Gold Rusher
Gold Rusher is a mine train roller coaster at Six Flags Magic Mountain, constructed in 1971 by Arrow Dynamics.
| Gold Rusher | |
|---|---|
 Gold Rusher is Six Flags Magic Mountain's first roller coaster. | |
| Six Flags Magic Mountain | |
| Location | Six Flags Magic Mountain |
| Park section | The Movie District |
| Coordinates | 34.424029°N 118.598532°W |
| Status | Operating |
| Opening date | May 29, 1971 |
| Cost | $1,200,000 USD |
| General statistics | |
| Type | Steel – Mine Train |
| Manufacturer | Arrow Development |
| Designer | Ron Toomer |
| Model | Mine Train |
| Track layout | Terrain |
| Lift/launch system | Chain lift hill |
| Height | 70 ft (21 m) |
| Drop | 35 ft (11 m) |
| Length | 2,590 ft (790 m) |
| Speed | 35 mph (56 km/h) |
| Inversions | 0 |
| Duration | 2:30 |
| Max vertical angle | 3° |
| Capacity | 1750 riders per hour |
| G-force | 3.4 |
| Height restriction | 48 in (122 cm) |
| Trains | 4 trains with 5 cars. Riders are arranged 2 across in 3 rows for a total of 30 riders per train. |
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| Gold Rusher at RCDB Pictures of Gold Rusher at RCDB | |
Ride
Gold Rusher opened along with the rest of Magic Mountain during the park's grand opening in 1971. The old style Arrow Development cars are made so the ride operator has to open them up manually. The ride normally operates with one or two trains due to the low popularity. While the ride does not have a high attendance, it is still a favorite of many guests because the ride is not as aggressive as the other roller coasters in the park. Children who prefer not riding the park's most aggressive rides such as: Apocalypse, Goliath, Revolution, Superman: Escape from Krypton and X2 ride Gold Rusher because the ride itself is not as aggressive and gives the guests a good amount of thrill. Wait times are usually no longer than 5 minutes during the off-peak season. It was the first roller coaster at Six Flags Magic Mountain, making it a historic coaster. The ride has undergone little changes since it began operating in 1971.
The coaster was temporarily closed after Christmas in 2012 due to the park's latest roller coaster, Full Throttle. Full Throttle was constructed near Goldrusher's first drop where Log Jammer used to be. Goldrusher and Full Throttle are currently open for riders as of May 2019.
Height requirements
In order for guests to ride Gold Rusher, riders must be at least 48 inches. Each row features two seats where there is a large t lap bar for two guests. There are no seat belts in addition to the shared lap bar. Although Gold Rusher features small drops and moderate high speed turns, Six Flags Magic Mountain labels the ride as a family friendly ride.