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You'd be able to see every tourist trap for miles!

After spending two days at CP (Sunday and Monday of this week... with Monday being HORRID with crowds and rides not operating, and staffing issues), we drove to Mason for a Tuesday visit to K.I. our first ever. Having PTSD from previous days, seeing amazing forecast, and seeing early car lines trying to get in before opening... we panicked and purchased FL+. BEST DECISION EVER. We've never been "pay extra to skip the line people" but outside of drop tower, we NEVER waited more than 10 minutes. Got 24 coaster rides in. Never checked online for times. Grabbed our funpix after every ride. Ate a nice off-peak lunch at Miami River by diamond back. Had some nice beer. And closed down the park. The ops were SPECTACULAR. The rides were consistently running. The crowd was fun and engaged. It was our family's best amusement park experience of all time. We'll be back!

Cool. Now how about rehiring the 900+ entertainment people who have been waiting 15 months to return to their stages. Just a thought....

When can we all start asking if Cedar Fair's leadership sucks?

Laugh reacts only...

look, I LOVE, Knoebel's. . but you might want to rethink your comparison here: they had over 25 rides closed yesterday, many due to . . . yup, staffing. so is a park being "open" but with half the attractions shut down (including Twister!) better than a park shutting down on some days?

Buy a runners belt. Its great for hiding loose articles. The enployees are looking at bulging pockets.

So I could only be at the park until 3 due to evening commitments and they opened Jersey Devil at... Of course, 3. So being the good boyfriend I am I decided to hold off this trip and... Oh, who am I kidding, of course I had to stay and get at least one ride in, plans be damned! I won't go into detail because I don't think I'd be adding anything that hasn't already been said, but yes it is worth the hype. Don't listen to anyone who negatively overreacts because it "isn't the best RMC", or Raptor for that matter. Because if you come from a park that doesn't have an RMC, you would want this ride at your park, and wouldn't be nit-picking. My one word of advice (and I apologize if it's already been mentioned) is to remember it has the same loose article policy as El Toro and Kingda Ka, but the lockers are quite separated from the entrance, they're back next to the funnel cake stand. Quite a few riders got turned away after waiting in line not realizing this. Photos below of test runs, apologies for the sun glare. This is a ride best photographed in the morning for sun angles, but didn't have that luxury today. Also one of the early tests stalled entering the MCBR (pic attached), and barely made the inversions. On a side note, there was a security guard turning people away today from Nitro's entrance if they had loose articles, a-la El Toro style. This is my first time seeing this, and some guests were argumentative (presumably because they know this is a ride that doesn't usually do that). Anyone else know if they've done this before from time to time? My thinking is maybe they had an issue with an on-board rider taking out a phone previously today, but who knows.

The argument about that shouldn't take place on here at all because at the end of the day we know that Cedar Fair is only doing what they're mandated to do. Even Knott's lifted the restrictions ASAP. There's nothing that the park can do about it. Guests should follow the rules even if they're excessive because riding a coaster with a mask on is better than not riding one at all. Nobody's mask is going to fly off though.

I don't think "lesser RMC" is meant as a slight against the coaster, because there really isn't a bad RMC in the bunch. I've been on Steel Vengeance, Lightning Rod, Twisted Timbers, Wicked Cyclone, and this and I feel like out of those I would only put it above Wicked Cyclone. But all 5 of them are excellent coasters, so it's not a slight to consider it a "lesser RMC".

To conclude (in brief), as this really belongs in a K.I. post... but as we had early entry to K.I. and they didn't... and the crap show that was Monday at CP...I took a picture of the parking lines and sent to to them (they hadn't left the hotel yet)... and they responded with "we should buy FL+". DONE! So... first trip to K.I. was freaking amazing. 26 total rides, 24 coasters, leisure clockwise approach, good beer and food, MAGIC. Changed every future visit to a park. Also, CP has such a maintenence issue with their coasters (and/or wind), and K.I.'s were SUPER reliable. My daughter is firmly off the mind that K.I. is better... even though her favorite two coasters are at CP. NOW... to plan a trip through Virginia and Pennsylvania. We'll try and save money through airbnb's and buck up on the fast passes. Thanks for all the advice!!!

so what you're saying is you DIDN'T get on it in 10 minutes. based on your hints, you would have waited 1 hour and 20 minutes (minimum) to get your ride, since you got there right at 9, and basically stood in line waiting for Steel Vengeance to open - instead of riding other things open during early morning hours. Actually, you would have stood around doing nothing for ~2 hours, since you recommend getting there at 8:30 parked. my time is worth more than the cost of FL+, so it's foolish not to buy it, and just do it that way (and also enjoying any other early entry rides that are open, if you're a hotel guest/pass holder)

Sounds like a lot of work. Or, you know, go at 1:00p with fast lane. ... but no there are some good tips in there for those without FL. Having stuff for the free lockers can potentially slow you down a bit, as you said, if you go with empty pockets you bypass everyone getting the lockers. At least when I was there... but we were super quick getting the lockers so it didn't matter.

They say that every day. I would pay zero attention to them.

I'm going to guess that staffing is what's happening there.

Yes, when I asked a team member yesterday, they said Apocalypse would be closed all day. Not sure what's happening there. You still have to walk all the way around Hurricane Harbor for preferred parking, but it's as close as you can get. That's one part I'll miss about the pandemic; for a brief time, they allowed preferred parking to park in the valet lot right next to X2, which is a great lot. Sadly, it's back to being used only for Valet now. And I don't know if it'll be that slammed... it's still supposed to be pretty hot, which drives a lot of people out of the park (though the parking lot will still be very crowded from all the Hurricane Harbor people).

Yeah, in-person the ride area looks very nice (by their standards).

The wait times have been incredibly reasonable. Everyone seems to rush it in the morning and then it’s somewhere between 45 and 90 minutes later on. Per Queue Times (which pulls data from the Universal App). Scroll to “Queue times for last week” and ignore the first day which was opening day.

Majority of the line is under a nice looking pavilion (not pictured). All you see in my picture is the line to and from the pavilion (which is very brief in both directions) and the Flash Pass path.

Thank you for this awesome, accurate and HILARIOUS trip report. One of the best on this site. As a LA local, I could not agree with you more. I've been to almost all of the Six Flags parks - Magic Mountain really falls towards the bottom of the pack for me; it's just is such an odd place. No atmosphere. Few flats. Occasional sewage smells. Chipped paint. Bathrooms that rival public beach restrooms. Employees that just seem completely dead inside. I would argue that even Six Flags America looks nicer - and that's sayin' something. There's a few great coasters, coupled with so many "meh" rides. I just am always shocked that management ever walks around the place and thinks that its normal to have a popcorn stall line that is an hour long or multiple buildings and a park tower that are just rotting away. This place has so much potential. It's gotten better in the past ten years, but you never know what kind of day you'll have until you get there. In most cases, it's a "Six Flags day". Anyway, thanks for posting!

For the record, Ricochet is one of my favorite wild mouses. I do like that ride. If line is short, I'll ride it a few times each visit.

It seems like summer is the only time of year SFMM has their fire effects working. Personally, I'd rather get blasted in the face with heat during Holiday In the Park than on a 108-degree summer day.

Drive back was a success! Left home at about 9:30, couple rest stops and surprisingly light traffic later I pulled in at 1:15. Already 3 rides in on Jersey Devil! First couple were in the middle of the train, which wasn't all that powerful but definitely super fun. 3rd ride was the magical back seat, and wow! Insane ejector air on the first drop and a couple other spots, and it takes some of the twists faster back there also. I definitely think it's a step above a lower tier RMC like Wicked Cyclone. Makes me more interested in trying Wonder Woman or Railblazer, can't imagine how intense those are! Definitely a home run for the park. Very efficient with loading, line never stops moving. Only a 10 minute wait today, definitely going back for more laps later! Park isn't too crowded so hitting stuff on this side of the park for a bit. Line for Nitro wasn't even long enough to write this post. Excellent ride in back as usual! Edit to include thoughts from the rest of the day: Hit Batman which would've been a quick line but broke down for 15 minutes. Great ride as always. While I still contend that Banshee is the B&M invert masterpiece, I love the Batmans for sheer intensity reasons. Really need to try Montu! Had a couple beers at the Skybar, which was a bit of an ordeal as there were probably 20 people there trying to get free water or drink bottle refills. Nice spot once you get your drinks. Hit the other side of the park real quick. Mine Train was a walk on and was quirky as always. That last hill is the best airtime on a steel coaster in the park. Hit Bizarro after a 10 minute wait. Not sure if it's the age, but this ride gets more meh to me the more I ride it. I think I have a vendetta against floorless coasters that aren't or haven't once been themed to Batman. Caught El Toro reopening from a breakdown so hit that in the magic seat. Actually got a bit of a battle wound...my stomach (ok...my gut) got pinched between the seatbelt and lapbar and really got squeezed on the first hill and looks like it got pierced now. Was bleeding at the end of the ride. Worth it though! Superman was posting a ridiculous queue time of 70 mins, I don't usually bother with Green Lantern, and I got a few rides on TTD 2 weeks ago which is far superior to Kingda Ka, so I was good with that side of the park and headed back to the other side. Jumped on Skull Mountain in back, fun as always. Wrapped up the day with 2 more back row rides on Devil. Was by myself today, so they called out for a single to fill the back row. Then when I got back they once again needed a single for the back row, but no one stepped up so they told me I could hop back on lol. If Jersey Devil is on the HITP list, it will be an unbelievable lineup. Honestly would have no reason to go to the other side of the fountain (except to go get Pork Kabobs). Fun day, worth the 8 hour round trip for the 2nd time in 3 days.

and here it is lights on

point to be made: ABSOLUTELY worth the upcharge (~$3 for Haunted Mansion). It's *not* a "scary, Haunted House attraction" - it's an old skool dark ride attraction where you slowly move by sets - cheesy, WONDERFUL sets, mostly in neon colors. we love it, and it's for the throwback cheese factor, not the scary. . because really, it's less scary than the Disney Haunted Mansion. here's a TPR ride thru. . . don't miss it, if going to Knoebels (also don't miss the chair lift, I'd do that over Impulse ANY day).

It's been almost all of June with minimal downtime for an Intamin!

I rode it on June 5. So yes.

A few years ago I thought Six Flags parks were shitholes, and Cedar Fair was a much better company. Now, I think Six Flags parks are shitholes, and Cedar Fair needs to get their shit together.

On my last trip to the park I hit a milestone!

For what it's worth, I visited the park this past Wednesday with my daughter. After our inaugural visit back in 2019, where she just missed being tall enough to even ride the Shredder, we made the decision to not return until she hit at least 48" so she could ride way more stuff. Well, she finally hit her mark back in April, so we ended up picking up the low-price mid-week tickets that gave us free reign of the park from 12 PM to 7 PM. We didn't end up actually getting there until 2:00 PM (had to wait for her virtual school to end before we left), but once we did, it was a pretty painless process. We picked up our wristbands at the counter after they scanned the QR code from our online purchase. Unlike in the past where they were embedded with RFID chips and they would be scanned at every ride entrance, these are now just your average paper wristbands that we showed upon entry to the park and then never got checked again the rest of the day. Crowd levels were pretty light, as to be expected mid-week. In the span of the five hours that we were there, we rode everything we wanted to ride multiple times. None of the rides had more than a station wait, with the exception of Jimmy Neutron, which was closed earlier in the day but opened back up around 4 PM. For whatever reason they were only loading about four or five cars at a time on that ride, so it took us about three cycles to get on. The first coaster she wanted to ride was her nemesis from last time, The Shredder. This is without a doubt my favorite spinning coaster I've ridden so far (might change whenever I make it out to SDC, but for now, this slaps). The sheer length of it gives a lot of bang for your buck, and with only the two of us in the car, we got some absolutely insane spinning. Both times we rode it, they allowed us to stay on for re-rides thanks to no one else being in the station, so we ended up getting a total of four rides. It's just a great smiles-on-faces ride, and easily a big favorite here. Shellraiser was up next, and it was also a walk-on for us. Sadly, this one ended up being a one-and-done. Although the layout is great, I remembered half of the rides with my son being super rattly back in 2019, and unfortunately, it's only gotten worse since then. I don't know what they can do to fix this ride, but it's shaky to the point of the car feeling like it's going to tear itself apart mid-ride. We noticed at many points throughout our time there they were just sending empty cars throughout the course. Here's hoping they find something to do with this ride that makes it more enjoyable for everyone, because as it stands, this record-breaker is definitely the biggest flop in the park. Slime Streak was listed on the website as being down for maintenance from the 4th through the 20th, but for whatever reason, it was open that Wednesday! I was a bit apprehensive about riding as I had heard it was not particularly friendly towards larger body types and I'm still trying to shed those extra lockdown pounds, but I'm happy to say that although the trains were on the small side, the restraints were not overly restrictive. We did this one twice throughout the day. It's your average family coaster, nothing too special or thrilling but gives a nice view of the park. Timmy's Half-Pipe Havoc was open for the first time for us, originally being closed back during our 2019 visit. This was my second Intamin halfpipe coaster and my daughter's first experience. More ridiculous fun, with the back and forth launches and the rapid-fire spinning. We only did it once but wouldn't mind riding it again. Sandy's Blasting Bronco was also operating, but due to the height requirement being 52" and my daughter being short by 4 inches, we skipped it. It looks hecka fun, though, and hopefully the next time we go back and my son is along for the ride, we'll get a chance to give it a spin! Other rides of note: Kraang's Pandemonium is an absolutely bonkers mini-pendulum that picks up speed super fast, and the interaction with the ceiling (and ceiling fans!) is sure to thrill. Skyline Scream was operating as well, and this S&S tower runs a combo program; it shoots you up to the top and then bounces several times before pulling you the rest of the way up for a beautiful panorama of NYC and New Jersey. You are greeted up at the top by Spongebob and Patrick figures before you plummet back down. While it apparently can rotate, it wasn't rotating during any of our three rides on Wednesday, but it was still a lot of fun. Last but not least, while the Reptar carousel is cool to look at, it's a total pain to ride. Not sure whose idea it was to have the spikes on the tail poking your butt if you slide even slightly backwards. There were a number of new Zamperla kiddie rides scattered throughout the park, including a Crazy Bus themed to the Loud House, a Happy Swing themed to Dora The Explorer's monkey Boots, some cupcake looking teacups themed to Butterbean (whatever that is), and a mini-whip themed to Paw Patrol, but the only one that was currently operational was a Bubble Guppies themed spinning balloon tower. Here's some photos of the ones currently under construction: Foodwise, they're still only operating a single food stand located near the Half-Pipe coaster, with primarily pre-packaged sandwiches, hot dogs, popcorn, snacks, and the like. However, we noticed they were bringing more structures into the building as we were leaving Slime Streak for the second time, one of which said "Burger Bar" on it. Hopefully there'll be a little bit more options for food in the near future, especially considering that they aren't offering re-entry to the park currently. If you want to check out any of the other food options in the mall, you'll forfeit the remainder of your ticket. I'm definitely happy we visited on a slow day with the cheaper tickets and smaller crowds. I wouldn't want to visit on a weekend, where you're limited to timed entry and exit periods and the crowds are heavier, as I feel like you simply wouldn't be able to get through everything here (and it's not even as if there's a whole lot for that matter). Last but not least, the parking fee. It's free under two hours, and $2 for any length of time over 2 hours. This is ridiculous... and by ridiculous, I mean ridiculous to complain about. Literally go anywhere else in New York City and try to find parking anywhere near as cheap as that. Or for that matter, any other amusement park that isn't named Knoebels. Hell, the Queens Center Mall charges $3 for an hour of parking and all they have is a damn Target and Red Lobster. I get that people are looking for something to whine about, but this ain't it, chief.