The Joker's Jinx is a

steel roller coaster A steel roller coaster is a type of roller coaster classified by its steel Railway track, track, which consists of long steel tubes that are run in pairs, supported by larger steel columns or beams. Trains running along the track typically rely ...

Six Flags America Six Flags America is an amusement park in Woodmore, Maryland, United States,Prince George's County, Maryland Prince George's County (often shortened to PG County or PG) is located in the U.S. state of Maryland bordering the eastern portion of Washington, D.C. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, the population was 967,201, making it ...

. The ride utilizes

linear induction motor A linear induction motor (LIM) is an alternating current (AC), asynchronous linear motor that works by the same general principles as other induction motors but is typically designed to directly produce motion in a straight line. Characteristica ...

technology to launch the train from 0 to in just over three seconds. The Joker's Jinx was designed by Premier Rides and manufactured by Intermountain Lift, Inc.

History

In the fall of 1998, pieces of green Premier Rides roller coaster track were spotted on the park's property. On October 28, 1998, it was announced that Adventure World would be renamed Six Flags America and feature three new roller coasters, including Joker's Jinx. Joker's Jinx would be an LIM spaghetti bowl launch coaster by Premier Rides. It was to be located in a brand new Gotham City section, which would be entered by passing under

The Wild One ''The Wild One'' is a 1953 American crime film directed by László Benedek and produced by Stanley Kramer. The picture is most noted for the character of Johnny Strabler, portrayed by Marlon Brando, whose persona became a cultural icon of the ...

roller coaster. Construction of Joker's Jinx began in December 1998 and was completed in late March 1999. On April 4, 1999, the ride performed its first test runs. Joker's Jinx officially opened on May 8, 1999. Joker's Jinx was repainted with a brighter green track in 2020. On May 1, 2025, Six Flags announced that the Six Flags America park will close at the end of the 2025 season on November 2, 2025. The status on the future of the Joker's Jinx roller coaster was not given at the time of the announcement.

Ride Layout

Joker's Jinx is located in the

Gotham City Gotham City ( ), or simply Gotham, is a fictional city in the Northeastern United States that serves as the primary city appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. It is best known as the home of the superhero Batman and his List ...

section of the park near Superman: Ride of Steel roller coaster. After boarding Joker's Jinx, riders are launched through a narrow launch tunnel into a "spaghetti bowl" of track which contains a

cobra roll Roller coasters are widely known for their drops, inversions, airtime (rides), airtime, and other intense ride elements that contribute to the ride. They are also made up of a variety of features and components responsible for the mechanical opera ...

, a sidewinder, and many twists and turns. The coaster doesn't have a mid-course

brake run A brake run on a roller coaster is any section of track that utilizes some form of brakes to slow or stop a roller coaster train. There are various types of braking methods employed on roller coasters, including friction brakes, skid brakes, a ...

like the similar rides at

Kings Island Kings Island is a amusement park northeast of Cincinnati in Mason, Ohio, United States. Owned and operated by Six Flags, the park was built by Taft Broadcasting and opened in 1972. It was part of a larger effort to move and expand Coney Islan ...

and

Kings Dominion Kings Dominion is an amusement park in Doswell, Virginia, United States, north of Richmond, Virginia, Richmond and south of Washington, D.C. Owned and operated by Six Flags, the park opened to the public on May 3, 1975, featuring over 60 rid ...

; instead the coaster has multiple rings that the train goes through. After the rings, riders spiral downward and to the left, and after more twists and turns they pass through a

corkscrew A corkscrew is a tool for drawing Cork (plug), corks from wine bottles and other household bottles that may be sealed with corks. In its traditional form, a corkscrew simply consists of a pointed metallic helix (often called the "worm") attach ...

before arriving at the ride's final brake run. Premier Rides built several of these LIM Catapult roller coasters from 1996 to 1999, although only the two

Flight of Fear Flight of Fear is the name of two identical enclosed roller coasters located at Kings Island and Kings Dominion amusement parks. Built and designed by Premier Rides, they were the world's first launched roller coasters to feature Linear motor, l ...

rides are indoors. The other outdoor LIM Catapult coaster in the United States is

Poltergeist In German folklore and ghostlore, a poltergeist ( or ; ; or ) is a type of ghost or spirit that is responsible for physical disturbances, such as loud noises and objects being moved or destroyed. Most claims or fictional descriptions of polter ...

Six Flags Fiesta Texas Six Flags Fiesta Texas, formerly known and colloquially referred to as simply Fiesta Texas, is an amusement park in San Antonio, Texas, United States. It opened on March 14, 1992, in the La Cantera master-planned development and district as the ...

; that opened in 1999. In addition, a LIM Catapult coaster called Mad Cobra operated at

Suzuka Circuit The , the , is a long motorsport race track located in Ino, Suzuka, Mie, Suzuka City, Mie Prefecture, Japan and operated by Honda Mobilityland, a subsidiary of Honda, Honda Motor Co, Ltd. It has a capacity of 155,000. It is most well known by i ...

in Japan from 1998–2003; Mad Cobra was moved to China and reopened at Kingdoms of Discovery in (2006-2026). The five Premier LIM catapult coasters share a similar layout and have the same technical specifications. Premier Rides gave the

trains A train (from Old French , from Latin">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ... , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles th ...

an overhaul in 2002 and replaced the restraints with lap bars.

Ride Elements

Cobra Roll Roller coasters are widely known for their drops, inversions, airtime (rides), airtime, and other intense ride elements that contribute to the ride. They are also made up of a variety of features and components responsible for the mechanical opera ...

* Sidewinder *

Corkscrew A corkscrew is a tool for drawing Cork (plug), corks from wine bottles and other household bottles that may be sealed with corks. In its traditional form, a corkscrew simply consists of a pointed metallic helix (often called the "worm") attach ...

Awards

Incidents

On April 13, 2017, a train stalled off the ground at a 30-degree angle stranding 24 riders. They were evacuated safely, and there were no reported injuries. The roller coaster was stuck in the same position it was in when a similar incident occurred in 2014, where it took more than four hours to evacuate the stranded riders.

References

External links

Joker's Jinx website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Joker's Jinx, The Roller coasters operated by Six Flags Six Flags America Roller coasters in Maryland Roller coasters introduced in 1999 Batman in amusement parks Joker (character) in other media Gotham City (themed area)