coasternut

Good news!!! They're finally starting work on BJ's BBQ outside of the entrance to Riddler. They were taking down the Edwardo's sign when I was there. I miss the old BBQ place that was there last season. Still no work on Green Lantern yet - nothing vertical.

You're right about the lack of long lines for Superman. If the ride was running more reliably, there would be no line at all. Not sure why the G.P. hasn't taken to it. They've done enough advertising out here. I feel they've done a great job, reinventing an old marginal ride. I love the change!

One additional item to add to the Magic Mountain critique by others. There was an incident on Riddler around 6PM today Sunday. A guest decided to jump the low fence where Freefall was to retrieve a hat (like most idiots). They had to hit the "e-stop" and "upset the apple cart." How stupid can the GP be??? I'm sure soon you'll see a taller fence in that area to slow down these idiots.

Personally, I like the B&M version better. Those trims bother me too, but for some reason not as much. I guess I was expecting more out of 305. We'll see what happens this year when I visit. I guess my personal beef is with the new Intamin "signature element" lately. They seem to like the quick direction changes (Maverick, 305, Cheetah Hunt, etc). I like to ride with my hands up and let my body be tossed to really experience the ride. I can't do that with the first 2 rides I mentioned (especially Maverick with the hard restraints), and we'll see with the new Cheetah Hunt. Looking at the construction and final pictures I'm guessing Cheetah will be on my list too. Fahrenheit at Hershey has some mild direction changes that I don't have a problem with. I'm hoping Cheetah will be the same.

You got that right Steve... This seems to be the current 6 Flags mindset. $$$

As I said that's too bad. That's the only Kingda Ka I liked.

I was referring to the trims on the first hill @ the KD version.

Did I understand you correctly, that all the live tigers are gone?? I guess in more ways than one Kingda Ka is gone!!

Good report. I can't wait until I return to Virginia. I guess I can stop calling it In-Trim-Adator now.

Kind of an odd question, but can I ask what you do that you drop-in (and hangout) in SoCal as much as you do (considering you live in FL)? I've long wondered about the one guy who always posts about "possibly going there this weekend" all the time -- but you I find especially interesting. Obviously I have no right to expect an answer, I was just curious! Not a problem, I'll answer. You're right I live 2500 miles away from "the Mountain." That's one he11 of a drive every morning. It is my home 6 Flags park, and my favorite park anywhere. My job allows me to travel all over the U.S. I've been working a lot in the LA area this year. I've been to Magic Mountain 15 days this year already. That is a record for me. I even vacation out here too. I'll be back for 2 more days this week. As far as ride maintenance goes, all rides need periodic work. As other folks have said this park is open year round, so it's noticed more by the general public (GP). One ride that was only running 1 train for a long while was Riddler. It's been back to 2 train (full strength) operation for sometime now. This time early in the year is their "slow season." When summer comes most all rides will be at capacity.

I had a worse PP situation earlier this year. I renewed my PP pass (Carowinds) in Oct 2010 online. I got to Knotts Berry Farm (Jan 2011) and tried to get in (even parking) and that computer said my pass was expired. I paid for parking, and kept my receipt then went to guest relations. I told them I renewed on the internet back in October. The lady checked her computer and it too said my pass was expired. She was going to try to call Carowinds, but they're closed in January with snow on the ground. I said I was coming back to Knotts in a few weeks again, and didn't want to have this problem repeat itself. She called a supervisor who had a better computer, and she verified I did pay. The permanent resolution was; I surrendered my Carowinds PP and received a Knotts PP in return. Everything has been fine since then. The moral is keep some record of payment (even if online) as proof until your home park is open if they need to check your status. Thanks,

Mountain Update: All coasters are now running. Deja Vu opened today, and I rode it this morning. Typical busy Saturday. I'll return later today since they're open until 9. Quite chilly this morning. Superman - Operations very sporadic Tatsu - 1 train "Pocky" - 1 train

I was at Knotts today (Friday afternoon), and here is my report. Xcelerator was running 2 trains this afternoon. The catch car was very slow returning to the station so dispatches were very slow. At 6:20 the ride went down hard. I left at 7:05 (no dispatches with people on) since I was getting cold and bored. Silver Bullet is running 2 trains again.

Already bought my tix tonight. I'll be there!!!

Quick question, is Tatsu still on one train operation? Thinking of heading to the mountain sometime this week and need to know if I should take the Revolution exit shortcut for the first ride. Yes, this past weekend Tatsu was only a 1 train operation. Take that shortcut and hit it first. That's exactly what I do.

I had a great day at the Mountain today! I actually got 51 rides, and I'm more than a little sore right now. One last observation. I think Deja Vu is very close to opening. I didn't see any "spare parts" lying around the ride. Also they've got the water dummies in the seats ready for testing. Looks like it won't be long.

Steve thank for the complete video post. I've got to get back to Virginia to ride! Looks like maybe I can stop calling it "In-Trim-Adator." . I'm looking forward to your future posts. I too loved the new restraints. I've ridden it with both sets.

One other thing on my 6 Superman rides today. Two of them were races and one of them was a "fly - by." What a fly - by is the ride ops ready both trains to go. One gets launched first and they time the second train launch so that the first train is returning down off the vertical drop as you're about to go up. You pass each other at 200 MPH! That is really amazing...

I was at the park today. It ended up a very busy day, but I got my rides in early and left at 2. I may return later since they're open tonight until 9. Tatsu (my normal first ride) was delayed opening, so I headed to Superman. I got 6 rides immediately on the right side. Three of them I didn't need to get out of my seat. Sup's running great! Collosus is now running the right side again. I noticed a significant improvement in the ride. Not sure how long that will last, but I was even brave enough to ride in the last car. I enjoyed it with no pain, but personally I prefer the front.

After my post yesterday, I remembered a few other items I observed while there. 1. Smurf Movie posters in the Apocalypse loading platform and in the queue. How does this fit with its new theme??? 2. New large Spring Break banners posted in a few locations in the park. 3. Setup for pre-opening (large chair and platform) in the entry area. They used this to "try to entertain" the guests before they open the gates to the plaza the past few seasons. I'll see this morning if they use it on weekends. 4. They were test running 1 train on Collosus yesterday - Friday. Still some work going on, but at least around noon one train ran several circuits.

Thanks for the update. I like that intense feeling. I'm glad it's back. Was the first downhill much faster without the trims? Did you still get airtime on the 3rd hill? I never had a chance to ride it in it's original form. Sounds like I've got to stop calling it In-Trim-Adator.

I didn't go to Knotts today, but I see Xcelerator is off the ride maintenance list on their website. It was due to return to action today April 1. Did anyone ride it today? How was it?

I was at the park today. I flew cross country and was at the Mountain a little after noon. I headed immediately for Goliath upon entry. It proceeded to go down hard as I headed into the queue line. It came back up in less than an hour. Still no vertical work being completed on Green Lantern. There were workers there, but not much progress since I last saw it 2 weeks ago. Not too bad of a visit since it was physics day again. I got 18 rides in on this beautiful day in So Cal. The kiddie train area (I don't know what it's renamed now) old Thomas Town is reopened. Still no work on the BBQ place outside of Riddlers. I guess tonight is employee day. They get to ride Superman, Apocalypse and Dive Devil, so I'm told tonight after 7. At least this time they'll have nice weather to play themselves. One last observation. The line for Superman was out the building for most of the afternoon. I could see it from the Goldrusher lift hill. They were only running the right side, until about 5pm, then they were running both sides intermittently.

I think he's one of those guys that goes in the exit (if you know what I mean)...

Does anyone know if the Xcelerator rehab is on schedule? Their website just says it's down from 3/21 - 3/31 tomorrow. I wonder if the April 1 is just a cruel joke...