Firebird
Product brand
UnclaimedFirebird was a Bolliger & Mabillard floorless roller coaster at Six Flags America in Maryland, converted from the former stand-up coaster Apocalypse.
Last updated August 31, 2026
AI crawler reads
No AI crawler has read this profile yet.
Overview
Firebird was a steel floorless roller coaster at Six Flags America in Prince George's County, Maryland. Although the Firebird name dates from 2019, the attraction's physical history began in 1990, when it opened at Six Flags Great America in Illinois as Iron Wolf. Designed and manufactured by Swiss company Bolliger & Mabillard, Iron Wolf was the company's first roller coaster and debuted as the tallest and fastest stand-up roller coaster in the world, reaching approximately 100 feet in height and 55 miles per hour. Its original site had previously been occupied by Z-Force, an Intamin Space Diver coaster. After more than two decades at Six Flags Great America, Iron Wolf closed in September 2011. Six Flags relocated the ride to Six Flags America in Maryland, where it was rebuilt and opened in 2012 under the name Apocalypse. The relocation required the removal of Skull Mountain to create space in the park's Skull Island area. Apocalypse used the existing track design and adopted a post-apocalyptic presentation, including fire effects and queue-line scenery involving crashed aircraft, skulls, and zombie imagery. In August 2018, Six Flags America announced that Apocalypse would close at the end of that season. A later announcement revealed that the ride would be converted from a stand-up coaster to a floorless coaster using new Bolliger & Mabillard trains. The track layout remained substantially unchanged, while the ride received the new Firebird identity. The conversion removed much of the Apocalypse theming, although a fire effect remained. Firebird previewed for eligible Six Flags passholders on May 3, 2019, and opened to the general public on May 17, 2019. The attraction retained a roughly 2,900-foot steel track, a 100-foot lift hill, a 90-foot first drop, two inversions, and a maximum speed of about 55 miles per hour. Its two floorless trains each contained six rows of four seats, allowing 24 riders per train. A complete cycle lasted approximately two minutes. Firebird ceased operation when Six Flags America permanently closed on November 2, 2025. The attraction is therefore a defunct amusement-park ride rather than a food or consumer-staples brand.
History
Firebird's history extends across three identities and two Six Flags parks. The ride was manufactured by Bolliger & Mabillard, the Swiss roller-coaster company whose first coaster was this installation. It originally opened on April 28, 1990, at Six Flags Great America as Iron Wolf. The ride occupied the former site of Z-Force, an Intamin Space Diver coaster, and was promoted as a major record-setting attraction. At approximately 100 feet tall and capable of reaching 55 miles per hour, Iron Wolf opened as the world's tallest and fastest stand-up roller coaster. Those records were later surpassed by other rides, but the attraction remained significant as B&M's first coaster. It also appeared in the 1994 film Richie Rich as a roller coaster in the character's backyard. Six Flags Great America announced in August 2011 that Iron Wolf would close on September 5 of that year. The ride was dismantled and prepared for relocation to Six Flags America in Maryland. Before the new installation could be completed, Skull Mountain at the receiving park was demolished to make room in the Skull Island area. The relocated coaster was announced as Apocalypse in September 2011. Construction began during the winter of 2012, with vertical construction starting in February and the final track piece installed near the end of March. The opening date was adjusted during the preparation process, and Apocalypse ultimately opened in June 2012. At Six Flags America, the ride was presented with an end-of-the-world theme. The queue and surrounding environment incorporated fire, wrecked aircraft, zombies, and skull imagery, creating an apocalyptic narrative as guests moved toward the station. The attraction's underlying track layout remained the same as the Iron Wolf installation, but the theming and branding gave the relocated ride a new identity. The original Iron Wolf wolf imagery was removed from the trains, and the ride was associated instead with the Apocalypse name. In August 2018, Six Flags America announced that Apocalypse would be retired after the season. Two weeks later, the park disclosed that the ride would return in 2019 as Firebird after a conversion from stand-up operation to floorless operation. Bolliger & Mabillard supplied new floorless trains, while the existing track layout was retained. The former Apocalypse train was donated to the National Roller Coaster Museum. Much of the apocalypse scenery was removed or reduced during the conversion, although the fire effect continued to be used. Firebird held a preview for qualifying Six Flags passholders on May 3, 2019, and opened publicly on May 17. Its ride profile included a 100-foot lift hill, an approximately 90-foot first drop, a vertical loop, a corkscrew, several turns and directional changes, and a brake run. The steel track was about 2,900 feet long, and a cycle lasted roughly two minutes. Two floorless trains were available, each with six rows of four seats. Firebird remained in operation until Six Flags America permanently closed on November 2, 2025, making the attraction defunct.
- 2025
Operation ends
[1]The ride ceased operation following the permanent closure of Six Flags America on November 2.
- 2019
Firebird opens
[1]Firebird held a passholder preview in May and opened publicly on May 17.
- 2018
Conversion to floorless configuration announced
[1]Six Flags America announced that Apocalypse would be converted to a floorless coaster and renamed Firebird.
- 2012
Apocalypse opens at Six Flags America
[1]The relocated ride reopened under the Apocalypse name after construction in the park's Skull Island area.
- 2011
Iron Wolf closes and is relocated
[1]The original installation closed at Six Flags Great America in September and was dismantled for relocation to Six Flags America.
- 1994
Appearance in Richie Rich
[1]Iron Wolf appeared in the film Richie Rich as a backyard roller coaster.
- 1990
Iron Wolf opens at Six Flags Great America
[1]The Bolliger & Mabillard stand-up coaster opened on April 28 and debuted as the world's tallest and fastest stand-up roller coaster.
Products and positioning
A high-intensity amusement-park roller coaster built around a converted Bolliger & Mabillard stand-up coaster, with a floorless train configuration, two inversions, and a fire-themed identity.
Floorless steel roller coaster · 2019
Firebird
Firebird was the 2019 floorless configuration of the ride at Six Flags America. It used new Bolliger & Mabillard floorless trains while retaining the established track layout. The approximately 2,900-foot circuit included a 100-foot lift hill, a 90-foot first drop, a vertical loop, a corkscrew, and a maximum speed of about 55 miles per hour. Each train had six rows of four seats.
Stand-up steel roller coaster · 2012
Apocalypse
Apocalypse was the name used for the relocated attraction at Six Flags America from 2012 through 2018. Its presentation emphasized an end-of-the-world setting, with fire effects, damaged aircraft, zombies, and skull imagery. The ride operated with the original stand-up format before being converted into Firebird.
Stand-up steel roller coaster · 1990
Iron Wolf
Iron Wolf was the ride's original identity at Six Flags Great America from 1990 to 2011. It was Bolliger & Mabillard's first coaster and opened as a record-setting stand-up coaster approximately 100 feet tall and capable of 55 miles per hour.
Brand decisions
2025
Retirement following park closureOtherBackground
Six Flags America permanently closed in November 2025.
Action taken
Firebird ceased operation with the closure of its host park.
Aftermath
The attraction became defunct; no later operating venue is identified in the supplied reference material.
2018
Conversion from stand-up to floorless operationGeneration changeBackground
Six Flags America announced that Apocalypse would close after the 2018 season and be substantially refreshed for the following year.
Action taken
The park retained the track layout, installed new Bolliger & Mabillard floorless trains, and renamed the attraction Firebird.
Aftermath
Firebird previewed in May 2019 and opened to the public on May 17, while much of the Apocalypse theming was removed.
2011
Relocation from Six Flags Great America to Six Flags AmericaStrategyBackground
After 21 seasons at Six Flags Great America, the Iron Wolf installation was selected for removal and reuse at Six Flags America.
Action taken
The ride was closed, dismantled, transported, and rebuilt at the Maryland park, where it received the Apocalypse identity.
Aftermath
The relocated attraction opened in 2012 after the demolition of Skull Mountain to create space.
Recent events
- Unconfirmed
Reported
Firebird launches AI factory in Armenia[2]
Firebird launched an NVIDIA DSX AI factory in Armenia, marking the operational debut of its global AI infrastructure platform.
- Unconfirmed
Reported
NVIDIA intends to invest in Firebird[2]
Firebird announced that NVIDIA intends to invest in the company; the source does not state that the investment has been completed.
- Unconfirmed
Reported
Firebird enters Kazakhstan[2]
Firebird expanded beyond Armenia into Kazakhstan, which the company identifies as its second market, and secured 125 megawatts of AI infrastructure capacity at Data Center Valley.
- Unconfirmed
Firebird launches AI factory in Armenia[3]
Firebird launched its AI factory in Hrazdan, Armenia. The article describes the facility as operational but does not establish the date of the launch.
- Unconfirmed
Reported
Firebird launches AI factory in Armenia[4]
AI cloud company Firebird launched an AI factory in Armenia, developed with NVIDIA, Dell Technologies and CoreWeave. The facility is designed to provide computing capacity for training, fine-tuning and deploying AI models.
Reported
Seagate launches two 20TB hard drives[5]
Seagate launched the Exos X20 20TB hard drive and the IronWolf Pro 20TB hard drive.
Reported
Seagate launches IronWolf 510 NAS SSD[6]
Seagate unveiled the IronWolf 510, a PCIe Gen3 M.2 NVMe SSD designed for network-attached storage. The article reports four capacities and their prices.
Reported
Seagate launches IronWolf 510 NVMe SSD[7]
Seagate announced the IronWolf 510 SSD for NAS use, with an M.2 2280 form factor and PCIe 3.0 x4 and NVMe 1.3 support.
Sources7 sources
Cite this profile: Cite the canonical profile. /brand-wiki/fire-bird · Editorial policy · How profiles are compiled