willthethrill

Thinking about going tomorrow for a rip - did you notice any major closures? Superman is currently listed as TC and it's one of my favorite reasons to go...

hey all, going to the park on Saturday with a few first-timers. It's been a few seasons for me and I was just wondering what the current consensus is for coaster sequence optimization if we get there at rope drop. Thanks!

Any report on how Apocalypse is tracking after reopening?

I was there on Saturday and the ambiance across the park after sundown is really quite incredible now. They have some truly fantastic sight lines enhanced beautifully with some top-notch lighting packages. Everywhere you go you really feel like you're immersed in classic theme park ambiance. I feel like they've really stepped up their game - walking around at times I could have sworn I was on a Disney property. And can't say enough about Ghost Town alive - superb addition. Operations on the other hand...

I feel like I just got out of swimming in a pool with too much chlorine

So water isn't sitting on the midway for some stupid guest to walk through, slip and sue the park. They sweep it to thr nearest drain. Can we please find something worth bitching about? You must be new here. Seriously though, the moderators do a great job usually but the comments/complaints have gotten really..whats the word... stupid lately and we all know how much Rob hates stupid comments so can we please start to delete some of the more absurd and asinine replies please? Sometimes I feel like I'm reading the CNN comments section.

I seek the wisdom and assistance of the keepers of the Mountain queue secrets. Heading up to the park tomorrow with some family that's in town. Will this attack plan work? 10:30 GldPass entry Throttled Full Tatsu Superman Ninja Apocinator Riddler's Batman GL Lex Goliath (Revolution, Viper, 'Rusher, Scream) evening X2 Am I screwed?

^^^ Sometimes it is necessary to state the obvious with this group so, you're welcome. (you edited your comment) And it's marketing. It's supposed to be boastful and over the top and full of hype. It's not meant to be taken literally as a meaningful critique of the riding experience. (Not to mention that you haven't ridden yet - but this is common practice in the enthusiast community) I understand the point you were trying to make, but my counter-point is why are people reading so much into soundbite statements written by a third party marketing company for the masses of non-enthusiast chowderheads out there and then posting on the internet like it's some kind of novel idea or that your favorite theme park should somehow be 'above' such manipulative and oh so dirty practices... I mean, it's just an ad.

^ Yes, its clear that they did count them. Should they not have? Since, you know, that's *exactly* what they are, moments of airtime. I honestly, in all my 32 years walking this earth have not encountered a more cynical, nit-picky, fussy bunch of goofballs as I have on this forum. Really? this is where you choose to focus your attention? Some people need a hobby to get away from this hobby. And to the guy earlier who likened Superman to driving down the freeway (actually a pretty accurate before the update - the ride was boring as $#!+), but try it again. I've been to both parks and it is now easily in my top 5 between all coasters at both locations. Totally different (better) ride now.

Guys talking and funky stuff?? What a time to be alive!

Yeah and I can see why that is a common misconception. Imagine this scenario; coaster train stalls in loop, OTSR restraints fail in a particular car for whatever reason leaving the seat belt as the only apparatus holding that shoulder harness closed. How many people in that car do you think would panic and release their belt thinking they would be safer if they tried to climb down than hang upside down for hours? Any device that allows the passenger to have control of its function is a poor option. Yes people can be held in by seat belts but I would argue that a coaster with them is negligibly more safe than one without. One could even say that the *illusion* of safety created by a belt is even more dangerous than it being absent altogether.

Storytime! Roller coasters and thrill rides in general have operated quite safely for many decades before the "seat-belt craze" of late. I'll explain to all the youngsters out there. Seat belts, as a primary restraint device, are useless. You may as well ask your mom riding next to you to hold you in your seat. Seat belts as a secondary restraint device are *almost* as pointless since most can be unlatched by the rider at any time. And since people are panicky and stupid, they should not be left in control of their own safety at parks. Basically modern seatbelts are a placebo - they make us feel warm and fuzzy in this big cruel world. So then why the hell are they even there you ask? Well their primary function today is to ensure that rider dimensions (fatness) don't exceed primary restraint tolerances. Meaning if the seat belt can't be buckled then the rider is too big for the lap bar/shoulder harness to function as intended and your chances of going 'bye-bye' while riding go way up. Rare exceptions do exist of course.

Thanks Dad

Yeah this seems like a pretty big non-issue, to me anyway. There are crew members posted at ride exits solely for the purpose of flash-pass management and line queuing. It's not like you're going up to the panel attendant waiving your arms and demanding a single ride. I spent the summer bouncing around parks in the mid-west as a singlerider and when I didn't have a flash-pass, q-bot, fastlane, whatever in hand I thought it was silly NOT to ask the bored teen starting out the back of the station if I could hop in an empty seat on the next dispatch. Does anyone know what the word 'gamble' actually means?

Awesome report, loved reading your descriptions. Superman is finally the ride it should have been from the very beginning. Operations aside, with the addition of TC I'd venture to say that Magic Mountain will have THE premier comprehensive coaster lineup in terms of overall variety, quality, and quantity. Pity we don't have DejaVu anymore...

^ no idea. But I was wondering if that old Youtube video that was pulled down a few months before the TC announcement has resurfaced anywhere. I was always curious to see how close that rendering was to the final 'official' product.

To hell with all this spinning mouse pandemonium nonsense. The chain already has a metric butt-ton of those things. Rubbish. I was at Kentucky Kingdom a few weeks back and got the chance to ride Lightning Run. POV does this ride severe injustice. If any ride deserves batman-esque cloning, it's that one. Bar-none, no questions asked. I'm putting together a multi-park TR that I'll post later, but the point is out of 13 parks I visited this summer, that ride was the most flawlessly designed, perfectly executed modern steel coaster I rode. With the exception of maybe one other... That said, I've been a local long enough to know that there is no shot in HELL of it happening. Knott's, are you listening?

I visited a couple of weeks back and stayed at Lincoln State park about 2 miles West of the park. If you don't mind camping out, $17 beats ANYthing in that area and the facilities are quite nice with hot showers and the bonus of staying in a very attractive state park.

And i was just about o post a glowing park review... this is some shit

It is a major power outage as I heard. No beer sales. God help us

Saturday update, as of 630pm all rides and I mean ALL rides are shut down. Told there is a power issue but all shops, stalls, and kiosks are operating. Even park music has been playing uninterrupted.

Currently doing something similar. Starred in SoCal, currently in St. Louis (was just in Branson for SDC) heading to Ohio/Indiana next via Chicago. Safe travels your trip def looks like a winner If I'd add anything, I'd say try to get to Texas as I hear the RMC's make the detour well worth it on their own.

Doesn't matter; he was wrong and deserved to be chastised for it. He should be so sorry for such a frivolous transgression. I should hope I don't bear witness to such blatant disregard for proper link-clicking etiquette ever again.

There's no reason to think that MR will leave at all, or ever at this point. Operational costs have plateaued since all necessary replacement parts are already custom fabricated in house. As pointed out earlier the ride is approaching its 40th anniversary and it's safe to say that ridership has also leveled out; not much is different with this ride today than was the case 15 years ago. It's not a maintenance, power, or real estate drain. It is a classic ride that still sees its fair share of ridership and adds to the coaster count while having relatively little downtime. There is not a single piece of metal on that machine that has not already or could not be replaced with simple metal fabrication. LIM transformation would be much more conceivable than it's removal. Hell, why aren't we having this conversation about Boomerang? Seems MUUUCH more likely. OMG!!! 'Zoom's been down longer than a week! Quick, everyone get your last rides in - it's days are surely numbered! Between this conversation that pops up every 6 months or so and everything I read on the Magic Mountain page if there's one thing the folks of this site are good at it's making mountains out of molehills.

I'm not complaining though. I'm from Southern California and we never get crowds as light as I saw last Thursday and Sunday. One train op on Wildfire, Keg, and Outlaw and all rows were a walk-on. It was like ERT on top of ERT.