NYTrojan

I'm not a fan of the people taking off shoes either... and do anything myself to avoid it mostly because I just refuse to walk around barefoot on nasty theme park ground... but I do understand it. There are a number of reasons why. Sometimes your most comfortable shoes are a bit loose. Walking around you're okay, but getting whipped around an outside loop might be cause for some concern and better be safe than sorry. Sometimes you're going to the waterpark as well, which means you'd be leaning toward flip flops. Some people actually find flip flops more comfortable for long distance walking, and they ARE more open to the air for hot days. And what is more uncomfortable than walking around in soggy shoes due to a log flume or Roaring Rapids? Flip flops are the way a lot of people go because they dry out easily. Remember, you aren't going hiking. You don't need to protect your feet from scrub, or haul yourself over the top of rocks, or have to worry about wild animals. You're walking on pavement, and there are MANY people who wear flip flops for 10+ hours of walking around on that. As for me, I have a good pair of sandals that seem to answer all of these questions. Multiple straps assure that the thing stays tight to the foot (tighter than my regular shoes actually), it's open to the air, has good foot support, and can dry out from a water ride nicely.... but then again there's no way I'm going to walk barefoot over the top of someone's used gum or spit or something. I think about these things. You guys do too. The GP doesn't. Remember, we go to parks more times in one summer than they do in 5 years. There's no magic bullet... but really, I'm surprised at how impatient we have all become. Lines are what they are... I remember waiting over 3 hours for Batman when it was new.

Please indicate where I EVER said I was an expert. I said In My Opinion as an ADMISSION that I don't have evidence. It just seems to me that the equation is pretty simple: X = time it takes to walk to and from bins Y = time it takes to deposit item in bins Z = time it takes to take off shoes Time it takes to deposit shoes = X + Y + Z Time it takes to deposit anything else = X + Y It stands to reason one of these is shorter than the other. I contend that Scream never had an issue for the EXACT reasons you quote that shoes aren't a problem... I seem to remember 3 trains before, but then again you have the numbers. Still I've never waited more than 20 minutes for scream so take that with a grain of salt. X1 always had a locker policy so the speedup isn't related to the lockers at all, and Tatsu is still slow. I do grant (and always did) that Riddler is faster. It's also the only ride where shoes aren't a problem. I agree that the lockers will help, but on rides where you still have people depositing items (such as shoes) the help is going to be severely limited.

You can't force people to walk through line barefoot. Items or not, you're going to have to wait for people to take off and put on their shoes, which IMO takes longer than any personal item. Oddly enough, this impacts 3 of the 4 rides that they have lockers for.

a dual loading station (linear, like Maverick or Top Thrill Dragster, not split like Tatsu) would be nice, but can't work unless you have a place for the fully loaded but not yet ready to dispatch train to go. For example, if you are loading two trains at once, and they are both ready, you can only send the first one off. Then the next train, fully loaded, has to go somewhere while the dispatched train rolls. If the only place for it to go is right where the previous train loaded... you're back down to one place that can actually load. There are 3 trains, 1,2, and 3, and two loading stations. A is closest to the lift, B is behind A. Trains 1 and 2 load in stations A and B. Train 1 dispatches, train 2 moves forward.... to loading station A. Train 3 can load in station B, but station A is stuck. And will remain stuck as train 2 is dispatched and train 3 takes its place in station A. You need an empty spot before the lift (like TTD and Maverick have) to do it. All in all, I think this is as good as X is going to get without a pretty complete overhaul of the ride's station. It is definitely better than it ever was. The ride used to be prohibitively slow. Now it is pretty close to other slow loading but not end-your-day slow. It's pretty close to Tatsu and faster than Deja Vu. It's no magic bullet, but I am pretty darn impressed with what they were able to accomplish.

Maybe I'm missing something but wasn't this how the old X was designed to run but things just didn't work out? The problem was that when a train pulled into the unloading section it had to stop, rails had to go up, seats had to rotate, people had to leave and fully clear the area (creating a new dispatch event where operators had to give the thumbs up that the train could proceed), then the rails could go down, the seats could rotate back to prone position, and move to the loading position. This just took so long that when you had 2 trains running you still ended up with one stacked before the unloading train could make it to the loading section.

Oh! And one more small thing: I heard some GP behind me in line at one point say "Sucks that the tower is closed, I wanted to see that museum" I can only assume that it was due to wind. While it is a shame the weather can't cooperate with you all the time, It is REALLY cool that Six Flags has made something that people really want to go check out up in that tower. Well done.

Wow, lots of folks at SFMM yesterday... I'm surprised I didn't run into any of you (Though I may have and not known it!) I was there the whole day and had a few observations, surprisingly some that have not yet been covered. Before I get to those, I'd like to throw my opinion of X2 into the mix, I -LOVED- it. It has instantly turned into the marquee ride that it should have been. This is the first time I have ever been to a six flags where I had a 'ride experience'. From the start of the line to the end of the ride, you experiencing the ride. The music is a huge addition in my opinion. I won't ruin the surprise for you, but it is synchronized to the ride. I thought that it would just play random songs because... well that's just the six flags way. Instead it is timed up to the elements of the ride as you go along, and wraps things up for you at the end. VERY cool. Almost Disney-esque (as in Rockin Roller Coaster). I will say I didn't see the fog except for when I was looking for it in the raven turn, but I did see the fire and I was in the back row. You definitely feel it first though. I am the wrong person to talk to about how rough X is, because I never thought it was that bad. Viper gives me trouble, and Psyclone was pretty bad, but you have to get as bad as the Predator at Darien Lake (anybody else here been on that?) before I'll start avoiding a ride. Still, I didn't think X was bad at all. I was on the outside row in the back. The video in the queue is a great addition, and was very entertaining. The only problem is it loops after around 25-30 minutes and you can pretty much bank on the line being longer than that. We also had some technical issues with the TVs in the main switchback area. One was out completely and the other 3 flickered quite a bit. All in all I am shocked to see production values this high from a Six Flags. I do worry that all these new doo-dads will be a maintenance nightmare and really hope that they make the investment to keep this ride running at its current level. It is absolutely superb. Something worth noting: On a weekday SFMM still had security standing throughout the line watching for cutters and the like. The number of people required to staff X2 is extremely high... I can only imagine what the comparative running cost of this ride is with all the others once you figure in all the extra staff, fire, etc. I agree with folks that we will never see 3 trains on X. It is just a slow loading ride and that's that. I was timing the crew and they were getting dispatch times in the 2:45-3 minute range and the crew was hustling. The only 'wasted' time I could see was waiting for all the riders to get off and get OUT before opening the gates for the new folks. The ride also appeared to break down for a short period of time while I was waiting for it at around 6:30 or so. I saw a maintenance crew worker and a ride op in an orange vest walking around the stacked train with riders on it. A solid 10 minutes passed before the next train left, but it was up and running shortly after that. That said, I did something I have NEVER done at SFMM yesterday... I rode X twice. In the morning when the park opened (30 minute wait) and in the evening at around 6 (45 minute wait). I know that the ride had a 2 hour wait at one point, but I can say with certainty it is loading faster. It's still a slow load, but they had decent sections of the queue full... sections I have seen empty for years... and had lines actually move. Were I to guess, I'd say that ride has about 1.35 times the capacity of the old X. The folks behind me actually said they decided to go on X because the line for Tatsu was too long. Now, on to the observations from around the park. The Laughing Dragon pizza place was getting a full sign renovation. There was a cherry picker up there yesterday with freshly painted letters (I only saw the ones for DRAGON ) on the ground and a crew starting to put them up on the building. So there you go, no new places up there but they ARE making an investment in the laughing dragon itself. There is a construction wall up where Spinout used to be. This could just be something I never noticed before, but when I was up on the lift on Goliath, I noticed one section of the colossus lift appeared to have new (newer?) red paint. As in, all of it was a very faded pink except for one strip 3/4ths of the way up that appeared darker red. Could be that I was just noticing something that has been there a long time, I was far away and didn't see it for long, but maybe someone who goes to MM can take a closer look next time. My battles with the lockers continue. This time my complaint is with inconsistent rules. I won't get into it too much but I'll leave it by saying the only ride where lockers are REALLY required is Riddlers revenge. My guess is the other three deal with shoes so much that it doesn't really matter anyway. Was disappointed to see only one train running on Colossus. That is just too long of a ride to only have one train going. 2 trains on batman, but 1 on Colossus? I don't get it. Looks like Revolution's queue can use some love. The fake rocks have chicken wire showing through. Ditto the big fake tree. at first glance I thought they were simulating that tree fungus that grows on some, but it turned out it was just the foam rubber insides showing through the cracked body. All in all a very successful trip.

The 210 Eh? I usually avoid that one. Last summer my Wife was spending some time in Riverside and the 210 was a pretty nasty drive... but at that time I was headed westbound in the afternoons. is it usually better eastbound in the morning rush hour traffic?

Hey everybody, question for the group, esp those who go to SFMM often. I'm heading out there next week... either Thursday or Sunday. I'm coming up from San Diego, so that would mean Thursday I'd have to fight LA Morning traffic through Anaheim and such to do it. Is it worth dealing with that for the reduced crowds (even though the hours shrink? Sunday the park is open 10-10 and Thursday it's 10:30 to 7:00). I know Sundays are lighter than Saturdays but we're officially in summer and I want to hit X2.

Has the ride been opened to the public early, or was this another preview event? If it has been opened, how long did you end up waiting to ride?

^^ X always had a locker policy, so we can't hope for much speedup there. It is my hope that the single load / unload will help (though I was hoping that they would find a way to make it possible to load 2 trains at once, kind of like a GIANT maverick station, but seeing as there's no location to move loaded-but-not-ready-to-dispatch trains, I fully understand why they couldn't.

^^ SFNE has a Batman: The Ride as well... it's a floorless, but they have one.

I really don't get the big deal with what happened in New England. Can't they just finalize the plans and rebuild over the next winter? I mean it sure sounds like it was a paperwork goof... why can't they dot their i's and cross their t's and start over?

I've got mine right here. It says "X2 Flight Pass This voucher is good for a single X2 flight pass valid for one person for one ride on X2 only. To redeem, take this voucher along with your valid 2008 six flags magic mountain season pass to the FLASH PASS entrance of X2. This voucher is void if duplicated, reproduced, or altered. Pass not transferable. Only one voucher per person. Visit sixflags.com for current operating schedule. Valid any operating day in June 2008 except Saturdays. Expires June 30, 2008." That said, I wonder if there is no flash pass entrance of X2, will they honor these? I'm guessing that they will, since there will be such a limited number of them, but still... very curious.

Tim said that they got some 'neat ideas' from the Japanese sister coaster, but didn't hesitate to state that they are not at liberty to completely rebuild the station. He DID say that they are doing away with the "bring the train in, raise the rails, unload, lower the rails, move the train forward, raise the rails, load the train, lower the rails, send the train out" system and that you will load and unload from the same place (Though I am curious as to how they will handle long stacking periods, especially if they really do get 3 trains running) but I am willing to give them the benefit of the doubt. I am VERY interested in a trip report the day it opens. I'll actually be headed to the mountain next week (probably Thursday) and will give my own notes on X2 then, but I sure hope this place will be flooded with info long before then.

It's sounding more and more like no X2 fastpass... which makes me wonder if they will honor the fast passes that did get passed out

Okay, here's a question I've been meaning to ask... Am I the only one who doesn't get the colors used for the new X trains? The track is a pretty sweet charcoal and red... mean and menacing. The trains? Florida Gator Blue and Orange. How'd that happen?

That's a fair point. I saw a sign on the shelves telling guests not to open them at all; to have a staff member handle the shelves. However, I do understand that those sorts of things tend to be ignored by the GP. Still, Riddlers doesn't have any shelves and that's the one where I saw Ride Ops force riders to retrieve their gear. At Tatsu they pretty much let it go as there were so many hats and shoes it rarely made a difference.

I Disagree. I've not seen a delay on Tatsu because people are taking too long to get back to their seats. I honestly don't ever remember a ride op waiting to check a set of restraints because someone took too long to walk 30 feet. I DO see delays on Tatsu because the computer reads one or two of the cars as not being properly secured, forcing the ride ops to reassess the car, unlatch, relatch everybody, etc etc. I also hate it when someone pulls the restraints too tight and needs a reset. I see even worse delays on rides like Scream when a heavy person gets in the wrong line because they don't mark the 'fat friendly' seats and they have to shuffle the whole train to try to accommodate. One set of "Hey big guy, try your luck here instead" signs would do more for dispatch time than lockers I guarantee it. My opinion on the lockers is known and I don't want to turn this thread back in that direction, but you're always going to have something work its way to the station that won't ride, especially on a ride like Tatsu. Shoes, hats, and stuffed animals too big for lockers are just a few examples. The park can take a hard line on these things and really force you not to ride, and as much as some of you enthusiasts might love it, Joe Sixpack with his flip flop wearing family will turn their backs on a park so consumer aggressive. SFMM is in a position where they need to make nice to the gp who come into the park. They are trying to overcome some pretty serious negative publicity. Telling a 13 year old they can't ride because they made the mistake of taking their prize with them in line won't cut it. I especially like when someone takes a jacket or sweatshirt off and leaves it by the side of the train. Then ride ops tell them to go back and get it... you'll have to wear it, effectively doubling the time the person holds up the train. Remember, the GP is dumb. You can't hope to 'train' them. Far too many people come to theme parks to 'train' them in this manor. Expect this mistake over and over and over again. Last time I went EVERY train in Riddlers revenge suffered from this 'double' delay. There was always somebody with something that they had to be fetched.

I think they're getting better about that. The last time I went ot SFMM (a Sunday a few weekends back) they were running 2 trains with 2 stations on Tatsu.

Also remember that nobody from Six Flags ever brought up a DJ. A DJ here did.

As I said before, I don't like Techno, and I got really tired of it playing in the queue for X back in the day. However, as a SPECIAL EVENT (read: Not every time you ride it) I recognize how adding a DJ playing music and displaying effects can create a special atmosphere, even if I personally don't like the music itself. I mean it doesn't matter what music you pick, it won't be for 'EVERYBODY'. Heck, X2 as a ride isn't for EVERYBODY. But special pluses that happen only every so often can make for a really cool event. As much as I dislike techno myself, I can easily see something like this to cause a buzz around the park. "Did you ride X yet?... They've got a DJ in there with fog and stuff; it's crazy!"

Strikes me as the kind of thing where, even if they DID go with it, you'd be lucky if it lasted the summer. Reminds me of the line effects for Batman. Of course, those fell apart under old management so you never know... but I'm just not sure if they're going to be willing to shell out a constant cost like this for a ride that is already as popular as anything can get in the park.

Anybody see this? http://www.screamscape.com/html/six_flags_magic_mountain.htm Scroll down to the X2 section. Some pics with them testing a fireball effect. If they go this route it would be pretty intense: a big fireball synchronized with the train blasting out as you fly by.

I couldn't agree more. The WORST is when there are two people in front of you, and the guy behind you pulls the "Oh I need to catch up with my group" line... and he's followed by 6 more people. Now wait a minute, why not move the 2 people back behind me! That's there the GROUP is.