edgeboy
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Posts posted by edgeboy
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Basically, all the major rides are pretty open about single rider... not sure why FotH never really advertised theirs. But FJ, Transformers, Mummy, and JP all have it. I've even been told The Walking Dead has it--go figure, it makes no real sense to me either--but that said, when I did ask for it there, they said no, so maybe it was just a one time thing. I don't believe neither Simpsons nor Minions has it, though I've never tried.
Also keep in mind if the lines in general are very short already, or if for some reason SR lines get excessively long, they do occasionally close them off. But it's not too often.
On a side note, the most unpredictable line is for Ollivanders. It generally stays at 30-45 minutes all day, and while it's a nice show, it's not really worth that sort of wait. Again, if you wait towards the end of the day, it can go down, occasionally even to no wait at all. But it's not guaranteed. And it will randomly get short in the middle of the day, but you really can't count on it. So keep checking it all day long (unfortunately, it's not listed on their wait times, so you physically have to look), and if you see it at 15-20 minutes or less, go do it.
If you want to catch shows (Frog Choir or Tri-Wizard Tournament), they are listed on the mobile wait times app (ushwaittimes.com) under Performances.
Bonus tip: You can get your Butterbeer at the Hogshead bar inside 3 Broomsticks, and generally the line is much shorter.
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I'm heading over to the US next month, and will be at USH in the last week of August.
Is Potter still crazy busy at the park, and do they have the timed entry system still going on?
They never actually ended up using to timed entry at all. Was never needed.
It can be busy, mostly in the morning. But in the later evening hours, the lines tend to get much shorter. Also note that even though it's not advertised, Flight of the Hippogriff has a single rider, just ask for it.
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I know I'd be totally fine with either a JL (especially if it had a single rider line... interesting that Texas has one, but St. Louis doesn't) or a flat ride package.
At this point, with so many shoot up interactive rides in SoCal already (Buzz Lightyear, Midway Mania, Nijago and Land of Adventure at Legoland, Iron Reef, and Ghost Blasters at Castle Park), I'm not 100% certain SFMM needs one.
Really, the idea of a flat package sounds better and better to me. SFMM has needed that for a very long time. Does anyone remember that they used to have a Bayern Curve (Swiss Twist), Condor, Tilt a Whirl, Crazy Barrels, Trabant (Circus Wheel), Enterprise, Jolly Roger/Monster (Double armed Octopus), funhouse (Magic Pagoda), skyway (Eagle's Flight), Bumper boats (El Bumpo), Rotor (Spin Out), Monorail, Dragon transport up and down the hill, train around Spillikin Corners, Tumble Drum, and the Galaxy double armed ferris wheel?
Geez, I got depressed just writing that list. And speaking of flat rides, I always thought it could be cool if they could find a one that'd fit in the old, unused and now probably rotten lower Dragon station.
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I actually went on them just a few days ago. To me, they don't seem any different, just newer and more colorful. But I also only visit this park about once every 2-3 years, so I may not be the best judge.
That said, I will say that I saw at least 3 kids all say they wanted the orange slide (the one that more or less goes straight down), peer over the edge, get a very doubtful look over the face, then suddenly change their minds and do a different slide.
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I think I just missed you, I was at the park on Monday! Was there for my 2nd trip visiting from LA.
I agree with much of your report. Though I found Outlaw much rougher than Tornado. I was seated in the middle for Tornado, and I found the ride relatively smooth. So maybe it just depends where you sit. I'd suggest you try it again if you go, just sit closer to the front.
And as i mentioned in my small post in the regular Adventureland thread, I may have been there the day The Monster closed. When I went, it didn't open until noon (for apparently more barbed wire installation), and then it seemed to close again at about 2pm. I was only able to get one ride in.
I do find their collection of flat rides. It's tough to find Falling Stars anymore. Did you catch G Force (a break dance) in the arcade? I nearly missed it my first visit there! And definitely think of The Underground as a dark ride. I feel it's like building your own Calico Mine ride in your parent's backyard.
I also took up the Zombie Burger tip, and enjoyed it as well. Did the "They're Coming to Get You Barbara" burger which has grilled cheese sandwiches as buns. If you are of age, right next door to Adventureland is Prairie Meadows racetrack and casino, with a buffet. It's not a great buffet, but it's also cheap and another option. Do check it's hours, it does close between lunch and dinner (around 2-4pm).
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I was there on Monday. Seeing as I traveled from Los Angeles, I guess I just missed the big closing. In fact, it may have happened while I was there.
First off, at park opening, Monster wasn't open. Looked like they were still putting up the barbed wire. Was told to return at about noon. As mentioned earlier in the thread, this was not the first time they did this, and it's a bit hard to understand why they wouldn't have their newest ride up and running at park opening for something that could easily be done outside public hours. That was frustrating.
It did open indeed not long after noon, and the queue was completely full, and spilling outside a bit. I do wish they managed some sort of single rider line... lots of wasted seats. They did ask for single riders at the station, but having a dedicated line would help out a lot.
I got in one ride (liked it, lots of unusual hang time!). Did the rest of the park, hoping to return to it for another ride. That's when it was closed, at about 3pm, though I believe some people said it closed about an hour before that. At the time, Storm Chaser & the Space Shot were also down, leading me to think it was weather/wind related. I ended up leaving the park at about 3:30, so I never found out. But based on what I'm hearing now, perhaps that was it!
I did stay across the street at the Quality Inn & Suites. While not amazing, the room I had actually wasn't that bad. It was updated, clean and maintained. Parts of the hotel itself could use maintenance, but I've definitely stayed in worse. The price is definitely right, and you can easily walk to the park, saving you the parking fee if that's of importance to you.
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So, I'm visiting the park in a couple weeks, and I'm wondering what the best way to ride Dragon in order to not be in loads of pain during and after the ride. I've heard so many bad things about the ride, I just have to ask if there is anyway to improve the experience (Or I might just skip it).
Just keep your head forward off the headrest and brace for the bad transitions. You'll probably still get some headbanging, but it shouldn't be too brutal.
Anyway, I'm hoping to get back down to Adventureland before the end of summer to ride Monster. Any know of any decent hotels in the area? Last time, I stayed at the Best Western across the street from the park and was not impressed.
I'll be staying at the Quality Inn next week. I'll let you know how it turns out, but based on the research I've done, none of the hotels immediately near the park look that great, with the possible exception of the Prairie Meadows Casino hotel--but it's also 2 times the price. ($94 vs. $200) I have pretty low expectations, and the Yelp/Trip Advisor reviews haven't been all that promising. But budget is an issue for me, so I'll put up with it... it's only one night.
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Now that The Monster has settled in for a bit, what have been the average wait times for it? And has it been operating fairly reliably? Does it have a Single Rider line? Does any ride at Adventureland have one, for that matter?
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^Thanks, anyone know how much the coupon takes off?
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I'll be visiting the park in about a week. Is there any place that offers a discount coupon for admission? Or is it just cheapest to get a ticket online?
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I wasn't there for the ACE event, but I did visit the park for only my 2nd time. I was following this thread a lot in preparation for the trip, and after hearing all these reports, I personally feel the roller coasters there are very good, but not great. Definitely not as bad as many say, but not smooth as glass either. Nothing really stood out to me as extremely good, nor extremely bad. I left the rides satisfied, but also felt they'd be poor for marathoning (a bit too rough for that, IMO). All in all, I felt it was an above mediocre experience--not exactly high praise, but based on some things I've heard on this thread, I was braced for a total loss. I didn't find it to be that.
This makes a lot of sense. Really great rides we can generally agree upon. Same with really bad rides. Rides that fall in the middle are very subjective, and opinions will vary widely, which is sort of what I see in this thread. Virtually every coaster in this park falls in the middle.
That said, I am a huge fan of Excalibur/Endeavor. Is that the only permanent installation in the US, or otherwise? As short as the ride is, just because of it's smoothness and uniqueness, I thought it'd get more coverage. I'm really surprised (but glad) the park keeps it. I figure the maintenance has got to be a nightmare.
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If you're staying in Des Moines, then at some point you should definitely go to Zombie Burger for lunch or dinner. It's about 10-15 min from the park. Well worth it as the food options are pretty blah once you're inside the park.
Thanks for that tip! I'll be headed out there in early July, and I just looked at their menu. Those burgers are pretty crazy! And that's coming from an LA guy, where there are a ton of crazy good burger places.
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I travel a lot to Omaha, Nebraska, and there is not a theme park in that entire state. Granted, Adventureland is 2 hours away, and WoF about 3. But something local, and for the rest of the state, would be nice.
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I got an unexpected visit to this park about 2 years ago not knowing much about it, and I have to say I was overall very pleasantly surprised. This looks to be a great additions, and I'm even luckier to be headed back that way in about a month. By then, operations should be smoothed out. And maybe a single rider line? We can always hope.
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Last formal day for LAUSD students is Friday, June 10, but many will be ditching out on the 8, 9, and 10th, so I could imagine a small bump in crowds. This is because the last day for teachers to turn in grades is on the 8th, so students know not much else can happen on the 9th and 10th.
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Thanks all for the advice! I assume school is out by then, but most people would be at the water park?
We actually have been on Steelhawk when it was still at Knott's... but it'd fun to ride it again in it's new location, lol
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Hey, I'm from Los Angeles and am hoping to visit WOF on Thursday, June 16. Would it be crowded enough to warrant getting a Fast Lane? And is the weekday saver admission price the best bargain to get a ticket? I was there about 2 years ago at this same time, and most things were a walk on at the time, but not sure if anything's changed since then.
And if there's any advice from the locals (I do know to his Spinning Dragons first because the line is so slow), that'd be appreciated. Thanks in advance! And we are NOT interested in the water park, just the theme park.
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I know there's a customized one in Vegas, but how about an El Loco?
It would certainly fit the print, and probably could be customized, too.
It's funny, because I was just thinking that. It's good from a footprint point of view, and despite one in Vegas, they're still relatively rare. And they also fit into a thrilling, but still mostly family friendly category that makes it a good fit for them.
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Blue buildings are the boardwalk ballroom, a special event space (and where Trapped happened for a few years). I believe the rest are employee rec areas. I can't imagine them getting of them, but it is certainly possible.
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Just to clarify, I was at the park today (it was pretty crowded). They do have single rider for TNR, but it does not allow for VR. It does say so on the sign if you read it carefully.
And I have to eat some crow... dispatch times on TNR are pretty bad. Even though they're running two trains, it stacks. For long periods. Due to everyone adjusting their VR. The people per hour rate has got to be abysmal.
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There is now the San Francisco Dungeon. It does have tons of live actors, but the emphasis is much more on history, comedy and gimmicks than actual scares. I still enjoyed it (It's actually a very long attraction, over 30 minutes if I recall!), but if you're going for scares and gore, you'd be very disappointed.
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I agree with all the above, except for the X2 unloading platform. I personally think they stopped using it because in that particular case, it actually is faster to load and unload at the same location. If you recall, when it was being used, the seats would tilt down to unload, then have to be titled back up to move forward to the load area, and then tilt back down yet again. It took forever. This way, it only has to tilt one time, which does speed things up a bit.
But yeah... I've though that both FT and TC would both benefit from an unload station. But like others have mentioned, I can't imagine it actually happening.
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Does anyone know anything about the Outlaw Run Rendezvous happening on June 18? I'm considering flying in from California, but if anyone can tell me what the event typically entails, and a tentative schedule, that'd be great!
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Like others, unless you are really also looking for the ride selection aside from mazes, I'd skip SFMM. While their maze quality is going up, it's still pretty inferior to KFB and HHN. That said, it's also more affordable... so there's always a pro and con.
Between KBF and HHN, I'd consider the particular strengths and weakness of both.
KBF Pros: The original, and so much history. Very well organized. Lots of mazes (by far), lots of variety, and since everything they do is in house, you see lots of original props and ideas you won't find anywhere else. Also usually has more shows, and I wouldn't be surprised if Elvira is there yet again. She's worth seeing, even if it's just to rest your feet for a bit. You can also have the pre-scare buffet, which includes their famous chicken (all you can eat!) and early access to the park. I do believe their pass allows for multiple visits to mazes, and is a really good deal... you generally get right on the maze without any wait, as many times as you want (excepting the laser maze). Not to mention the bonus Skeleton Key rooms.
KFB Cons: Quality of the scare actors can vary widely, and you can occasionally go a long ways through a maze without seeing a single scare actor, or have one even attempt to scare you. Can have long lines, and does get crowded. Lines for rides can get very long, although many are manageable--though not all.
HHN Pros: The quality of the mazes are stunning. The amount of detail in each maze is remarkable, and parents repeat visits if possible. The energy is often quite high, and the quality of the scare actors are probably the best I've seen at a theme park. They really get in your face, and are quite unrelenting.
HHN Cons: Numbers of mazes is low. Lines are generally insanely long, and even if you get a pass, not only is it very expensive, it only allows for one visit per maze (at least, it did last year). Because of all that, it can be hard to see all the mazes, let alone repeats. Very few to no shows, so you're on your feet the entire time. Crowds can get insane. Lines for rides can also get very long.
Also, Universal has yet to announce if Harry Potter will be open for HHN or not. I imagine it may be, though probably not actually themed to Halloween at all.
The Six Flags Magic Mountain (SFMM) Discussion Thread
in Theme Parks, Roller Coasters, & Donkeys!
Posted
I'm not expert, but typically local schools are better suited to help as evacuation spots. They can provide much needed shelter in gyms and cafeterias, as well as having nearby facilities--and I believe I've heard local schools have already been providing shelter. Magic Mountain isn't really set up like that (like, where exactly would you put them for shelter?), so not sure exactly how you'd want them to help. I've never heard of any amusement park helping out in this manner during a natural disaster, and I'd imagine it's because they're not set up for that, not because they're selfish.