singemfrc

Sweet. Just looked and already have the days off work for WCB, I'll actually get to go this year! Definitely doing SFMM, probably KBF as well. I'm kinda burnt out on KBF of late, but the WCB extras will probably tip the scale.

Double ups too. The Double-Up is my favorite element on my favorite local coaster, Gold Striker.

Agree completely, I might argue about Goliath..the trims could be at least lessened if not removed. The trims on Revolution and Green Lantern are just stupid. Remember they're loading two trains now instead of just one, so the line should move much faster. Also, since there are no longer two loading stations, they have almost twice the available space in the station building (minus what they said theyre going to block off).

I've got to agree with you on that, too. The front entrance needs some freshening up to fit into the new Steampunk District theme. Has anybody been able to check on that? I really hope they haven't left the station with the permanent temporary walls queue line. They are the absolute worst. I saw confirmation that they are going to repaint the front with different colors and add a large new arch sign that you walk under, but the structure of the station isnt changing. Inside the station they gutted everything and are putting in new queue stanchions. I just saw an update this morning saying that they are going to install a new wall that blocks off the old platform on the other side of the station. MM thinks that this ride will be high capacity enough not to need the extra room, but personally I rolled my eyes at that one. I dont see why you would feel the need to wall off potential extra queue space and do nothing with it, even if it's only rarely used.

YOLO recently changed from previously being a Platinum FlashPass reservation only to being just plain available if you have a Flash Pass. Based on past patterns, Twisted Colossus is likely to take the place formerly occupied by YOLO and be a reservation only ($15 per reservation probably, maybe $10) with Platinum required. No official announcement has been made yet though.

can you link to this video? i've never seen one with the block brake in it. what i have read or seen is that they have 90 seconds to dispatch the train to match up to race. easy for the average crew at a great place with guests that don't screw around, not so easy at magic mountain. i think at worst, it can at least race occasionally by having one train wait for a bit on the block out of the station, and then let it go when the one in the station is ready. i'd be happy if it had some sort of dueling every few circuits. anyway, looking forward to today's updates! I think it was the first rendering video before the one that's everywhere now..not sure. I remember that it was discussed in this thread when others noticed it and complained that there was a brake there. What you describe is how I assume it will work, either automatically or by ride-op operation. I'd assume the 90 seconds or whatever the real number may be is how long they have to avoid the previous train stopping, and if they take longer than that, then that's when the block brake comes in. Without it, the trains would only ever duel if they were running 4 at once or if the operators were running at maximum efficiency..neither situations common at MM. I'd rather sit in a block brake than count on that.

I believe you answered your own question. While one is loading/unloading, the other two are on the course. Theoretically, the time they take to load should roughly match the time on course. Also, the train approaching the green lift has a block brake where it will wait for the loading train to catch up if necessary - and knowing SFMM I'm guessing that will often be necessary. Reportedly the two chain drives are also variable speed and computer controlled so that they should always crest at the right time to match up...I've heard conflicting reports on that. Okay so they are going to use the block brakes at the bottom of the lift hills. I wonder if it will be a complete stop or what. I'll be curious to see the variable speed on the lift motors too. Yes, it's depicted in one of the animation videos. It shows the train completing the first half and then stopping before the green lift until the train headed for the blue lift catches up. I don't know if it's stopped and released automatically or if an operator has to manually hold it and release it.

I believe you answered your own question. While one is loading/unloading, the other two are on the course. Theoretically, the time they take to load should roughly match the time on course. Also, the train approaching the green lift has a block brake where it will wait for the loading train to catch up if necessary - and knowing SFMM I'm guessing that will often be necessary. Reportedly the two chain drives are also variable speed and computer controlled so that they should always crest at the right time to match up...I've heard conflicting reports on that.

^ They mean that when you're inverted, there's no track underneath you, because you're upside down and the track is above you. Not really a unique feature to floorless though. That description more closely fits Tatsu.

I looked at the MM website, and it's not listed as temporarily closed like Scream and Goliath. I hope that's a good sign... The good news is I heard from someone at the park today who said that it's still closed and would remain so for the rest of the day, but they're cycling empty trains all day. That definitely means that the chain is intact and the lift motor is working, and that hopefully means it will reopen soon.

I'll agree they post, but not much interesting stuff. no videos of construction, or what's going on. just basically advertisements to come to the park. would have loved to see something like the goliath insider. or the rougarou files. cedar point, tony clark, and crew do an awesome job with social media. look at how good Rob is, the site, forum and events would suck if he wasn't so good at doing it, imo. to me, sfmm is doing basic social media. Its not fair to compare them to Rob/TPR...TPR is way above and beyond it's nearest competitor. You're right it had been a while since the last video, the others came pretty steadily in a row and there was a gap until this one. I do wish they'd post more (or any?) updates about TC's construction, but there are numerous fan sites posting regular updates in addition to TPR and for the stuff they can't get, RMC fills in that gap. You could also argue that hosting multiple construction tours with fan site operators is contributing to social media even if they arent doing the posting themselves.

I like to give Prudential the ol' one finger salute while I'm riding Gold Striker. Re: Vortex - There's probably some truth to what the ride op said, cause CGA not being a year round park (Why?), their rehab would all be done in the off season, so it's unlikely to be scheduled maintenance. I wouldn't assume anything more than that though..may be more work needed and/or they're waiting for parts, but I wouldnt jump to a conclusion like scrapping a train or closing the ride. Go read the Cedar Point thread and look at all the work they're putting into Rugarou. People throw the "Hey convert ___ coaster from a standup to a floorless!" without realizing the massive amount of work that goes into that. It's a lot more than just swapping out the trains. The station has to be converted to that moving floor that standup coasters use, plus I'm sure there are changes adjustments that need to be made to motors, brakes, and electrical. The new trains themselves are surely also a pretty big chunk of change. I agree with skaunit..I think that if the time comes where Vortex isn't doing it for park management anymore, a conversion isnt gonna be on the table.

SFMM doesn't do social media like some of the other Six Flags parks, unfortunately. But, I hope it happens, when that time comes. Wicked Cyclone's looks great. Do we know why SFMM doesn't do major social engagement like a lot of the other big parks do? It seems like a pretty easy thing for them to do and grab a lot of attention. Even little bits would help. Thats not true that they arent active on social media. I follow SFMM on Facebook and they certainly post a sufficient amount. I like the amount the post..just enough to let you know what's going on without bugging you. In fact just yesterday they posted an official POV of Green Lantern, the last coaster they had yet to post one for. Funny though in the official POV run they didn't even get a flip on the last drop, probably because the train was empty...just sayin they shoulda put one water dummy in it or something to make it flip for the video. Green Lantern vid:

Hmm..could be. I dont remember seeing that in the past, and in the photo I saw it didnt appear to be temporary, but I could be wrong.

Maybe a sign that SFMM is still committed to keeping Sky Tower, I saw that they have in the last couple days installed new LED lights on the structure.

Heard some sad news yesterday. Zonga, which had been sold to a seasonal park in Aguascalientes, Mexico has been sold for scrap metal and will be dismantled soon. UPDATE: Heard that the original source for this was a simple security guard, so the information may or may not be reliable.

The vertical adjustment on some of those are broken, too..it may not have gone down. I don't think it's unsafe, at least not in its ability to keep her securely in the car, however its probably uncomfortable.

There will be, but it hasn't been installed yet. I heard as of yesterday they were still waiting for it to be delivered.

YAY!! They look outstanding!! SFMM Twitter

Simple. If you want to find the single rider line, they are normally near the exit of the ride. You can find them for Green Lantern, Riddler's Revenge, Viper, Revolution, and Lex Luthor. Just be careful with the single rider lines though as they can be as long as the regular line (like for Lex Luthor and maybe Green Lantern). Also, thanks for the additional pictures, berryfarm. Realistically there's no chance of waiting longer for a single rider line than a standby line at Magic Mountain. The only ride where that would be theoretically possible is Lex Luthor, but ride ops on LL will close the Single Rider line if the standby line is less than 20-30 minutes long, so it shouldnt ever happen. Otherwise if the park is busy enough to make the single rider line long, then the standby line is also much longer. Ive used the single rider lines on Lex Luthor, Riddlers, and Green Lantern extensively and have never seen more than 2 or 3 other people in line. The park just doesn't advertise that these lines exist, so the only people that use them are enthusiasts who find out about them on sites like this one. There are posted signs, but they have small writing and blend in with all the other signs so most people don't notice them unless theyre looking for them. Single rider lines for Viper and Revolution are useless on typical days. On busy Summer Saturdays or holidays when lines are unusually long you could use them, but I've never had to since I avoid going to the park on days like that. AvengedYolo, I'll PM you details on how to find all the single rider lines at SFMM.

Basic knowledge of physics will tell you airtime is likely. There isn't really anything in the course that would significantly slow the train down, and given the length it makes sense to have it fly through the course and that will produce airtime.

Last year there was WCB Knotts and WCB SFMM and there werent very many perks for SFMM compared to KBF, so they may have dropped SFMM this year or they may just still be working on it.

To answer your question about Ninja, it's train is in rehab early because with the accident with the tree, they had to run that train by itself while they frankenstein'd a second one so it needed its annual rehab sooner than it might have otherwise since it ended up running a lot more cycles.

^ Just to be clear, I'm not one of those people. Everything I'm saying is just my opinion.