The Six Flags Magic Mountain (SFMM) Discussion Thread

[Manic Monte]

Right now, I don't see the employees at SFMM as being the problem. While they are still a somewhat apathetic lot, they do get the job done and aren't nearly as rude as I use to experience. And for me it isn't that Six Flags corp is cheap, it's what they choose to spend their money on that is the problem. Dropping big bucks on new attractions is great, but what about the other, smaller projects that get thrown by the wayside as a result? Clean bathrooms, decent food, rides that work the way they're suppose to and NON COASTER things for the family to do. How many times have we all said this, yet it is never addressed?

[upfront]

It has been awhile sense I've posted on here, and just wanted to come and say that im excited to be a new member of the Six Flags team . Know back to your discussions.

[Ed Farmer]

Disney employees are better...Disney employees are older...

 

Disneylands employees and SFMM employees and have found that...Disneylands employees are helpful and they know what they are doing and they give the park a good reputation...

 

Cast members. There is a difference between teenagers who toil away in the heat at a Six Flags park during the summer for minimum wage and people of all ages who toil away in the heat at a Disney park 12 months out of the year for minimum wage. It warrants that distinction and recognition.

[Voxelmatic]

Hey, you know, I just realized something.

 

SIX FLAGS AMERICA HAS BETTER OPERATIONS THAN THIS PLACE!

[DJeXeL]

^This is true.

[dylanreich]

Does anyone know if the park still does that thing where they give the first people at Goliath park exit passes? I'm going with a friend tomorrow and thinking about doing that...

[LaMapa]

To the person who asked a while back about the timer/other number in the X2 station.

 

The RIGHT screen is the timer for dispatches (It starts at 1:45 and goes to 0). They ride ops shoukd easily be able to get the train out in that amount of time.

 

The LEFT screen counts how many trains have been dispatched in the last hour. (It resets at the top of each hour). If there is one train running, the number usually won't be above 12 or 13. If there are 2 trains, usually double that.

[MontagnaMagica]

^Thanks! I've since guessed that was what it was. I just didn't know how often they would reset the dispatch number. Do you think 12 or 13 dispatches per hour (with one train) is a good number for this ride? It sounds just a bit low to me.

[LaMapa]

It's about 5 minute dispatches. That's approx. 350 people per hour. Really slow (That is assuming 26 of the 28 seats are being used).

[d3l8]

I don't think I've ever posted on here, but I had a friend start talking to me about some Six Flags stuff, and for whatever reason I've been fascinated by this thread and have somehow made time to read the last 250 or so pages of it.

 

I've only visited Magic Mountain twice, and I thought it was a really interesting park. The first time was actually linked to earlier in one of Robb's "good" trip report examples I believe, and I actually met Robb, although I'm pretty sure he wouldn't remember me. I had on a nametag at the time and was visiting from a different park.

 

I was back a few months later, and managed to sneak into the park as a guest for a couple hours and rode nearly all of the coasters there, really having a blast while doing it. X was in it's refurb at the time, but the park was really light in attendance, and I rode just about everything.

 

I haven't worn a nametag now for a number of years at any park, but am still interested to see how things are going at the parks. My take on it in a very small nutshell is this...

 

Premier ran the company the way that they did out of a failed belief that it would quickly turn the company into a giant profit-making machine. When this failed, they ran the company to try to cater toward the stock market (build big rides and talk about how much they will do for you!) while cutting everything they could at the park level because by then, they'd already have your money. After a while, some of the big investors realized this, realized it wasn't working and wasn't magically going to, and forced the change to Shapiro.

 

Shapiro had the right idea - bring back the families and stop spending so much on the huge rides - but was never going to have enough time to implement it before the debt crushed the company. Many people had this belief that the parks would change for a year, and suddenly all the families who had left after the horrible experiences under Premier would show back up. That didn't happen, or didn't happen quickly enough, so the company went bankrupt and...

 

...the new CEO came in and had to go a different direction than Shapiro, so the decision was to focus on thrill rides again. I'm guessing that the parks were given more free reign to try to save / make more money, and you see Magic Mountain reverting back to their 'old ways' so quickly because they were the park that had the most issues before Shapiro, so the four or so years of his leadership couldn't have fixed that, especially when we're talking about a park that had been run into the ground for years before that.

 

Jay Thomas was a very good Park President, but the management also gave him a lot more leash (and money) to try things out at which infuriated some other park presidents. Magic Mountain needed a LOT of stuff to get fixed, far more than almost every other park out there, and who knows what corporate has done since that he moved on. It could be the park no longer has the resources to try to fix things like they had.

 

What I find the most concerning with the new ride additions is that we're back to the miserable capacity attractions that Premier was notorious for adding during their reign. With the exception of X-Flight, all of these rides are marquee attractions that won't be able to move through probably half of their park's attendance in a single day. Think Magic Mountain ops are bad? I can't imagine that even with perfect ops, they will be able to put through more than 320 people per hour on that thing. That's equal to or worse than bad single train X2 ops at the park.

 

I'm interested to see where the whole chain goes in the future, but I feel like in many ways Magic Mountain is the canary in the coal mine. I hope it isn't, but their decisions so far simply don't leave me with tons of hope.

[Chrisrad]

Assuming it takes up to 2 minutes or so to dispatch a train, how long is the total ride cycle? If it's 2 minutes (I'm thinking it's less), and they were dispatching every 2, there's wasted time somewhere.

 

Let's also assume that SFMM is filling up the single rider spots.. (probably not).

 

When it comes down to it, the actual riders per hour is even lower.

 

[susie zueck]

^^ I think Jay Thomas was the best fit for SFMM.

[lvrounder]

Hi Guys,

 

I've only been to SFMM twice and both times were over 5 years ago. I am planning on going next Wed (the Wed after Memorial Day wkd). What should I expect for a crowd that day? I am assuming kids are still in school until June and most families will go over the weekend and maybe stretch out their visit unitl Tues and Weds will be light attendance.

 

I want to know if I should plan on getting the Platinum Flash Pass (not worried about the cost but don't want to "waste" money if I don't have to). I've heard that when the park is light on attendance they run fewer trains and therefore there will still be some long lines.

 

Any other tips from some veteran's would be appreciated. I read the last 10 pages of this thread but if there is a section that has better info, please direct me there and I will check it out.

 

Thanks so much.

[X2coasterfreak]

It's about 5 minute dispatches. That's approx. 350 people per hour. Really slow (That is assuming 26 of the 28 seats are being used).

I have a hard time believing that X2 operates at 350 riders people hour. I remebering hearing in an interview with Jay Thomas back when the ride opened, that capacity would be at 1300+. Plus I don't think you are accounting for multiple trains. When I was at the park this last weekend, dispatches were nowhere near five minutes, and that's running two trains. SFMM has bad operations, but not that bad.

[daveydo5172]

Just got this e-mail from "Six Flags Magic Mountain News"....love how there promoting GL....

 

GREEN LANTERN: First Flight Makes You

Spin Head-Over-Heels

 

Are you brave enough to get on this 4-D roller coaster?

Display images to see great pictures of the park!

 

• Wild, 360-degree, head-over-hill spins

 

• Different rotation pattern on every ride

 

• Zigzagged vertical track

 

Appearances can be deceiving. At only 117 feet tall and with only a 825 foot long electric green track, GREEN LANTERN: First Flight only looks tame and harmless. It is actually one of the most unique coaster experiences on the west coast, and has just begin to make a name for itself. Learn more →

 

Pack in all the thrills and excitement you can with THE FLASH Pass : Six Flags virtual ride reservation system holds your place in line electronically. Learn more →

 

Watch for Our Next Issue on June 6!

[Tmcdllr]

Just got this e-mail from "Six Flags Magic Mountain News"....love how there promoting GL....

 

GREEN LANTERN: First Flight Makes You

Spin Head-Over-Heels

 

Are you brave enough to get on this 4-D roller coaster?

Display images to see great pictures of the park!

 

• NO Wild, 360-degree, head-over-hill spins

 

• No rotation pattern at all, well maybe one rotation if you are lucky

 

• Zigzagged vertical track

 

 

Fixed!

[Angry_Gumball]

^Full of win right there

[bostonlva]

If you got that email today, perhaps they are fixing the issue in regards to the spinning

[bottom_feeder_13]

Appearances can be deceiving. At only 117 feet tall and with only a 825 foot long electric green track, GREEN LANTERN: First Flight only looks tame and harmless.

They certainly got it right about it not being harmless.

 

has just begin to make a name for itself.

Why yes it has, a boring and painful way to sterilize yourself.

[LaMapa]

It's about 5 minute dispatches. That's approx. 350 people per hour. Really slow (That is assuming 26 of the 28 seats are being used).

I have a hard time believing that X2 operates at 350 riders people hour. I remebering hearing in an interview with Jay Thomas back when the ride opened, that capacity would be at 1300+. Plus I don't think you are accounting for multiple trains. When I was at the park this last weekend, dispatches were nowhere near five minutes, and that's running two trains. SFMM has bad operations, but not that bad.

 

Yes, this is 1 train operation. Assuming 2 minute dispatches and all 28 seats being filled, that is still only 840 people/hour. I am going to guess that there are usually an average of 2 minutes 15 seconds dispatches and an average of 26 of the 28 seats are being filled. That capacity is just short of 700 people/hour.

[susie zueck]

Hi Guys,

 

I've only been to SFMM twice and both times were over 5 years ago. I am planning on going next Wed (the Wed after Memorial Day wkd). What should I expect for a crowd that day? I am assuming kids are still in school until June and most families will go over the weekend and maybe stretch out their visit unitl Tues and Weds will be light attendance.

 

I want to know if I should plan on getting the Platinum Flash Pass (not worried about the cost but don't want to "waste" money if I don't have to). I've heard that when the park is light on attendance they run fewer trains and therefore there will still be some long lines.

 

Any other tips from some veteran's would be appreciated. I read the last 10 pages of this thread but if there is a section that has better info, please direct me there and I will check it out.

 

Thanks so much.

SFMM should not be crowded on Wednesday as most schools are still in but a few school are already out. The only problem I see is that the park will be cheap and run one train on most coasters. Its hard to say but if I were to take an estimate id say the longest line you would have to wait in would be about 20 to 30 minutes. If you do end up going to the park and it is crowded or you dont feel like waiting than you could always buy the flash pass at the park. Dont worry about the flash passes selling out because they wont. I would not recommend the platinum flash pass on that day because it probably wont be worth what you paid. The regular or the gold would probably be your best bet.

[scooterdoug]

The only problem I see is that the park will be cheap and run one train on most coasters.

 

Unfortunately, this is all too likely to be true. I went on a Thursday in mid-May a couple years back, and had that very problem. The crowds were mild, but they had one-train operation on every single ride. I can't imagine that they were rehabbing *all* of those trains simultaneously (besides, isn't that what the off-season is for?). The only reason I can guess was so they could save money and sell more Flash Passes. Fortunately, the aforementioned Flash Pass is an option, which should rescue you from any 1-train frustrations. Still, since it's after Memorial Day, that could mean that they'll run 2 trains on the rides. In that case, you'll have a fantastic day there. Just go and play it by ear.

[Sir Clinksalot]

You may also have some Middle Schools doing their "Grad Day" at the park that day as well. My son's school goes next Friday.

[LaMapa]

probably headed down to both parks this Sunday for a TR!

[Pacificoaster]

I just went this Wednesday and it was dead. Went to the park for 2 hours and rode Goliath three times, Batman once, and Apocalypse 4 times without getting off. A few rides like X2 were closed due to the wind too. Goliath had a two train operation. Batman was running a two train operation but only loading one, and Apocalypse was running a two train operation. With that said some colleges get out Memorial Weekend so you could expect slightly more people but not many.