Six Flags Magic Mountain

This guide to Six Flags Magic Mountain in Los Angeles opens with a strange goodbye: in August 2014, riders queued for thirty-six straight hours to ride the wooden coaster Colossus one last time before its closure. It traces the ride's earlier fame, from its record-breaking 1978 debut as the tallest and fastest wooden coaster in the world to a cameo role in National Lampoon's Vacation, filmed right here under a different name. Listen for how a farewell marathon and a movie shoot both left their mark on the same stretch of track.