joelwee

Great news, IMO. I had written this project off a few months ago but I'm glad to hear it is coming back.

The park often hits capacity during the week between Christmas and New Year's. I second everyone else's advice to skip it that week.

I missed the passholder preview last Friday (got stuck late at work) and ran into the opposite problem when I rode Batman. There were no signs indicating the exit path, so I and several other people followed the pathway and ended up in the WW queue. A couple of teenagers tried to sneak into the WW line but got caught by a security guard.

Now that Six Flags switched to the annual pass model, I'm curious to see whether the passes sold during the September sale will still include a few extra months like in the past - or whether they will only be valid until the following September.

SFMM still had utensils, napkins, and condiments out for customers to grab a couple of weeks ago, but it may be different now. Some local cities now require restaurants to only give out plastic utensils and condiments if the customer asks for them. A statewide law has also been passed, but I'm not sure if it's taken effect yet.

I attended RCR last year. The backstage tours and whole-park ERT alone make it worth the trip - even without the new coaster. Plus, they give you two drink tickets during ERT that are good for any beverage (including alcohol). No beer jail, either.

Meh, I don't hate Tatsu's new colors. The old colors were definitely better, but even the new colors look better than the sun-faded, neglected paint that they replaced.

Never got to ride this one. It was already gone by the time I visited SFMM for the first time, and it was SBNO during my trip to SFNE last summer. I guess I'll just have to catch it at Darien Lake.

Magic Mountain no longer lists memberships on their website, and instead has multi-tiered season passes. https://www.sixflags.com/magicmountain/store/tickets

Or maybe the new giga will actually be Monte raised 300 ft. in the air.

Psych!..... Knott's announced on IG today that Zoom is back open "for a limited time", starting today. They didn't say how long it'll be open before its actual closing.

Yeah, I usually get there around 4:00 PM for my weekday visits, which gives me 2 hours to get on a few rides and grab dinner with my dining pass. If the park closes at 5:00, it's not worth the trip. If they want to cut hours, I'd personally rather have them open an hour later and stay open until 6:00.

In the past, they always closed at 6PM during the off-season - leaving about an hour for night rides after the sun sets at 5PM.

Inb4 someone says, "Or better yet, it'd be great if they just replaced Viper with some new bathrooms."

I can't speak for the NorCal parks, but I wouldn't go anywhere near SFMM or KBF that week. It is one of the most crowded weeks of the year at both of those parks. SFMM sometimes hits capacity during that week - which doesn't even happen during the summer. If you do decide to go, definitely plan on Flash Passes / Fast Lane. Food lines will be insane, as well, so plan on eating outside the parks. SFMM will also be enforcing the vaccine/test mandate that week, so be sure to bring either your vaccine card or a negative test result with you. They will have a testing station set up outside the park, but - for your own sanity - don't plan on waiting in that line.

I was pleasantly surprised to see SFMM change course on these passes. I've renewed our passes for next year.

Fortunately, you shouldn't hit too much traffic going from Santa Monica to Valencia on Friday morning, as commuter traffic will be going the other direction. The only typical trouble spot is where the NB 405 meets the 101. Same thing heading back to Santa Monica - although traffic should die down by park closing. Going to Knott's, you will be traveling with commuter traffic. If you get on the road either before 6:00 AM or after 10:00 AM, it should take you 35-50 minutes, but - during the worst part of traffic - it should take you a little over an hour. Again, traffic heading back north should mostly die down by park closing.

Holiday in the Park starts this Saturday - which means it's finally time to shine for that little building next to Bugs Bunny World that stays decorated for Christmas all year round.

Yes, they do. They pulled the permit for Hangtime about 9 months before it opened. Obviously, a hyper/giga coaster is a larger project than Hangtime and will take longer to construct, so I would imagine that permits for a 2023 hyper/giga would be pulled within the next few months - if it's actually happening.

@ourmountain_thrillpark (who posted that picture, and I believe is a park employee) said February, 2022 is the expected completion date.

Progress photo for the Tatsu repaint:

I emailed SFMM this morning, with the question of whether they plan to offer multi-park season passes - since I would rather pay for my pass up front than be locked into a monthly payment. This was their response: ..... which really means nothing. It doesn't mean they WON'T offer them - just that they don't offer them at this moment. So the answer to that question remains a mystery. I'd be down to take a trip to SFFT to buy a multi-park pass. I attended Roller Coaster Rodeo last summer and had a blast.

Nothing yet for Magic Mountain, but hopefully that'll change soon. I'm glad I held off on renewing, but I'll definitely jump on it if/when they do make the change.

1. They do, but they don't publish it for the public to see. Be prepared for one-train ops and 4-minute dispatches, regardless, since January-February is their slowest time of the year. 2. The park will most likely be a ghost town. If you're there on a weekday and spend most of the day there, you most likely can get on everything with a Flash Pass.

It's not the first time SFMM has reused a station, either. Ninja's station used to be the top station for the Dragon tram. The lower station is still standing, too - even though the tram has been gone for 40 years.