HauntedIndy

Here's my trip report from Wednesday, July 6. Park was not that crowded. The parking lot was filled to somwhere next to Scream. Everybody had a great time. Our first time visitor rode all the coasters in the park plus Superman and Drop of Doom. This will be the third year in a row of a good time at Magic Mountain. Looking forward to next year. Justice League dark ride please... All coasters were operating 2 trains. Colossus had 3 trains. Yay! Here's the day with more details: 11:12 am walked into the park. I was surprised there wasn't more cars packed at the parking lot entrance. Went direct to Tatsu, but it wasn't open yet. So up the mountain to Superman. 11:20 am entered Superman line. 4 or 5 car wait. Still quite fun. I like the backwards version better than the original. 11:35 am entered Ninja line. Though I enjoy old arrow suspended coasters, this was the first time after riding that I wouldn't mind this being replaced with something else. Maybe Mack could do a version of Helix here, but then Yolocoaster and Superman already have launches... 11:50 am entered Tatsu line. It had some technical issues while we were in line, but we decided to wait since the line would only get longer later on. Fun ride. The motion seems "slow" to me, but it's still fun and the pretzel loop is a great moment. Both stations were being used so we didn'thave to hang in the brake run for 5 min like last year. Definite improvement. 12:41 pm at Revolution single rider line. I'm so glad it has the new trains. This is much more like the Revolution I enjoyed as a kid. Didn't do the VR at all. I like looking at the trees and such. 1:11 pm entered Goliath line. First half exactly as I remember. Then the stop at the mid course brake. I must be getting old, since I grayed out a bit in the helix of gray out. 1:58 pm entered Drop of Awesomeness line. Still the best drop ride like this that I have been on. Going up scares me. Going down is just fun. 2:21 pm entered X2 line. It had technical issues so we went to eat lunch at a nearby In N Out. Lunch break. 4:05 pm entered Yolocoaster (Full Throttle) line. Everybody really enjoyed this. 4:40 pm back in X2 line. It had technical issues again, but we waited. The line was shorter than when we left before lunch. So the X2 line shortening in the afternoon happened today. This was bumpier than last year, and it bumped me in the head really well at the bottom of the last loop, even though I knew that jolt was coming. Oh well, still a crazy ride, but I think I'm tolerating bumpiness less well than before. 5:26 pm entered Viper line. I really should have sat this out and waited for my family and friends to ride this. After a bumpy X2 ride, this beat me up more. I'm totally ready for this ride to be bulldozed and replaced with something else. 5:43 pm entered Apocalypse line. I was surpised this was about a 25 min wait at this time of the day. It also had technical issues for a bit, but we just waited through them. Yes the ride is bumpy, but I still enjoy it. If you ever rode Psyclone when it was in this spot, Apocalypse is nowhere close to the house of pain that was 6:28 pm entered Gold Rusher line. It is what it is. I don't want it replaced though. 6:37 pm at Riddler single rider line. Yeah, this has gotten rougher over the years. Not Viper rough, but still too bumpy for a B&M. 7:06 pm at Green Lantern. I skipped this because one ride on this two years ago was enough for me. 7:26 pm entered Batman line. Just one moment of headbang in first flat spin. Other than that, normal Batman experience. 7:39 pm entered Scream line. Rode twice without moving seats. Sat out third ride and waited for my family and friends. I think I'm getting old. Fun ride though. 8:02 pm entered Twisted Colossus line. It had technical issues but we waited. We experienced a race for the second half. Wow does that add an extra dimension of fun to an already fantastic ride! 8:44 pm at Yolo for last ride. This is neat with the lights in the tunnel at night.

Again, thanks for the help. I will post a trip report in a couple of days.

Thanks for the help! I'm going to try X2 in the afternoon this time. Bummer that Goliath's line stays long most of the day, but as I recall the line moves decently fast with two train operation. I'm just going to do the non-vr version of revolution with the single rider line. I remember riding it as a kid when it was only lapbars, so I'm excited to see how close it is to its original self. If anybody else knows if entire families can use the discover card entrance, let me know.

Mack makes launched coasters. Only been on Manta at Sea World San Diego and it was running all day--and that was quite a fun ride. Would really like to somehow ride Helix someday at Liseberg. On Wednesday I will be making my annual trip to Magic Mountain. I have a couple of questions: 1. For the Discover Card entrance, is it only the person with the card that is allowed in or also the family members of the person with the card? My kids don't have Discover cards. 2. Are there any other single rider lines besides Lex Luthor, Riddler, Revolution, and Green Lantern? 3. I'm reading that X2's line tends to get shorter in the afternoon. Usually we ride X2 first followed by Tatsu and then Superman. Would a better strategy be Tatsu, Superman, rest of park, then X2 in afternoon? I'm certain my family will want to ride X2 twice, and I would rather wait longer for that than Tatsu. Usually we end the day with the second ride on X2. 4. The only ride we haven't gone on is Goliath (ran out of time 2 years ago, was missing its chain lift chain last year). Any recommendations where to fit that in during the day for a shorter wait? Thank you in advance for your help.

Here is a trip report from my visit on Thursday, July 9, 2015. I went to Magic Mountain last year, but before that I hadn’t been since 2006, when I think Tatsu was new at the time. I live in Southern California and have been visiting Magic Mountain since the days of the Sarajevo Bobsleds (1984?) back where Apocalypse now sits. This year I took 7 kids to the park (three are mine, the other four are like family—age range 10 to 15). All were tall enough to ride every coaster in the park. We arrived at the park around 9:50 am or so, and I was surprised to see that the parking lot booths were already open and we could go park. Yay for park operations! We walked to the front gate and then waited for a while. We wound up entering the park at about 10:45 am. Ride 1: X2 (in line 10:51 am, waited for about 35 min). The line was out to the first zig-zag area and we only waited in one of the zig-zags. I had not ridden X2 since it was just plain old X, and I remember it used to load very, very, very slowly. This line moved faster than I thought it would—hooray for the ride ops! I also remember the ride itself being rather painful, and an outside seat was just not a good idea. I sat on the inside, and it was fine except for the last loop/turn where there is a large jolt. Everybody really liked the ride and wanted to do it again later in the day if there was time. I liked it as well, and will probably make sure I ride it in all my future visits. 2 train operation—yay! Ride 2: Tatsu (in line 11:36 am, waited about 40 min). I had not ridden Tatsu since it opened, I think. I remember it was fun, but it loaded very, very, very slowly. Not much has changed. It’s still very fun, and it still loads very, very, very slowly. It is not that fun to hang there in the brake run waiting several minutes for the other train to depart. Tatsu had a minor malfunction. One train had to be sent empty a couple of times through the opposite station. Then 4 of the ride ops rode it to test it I suppose, and then it was back and cycling with the other train. Everyone enjoyed the ride, just not the hanging around part at the end. 2 train operation—yay, but very slow and lots of stacking. Ride 3: Superman (in line 12:25 pm, waited about 20 min). This is still fun, nice, and smooth. Yay for no pain! Everyone liked this ride. Ride 4: Batman (in line 12:53 pm, waited about 15 min). I haven’t been on this ride—or any of its clones--since 2006 or so. It’s still fun, but a little bit more rattly than I remember. The only headbang part I experienced was the final left turn. Everybody liked this. I prefer Silver Bullet at Knotts. 2 train operation—yay! Ride 5: Drop of Doom (in line 1:14 pm, waited about 20 min). This crew did very well to keep the line moving. Fantastic ride—everybody wanted to go on this again later in the day if we had time. Ride 6: Green Lantern (in single rider line 1:41 pm, took about 25 min for all 7 people to ride Green Lantern). I rode this last year once for the last time—too much pain. So I waited and laughed at the kids as they rode it. We then left the park to go eat lunch at In N Out. This was a good break and recharging time for everyone. We got back into the park at about 4 pm. Ride 7: YOLOcoaster (in line 4:04 pm, waited about 45 min). I’m starting to really like the YOLOcoaster. I still wish it had more of a second half instead of dropping from the loop into the brakes, but it is fast, smooth, and super fun. Everyone wanted to do this again if there was time later in the day. I think the best ride op of the day was here—she made lots of jokes as the train was launched each time. 2 train operation—yay! Ride 8: Twisted Colossus (in line 5:02 pm, waited about 45 min). Wow. All I can say is wow! This is amazing and very fun. If all RMC coasters are like this, they will be having lots and lots of business for years and years to come. I liked the background music in the queue, and the little steampunk decorations. Everyone liked this and wanted to ride again later if there was time. 3 train operation—super yay! Also, the crew was doing a great job of dispatching trains with minimal stacking. Ride 9: Scream (in line 5:52 pm, waited about 15 min). It’s fun, and mostly smooth—little bit of rattling but not too much. It was very windy in the station. 2 train operation—yay! Ride 10: Riddler (in single rider line 6:23 pm, took about 10 min for all 8 of us to ride). This was much bumpier than I remember. I wouldn’t mind if it was converted to a normal sit down coaster with Kumba or Incredible Hulk style B&M trains. Only 1 train operation—boo. Ride 11: Goldrusher (in line 6:44 pm, walk-on). It’s still fun, and really only worth a walk on or possibly 5 minute wait. 2 train operation—yay! Ride 12: Apocalypse (in line 6:57 pm, walk-on). Quite fun, and quite bumpy but the seats have enough padding to absorb that. I was really surprised by the out of control feeling on this ride, even though I rode it last year. I’m so glad Psyclone got replaced by this. 2 train operation—yay! Ride 13: Viper (in line 7:21 pm, walk-on). Yeah, that will be the last time I ride Viper, unless possibly I’m taking some people who haven’t ridden it before. Hopefully it will be demolished and replaced with something less painful. Nobody in the group liked it. I suppose the newer Vekoma or Kumbak trains that are on Carowinds’ Carolina Cobra could be put on Viper to ease the pain, but it would probably just be easier to scrap it and build something new there. It would be hilarious if a B&M Wingrider took its spot right next to X2. Probably won’t happen, but that would be funny. 2 train operation—yay! Ride 14: Revolution (in line 7:26 pm, walk-on). And this will be the last time I ride Revolution, unless I’m taking some people who haven’t ridden it before. I believe Gerstlauer makes trains that could replace the current trains (see Hersheypark’s Sooperdooperlooper). Both Full Throttle and Twisted Colossus go through loops with only lapbars, so I would think this would be a perfect time to restore Revolution to its former glory—when it was fun, and not an instrument of torture. As with Viper, nobody in the group liked this one. 2 train operation—yay! We took the Orient Express up the hill to take a ride on Ninja. This was a nice breather after the head and shoulder pain inflicted by Viper and Revolution. We got in line for Ninja and I noticed there was only 1 train in operation, so we waited a couple of minutes and I decided to skip it because it would not be worth the wait. I’m guessing the train that hit the tree still hasn’t been repaired yet? So we headed down the mountain to Jet Stream. Ride 15: Jet Stream (in line 7:45 pm, walk-on). Fun little flume ride—gets people sitting toward the back a little more splashed than those in the front. Everyone was all smiles after this ride. At this point we had ridden all the rides I wanted to take everyone on, so I asked which ones did they want to ride again in the hour that was left. Everybody unanimously wanted X2 to be the final ride, and they also wanted to ride the Drop of Doom again, so we went there first. Ride 16: Drop of Doom (in line 7:59 pm, waited about 15 min). This really is a fun, fun ride. The ride up for me is much worse than the drop down, especially if a Superman car gets launched up the tower and causes it to sway more than usual. Ride 17: X2 (in line 8:30 pm, waited about 30 min). The park closed at 9 pm on this day, so this was our last ride. It really is very fun, and I just have to remember to brace myself for that last jolt on the final loop/turn before the brakes. After our final ride on X2, we went to the Flags gift shop near the front of the park and got souvenirs and Takis. We stopped again at In N Out for dinner on the way home. Overall, this was another fun trip to Magic Mountain. Goliath had still not received its replacement chain, so it was not working, but that just leaves us a reason to go back next year. Last year the ride ops in the control booths seemed a bit more upbeat and funny than this year, but other than that, it was a very good day at Magic Mountain. Also, the weather was cloudy most of the day and the temperature was only in the low 80s, so we were all thankful we were not baking in the sun like typical July days at Magic Mountain.

I have a trip planning question. I'm planning to visit SFMM on June 13, a Saturday (yeah, I know, bad idea already). I noticed there is a Sharp Cheer & Dance Competition going on that day. Does the park get even more crowded than normal Saturday crowds with this event, and should I avoid this day like the plague, or is it a small event and just come prepared for normal Saturday summer crowds? I am very excited to ride Twisted Colossus, and this will be my first experience on a RMC coaster (redo or original).

Here is a trip report from my visit on Sunday, July 20. Thanks to singemfrc for posting the information about the single rider lines. Those came in handy. I haven't been to Magic Mountain since 2006. Tatsu was the newest ride at the time. I live in Southern California and have been visiting Magic Mountain since the days of the Sarajevo Bobsleds (1984?) back where Apocalypse now sits. I took 3 of my kids to the park for their first visit (ages 14, 11, and 10). My 10 year old could not ride everything, since he is 52" tall. We arrived at the park around 11:15 am or so, and quickly realized it might be a crowded day since we parked in front of Scream (but not yet in the other lot behind Scream). We walked to the entrance and went through the bagless security line, which was nice. By the time we got into the park it was 11:54 am. We took a look at the line to YOLOcoaster (Full Throttle) and decided to save that for later since the posted wait was 90 minutes and the line was forming beyond the white tent and heading toward the old Log Jammer station. Ride 1: Drop of Doom (in line 11:58 am, waited for about 30 min). The line was inside the building and it was about half full. This line moved much faster than I thought it would—hooray for the ride ops! Everybody liked the ride experience and wanted to do it again later in the day if there was time. Ride 2: Green Lantern (single rider line, waited about 15 min). The kids liked this ride. For me, I don’t need to ride it ever again. It wasn’t horrifically painful, but I just didn’t think it was that fun. We finished here at 12:57 pm. Ride 3: Superman (in line 1:05 pm, waited about 40 min). Everybody liked this one. I prefer the backwards version to the original version because I can see straight down. I don’t like the arm shields on the edge seats—can’t figure out why those are there. Finished Superman at 1:47 pm. We headed to Ninja next, but even though the lifts were operating the ride had not opened yet. So, we decided to head to Apocalypse. My Dad arrived at the park and joined us at Apocalypse. Ride 4: Apocalypse (in line 2:03 pm, waited about 30 min. Operating 2 trains). Great ride ops here, too. The line moved quite quickly. Everybody liked this. It was a little bit bumpy for a GCI, but it was still quite fun. I don’t know if it has gotten bumpier since it opened, but I really enjoyed it. Finished Apocalypse at 2:38 pm. We saw Ninja was working, so we headed back up the hill to ride Ninja. Ride 5: Ninja (in line 2:46 pm, waited about 50 min. Operating 1 train—and there was a sign posted at the entrance that wait times would be longer because only 1 train was operating). The Flash Pass here slowed down the line. When the Flash Pass line was long enough, they took over an entire train. I wanted to make sure we rode this just in case it goes the way of the Big Bad Wolf in a couple of years. I enjoy Ninja, but I think my kids were bored with it. Finished Ninja 3:40 pm. The ride op were asking “Ninja riders how was your ride!!!” Silence. Then the ride op would say “Silent, like the Ninja.” Gold Rusher: My Dad and 10-year old rode this while they were waiting for the rest of us to get done at Ninja. I think they had a 5 minute wait. I think my 10-year old thought it was going to be a different kind of ride. We were getting hungry for a snack, so we got two slices of pizza at the food place next to Gold Rusher and cut them in half (my Dad ate before he came to the park). The person serving us was quite helpful. Ride 6: Jet Stream (in line 4:04 pm, waited about 40 min). Grandpa didn’t want to get wet, so he waited nearby and then he eventually went to the single rider line at Ridder’s Revenge. The kids sort of liked this. While riding the Jet Stream you can see all of the trees that were cut down or trimmed as a result of the Ninja tree crash. Ride 7: Riddler’s Revenge (single rider line 4:51 pm, waited about 15 min). My 14 year old thought this was too rough, but my 11 year old really liked it. Riddler was pretty much the same as I remembered it, and it’s still my favorite stand-up coaster. Finished Riddler at 5:08 pm. While we were waiting for Riddler, Grandpa and my 10-year old went to Colossus got in line over there. Ride 8: Scream (in line 5:12 pm, waited about 35 min). Both my 14 year old and 11 year old liked this. It was pretty much the same as I remembered it—nice and fun. At this time Grandpa and my 10-year old had finished riding Colossus. So, my 11-year old and I went to Batman while everyone else went to the single rider line at Drop of Doom. The line to Batman was very near the entrance, so I knew that would take at least an hour, so we joined everybody else at Drop of Doom. Ride 9: Drop of Doom (single rider line 5:53 pm, waited about 15 min). We all really enjoy this ride. Grandpa was impressed as well. Ride 10: YOLOcoaster (in line 6:18 pm, waited about 1 hour and 10 min). YOLOline was its own experience. The YOLOband started playing around 6:30 pm, and after they finished their set, there was a YOLOcontest to eat a churro from a fishing pole while blindfolded. The announcer told the losing team to keep the churro, because they are usually like $13 and getting free food at an amusement park is amazing. After that was the YOLOdancers. Then the YOLOband returned. Finished YOLOcoaster at 7:26 pm. Everybody liked YOLOcoaster, and I was surprised by the airtime dropping down the loop entering the brakes. We got hungry again so we got 2 hot dogs at the place behind YOLOcoaster and split them in half. Grandpa left to go home, and then we went to Revolution. Ride 11: Revolution (in line around 7:42 pm, waited about 10 min). Finished Revolution 7:57 pm. Not as painful as I remembered it. Kids seemed to like it. Ride 12: Viper (in line around 8 pm, waited about 10 min). Finished Viper 8:15 pm and jogged to Colossus. Pretty much the same roughness as I remembered. I forgot about the pain on the shoulders from the Arrow harnesses. 14 year old didn’t like it. 11 year old was glad to have ridden it, but probably won’t ride it again. Ride 13: Colossus (in line around 8:20 pm, waited about 35 min). Finished Colossus 8:57 pm and ran to Goliath. Everybody liked this, but they liked Apolcalypse better. It was pretty much the same as I remembered it. I’m looking forward to the makeover from RMC—which is hopefully what will be happening. It was 9:03 pm when we got to Goliath, and the ride ops had just closed the line. We did not ride Tidal Wave, Roaring Rapids, X2, Tatsu, or Goliath (and Goldrusher). But those rides should all be there the next time we visit. I was surprised that we had a pretty good time at Magic Mountain. I was warning my kids that lines take forever to move there, but that was not the case. Also, the single rider lines really helped. Park operations were better than I expected overall. I’ll probably visit again with my kids when all are tall enough to ride all the coasters. Thank you for reading all of this if you got this far.

In 1997, I rode Montu 36 times in one day. That was quite fun. In 1987, I rode the Loch Ness Monster 35 times in one day. That was also quite fun. These days, though, I tend not to do mini-marathons on rides anymore.

My first coaster was the Roaring 20's Corkscrew at Knott's Berry Farm. The following year, I was wasn't allowed to ride it because I was too short. I'm not sure how I was able to ride it the first time, unless the height limit was increased.

The Spirit Of Radio -- Rush (from the R30 CD)