austinlee

I don't know why the park would want another woodie either. The one they just added is awesome. If they spend a lot of money on another big coaster it should be a type of coaster they don't currently have. I like the diving coaster idea which was posted recently or an improved launch coaster, similar to Incredible Hulk. A spinning coaster would be good too, but not as extreme. This could be a good addition which thrill seekers and families could both enjoy. I usually only enjoy the most extreme rides and I think Sierra Sidewinder is a very fun ride.

I thought the same thing when I first saw that it would be closed. It seems strange to me that Batman will be closed again so soon. I still enjoy Colossus partially for nostalgic purposes since it was the first wooden coaster I ever rode and the second SFMM coaster I ever rode on my first trip to the park with my parents in 1983. I suppose I could bite the bullet and accept it if the park ever decided to remove it and put in something better. 20 years ago I never would have believed I would say that someday. It is not one of the best coasters in the park anymore but I do still like it and I would miss it to some extent if it was gone. It would be very strange to drive into the parking lot and not see it. ^^^^ I am not sure what the "patrol booths" on Colossus were for, but I do remember seeing people sitting in them when I visited the park many times in the 80's. As far as Superman, it is not one of the best either, but I do still like it and ride it on most visits. Generally I don't go to the top of the mountain anymore unless Superman and Ninja are both open, but when they are both open I do still ride them. I am not convinced that removing Superman is a good idea since it does still draw crowds. I have had some visits when Superman was either the only coaster which had a line, or had one of the longer lines in the park. I know that is partially due to low capacity but if people didn't like it anymore I don't think it would generate a line longer than X2, Tatsu, Goliath and Terminator on any kind of semi-regular basis. I have had many good experiences with Guest Relations, including times I have e-mailed the park and received a response within a few hours or the next day, even though their website says to allow up to one business week for a response.

SFMM has posted maintenance dates on their website. Deja Vu, Ninja and Thrill Shot are closed until 3/19. Batman will be closed from 2/16 to 3/6. It looks like my next visit will be about the same as my last one except that Batman will be closed instead of Scream.

I agree that Monte is still a darn good coaster and Xcelerator's launch is awesome so KBF does win for launch coasters. Although in my opinion, for the overall ride, Xcelerator is just barely better than Superman which makes it almost even. They are both fun but way too short which keeps them from going very far up my favorites list and competing with other longer coasters with many more elements. Pony Express stinks and is barely one step away from being a kiddie coaster in my opinion. It is the only coaster I have ever rode that, when it was over, my first thought was that I didn't enjoy it. There have been some times when I have heard 6-8 year old kids get off of it and talk about how they didn't like it or, while entering the station, say something like "it is over already".

That's a great idea. My dad, who is also a coaster enthusiast, and I were just talking about this today. We were saying how SFMM has KBF beat on just about every type of thrill ride except Supreme Scream and Sierra Sidewinder. I was joking about how if SFMM built a drop tower and a spinning coaster it might be the final straw that would make me start going to SFMM almost exclusively instead of both parks regularly. Although I do go to SFMM about twice as often as KBF.

Cheers mate, wouldn't have thought to do that...I must say though its a bit of a pain having to go through each individual ride...Why not have a page like this http://www.dreamworld.com.au/Rides/Maintenance/ where there is just a simple list with clear start and end dates for each ride closure?

Yes it is a great coaster. There was no line on Terminator on my last two visits last month either. The times it works out better is when the line is short enough that you can watch the pre-show once then re-ride without exiting. That is what happened on my last two visits. I was able to ride 3-4 times without exiting the train. It really stinks when the line is just barely long enough that you cannot get back on. If you ride again you have to watch the 11 minute pre-show then get to the station and find out there is no wait and that 11 minutes could have been 2-3 extra laps.

Thanks for the report. I'm not happy about the new doors on Terminator either. It was much better when they would just let you walk through and get on when there was no line. Something really needs to be done about the half empty trains being sent out when the coaster has a line too.

Use this link and click on each coaster name to see which ones are currently closed. Ninja and Deja Vu are closed right now. http://www.sixflags.com/magicMountain/rides/ThrillRides.aspx I went to the park on 2/17/08, the Sunday of Presidents Day weekend. Crowds were pretty light. I got on 33 total rides. Tatsu and Deja Vu had about 45 minute lines. Goliath, Batman and Riddler's Revenge were about 20 mins. X2 was closed for the remodel or I bet some of those would have been even shorter. Everything else was a walk on. I think Sunday or Monday of that weekend would be a good time to go.

^^^ John, thanks for the great pictures. The parking lot looks almost exactly as full (or empty) as it did when I was there on 1/31. You must have had just about as great of a day there as I did.

Thank you Robb. I made the changes you suggested.

Deja Vu was closed for a major rehab from approx. Oct, 08-March, 09 so if WCB 09 was during that time I think they might have been yanking your chain. It was closed on every visit I made during that 6 month period, except for 10/9/08 and was open again when I visited on 4/20/09. I don't know the exact date it reopened but it was closed when I was there on 3/1/09.

Correct me if I'm wrong but I think I was automatically subscribed to a topic because I posted a reply. I liked having the option to "uncheck" the box and choose not to subscribe to the topic. Overall I am happy with the upgrade. It does seem much faster.

When I was there on 10/12/09 there was a very light drizzle off and on for most of the day. All of the coasters were open and all of them were walk ons.

I respectfully disagree. They have closed when it rains regularly for a long time now. Most of the rides do not operate in the rain and it rained most of the day today. If they can't operate the rides, why should they be open? About 10 of the "deserted" visits I referred to have been in the last 2 years.

I don't think it had anything to do with low crowds. I have been to SFMM dozens of times when the park was virtually deserted, with walk ons to every coaster including X/X2, and they still opened for normal operating hours. In some visits they had less then 10 people in line for each ride and less than one section of the parking lot full. ^^^ When I was at SFMM on 1/31 they had a sign up in the Season Pass Processing Center which said that Value Books will not be available until early March.

I would love to see the Enterprise come to SFMM. It is one of the only flat rides I have ever truly enjoyed and I have missed having one nearby since SFMM and KBF both removed them. It was the only flat ride I have ever enjoyed almost as much as a coaster.

Really? I mean, I know Deja Vu isnt worth more than one ride, but I love it! Its been very smooth for me every time I've been on it. Deja Vu is my 4th favorite coaster at SFMM, behind X2, Tatsu and Goliath. I am very happy that it is still there after the 3 other clones have been closed or relocated. On crowded days I go ride it first sometimes since it usually has one of the longest lines due to low capacity. I have always found it to be smooth and it is one of the most exciting coasters I have rode.

I still enjoy Scream and Superman very much. With all the discussion about what should happen to Superman I am somewhat surprised that the rumor I found on Screamscape today has not been referenced. It refers to having one side be rethemed to Bizarro. That side would have a car which might run backwards. I think this would be awesome. Going up the tower while facing down would be very exciting. The rumor also says that they could runs both sides simultaneously if they did this. This would greatly increase capacity and give a different experience on each track. In my opinion it seems like it would be a great improvement to a ride I already enjoy. Here is the link. Scroll down almost all the way to the bottom. http://www.screamscape.com/html/six_flags_magic_mountain.htm

Robb and themeparkman25, thanks for the info. I'm glad to know you would have understood what I meant. I'll keep this in mind for future posts so I won't be surprised if I see it again. I have seen this phrase show up in other peoples posts a few times and didn't know why it was there.

When I posted my SFMM trip report yesterday some of the words somehow got replaced with "fluffy, fluffy bunnies filled with medicine and goo". I had to delete my topic and repost it so it would show up correctly. I don't think it would have made any sense the way it first got posted. It said that I talked to a ride op near the "fluffy, fluffy bunnies filled with medicine and goo" area on the Riddler's Revenge.

Thank you and good luck for Sunday. I hope you are able to go. I have heard all kinds of conflicting weather reports on all different local stations and the Weather Channel for next weekend. Everything from: 1. Clear both days. 2. Steady rain or drizzle Sat but not Sun. 3. Steady rain Sat, slight chance on Sun. 4. Steady rain both days. 5. Heavy rain both days. Perhaps I could have stuck to my original plan to go this Sunday but I decided to take the sure thing yesterday just in case the rain does come next weekend. When we were talking about Super Bowl Sunday in the SFMM Discussion thread there were a lot of people who wanted to go that day. I hope it works out well for all of you.

I was going to go on 2/7 but went today instead since I was concerned about the weather. I got there at 10:20 and was able to park in the 4th row of the parking lot. The rest of the day they only had the first lot full. I am very happy that I went today instead since it turned out to be the best day I have ever had at SFMM. I got on 57 total rides, shattering my previous highest total which was 43. Almost every coaster was a walk on. I went on most of them 3-4 times before going on to the next coaster. Scream, Ninja and Deja Vu were closed. I also saw a sign which said that the rewards program is valid for any visit from 5/15 to 9/7 and found out that Season Pass Value Books will not be available until early March. Ride ops on almost every ride were waving when the trains left the stations and clapping when they returned. On Batman and Terminator they were also high-fiving people when they exited the train. Also, just about everyone was saying "enjoy the ride", "thank for for riding" and "enjoy the rest of your day" on most coasters. I also had something happen which has never happened to me at SFMM before. When I walked up to the stairway in the Riddler's Revenge queue, the ride op stopped me and said "I recognize you, you come here a lot don't you?" I told him yes I come here about once a month. You know you come to a park a lot when employees start to recognize you. The really funny part is it happened two more times later in the day. A ride op on Terminator told me he recognized me from other visits and later a guy who walks around with the costumed characters told me he had seen me walking around the park before. Audio on Terminator Salvation has also been improved. It is much easier to understand and some parts have either been added or extended. Also the Batmobile which used to be at the entrance to the Gotham City Backlot is now under the coaster. The police car is next to it. I thought it looked cool and am happy to see that the Batmobile has returned to the area. Here is my day in order: 1, 2, 3: Tatsu three times without exiting. Walk on to front row then switched rows and rode two more times in the middle. 4, 5, 6: Terminator Salvation. Walk on (except for the pre-show) three times without exiting the train. Sat in row 10 or Sector 10 as the park calls it. 7, 8: Gold Rusher twice. Walk ons. Row 2 then the middle. 9, 10 , 11: Riddler's Revenge. Walk on three times without exiting the train. Row 7. 12, 13, 14: Batman three times. Walk ons. Row 2 twice then row 3. 15, 16, 17: Colossus three times. Walk ons. Row 2, front row then middle. 18, 19, 20, 21: Goliath. Walk on four times without exiting the train. Sat near the back. 22, 23, 24: Revolution. Walk on three times. Solo ride in front row then switched rows and went two more times. Sat in the middle for last two rides. 25, 26, 27: Viper. Walk on three times. Sat near the back. Rode twice then switched rows and rode again. 28, 29, 30, 31: X2 four times. Two train wait each time. Sat in the middle twice then front row then row 6. 32, 33, 34, 35: Tatsu four times. One train wait for row 2 then rode three more times without exiting the station. Sat near the back twice then the middle. 36: Superman once. 15 minute wait. Sat in the back. Waited a little longer than I would have preferred since better coasters were walk ons, but I skipped it on my last visit and didn't want to skip it again. I probably would have gone at least one more time if the wait was as short as everything else. 37, 38: Gold Rusher twice. Walk ons. Sat near the back. Rode once then switched rows and got back on. 39, 40, 41: Terminator Salvation three times without exiting the train. Sat in the very back, my favorite spot for air-time. 42, 43, 44: Riddler's Revenge three times. Walk ons. Back row twice then moved to row 6 and got back on. 45, 46, 47: Batman three times. Walk ons. Sat in the middle. 48, 49, 50: Goliath three times. Walk ons. Rode once then switched rows and went two more times. Sat near the back. 51, 52, 53: Viper three times. Walk ons. Solo ride in front row then sat in row 2 twice. 54, 55: Revolution twice. Walk on to front row then moved to the middle and went again. 56, 57: X2 twice. 10 min wait for the middle then walk on to row 6. I can't think of a better way to end the day. Ride totals: X2: 6. Highest one day total I have had as X2 other than Season Pass Appreciation Day on 9/11/09. I rode it 14 times that day. As X, I rode it 7 times on 12/2/07. Viper: 6 Revolution: 5 Tatsu: 7. Highest one day total I have ever had. Previous best was 6 on 11/21/08. Superman: 1 Terminator Salvation: 6. Highest one day total I have ever had. Previous best was 5 on 1/10/10 and also 10/12/09. Gold Rusher: 4 Riddler's Revenge: 6 Batman: 6 Colossus: 3 Goliath: 7. Highest one day total I have had since May, 2000. Next best was 6 on 3/31/08.

^^ Yes, the other little curveball this year is the third week in June when they close at 8:00 on weekdays. For a while it has gone directly from 6:00 the first week of June to 10:00 the next week. I assume this is related to the school year being affected by Memorial Day being about a week later than usual.

I sure will.