ethans_dad06

^ As much as I would love to see an Intamin launched coaster at the park I just don't see Jay being to serious in that reply. Usualy new coaster plans are pretty tight lipped until an official anouncement. So I would take that with a grain of salt.

Magnetic launches have virtually no moving parts, and moving parts means there is more preventative maintainence Which costs alot when you add it up over the years. Also more moving parts means there is more parts to break which will in turn create more of a gamble when it comes to ride uptime or downtime. When it comes to how a coaster is launched, the average park guest does not care how it's done, just as long as when they are in line it doesn't break down and they get their ride in. But if a park fails to look at long term maintainence costs, and only looks at up front investment then you can be assured that they are in for costly downtime.

^ That was very well said! And very informative. All of what you said makes perfect sense though, and really highlights the pros vs. cons of the various systems.

I personally liked the convienence of having cubbies on alot of the rides because I could put my collector cup in there and a jacket or whatever. I didn't really mind the additional wait that much. And personaly I feel that on certain rides, if the crew is on top of their game, the cubbie system doesn't add much time to the wait. The problem is with people who have sticky fingers, I've never had a problem but it did always make me nervous.

And even though the magnetic launches have less moving parts, the magnetic coils do wear out and can burn up. And when a magnetic coil burns up it often times is a very expensive repair.

I remember riding freefall at night one time and the lift up to the top gave a very uneasy feeling. I had never had that feeling on freefall before and never felt it again after that ride either. Freefall will be missed but I'm sure another drop ride will return to the mountain soon enough.

Yea I remember hearing that because of the fire dangers in the Santa Clarita Valley they werent going to do any more fireworks until further notice. Although I was a bit dissapointed in that decision, I think it is a wise thing to do, not to mention it will save them money.

I think I've waited close to 3 hours for Goliath at SFMM, but I remember when the lines for X was a 7 or 8 hour wait, the line went almost all the way down past roaring rapids near psyclone bay! Needless to say I didn't wait for it!

How many trees would they need to pass by in the 1-2 seconds that you're in the tunnel to add quite a lot to the experience? I'm not saying add trees in the tunnel, I mean inside the perimeter fence. If they were to add some color under the ride (under the second half of the ride) it would be a better tie in to the themeing they have in the queue. It was said before that the artist rendering of the ride showed a lot of landscaping to the ride but when six flags was bought by premier parks it never happened. If the artist wouldn't have thought it looked good then he wouldn't have drawn it with all the landscaping.

Hey Eric, you spelled dumb wrong. You really should read the forum rules and use a spell checker!

^ Well first of all your not going 85 mph but for a couple seconds. Second, your in a tunnel for less than one second. And third, your relativley close to the ground for the remainder of the ride. I think adding landscaping under the ride would add quite a lot to the experience. That is the mentality that brought the park to their knees with the old management.

I would like to see something underneath Goliath, it would add alot to the experience, and I think it could use a fresh coat of paint as well

I think your going to do great, if people turned out in weather like that then your in good shape! Good luck in the future Shane!

I call dibs on X2!

^ I agree with you when you say for every bad year of the old management, it will take atleast 1.5 years to reverse. They have made huge improvements the last few years and I have no doubt they will keep going as they have been. As far as the chapter 11, nothing will be done till everything is settled in court unless it has already been funded, then it will just be buisness as usual. I have a feeling they are going to emerge out of this in a few months and be stronger than ever.

I loved watching Bill Nye the Science Guy! And going to the local train station with my son to watch the trains go by, I dont know who likes it more him or me!

HAHA I downloaded this app in my iphone and love reading it! Makes my bad days so much better!

Well I never said anything about fire, I did however say water which I think would create a dramatic effect for a floorless coaster. And whats wrong with having another ride with audio? It seems like it is a very popular thing to have on a coaster and in my opinion makes it an experience, not just a ride. And your right, it IS a solid ride and would be a star attraction in a smaller park, but it isnt in a smaller park so it needs that extra touch in my opinion to bring it out of the shadow. The old management of Magic Mountain would have just painted it and called it a day, and if the new Magic Mountain does the same I would be highly dissapointed, because they arent fixing the old scars, but just trying to cover them up, and that is a half a$$ed way of running a buisness. Whats wrong with going above and beyond? Thats what Disney does and it seems to work pretty well for them.

Wow what an adventure! I hope you guys are doing well! I would love to see the behind the scenes operations of this place during a normal operating day. I really dig the technical side of things. Good luck Shane! -Brandon

^Well it has been said by management at West Coast Bash that scream was on their to-do-list, and I think that it definatley needs a rehab as well. Now personally I think they should add on board audio, pull out parking lot underneath, trench around the supports and fill with water, and then add some tunnels and light effects then you have a great experience to a great ride. I also think that might be in he cards for next year since it isnt going to be a major attraction year.

Great TR, it seems like the crowds weren't to bad either from your pictures, at least compared to my grad night. I remember my grad night was crazy, there was a problem with the bus I was in and the security gaurds, so even tho we were one of the first busses there, we were the last people in the park ( there was only maybe 30 people behind me that entered the park after me). Although it was a bad night I still enjoyed the atmosphere, it was neat being able to see the park like that. And even back in 2001 when I went the security was overkill. They didn't even allow ANY logos on clothing back then, and no cell phones either.

I think viper is a little rough, but my main complaint is that the OTSR are uncomfortable on my shoulders. I'm 6'2" and to me there is just no comfortable way to ride.

^ That is a good point and brought back some memories of my teen days, I used to go to the park quite often but was because my Grandma bought me my season pass, and I then would save my lunch money from school for gas money and maybe one meal at the park. I spent maybe a whole 25 bucks all day while at the park. Today, I'm grown with a family of my own, which I regularly go to Disneyland with and I can tell you that I spend WAY more than 25 dollars a trip. I think it is a very good buisness model for Six Flags to become more family friendly, but I think they need to do more than just add family friendly rides, they need to let it be known that they are changing for the better. I have yet to see anything that the general public would see that promotes their family friendliness. I still try to convince my parents that Six Flags is not a gang banger park so I think until they see some actual comercials or news stories they will still think of the old way.

^Now that's a good idea! But unfortunatly that would probably cost more than a 500 foot intamin launch with over a mile of track after the tophat. Seriously though I hope that Magic Mountain gets a record breaker of some sort, cause they still need that edge to bring the crowds in large numbers in my opinion.

I personally like the idea of a 500ft monster, but find it highly unlikely. The cost of those plus adding elements after the ride to increase the length of the ride would just be too much I'm sure, I wouldn't mind seeing a dive machine, but a record breaker with a splashdown. I could see it now!