to grace the stage at the Showcase Theater.

The iconic park would continue to add to its lineup of roller coasters over the years, including hosting the world’s fastest double track roller coaster, Colossus, in 1978.

But 1978 proved to be a disastrous year for the park, starting with the death of Terry Fowler, a mechanic, in January when a car from the Grand Prix ride collapsed on top of him.

His body was not discovered until the next morning by his father, who had gone looking for him.

Just a month later, a pair of newlyweds crashed to the ground after violently shaking the ‘Eagles Flight’ sky ride, killing the husband while his new bride suffered critical injuries.

And not long after its high-profile opening, Colossus made headlines for all the wrong reasons in December of that year, when 20-year-old contestant Carolina Flores plunged to her death after falling off the ride, reportedly because her obesity compromised the safety of the ride prevented bar works.

Amid fears for his safety, the park introduced a period where one of the simultaneous rides of the Colossus cars was sent back down the track.

Remarkably, despite the setbacks, the roller coaster has remained on its original wooden structure since it was first sent down the track.

In 2014, the park announced that the iconic roller coaster would be closing, and set up a 36-hour marathon to launch the theme park staple.

But in September, tragedy struck the ride again, when it unexpectedly caught fire. Less than two weeks after closing, Six Flags announced that the restoration would instead be a grand reopening in 2015, under a new name: “Twisted Colossus.”

Several other roller coasters at the park have also come under scrutiny over the years for accidents, including in 2014 when the “Ninja” ride plunged into chaos.

As visitors flew around the track, a fir tree branch fell in its path, derailing the first car carrying the riders. Four people were injured and two were hospitalized, but the roller coaster was not operational again until 12 days after the incident.

Despite several deaths that plagued the park’s time at the top, the most high-profile scandal in its history came with no deaths and, surprisingly, no arrests.

In the aftermath of the infamous Rodney King Trial in 1993, a mass brawl took over the grounds and sent dozens of people to the hospital when a popular rap group broke into the park.

According to reports at the time, hundreds of youths wreaked havoc throughout the estate, firing live ammunition and looting shops in what police described as a “devil’s brew” of gang-related activity, defusing tension over the conclusion of the process and the poor preparation by the park.

About 500 LA County sheriff’s deputies and California Highway Patrol officers were sent to confront the rioters, with the hour-long fight costing the sheriff’s department $285,000.

A total of 40 people were treated for minor injuries, 16 with more serious injuries were rushed to two nearby hospitals, but no arrests were made.

Fortunately, the disasters did little to deter A-listers from making the short trip from Hollywood to the Venice, California location.

In April, one Jeremy Renner spent the day at the park with his family, which he says was “magic on the mountain” on his way to recovery after being crushed by a snowplow.

Other big names dropping by in recent times include Madonna, who visited the site with her oft-seen adopted daughter Mercy James, and Nick Cannon, who reportedly rented out the entire park to celebrate his twins’ birthdays in May.

Other familiar faces at the theme park include Paris Hilton and Leonardo DiCaprio, while Demi Moore’s decision to hold her 30th birthday party at the park in 1991 spawned a flood of celebrities such as Sylvester Stallone and his wife Brigitte Nielsen.

The site has maintained its position as one of the premier theme parks in America, with roller coaster fanatic Martin Lewison, nicknamed “Professor Rollercoaster,” praising the site for its “really good, eclectic mix of rides.”

“Six Flags Magic Mountain has definitely tried to be a leading leader in terms of what kind of roller coasters it builds,” he continued. CNN.

According to the theme park data site, the number of visitors to the park was steadily increasing before the pandemic Waiting times.

After peaking in 2019 with over 3.6 million visitors, the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic saw attendance plummet to just 683,000 people.

This number rebounded to just over 3 million thrill seekers the following year, the highest attendance rate at the park since 2014.

The theme park has also earned several records during its five-decade run at the top, thanks in no small part to its current roller coaster roster.

Opening in August 2022, Wonder Woman: Flight of Courage added to a growing list of superhero-themed rides at the park. With a terrifying drop of 127 feet at its peak, the twisting ride was an instant hit as it became the world’s longest and tallest single-rail roller coaster.

Found alongside other fan favorites including 75 mph monster ‘X2’, which is consistently ranked among the best in the world, and ‘Tatsu’, the world’s tallest, fastest and longest flying roller coaster.

With millions of people still pouring through the gates to experience the good, the bad and the ugly of rollercoaster mania, it’s no wonder the place has come to be known as a thrill-seeker’s paradise.