The Six Flags Magic Mountain (SFMM) Discussion Thread

[JeromyL]

I think after all of the brakes were added. I was so disappointed by the complete loss of airtime.

 

Really wished they could have had another company tear it down and remanufacture the ride because the layout was a lot of fun

[SoCalCoasters]

I remember on that same 2005 trip, we had to wait to go on Psyclone because weren't enough people to cycle the ride. then needed seven and there were only 3 of us.

 

I remember seeing the structure for the ride move a good foot laterally left and right when it came rushing by. I was still a pretty young kid then so I didn't grasp that "Wooden coasters probably should be moving that much"

[DJeXeL]

^I remember that as well. I was on a train that vallied on 1 of the inside turns.

There were 10 riders on the train of which, 5 were little kids so clearly not enough weight. We crawled through the 1st inside turn and at that point I was thinking we weren't going to make it and sure enough we didn't.

[JeromyL]

Before the quake that ride used fly around the track

[Rollercoaster Rider]

^I remember that as well. I was on a train that vallied on 1 of the inside turns.

There were 10 riders on the train of which, 5 were little kids so clearly not enough weight. We crawled through the 1st inside turn and at that point I was thinking we weren't going to make it and sure enough we didn't.

 

 

Wonder why the park just didn't scrap those and put in some PTC/Gerstlauers?

[DJeXeL]

Wouldn't have made any difference.

[Aceattack52]

Plus not to mention the weight of those B&M trains took a toll on the ride structure as well.

Why were they so heavy? I can't imagine there's really much room to add weight.

[DJeXeL]

The way they were built made them heavier. This is what I was told by a mechanic at the park that worked on Psyclone. The whole reason B&M was contracted to build the trains was so they could be reversible and run on Colossus.

[PeoplemoverMatt]

Wonder why the park just didn't scrap those and put in some PTC/Gerstlauers?

 

It's cheaper and easier to simply add trims to lessen the damage the ride does to itself.

[Rollercoaster Rider]

Wonder why the park just didn't scrap those and put in some PTC/Gerstlauers?

 

It's cheaper and easier to simply add trims to lessen the damage the ride does to itself.

 

 

You're still paying for parts to fix the ride. I would guess they'd cost about the same.

[COASTER FREAK 11]

No... Adding trims and mainting them is infinently cheaper then buying new trains and maintainig those instead... And the cost of the trims will NEVER equal the cost of maintining a train!

[Jew]

New trains would be at least $500,000 EACH.

[dylanreich]

I like how Disneyland had RSR closed and everyone game them a pass for techincal difficulties but Full Throttle closed? The park should have told everyone and screwed up the operations.

[Will Nolte]

At WCB some people were telling me how rough Apocolypse had gotten and when I finally rode it at night, I was pleasantly surprised how fun the ride was. I didn't feel it was very rough at all. It's a wooden coaster, it's not supposed to be as smooth as butter. I swear, some people really over-exaggerate the roughness of a coaster. I haven't ridden Ghostrider in several years, but I know a rough coaster. I rode Stampida at Port Aventura in 2012 and that ride has gotten rough as f@. Now that was a coaster that used to be really fun ( especially since they race both rides) and now isn't re-rideable. I can only imagine how bad Ghostrider has gotten.

 

Apocalypse isn't as rough as GhostRider at all. However, I have found Apocalypse to be much rougher than what it used to be, and during my ride a few weeks ago, I chose not to re-ride it even with a 5-minute wait. Kind of strange since Apocalypse was running fine earlier this year.

 

This was my experience with Apocalypse as well. The first time I rode it earlier this year it was smooth as glass. Reminded me of my first experience on Psyclone when it first opened. Every time I've ridden Apocalypse since then, there is a noticeable difference. Strange how much the ride has deteriorated in just a handful of months...

[Mrlittle]

I like how Disneyland had RSR closed and everyone game them a pass for techincal difficulties but YOLOcoaster closed? The park should have told everyone and screwed up the operations.

 

Oh you know as well anyone else, SFMM would never get a pass.

[Jew]

I like how Disneyland had RSR closed and everyone game them a pass for techincal difficulties but YOLOcoaster closed? The park should have told everyone and screwed up the operations.

 

Disney will always have staff at the entrance of the attraction when it is down AND will have it posted on their website when an attraction is down for rehab/extended downtime.

Edited December 7, 2013 by Jew

[dylanreich]

I like how Disneyland had RSR closed and everyone game them a pass for techincal difficulties but YOLOcoaster closed? The park should have told everyone and screwed up the operations.

 

Disney will always have staff at the entrance of the attraction when it is down AND will have it posted on their website when an attraction is down for rehab/extended downtime.

Magic Mountain has staff in front of rides when they are temporarily broken down, and at the very least puts a sign up blocking the entrance when a ride is down for refurb, and..

[XYZ]

X2 has been closed for a much longer time than RSR, so it doesn't surprise me that Six Flags would put that on their website for a ride that has been closed for many months.

[Aceattack52]

New trains would be at least $500,000 EACH.

No, how is that possible? They're mostly wood with steel wheels.

[dylanreich]

New trains would be at least $500,000 EACH.

No, how is that possible? They're mostly wood with steel wheels.

When soda worth pennies is sold for $5 at a theme park, it isn't too hard to imagine.

[Tmcdllr]

New trains would be at least $500,000 EACH.

No, how is that possible? They're mostly wood with steel wheels.

 

Don't they have a steel chassis?

[Someotherguyuser]

X2 has been closed for a much longer time than RSR, so it doesn't surprise me that Six Flags would put that on their website for a ride that has been closed for many months.

The thing is, RSR is a highly complex ride as where X2 is simply a roller coaster. You would think it's the other way around.

[Jew]

In regards to X2, I have only seen the sign on the bridge when it has been down. No employee. But good for SFMM for at least having that on their website. However, we were discussing YOLOCoaster---which is not currently listed on their website as being down. Nor do I imagine them having a greeter out there throughout the entire day.

 

Either way, you were comparing a temporary downtime to a ride closed for entire operating days, so it's not a fair comparison at all.

 

As a side note, Universal wins this category hands down by giving out jelly bellies, water bottles, and return passes for delays, downtime, and ride closures.

[A.J.]

The thing is, RSR is a highly complex ride as where X2 is simply a roller coaster. You would think it's the other way around.

I would think that X2's trains are more mechanically complex than Radiator Springs Racers' cars. Radiator Springs Racers is more electronically complex though.

[Jew]

It's a moot point. Comparing temporary downtime to extended downtime is not a fair comparison.

 

Also, to answer the train question: it isn't like PTC has an assembly line where trains are cranked out non-stop. Each train has to be hand built (or a single operator for the CNC machine) and engineered to a high standard to be able to withstand all the forces. Lots of custom machining goes into each train. It adds up real quick.