Over the past fall and winter, my family has watched the transformation of the Hall of Justice at Six Flags New England into the mysterious Cyborg ride.
I call it “mysterious” because, from the outside, it’s impossible to see what the ride will be like. The building is too small to be the site of an indoor roller coaster, ala Space Mountain, or a mostly indoor experience, like the Tower of Terror at Disney. My last guess was some sort of “stay in place while the room moves” ride, like the Houdini ride in another section of the park.
It’s none of those things.
The Cyborg ride, which opened last week at Six Flags New England, does have something in common with those Disney rides: it’s an immersive experience, one unique among the current rides at the park.
I liked going into it blind but, especially given it’s a kid-friendly ride, most people will want to know what it’s like. So I’ll spoil it!
It’s a spinny ride. How the ride moves has a great deal in common with the Kryptonite Collider, in the same section of the park. Once locked in with a chest restraint, the experience part of the ride begins, with Cyborg himself projected onto the video screens, explaining the purpose of the ride through Hypertime.
But the controls are quickly taken over by Grid, Cyborg’s nemesis, as the ride goes “out of control” until Cyborg can bring everyone back.
As I said, immersive and well-branded. The ride’s queue features images of blueprints of the ride, blueprints of Cyborg, and various technology from the DC universe, including the Cosmic Treadmill and the Mother Box. It feels, as much as possible, like you’re walking into the Star Labs Hypertime chamber.
The best part of the ride is that those who don’t enjoy roller coasters can enjoy this one without fear. It never gets too fast or goes too high, and GeekMom Karen, who hates roller coasters, pronounced it great fun. As did her spawn, L, who also hates coasters.
I’d love to see more kinds of rides like this from Six Flags. I enjoy the park enough that I have a yearly membership and a subscription to the food plan but I know it lags behind in the kind of immersive experiences that lead to experiences like the new Galaxy’s Edge at the Walt Disney parks.
With Six Flags New England already having a section dedicated to the Warner Bros. superheroes, including Superman: The Ride coaster, the Cyborg ride seems like a great step toward making visitors feel like they’ve walked into the DC Universe.
