The Six Flags Magic Mountain (SFMM) Discussion Thread

[Wes]

Obviously they shouldn't open the ride until they are 100% satisfied with its safety, but it's just the overall approach SFMM seems to have anymore that is really frustrating. They've been plastering the June 30th date on everything for longer than it's been testing.

[Chrisrad]

[Manic Monte]

Let the rumors/urban legend about the ride crashing to the ground begin!

[Crazy4Coasters!]

This discussion is pretty much dead now, but for those interested, I'm sure Magic Mountain's own high-quality picture shows the maximum height of Lex Luthor...

[attachment=0]288139_10151062707667125_1586307372_o.jpeg[/attachment]

 

I'm still interested not to argue but just to know the final stats of this amazing ride. Just by looking at this picture the vehicle looks to be 30-40 feet from the top. I hope that they need more testing to adjust the final height to claim their world record. I think someone said Giant Drop's drop is 390ft so I they just need a little more time to finalize the drop height... I assume and hope.

 

(Please don't rip this post as I'm just going by the picture and no I'm not an engineer and I don't think I know it all. And if you're wondering how I came up with the numbers I just assumed the superman shield sign is 10ft tall and calculated the remaining distance from the vehicle)

[rollercoasterbuff]

I think the frustrating thing for people really has to do more so with the fact that people made plans, requested off work, got a group together, had everything planned ahead to go and to postpone it like this so late in the game is so unprofessional. They really shouldn't have plastered the June 30th date on Television commercials, radio stations, websites, etc until they absolutely knew for sure that they were going to have it open on the advertised date. Personally I am upset because we had the whole day completely planned out and the new opening date conflicts with another obligation. Everyone is going to have their own reasons why this is upsetting to them.

 

Cyrus

[TheStig]

I think the frustrating thing for people really has to do more so with the fact that people made plans, requested off work, got a group together, had everything planned ahead to go and to postpone it like this so late in the game is so unprofessional. They really shouldn't have plastered the June 30th date on Television commercials, radio stations, websites, etc until they absolutely knew for sure that they were going to have it open on the advertised date. Personally I am upset because we had the whole day completely planned out and the new opening date conflicts with another obligation. Everyone is going to have their own reasons why this is upsetting to them.

 

Cyrus

 

And any person who knows anything about new rides would know that making an effort to go to opening day of a new attraction is an idiotic thing to do. The whole "must be first" syndrome is pretty annoying.

 

God forbid the ride is open when you are able to actually go, I'm sure it will never be the same as it was opening day

[Chrisrad]

^^ Exactly!

 

While I'm not surprised that there's a delay, I'm am surprised that they delayed it a full week, obviously to carry it over into the next weekend. Even though i'm just speculating, I wouldn't think they need a whole week to fix whatever's the problem (unless they're waiting on a part or something). If they were to delay it a day or two, people who made plans (flights/hotels/etc), could have possibly been able to ride it by just adding a day or two to their trip.

 

 

 

 

 

Wait.. I was just using logic. And this is the SFMM thread. Never mind.

 

[rcdude]

I think the frustrating thing for people really has to do more so with the fact that people made plans, requested off work, got a group together, had everything planned ahead to go and to postpone it like this so late in the game is so unprofessional. They really shouldn't have plastered the June 30th date on Television commercials, radio stations, websites, etc until they absolutely knew for sure that they were going to have it open on the advertised date. Personally I am upset because we had the whole day completely planned out and the new opening date conflicts with another obligation. Everyone is going to have their own reasons why this is upsetting to them.

 

Definitely agree with this. I don't mind it when a park gives a general idea of when something is going to open, and then they miss that. However, they shouldn't be announcing a specific date unless they are 100% sure they'll make it. When a media day and season pass holder ERT is already scheduled, it just makes the whole thing even more of a mess, and I'm guessing doing this type of thing repeatedly (SFMM has done it 2 or 3 times in the past two years) probably will lead to a loss of visitors.

 

When you're local to the park, it isn't a huge deal. However, for people travelling from some distance away (say more than 2-3 hours drive), it is a major inconvenience. If I was visiting a park specifically for their new attraction and it wasn't a day trip, I would never plan the visit before late July (and as BGW showed last year, that isn't always late enough), especially where any Six Flags or Cedar Fair park is concerned.

[bostonlva]

Knew they wouldn't get it open on time. Doesn't surprise me at all. Same thing as last year. I thought they would've learned. I guess not. Well whatever. The 7th works better for me anyways.. Hopefully we will get preview rides the 5th or 6th... Bet there won't be a GoBigCam announcing the delay.

 

But whatever, I was kinda expecting it.

 

I guess the "big news" that was supposed to drop tomorrow was dropped a day early.... But seriously I wonder what they are announcing tomorrow..

 

 

i forgot they were going (or are) to announce something BIG tomorrow... Perhaps its what is going in Log Jammers spot!

[dylanreich]

Knew they wouldn't get it open on time. Doesn't surprise me at all. Same thing as last year. I thought they would've learned. I guess not. Well whatever. The 7th works better for me anyways.. Hopefully we will get preview rides the 5th or 6th... Bet there won't be a GoBigCam announcing the delay.

 

But whatever, I was kinda expecting it.

 

I guess the "big news" that was supposed to drop tomorrow was dropped a day early.... But seriously I wonder what they are announcing tomorrow..

 

 

i forgot they were going (or are) to announce something BIG tomorrow... Perhaps its what is going in Log Jammers spot!

And make people forget about Lex Luthor's delay, at least for a little while... I'd be surprised that it's Full Throttle or whatever is it. Their FB hasn't mentioned tomorrow's announcement at all in the past few days... So yea.

[Jew]

I'm sure the park intended to delay the ride. They obviously wanted to f*ck with everyone and delay the grand opening on purpose. After all, stuff never happens to new rides that causes them to fall behind schedule. And TV/Radio/Print ads can all be changed/updated/purchased overnight, so SFMM was totally out of line for advertising when they intended to open the ride.

[TheStig]

If they were to delay it a day or two, people who made plans (flights/hotels/etc), could have possibly been able to ride it by just adding a day or two to their trip.

 

Who the fuck flies out to ride a drop tower?!?!?

[Mechanic]

Believe it or not, the sun WILL come up every day between now and when the ride opens. Planning a trip that involves any considerable expense to any park with a name other than Disney or Universal attached to it probably isn't the best idea.

[Chrisrad]

^^ Not me. But there might be drop tower enthusiasts out there crazy enough to do so.

 

Maybe?

Edited June 27, 2012 by Chrisrad

[Tmcdllr]

Well in that case no park should ever announce an opening date until the night before.

 

Anything can happen to cause a delay, sometimes it's just part of the process. Yeah it sucks if you have made plans but it sucks even more if you have no backup plan. So then the best thing to do to not inconvenience yourself is to never plan on riding something when it is planned to open, wait until it is already open.

 

The park did what it had to do and what it has done, that's all in the past now. You can't blame the park for messing up plans YOU made- it's just not their fault. Blame them if you will but it is misplaced.

[SeattleJosh]

I understand the frustration with Six Flags, but it's always dangerous to tailor your whole trip around one attraction whether its a new ride or not. There's always a chance a ride is going to be closed for maintenance and you don't realize it until you get to the entrance and are welcomed by a park employee telling you its going to be down the entire day.

 

As far as Lex Luthor is concerned, it's no different than any other construction project in the world. Unforeseen circumstances always seem to pop up and delay projects on a routine basis.

[BlakeCoaster]

HAHAHA! No surprise here.

 

This is the way Magic Mountain has been running their park for decades. Opening day promises and customer satisfaction? Forget that!

 

Of course they COULD have just told everyone a month ago that it was going to take longer than they expected, and it all would have been fine. People understand, things happen. They COULD have allowed enough time to test it properly and made sure it was ready to go (like any practical park would). But no, they'd much rather procrastinate, not tell anyone anything, and wait till days before to screw up peoples plans at the last minute. They'd much rather cut it close and not make the deadline. They'd rather be known as a company who can't get their crap together on time to provide customer satisfaction.

 

And really, it's sad they haven't gotten the hang of opening new attractions on schedule after this long. They're lucky. If this company were in any other field trying to meet deadlines, communicating delays, and satisfy paying customers, they would have been out of business long time ago.

[ernierocker]

^I just love (sarcasm) when people sign up for a TPR account just to make a post like yours. Delays in construction happen ALL THE TIME and yes they happen in other fields besides theme parks. But just to keep it simple, lets stick to theme parks. Six Flags Magic Mountain isn't the only park that opens rides late, it has happened countless times at theme parks all around the world. Why do you think Robb and Elissa never plan a TPR trip around a brand new ride's scheduled opening date?? History shows that it is just not wise to plan a trip/vacation around a brand new ride's scheduled opening.

 

It is pretty clear you have a bone to pick with SFMM, but we really don't want people signing up for accounts just to make flame posts like yours. Consider this your only warning, if you would like to actually contribute to our forum, that's fine. But please refrain from making uniformed flame posts in the future.

 

-Eric (TPR Moderator)

Edited June 27, 2012 by ernierocker

[cfc]

^^I'd also like to note that this is essentially what happened with Busch Gardens Williamsburg over Mach Tower last year. They didn't even cancel the media day until two days out.

[coasterfreak101]

I understand as much as the next guy that construction delays happen all the time. You can't even argue that, it's a fact. But what's also a fact is that Kings Dominion opened I305 on time after the worst winter the Mid-Atlantic had seen for decades, and made its first test run in mid-March. Maverick was delayed just two and a half weeks even though it required a total replacement of a stretch of track, and opened at the end of May. Verbolten started soft-openings in early May, before it was even scheduled to open, with a freefall, two launches, a completely themed indoor portion, and amazing operations to boot. Skyrush opened on time with its brand new train design, regardless of the multiple creek floodings that hindered construction throughout the off-season.

 

I get that not every ride experiences delays, but these parks still built these rides on a schedule with delays in mind. Magic Mountain and Discovery Kingdom, meanwhile, have been pushing their opening dates back for a month now in the hopes, I imagine, that they'll finally meet one. Neither of these rides started construction until Spring of this year - had they started earlier, like any other park building a major new attraction, we wouldn't be arguing about this.

 

No, SFMM isn't the only park to open a ride late, but it is a repeat offender. Delays are to be expected, but it's also expected that a business accounts for them when setting an opening date. And when a business has a history of failing to do just that, people take note.

[ernierocker]

^All the examples you listed are for parks that have off-seasons. There are lot less things that can interfere when you have free reign in the area of construction. But even with that, countless rides have still been delayed, so it is kind of silly to list out rides that have opened on time.

 

Look, I am not trying to defend SFMM. That was not the point in my post before. And I didn't say it wasn't true that they have done this several times in the past. My post was more as a moderator, than a poster. I think I made my intentions in my post very clear, so there really wasn't a need for you to make a post in defense.

[BeemerBoy]

HAHAHA! No surprise here.

 

This is the way Magic Mountain has been running their park for decades. Opening day promises and customer satisfaction? Forget that!

 

Of course they COULD have just told everyone a month ago that it was going to take longer than they expected, and it all would have been fine. People understand, things happen. They COULD have allowed enough time to test it properly and made sure it was ready to go (like any practical park would). But no, they'd much rather procrastinate, not tell anyone anything, and wait till days before to screw up peoples plans at the last minute. They'd much rather cut it close and not make the deadline. They'd rather be known as a company who can't get their crap together on time to provide customer satisfaction.

 

And really, it's sad they haven't gotten the hang of opening new attractions on schedule after this long. They're lucky. If this company were in any other field trying to meet deadlines, communicating delays, and satisfy paying customers, they would have been out of business long time ago.

Wait, you're this guy, right?

[Double0Kevin]

I'm sure the park intended to delay the ride. They obviously wanted to f*ck with everyone and delay the grand opening on purpose. After all, stuff never happens to new rides that causes them to fall behind schedule. And TV/Radio/Print ads can all be changed/updated/purchased overnight, so SFMM was totally out of line for advertising when they intended to open the ride.

 

Honestly, they should have read these forums. Everyone here seemed to know it was going to be delayed.

 

But sarcasm aside, it's a definite bummer for us but worse 10 fold for the park who has to deal with the headache of people coming wanting to ride and not hearing about the delay as well as loss of media coverage who can't make the new date (me) and so on.

[coasterfreak101]

^All the examples you listed are for parks that have off-seasons. There are lot less things that can interfere when you have free reign in the area of construction. But even with that, countless rides have still been delayed, so it is kind of silly to list out rides that have opened on time.

 

Look, I am not trying to defend SFMM. That was not the point in my post before. And I didn't say it wasn't true that they have done this several times in the past. My post was more as a moderator, than a poster. I think I made my intentions in my post very clear, so there really wasn't a need for you to make a post in defense.

 

I wasn't posting in defense, I wasn't really responding to you in particular. Everyone chimed in on the topic, I did the same thing.

 

I do have to imagine that no year-round park has to deal with three blizzards during their construction period. My point is simply that if a park can schedule construction to compensate for a month's worth of unpredictable snow delays and manage to open their rides on time, you would expect another park faced with essentially year-round sunny skies to be able to do the same.

[Manic Monte]

I guess I just don't see the big deal. The ride is delayed a week (shrug shoulders). If people think this new ride isn't going to go down quite a bit during it's opening year without warning, they are fooling themselves.

 

I have no plans to ride it until the off season.