Last year, VR entered a whole new medium as an addition to the real roller coaster. Yes, that means riding a rollercoaster while wearing a VR headset. While only a small number can be ridden on these roller coasters, they are well worth checking out. At the moment, it seems to be the biggest follower of Six Flags in America, having introduced several roller coasters in their parks across the country. So we’ve compiled an amazing list of all the coasters you can ride and where to find them.
six flags
Six Flags has a partnership with Oculus and over the past two years they have offered three different VR experiences on 7 different stands in the United States and Canada. The experience will depend on which coaster you’re riding, but both place an emphasis on delivering a great user experience at ridiculously high speeds. If you’ve been tracking VR stands last year, you might have noticed that the VR experience is missing; Rise of the Gargoyles.
While this experience was available in 2016, it is not currently available for the start of the season. It’s worth noting, however, that in 2016, several roller coasters were outfitted with new experiences as Halloween rolled around. We’ll be watching and we’ll let you guys know if there are any new experiences as we approach the scariest time of the year.
superman man of steel
You can ride with the Man of Steel at three different Six Flags parks. You can find it in Massachusetts at Six Flags New England, Maryland at Six Flags and Texas at Six Flags Fiesta. The ride takes you on a ride through Metropolis where things go wrong when Lex Luthor shows up and Superman has to save the day.
- Six Flags New England; Agawam, Massachusetts
- Six Flags America, Bowie, Maryland
- Six Flags Fiesta Texas; San Antonio, Texas
New revolution
The new revolution will have you fighting for the future of the Earth with Gear VR, and it’s available across four parks. During this trip, you find yourself in the cockpit of a fighter jet as you and your co-pilot try to stop an alien invasion. In fact, you will be using the touchpad on the Gear VR headset to fire at enemy fighters.
- Six flags over Georgia; Atlanta, Georgia
- Six Flags St.Louis; St. Louis, Missouri
- Six Flags Great Escape; Lake George, New York
- Six Flags La Ronde; Montreal, Canada
New Revolution: Galactic Attack
New for 2017 will be New Revolution: Galactic Assault, which has just opened across three different parks. Rather than being a purely virtual experience, New Revolution: Galactic Attack actually uses Gear VR’s pass-through camera to create an AR experience that blends the real world and fantasy. You will need to use your headset to look at and fire at enemy drones in an attempt to protect your ship. It builds on the New Revolution experience and adds more, including three possible VR endings. This means that you won’t be able to predict how things will end up, even after you’ve driven once.
- Six Flags Magic Mountain; Los Angeles, California
- Kingdom of Six Flags; San Francisco, California
- Six flags over Texas; Arlington, Texas
- Six flags of America; Bowie, Maryland
sea world
SeaWorld announced that in 2017 one of the roller coasters will use the headset worn during the experience. They call it the Kraken and it will take drivers on an underwater adventure where you will encounter unexpected creatures of the sea like the Kraken itself.
- SeaWorld Orlando; Orlando, Florida
Have you checked it?
There are several VR rides and more will be announced to open in late 2017. By adding mobile VR hardware, parks can turn their existing rides into something much more with Gear VR. Hopefully we will see this trend continue. Have you had the opportunity to try the VR roller coaster? Is there a cup holder we missed? Be sure to leave us your comment about it below!
