Coaster enthusiasts are a passionate bunch. They travel across the country chasing new rides, debate layouts and manufacturers for hours, and many of them document every trip on YouTube for thousands of viewers who live for a good front-row POV.
Most of those videos are simple fun: a quick look at the queue, a few thoughts on the airtime, and a ranking at the end. But every so often, a clip captures something that shifts the conversation away from the ride itself.
That's exactly what happened this week with a video posted from Kings Dominion in Virginia. A popular creator's ride on the park's classic wooden coaster, Grizzly, appeared to show restraints that were barely closed, and the footage arrived at a particularly sensitive moment for parent company Six Flags.
Now the company says it's taking a closer look.
Six Flags: ‘Highest Priority'
In a statement provided exclusively to Entertainment Weekly, a Six Flags public relations manager said, “The safety of our guests and team members is our highest priority.”
The company also said it is “aware of the video circulating online that we believe was filmed in August 2026 and are conducting a thorough review.”
That date matters. If Six Flags is correct, the ride took place before the October 12 death at Six Flags Over Georgia, even though the video didn't go online until about a month after it.
Beyond that statement, Six Flags hasn't publicly shared any more details or results from its review that we've seen. Grizzly is also not among the coasters the company closed after the Georgia incident.
A Closer Look at the Clip
The video came from Marc Engel, the creator behind the CoasterDash channel on YouTube. He posted the vlog on Monday, and Entertainment Weekly viewed it before the Grizzly segment was apparently edited out.
ParkFans.net did get a copy of the footage and shared it on X: “A thoosie YouTuber with over 80k subs, CoasterDash, just posted a video in which he promotes riding @SixFlags’s/ @KingsDominionVA's wooden coaster, Grizzly, in a WILDLY and OBVIOUSLY dangerous manner. Original video is still live on his YouTube channel, but 🖼️ & 📽️ just in case:”
A thoosie YouTuber with over 80k subs, CoasterDash, just posted a video in which he promotes riding @SixFlags's/@KingsDominionVA's wooden coaster, Grizzly, in a WILDLY and OBVIOUSLY dangerous manner. Original video is still live on his YouTube channel, but 🖼️ & 📽️ just in case: https://t.co/Pu6BStRZGV
— ParkFans.net (@ParkFansNetwork) November 10, 2026
In the footage, Engel says, “I am super excited to get back on this coaster.” The camera then tilts down to show that the lap bars for him and his ride partner are nearly fully open, resting above their fastened seatbelts.
“Guys, are we serious? Why?” Engel asks. His companion jokes, “Shout-out to the ride op!”
Once the ride ends, Engel describes it as the “best ride I've ever had on Grizzly” and says “the ride operators gave us the most room I've ever had on any coaster in my life.” His companion adds that “this is not even a useful review, because this is such a unique experience on this ride.”
Entertainment Weekly said it had reached out to Engel for comment.
Meet Grizzly
Kings Dominion has been a Doswell, Virginia, staple since 1975, and it became part of Six Flags through the company's merger with Cedar Fair.
Grizzly is one of the park's veterans. The wooden coaster sits in the Old Virginia section and first opened on March 27, 1982. Its layout is closely based on the Wildcat, a defunct coaster at Coney Island in Cincinnati, and California's Great America has a mirrored version of the same design.
The ride runs two seven-car trains built by Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters. Each car seats riders two across in two rows, for 28 riders per train, and guests are held in by lap bars.
Grizzly has had some TLC over the years, including a major refurbishment that began after Labor Day 2022. It reopened to guests in 2023.
A Difficult Fall for Six Flags
The video's timing is what made it such a big story. On October 12, a man died after falling from Goliath at Six Flags Over Georgia. The 200-foot-tall coaster opened in 2006, and Cobb County police said in their preliminary findings that he was ejected from his seat.
Six Flags said shortly afterward that it was “deeply saddened by the guest incident” and that its “thoughts and heartfelt condolences are with the guest's family, friends, and loved ones.”
The company then closed 10 coasters across its parks, including Goliath in Georgia, according to Entertainment Weekly. Kings Island lost Diamondback and Orion, Carowinds shut down Fury 325 and Thunder Striker, and Canada's Wonderland closed Behemoth and Leviathan. Raging Bull at Six Flags Great America, Nitro at Six Flags Great Adventure, and Goliath at Six Flags Magic Mountain also went down.
Magic Mountain's Goliath, the only one of those built by the now-defunct Giovanola, has since reopened. The rest are Bolliger & Mabillard coasters. Over in Florida, SeaWorld Orlando also temporarily closed its own B&M hypercoaster, Mako, “out of an abundance of caution,” before reopening it.
Since then, Six Flags has said it will add secondary seatbelts to rides similar to Goliath, to be used alongside their main restraints.
X2 and the Bigger Safety Debate
Goliath wasn't the only coaster drawing attention to Six Flags this year. The Georgia incident came after three individual lawsuits were filed against the company, tied to more than 100 alleged brain injuries connected to X2 at Six Flags Magic Mountain. The park has since said X2 will close after 22 years.
In announcing the closure, Magic Mountain president Brian Oerding said the ride “consistently passed a multitude of safety tests.” He added that the park “decided to close the ride because we believe it's the right thing to do. Ride safety is a cornerstone of our business, and when we see guest confidence affected, we take it seriously.”
It's important to keep the numbers in perspective. According to a 2024 report from the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions and the National Safety Council, there were fewer than two reported injuries per million rides.
Your Restraint, Your Call
We'll update this story if Six Flags shares what its review finds. Until then, one tip for every rider: if a lap bar or harness ever feels too loose, let a ride operator know before you leave the station.
How are you feeling about coasters after this fall's headlines? Do you double-check your restraints more than you used to? Share your thoughts in the comments, and please keep it kind and respectful, with a family still grieving in Georgia.
