Wicked Cyclone

Roller coaster at Six Flags New England

Wicked Cyclone (formerly Cyclone) is a steel roller coaster located at Six Flags New England amusement park. The ride originally opened as a wooden roller coaster named Cyclone on June 24, 1983. Its name and design were inspired by the historic 1927 Cyclone roller coaster located at Coney Island. In 2014, after 32 seasons, Cyclone was closed while being re tracked with steel. It reopened as Wicked Cyclone on May 24, 2015.

In 1983, Riverside Amusement Park decided to open a wooden roller coaster named the Riverside Cyclone. The $2.5 million Riverside Cyclone was designed by William Cobb & Associates and built by the Frontier Construction Company. The ride officially opened to the public on June 25, 1983, with Cobb as well as Norm Howells from Frontier Construction in attendance. The opening of Riverside Cyclone was expected to increase park attendance by more than 10% to 1 million annual visitors. During its first season of operation, Riverside Cyclone featured two trains from Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters (PTC) where riders were restrained via a lap bar. Part way through the first season, shoulder belts were added; however, these were removed prior to its second season. During its second season, the ride's trains were damaged, forcing the park to combine parts from both trains to form a single operational train. Two new replacement trains were purchased from D. H. Morgan Manufacturing in 1985. In the late 1990s, Premier Parks (later Six Flags) purchased Riverside Amusement Park. Over a period of four years, approximately $100 million was invested in the renovation and expansion of the park, culminating in its rebranding to Six Flags New England in 2000. As a result, the Riverside branding was dropped, with the ride being renamed to the Cyclone. The D. H. Morgan Manufacturing trains were replaced with two PTC trains. Topper Track is steel plating that replaces the upper layers of laminated wooden track. This track style is designed to reduce the maintenance typically required for a wooden roller coaster and provide a smoother ride experience.

Over the years, the popularity of Cyclone began to decline. In June 2014, Six Flags New England announced that the ride would close permanently on July 20, 2014. A closing ceremony and farewell celebration was held on its last day of operation. During its 31 seasons in operation as a wooden coaster, Cyclone was ridden by more than 15 million riders. On August 28, 2014, it was announced that Cyclone would undergo a transformation into Wicked Cyclone, converting its wooden track to steel. Manufactured by Rocky Mountain Construction and designed by Alan Schilke, it features a 10 story drop, a maximum speed of , and the world's first "double reversing bank airtime hill" element. Dubbed a hybrid coaster, it is the first hybrid on the East Coast, and the only one to feature a 200 degree stall and two Zero G Rolls. The ride reopened as Wicked Cyclone in May 2015.