DoubleDown

And Horror Nights is the far FAR superior Halloween event 45 minutes north on the 101 freeway. These posts pop up all the time, and they crack me up. Forum crowd predictions are great! To be honest, even as a seasoned Magic Mountain visitor, crowds at the park are a crapshoot. Spring Break without even guessing will probably be a sh*tshow. How many trains that are running on whatever ride are also a crapshoot. Magic Mountain as far as what rides are closed and how many have 1 train operation is a gamble any day of the year. Seriously. The best thing to do for any 1st time Magic Mountain visitor that may never go again is get there early, do a lap to enjoy walk-ons, see how full the parking lot is at about noon, then decide if it's worth $100/person to buy Flashpasses to get on what you want for the rest of the day. The mechanis, the ride ops, the management, NOBODY at the park really can tell you what is going to happen 3 months from now, and I'll tell you what, neither can anyone on here. Have a Six Flags f***in' day!

First off, the photos are fantastic. I am so excited to see this baby getting some love, and I hope this upgrade is a long term solution to bring the ride back to its former glory. Second, does it look like to anyone else that they've begun track work on the first drop? If that is indeed what is happening, would it be safe to assume that no, the first drop is not going to be reprofiled? I don't think that was anymore than a mention/pipe dream among enthusiasts, I just wanted clarify what we can expect, if the first drop is going to be the same, or different.

^Sure doesn't seem like it. You're going to get the naked, unthemed, raw B&M in a Cedar Point park coaster experience we've all been accustomed to. In my humble opinion, while I love the park, these kinds of things could really bolster the park, but they continually decide to go without it. Probably a design choice. An engineering choice as well. While ride experiences may seem similar to coaster folk, every park, every layout, every environment is different. They accommodate to that, then build the coaster accordingly.

I think the best plan for Tommorowland would have been to destroy the entire Peoplemover/Rocketrods midway track eyesore, eliminate the OSHA and ADA compliance bologna, and install an Intamin magnetic launch type of attraction. The problem is they're not focusing on Tommorowland at all with the SWL induction anymore, so Tommorowland is just going to be the crowded disaster it is, and will have to wait, until the SWL is all said and done. With rides like Cheetah Hunt, I really think they had an opportunity to install a rather affordable, Tommorowland attraction with a high capacity magnetic controlled Intamin family friendly coaster, that could have easily followed the old Rocket Rods layout with a Tommorowland/Disney vibe. At $50 Mill, it could have been a cost friendly people eater, that was efficient and fun for the family.

I'll be another to say, Cedar Point could be taking roads less ridden. Tall effing dive coaster, awesome! But we know what B&M offers. It would be nice if they branched out a bit and spent what they did on Gatekeeper and Valverononenomous to give a ride unlike anything else out there. Planting B&M's just seems, mediocre. Flat Mean Streak and make a Lightning Rod. I would say Twisted Colossus was a better move than Valveronomonmous. And last but not least, the rides at Cedar Point really don't do it for me. Even after Millenium Force, my mom decided to skip it for a second ride and went with Top Thrill instead. Yeah they have a coaster count and really are a destination, but as far as I'm concerned Tatsu, X2, and Twisted Colossus pretty much provide thrills unmatched by Cedar Point.

Well, Lex Luther was the first ride. But that's not a coaster. I think it was Tatsu! Not a bad way to start off the year. Man sometimes I forget how much that ride scares the crap outta me in the last row, almost as bad as X. Gotta be the best B&M flyer in the world in regards to how freakin' high you are and the forces in the pretzel loop. I wait in line and strap myself in without thinking too much about it because otherwise I probably would pass. Some of the elements really screw with me once I get to the top of that lift hill!

Oh man I LOVE big beefy supports! As well as fresh painted untouched track! Now I thought I knew how a dive drops holding brake worked...kinda like a Vekoma boomerang...but on those images it doesn't look like there's any way for the chain to drop. I'm guessing there's some sort of catch mechanism somewhere else? Thanks for the fotos doods!

Honestly, it's like they look forward to moments and get sheer enjoyment out of making people wait longer than they have to. Tripling the wait time is absurd. I've seen a ride operator hold up the entire train, and entire line on Twisted Colossus, because she was busy talking to someone behind the exit gate about fast pass. Everyone in the station is ready to go, and she's standing there having a full on conversation with a guest making everyone wait! Can't you maybe, dispatch the train, then finish the conversation? This is only a dueling coaster with a 6-7 minute cycle time that depends on speedy dispatches! I think the most frustrating thing is the "lack of urgency" a majority of the operations employees have. I think they walk slower than any employees I've ever seen. It's inconsiderate of the time of people who paid to get in the park and make the most of their day. Also, by the way, LESS TIME IN LINE, means MORE TIME TO SPEND MONEY IN THE PARK! There ARE some very good teams (X2 comes to mind), some very good individuals dusted throughout the park, but for the most part the operations culture is too laid back and too slow...unless they have an opportunity to power trip on the guests, then all of a sudden for some reason they spring into action! "Get off the rail! You can't do that because (insert illogical reasoning here)." It just peeves me because it doesn't have to be that way. Veteran employees perpetuate this attitude to rookie employees, and upper management brought through the ranks because of popularity contests do nothing to change it, which only enforces the attitude and makes it worse. Glad you still had a good time though! I was there last week for a couple hours and had a blast! I don't let the crappy employees or operations get to me! I'm just there to get on a few amazing roller coasters and go home.

That's a good question. With all the money they're spending on the coasters, they really couldn't have cut into the service roads and have the cable return underground? For me it's not even a cosmetic thing, those angles along the cable path underneath the lift just seem like they'd be screaming "maintenance pain in the ass." The only thing I could think of safety wise is it might have to do with being able to inspect and access the portion of cable that would be underground. Still, I think they could have figured something out. I was not aware that Intimidator's cable went underground, so thanks for sharing the knowledge.

It's not neccesarilly which seats are roughest (X is an exception), there's just rough rides. I'd suggest the last seat on Apocalypse, Viper, Scream, GoldRusher. Also take him on Green Lantern. There's really not a lot of rough rides anymore considering Colossus, Deja Vu, and Psyclone are gone.

When I parked at 12:30 it wasn't even to the Scream corkscrews. The midway is pretty quiet so not a bad day at all. This week should be even better because of all the forecasted rain. Excellent. Will probably get there at 5. Thanks everyone for the updates. Sorry to hear about Goliath, which is probably the absolute easiest ride to restraint check and dispatch. It makes me want to pull my hair out when I hear and have to experience that. We'll just go ahead and skip that one today (not like I'm missing much anyway).

You'd have to be insane to argue that the line doesn't move much faster when there are 2 trains running on Xcelerator.

Anyone at the park today? Any reports on the crowds/parking lot capacity? Thinking I might head up there in a couple hours, get a few short line rides if it's not too busy. Somethings telling me today might be a good day to visit.

I would say X2 really only needs handle bars to grab on to for certain parts of the ride. The ride is designed so well you're not going anywhere. Tatsu's another one I wouldn't mind getting on without restraints. Gravity keeps you in the seat. Of course I'm being utterly ridiculous. I don't think I'd get on any ride without restraints. Same reason I don't drive (or let anyone else be in the car with me) without a seatbelt on.

I noticed that too! Honestly though, while there typically are a lot of supports on roller coasters, most of the track (especially on B&M's) really provides a majority of the structural integrity itself. The supports are just there to keep it off the ground, and to keep the track from warping (changing shape) over years of use. I've said it before and I'll say it again, if the world were to end through catastrophe, roller coasters would really probably be some of the longest standing man made structures on the planet. I could see them staying put and standing for hundreds, if not thousands of years.

That vertical track looks AMAZING! Not complaining at all but I wish they would have dug the bottom of the first drop into the ground 20-30 feet so the vertical part of the track could be that much longer. Then maybe they could have added a tunnel because if history has taught me anything, coaster enthusiasts LOVE tunnels! But I've never been on a dive coaster before so maybe it's not necessary. Anyway thanks for the pictures guys, the ride is absolutely MASSIVE! I'm also not sure if I'll be able to sleep tonight if that boat doesn't come back!

I like these. And think it's a good way to make a longer, higher ride to a coaster without taking up too much land. However it doesn't seem like this one is going to be doing anything at the top of the tower, like an observation deck/restaurant or anything, as if I recall the others are incorporating into theirs.

My only issues with TC and RMC is the design to assist with the dueling aspect, which are affected by a couple things. The restraint sensors/dispatch systems are a little abysmal as far as getting trains cleared and dispatched quickly. I think it could have been better. The sensors to race the ride just don't cut it. It should be second nature to be able to have two trains leave the to of lift hill at the same time in 2015. I kinda wish they would have added a bit more to the first half of the ride, to give a little bit more time before the second lift, so that there is a little gap to help with the racing. Something like a couple bumps, turns and a helix before the 2nd lift hill would have helped a bit. And maybe it's just me, but with the added thrill to have both trains duel, I'd be willing to crawl up that second lift so that the first lift could catch up and let them race. It's a pretty intense ride, and taking a minute but less than two to get up that 2nd lift hill wouldn't be a problem for me.

I'd suggest going this week or next week on a weekday. From my experience (as MagicMountainMan said) crowds are pretty light and people are too busy with holiday stuff to take time to visit the park.

Upgrades, repaving, remodeling, doesn't increase available square footage for patrons to walk around on in the heart of Anaheim: there is simply not enough room. The only thing they can do is buy the properties around the resort, and they can expand, but to be realistic, I'd expect DLR to be a constant sh*tshow from 2 years past, until now and for the immediate future. USH has a little bit more to work with because they're on that hilly outlining LA County border with not much surrounding it, which is probably an advantage in the long term.

The problem with Disneyland and Southern California in general is they can't keep up with the huge amount of people that live, move, and visit here. The influx is almost impossible to deal with. They're building freeway expansions that are kinda catching up but will ultimately still fall short of what's necessary. Disneyland and the surrounding areas were not built to handle the kind of crowds they get. The transportation is abysmal, and there is no macroeconomic solution even in the works right now. There are also a ton of political idiots in charge who only care about lining their pockets and being popular instead of taking care of huge problems that are only going to get bigger. The problems are not only with Disney in California, but with the entire SoCal region in general.

Backpack when they're not drinking them?

As far as I'm concerned, Batman at Magic Mountain backwards was probably the most intense coaster experience I have ever had. I sat in the last car of the train, and after we dropped off the lifthill, I knew I was screwed. The entire ride completely messed with my equilibrium, and during the entire thing I could not actually believe the sensations I was going through. It was the craziest 40 seconds I can remember, and I could not find myself to re-ride.

Has a Hydraulic S&S tower ever had to be evacuated? From what I remember working Supreme Scream, the gondola's can be manually lowered and lifted when in maintenance mode. If that didn't work I think they could physically lower the gondola's by decreasing pressure in the tanks. Drop towers like Lex Luther could be cranked down. In most cases I think using a cherry picker or crane would be the very last option.

No doubt someone here will figure it out, but looks to be a non-inverting carnival type of ride. Very cool and thanks for sharing.