The Six Flags Magic Mountain (SFMM) Discussion Thread

[LaMapa]

That's insane!!! I can't imagine the lines! But I wonder why a free ticket day would drive in so many people.. They don't usually. Mothers and Fathers Day usually aren't too bad. Hmm... Well I hope they have all the rides open and running at full capacity..

[PeoplemoverMatt]

That's insane!!! I can't imagine the lines! But I wonder why a free ticket day would drive in so many people.. They don't usually. Mothers and Fathers Day usually aren't too bad. Hmm... Well I hope they have all the rides open and running at full capacity..

 

A free ticket day on a July summer weekend would result in a much, much larger crowd than a free ticket on Mother's or Father's Day.

[Tmcdllr]

That's insane!!! I can't imagine the lines! But I wonder why a free ticket day would drive in so many people.. They don't usually. Mothers and Fathers Day usually aren't too bad. Hmm... Well I hope they have all the rides open and running at full capacity..

 

Now THAT"S funny!

[theonetheonlyJT]

^ Yes very funny. After full throttle they will hopefully work on these problems wait this belongs on the crazy ideas thread.

[singemfrc]

This would be an excellent day for a FlashPass.

According to RideHopper (reported by people in the park):

30min: Revolution

45min: Colossus, Green Lantern, Viper

60min: Scream, Apoc, SEFK, Batman

120min+: Goliath, Lex Luthor, Ninja, Roaring Rapids, Riddler

Not Running: Tatsu, X2

(It only goes up to 120 so those lines could be longer)

[Dietcokevan]

This would be an excellent day for a FlashPass.

According to RideHopper (reported by people in the park):

30min: Revolution

45min: Colossus, Green Lantern, Viper

60min: Scream, Apoc, SEFK, Batman

120min: Goliath, Lex Luthor, Ninja, Roaring Rapids, Riddler

Not Running: Tatsu, X2

 

NINJA?!?! Oh and amazing that X2 AND Tatsu aren't running.

[Tmcdllr]

This would be an excellent day for a FlashPass.

According to RideHopper (reported by people in the park):

30min: Revolution

45min: Colossus, Green Lantern, Viper

60min: Scream, Apoc, SEFK, Batman

120min+: Goliath, Lex Luthor, Ninja, Roaring Rapids, Riddler

Not Running: Tatsu, X2

(It only goes up to 120 so those lines could be longer)

 

60min for Scream!?.... WTF?

 

The park is packed and Tatsu and X2, probably the most popular rides in the park on one of the busiest days ever, are NOT running? Wow, that's a big fail on the park. Way to run the park there Bonnie!

[singemfrc]

I don't think it was scheduled downtime, they're probably just down unexpectedly. There's no way they'd do that on purpose on a hot and busy Summer day.

EDIT: Tatsu already reportedly back up, and with a 2 hr line. Also, remember..the reports can only come from inside the park as the app uses GPS verification, but anyone in the park can report whatever they want. It's more useful to look at the overall trends rather than precise numbers.

[Tmcdllr]

I don't think it was scheduled downtime, they're probably just down unexpectedly. There's no way they'd do that on purpose on a hot and busy Summer day.

EDIT: Tatsu already reportedly back up. Also, take above info with a grain of salt..the reports can only come from inside the park as the app uses GPS verification, but anyone in the park can report whatever they want. It's more useful to look at the overall trends rather than precise numbers.

 

Yeah I suppose but.....can you believe an hour wait for Scream!? I have never experienced more than a 10 minute wait for that ride, this is insane! SO glad I'm not in the park today, it's hot, very crowded, long waits on everything, must be total hell.

[skaunit]

^ Well, I don't know if you should do Lex first, because on Tuesday it opened an hour late and more people still go to X2. In my opinion, you should run to X2 as fast as you can and try to be one of the first people on. Then head up to Tatsu, keeping a quick pace and get a short line. After Tatsu, head to Superman and get on that. Then head down to Lex Luthor. Yesterday it had a 25-30 minute wait all day, which isn't a big deal (X2 was almost an hour all day). Then head over to Goliath. It should be about 1:30 or a little earlier then. Head over to Hurricane Harbor. I don't go to HH often so ask someone else about the best slides. Whenever you finish at HH, head back and hit up X2 again. After that, go in any order you like to ride anything else. That is how I usually go through the park.

 

 

Thanks for the tips LaMapa, and others. Maybe we will take your advice and head to x2 first, Immediately followed by Tatsu. Is there a shortcut from Tatsu's station to Samurai Summit [superman]?

 

Again, any help or tips for Hurricane Harbor are greatly appreciated. Should we try and do just a few coasters in the morning and head to HH before 12 noon? Or should we wait till closer to dinner time?

[rcdude]

^When I visited Hurricane Harbor, the park cleared out for the last hour or so of operation. If you aren't going for the full day, you're probably best going there in mid/late afternoon and staying until they close. The top slides in the park are Tornado (funnel slide), Black Snake Summit (three speed slides and two innertube slides), Taboo Tower (three speed slides), and Bamboo Racer (mat slide). None of these are must-ride slides, but they are probably the ones you'll want to focus on. The other slides are standard innertube and body slides, and a family raft slide. Lines of 45-60 minutes can sometimes happen at this park (especially for Tornado and the raft slide), although they are usually in the 15-30 minute range on most days. Honestly, if you only have one day I'd recommend skipping Hurricane Harbor since it is a separate admission and isn't really worth it unless you're going to the waterpark for a full day.

 

I would advise against doing X2 first, as it often doesn't open on time and usually has a shorter line in the late afternoon. You're best off either starting at Tatsu and going clockwise, or starting at Goliath/Lex Luthor/Green Lantern and going counter-clockwise. If you do X2 first and it doesn't open on time, Tatsu's line will likely be 30-45 minutes by the time you get there. Yes, there is a path next to Tatsu to get up to Superman and Ninja.

 

You should be able to do everything, although if you take time to do Hurricane Harbor that may not be the case. However, having time for re-rides is unlikely unless you purchase a Flash Pass. The park can get 2-3 hour waits in the summer, especially for X2 and Tatsu.

[The49er]

This would be an excellent day for a FlashPass.

According to RideHopper (reported by people in the park):

30min: Revolution

45min: Colossus, Green Lantern, Viper

60min: Scream, Apoc, SEFK, Batman

120min: Goliath, Lex Luthor, Ninja, Roaring Rapids, Riddler

Not Running: Tatsu, X2

 

NINJA?!?! Oh and amazing that X2 AND Tatsu aren't running.

 

Colossus?! Viper?! Revolution?!

[singemfrc]

Colossus?! Viper?! Revolution?!

The park is just ridiculously busy today. Those are long wait times relative to the normal wait times for those rides, but they're short wait times relative to the other rides right now cause it's just so busy. At the moment, LL, Batman, Goliath, Ninja, RR, Tatsu, Riddler, and X2 all are reported to have lines over 2 hours.

 

I've been periodically watching the wait times on everything at the park since I'm planning a weekend visit in October during Fright Fest..trying to decide which day would be the least busy..most likely going Sat 10/13 or Sun 10/14. I've never been during FF before, are there certain days that aren't as busy? The park is only open weekends in October (except one Monday in which FF activities won't be operating) so I'm not sure what days would be better than others.

Edited July 23, 2012 by singemfrc

[Sir Clinksalot]

^ During FF you are much better off on a Friday/Sunday than Saturday.

[singemfrc]

^ During FF you are much better off on a Friday/Sunday than Saturday.

Appreciate it. My off days are Sunday/Monday and I live 6 hrs away from the park so Sunday is the most convenient but if it's a significant difference I can do Saturday instead.

[LaMapa]

I usually leave by 2 or 3, so it is usually more worth it to me to start at X2 and wait until it opens.

 

But since you are spending the whole day there, I would play it by ear, and if X2 opens on time, ride it, but if it doesn't, go to Tatsu.

[Sir Clinksalot]

The first weekend of FF will also be much less busy than the weekends closer to Halloween.

[skaunit]

I hope the ridiculous crowds today will mean a slower day next Thursday [i know, not likely to affect it, but one can hope]. Those wait times are just insane... so glad I'm not at the park today.

 

^When I visited Hurricane Harbor, the park cleared out for the last hour or so of operation. If you aren't going for the full day, you're probably best going there in mid/late afternoon and staying until they close. The top slides in the park are Tornado (funnel slide), Black Snake Summit (three speed slides and two innertube slides), Taboo Tower (three speed slides), and Bamboo Racer (mat slide). None of these are must-ride slides, but they are probably the ones you'll want to focus on. The other slides are standard innertube and body slides, and a family raft slide. Lines of 45-60 minutes can sometimes happen at this park (especially for Tornado and the raft slide), although they are usually in the 15-30 minute range on most days. Honestly, if you only have one day I'd recommend skipping Hurricane Harbor since it is a separate admission and isn't really worth it unless you're going to the waterpark for a full day.

 

I would advise against doing X2 first, as it often doesn't open on time and usually has a shorter line in the late afternoon. You're best off either starting at Tatsu and going clockwise, or starting at Goliath/Lex Luthor/Green Lantern and going counter-clockwise. If you do X2 first and it doesn't open on time, Tatsu's line will likely be 30-45 minutes by the time you get there. Yes, there is a path next to Tatsu to get up to Superman and Ninja.

 

You should be able to do everything, although if you take time to do Hurricane Harbor that may not be the case. However, having time for re-rides is unlikely unless you purchase a Flash Pass. The park can get 2-3 hour waits in the summer, especially for X2 and Tatsu.

 

I apologize I should have stated that I have HH on my season pass, and I'm using the friend free coupon for HH for my friend, as well as the 50% off friend's MM admission. I feel like we shouldn't have much of a problem getting on all the major rides as well as Hurricane Harbor in a FULL Thursday. Anyone else with HH input? Thanks alot!

[VTown661]

P A C K E D ... TOTAL UNDERSTATEMENT FOR TODAY SUNDAY

[LaMapa]

^Guve us the scoop. How long we're all the lines? More than a normal Saturday in summer?

[Xceleratorfan96]

 

Line for Roaring Rapids today..... ridiculously packed!!!

[dylanreich]

^I've never actually been on it, despite how often I visit the park. How does it compare to the one at DCA?

[X2coasterfreak]

^ You get more wet on Roaring Rapids. Other than that they don't compare.

[laqueefa]

I may try to hit up the park on Tuesday. Hopefully its not insane

[KevRus]

I hadn't visited SFMM in a long time, so I decided at the last minute to go today (Sunday) with my sister, expecting a busy but "typical-weekend-in-summer" kind of a day.

 

Wow.

 

It was insane. In. Sane.

 

Hours were extended from the listed 10pm closing to an 11pm closing at around 5:30-ish.

 

Luckily, my sister and I decided to shell out for a gold Flash Pass, which made things doable. But even with our Flash Pass, we were only able to get on all of the coasters once with the exception of Tatsu which we were able to reride as our last coaster for the night. The only non-coasters we were able to hit were JetStream and Sky Tower to beat the heat and kill some time before our Flash Pass return times. Oh, yeah, it was like 98 degrees and humid all day.

 

 

I can't complain - I didn't really have to deal with any insane lines with the exception of Lex Luthor (about a 2 hour wait...granted, the ride stalled and had to be reset and tested at least twice while we waited...ugh) and Green Lantern (even with Flash Pass it took about 45 minutes-ish. I think the crew was having some trouble. Tell me something new, SFMM).

 

One great moment was when the Flash Pass attendant at the merge point for Riddler was MIA. 20+ confused Flash Pass guests were clumsily trying to merge in line on their own while the guests already in the line started screaming at them all for cutting. Whee!

 

Other than a lot of line cutting, a lot of groups of 10-year-olds-dressed-up-as-18-year-olds, and some other Flash Pass weirdness, I didn't come across any other horrible "Six Flags at its finest" operations ineptitude. Everything - even Colossus and Revolution - was running at least two trains and running fairly smoothly. The X2 crew was on a roll, managing not to stack very often. Goliath was running three trains (always nice to see). I wish Tatsu could - for once - not be ridiculously terrible operations-wise. Always stacking like crazy, never running more than two trains, never using both sides of the station...

 

But again, I really can't complain too much. I'm sure the experience was miserable for everyone without Flash Passes. This was the first time I made use of it, and it really is worth it on days like today. I'm not sure how I feel about the reride perk of the Platinum Passes. I was told from a friend that despite the different descriptions from Six Flags, it really is identical to the Gold Passes in terms of wait time - it just adds the reride perk. Is that true? But anyways, it seems like it'd be a pain if you have a large group and those reriders keep messing up your counts in trying to get on the same train. For my sister and me, it was just annoying getting all stoked to ride, then having to wait for the next train. Which on Tatsu, means another 30 minutes.

 

Everything was running nicely. Viper was much smoother and more enjoyable than I remember it. X2 was way bumpier than I remember it (ouch). Lex Luther was out-of-this-world terrifying - that drop goes on forever! This was also the first time I rode Green Lantern - packs quite the punch. Apocalypse is still a vastly underrated woodie. It's nice to visit a park that feels a lot like a best-of-B&M showcase (Riddler, Batman, and Tatsu...and...uhhh...Scream I guess...) - wish they could still build coasters as intense as those first three these days!