Tatsu Review

Six Flags Magic Mountain 

Fly at the Speed of Fear Aboard the Wings of Tatsu!

That's right folks, the tallest, longest, fastest flying coaster on Earth, Tatsu at Six Flags Magic Mountain. This coaster is not your ordinary flyer, no sir. This beast flies right over the Magic Mountain hillside, offering an awesome flying experience.

When you first arrive at Magic Mountain on the famous I-5, you see this new, metallic coaster on the hillside. Something that wasn't there last year is now towering above, a new coaster. You come pulling up to the toll booths and you see it again, this dominating coaster. You know from that moment that you want to ride that coaster.

After you've parked, you enter the park. And no longer do you see Revolution's loop, you now see the huge 124 foot tall Pretzel Loop of Tatsu. So, you go racing on up the hill to Tatsu. You enter Rapids Camp Crossing and you see the lift rising up next to Sky Tower. You head on over to only find out that there is a huge wait time.

If you have the cash, I would suggest buying a Flash Pass, because the line does get long. If you don't want to spend the money, go to Tatsu first thing. After your first ride, there will be a wait; sorry no quick repeat rides on this coaster. The line does take a while to get through, and thankfully there are misters.

Now, if you use Flash Pass ($20 for 4) go into the left side station. So, when you enter through the exit to the Flash Pass line, turn LEFT. If you go to the right (hill side) the wait will be longer, trust me. For some reason, they run more trains out of the left side than the right side.

Once you are in the station, just head for the front row. Huge wait for it? WAIT. You will not regret it; the front is where you want to go. When you first board Tatsu, the seats kind of sway back, no worries. Once the restraints are checked, you're on your way up the lift.

At first, you're ok, not that big of a lift hill, right? Well, once you're nearing the top and looking straight down with nothing below you but the ground way down there you will be scared. Top of the lift, front row, there is nothing that is scarier.

The drop, oh the drop, what a wonderful drop. The speed is amazing, the angle is perfect, you just go flying over the trees and then past Sky Tower. You go through a sweet twist then dive over the station. Next you hit another great inversion where you just squeeze through two supports on your side. Then it is the egg turn, not a full inversion, but still a great element. You go flying over Samurai Summit and then start your turn wide, then the turn become extremely tight, a great feeling as you are smoothly wiped around the turn.

Then it is the ever famous, Tatsu Pretzel Loop. This is the inversion that made Tatsu number one on my list. You enter, looking straight down 124 feet. You see the track ahead and find it hard to believe that you'll be way down there. But then all of a sudden you're diving down, curling underneath yourself and looking straight up at the track you were just on. Not to mention you're going backwards and the G's. Oh my, the G forces, if you've been on Goliath at SFMM, you know the G's in the helix are intense. But the G's on Tatsu's Pretzel are AMAZING!!! Your eyes are just pushed back in your head and the feeling is great!

After the pretzel, you kind of just go flipping through an inline twist then just a regular turn. The break run comes next, and then you're done.

I would say that Tatsu is the best coaster I've ever been on, it's number one on my list. The pretzel is the highlight of this coaster, but the rest of the ride is still amazing. So if you are ever at Magic Mountain, Tatsu is a must, no matter the wait.

Ride Experience: 10/10
Theming: 9/10 (natural)
Overall: 10/10
Zonga's Rank: 1