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SFMM Trip Report. Opening Day, April 1st, 2021. TLDR: I had a very six flags day (but it was awesome) After over four years, I finally returned to my home park and self-proclaimed "coaster capitol of the world", Six Flags Magic Mountain. This was my first ever trip to the park alone, and I was ready for anything and everything that could happen. My reservation was for 1:45pm but I arrived in Valencia at 11:30. I stopped at the Subway off The Old Road which I highly recommend doing if you don't have a meal plan. The lines looked long, though there is an app ordering system. I was finishing class via Zoom on my phone so that killed some time and then I decided to head over to the park. I got in the parking lot line at 12:00 on the dot. The line took just under 10 minutes which was not too bad. The parking attendant was very nice about it being the first day and did not make me pay for parking (thank you if you see this!!!) He said next time I would either need to pay standard fee or upgrade my pass and I was on my way. Parking was super fast and easy. I was guided into the first section of parking and got a pretty amazing spot. As I walked towards the entrance anticipation was quickly building. Seeing Twisted Colossus, Scream, Goliath, Superman, and even the waterslides for the first time gain got me so excited and grateful to be back at magic mountain. I walked through the covid screening which was super easy, walked through security without even stopping, and walked through the gates in a matter of minutes. For the first time I had no plan. I had about 13 roller coasters I wanted to ride first. Ultimately, I decided to head to X2, even though it was stuck when I entered the park. To no surprise, it’s gate was locked and the bridge was closed. I past above Revolution next and that was also broken down. A train was stuck on the break run with riders. So I decided to head up to Tatsu, and that was broken down as well with a very long line. But like destiny had it written, I headed to WCR for my first ride back and my first ride ever on the park’s latest attraction. I got in line for West Coast Racers at 12:40. The outdoor queue was filled and the line stretched decently far back. The indoor queue was not being used for idle standing like all the other rides (until it strikes 6…but more on that later) As you can see, not a whole lot of distancing here. At 1:10, just as I hit the entrance for the shaded outdoor switchback, the ride breaks down. 5 minutes later it was testing. Five more minutes the ride was back to full operation. This awful photo does not do this area justice. the ride has an enormous presence here and it's the center of attention at all times, even when it's not cycling it's just a piece of art. It’s worth noting however the capacity on WCR is terrible right now. Only rows 1,3,5 are open and it’s low capacity ride as is. Finally, after 90 minutes of waiting I got to ride the brand new West Coast Racers. First off, the theme was much better executed than I expected. The West Coast Customs collab is a huge success in my opinion. The coaster itself is just pure fun. That first high five element on the white side is absolutely nuts. Best element on the ride for sure. I preferred the white side a lot more on first ride but they were both excellent. It’s a family thrill coaster for sure but that’s exactly what the park needed. I thought these trains were stunning in person. The red one (not pictured) was especially cool. You absolutely fly out of your seat when you hit the break run on the yellow side. Hello old friend...another time (did not make today's priority list) First time seeing the new paint job and it looks great. I headed to TC and it’s line was full and out the queue. 3 train ops with major stackage. Got in line at 2:25. Waited for about 10 minutes until the ride broke down. Yep, that’s 4 straight (but we’re not done yet!) I was the last person in line they allowed to stay so that was great. Bought a blue Powerade and took a seat in the shade. A much needed break on this nearly 90 degree day outdoors. After about 15ish minutes the ride was fully operational. After another 30 minutes, I was on the ride. They let you choose your row now (which I feel like is not always the case?) and of course I went to the back seat. Like most the other rides, it was every other row. That was one of the most insane rides I have ever had on TC. It was absolutely hauling and I was literally screaming over the airtime hills and first drop. Headed to Full Throttle next. 2 train ops. It looked to have a much shorter wait than when I entered so I got line at 3:25. A few trains before I get on, someone throws up off the train just as the train hit the brake run, but the employees didn’t see and I guess there was no mess (I hope?) well as luck would have it I did have that train but like TC, the employee as nice and let me choose my row, so I went for the back, far far away from the yak. Only waited 30 minutes for this one which was by far the fastest of the day for the major coasters. No break down either! shoutout to the ride op on here too he was very entertaining. Next, X2. The beast was re-opened and it was my top priority. 1 Train operation. Got in line at 4:00 and the ride broke down at 4:20. It was a short line for X2 but the breakdown took a pretty long time. Even with most people leaving, I waited another 40 minutes before boarding. I opted for the front row since im just not ready for the back again yet lol. The speakers are on!!!! And it is glorious. Ah yes, ketchup and mustard the ride! 2! Another angle of the yellow lift stairs from FT. I personally think it is gross, but up close it's kind of cool and on the ride it's grey since it's only on the edge of each stair. So it's really not too bad but it's gross long distance and I will die on that mountain. Almost like X is trying to peek it's head out. Also this screen is in very desperate need of an upgrade. Notice the big black L in the top right corner One train ops woot woot! much better. It's very cool having Viper so close to the X2 line. Arrow heaven. After an exhilarating ride on X2, I headed to Viper for a quick walk on ride since I had time. Opted for the back row and it was extremely forceful. Greyed out a little bit on the turn after the first loop…people hate on this beast too much it has its moments. Idc what coaster i'm riding, if this is the wait i'm smiling. Update: still smiling but shoulders have been shattered. also employees cleaning the train In the station. Finally, I got in line for my beloved Tatsu at 530. 1 train operation. Neither Tatsu nor X2 alternated rows since the design allowed for it, but it was still one part per row. When 6 hit and the park “closed”, the employee enforcing the distancing (stopping people from going to station and letting people go in very small batches so there is no station wait)…yeah he just packed his bags and dipped so the entire line became a literal mosh. After SUCH a good day of covid precautions it was sad to see. First day though. Got on Tatsu at 6:25. Back row ride and it was fantastic. God I missed that pretzel loop. Tatsu really taunts you as you approach the station. Always hear people contemplating backing out here. Getting out of the park was also incredibly easy, and it took literally seconds to leave once I got in my car. Overall, it was a 9/10 day at the park. I had realistic expectations and it payed off. Other notables: Batman was closed. Lines can be deceiving. DO NOT LEAVE THE QUEUE when a ride breaks. Pretty much all the breakdowns were quick and the line shrunk a ton so all in all the wait for TC and X2 was *maybe* shorter with the breakdown...maybe. Also what is up with the new six flags coaster safety videos?? they played in a lot of the queues. so strange if you ask me. Anyway, this is my first real trip report on here, at least in many many years, and I hope it was not too terrible. If you have any questions ask away!

PSA: multiple people are reporting that El Toro has in fact opened for the season.

Most of the buildings are used - just not for customer-facing operations. Yes there should be a bit more effort in making them look like more than empty buildings. And yeah the Illinois section is just sad and almost to the point where a rework of it is more important than a new coaster. As for the shields on Ninja - they weren't there opening week. I guess the park is transitioning to opening every row with shields in place like other parks in the chain have done - we'll see if more appear next week.

Continued Trip Report, 4/02/2021 Xcalibur got stuck around 3pm, it was unloaded shortly after: Interesting View: Long lines for Turkey Stand near Xcalbur: Pandemonium: Did you know that the Queue used to be a dolphin show back in the 70's? Supergirl: Work has not resumed since opening weekend on the Carousel from what I can tell: The Boss closed most of the day until the last few hours: Former Go-Carts. Future use unknown: Spring is in the air: Wouldn't this be a great area for a new flat, or better yet a smaller Kids Coaster in tune of SFGA Little Dipper? That old queue needs to go, it looks horrible next to such a good coaster: Think Six Flags will ever turn this beast back on? Unlike Ninja, Screaming Eagle does not get dividing Covid "shields", or for that matter any control of how close people are: Beautiful shot of Screaming Eagle, Boomerang, and Ninja joining in for the shot : Look at all the potential for opening up the area: New deck by Fireball is open: Six Flags hasn't updated their signage in a while (2019): I still wish I got to see River King Mine train running its clone next door: One thing I hate about Six Flags in so many unused building dotting the park: Fowl Ball is still closed instead redirecting you to Moose Burger: Found some leftover Christmas theming: Train is suppose to reopen by spring 2021, but I don't think that is going to happen any time soon: New bridge for Train, but track is still not installed: Thunder River getting ready:

Mission accomplished. Had to play around on the tester to figure it out. Basically I have to kind of tilt my head back to get my head into the restraint and then it would go into place easily. Thanks to everyone who encouraged me to try again! Will some more thoughts to share later. Going to go enjoy my last few hours in San Antonio. Going to miss ZDT’s but got to ride WW and IRat.

Actually, it's already constructed, but this thread was trying to compete with the Worlds of Fun thread for inactivity. Way to ruin it.

Swung by the park for a few hours to see how things would be in the covid world, and I have to say that magic mountain did a pretty good job. For those wondering, it appears the only checks for residency occur during the online reservation process. At the turnstile I was only asked to show my reservation (note on that: I wish they would update their system on the backend to tie the reservation to your pass so you didn’t have to show the reservation and then take out your pass for scanning). The parking attendant asked me for my reservation time (which was 3pm and I arrived at 4), so it appears they are allowing arrivals after your slated time. Since I didnt arrive until 4, so I wasn’t going to chance a long wait for any of the headliner coasters taking all my time to do a lap, but I was able to get on justice league and revolution with about 10-15 min waits at each. mask enforcement was great, hand sanitizer was readily available, signage was everywhere, more security has been added, and they were following all the LA county guidelines down to even having the ride ops checking lapbars wear masks and googles for extra protection from being in close contact with guests. They are running multiple trains on the coasters, but only loading every other row. So yes, I would recommend flash pass as the only way to ensure you can hit every ride. Now onto the photos to tell the story... With the vaccine site remaining open, you will probably be parked in the overflow lot. But good for six flags for working with the county to keep the vaccine site open! There is no shortage of signage with all the safety rules starting from the walk to the park (shuttle is closed). Also of note, since it usually drives me crazy: all the trash cans on the walk in were clean in empty. Always hate seeing those gross, since it’s such a bad first impression. like all other SF parks, to enter you first go through the thermal camera screening and then the touchless security check. These should make the typically horrible entry lines go away for good when things are back to normal. Love that six flags is leading the way for this much needed technology upgrade for the whole industry. presumably with crowds limited both for park attendance and indoor dining in LA county, we won’t be seeing the sports bar opening any time soon. However, most other dining locations did reopen with mobile ordering and designated outdoor dining areas. It didn’t appear Six Flags was ready for the high demand of the food (presumably since so many passholders have dining plans). Hope they will adjust now that they have some real world data. Ride closures were better than I expected. Most flat rides were open, with crazanity being the notable one being closed (others were the bumper cars and the chair swings). Both water rides were closed, as was ninja. Hopefully with spring weather here, they can at least get jet stream back up since the boats will create natural social distancing and allow full capacity loading. In order to open justice league, the preshow was disabled to move people directly into the loading room, where groups were socially distanced and loaded one per car. Great way to meet the LA county indoor ride time guideline of 15 min. Some examples of how they are doing social distancing to get rides open. nothing visible going on with the potential new coaster site yet. Security with the bright yellow shirts were very visible in the park and doing a good job asking people to put their masks on.

^ oh. .it's NEVER just 5 large member cups. Friends (or kids) come up, and hand their cups to the people in line as well. So frustrating!

So what do we think the problem is that EVERY six flags park in the chain cannot get food service down!? And more importantly, how does it get fixed? I applaud you that you were willing to wait an hour, but something really needs to get fixed. Thanks for the Trip Report!

Yes, I do remember when the queue for Pandemonium was a dolphin show and then a diving show. That whole depressed area was a giant pool. Hopefully, they are making the shift to the station partitions and loading every row. That was what they are doing at SFOT, we were there a couple weeks ago. However, the ride op that lives in my house did not know a thing about it yet. Although he did report that they are indeed not requiring lockers and that MT now has cubbies ala Eagle in the station. As far as the carousel, you won't see much while they are working. Most of the refurb is taking place backstage. We saw a presentation on it last fall. They aren't going to put it all back together until they are about ready to open in up, hopefully next year. They never planned on having it done before 2022. They one completed horse that is on display is in a climate controlled display case. I think there will be several areas of the park that are in a kind of dead zone until next year when operations are back 100% and the chain has had a year to recover a bit from the Covid set back.

Lots of footage of Monster testing including two complete circuits at the end of the video for those who are interested in pacing and transitions between the elements.

Great report. It is so wonderful to see the park operating again. I believe the final count was 384 days of closure... Given how quickly the park turned around and reopened after the Governor released new guidelines, they should be applauded. I'm sure things will only get smoother from here on out.

Trip Report from Friday April the 2nd We got to the park around 11am, the parking gate was slowly crawling cars through with the parking lot already quite busy for a 49 degree morning. All coasters, expect for River King Mine Train and of course Boss, were running. Screaming Eagle was hauling today, more so than on opening weekend, which was quite pleasant flying through the newly budding/flowering spring trees. Boss didn't open until around the last 2hrs of park operations, which was our last ride before the park closed at 6pm. Boss also gave a great ride, even though it was running "cold", though I agree the mid course brake is horrible. The moment we hit the MCBR, the train gave a horrible screech as it was slowed to a crawl. River King Mine Train had a bucket lift stretched to the first hill, with maintenance crawling all over it, the ride was not operational today. Though I did notice new wood on the base of the supports of River King, so that was a plus to see. Thunder River and Log Flume were still not operational though I heard they are suppose to open this weekend, which is supported by the fact that the Flume has it logs in the trough and I saw staff moving the Thunder's rafts from the holding pool into the lift area. All coasters that were running, from what I could tell, were running multiple trains which helped moved a lot of the crowds in the very long lines. Mr Freeze no longer had a reduced cap. sign. but I couldn't tell if it was operating multiple trains so someone who had a chance to ride would have to chime in about that. In terms of Covid, they are still not managing it well. I didn't see no cleaning going on around the park until closing when I saw a operator spraying down Shazam. Bathrooms were for the most part, at least in the Men's, dirty. Stalls and urinals were pretty well used, some stalls no toilet paper, and we encountered quite a few empty soap dispensers. Ride wise, the operators were not enforcing distancing. But at least on the Boss, they did make sure people kept there masks up, which was the only instance where I saw staff enforcing masks rules. Otherwise lines were long and close, but I really don't know how else they can fix that, besides enforcing a electronic queue. But this is Six Flags, and I don't ever imagine that happening, or like in the case of their mobile food ordering being used efficiently. So besides a hiccup at the food stand, I can say I had a good day, I love my local park even with its flaws. My kid is just getting into the age where he can start riding the big coasters, and while I wish we had a SFGA Little Dipper as part of our collection, he really warmed up to Screaming Eagle and got his first ride on The Boss which might be his next favorite in the park. Ninja is still quite scary for him though, and American Thunder is too rough for him New wood fencing as pointed out by Danrarbc, which I noticed they replaced quite a bit over by the Kids Area: I wonder if they will open a new restaurant in the old Go Fresh location, the park is really lacking in food options: This area looks quite dead, please SFSTL, revamp this area and open this section of the park up: Forgot there used to be a food stand here, looks like it hasn't been used in many years: Superman's old queue, almost striped of its old theming: Except for this: Two closed restaurants, one shot: Need to blend the Employee Restaurant facade with the area, instead of screaming closed restaurant: Boom Lift on River King Mine Train: New wood spotted at the base: Spot the nesting goose : Ninja: Something I noticed in Ninja, that was not common park wide, was the Covid "shields" in queue: Moon Cars are no longer hiding behind American Thunder: Took over an hour to get our food, which we ordered mobile from Colonnades after 1pm: Mobile Orders are the middle line, which they have a this tiny sign under the awning giving the only direction: Only two employees are manning the counter, which consists of three separate lines, one for drinks, one for mobile orders, and the last for ordering: We got in line at 140pm, didn't our food until 240pm , by then this is what the heat window looked like: Six Flags about had a mob going of frustrated customers, most of us were waiting since 1pm to get our food. That heat window had orders backed up into the kitchen. This was the only negative on our trip. 992957555_20210402_1433352.mp4

^I have had some luck buying/selling that kind of stuff on eBay. Been collecting grandfathered Souvenir Mugs that way.

Happy birthday!

^ oops, sorry, my bad.

Man, I was bummed you didn't get on WW. That's great to see. It's a bitch getting my head in/out those restraints, too. Loved that ride.

Fantasyland Forest Theatre is now open in Tokyo Disneyland! https://www.tokyodisneyresort.jp/treasure/tdl2020/en/foresttheatre/ Map and (fuzzy) image, by Disney.

I love Six Flags mobile ordering and I'll use it exclusively from now on. It's not as good as Disney's obviously and sometimes they ignore it and don't make it until you walk up and show it to them at the end of your window but it avoids so many headaches, especially if you have a dining plan AND it saves time. I don't want to paint with a broad brush because Six Flags has some great employees but sometimes the app is just smarter (or at least more experienced) than the person working the register. It can easily add lunch credits / snack credits / dinner credits or whatever however you want and make modifications and put it all in their system for them so the people at the register have no opportunity to mess it up (which they do... a lot). It's great. I'm totally sold on it.

It sure has been a while. Covid has messed up lots of plans, lots of potential coaster trips. Hoping to ride some coasters later this year, and maybe check out some new stuff as well. Anyway, might as well try and post some more "old" stuff and maybe bring this topic back to life. Here are some Gold Rush opening day pictures. These are from 2017 (time sure flies)

How much time and money did they throw at this joke (turn on subtitles)? I find it interesting that the Efteling YouTube channel has nearly 200k subscribers!

You really can't think of anything going on in the world right now that might explain the hold up? Not one thing?

I'll definitely second Drake's! The food is totally delicious (and my face is on all the promos). Bardstown Road is also full of fun bars and restaurants. Hammerheads comes to mind.

^Lets be real...if you really wanna follow those guidelines you wouldn’t even be going to amusement parks.

I'll always do a drop ride multiple times if the lines aren't too long. To me and my family they are a staple at the parks. Love the Intamin towers. Heck, I'll marathon them. Done several on the order of 10 times in a row. The unique drop pattern of Superman was great as well. Removal leaves a hole in the ride offering. It's not just about the number of rides, ride balance is important. Pulling two rides in one season with no replacement on the 50th anniversary is a bold move. With everything else going to shit might as well make some hard decisions. Hopefully this will be the end of pulling rides for awhile. Moon car removal was inevitable due to the catering move to it's previous location. The track was just too small to be interesting. Driving through American Thunder was fun though! But you lose another family ride. Maybe it will show up someplace else with a bigger track. Catwoman Whip doesn't thrill me, but a refurbished carousel is awesome! I do think the strength of the park is the 3 woodies. I worked at the park for 4 summers in the 80s and had season passes for multiple years before that. I get to the park 1 or 2 times per year when I'm back in the St. Louis area to visit family.

Took us about 5 hours waiting in food lines strictly to use our tasting cards we purchased. The rides, wasn't even going to try. Would have bought QQ but Griffon didn't open until 2 or 3 ish, and then by 5 it looked like it closed down again. Other lines looked crazy. We just stuffed or face with food and alcohol. We'll be back again soon I'm sure to do the rides once pantheon reopens, plus we have rides at two Six Flags parks the next 2 days, so we had an enjoyable day out of the house.