Been a lurker on this sight for a long time, but finally have something to contribute!
So went to MM on Friday, June 8. Haven't been since before Tatsu opened (I am a SoCal resident), but prior to that I used to go at least once a year. To say the least, that was the one ride I most wanted on, and yeah, go figure it's busted. You all know the reasons now, and the attendants told me and my buddy that it'd probably be down till at least Monday. *sigh*
Got to the gates prior to opening. Headed for Superman and got the second ride of the day. No one was in line on the return, so got to go a second time. Ninja wasn't open yet, so headed over to Apocolypse. Walked right on, and again got to take it for a second spin afterwards. Deja Vu proved funny cause my friend is 6' 5", and he almost got the boot from the ride till he took his shoes off. And I thought only GL had the hight limit! After that we went to Riddler's, and then Batman.
At this point, we'd only been in the park for slightly over an hour. Not bad! Green Lantern had an hour wait, so we passed and headed over to Scream and Colossus. I'm 39, my friend 35, and both of us experienced a little problem of our vision whiting out briefly on both Batman and (for him) Scream. Stupid getting older. By then it was just past noon, so time for food, maybe would help our heads.
$11 for chicken fingers??? Glad I only drink water these days, cause no way was I buying a $4 Coke! Sheeesh.
Next stop, Goliath, and the first ride we actually had a line for. Probably a 30 min wait including the time it took for them to get the train unstuck from the lift hill! Walked to Revolution, and man you guys aren't kidding about those stupid restraints. I think they got 'em off of Psychlone, cause they hurt as much as those did. Then it was Viper, another walk on, and after that X2. By now it was 4, and the line took us 40 minutes to get through.
Lap 2 took us to Ninja, where the Flash Pass royally pissed us off. We were waiting for the front seat, and got bumped 3 times in a row, not to mention the people that rode it twice. Yelled at the attendant, who apologized and said there had been some miscommunication. Yeah, okay. It was a very hot and humid day, so Jet Stream was in order. For the hell of it, went on Gold Rusher and passed along some fun to a 10-12 year old. Me and my friend were trying to grab branches (I always try to grab grass on Revolution), which the kid found highly amusing. Then I did the high five to the invisible attendant on the second lift hill. By the end of the ride, I knew that the kid would be doing this from now on just as I was taught oh so many years ago!
Still hot, went on Tidal Wave. Boy has that ride lost something. Used to be a guaranteed drenching. Instead my arm got wet (I was on the edge) and my buddy came away perfectly dry. Could tell the water level of the ride was down a good foot. Lame. Checked on Green Lantern's line again. Same as before. By now it was 6:30 or so, and we were pretty much good for one last ride. Got in line, but after 10 minutes, it hadn't moved. Also, all day long they were completely stopping the car at the midway break for a good 30 seconds to 1 minute. Seemed to be a complete momentum killer, as I only saw people getting 1 (if any) inversions. Finally said screw it, and hit up X2 one more time, with only a 15 minute wait this time.
By 7:30 we were out of there and eating at Carl's Jr., feeling like we had a very complete day. 8 of the rides we rode were complete walk-ons, and the crowds along the paths were very minimal. Apocolypse was my favorite new ride I got to go on. Really felt like it was relentless, especially for a woody. X2 was a blast, but how is it different from when it was just X? Oh wait, I think I saw a flame once. Goliath now takes over Viper as my fave of the park. So smooth, so fast, and it completely whited out my friends vision during that final g-force circle.
Love, love, love Magic Mountain, and not just for the rides. I like the park layout and was impressed with how it's looking these days. Had been to Disneyland just 2 months prior, and I'd take poorly themed rides any day over the crush of people in that place. My 5 year old loves the fast rides, so I'll be looking forward to the day he's 54" and can ride most everything in the park!
