The Six Flags Magic Mountain (SFMM) Discussion Thread

[laqueefa]

Slingshots motto should be, "More flips than Green Lantern".

[Jew]

The good news is if someone spends $30 to ride it, they'll have recouped their investment immediately.

 

 

Back to the discussion at hand: original thrill shot > this. Too bad Thrill Shot was a total POS from a technical standpoint.

[DBru]

It's a less intense version of a S&S shot tower except you flip.

 

Less intense? Hm. We must have ridden different slingshots/shot towers.

 

From my experience, slingshots are much, much, much more intense.

[AllenA07]

The good news is if someone spends $30 to ride it, they'll have recouped their investment immediately.

 

 

Back to the discussion at hand: original thrill shot > this. Too bad Thrill Shot was a total POS from a technical standpoint.

 

From the video alone I think I've got to agree. I went on Thrill Shot a handful of times over the years (always at events where I didn't pay) and thought it was a good ride, but I don't think I would have been willing to pay the upcharge fee for it. If I wasn't willing to pay the upcharge for that, I see little chance I would be dropping $30 on this one.

[Nitro1118]

I can tell you guys this...I've been on the Thrillshot at SFGAdv, and been on a few real slingshots, and slingshots are much better IMO. They feel like they have stronger launches, and the flipping is a lot more wild.

[coasterbill]

I wonder why they didn't opt for the more permanent looking slingshot that Great Adventure got. Though I haven't seen this new ride in person, it looks like crap from the pictures and the video.

[DJeXeL]

Slingshot is just a quick way for them to make a buck. Lord knows they need all the cash they can get.

I think the prices are a little steep but if guests are riding then no need to lower the price.

Edited December 18, 2012 by DJeXeL

[AllenA07]

I wonder why they didn't opt for the more permanent looking slingshot that Great Adventure got. Though I haven't seen this new ride in person, it looks like crap from the pictures and the video.

 

Possible that this is simply a space filler for a few seasons and not something that is going to be around for a long time.

[DJeXeL]

^Exactly. It'll pay for itself after a couple seasons and then if it's popularity wears off then they can remove it fairly easily and then sell it to recoup removal costs.

[screaminkid2005]

It's a less intense version of a S&S shot tower except you flip.

 

Less intense? Hm. We must have ridden different slingshots/shot towers.

 

From my experience, slingshots are much, much, much more intense.

 

Guess so. The three slingshots i've been on are no where close to intense as any shot tower i've been on. Looks like you need to get on some new ones. =P

[rcdude]

I was at the park yesterday and got a chance to see Slingshot in operation. While it does look like a fun ride, it doesn't look like it would be worth $30. $10-15, maybe, but not more than that. The people I saw riding it looked to get around 3-4 flips during the ride. Also, although the ride does have a temporary appearance it doesn't look as bad in person as it does in the photos.

 

A couple other random notes from yesterday:

 

-A few pieces of Full Throttle track were visible on the far side of the parking lot (easiet to see from Colossus, Goliath, and Scream). A fence has been put up blocking access to Superman: Escape from Krypton, although since there was an employee standing there instead of a sign perhaps that is just what they do when the ride is closed for the day and is not an indicator that the ride will be closed for Full Throttle construction. Lastly on the topic of Full Throttle, an employee at Sky Tower said construction should begin next month and the ride should be open by summer (I'm assuming this could be anytime between Memorial Day and the actual beginning of summer in late June).

 

-X2 had audio on one train for part of the day, but both were silent when I went back to ride again in the evening. I forget which had audio (1 and 3 were running), but in the evening a mechanic was doing maintenance on one of the seats every time it came into the station, so perhaps they turned it off.

 

-Green Lantern's current policy: There must be a rider on both sides of the seat, but there does not have to be four riders. However, when there is a line they will attempt to fill the vehicles to maximize capacity. Even when I rode in a 3 person car, however, we only got one flip as usual.

 

-Train Counts: X2 and Goliath were running two trains. Viper, Revolution, Scream!, Colossus, Apocalypse, Ninja, Riddler's Revenge, and Gold Rusher were running one, with signs posted at Revolution, Apocalypse, and Riddler's Revenge to notify riders before they entered the line. Batman The Ride had both trains on the track but was only loading one. Tatsu started with one train, then added a second when the line got long enough it was being held at the bottom of the stairs. The second was removed once it got back down to a station wait (when not in use, the second train was always parked in the second station).

 

-Lex Luthor: This was my first chance to ride it, and while it isn't my favorite drop ride as a whole (hard to compete with Tower of Terror, after all), it does have the best drop of any drop tower I've been on. The line moves faster than you would expect, as it was out of the building and still only took about 15 minutes (although they weren't using all the switchbacks inside, just the permanent set by the entrance). Unfortunately, I only got to ride once since it didn't open until 3:45 (whether that is due to the rain in the morning, mechanical difficulties, or both I cannot say), and closed less than two hours later when it started to drizzle. Still, it is a must ride attraction, and the only non-coaster ride at the park I'll likely make a point of doing every visit.

 

Overall, it was a pretty good day with minimal crowds. The only significant lines were for Lex Luthor and Green Lantern, as everything else was a 2 train wait or less (both of those were still under 20 minutes). Ended up with two rides each on X2, Goliath, Scream, Apocalypse, Batman, Green Lantern, Tatsu, and Riddler's, and one each on Viper, Revolution, Colossus, Road Runner Express, Canyon Blaster, Lex Luthor, Ninja, Sky Tower, and Gold Rusher (my brother also did Jetstream twice but I didn't want to get wet so I passed). Other than Superman, the only closures were the seasonally closed water rides.

[Manic Monte]

Sounds like the park is running pretty well.

[VTown661]

I was at the park yesterday and got a chance to see Slingshot in operation..

 

 

 

Great review.... any employees call you out for wearing your TPR gear.... or was I it?

[XYZ]

Also, although the ride does have a temporary appearance it doesn't look as bad in person as it does in the photos.

I agree with this, Slingshot just doesn't look good in photos for some reason.

 

A fence has been put up blocking access to Superman: Escape from Krypton, although since there was an employee standing there instead of a sign perhaps that is just what they do when the ride is closed for the day and is not an indicator that the ride will be closed for YOLOcoaster construction.

 

On Saturday, I walked up to Superman at around opening time (I used the Discover card early access) and the gates were open but an employee told me it was closed because of a problem with the LSMs and closed the gates behind me. On Sky Tower, an employee told me the rain in the early morning closed the ride. Superman re-opened at around 2:00pm and there was a 90 minute wait since it was closed for half a day and only one side was running. On Sunday, Superman was closed the whole day as it was sprinkling for the majority of the day and had no rain for a small portion of the day. So, basically, I'm confirming that Superman is closed because Superman has a problem, not because of FT construction.

[rcdude]

Great review.... any employees call you out for wearing your TPR gear.... or was I it?

 

There were a couple. I remember one at the tram crossing in the parking lot in the morning and another at X2. I can't remember if anyone else did. I don't remember the names of the employees.

 

On Saturday, I walked up to Superman at around opening time (I used the Discover card early access) and the gates were open but an employee told me it was closed because of a problem with the LSMs and closed the gates behind me. On Sky Tower, an employee told me the rain in the early morning closed the ride. Superman re-opened at around 2:00pm and there was a 90 minute wait since it was closed for half a day and only one side was running. On Sunday, Superman was closed the whole day as it was sprinkling for the majority of the day and had no rain for a small portion of the day. So, basically, I'm confirming that Superman is closed because Superman has a problem, not because of FT construction.

 

It was raining in the morning before opening and drizzled at a couple points during the day, and I know Superman can't run in the rain, so I guess with the low crowds they probably figured it wasn't worth opening it and/or there was some mechanical problem with the ride. Seems somewhat odd that they'd have a fence out there blocking it off instead of just putting a sign or trashcan at the entrance, although since there's nothing else out that way I guess it saves guests the walk. I doubted that the ride was actually closed due to construction since they'd probably put up a sign if that was the case (instead of having an employee), and I believe it was stated that Full Throttle construction would not require any ride closures.

Edited December 18, 2012 by rcdude

[simaticable]

Lastly on the topic of YOLOcoaster, an employee at Sky Tower said construction should begin next month

So does construction mean they'll move a small pile of dirt and be done for a couple of months, or will they actually start pouring footers and placing track on site?

[XYZ]

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that when I went on Apocalypse, I saw some re-bar that looked like it's for Full Throttle's footers.

[rcdude]

Lastly on the topic of YOLOcoaster, an employee at Sky Tower said construction should begin next month

So does construction mean they'll move a small pile of dirt and be done for a couple of months, or will they actually start pouring footers and placing track on site?

 

Considering there's track and rebar on site, I'd assume it means they'll start putting it together. If I had to guess, I'd say they'll wait until the holiday season is over, then do construction during the week while the park is closed. I'm hoping they'll actually make a Memorial Day opening for this one since the employees are hyping it (especially the survey people and Sky Tower employees), but I'd still plan a trip for mid-July or later if you're not in the area just in case.

 

One other thing I forget to mention that may benefit anyone going in the next couple weeks...SFMM is conducting a guest spending survey at the moment. If you speak to one of the survey people before opening, you can get an envelope to participate. You just collect receipts for everything you spend money on during the day, then return to Guest Relations at the end of the day and fill out a five minute survey. They will take your receipts and ticket stub (or scan your season pass if you have one of those), and you get a complimentary one-day ticket valid any day in 2013 (one per party). From what the survey person said, it sounds like they will be doing this every day for the rest of 2012, so you may want to check it out if you're visiting during winter break.

[Sir Clinksalot]

Sounds like the park is running pretty well.

 

Really?

 

-Train Counts: X2 and Goliath were running two trains. Viper, Revolution, Scream!, Colossus, Apocalypse, Ninja, Riddler's Revenge, and Gold Rusher were running one, with signs posted at Revolution, Apocalypse, and Riddler's Revenge to notify riders before they entered the line. Batman The Ride had both trains on the track but was only loading one. Tatsu started with one train, then added a second when the line got long enough it was being held at the bottom of the stairs. The second was removed once it got back down to a station wait (when not in use, the second train was always parked in the second station).

 

Only 2 coasters running 2 trains on a consistent basis is "running pretty well"?

[Manic Monte]

Sarchasm...

[Jew]

To be fair, he did also say everything was a walk up...so you can't really blame the park in this instance. And he also noted they actually started running two trains on Tatsu when the line did back up for a bit.

[Guy T. Koepp]

Sarchasm...

 

And it's Sarcasm with a "ch" so you know he's srsly sarchastik.

 

Guy "Kinda like Klownz with a capitol "K" and ending with a "z" when they're Evil Killer Klownz." Koepp

[FrightFest1408]

I went yesterday to take an update and I went over to the Full Throttle Track and there are 5 pieces of track. I don't know if anyone notice but ColdStones reopened in Cyclone Bay for being closed for quite a while.

[jray21]

Just in time for Winter! I do hope they still have the Chocolate Peanut Butter flavor. That was amazing stuff.

[rcdude]

To be fair, he did also say everything was a walk up...so you can't really blame the park in this instance. And he also noted they actually started running two trains on Tatsu when the line did back up for a bit.

 

Yes. When almost everything is a two train wait at most (unless you want the front or back seat), and most of the rides were sending out empty rows, it seems like a poor business decision to run two trains as they're not necessary and it will only mean maintenance is required sooner. On Tatsu, they had the second train ready to go so once the demand for it arrived, they just sent a couple test cycles and began loading it, then just parked it once it was no longer necessary (interestingly, I heard people saying that they preferred one train on Tatsu even if the line is longer since you're not left hanging on the brakes...sounds like it's not just enthusiasts who hate Tatsu's operations). The only thing that I don't quite get is why both trains were being run on Batman, but only one was being loaded. I've seen this at Knott's as well, and to me it doesn't make sense to run a train and not load it (although I'm sure there's some reason for it that isn't apparent).

 

For the type of day the park had, they were running well enough (although as usual the employees could be more efficient on some of their rides...namely Tatsu and Scream). If there were 20+ minute waits for everything due to one train operations, then it would be a problem, but on a low crowd day running only a single train on all but the most popular rides is something I find perfectly acceptable.