Medusa (Six Flags Great Adventure)
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (November 2007) |
| Bizarro | |
|---|---|
 Medusa's entrance and cobra roll, before the conversion to Bizarro | |
| Six Flags Great Adventure | |
| Location | Six Flags Great Adventure |
| Park section | Frontier Adventures |
| Status | Operating |
| Opening date | April 2, 1999 |
| Cost | $15,000,000 USD |
| General statistics | |
| Type | Steel – Floorless |
| Manufacturer | Bolliger & Mabillard |
| Designer | Werner Stengel |
| Model | Floorless |
| Lift/launch system | Chain lift hill |
| Inversions | 7 |
| Duration | 2:20 |
| Bizarro at RCDB | |
Bizarro (formerly known as Medusa) is a steel roller coaster located at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, NJ. Designed by Bolliger & Mabillard, it was formerly known as Medusa East because there were two other identical roller coasters named "Medusa": Medusa West at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom and Medusa South at Six Flags Mexico. Medusa was the world's first floorless roller coaster, when it debuted in 1999. It has seven inversions:
- Vertical loop
- Diving loop
- Zero G roll
- Cobra roll (one element containing two inversions, shown at right)
- Interlocking corkscrews after the mid-course brake run
The roller coaster track is royal blue and its supports are purple. The track was originally painted in a lime green. Bizarro has three trains, which as of the 2008 season have all been in use full-time. Each train has 8 cars, 7 with a single row of 4 seats and the last 1 with a row of 2, for a total of 30 riders per train.
Bizarro's track (not counting pre-lift hill track) comes closer to the queue paths than that of any other coaster in the park. Kingda Ka's queue formerly passed under its launch track, but this section was later closed off for safety reasons. Bizarro's entrance is directly underneath the Cobra Roll, so the train comes within a few feet of the path as it enters and exits the Cobra Roll. It also comes very close to the queue between the Diving Loop and Zero-G Roll. There is a tree here that almost touches the track and is brushed by each passing train.
Bizarro offers one of the most bizarre views in the park during the ride: While going around the Diving Loop, Kingda Ka's tower is visible directly ahead upside down. This is most noticeable from the far right seat of the front row. Bizarro's On-ride camera is located between the Zero-G roll and Cobra Roll. It is mounted to the rear of the entrance sign.
Between the 2006 and 2007 seasons, Medusa received a sponsorship from the H. J. Heinz Company. There are many small signs throughout the queue area that feature the Heinz ketchup bottle.
In 2003, the floorless coaster Scream! debuted at Six Flags Magic Mountain. Its layout is a mirror image of Bizarro.
On October 23, 2008, Six Flags announced that Medusa would be re-designed for the 2009 operating season. The modification will be similar to that of the re-design ofX2 at Six Flags Magic Mountain. Additions to the ride will most likely include a complete re-theming of the ride, pyrotechnics, fog machines, water effects, and audio. On April 1, 2009, the roller coaster title "Medusa" was changed to "Bizarro" and it opened to the public on May 21, 2009.[1]