TheCoasterGuy

Just got back from the park. They've started to dig the footing holes and insert both the forms and rebar. I suspect concrete should be poured by next weekend. I'd post a pic for you, but I know how much you like those. Update: After looking at some my photos on the larger monitor, I can now see that a couple of the footings have already received concrete.

Here's a nice close-up of the Eagle's Flight Shangri-La station:

The only real change at the RRE site this week was a giant hole. It looks like they started to dig for the new footings and came across some old footings that hadn't been removed. Big chunks of old concrete and rebar way underground. I hope to have some photos I took posted up to my site tomorrow. I'll post one here like I did with the Superman pic.

Did everyone see the Superman testing today with the water dummies?

It's an awesome perk. I usually get in a bit before the main gate opens, allowing you a great head start to wherever you're heading. They've always just looked at my card and made sure the name matched my pass. Not sure about a group size.

How high up the tower was the old car going? Same as what we have seen the new car do in testing...up into the red zone, but the car was completely empty. It still doesn't give us any insight as to what SFMM will allow the cars to do once they go live with the public.

They were actually testing an old car on the right track last weekend. I don't think they'd be doing that if they didn't have plans to keep using it. Has anyone seen a new car tested on the right track yet, or just the left?

I think this comment you made speaks volumes into part of what we are talking about. If the park had a good selection of reasonably priced (for a park, at least) places to eat, people wouldn't have to leave the park to eat. The last time I was there, lunch cost me around $45 for me and my two sons, and that was just personal pizzas and sodas. Way too much!

I disagree. I feel that every little detail plays into a guest's experience and whether or not they'll want to spend money and return to the park. Whether it's puke on a trash can, long queues, or a cheesy ride sign, they all say something about the park and how much they care. There is no detail too small in making a great experience for your customer. Oh, and by the way...GO DUCKS!!! (I'm from Eugene, but moved to L.A. about 5 years ago)

Every single complaint mentioned by Robb, as well as many others, are exactly what I experienced during my first full year in the park during the 2009 season. That prompted me to write an 8-page letter to Mark Shapiro, which then led to a personal meeting with Jay Thomas to discuss. I refused to visit the park in 2010. I wanted to give them a full year to make good on all of the changes that Jay said were coming. I have my 2011 season pass in hand and I even started a new blog to document this upcoming year in the park, put reports like this aren't making me very optimistic. It sounds like it's going to be more of the same, or maybe even worse.

Nope, they own the land under this park. That's why they were trying to sell it back in 2007, to raise a bunch of money. If they were still leasing it, they couldn't have sold the property because it wouldn't have been theirs to sell.

That's part of the small parcel I was referring to. It's an irregular skinny piece that flows along side Feedmill Rd and then wraps around the far side of the parking lot opening up to a decent sized chunk they use for overflow parking. First of all, you wouldn't want to build part of the park completely separated from the rest of the park. Second, I don't think they can spare the parking right now. They could build some new operations buildings in that space, and get rid of some of the old ones to make room for park expansion, but again that would be very costly and you still lose the parking space.

I'm guessing you're basing that comment off of the outstanding financial performance the company has delivered over the last couple of years, right? Never assume that just because a company is big, or that it's been in the business for a very long time, that it always knows what it's doing. Executive management teams change and the new folks are sometimes afraid to move away from "the way it's always been done", despite the changing economy, people's interests, or new technology. Sometimes, they're just too inept to do anything right.

As far as I know, their main restaurant is still over on Hasley Canyon Rd, so you can still try it out if you're interested. I've personally never eaten there, but I've heard it's quite good if you like BBQ.

As others have already pointed out, that area is occupied by all of their offices, wardrobe department, and maintenance facilities. I pulled the plot map for the park last week because I'm working on a story for my SFMM blog about the parking situation at the park. Other than a small parcel of land they use for over flow parking, as well as the existing paved parking lot, there is no real area that isn't already being used for something. They are fully built out to all corners of the property. Now, that isn't to say there isn't anything within the park they couldn't get rid of to make way for more coasters/rides, but that takes serious money. I'm hoping that the new management team is successful in making the company profitable again were they have the kind of money to make those changes.

No reference to the person you are commenting about, but I couldn't agree more with this statement. I think the season pass prices are way too low. Not that I'm into paying any more than I have to, but I think it's wrong to basically give out a season pass for virtually the same cost of a one-day ticket. As you say, the park is flooded with kids who basically hang out there because their parents bought them a cheap season pass. I say raise the annual rates. They'll still get the die hard coaster fans to buy them and if the parents want their kids to have a place to hang out, then they'll have to shell out some extra cash. I'm sure the number of annual passes sold will drop, but I bet overall the park will bring in more revenue, which is ultimately a win for all of us.

Actually, Al Weber isn't in charge. He only took control temporarily while they found a new President and CEO. Weber is now back to being the COO. James Reid-Anderson was named the Chairman, President, and CEO back on August 13th. Right. But do you think these two people don't ever talk to each other or something? Or that one of them isn't allowed to express a thought or an idea because of their title? Don't underestimate how much weight a suggestion by a very experienced person in a very influential corporate position could have, even if they are not the CEO of a company. --Robb Please don't get me wrong. I work for a Fortune 500 company and I know quite well how the corporate hierarchy works. I never said Al wouldn't still be influential. There is no doubt in my mind that Al will be leaned on heavily by the new guy, at least until he gets his legs under him, especially considering that Al is the Chief Operating Officer and the new guy has no direct experience with theme parks. I was merely pointing out that that Al isn't technically "in charge" anymore.

According to the photos for the past events, there were 320 people in 2008 and just over 700 for 2009. I didn't see any mention of attendance figures for 2010, but judging by how much fun everyone says this event is, I would be surprised if it wasn't still growing in size.

Actually, Al Weber isn't in charge. He only took control temporarily while they found a new President and CEO. Weber is now back to being the COO. James Reid-Anderson was named the Chairman, President, and CEO back on August 13th. He has an extensive background of running multi-billion dollar companies, so Six Flags is pretty small potatoes for him. I'm anxious to see how he does at not only making the company profitable again, but also growing it. Also, the reason I think we're seeing the focus on the DC and Looney Tune characters is because they cancelled all of their other licensing deals. They still have licenses to use these characters so they might as well use them and get their money's worth.

I live in Valencia, CA and I'm less than 5 minutes away from Six Flags Magic Mountain. I drive right by it every time I leave my house to go anywhere. Of course, we also have Disneyland, Knott's Berry Farm, Universal Studios Hollywood, and many other parks within a stone's throw from here.

Mariel is correct in stating that Batman went to Six Flags Fiesta Texas and was renamed to Goliath. The only other ride that was salvaged was The Road Runner Express, the junior coaster. It is currently being installed at my local park, Six Flags Magic Mountain. They were originally going to call it Mr. Six's Dance Coaster, but they changed their minds and it will now be known as Little Flash.

I couldn't make it over to the park today, but ABC News was reporting from the front of the park and they said the park had closed at 3:00 pm. Can anyone confirm that?

I'm looking at the 2011 Season Pass Value Book and there is one coupon you could use. It's the $25 Friend Day Admission coupon and it is valid to buy a general admission ticket for only $25. It can be used any day in Jan, Feb, or March. You get the coupon book after you get processed for your season pass. She could go with you to get processed, since that happens outside the park, but then you would need to return to the ticket booth to buy her ticket. -Kurt

Deja Vu was closed yesterday as well.

It really is an impressive looking piece of architecture.