Superman Statue Vanishes From San Antonio Coaster, Sparking Online Panic

Riders pulling into Six Flags Fiesta Texas over the weekend noticed something missing from the skyline: the Superman figure that has towered over the Superman: Krypton Coaster for more than two decades was gone. The 168-foot ride appeared without its namesake statue starting around Saturday, and it did not take long for confused park guests to start asking questions online.

A viral social media post showed a crane attached to the Superman figure, and a TikTok user asked whether Six Flags was getting rid of the character altogether. One commenter, Jacob McNeely, put the local anxiety bluntly, writing “can't have s**t in San Antonio,” according to MySA. The statue was seen lying on a trailer behind a fence in a video shared by YouTube user Hennisphere on Sunday, who reported that the figure would be repainted before it goes back up.

Six Flags Says the Figure Is Coming Back

Despite the online alarm, the removal is not permanent. Six Flags spokesperson Cyle Perez said the Superman figure is undergoing routine maintenance and refurbishment, per the same MySA report, and confirmed it will return shortly, though the park has not given an exact date. Six Flags did not comment on whether the figure would be repainted once it's reinstalled, leaving that detail from Hennisphere's video unconfirmed by the park itself.

The coaster the figure sits atop has plenty of reason for nostalgia. Built by Swiss manufacturer Bolliger & Mabillard, the $20 million Superman: Krypton Coaster officially opened at Six Flags Fiesta Texas on March 11, 2000, as one of the world's first steel floorless roller coasters, according to ThrillZing. Six Flags' own park description credits the ride with the world's second-tallest 360-degree loop, standing 145 feet tall — a loop that actually held the outright world record for tallest vertical loop from the coaster's opening until June 2013, when Full Throttle debuted at Six Flags Magic Mountain with a 160-foot loop, as the Los Angeles Times reported at the time.

A Coaster Built Into the Quarry Itself

Part of what makes the ride so beloved locally is how it was built. Crews had to blast away portions of the park's former limestone quarry wall during construction just to anchor track supports so trains could launch out over the cliff edges, according to Coaster101. That terrain-hugging design has made the Krypton Coaster a signature attraction since Six Flags Fiesta Texas first opened in the former Paloma limestone quarry in 1992, a site excavated starting in 1934 and mined until 1988 before being redeveloped into the amusement park, per MySA's park history coverage.

Maintenance Overlaps With Major New Construction

The Superman touch-up is happening at the same time the park is breaking ground on its next big attraction. Construction on Project Blood Moon — the infrastructure behind the park's new Werewolf Gorge coaster — is set to begin the week of August 24, according to state filings cited by MySA. A Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation filing registered on August 7 details that the project carries an estimated construction cost of $5.5 million and will span an 8,798-square-foot footprint featuring a two-story ride station, queue building, electrical building, and tunnel building, with work scheduled to run through April 1, 2027.

Werewolf Gorge, unveiled on May 30, is a family coaster built by Vekoma that will span more than 4,000 feet of track — 4,120 feet, according to Amusement Today — making it the world's longest family launch coaster. The ride includes four high-speed launches reaching 45 mph, 32 floater airtime elements, an 85-foot elevation change, and a 40-foot drop, with towering werewolf figures and a finish through a crumbling rock structure. A Six Flags spokesperson called it the biggest investment in the San Antonio park's history, and the coaster is scheduled to debut in 2027.

A Park Weathering Change on Multiple Fronts

The confusion over Superman's disappearance lands during a period of broader upheaval for the San Antonio park. Six Flags Fiesta Texas has been adjusting to leadership turnover since longtime park president Jeffrey Siebert departed in April following a post-merger corporate reorganization, as Hoodline previously reported. That restructuring followed Six Flags Entertainment Corporation's $8 billion merger of equals with Cedar Fair, completed July 1, 2024, which united 42 amusement and water parks under one corporate umbrella, according to filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

The park has also had its share of operational hiccups this year. An EF-1 tornado that struck Northwest San Antonio in mid-July caused localized power outages that forced temporary closures at Fiesta Texas, and in April, riders on the park's 200-foot Supergirl Sky Flight attraction were stranded in the air for 10 to 15 minutes because of a cell phone interference scare before staff safely lowered the ride. No injuries were reported in that incident, which Hoodline covered at the time.

For now, park guests hoping to see the Man of Steel back in place will have to wait without a firm timeline. Six Flags has confirmed the figure is coming back, but has not said exactly when — or whether it will look any different once it does.