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El Toro, Six Flags

UPDATE June 29 - According to the Six Flags Great Adventure App, El Toro and the numerous other attractions which were closed temporarily yesterday due to the weather are set to reopen again today. This is positive news for those visiting the park today. All eyes are still on Kingda Ka to see when a reopening will happen for this headlining attraction. The roller coaster has been closed since June 5 due to a launch cable malfunction.

June 28 16:00 EDT- According to the Six Flags Great Adventure App, El Toro is temporarily closed due to weather at Six Flags Great Adventure. A number of other rides at the park are also labelled as closed due to weather including; BATMAN: The Ride, Big Wheel, Buccaneer, CYBORG Cyber Spin, Dare Devil Dive, GREEN LANTERN, Great American Road Race, HARLEY QUINN Crazy Train, Houdini's Great Escape, Jersey Devil Coaster. Medusa, Nitro, SUPERMAN: Ultimate Flight, Skyscreamer, Slingshot, The JOKER, WONDER WOMAN Lasso of Truth and Zumajaro: Drop of Doom.

We hope El Toro and the other long list of attractions that are currently closed due to the weather will reopen soon.

June 27 18:28 EDT - El Toro is now back open again at Six Flags Great Adventure, we are hoping that any issue which caused the temporary closure is now fixed.  

June 27 - El Toro reopened at Six Flags Great Adventure on June 17 after being shuttered since August 2022. There have been a whole host of positive reviews since then which is excellent to see. Yesterday and today, however, El Toro has been listed as "temporarily closed" on the official app. We are hoping that this will just be a short closure and we will see El Toro reopening very soon.

Whilst Kingda Ka still remains closed, it is even more vital for Six Flags Great Adventure to get El Toro reopened as soon as possible. We will update you on this when we have further information. 

El Toro, Six Flags
Image: Six Flags

June 18 - The news finally arrived that we had all been waiting for, El Toro reopened yesterday (June 17) at Six Flags Great Adventure. El Toro opened to season pass holders at 9:30AM and regular ticket holders from 1:30PM. This same pattern will take place today (Sunday, June 18).

The burning question we all wanted answering is, "how does it ride?" Well, in a new video posted by ElToroRyan it appears that El Toro is fast and running smoothly. One rider commented that it was "running better than ever". We were eager to find out if riders would be able to feel the difference between the old and new track sections and current reports are that you can tell but it is not too obvious which is very encouraging. Take a look for yourself at the reopening day footage in the video below.

We have seen testing continue daily on El Toro after beginning June 6 and this week with both trains being seen making their rounds of this iconic coaster. In a video posted by ElToroRyan (June 16) we heard the fantastic news of the return of this hugely popular roller coaster to Six Flags Great Adventure.

We suspect that June 16 was the date Six Flags Great Adventure were hoping to reopen El Toro and with confirmation that today (June 17) the ride will reopen to guests this will certainly come as great news for fans of this classic roller coaster.

With the headlining attraction Kingda Ka now closed due to a suspected launch cable snap we expect Six Flags Great Adventure are even more relieved that this long shuttered roller coaster has been given the all clear on safety inspections and can reopen.

We were really hoping that we would not see the same situation as The Grizzly at Kings Dominion which since its recent reopening has had very mixed views. It also has seen large sections of the roller coaster retracked which in its case has left guests with an experience which alternates between beautifully smooth and unpleasantly rough. It appears from initial reports that this is not the case with El Toro which is fantastic to hear.

Footage of testing on El Toro can also be seen in this video posted by Colliwood Studios on June 9.

It was breaking news when the first footage appeared online of testing taking place and the track being walked. Check out the footage below which was posted to Instagram by Owen pa.coasterfan.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by owen (@pa.coasterfan)

El Toro has remained closed at Six Flags Great Adventure since the incident on the evening of Thursday August 25, when 13 riders were injured after the train hit a "pothole" which is a slight separation between the steel track and the wooden structure.

We have been closely following the retracking of this iconic wooden coaster and below is another update which has been posted on YouTube by Coliwood Studios from May 5.

Work appears to be happening on the lift hill with a machine set up at the base of the cable lift, from rumors it seems that they could either be respooling it, changing the cable or working on the motor.

Majority of the re-tracking looks to be completed including the top turn area prior to the first large drop as well as the floater hill. The whole area at the bottom of the turn around has received new wood supports.

The trains are still in position and it is expected that El Toro will reopen at some point this summer. Some rumors online suggested a Memorial Day reopening which we always thought was slightly optimisitic.

Six Flags Great Adventure opened for the 2023 season on Saturday April 1, and thanks to a video posted on YouTube by Coliwood Studios we can saw the work that had been done on El Toro.

The video from April 1, shows numerous parts of the roller coaster which have been completely retracked including a significant portion on the bottom of the first drop as well as the turn at top of lift hill new track, the bottom of first camel back hill (second hill), the bottom of the turn around element and the rolling thunder hill. These parts which have been retracked can be clearly seen as they are darker in color than the original track.

You can also see in the video that the two El Toro trains have been completely repainted and although they do not have new headrests the side guards have been completely replaced. The Kia advertising appears to have been stripped from the train and it has been returned to its original dark brown color.

There has been speculation that work has been done on the cable lift, potentially a new cable has been or will be fitted but this has not confirmed at this point. There is also a rumor that El Toro could be getting a panel upgrade.

The sign nearby reads "PLAZA DEL CARNIVAL, EL TORO, TANGO & MACHO NACHO Opening This Summer" and confirms that El Toro fans will once again be able to ride this iconic roller coaster at some point this summer. We still await a firm date although Memorial Day Weekend (May 29) is currently being floated and will update you as soon as it is announced.

El Toro, Six Flags
Image: Six Flags

The video also updates you on everything new at Six Flags Great Adventure including new banners at the entrance, a new basketball game and the Wicked Saloon outdoor bar area. There is also set to be an Autism certified center in the Bugs Bunny National Park where the Camp Kitchen is. An opening date for this has not been announced.

From the video update from the beginning of March posted to YouTube by ElToroRyan, we knew that this iconic wooden roller coaster would not be ready to reopen for the start of the 2023 season on April 1.

This video update showed that El Toro continues to be re-tracked with repairs and replacements also being done to the ride's structure and supports. El Toro has been closed since the incident on August 25, 2022 when 13 riders were injured after the train hit a "pothole" which is a slight separation between the steel track and the wooden structure.

According to the report, El Toro will reopen at some point in the summer when all repairs and work have been completed and signed off. Work is set to ramp up further in the following weeks with cranes on site. As a result of this, a number of other rides in the vicinity of El Toro will remain closed until Memorial Day Weekend (May 29, 2023). These include Medusa, The Runaway Mine Train and the Skyway.

Although the wait is frustrating, when El Toro does reopen in the summer it should be ready to run safely and reliably and will newly painted trains! We will keep you updated with further details of the re-tracking and repairing of El Toro over the coming months and will inform you of the official reopening date as soon as it is announced.

 
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Comments

I been told people this roller coaster was the worst. I got hurt on this roller coaster years ago 2012-13. Still going to the doctor for the neck and back issues and taking meds everyday for it

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