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The Six Flags Magic Mountain (SFMM) Discussion Thread


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I have been scanning old family photo albums and came across a little something I didn't know about Magic Mountain history. If any of you remember, Children's World used to have a little sailboat ride originally called (creatively) the Sailboat Ride. The name later changed to Little Sailor Ride when Six Flags took over (according to my old maps.) Anyway, I always remembered the ride having little cages for the kids to ride in like in this pic of my brother taken in June 1977 (note the rusty hinges):

 

1977-06%2Bmagic%2Bmountain%2Bjohn.jpg

 

But I found this pic of me taken one year after park opening - the pic is dated August 1971. It shows completely open seating areas for riders:

 

1971-08%2Bdavid%2Brob%2Bjeanne%2Bmagic%2Bmountain.jpg

 

I realize this isn't earth-shaking but I still found it interesting. It's also cool to know that, although I don't remember it, I was there when the park was very young. My dad, by the way, worked for Security Pacific Bank which financed much of the park and got to take a preview visit before the park opened. But did my parents take any pictures of that? NO! Oh well. I'll keep digging for other fun artifacts.

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I have been scanning old family photo albums and came across a little something I didn't know about Magic Mountain history. If any of you remember, Children's World used to have a little sailboat ride originally called (creatively) the Sailboat Ride. The name later changed to Little Sailor Ride when Six Flags took over (according to my old maps.) Anyway, I always remembered the ride having little cages for the kids to ride in like in this pic of my brother taken in June 1977 (note the rusty hinges):

 

But I found this pic of me taken one year after park opening - the pic is dated August 1971. It shows completely open seating areas for riders:

 

I realize this isn't earth-shaking but I still found it interesting. It's also cool to know that, although I don't remember it, I was there when the park was very young. My dad, by the way, worked for Security Pacific Bank which financed much of the park and got to take a preview visit before the park opened. But did my parents take any pictures of that? NO! Oh well. I'll keep digging for other fun artifacts.

Very neat, thanks for sharing. Would love to see more.
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While in talks of rides running backwards, I don't think we'll see TC pull that stunt. It took Colossus how many decades to turn it around? While Colossus was a beast in its prime, compared to today's standards, the ride was pretty tame, and riding it backwards was very plausible. I could definitely see Ninja turning the trains around much like XLR8 did. Speaking of, they're still running on one train operation. I think its years are limited.

 

I could also see Viper potentially running backwards in its final season. I'm still upset I didn't get to experience Batman backwards this past summer.

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While in talks of rides running backwards, I don't think we'll see TC pull that stunt. It took Colossus how many decades to turn it around?
Thats just because when Psyclone was demolished, it's trains were able to be used...not because it took some 20 years of R&D or something.
I could definitely see Ninja turning the trains around much like XLR8 did. Speaking of, they're still running on one train operation. I think its years are limited.
I don't think it's on the way out at all. The reason it's running one train is because a few months ago the other train ran over a tree and was heavily damaged. The third train that hadn't been moved in years was recently removed from the transfer track, presumably to be used for parts to fix the second train (or maybe theyre parting out the second train to work up the third) I think Ninja would probably be pretty fun backwards.
I could also see Viper potentially running backwards in its final season. I'm still upset I didn't get to experience Batman backwards this past summer.
^Vipers final season? Is it going somewhere?
I dont think hes saying its in its final season now, he just means whenever it is in its final season they could turn the trains around. I'm not sure I'd want to try that though..might be pretty painful.
I'm still upset I didn't get to experience Batman backwards this past summer.
i couldn't wait for them to put the forward trains back on.
Yeah I didnt think it was that great either. No worse than regular, but surprisingly it didn't add much for me.
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I could also see Viper potentially running backwards in its final season. I'm still upset I didn't get to experience Batman backwards this past summer.

 

Trust me, you don't want Viper backwards. I rode Batman backwards twice and then said never again. Batman is a smooth coaster (arguably the smoothest of SFMM's B&Ms), but while riding backwards I experienced more headbanging than I ever have on Scream and the ride was very nauseating. Viper is not too bad by Arrow standards, but it cannot be called a smooth coaster, and I have a feeling it would feel like a Vekoma Boomerang if run in reverse. Based on how much I disliked Batman backwards (I personally thought it was the worst major coaster in the park, except possibly Revolution) I will definitely be passing on any other backwards gimmicks for more intense coasters. In any case, I would be willing to bet it will never happen. No Arrow looper has been turned around backwards before and as Arrow is no longer in business it would be tricky to work it out.

 

Backwards works for shuttle coasters because they are designed for it. Backwards works for coasters designed for it because...well, they are designed for it. Backwards works for out-and-back woodies because while they aren't designed for it, there are no sudden forces on the ride that require bracing (mainly lateral forces). Intense coasters don't work so well when you can't see where you're going, so turning them backwards is going to be detrimental for the ride experience.

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I could also see Viper potentially running backwards in its final season. I'm still upset I didn't get to experience Batman backwards this past summer.

 

Trust me, you don't want Viper backwards. I rode Batman backwards twice and then said never again. Batman is a smooth coaster (arguably the smoothest of SFMM's B&Ms), but while riding backwards I experienced more headbanging than I ever have on Scream and the ride was very nauseating. Viper is not too bad by Arrow standards, but it cannot be called a smooth coaster, and I have a feeling it would feel like a Vekoma Boomerang if run in reverse. Based on how much I disliked Batman backwards (I personally thought it was the worst major coaster in the park, except possibly Revolution) I will definitely be passing on any other backwards gimmicks for more intense coasters. In any case, I would be willing to bet it will never happen. No Arrow looper has been turned around backwards before and as Arrow is no longer in business it would be tricky to work it out.

 

Backwards works for shuttle coasters because they are designed for it. Backwards works for coasters designed for it because...well, they are designed for it. Backwards works for out-and-back woodies because while they aren't designed for it, there are no sudden forces on the ride that require bracing (mainly lateral forces). Intense coasters don't work so well when you can't see where you're going, so turning them backwards is going to be detrimental for the ride experience.

 

I can't imagine Viper being at all enjoyable going backwards, it's still a decent ride forward because you know to brace yourself for headbanging going into the turn after the first loop, during the batwing, and the turn right before the corkscrews. Going backwards you won't know when any of that is coming

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While in talks of rides running backwards, I don't think we'll see TC pull that stunt. It took Colossus how many decades to turn it around? While Colossus was a beast in its prime, compared to today's standards, the ride was pretty tame, and riding it backwards was very plausible. I could definitely see Ninja turning the trains around much like XLR8 did. Speaking of, they're still running on one train operation. I think its years are limited.

 

The park is actively working to get a second train back on Ninja. I wouldn't say that Ninja has limited years based on its on train operation right now. When the park only had two operable trains and one of them ended up hitting a tree and getting damaged I think it's safe to assume it's only going to be one train operation for a while. Especially since the parts to said train aren't readily available due to the company that made the ride being defunct for a decade.

 

And Colossus ran backwards well before Psyclone was demolished, they just took the extra trains from Psyclone. Remember the good old days of having to wait for 18 (I think) people to sit in the train so there was enough weight that it would complete its course? Sometimes it took a while just to get 18 cadavers for the ride.

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I love all this talk about TC running backwards even thought we all know that this will not happen. I am still wanting to know if RMC trains CAN even run backwards. As for now I have an extensive 2015 theme park trip planed and TC is number 2 on the "must ride list."

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^Uhm...while Arrow name has been gone for a decade, the company is still in business as S&S Sendai.

 

Part of Arrow was picked up by S&S yes, but does S&S still actively supply parts for old Arrow suspended coasters? I was under the impression that they were not (only special orders) which is partially why there has been a disappearance of many suspended coasters throughout the world.

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I rode Batman backwards twice and then said never again.

 

once was enough for me.

 

Really? Did everyone get headbangs from namtab? I didn't get that at all, it was just as smooth as forwards for me, I just didn't find it as exciting as I thought I would.

 

^Uhm...while Arrow name has been gone for a decade, the company is still in business as S&S Sendai.

 

Part of Arrow was picked up by S&S yes, but does S&S still actively supply parts for old Arrow suspended coasters? I was under the impression that they were not (only special orders) which is partially why there has been a disappearance of many suspended coasters throughout the world.

The availability of certain parts may vary, but yes S&S definitely still actively makes and sells Arrow parts. (Remember they were the ones that manufactured the X2 trains in 2008) They'd be crazy not to, cause while there are only a handful of suspended coasters, there are a lot of Arrow coasters overall that are still operating and needing parts.

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I was very surprised with how well Viper was running when we visited last year. I hope this ride sticks around for a long time. As far as Ninja goes... we consider it one of the best coasters in the park. I think the only coasters we liked better were Tatsu, Batman and Apocalypse. If they ever get rid of Ninja it would be a real shame. I think the only reason it doesn't have higher ridership is because you have to walk all the way up the hill to get to it and after walking around a theme park for hours that's the last thing anyone wants to do.

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Bad day at the park this morning. Currently, X2, YOLOcoaster, Goliath, and Lex Luthor, and Tatsu. Are closed so far. I wonder what is going on!

It was pretty cold last night, it's nearing freezing temperatures overnight, perhaps the unusually cold weather caused some problems for maintenance. If so they should be up at some point later on.

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Viper backwards seems like the worst idea possible. Actually, riding Viper normally is the worst idea ever. Granted, on the very rare occasion you can get an ok ride, but generally I avoid it like the plague.

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Granted, on the very rare occasion you can get an ok ride, but generally I avoid it like the plague.

 

When I rode Viper 2 years ago, I experienced almost no headbanging. I consider it an incredibly lucky credit, since I was also able to use the single rider queue.

Edited by DonGeorge
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