The Top 10 Best Rides At Six Flags New England Ranked On FUN Factor
Out of all the Six Flags theme parks in America, Six Flags New England is unique. Known initially as Gallop’s Grove (1870-1886), then Riverside Grove (1887-1911), followed by Riverside Park (1912-1995), Riverside: The Great Escape (1996-2000), then finally Six Flags New England (2000-present), this is the oldest park in the Six Flags chain.
Over the years, there have been many changes to the park beside its name. What has changed the most are the rides. With 62 attractions, Six Flags New England has the most rides out of any Six Flags theme park, including family rides, kid’s rides, thrill rides, and roller coasters.
But with so many rides, which of the 62 is the most fun?
This article ranks the top 10 best Six Flags New England rides based on how fun they are! Of course, determining how fun a ride is is subjective, but certain factors can establish whether a ride will be fun for all or fun for a few.
The rides on the list are attractions that prioritize enjoyment over fear, will not make riders sick or feel pain, are suitable for most ages (except toddlers), and, most importantly, will make you smile from beginning to end.
Without further delay, these are the most FUN rides at Six Flags New England!
#10 – Houdini – The Great Escape
In life, Harry Houdini was the world’s greatest illusionist. In Death, Harry Houdini plays a part in one of Six Flags New England’s most fun rides. Houdini’s Great Escape, like Harry Houdini himself, is a ride all about playing tricks on the mind.
The ride takes place in an old opera house where, according to the attraction, Harry Houdini used to perform magic shows. On the ride, the ghost of Houdini wants to show you one last performance, his best yet; he will transform the room you sit in before your eyes! And just like he promises, he does.
Houdini’s Great Escape is a Vekoma Madhouse ride that puts you in an illusion room that makes you question yourself and ask, is the room moving, or are you moving?
It’s an incredibly disorienting ride but tons of fun. You’ll smile and laugh throughout the experience as your mind tricks you into believing one thing while something completely different happens.
It’s one of the best rides in the park and fun for all ages!
#9 – Harley Quinn Spinsanity
From an off-ride perspective, Harley Quinn Spinsanity looks like the scariest ride in the park, but in reality, it looks way scarier than it actually is. In fact, once you’re on the ride, it’s way more fun than scary.
Harley Quinn Spinsanity is a pendulum swing ride that uses momentum to swing you left and right, higher and higher until you reach up to 147 ft and speeds up to 70 mph.
Harley Quinn Spinsanity can only be described as a massive adrenaline rush in the form of a theme park ride. It’s the closest thing you can experience to flying at Six Flags, making it one of the most fun rides in the park. If you can overcome the fear you’ll feel waiting in line and watching it go past you, you’ll experience one of the best rides at Six Flags New England.
#8 – Flashback
Flashback is one of the most fun rides at Six Flags New England simply because it’s one of the smoothest roller coasters in the park. Flashback is one of the most popular coasters in the Six Flags chain, known by a different name, Boomerang Coast to Coaster.
| Max Speed | 47 mph |
| Max Height | 117 ft |
| Drop | 117 ft |
| Inversions | 3 (6 total) |
| G-Force | 5.2 Gs |
| Ride Duration | 1:48 |
| Height Requirements | 48″ |
What makes Boomerang and Flashback so much fun is that it does something no other roller coaster at Six Flag can do; it takes riders through the ride forward and backward.
Flashback has three inversions; a cobra roll (which inverts you twice) and a loop. Going through the inversions once is always a good time, but going through them a second time but backward takes the experience to a new level.
#7 – Thunderbolt
Thunderbolt may be the oldest ride and roller coaster at Six Flags New England (and the second oldest in the Six Flags chain, behind Wild One at Six Flags America), but it remains one of the most fun.
| Max Speed | 40 mph |
| Max Height | 70 ft |
| Inversions | 0 |
| Ride Duration | 1:00 |
| Height Requirement | 48″ |
Thunderbolt is fun because it maintains that classic feel of an old-fashioned wooden roller coaster you seldom find in amusement parks today. It doesn’t move that fast, capping out at 40 mph, but that’s okay because speed isn’t everything.
Thunderbolt is one of the park’s most approachable coasters, with no inversions or scary elements. Instead, it has small airtime hills and quick turns that will make you smile. This is a great ride for families with kids of any age, and it will make you want to go on it again and again!
#6 – Batman The Dark Knight
Batman the Dark Knight is one of the most fun roller coasters at Six Flags New England and is an excellent experience for thrill seekers. From the moment the ride starts till the moment it ends, the ride is non-stop action.
| Max Speed | 55 mph |
| Max Height | 117 ft |
| Drop | 117 ft |
| Inversion | 5 |
| Ride Duration | 2:20 |
| Height Requirements | 54″ |
The ride has five inversions, with the first one starting immediately after the 117 ft climb and subsequent drop. The inversions include a verticle loop, a dive loop, a zero-gravity roll, and two corkscrews.
The inversions are back to back, so you barely have time to prepare. You’ll be laughing throughout the entire ride as you hold on tight. To top it off, this is a floorless coaster, so your legs will be dangling in the air during the ride.
Batman is one of the most replicated roller coasters in the Six Flags chain, appearing in more than half of the collective parks. Though of the versions, this one is the tallest and fastest and has a different color scheme. The only reason it appears in so many parks is that it’s widely regarded as one of the most fun roller coasters to ride!
#5 – Blizzard River
At number five is Blizzard River, the most fun water ride at Six Flags New England. Blizzard River is the type of water ride you go on if you want to get more than wet; you want to get drenched!
Blizzard River is a Rapid River ride. Unlike on a classic flume boat ride, where you only get wet during the final drop, on a Rapid River attraction, you get wet throughout the entire ride.
On Blizzard River, there are waterfalls you pass under, whirlpools that you go over, and waves that crash into your raft. Each element on the ride will wet those in the boat, and you’ll smile from ear to ear each time that happens!
One of the best parts about Blizzard River is you never know who the person will be to get the wettest. Will it be you or the person across from you who’s next to get wet?
The rule is that the backward person usually gets soaked the most, but the raft constantly rotates around! You never know who will get soaked next!
Blizzard River becomes an experience filled with laughs for the whole family, making it one of the most fun rides at Six Flags New England!
#4 – Scream
Though Scream is one of the most suitable names for the second-tallest ride at Six Flags New England, it remains one of the most fun rides in the park.
Scream is a 205 ft tower drop ride with three variations: Turbo Drop, Space Shot, and Combo.
On Turbo Drop, you slowly rise up the tower, then once you reach the top, you drop at high speeds until you get to the halfway point on the tower and bounce back up. Then it repeats until you eventually make it back to the ground.
On Space Shot, you launch up to the top of the tower at high speeds, then drop back down to the ground even faster.
On Combo, you get the best of both options, launching up the tower at high speeds, then dropping to the halfway point and bouncing to the bottom.
Whichever option you choose, Scream will be one of the highlights of your trip to Six Flags New England!
#3 – New England SkyScreamer
The New England SkyScreamer is the tallest ride at Six Flags New England and tied for the tallest SkyScreamer model with the Six Flags Over Texas version, standing at 408 ft.
Though that incredibly massive height may be intimidating for some, the truth is, the SkyScreamer isn’t that scary of a ride; it’s actually very relaxing and tons of fun!
You can’t get a better view of the surrounding New England area than on SkyScreamer. When you’re 400 ft in the air and swinging around, feeling the wind blow around you, you won’t be able to help but smile.
Not only is the New England SkyScreamer one of the best rides at Six Flags New England, but it’s also one of the most fun!
#2 – Wicked Cyclone
At number two is Wicked Cyclone, a hybrid wooden and steel roller coaster. Wicked Cyclone is one of the best rides at Six Flags New England and one of the best roller coasters in the world, consistently ranking in the top 30 since its initial launch in 2015.
| Max Speed | 55 mph |
| Max Height | 109 ft |
| Drop | 109 ft |
| Inversions | 3 |
| Ride Duration | 1:30 |
| Height Requirements | 48″ |
What makes Wicked Cyclone so much fun is how intense it is from beginning to end. Somehow it maintains the incredible feeling of a wooden roller coaster with the smoothness of a steel coaster. The steel tracks allow for some of the most impressive inversions you can experience on a ride, including the world’s first hangtime stall and the first-ever double-reversing banking airtime hill.
Wicked Cyclone is the closest thing to a perfect hybrid coaster. It would be the number-one ride on this list if it wasn’t for the fact that Six Flags has arguably the best steel roller coaster on the planet. Either way, Wicked Cyclone is one of the most fun rides in the park that you cannot miss!
#1 – Superman The Ride
The only ride that could be number one was Superman the Ride. Superman is not only the best ride at Six Flags New England; it is one of the best steel roller coasters in the world.
After launching in 2000, from 2001 through 2015, Superman ranked either number 1 or 2 in the world, moving down to number 3 in 2016 and 2017, 4 in 2019 and 2021, and finally, 7th in 2022. As you can see, Superman has ranked in the top 10 roller coasters in the world for the past 20+ years in a row.
There is a clear reason for the overwhelmingly high praise.
Superman is considered to have one of the best ride experiences on the planet. It’s unbelievably smooth, making it feel like you are gliding in the air.
| Max Speed | 77 mph |
| Max Height | 208 ft |
| Drop | 221 ft |
| Inversions | 0 |
| G-Force | 3.6 Gs |
| Track Length | 5,400 ft |
| Ride Duration | 2:35 |
| Height Requirement | 54″-76″ |
Even though Superman is also the fastest roller coaster in the park, peaking at 77 mph, it still has one of the longest ride durations at 2:35. The most incredible part about the ride is that Superman maintains that high speed from beginning to end!
Though it has the tallest drop on any roller coaster in the park at 221 ft, the G-Force never becomes overwhelming (only reaching 3.6 Gs).
Superman becomes a ride with all the elements one could ever want in an attraction. It prioritizes enjoyment over fear, doesn’t make the rider sick or feel pain, is suitable for most ages, and is, most importantly, a ton of fun!
Superman is not only the best ride but also the most fun ride at Six Flags New England!
Six Flags New England and Hurricane Harbor
As you can see, Six Flags New England is a theme park with many fun opportunities. Riding any of the ten rides above is an excellent way to guarantee you and your family will have a fun day, but it isn’t the only way!
Six Flags New England also contains Hurricane Harbor, one of the best water parks in the New England area. At Hurricane Harbor, you and your family can have an incredible day in the sun riding many water rides of all sizes, jumping over waves in the iconic wave pool, playing around in the kid’s area, or relaxing in the lazy river!
Going to Hurricane Harbor will only make your day even better. At Six Flags New England, there are so many options to fill your day with fun!