When I was a young lad, I remember riding the trilogy of the hat, the ship, and the bobsled when we visited Six Flags. That is, El Sombrero, El Conquistador, and La Vibora in adult lingo. The three rides are clustered in the same area near the park’s entrance, and you can quickly go from one to another. And we always rode those rides first. It was just an unstated tradition.

Sadly, Six Flags has unexpectedly announced that they are removing La Vibora—and the nearby El Diablo—to make room for a new attraction. (El Diablo opened in 2019 and is a 100-foot giga loop coaster that propels riders through its loop.) While details of the new attraction remain scarce, it’s said to be a “record-breaking dive coaster.” It is expected to open in 2026 for the park’s 65th anniversary. They’ll soon begin dismantling the two rides and make way for the latest and greatest thing.

Slithering down La Vibora
Photo Credit: Six Flags Over Texas

El Diablo is a cool concept and looks quite devilish, but it probably won’t be missed too much once it’s gone. The loss of La Vibora, though, will be felt more—if nothing else, for the nostalgia. It’s a bobsled-style ride with twists and banking turns, which has become increasingly rarer at amusement parks. Six Flags touted—”Pulse through the interior of La Vibora, the snake-shaped half-pipe with no rails to ride on, surfing the walls of every turn like a slithering serpent.” Thrill level: “Moderate,” according to Six Flags.

The winding half-pipe of La Vibora
Photo Credit: Six Flags Over Texas

Most people called it the bobsled instead of La Vibora. You can see the ride from the parking lot, and it has always been there—at least since I’ve been going. It was one of the first rides you saw after getting out of the car, causing your anticipation and excitement to build. The Six Flags skyline will look much different without it.

La Vibora in the parking lot
Photo Credit: GuideToSFoT.com

While not one of my favorite rides, the bobsled was fun as a kid. I remember riding it when the 1993 movie “Cool Runnings” came out about the Jamaican bobsled team. I felt like I was in the movie. The best part about the ride is that it isn’t on rails—you travel freely in a bobsled through a winding half-pipe. It has an uninhibited and unpredictable feeling. It’s much more regulated and predictable than it seems, though, as evident by the worn scuff marks on the track from the bobsleds. It also only goes 32 MPH.

A family enjoying La Vibora at Six Flags
Photo Credit: Six Flags Over Texas

I’ve noticed that the bobsled ride has gotten a bit jerky and jarring in recent years. Or maybe I’m just getting old, and my body isn’t as durable and forgiving as it used to be. And although I tend to like the nostalgic rides more than the newer ones, the bobsled now feels—and I hate to say it—outdated, random, and kitschy.

The ride was initially located at Six Flags Magic Mountain in California. It was there for two seasons and then relocated to Arlington as part of Six Flag’s now-defunct Ride Rotation Program. Initially called the Avalanche Bobsled and painted icy blue, the ride opened at Six Flags Over Texas in 1986.

In the mid-1990s, the ride was re-themed as La Vibora (the Viper) and repainted in a black, red, and yellow color scheme to resemble a serpent and to better coordinate visually with its neighbors in the Spain and Mexico sections. Do they even have bobsleds in Spain and Mexico? Can vipers ride bobsleds? I’m not sure, but in retrospect, the ride feels mis-themed and out of place. It takes up a lot of real estate, too. The track is nearly 1,500 feet long, and it’s a large, bulky ride with a slow-moving queue.

Well, it was fun while it lasted. The bobsled hung on for nearly 40 years, longer than most attractions at Six Flags. It would have been fun to ride it one more time, for old time’s sake—but alas, the hat, the ship, and the bobsled trilogy has ended.

---

Official La Vibora POV—Six Flags Over Texas

---

Photo Credits: Six Flags Over Texas and GuideToSFoT.com

---

Blog post by Jason S. Sullivan, 11-16-24