arrowfanman

...continued!... When we returned to the car, we made a mad dash for Morro Bay. The hope was we would arrive before sunset, so that we can enjoy it. The report will be continued in the next post!... ...or you can go for the smaller, hand-held model for only $50. OMG! I found a smaller replica of the three nude chicks feeling each other up! Apparently it's a big deal! The statue is called the "Three Graces". And for only $480, you can take them home with you! LOL. When we got back down the hill, we instantly encountered a gift-shop--naturally. I found myself a little-Persian carpet. Like the cat. Meow. More boob! I just *love* how the still water reflects the celing. The tour then concluded at the indoor swimming pool, designed to look like an old Roman bath. We then entered Hearst's private theatre to screen silent video shot from around the grounds "back then". Chuck and Kelley goofing off in the game room. It may be a game room, but that didn't keep it from having on of the world's oldest/largest tapestries of all time....just because it could. As Ketchup was a luxury when Hearst lived in the house, the Heinz bottle was the ultimate expression of wealth at the dinner table and remained next to Hearst. Hearst sat in the right chair, always. The left chair would be the seat of his biggest guest. Naturally when the guide threw out names, "Walt Disney" caught my attention. We next went into the dining room, which is considered to be one of the more "colorful" rooms of the house. Chuck pointed out that "virgin" was spelled in the wall in Latin. Why he decided to tell me, the world will never know. *rolls eyes* =P We then went inside of La Casa Grande. This is what can be considered the building "lobby". Hearst's guest would meet here for some drinks before heading into the dining room. Here's the entrance to La Casa Grande, the main edifice on the estate. It's designed to look like an old church. Some say Hearst viewed himself as God. Some say he was hiding things from God. Some say he just liked the way it looked. Almost (but not quite) as beautiful as three naked women groping each other, was the view! On a clear day, you can see 300 miles out to sea. Dude! Three chicks feeling each other up! This man had real taste! One of the problems with Hearst Castle is there is SO MANY antiques, artwork, and artifacts, that you were just passing by stuff that *you know* has some sort of significance in someway, but didn't know why because they try to condense the main bits and pieces into an hour. TJ and I dragging down a classy estate with cheap antics. That first building I showed you (the bungalow) was the first building we entered, designed to look like a Spanish/Mediterranean building, but with the clear Islamic-architectural influences of the Moors. Remember--this is just a "guest house". A higher-up view of the pool. Suddenly that "150 steps" sign is coming into play! LOL. BTW--when Hearst owned the castle, his estate extended to that mountain in the distant background of the photo. We then went to the "Neptune Pool", which is "themed" to be a great Grecian pool. I'm reluctant to call it "theming" however, as it's all real marble and whatnot. The real deal, not fully an impersonation. There was MUCH nudity to be seen everywhere! It was truly a learning experience for me! The tour first took us to a terrace below a bungalow. That's right, this 3 story structure--which is probably larger than most of our houses--is a mere guest bungalow located on the outskirts of the castle. As grand as the entrance was, we later learned that it was just one of the small residual back access staircases! The REAL entrance was on the other side. Finally we arrived, where I was greeted with a butt high up on a wall. I could already tell that it was going to be a great day! The road up was seriously like a mouse coaster, winding back and forth! As we began up the hill, the tiny castle began to grow. And grow. And grow. It seriously just got bigger!

Hey everybody! Ok, so several months ago, I began talking to people about the possibility of making a short weekend getaway. Why? Just to get away I suppose. Do something different. Change things up. I began talking to Chuck about it and he was totally on board with the idea. So for months we've had a rough itinerary and a few weeks ago, the plans were finalized--that Chuck, TJ, Kelley, and myself would drive up to Bakersfield and stay at Chuck's father's estate. The house was a Mexican-style Casa custom-designed and built and would serve as an amazing "base camp" for our adventure. The following day, we would visit Hearst Castle. What is Hearst Castle? For those who don't know, Hearst Castle was the estate of multi-millionaire William Randolf Hearst, who was a newspaper giant at the start of the twentieth century. Why is some dead guy's house worth visiting? Because it's a freakin' amazing house! To quote Wikipedia: "Hearst Castle was like a small self-contained city, with 56 bedrooms, 61 bathrooms, 19 sitting rooms, 127 acres of gardens, indoor and outdoor swimming pools, tennis courts, a movie theater, an airfield, and the world's largest private zoo." The house was furnished "with truckloads of art, antiques, and even whole ceilings that he acquired en masse from Europe and Egypt." Also, for those who are familiar with film, Hearst was the basis for the Kane in the movie Citizen Kane (and likewise, Kane's estate was based off of Hearst Castle fairly closely). But enough about Hearst, you can look up that information on your own! We then concluded our adventure in Morro Bay, a small bay in Central California, where we stopped to watch the sunset over the Pacific Ocean. The following day, we returned to catch the Coaster Expedition Volume 9 DVD release party. Anyway, onwards to the pictures! I hope you enjoy the PTR! -Jahan The group, ready to head up the hill! As this makes a natural break, more will be continued in the next post! Our bus of choice for today was a "kneeling bus". Oooooh. Once it was over and we had awoken TJ, it was time to finally take the bus up the hill! The film was another informative, charming, cinematic masterpiece that was probably 20 minutes too long. I could have easily trimmed 15 minutes from the 45 minute long production! Before heading up the hill, we decided to check out the "National Geographic Theater". We're shameless tourists! Here's a photo of Chuck pointing to the "Chuck" cut of a cow, randomly posted in the visitor's center. It's a 5-mile drive up a curvy-mountain road to get to the estate, so you park at the base of the hill and will board a bus to get up. There it is! Hearst Castle! *whispers* It's only a model! Shhhh! YAY! We finally made it to the Pacific! ...we then make it through the final mountains on the way to the ocean. Notice that this hill is *much* greener than the other--we are getting close! ...Eventually, the Valley gives way to the Coastal Range, and the drive becomes hilly and twistier... Though the San Joaquin Valley is very flat, bland, polluted, and bland again, there is a certain uniqueness to be appreciated. On our route we encountered oilfields, a prison, the memorial/location of James Dean's death, and cows. Lots and lots of cows. The majority of our driving was done on a creepy 2-lane road. Much passing was to be done! This truck makes me giggle. After a morning of movies and ant infestations, we were finally on our way! The drive to Hearst Castle would take 2 1/2 hours! Yuck! The courtyard leading to the backyard. Notice the ant-infested box of Triscuits on the ground. LOL! But when the chaos of dealing with that finally stopped, we were able to soak in how amazing of a house we were in! After the movie, we realized that we had left out a bunch of food from the night before and it was now swarming with ants!!!! Chuck began to attack the ants while I evacuated the food! Looking back, I'm pretty sure I ate an ant or two the previous night! Yeagch! Lol! The next morning, we watched the movie "Rookie of the Year", which has the most exaggerated plot, characters, and even musical score--and for that reason is awesome. We concluded the night with the ONLY somewhat-redeeming factor of Apple Computers---Garageband! Maybe I'll make my self-produced smash hit titled, "I'm Persian and You're Not" available to the public one day. ...we were sneaking old photos of Chuck! He's going to kill me for this! =P After an AMAZING feast, grilled up by Chuck's father, we chilled out in the house bar/game room listening to tracks off of the jukebox and playing pool. When we weren't randomly dancing with pool sticks... Apparently TJ's idea of "packing" is throwing a bunch of clothes and toiletries into a basket and shoving it into the car! About 1 1/2 hours later, we arrived at Casa De Chuck's dad. The house was beautiful! And the hospitality was amazing. I still owe Chuck's dad so much for how well we were treated! Our adventure began at 7pm on Thursday! I was picked up in Valencia by TJ, Kelley, and Chuck, and we began our journey north through the Grapevine to Bakersfield.

Today's event was AMAZING! I have always gotten the image of high-up park management that they are sort of like the "Banker" on Deal or No Deal--a silhouette, high up in some room who is very distant from the guests themselves. To be so up front with the management that sit at the helm of an entire park was an entirely personal and unique experience! I really want to thank them for doing that for us! And naturally, a big thanks to Robb and Elissa for hosting the event as well! -Jahan

This installment makes me happy. Thanks Lou. -Jahan

Great PTR Hector! I love "time to visit the other fine establishments" segwaying straight into a photo of a sex shop. Great stuff. Look forward to more! -Jahan

^ I totally forgot about that! That was so awesome! Oh, and I almost forgot!... I happen to know for a fact that SFMM employees are not allowed to retrieve lost items from beneath Colossus, so....Lou the mononippled woman it is. -Jahan

It's really a shame that you missed Goliath, which is the best ride at SFMM in my opinion. Oh well, it's almost as if I planned it that way to give you reason to come back to California. And no offense to Joey, but no matter where you place Universal in you trip, you're going to get the feeling of being "anticlimaxed"...or "dumboed". I look forward to the Disney installment. -Jahan

^ Disneyland, just like the thread title says. -Jahan

That was the greatest introduction ever. *Lou walks over to Jahan, who was hiding on a bench* "Stand up. Cameron asked me to say 'hi' and give you a hug." Thanks Cameron. Though that was the night that I realized that I don't really care for Bucas, it was still nice meeting you Lou. LOL at you having the "West Coaster" credit and me NOT. -Jahan

^ No problem Matt. You know I love you! -Jahan LOL at abusing powers.

I don't think Peter Pan's dick was that long. Anyway. I Indiana Beach. I Lou, Cameron, Paul, and Scott...but mostly Matt. All and all, that was a very nice PTR. -Jahan

Really? I seem to remember a young brat making a face in the back of an otherwise nice photo of your group. Pests. No respect for fine dining. It is in that spirit that I agree with this, fully. -Jahan

Wow, that's a mighty generous offer from SFMM! I'm still amazed! I think that's great! I hope to see as many people there as possible! -Jahan

Would you please not just read the headline, but critically read the entire article, before deciding to blow up irrationally!? It's a skill you're supposed to begin developing, in what--the 5th grade? As the Mansion currently is, which speil you get seems to be dependant entirely on which Cast Member you get. While I'm all for personal expression and liberty, it isn't uncommon to get "that CM" that doesn't want to play along and use thematic speiling, making for a very monotonous and bland spiel. When you read the entire article, what this sounds like isn't so much an attempt to "PC the Haunted Mansion" as Drama Queen Hill makes it out to be, but simply an attempt to standardize the experience. By providing a script, this will ensure that every cycle of guests will have the same thematic spiel, leaving no room for an over eccentric host/hostess or worse, that CM that just didn't want to show up to work and spiel anything. Finally, they aren't touching the "Ghost Host" spiel, which is far more sacred than any improved CM-line. I think Jim Hill is just putting a negative spin on something that can end up very positive ("plussing" as the WDI source refers to it as), simply for the sake of increasing his hit count. And apparently some people are buying into it! -Jahan

I have heard "kindly drag your bodies away from the walls and into the dead center of the room", but I have never heard "wretched bodies" or reference to the "blood red carpet" in the portrait gallery. I don't think I'd notice the change that much and I ride Mansion an unhealthy number of times. -Jahan

maybe but then didn't they say that flashback may be rebuilt later in 08.. but then what is going where that huge plot of land is where psyclone was They said it--my guess in an attempt to quell any sort of protest from coaster enthusiasts, as it is a "unique coaster". I personally don't believe that was ever the plan. The ride has been sold for scrap metal. It's gone and never coming back. As for Psyclone's footprint, nobody knows what's going there. -Jahan

It was operating at the beginning of winter. Recently it's been very cold and thus, operation is a bit more sporadic. But it has been open more regularly in recent months, especially to try and compensate for Tidal Wave being down. -Jahan

No it's not. No it's not. -Jahan

^ You could do that. Or you could check out lots of photos, contributed by TPR members HERE. -Jahan

I am in love. -Jahan

No pictures, but I can confirm that they have removed Flashback's station, lift approach, and lower lift track. And by removed, I don't mean "dismantled" removed. I mean, "GIANT RAGING AXE OF DEATH" removed. Like, withered broken pieces of track on the ground, removed. Or, so little mercy that the train that was still on the track was clamped in half--removed. Tis the beginning of the end for our dear friend Flashback. -Jahan

LMAO! That was amazing. I promise to not mention that half of those rides have been torn down or modified. -Jahan

^ Not today, apparently! But thank you. Hey everybody! Ok, so I know it has been a long time since I have done a SFMM Update, and for that, I’m sorry! I used to pride myself on the frequency of updates and most definitely have lost that. But Life gets in the way, at times. *shakes fist at Life* That being said, it isn’t doing anybody anything to dwell on that, especially when I DO have a SFMM Update ready for you today! 2007 is finally coming to a close and the park is already in full swing getting ready for the 2008 season. With rides coming out, rides going in, and rides getting painted, there’s plenty to update on today! So without further adieu, ONWARD!!! 2007 This year was a most interesting year, to say the least. It was the first time the park seemed to exhibit signs of TLC in a long time. From Ninja (and now Viper) getting painted, to Psyclone (and now Flashback) coming down, many little modernization and refurbishment projects went on throughout the entire park. What’s missing here? With a focus on refurbishments, “New in 2007!” projects were a few—a Cold Stone, Johnny Rockets, the Justice League Feast (which was more sparingly open then the other two), and a Wii sample center, which is now closed. And a few projects were postponed for next year or fell-through, such as the return of the Metro and Valencia Falls. Disappointingly, the Metro still sits dormant. Operations were, as much as I hate the metaphor, a roller coaster ride of performance. As what seems to be the trend, operations slowly but surely improved from New Years to summer. Though rocky in the summer, they appeared as if they may hold steady. Regrettably by the time Fright Fest had smashed into the operators, the park was defeated. November and December, the park picked up the pieces and again, prepared for the uphill climb that will most likely repeat in 2008. A “Take your Photo with Mr. and Mrs. Claus” photo op at the front of the park. Though this is the case, I am personally optimistic for 2008. But let’s explore it together, shall we?— Thomas Town So as it has been reported, in the past few weeks a bright, baby-blue wall has been erected around the Thomas Town location and Granny Gran Prix is no more. The tractors are busy chugging away, doing their thing to the dirt, and construction markers (everybody’s favorite!) are already popping up everywhere. The wall starts to the right of Fort LeJohn (notice the absence of Gran Prix’s barn)…. ….continues around the location of the Water Massage place (which is now at the former “Woody’s Signs” location, officially ending crafts at Magic Mountain)…. …and then tucks around the entrance of Goliath Jr. For those who are curious enough, there is no wall on the other side of the Petting Zoo barn, leaving a wide window into the construction zone. Our little construction marker friends are beginning to sprout up! A few trees are marked for removal, but I’m very pleased to see that some are staying. I’m not a “tree hugger”, by any means, but trees around a ride do provide a feeling of natural growth and permanence. A feeling that the ride wasn’t just purchased off of a shelf and plopped onto the ground, but rather was grown into the landscape, eliminating any “cheapness”—something that say, Scream, doesn’t provide. Another unnecessary construction markers photo! If I’m allowed to say so, the newly opened area does provide a very neat angle of Goliath! As far as how well Thomas Town will please, who knows. I’ve heard lackluster reviews from SFDK’s Thomas Town, of which this concept has originated from. But it will be something fresh. I look forward to seeing what they do with the attractions. Flashback The future of Flashback has been up in the air since the park closed the ride back in March of 2003. Finally, however, the ride’s long-time standing may be coming to an abrupt end. Though Season Pass processing has reopened next to the dying attraction, the removal is expected to happen soon. The rumors are that Flashback has finally been sold and rather cheaply for scrap metal. I have personally seen men scouring the structure recently, doing pre-demolition work and marking various components to be trashed and/or cutting-torched. A horrible photo, proof of what I just said—the orange line I assume to be a line to “cut along”, if you will, and if you look very carefully, you can see orange “X”s over the wheels. Semi-related, they have built a permanent wall covering the entrance and exit of the attraction. But it seems to be missing something…hmm….. …There we go! Much better! Though I don’t have a date for you, I would personally expect to see Flashback begin coming down soon and when it does, come down very quickly. We’ll see! X Multiplied Quadradically by the Second Power! The sign found at the entrance to the attraction. What?! I hate doing captions for, what is essentially, another caption! Certainly many of you may have already seen, but for those who didn’t know, X has jumped into full swing on its journey to becoming X2. Simply walking around the ride, the sounds of construction equipment were echoing from the direction of the station. It is practically impossible to tell the progress of the station work and tunnel (located around the turn approaching the lift, as did Psyclone’s), unless one were to travel up Sky Tower (if it were open). However, by simply staring at the ride, it is obvious the repaint has begun. Soak it in now ladies and gentlemen—X’s pink and yellow days will be over very soon. An unnecessary, but dramatic and artistic, if I may say so, shot of the wires which have been installed around the ride for winching painters to the necessary heights. As the concept art suggested, the colors decided upon for X2 are blood-red track with charcoal-grey supports. Something tells me that it’s no secret that they’re simply sharing the scheme used by Eejanaika. It’s rather fitting to me that the twisting flip of death is now painted red! You can also see spots of red track and the new support color on the exit of the turnaround. A close up of the new support color. Though for some reason, the cheesy yellow and pink color scheme had grown upon me over the past six years, I personally like the new colors. Yes, they are identical to the one other 4D coaster’s colors—over 5,000 miles away in Japan. Yes, it is red track when the ride sits adjacent to another red-colored track ride. But the colors appear much more neutral and not obnoxious, which has been the recent trend for coaster colors. It’s safe to say that Magic hasn’t painted a ride with such decent colors, since the Riddler’s Revenge. Just my personal opinion. Another terribly unnecessary shot, because I know a few people will really eat this up! So shiny! Some paint going up around the “hard to touch” places. There has been no noticeable sign of the new trains yet, but it is hard to tell from Magic Mountain Parkway. It is noticeable that the old trains are still sitting, transferred off in their shed. But the new trains aren’t needed at the moment, so I wouldn’t expect them to show up immediately. As gimmicky as X2 sounds, I’m personally looking forward to it. Everyone who rode X its last day claimed the ride was operating as smoothly as it did opening day, ironically. But it is my belief these new trains aren’t so much just about smoothness as much as they are reducing maintenance costs and decreasing downtime. The colors, tunnel, and “attitude” are all simply marketing’s effort to yield some profit out of an otherwise maintenance decision. As to its success, as much as I hate to say it—only time will tell for sure. The Snake gets a New Skin Right next to X 1 1/2, another ride is in the process of receiving a makeover—Viper. I sure hope this sign gets much use in 2008! Viper closed down in November for a paint job, which is expected to take right up to January 1, when the ride is expected to reopen. The paint is the same exact color scheme as the ride opened with. And some would argue that Viper wasn’t necessarily the most needing of a paint job, in comparison to a few other attractions (Goldrusher, Revolution, Batman, Superman, etc.). That being said, the attraction is very visible (and will be so next to the news camera’s filming X2 on its Media Day), so the paint makes sense. And I’m certainly not going to complain—another Arrow glimmering with new paint in the sunlight! I’m all game for that! Speaking of glimmering in the sunlight thanks to new paint! Taadaa! You can definitely tell some difference between old and new, as the lift is new and all three loops are still old. Regardless, the paint gives the ride a “clean” look, which is much welcomed. Another shot comparing old (foreground) and new (background). If you look carefully at the center of the photo, you can see where the old paint stops and yields to the new. I’m sick of typing “old” and “new”, so let’s move on to something a little bit different! Non-SFMM (but still somewhat SFMM) News! I thought I’d take a bit of time to cover a few projects going on around the park, that are expected to effect the park in one way or another. Foremost is what sits in the foreground of the park—that vast plot of land that seems to be graded forever, yet nothing done with it. Initially rumored to be a “citywalk” and outdoor mall, the future of the land went up in the air when it was announced that Magic Mountain would be closing. About a month or two ago, signs finally went up advertising office building space that would be constructed on the land. Granted, the prepared land is only about one third the total land-mass. But still—as a Santa Claritian, I was sort of hoping for something new and interesting to do around here. Lord knows we need it! There are also a few “road projects” going on. For those bored enough to venture to the end of Magic Mountain Parkway, this sign greets them. I’ve reported it before, but I’ve finally had a chance to see a map with future road plans in the Santa Clarita Valley, so I now know that Magic Mountain Parkway will go through, past X and Viper, through the mountains, and will meet up with Highway 126 at Commerce Center Drive. How long this project will take, or when it will even begin, is unknown to me. Another BIG project going on for those who have visited the park, is the reconfiguration of The Old Road/Magic Mountain Parkway intersection (the one between the park and the freeway). Literally for months now (it has felt like YEARS), they have been working on actually MOVING the intersection about 30-40 feet uphill, allowing more room between the Old Road and the freeway. A poor illustration of what I just described. The red will be the new intersection. It is my understand that the hope is to relieve some of the gridlock that can occur during rush hour traffic with cars exiting the freeway, and on those busy nights at SFMM when cars are trying to enter the freeway. I hope it works, because driving around this area has been a real pain in the ass! The lanes have literally changed every week! The road visible to the right is the OLD Old Road. The cars in the foreground are parked along the curb of the NEW Old Road. Across Magic Mountain Parkway, you can see a white sign advertising the office space. Another unnecessary shot, looking the other way. I’m going to stop, because I realized I’ve resorted back to using “old/new” captions. 2008 Next year is already shaping up to be more interesting than this year. As nobody really seems to know how X2 or Thomas Town will end up, many look to the two attractions with curious, but anxious eyes, while others couldn’t care less. Though change is what the ultimate product is, I am sure that this will come about by more of the same of what is now. Next year, we will continue to see rides come down. Freefall, Sierra Twist, Spin Out, Circus Wheel are all either confirmed or rumored deconstructions. Though not on the ride re-selling page, Circus Wheel is mechanically at the end of its operating life and is expected to be removed. I would also expect to see more refurbishments and entertainment offerings present themselves over the next 12 months. That seems to be the current trend the park has taken, so a likely guess. After Fright Fest, entertainment has gone fairly quiet until next season. One 2008 project that hasn’t received much attention yet, is the possibility of, to use a Disney-term, “plussing” one of Magic’s oldest attractions—the Sky Tower. Whaaaa?!?! The Sky Tower is personally my favorite ride in the park (no height limit and air-conditioning contribute to that), but it’s safe to say that it’s not so much an “attraction” as it is merely an elevator and platform. The rumors are that the Sky Tower will be turned into somewhat of a “museum”, showcasing the past history of Magic Mountain. Concept art, blueprints, props, a few interactive exhibits, all centered around the heritage which the park comes from. Essentially, turning Sky Tower into the ultimate “amusement attic”. I cant really go into what the end product will be, as apparently new mementos are emerging from the closets and storage facilities every day. But I will say that, if all goes according to plan, this should be a very neat attraction, for families. Oh yes—and there will be trolls. In conclusion, I think that people have a tendency to say “Oh, a new General Manager! Next time I go to Magic Mountain, it will be different!” Though I anxiously await it, change takes time. It’s hard to see improvements in the park when I visit it monthly. These updates reflect that. But the change is very similar to that of a diet. When you diet, you see yourself day by day, so you never truly get to gauge how much weight you are loosing. It isn’t until you look at a photo of yourself from 6 months ago that you realize how much weight you’ve actually lost! The same thing applies here. I loose perspective that in the last two years, the park actually has made some great improvements. It isn’t near being “fixed”, in my opinion, but there have been many improvements. Though I am ridiculously biased, I do believe that more of these changes await. The park will continue to grow, improve (with setbacks, understandably), and with any luck, regain some of the dignity and glory it once had, as seen in Shane’s Amusement Attic. So have a happy New Year, folks! I’ll see you all in 2008. Thanks for reading everyone! I’ve been doing these updates for 2 1/2 years now and would stop as soon as people would lose interest, but you have always been so interested in the happenings at this unique park! Here’s to another year of unique happenings! -Jahan (arrowfanman@yahoo.com) Dork.

Great PTR! It had awesome Arrow-loopedness and Icees! Doesn't get much better than that. Though I'm personally having faith-issues with Vault Icee, I still love me my Frozen Coke! -Jahan

Thanks for posting, Shane! Honestly, the photos were almost depressing for me! The ride could be so much better than it is. Oh. And something tells me that the trolls may be making a unique return some day. -Jahan