SoCalJasonland

A wood coaster is still produced and easier and cheaper to repair than a launched flywheel technology abandoned in 1982. Knott's did a great job on Ghostrider and it has been re-rideable longer than the original version was originally rideable. If launched flywheel coasters were reliable technology, we probably wouldn't have moved to accelerator coasters and then LSMs and LIMs. Knott's fixed their log ride, mine train, wooden coaster, Intimin sky ride, Berry Tales, and keeps stagecoaches and steam trains running. Monte and Mystery Lodge have no financially viable fixes, so they are unfortunately lost items. Knott's would not have canceled Monte is there was a reasonable fix. If we are lucky, the parts will save the other last one in the country that could use some love

I appreciate the responses. I was wondering if it was park specific or trying to get rid of or raise the prices of infrequent membership visitors first to see how they reacted. In only paid $5.88 per month for gold plus as haven't been since West Coast Racers was new. I guess I will have to get out to ride Wonder Woman before my 13 months expire. Even Metrolink is three hours each way from Riverside station and I would miss the last hour at SFMM trying to get back to the Santa Clarita station so maybe 6 hours at the park? Still better than driving.

I emailed Six Flags to complain about the price incease and thre was no arguement on canceling my membership and I didn't ask if there was a retentions department. They were polite and remembered my COVID months. By expiration, I might be able to use my Knott's all parks Prestige pass at Magic Mountain. I am not anti-Six Flags or Magic Mountain but it is a 120 mile 3 hour trip each way from Temeucla during the week. I might go if I could fly there for cheap "Hello Jason, Thank you for contacting Six Flags Guest Services. We are sorry to see you want to cancel your membership and we thank you for being loyal Six Flags members. Please be advised that if you cancel this membership, you will not be able to extend, renew or repurchase this same membership as we no longer sell this product. We received a request to cancel your account. Please review the cancellation agreement below and approve to complete the cancellation process. You must respond by March 15, 2024 (15 days prior to last payment) to complete the cancellation to match the agreement below. If we do not receive a response in a timely manner, your account will not be cancelled within the dates below. Cancellation Agreement: We received your request for the cancellation of your account ###### for Jason #####. Following the rules of your contract, your last payment to cancel account will be on March 30, 2024 and your account will cancel effective April 30, 2024. In addition, you are entitled to an additional 13 free months for remaining a Member while the park was closed due to COVID, commencing April 30, 2024. Once your account is canceled and your additional months expire, your pass will no longer work and you will have to purchase a ticket or pass to enter the park after May 30, 2024. Please reply with "I agree" to complete the cancellation of your account ########. If you have further questions or concerns, please reply to this email. Sincerely,

I miss it too. Is Nagashima Spa Land the last one? Apparently, the other one, per RCDB, Psyké Underground at Walibi Belgium was coverted to LIMs by Gerstlauer in 2013. I was previously mistaken and thought it was a Kumbak conversion. The remaining ones are disposed of or in storage. Unfortunately, Psyké Underground is now fully enclosed in the dark and so it is hard to compare to Monte but LIMs appear to decrease the initial launch acceleration. I used to pop the clutch on my manual transmission Dodge Charger to race, but it is a good way to not only launch really quickly but ruin your transmission at the same time. I know because I had to replace the transmission when it was two years old. This coaster type would have similar stressors. https://rcdb.com/8192.htm "Flywheel Shuttle Loop - Schwarzkopf (Münsterhausen, Bavaria, Germany) Discontinued, Manufactured from 1978 to 1982 Details Roller Coasters 8 (3 relocated) Notes this shuttle roller coaster launches riders through a nearly circular vertical loop. Next the train climbs a 70 degree incline until it's momentum is depleted, falls backwards and repeats the journey. There are two variations of the catapult system: Weight Drop and Flywheel. The Weight Drop uses a 40 ton weight in a tower at the end of the ride. The weight connects to a pulley system which triples the speed of the drop, placing over 13 tons of force on the train. The Flywheel utilizes a six ton flywheel in a machine room in front of the loop. The flywheel spins to 1044rpm and then engages a 4:1 speed reducer. This turns a drive pulley and propels the train via a cable."

It is simple but entirely restoring an entire coaster versus mass-producing one is very expensive because everything has to be custom-built and entirely engineered to meet all current safety standards. Unless you could sell several of them, it is not worth the engineering costs that need to be spread among several coasters to be cost-efficient. The design was discontinued decades ago and the manufacturer is out of business so how do you convince a board of directors to spend twice as much to duplicate outdated technology or purchase a newer off-the-shelf coaster technology that has more elements and is unique to the park? The park did restore the log ride and GhostRider but neither needed extensive costs to repair and repairs were far less than a new ride of equivalent quality. I saw a permit that the GhostRider re-tracking was listed at around $1,000,000, not including new trains, which was far less than an RMC conversion. This park does things to save money and wouldn't get rid of Monte if it was financially viable to repair. Didn't the same company Kumbak also refurbish one of these in Europe and it doesn't have the best reviews as compared to the original version? I heard the cars were uncomfortable and the launch was weak. If anyone knows what it is, I would like to see it on Youtube but the launch, g-force in the loop, and comfortable trains made Monte great.

I believe I pay approximately $6.00 per month for an older gold membership that was upgraded to a gold plus during COVID-19. I likely have had the membership for 10 years, have only been once since COVID, and I got this email today stating I would be increasing to $9.99 per month. I purchased my membership from Magic Mountain. Did they do this to everyone? "Dear Valued Guest, We hope you have been enjoying everything your Six Flags Membership has to offer. We are updating our prices to deliver the best guest experience so you can always make the most out of your visits to Six Flags. If you receive this email, this means at least one of your Membership products falls below the new minimum rate threshold. Your monthly price will increase from your current price www.sixflags.com/accountportal to $9.99/month per Gold Membership, $12.99/month per Platinum Membership, $17.99/month per Diamond Membership, and $21.99/month per Diamond Elite Membership on your next scheduled payment after March 28th, 2024. Your payment schedule will not change, and only Memberships below this threshold will be impacted. As long as you remain a Six Flags Member, you can enjoy all the benefits your Membership offers. This program is exclusive to Members like you! If you’d prefer, you can also switch to one of our new passes for the 2024 season. www.sixflags.com If you wish to make any updates to or discontinue your Membership, you can visit the Account Portal anytime. www.sixflags.com/accountportal We’re here for you if you have any questions. Visit our Help Center for more information, or contact us to speak with someone from our team. Join us for Spring Break at Six Flags Magic Mountain, March 8 to April 8. We’ll be open every day for your favorite rides, coasters, and more! Visit on select days to experience Scream Break, Flavors of the World and more events throughout the year. We look forward to seeing you at the park soon. The Six Flags Team"

To be fair, Monte is not unpopular but not a top three coatser in the park for most people, but perhaps a top 5, and probably not a major draw in itself. People would miss it but it takes a weekend or holiday for it to get a line. Even when the park is packed the line rarely got over 45 miniutes.

It is my understanding, but I can't say where this originated, is that the contract to repair the ride was conditional that the costs were reasonable and the track, supports, footings, and station could be re-used wherever possible to keep costs within reason. Once the track was cut at the loop, the rust / deterioration level was worse than expected and some of the concrete foundations settlement are questionable. Knott's doesn't want to spend the cost of a new coaster repairing an older mostly unpopular coaster. Based upon past situations like this, Knott's or other Cedar Fair parks, would beg the board for a new attraction and wait. Given the financial insecurities in the possible merger with Six Flags and likelyhood for a recession or lowered consumer spending for the near future, we may be stuck waiting for a replacement.

LAX will not be too bad flying in since you are staying in Los Angeles but could be a long trip up the 405 freeway from OC on a Monday if you travel any time close to rush hour. The airport is mostly just old and has horrible traffic on holidays but otherwise is not terrible. Monday morning traffic from Magic Mountain to Universal will take about an hour to an hour and a half depending on when you leave since you are commuting into Los Angeles. The Disneyland / DCA Anaheim area shuttle was a mess last spring break in 2023, so I hope it has improved. We ended up walking because we couldn't get the app to work right and the shutlles were on demand most of the day and not running on a schedule. We ended up with over 15,000 steps per day and neither park is that large. I wish we didn't stay up at Ball and Disney Drive which was about a mile walk to the main gates. The skip the line will be a good choice at Magic Mountain as it will be the hotest park at around 100 degress in late July. It is also the largest park so you might be tired after Saturday. Beach Blvd in front of Knott's can be a little sketchy at night so don't bring someone afraid of homeless people or drug addicts wandering around. You will also get that off property at Universal and Disney so don't be wearing any expensive jewelry or watches.

I thought the slice of pizza and cesar salad on my meal plan were a nice change from eating at the 2 BBQ places every visit. I also need to try the new Mexican restaurant even though the previous one had weak salsa.

Does Cedar Fair mail you a Wonderland Pass? When I purchased my Knott's pass, I had to take a computer print out to Knott's to pick it up. If I redeemed my Winderland pass at Knott's for next year, would they have a Wonderland pass at Knott's for me to pick up or would I just be stuck using the app without a physical plastic Wonderland pass?

Is it an easy to relocate carnival type ride or something more permanent?

Move down the street from Mount Olympus or Holiday World and you will get all the rib adjusting excite you have been missing. Old brutal wooden roller coasters still exist and luckily for you, are not popular with the rest of us so short lines for you!

I can't find it on any of the many used ride sites. They would usually still list it if it recently sold. According to the park, it looks like Hasbroland is taking over the spot of Mindbender. https://www.wem.ca/play/attractions/galaxyland "Galaxyland Powered by Hasbro is the only Hasbro theme park in Canada North America's largest indoor amusement park features more than 27 exhilarating rides and play areas for all ages. A total of three and a half acres of family-friendly rides will be transformed into an amusement park wonderland for all fans of Hasbro, a global play and entertainment company, and its powerhouse brands by 2023." "Galaxyland announces closure of the Mindbender Edmonton, AB (January 30th,2023) - Galaxyland has confirmed the closure of the Mindbender, the world’s largest indoor triple loop roller coaster. “The iconic Mindbender has been the park’s premier thrill ride since the grand opening in 1985,” said Lori Bethel, Vice President of Parks and Attractions. “While the Mindbender will be missed, we are excited to announce that we are working on groundbreaking new plans for family thrills that will immerse our guests in an out-of-this-world experience.” Galaxyland has started the redevelopment of the area with the decommissioning and removal of the Mindbender. Please watch Official West Edmonton Mall on social media for updates and teasers in the coming months."

Wishful thinking? I realize that I live in the state trying to ban gas stoves and cars, but that makes me really need other states to do something more stupid so I can feel better. I just went into Rite Aid and realized they can't even sell menthol cigarettes in our state any longer. Just good old fashioned tobacco flavor even in vapes that don't contain tobacco.

Ah, Floriduh is suing Disney to keep Splash Mountain as white as possible. Story below: https://localtoday.news/fl/florida-state-files-lawsuit-to-stop-disneys-splash-mountain-attraction-redesign-report-210195.html

In case anyone blinked, it is time to change prices again. Wasn't the Diamond pass $249.99 last week?

This is quite sucky indeed.

I am sure that if one of the many pass or membership options that they have tried was successful, our old membership price would be subject to change or discontinuation. Since they haven't been successful in driving attendance, I don't think they want to lose us too. They are kind of leaving the existing customers safe for now while they experiment with new customers until they find a balance that works.

Thanks for responding, and I will check again tomorrow. I guess I have been spoiled. I was used to hitting the park on a weekday pre-COVID and being the only one getting a beer at the bar, good weather, short lines despite one-train operations, seeing the same guests over and over again because you had the place to yourself, mostly everything open, etc... It wasn't financially sustainable and COVID finished it off. You can't run a park profitably when you have more employees than guests that day. The good days may turn lean for awhile and I am sure if sucks for everyone. It could be expected high Santa Ana winds, cost cutting, or lack of staff but it doesn't change the outcome that the thrill ride would hopefully mostly be open. I'll keep my membership because it is cheap but I have only been back one time since COVID re-opening and too many closed things and would probably stop by more if it wasn't a three hour round trip from the good old Inland Empire. Too many Thanksgiving White Claws and checking out

I was thinking about driving out to MM in a couple of weeks. Are this many of the thrill rides closed on a holiday weekend with good weather? Only 9 of 17 or 53% of the thrill rides are open. I can't imagine how bad it could be on non-holiday Thursday.

I have heard Scrooge McDuck and Daffy Duck are the front runners for the new CEO position once Iger retires. Scrooge has an inside track and both are better than Chapek.

I am guessing as an insurance adjuster that this is part of the structured bankruptcy. Why waste assets when you know the judgement is higher than owner equity? You start by creating a separate shell company, borrow to negative equity, and insure for the state minimum limits. Once you know the loss is more than what equity you have in the loan or insurance limits; you file bankruptcy. They are just pre-liquidating assets as they know liquidation is inevitable. Ducks in a row.

It is a little off topic but if you live in LA, quit watching KTLA. Big station but little heart. Two happy looking but fired faces.