The Six Flags Magic Mountain (SFMM) Discussion Thread

[Sunfire]

^Nice. The first time I visited was this June on a Saturday (I was with my school on our Senior trip), and all I rode was Revolution, Viper, and Terminator. I missed X2, Tatsu, Goliath, and almost everything else because the lines were so ridiculous. Hopefully if I do go, then I can hit up all the stuff I missed.

[MagicMountainMan]

I was gonna try to start the rumor that Project 18 was going to be the park getting 18 new flat rides but literally no one would believe that.

 

Wasn't there some park that just added 10 in one year or am I going insane?

[B-RadG]

I was gonna try to start the rumor that Project 18 was going to be the park getting 18 new flat rides but literally no one would believe that.

 

Wasn't there some park that just added 10 in one year or am I going insane?

Six Flags Great Adventure did during their "War on Lines."

[kf2010]

For you guys who are more familiar with the crowd patterns at SFMM, how crowded do you think the park will be this week? I might be going, and I was wondering how long the lines may be.

 

Went on Thursday (26th) and lines were literally walk-on for every ride except X2. Terminator was having problems and got shut down about 4pm.

 

However since the park was empty, ride ops were doing their obligatory "Six Flags Snail Pace" and were stacking several trains for minutes at a time. I don't blame them though, they were MUCH too busy talking amongst each other during dispatches to pay attention to guests. Very similar to the photo of the Goliath crew that was posted in this thread not too long ago, with about 4 ops standing around doing nothing, and 2 ops doing the restraint check. I sat in the Batman block brake for 2 minutes.

 

Downside is the park is now closes at 6pm during the week, so no night rides. But you should be able to get on everything.

[Tmcdllr]

^ That is so annoying when they do that. I was the one who posted that photo.

 

Well if they have nothing better to do maybe they should be sent home and save some money on payroll.

[gforce532]

Aparently they don't have break rooms so they use the different station building to take their never ending breaks.

[Tmcdllr]

That can look bad from the GPs point of view and it can be a distraction for the employees that are supposed to be paying attention to the ride, which could potentially be very dangerous, IMO.

[Jew]

However since the park was empty, ride ops were doing their obligatory "Six Flags Snail Pace" and were stacking several trains for minutes at a time. I don't blame them though, they were MUCH too busy talking amongst each other during dispatches to pay attention to guests. Very similar to the photo of the Goliath crew that was posted in this thread not too long ago, with about 4 ops standing around doing nothing, and 2 ops doing the restraint check. I sat in the Batman block brake for 2 minutes.

 

FWIW, I think you summed up one of the reasons Jay Thomas was was pushed out. He made the park look much better on the surface, but ultimately he couldn't make a huge dent in the parks culture. Still the same old SFMM, only slightly improved under his watch.

[Sunfire]

I think it's terrible that the ride ops really haven't changed much. Especially on busy days, the ops should be moving quick to move those lines along. And even if the park is not crowded, they should still be working at almost the same pace as they do on a busy Saturday.

[piers]

TRY THE VEAL!!!!

 

I forgot how into Hannah Montana you were, I hope this doesn't cause any jealousy in Wisconsin...

[ebl]

Do you think if the park instituted some sort of reward system or a friendly competition (with prizes) for ride crews that get the most throughput, it would speed up and/or motivate the ride ops? What is the cell phone policy regarding their use during work hours---especially in view of guests? Seems like immediate termination would be the consequences, but...

 

Eric

[Sir Clinksalot]

I think I figured out what Project 18 is ... they are getting a ride that is 18 stories high ... Maliboomer!!!

 

Oh, almost forgot the

[MagicMountainMan]

^That would be cool since the Mountain doesn't have a drop tower anymore... But we don't know if Disney is selling, keeping, or scrapping.

 

I know this is a total pipe dream, but if only Six Flags would raise their wages a bit... If they did they could be a LOT more selective about who works there and it would bring in a better workforce. Heck they could even start from scratch by firing all of the lower level employees and then selectively rehire who they want back and if they still have positions to fill then hire from outside the current workforce. I know it would take too much time and money to ever happen, but it would definitely solve the problem. To me it seems that the core of all of Magic Mountain's 'problems' are bad employees. By the looks of it, there doesn't seem to be a lack of employees in the slightest, it's just that they are not proficiently trained or just don't care about their job and it takes a lot more then one Jay Thomas to fix an entire park's attitude and culture, like Joey said.

 

Like somebody stated a while back in this thread, if you pay the minimum, you're going to get the minimum. Is that necessarily right that people feel like they are entitled to more pay in order for them to feel like doing a proficient job? No, not at all. But that seems to be the general consensus at Magic Mountain, and that's what needs to change.

[kcsteve]

I just got an email notification for this thread and I was like, huh? I posted a while back and guess I popped in recently which switched it back on. So, since I'm here, I just thought I share a bit of trivia.

 

The last time I was at Magic Mountain was when...

 

Duh duh DUHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Ninja was NEW!!!!

 

Is that awesome or what?! And Revolution still just had lap restraints.

[6flagsbrad]

What year did Revolution get its over-the-shoulder restraints?

[Gmaster562]

A terribly TERRIBLE TIME

[ebl]

"What year did Revolution get its over-the-shoulder restraints?" (6flagsbrad)

 

In 1991, SFMM tried a OTSR that was literally like the shoulder belt in your car. The following year, they installed the current OTSRs, which were exactly like the ones on Flashback.

 

Eric

[mr. cockblock]

My first trip to SFMM being tall enough to ride all the rides was in 1993, missed riding Revolution without the OTSR's by 2 years

[ebl]

^ Before the OTSRs, Revolution's height limit was 42". My nephew got to ride it when he was six. The first time I rode it, the seats didn't even have headrests yet. And there was quite a pop of ejector airtime in the back seat as you passed through the center of the loop and took that dip that leads to the final spiral.

 

For some reason, I was thinking about Revolution today and decided that in its original form, it was a masterpiece. Today, definitely not. I also wondered if Anton himself ever got to ride it after it was installed at SFMM.

 

Eric

[mr. cockblock]

I guess what I meant to say was before '93 the only time I went to SFMM before that was when I was only about 4-5 years old and only able to ride the rides at Bugs Bunny Land.

 

Thanks for the info on Revolution, I was always curious to when those OTSR's were installed. I have always thought how fun of a family ride Revolution would be without those akward headache machines on it. Oh the potential!

[Bolliger&Mabillard]

FYI...Most major coasters have breakrooms under the station or closeby. Goliath, X, Scream, Riddler's, & Tatsu all have breakrooms under the station. Ninja & Tidal Wave have them extremely close by.

[Tmcdllr]

^ Before the OTSRs, Revolution's height limit was 42". My nephew got to ride it when he was six. The first time I rode it, the seats didn't even have headrests yet. And there was quite a pop of ejector airtime in the back seat as you passed through the center of the loop and took that dip that leads to the final spiral.

 

For some reason, I was thinking about Revolution today and decided that in its original form, it was a masterpiece. Today, definitely not. I also wondered if Anton himself ever got to ride it after it was installed at SFMM.

 

Eric

 

Yes it was (and I feel still is) a masterpiece of engineering and I've wondered that about Anton as well. I think if he rode it today he would be greatly dissappointed.

 

I rode it as a kid in 1978 and it was truly an awesome and fun ride. I still ride it today because I still like it and it holds special memories for me but it saddens me that it has the crappy OTSRs and is trimmed. Like said above, "oh the potential" this ride still has.

[gforce532]

Okay guys I just got back from a visit to the park today, so here are a few notes.

 

Very weird this morning when the park opened. I got at the gate when the park opened. I usually don't like to follow the crowd so I went straight to viper only to find it wasn't ready for operation yet. So I go to Tatsu only to find again it was not ready for operation. The guys out front said it won't be ready till 2:00. So I go to Termy only to find out once again not ready for operation. So I decied to wait for it to open which turned out to be a half and hour. While waiting I saw guest riding Tatsu, so it shows what the guys out front of the ride knew what was going on.

 

Anyway I did have a problem with the food service at Panda. I showed the guy my Xtreme pass and completed my order. As I walked away and looked at the receipt I noticed he didn't give me 25% off but 25 cents off. So I go back to get my 25% back and he was telling me that the computer won't alow it. So I would ask him why won't it alow it. So after 2 mins of us talking back in forth he finally cave in and open the register to give me my 25% which turned out to be 3 dollars. Later on when leaving the park I stoped at Coldstone's, I noticed the guy at the register took my xtreme pass with no problems. So I asked him if he was a supervisor and he said no. Then I told him about how everyone else has to call their supervisor to give the discount. And he said its just a button that they have to press and it does it automatically.

 

All the rides were walk ons for me except for goliath which had a 4 train wait. And also the audio on X2's third train was not working, whereas train #2 was working. And also the misters at the bottom of the drop and the bottom of the 2nd raven turn were working. I don't recall ever going on it when they were working and didn't even know that they had them.

[Calicoasters]

^I've always been under the impression that there is no discount at Panda Express. I asked years ago and was told that I cannot use it there, Dippin Dots and the Sushi place near Goliath.

 

Every time I've used my discount someone (Lead, Supervisor) had to come slide a card to approve the discount.

[kf2010]

^I've gotten the 25% off discount with my Xtreme Pass at Panda, and I didn't even have to ask. The guy saw the pass in my wallet and said "Oh hey, you get 25% off" and I was like "Schwing! Thanks for telling me!" He pushed a button and that was it, no supervisor needed. Its really a good deal over there, as you get the 2 items and a drink for practically the same price you pay outside the park.

 

FYI...Most major coasters have breakrooms under the station or closeby. Goliath, X, Scream, Riddler's, & Tatsu all have breakrooms under the station. Ninja & Tidal Wave have them extremely close by.

 

I believe there's even a cafeteria and break area behind Food Etc. I'm guessing the employees get bored over there and head to Goliaths station to hang with, and distract, their co workers.

 

FWIW, I think you summed up one of the reasons Jay Thomas was was pushed out. He made the park look much better on the surface, but ultimately he couldn't make a huge dent in the parks culture. Still the same old SFMM, only slightly improved under his watch.

 

Yeah, you're right...but if you think about it, its HARD to change the culture of a park after its run a way for so long. One guy can't be a miracle worker, it takes a park-wide commitment from everyone. Especially veteran employees or higher ups, if they don't care the people working under them won't either. But I hope the company keeps trying as they are doing better.

 

What is the cell phone policy regarding their use during work hours---especially in view of guests? Seems like immediate termination would be the consequences, but...

 

I believe if employees get caught on their phones it is termination...but they seem to know how to use them only when authority isn't around, which goes to show the extent of their commitment to their job. "I'll follow the rules when the boss is watching, and do what I want when they're not."