SFMM X2 Lawsuit

It's hard to tell with these lawsuits what will stick and what will be settled, but with X2 down right now, it makes this one a bit more interesting to follow. Either way, this does not seem to bode well for the long term retention of the ride - which has always had a somewhat interesting history.

https://www.foxla.com/news/...ster-death

If it is going to trial, which seems likely if they haven't reached a settlement by now, I wonder what they have in mind. On one hand, the hematoma's timing aligns with his ride. On the other hand, a million people a year get off the ride without injury. Logically, you can't be sure there's causation, but there aren't a lot of other explanations.

I've never regretted a decision to ride a roller coaster more than when I got off that one.

Willing to be a witness for the plaintiff's case?

I’d have to imagine there was a pre-existing condition. With that said, I really do wonder sometimes what these rough coasters are doing to our brains. The media talks about how every minor hit in a football game can contribute to permanent brain injury, but what about rough coasters that throw people around and bang their heads against the headrest? And then repeating again and again? I bring headache meds to amusement parks as standard kit, but upon future examination, is it really that benign?

It will be interesting to see, as "Cedar Fair" historically has had a seemingly much lower tolerance for these types of problems. Notice how fast Son of Beast was dismantled. And how quickly Top Thrill Dragster was changed once there was a significant accident. The company by name is Six Flags, but I will say there definitely have been operational culture differences. And, I also remember how much of the infrastructure from Geauga Lake was not used due to it supposedly being "subpar" when that merger occurred.

X2 can be a bit much, to say the least. I'd also consider it one of my favorite rides of all time, but that being said... I also don't know how it can genuinely pass ride dynamics testing at this point (you know, accelerometers and all that fun). The ride needs significant work.

I was out there for work last year so went to SFMM every night for a few days. My very first ride on X2 was just absolutely brutal (near back of the train). That last raven turn alone did things to my body that was just short of a car accident. I'd easily put it up there with OG Son of Beast type stuff as one of the worst/roughest rides I have ever done.

I decided not to even both riding it the next few nights I was there... Until my coworkers decided to tag along the final night and one wanted to ride it... For some reason, I decided to ride with him, which was at the very end of the night, at night, in the front seat. The ride was significantly better and rode FAR more enjoyable. X2 in the same trip went from being one of my favorite rides of all time, to one of the worst experiences I've ever had, back to "damn, this is really good! I love this!".

I have no doubt in my mind that someone could get significantly injured on it in it's current state, especially in terms of neck/head injury. With how the train bounces/shimmies and throws your body around, slamming your head on the headrest with enough force to cause injury is not far fetched, at all.

In the very least, if X2 is to reopen, that last raven turn needs a full retrack. There is something just wrong going on track there that is significantly worse than the rest of the ride.

My one and only trip to Magic Mountain was back in 2014, and X2 was by far my favorite ride in the park. I was at the park on Super Bowl Sunday and had the run of the place and got several rides. Although I don't really "rank" rides (with Magnum as my all time and forever #1 being the exception), X2 definitely was an instant personal Top 10.

However, based on quite a few reports from recent years, it doesn't seem to be the in the same riding condition that it was on my visit all those years ago.