rcroques

Indeed, I am trying my hand at a Cyclone coaster, namely the late, great Psyclone at Six Flags Magic Mountain. Painful or not, I spent nine months of my coaster operating career on that ride and got to kind of know the coaster to the point that I love it. Today, I was fooling around with NoLimits and I started building and built pretty much the exact layout. Terminator may have replaced Psyclone and it also is miles better than Psyclone... but Psyclone to me represents memories... nostalgia.

I am working on a nostalgia project on NL, but I want to see if you guys can guess what ride it is based on one single picture. It's a rough draft thus far, lots of smoothing and adjusting to do. Guess that coaster!

Psyclone would be my number one... I rode that ride well over a thousand times (it did, however, help that I worked there.) Nothing else even comes close.

Keep in mind that this is my first coaster in NoLimits. It's probably pumpy, but I've kind of fallen in love with the layout and have been sincerely working on it for about a week and a half off and on. So, for your constructive criticism... here is MARAUDER! Marauder is a GCI wooden coaster that includes a near-miss with the drop and also includes a tunnel about halfway through the ride. As I said, I'm proud of the layout. Marauder.nltrack Marauder: Conquest has never been this fun!

They already are.

I'm definitely not excited about the possibility of a Bizarro... I just don't care for the concept. It seems like a sell out to take an existing ride and retheme it (X2 was a necessity from a maintenance and capacity standpoint. All the other extras were nothing but dressing on the salad). Although, I was also the one pushing Scream getting a major makeover with new landscaping and a new name. I know that West Coast Bash got a lot of people thinking we'd see a new coaster next year, but more and more I'm thinking that we'll have to wait until 2011 for any new coaster. Expect Wiggles World and possibly a few more flat rides (I am really hoping for a drop tower). For 2011, I expect a MAJOR addition. I would say it's a rocket, but my opinion has been gradually changing to the fact that it could even be an LSM coaster. Either way, I still think it'll be a record breaker.

As far as power and general acceleration, I'd tend to say that a hydraulic launch would be the most effective at accomplishing that goal. However, I am going to say that LIM is the way to go as far as efficiency. An LSM motor requires the magnet to be electrically charged to alternate between attract and repel to propel the car to it's eventual velocity. A LIM only requires that it be electrically charged to create a magnetic field, thus negating the need for an alternating current; there are no moving parts, making it the more efficient of the launches. However, the cost of failure on ANY launch system is rather high. Keep in mind, I'm not that good with the mechanical aspect of coasters. Everything I say is from my own understanding.

I believe back at WCB, either Tim or Jay said that money-wise, they were currently working on 2011. That would confirm the financial finality of anything built in 2010. Indeed. As I said, it's a tourism arms race in Southern California... Magic Mountain needs its weaponry in order to stand a chance.

I hope that they never make another one like that. The story on Z-Force is that it was moved out to Six Flags Magic Mountain due to the ride rotation program and changed it's name to Flashback. I rode it once... seriously, horrible, horrible roughness. My friend actually suffered a broken rib on that ride. And the space dive element wasn't all that great, either. All in all, the ride was a waste of space. I'd rather have a kiddie waterslide in that spot than another heap of junk like Flashback. /end rant.

True, but, if anyone's looking for an iron clad way to never have to worry about crowds, or crowd-evading techniques -- if anyone's looking for a way to not worry about that kind of thing at all & just relax & have fun all day no matter the crowds -- Flash Pass is TOTALLY worth the money spent on it. I guess I could agree with that... it's probably especially good for people who don't get out to the park very often and want maximum enjoyment out of their day. Me, I see that park at least twice a week so I guess the flash pass just doesn't make much sense in my situation.

The only reason that Cedar Fair will buy a park that is already in their market is so that they can shutter it. Now, Kings Island didn't really go that way (keep in mind, I don't know how far it is from Cedar Point). Yet Geauga Lake was shuttered, and in my honest opinion, it was so that they could monopolize the area they're in. So, that said, I hope to God or whoever controls these things that Cedar Fair keeps their hands off of Six Flags. Cedar Fair is really turning into a company which I see failing in the future just like Six Flags has failed in the past. Now, to the fact that Six Flags Magic Mountain is getting a new coaster in the next year... the money has most likely already been secured for that project. Look at DCA... that project is safe (even though there have been layoffs and cutbacks) because the money was already secured at an earlier time. I don't see us getting anything past 2011, but these two next years, we're getting coasters. And I support it because it increases SFMM's competitive viability against a heavily loaded California theme park environment. Just look at the park now... parking went out to gravel on a Thursday. When Premier had it, it NEVER went out to gravel but on a weekend. We're a busier park then we were. I'm more than willing to admit Six Flags has made mistakes... but right now, I think they're destined to rise from the ashes. They already have, in my eyes.

I'd actually recommend going for the right side of the park before doing anything else. And, while you could go right for Terminator, I actually don't recommend it. You can get it later... the longest line I've seen is an hour and fifteen minutes... Let's face it... ninety-nine percent of the general public goes right toward X2 and Tatsu. Go for rides like Goliath, Scream, Batman and Riddler's Revenge before the crowd gets to them and then make your way across the park... save Viper and Revolution for later as they will have no line. You're going to want to hit Tatsu at about 6:00 to get a ride on it before 8:30. Perhaps earlier. Anyhow, after Tatsu, make a mad dash to X2 and get in the line before 8:30... if you are in line, it doesn't matter what time you get on, you are getting on the ride. Besides, who doesn't love a night X2 ride? Flash Passes are an option, and while I think they're cool... I'm really hesitant to spend the extra money on one. Really, the park is completely possible to make the most out of if you just stay opposite of the main crowd.

It is a really nice park. I got to visit it when I was stationed in Great Lakes (before I got medically discharged) and though I didn't get to ride much, I found it to be a nicer park than Magic Mountain. I liked the environment and feel of that park a little more, though I'd rather have SFMM's selection of rides. Oh, and Raging Bull KILLS Goliath. Sincerely, R.C.

Magic Mountain x20 (estimated) Disneyland x2 Hopefully Knott's and Universal over summer. Sincerely, R.C.

You've got to be kidding... At this point, I have more faith in Six Flags to manage the parks than I could ever have in Cedar Fair. I say this because, at this point, Cedar Fair is running like Premier-era SF, right up to the amassing of debt and complete overexpansion of the brand. Shapiro and his people are doing an absolutely brilliant job in reinventing the brand and to see that end would bother me. I agree that they could sell a few of their parks, but the whole brand need not be liquidated. And please, God, if it does come to that, let Cedar Fair not be the one buying Magic Mountain.

Liquidate? As in sell parks to different companies? God I hope not... I'd hate to see Freestyle Magic Mountain... Sincerely, R.C.

They could add a giant defibrillator in the middle of the Helix of Death... Or they could build a temple around the helix with lights and sounds of blood-curdling screaming. Call it the helix/sacrifice of death.

I remember that queue as well. However, when I first rode Psyclone, the line was about 45 minutes. Remember, this was back in 1997... the ride was okay... not nearly as bad as it got toward the end. The worst line I waited in was probably X during the first summer it opened. Three hours at least... four people passed out... I almost did but luckily I had some water in my backpack. Sincerely, R.C.

^Agreed. Anyhow, I just got back from a four-hour trip to the park and got five more rides on Terminator. That makes a grand total of 41 and I figure by the end of this week, I should have 50 rides. It just keeps getting better... I didn't think it was possible, but every time I ride it I find something new that makes me love it even more. Hell, the crew is even aware of how many times I've ridden it. I had at least three people ask me how many it was now. ------------ Sincerely, R.C. Official Terminator Salvation: The Ride Count: 41

^Jet Stream's second drop has no purpose whatsoever. When I worked there, we basically got told that it used to be a dual drop but now they only use one of the flumes. At the top and the bottom of the drop, you can tell that it used to connect. It's just two metal rails that separate it from the other. Log Jammer still gets decent crowds, as do all the rides. It's just not quite the weather for it recently. Sincerely, R.C.

We did see it coming, true, but at the same time, we can't ignore the fact that Mark Shapiro and his fellow management have absolutely turned the chain around. Let us all hope that it all goes according to plan and Six Flags comes back even stronger and better than ever! Sincerely, R.C.

About Log Jammer, that dual loading station hasn't operated with both sides for about as long as I've been going to the park. You'll also notice that Jet Stream has a dual drop. I've never seen that operate either. Tatsu has dual loading and I've seen it run like that once in all the time it's been operating. Sincerely, R.C.

It just keeps getting better and better every time. All of my 36 rides so far have always been better than the last. Also, and forgive me that I don't have pictures (darn lockers), it looks like management got smart and encased the speakers so that they don't get vandalized. Other than that, great crew, great ride (although it did go 10-7 10-35 ((non-operational with guests)) today for about 15 minutes, but they busted their hump and got it up and running pretty quick) and great park. Can't wait until Monday so I can hit up the park after work to get some more Terminator. Sincerely, R.C.

Agreed. I was actually talking to my buddy about the idea that another enthusiast had about turning the whole Colossus - Goliath - Scream area into a "Land Of The Titans". We came up with the idea that Scream! should be named Leviathan and should include a lagoon in the middle underneath the helix, water features, and rockwork. Also, possibly tunnel a portion of the ride and have plexiglass in between the rockwork... shoot a jet of water in between the plexiglass and then put colored lights behind it that sweep and move. I think that would look pretty cool, especially with the fact that the ever-changing pattern of the water would distort the lights a bit. As it is, I believe that the ride is themed after Los Angeles traffic (hence the parking lot). Traffic makes people want to SCREAM! I mean, it is built over a parking lot after all. Sincerely, R.C.

There may not be much of a thrill factor in an inverted tophat, but if you're five hundred feet above the ground with nothing but an OTSR between you and a certain bloody and broken death? I'd be scared out of my mind. Point is, the mountain gives them great leverage on building a ride that not only summits the mountain, it summits the record books as well. A record breaking ride will bring crowds, which we all know that Magic Mountain wants and needs. Crowds mean money and money means a future. So, do I see it as a good investment? Yes. Am I saying it's what will be there? Not at all. As I said before, I'm not an employee at Magic and I can't say what they will and won't do, but I'd really like to see them build a world-class, record-breaking coaster. Oh, and please, don't use fire... I'm seeing some sort of water effect on the next coaster... or lasers... something new. Audio would be cool though. Sincerely, R.C.