PURE

Wow I didn't even know BPB offered free admission. I understand another park faced its end when it started charging to get in the park, but unless there are tons of stores (similar to something like Downtown Disney) there must just not be enough revenue from the rides and food to keep the place profitable. I think charging to get in is a good idea because it keeps the riff raff out, and people respect a place a lot more when they have to pay to get in, rather than walk through the gates completely free. In turn it will bring the park more money and avoid rowdy 12-15 year olds who cause trouble and don't bring the park money anyway. Although I'm not not sure how much it is in comparison to the American dollar, but I think an entrance fee of $5-10 is not asking too much. And with the availability of a pass, you can go get your dipped cone whenever you want!

You're complaining about the advertising because of that? Are you kidding me? That's nothing! What is that 20 square feet? Please! And even that other photo, c'mon, I can't believe some of you are complaining about this. I'm beggining to think some people just don't want to be satisfied. QFT.

^^^^I know what you mean, and I agree with you. It doesn't make any sense that they'd use the new system over the old system, the most obvious reason being that the X wheel assemblies are going to "pinch" the rails. It’s similar to why old Arrows (like Viper) can be so rough. They have solid wheel assemblies that require a gap between the rails, so the assemblies don't pinch the track. That gap is what causes the constant correction and pounding, which results in roughness to the car and riders. As far as I know there is supposed to be NO gap between the X rails and wheels, which really leads me to believe that having the hinged X rail wheel assembly really isn’t necessary to avoid “pinching” the rail. The only thing I can think of for the change, is because of the amount of movement those hinged wheels created to the rotation of the trains--and because they weren't going to pinch anyway. I know I've been doing posting photo drawings, but I think that's the best way to explain. The light blue and light green vertical lines represent the straight X gear teeth on the pink and green wheel assemblies, respectively. All the dots are the same assembly, I just varied the colors so you could tell the difference while they were moving, and could compare them while still. The red horizontal line (1) represents the regular track, so you can see how much movement the hinged wheel assembly creates in relation to it. The orange horizontal line represents the X rail (2), again, to show the movement of the X rail wheel assembly in relation to the X rail. Having the hinged wheels creates wheel assembly movement (The green and pink dots on the “GAP” drawing). Having a curve track, combining the speed of the ride and the movement of the X rail forces the wheels assemblies themselves to move up and down in relation to the X rail (the orange horizontal line). This creates another source of movement to the X gear; 1 being the movement of the wheel assembly (which is NOT intended), and 2 being the movement of the X rail itself (which is intended). Having a solid piece creates only 1 place of movement, and that is the intended up and down movement of the X rail. In the “NO GAP” drawing you can see that in relation to the X rail, the wheel assembly barely moves. This takes away the wheel assembly movement allowing the train to feel the X rail more reliably than before. And when you think about it, it makes sense. On the roughest part of the ride (the last raven turn) the trains movement and momentum, the X rail movement to rotate the seats, and the hinged wheels movement created this jarring back and forth seat movement during rotation, which made it one of the most painful and unbearable parts of the ride. Same with right after the turnaround, there’s a little pop of air before you enter the beginning portion of the half/half that really jarred the train. Removing the hinged wheels takes away that problem. Yes you will feel the rebound from the X rail movement (which you pretty much felt on the ride anyway), but the sharp skull shaking movement will be minimized. The only better solution is to rid of the X rail and start from scratch. Which may happen in the future to 4-d’s, but as far as X is concerned, its about as good as its going to get.

I have no problem with advertising OR televisions in queue lines advertising as well. The bottom line is that SF is willing to spend money to keep their guests entertained whether walking through a midway, or standing in line. And if they make some chump change on the side, good for them. These are awesome steps the company is making to provide services to the guests in the parks, its almost hard to believe this is the same company that was around 5 years ago dropping roller coasters in parking lots. I really like this move.

I know what you mean, for example how FedEx is on the sign for Space Mountain, etc. I think what people don't like is that there are random advertising signs and poles that just make the park look messy. The Starburst ads are a good example of that. From what I've seen at WDW and DLR, Disney puts some sort of an effort into incorporating their advertisements in the park, making them not so obvious. In the end, it makes the park look cleaner, and not so "sold out." The advertisements at SF parks don't bug me. I just wish they'd learn to take them down once they're 6 months old and start to look crappy.

The pivot above the assembly is for the frame of the car and has nothing to do with the track. Allows the trains to bend using the wheel assemblies becuase if there was no pivot the frame would break. I am designing my own wheel assembly and the assembly thats used for the rack and pinion is awful. Everyone knows that Arrows are rough and here is why. The old assembly had pivots and bumpers in between which is the way it should be. The wheels have to move to allow for the bend in the track because if its a rigid assembly with no tolerance the assembly will explode. Allowing the wheels to move means you can have a tighter tolerance. And instead of the wheels hitting metal they put this hard rubber in which I dont know what its called. So instead of a clank you get a thud. B&M and Itamin have this, usually red or orange and in the old x trains you can see its black. The assembly still moves and you get that jerk in your seat but its softened slightly. The new assembly is horrible. The wheels are so far apart and they took off the gas shocks so now there is a big gap! I know its going to make the spin start off rough. If they wanted a rigid assembly for maintenance and longevity purposes they should have inverted the assembly so the frame is on the outside and the small wheels super close together so that the gap can be smaller. Every wheel assembly on any train has a gap if its riding a rail thats bent. I have been working on my assembly for about a year now and have eliminated the vertical gap! I have the idea how to elimate the horizontal gap but not sure if its possible to engineer. Give me time because I am soooo busy. Put the pivots and gas struts back on!!!! I'm assuming you're talking about the X rails (The pink ones that rotate the cars). I know what you mean about that gap, but I think, much like Arrow did the first time, the movement needed for those wheels was over-estimated. If you think of the enormous size of the track and how non-specifically the X rails move on them, there really is no need for such a tight scale mechanism. The arch of X's drops are hundreds of feet wide, while the distance between the two sets of X wheels (circled in green) are near a foot wide. The picture below shows what I mean. I think the reason behind taking away the pivot was because it allowed too much play let alone required tons of maintenence on a daily basis (7 cars x 2 Sides x 2 trains= 28 individual adjusters, not even including each adjusters individual parts. That's checking them, not adjusting them). The trains going 76 mph, and the track's bends aren't tight enough to require that amount of play for the shocks and hinges to be necessary. If you look at the old X rail mechanisms(ABOVE), the pivots or hinges(circled in light blue) create a non stiff movement for all 4 wheels; meaning there's going to be 4 wheels moving in different directions at any given time. This means wheel contact is not guaranteed at all times. The adjusters (circled in light green) loosen throughout a day or a week, and create a gap between the wheels and their contact with the track as well. When the train is riding the circuit, there's so much movement going on whether it being the wheel assembly on the track or the seat rotations that it helps if the X rail wheels are gapping between the track as minimally and non-independently as possible. As you see, having that gap (circled in red) creates too much specificity, and wide accuracy. Its not needed. While one sides pulling, the other may be pushing, etc. I think the new parts will work well because they keep the most possible contact with the rails. If you look closely at the X2 trains (ABOVE), they've created a sort of cross pivot point (shown in black). This means when the X rail moves the wheel assembly upward (shown in X pink) the wheel assembly is going to force the wheel below it and the wheel behind it against the track, creating 2 contact points at all times (circle in light blue). More contact with track means there's no movement between the wheels and the track at any time, which is what we want. The solid arm design (shown in yellow) contributes a great deal to how little gap there will be between the wheels riding either above or below the X rail. Eliminating the gap (in red) creates a swivel between the wheels across from each other (shown in white on the new X wheel assemblies) , meaning only 2 types of wheel movement can go on at any given time. In fact, it even makes the wheel assembly stronger, because now they are all more or less supporting each other, instead of having 4 different wheels supporting themselves. As a whole, this makes wheel contact tighter because of the tremendous scale of the rail to the wheel. Less specific adjusting wheel mechanisms mean the ride doesn't have to correct itself as much while riding which means a smoother ride. I think if the wheels could be spread further apart, the hinge assembly would be necessary (like was used on the old trains), but because they need several sets of wheels close together for 7 cars, they must opt for the design where the wheels are going to be close. Doing this the rotations of the trains will hopefully be less shaky, and the new strength of the train body's will help with that as well.

Its so odd to see a Batman layout with non-Batman colors featuring the Goliath name with non-Goliath colors (The Orange and Green). Hope the ride maintains well through the move!

^Yeah I don't get it either. One main thing I've noticed is that it doesn't seem like there are any trees in the park! Is this just temporary because its still being built, or is the park just going to be full of concrete and facades? I won't pass judgment until I see it in person, but my gut feeling says there's just not enough substance to fill an amusement park with things related to Rock music. But I hope for the best!

I'm going to Magic Mountain for sure. Knotts is a maybe. Disneyland is a maybe. Wow. What a lame list.

^^Read the FLYER! Duh! Don't you know by now? It has ALL of the answers your looking for, and even some of the ones you're not.* *May not have all the answers you're looking for, especially some of the ones you're not.

^Either way I think it's difficult to market the name of a ride when it's only 1 letter. Even if they do new things to make it more obvious that the ride isn't called "The Xtreme," people are still going to be confused, just as they are with names that are normal, like Ninja or Viper. I think part of it is the GP just doesn't care. They get to ride the rides and for them, that's good enough. It kind of makes you think about the marketing philosophy behind creating names, especially for coasters. You want it to be cool, but the GP has to be able to get it so they can market it by word of mouth too!

^^Wow both very good things to hear. I think one of my favorite things going to the park back in the day as a kid was watching all the bugs bunny cartoons they'd have going on all over the park. Definitely something I'd love to see come back. It really makes the lines for rides go by much quicker! I gotta get down to the park soon, it's almost been over a month now.

Customs line into Cali from TJ isn't bad if you do it at 3 AM. That's about the only time of the day I've ever passed back into the US, go figure. Never even knew about those rides, but they look like fun! Believe it or not I can smell TJ stench just from looking at the pictures...

Not to burst anyone's Eagle Fortress bubble or anything, but according to rcdb, Ninja hits 55 and Big Bad Wolf 48 while Eagle Fortress is written as only going 40. I'm just saying. That doesn't mean there can't be airtime and more swinging, but maybe being in the trees makes it seem that much faster. I'm a big fan of Arrow Suspended coasters, hopefully someday I'll be able to get on all of them.

I don't see a reason for taking down the old Eagles Flight Station. Nobody knows it's even there, and it's not like its in the way of anything. Its the little Samurai Summit theming that's left up on the hill, and untill they find something to put in its place, its probably not going anywhere. It's too bad they closed Eagles Flight, was it just as a caution or did something happen to the ride during the quake? Its kind of odd how MM used to have all these transportation rides, with really no sort of destination or things to do after they got off them. And now MM has acres and acres of land with tons of roller coasters, and the only way to get to them is by walking. You think it would've been the other way around.

I don't know what you mean by Dragon's line, but the bottom station and top station are still intact, one behind the Soda Shack, and the other where Ninja's station is. The track from the bottom station goes up the hill untill its surrounded by shrubbery. Then the shrubbery clears about 30 feet below Ninja's station, and you can see the track again. Then, like Jew above said, they used old unused Dragons track as a walkway (I believe because the ride had a walkway next to the cars) to be used for employee walkways between Jet Stream and Ninja and added some stair and walkways as well. It was all kinda done shady, like they didn't want to spend the money to demolish it, so they just left it cause it wasn't really in the way. And like most people who aren't aware of the change, don't really even notice it (you being the perfect evidence for that ).

I haven't been on that Carousel in so long, but I remember it being nice when I used to ride. I don't know what its like now. Most of the track is still there too, its just covered by dirt and debris. You can see parts of it head up near Ninja's transfer, and if you're on Ninja and just exiting the 2nd lift, you can see the dragon track below the safety grate. It leads to the door of Ninja's electrical room. Funicular? I really wonder about some of the odd names the park had for ride and sections of the park back then. Spilliken Corners? I mean, c'mon!

Wow awesome video! That wild mouse coaster looks freaking awesome! I love that shot of how it helix's so close to the grass that you could touch it with your hands while riding!

^But with the condition of the company during those 5-10 years of coaster explosion going on at MM, I don't think they would have been prepared for that type of enormous project. I think it would have been disastrous. I think the company would be capable of handling those types of things now, but with the spending cuts and the company focusing on slimming down property, I think its the last thing on their mind. Maybe in another 5 years when this "new" era is in its teen years. Because something like that definitely has the potential to make tons of dough.

^So there IS an E-Stop at the panel at the base of the tower? I'm assuming there's one in the dispatch booth as well. Sorry I was confused, I thought this was an S&S tower. That means with 2 e-stop buttons available, NONE of them were used. $5.15/HR or not, your job as a ride operator is to know how to stop the ride in case of an emergency. Its not a complicated issue. If you see something wrong with the ride (ie CABLES SNAPPING) you hit the E-Stop! I'm sorry these ops either were dumb as rocks or were not paying attention. The designer of the ride implemented the safety of the ride which would have worked if used properly, and so did the park in training them. If they're stupid and don't know how to operate a ride and take the job anyway, I blame them for not saying "I don't know how to work this ride, I shouldn't be certified." Yes this is a SF maintenence issue, but I believe had the ops been working like they were trained, disaster very well could have been avoided.

^Doubt it. There are a lot of people that dig this kind of stuff and don't mind getting in front of people to strut their stuff. Although I think this is happening a couple years too late, that doesn't mean it won't be popular with Disney crowds. I mean, they get make-up, given the idol treatment for the day to sing on stage in front of a crowd of people, for some people that'd be an awesome experience. I just feel bad for the singers that are going to suck. And doing this 6-8 times a day almost guarantees that. I'd say if they have 2-3 singers a day competing for the daily winner, that'd be enough. It'll be interesting to see how well this works out.

Although its not like I'm going to skip the ride because of its colors, I think it would have looked a lot better if they painted the ride rails the same colors as the supports like in the promo art. Which is how it was originally painted, pink track with yellow ride rails and yellow supports. That way it would stand out from Eej (for all those people that have a problem with that). With red fiberglass for seats and black painted cars, it really would have made the ride look sharp. But its going to be like it is and I'm fine with that. Although I liked the old colors when the ride first came out, I think it looks spectacular now, much better than the faded pink and yellow paint.

The drop towers can be lowered at any time, but only from the dispatch booths, along with the e-stop. The people on the ground watching the cars go up can only dispatch the ride and lock/unlock the gates. If the cable snapped when they were only 20 feet up, there's no reason a ride op in the dispatch booth or at the base of the tower shouldn't have stopped the ride, that's for damn sure. For 1 tower to be open, there are to be 3 pairs of eyes at to see completely around the tower at all times. Someone wasn't doing their job and watching the tower, and this girls legs are gone because of it. For some reason from reading the excerpts it seems like the cable snapped somewhere near the top of the tower, and fell down to the car. That could cause some injurys alone, the cable is heavy and can get very sharp. And then since nobody was paying attention to stop the ride and drop the car, I'm sure as it got to the top and started to fall it got snagged on the tower, and yanked and scraped the riders body parts. And of course, a girls legs are now gone. Six Flags will definitely be the ones paying for this, and they're writing these stories to milk them for all they've got. What a horrible sight.

Yeah does anyone know why they did that? I hate how the company on occasion just has the words "Six Flags" around the park without the Magic Mountain, or California. Dunno why, but to me it just seems tacky. It'd be like buying a cup from Disneyland and it just said "Disney" on it instead of "Disneyland."

^And that's exactly what Magic Mountain can stay like. But I think its an extreme to say it "never will be" a destination park. Yes it would need solid investments from the higher ups in the company, but if they really wanted to upscale the park, they could definitely invest in an on the resort hotel so people could stay for a day or two on a summer weekend. It may not be capable with exactly what it has now, but the formula's there. That's of course if they'd think it was worth it. But hey, if you're really serious about making some money, you gotta start somewhere!