Jet Stream (Six Flags Magic Mountain)


Jet Stream is a log flume ride that opened in 1972 at Six Flags Magic Mountain in Santa Clarita, California. Jet Stream was made by Arrow Dynamics, the same company that built Log Jammer and Gold Rusher, the park's first coaster. It was built since management thought that another flume ride would attract more visitors. Jet Stream is placed on the backside of the hill that the park is on, opposite of where Log Jammer stood, to ensure that guests could reach a log flume wherever they were to cool down.
Jet Stream was the first Arrow Development flume to use a turntable loading platform. The platform is constantly spinning, with the exception of a circle in the center, where the ride operator station is.

Queue

Jet Stream is located on the backside of the Magic Mountain hill, in the Cyclone Bay area. The queue is facing the old Dragon Ride platform, and is near the Gold Rusher ride entrance. On busy days, the queue wraps around the main queue building, and around shrubbery. On normal days, guests enter straight into the main queue building, which is just a back-and-forth line covered by a roof with little natural light. After winding through the line, guests travel up a set of stairs, which takes them onto a bridge that overlooks the final drop and loading station. Guests, after the bridge, travel down stairs onto the loading platform, which constantly spins. Guests then load onto a boat and begin their ride.

Ride Experience

Once on the Jet Stream boats, riders embark on their journey. To their left is where all spare boats are held. This area has water, but is cut off from the main Jet Stream lake. The boats make a U-turn around the spare boat hold and then make their way up a lift hill. The boat then makes a left turn and then a right turn, which leads guests to the first small drop, themed to be inside an old mill. After the drop, the boats make an s-turn, which directs them toward the start of the ride. The boats, while doing this, pass high over a guest walkway, in which riders can look over and see guests walking about 50 feet below them. The boats take several more turns, and finally come up to the second lift hill, which is only about 5 feet. Riders are facing the queue and loading platform, as they take their final 57 foot drop. After the drop, the boats make a U-turn and head back to the station where guests disembark from the ride.

Incidents

In 2014, a car on the neighboring ride Ninja derailed from the tracks, caused by a tree branch that fell onto the track. This caused most of the trees near Ninja to be removed.