The Six Flags Magic Mountain (SFMM) Discussion Thread

[DJeXeL]

I'm sure that what would be painful (and nasty for the trains/chain) would be to meet the chain slower than it's moving.

Does entering the lift faster than the chain really cause that much wear?

 

I'm sure there's considerably more wear to the chain dogs than a B&M coaster where the feeder motors send the train to the lift at the same speed as the chain but like I said, if Boomerangs can do it, then any coaster can.

RMC's engineers/programmers took this into consideration when designing TC and I'm sure we will have nothing to worry about.

[Wingwright]

This news will make a lot of you happy. I love seeing silly law suits fail.

 

Magic Mountain Beats Appeal Of Man Hit By Roller Coaster

By Y. Peter Kang

 

Law360, Los Angeles (February 02, 2015, 4:15 PM ET) -- A California appeals court upheld Friday a lower court's ruling in favor of the operator of Six Flags Magic Mountain amusement park in a liability and negligence suit filed by a customer who was hit by a roller coaster while attempting to retrieve his lost hat.

Carlos Ibanez suffered traumatic brain injury at the Six Flags Magic Mountain amusement park in August 2008, when he was hit by a roller coaster called the “Ninja” as he was walking in a restricted area in which the ride was operating. Ibanez wanted to retrieve his lost Dodgers hat, which had been given to him by a deceased uncle.

 

Ibanez reportedly ignored employees’ verbal warnings to not attempt to find his hat because it was too dangerous and climbed two fences to enter a prohibited area where he was then hit in the head by the roller coaster. His claims against Magic Mountain LLC for negligence, premises liability, strict liability, common carrier liability and other claims were tried twice. The jury deadlocked in the first and the court declared a mistrial. In the second trial, the jury ruled in favor of Magic Mountain, finding it not liable.

 

“On appeal from the judgment, appellant challenges several evidentiary rulings of the trial court,” the appeals court wrote in the unpublished opinion. “Although we conclude that the trial court erred in certain evidentiary rulings, the errors were not prejudicial, and therefore we affirm the judgment.”

 

The intermediate appeals court ruled that expert testimony from Bryan Eckman, a safety inspector for the California Department of Industrial Relations Division of Occupational Safety and Health, who testified that Magic Mountain had never received any citations, was inadmissible in accordance with state statutes.

 

In addition, the appeals court said the lower court erred when it excluded evidence regarding the height of perimeter fencing at other roller coasters at Magic Mountain, calling it “an abuse of discretion.”

 

However, given the errors made by the trial court, the appellate court concluded that it was not “reasonably probable” a different verdict would have been reached.

 

Representatives for the parties did not immediately respond to requests for comment Monday.

 

Ibanez is represented by Martin L. Stanley and Jeffrey R. Lamb of the Law Offices of Martin L. Stanley; Stuart B. Esner of Esner Chang & Boyer; and Shea S. Murphy of Law Office of Shea Murphy.

 

Six Flags is represented by Michael L. Amaro and Sanaz Cherazaie of Prindle Amaro Goetz Hillyard Barnes & Reinholtz LLP.

 

The case is Ibanez v. Magic Mountain LLC, case number B248863, in the Court of Appeal of the State of California, Second Appellate District.

 

--Editing by John Quinn.

 

Link to Article

[Mater]

Enjoy the brain damage and lawyers fees, idiot.

[DJeXeL]

What an idiot. Lucky his ass wasn't killed!

[gerstlaueringvar]

Maybe his giant head with tiny brain "reajusted" Ninja's train so the derailment happened when combined with the fallen tree.

 

I think there will be a brake device to slow down the train on the second lift of TC. Remember how Intamin solved Vliegende Hollander's lift problem? Maybe TC's trains don't have to fully stop but but if the train goes up the lift hill without braking, there will be some Boomerang flashback.

[Lareson]

Yep, those are the kind of people that ruin it for others. It's why about 10 years ago now, low-zone area fences were introduced to parks across the US because of "accidents" like these. It's all 100% of the stupid person's fault, but it's unfortunate that parks have to do these low-zone fences now when previously, there was no need for them.

 

I don't know why people risk their lives for a stupid little hat. This is certainly not the first time we've seen something like this, and I don't get why people get so protective over something that they put on their head. I see it so often ride operators asking guys to take their hats off and 90% of the time they say no, take it off and put it back on when that ride op is no longer in view, or just turn it around backwards. And then they complain if it flies off during the ride and then they do something stupid like that guy. I know I don't want to be behind someone on a roller coaster that doesn't want to take their hat off because I don't want to be hit by it, especially on high speed coasters.

 

------

 

The 2nd lift hill won't really be an issue. I believe someone else mentioned, The Beast has the train starting to go up the 2nd lift at a pretty decent speed and that has done that for 35 years now. I'm not quite sure what they have planned for the transition to the 2nd half now that it's been physically built and we can see that it's different compared to the animation. With variable frequency drives controlling the speed of lift hill chains these days, I don't think it'll be an issue or cause excess wear and tear. The train will speed up the lift and when it starts slowing down while on the chain, the chain dogs on the train will grab the chain and carry it up like normal. If the animation hold up in that perspective, the green side chain should only start about ¾ of the way up the lift so it doesn't start at the bottom like a regular lift hill.

Edited February 5, 2015 by Lareson

[scottm13]

I'm sure that what would be painful (and nasty for the trains/chain) would be to meet the chain slower than it's moving.

Does entering the lift faster than the chain really cause that much wear?

 

I'm sure there's considerably more wear to the chain dogs than a B&M coaster where the feeder motors send the train to the lift at the same speed as the chain but like I said, if Boomerangs can do it, then any coaster can.

RMC's engineers/programmers took this into consideration when designing TC and I'm sure we will have nothing to worry about.

RMC doesn't do the programming. Six Flags does that in house.

[DJeXeL]

^That I know. By RMC I meant "RMC/SF."

[coasterlvr]

 

The 2nd lift hill won't really be an issue. I believe someone else mentioned, The Beast has the train starting to go up the 2nd lift at a pretty decent speed and that has done that for 35 years now. I'm not quite sure what they have planned for the transition to the 2nd half now that it's been physically built and we can see that it's different compared to the animation. With variable frequency drives controlling the speed of lift hill chains these days, I don't think it'll be an issue or cause excess wear and tear. The train will speed up the lift and when it starts slowing down while on the chain, the chain dogs on the train will grab the chain and carry it up like normal. If the animation hold up in that perspective, the green side chain should only start about ¾ of the way up the lift so it doesn't start at the bottom like a regular lift hill.

 

I agree, doubt there is any issue here. I do believe that if this is a emergency block, that the chain will start at the bottom, unlike the video, so if it stops completely, it can of course pick up the train.

[Superbatboy]

I didnt know the guy who went to retrieve his hat survived. The nerve to try and sue for your own idiocy. Glad they ruled in favor of Six Flags

[DJeXeL]

I didnt know the guy who went to retrieve his hat survived. The nerve to try and sue for your own idiocy. Glad they ruled in favor of Six Flags

 

That's the American way!

 

[JeromyL]

I know I'm kinda late to the dining pass conversation. But I do have a question. This new "deluxe" dining pass. Is it automatically given to anyone who already has the membership plan, or is it something new or an upgrade that had to be purchased?

[Gnome]

Enjoy the brain damage and lawyers fees, idiot.

Sounds like the man is a contender for this years Darwin Awards

[SFMMGeek27]

I know I'm kinda late to the dining pass conversation. But I do have a question. This new "deluxe" dining pass. Is it automatically given to anyone who already has the membership plan, or is it something new or an upgrade that had to be purchased?

 

Automatically given.

 

Some new photos from Our Mountain from earlier today show that there is a walkway placed next to the straight piece of blue track before the second lift. I'm pretty sure this is indeed a brake run now.

[chickenbowl]

Wow that's cool!!

 

I'm almost certain there will be no twist before that brake run. I think it will just come straight out of the reverse banked hill into that. Shame, cause that twist looked really neat. Glad to see more track placed though!

[JeromyL]

I know I'm kinda late to the dining pass conversation. But I do have a question. This new "deluxe" dining pass. Is it automatically given to anyone who already has the membership plan, or is it something new or an upgrade that had to be purchased?

 

Automatically given.

 

Thanks

[Manic Monte]

Wow that's cool!!

 

I'm almost certain there will be no twist before that brake run. I think it will just come straight out of the reverse banked hill into that. Shame, cause that twist looked really neat. Glad to see more track placed though!

 

Yeah there was a twist and then a little airtime bump before flying up the lift. Looked really cool. Oh well. Still great to see so much going up now.

[WFChris]

I know I'm late to the lawsuit party but...

 

 

"The Ninja"

 

 

that is all.

[NYTrojan]

Hey guys. Going to SFMM tomorrow for the first time in about 3 years. A few questions if you don't mind:

 

What's the best way to start at the park now? Should I make a straight line for X2 or does X2 have reasonable lines in the afternoon now? Same thing with Tatsu?

 

How long are the lines for Full Throttle usually? It wasn't in the park the last time I went (Was JUST starting construction)

 

How long are the lines for the Drop tower?

 

For those that go regularly, are a lot of rides closed right now? I understand Colossus is gone, but are there other rehabs I should know about? I saw somewhere Scream is getting repainted. Is closed right now too?

 

Any new/good places to eat around the park in the last 3 years?

 

How's the park doing now a days with general cleanliness and ride upkeep?

 

Lockers: Are they still a big thing on all the rides? Should I bring a lot of $1s with me?

 

Any other suggestions? I used to be a season pass holder at SFMM, going 7 or 8 times a year for years... but when they started putting advertisement skins ON the trains and wouldn't let you ride Terminator/Apocalypse with so much as a fanny pack (really guys? How is that different than a belt?) I got a little frustrated and haven't been back in years. It's time to make another run but I'm curious as to what I should be planning for.

 

Thanks!

[singemfrc]

Hey guys. Going to SFMM tomorrow for the first time in about 3 years. A few questions if you don't mind:

 

What's the best way to start at the park now? Should I make a straight line for X2 or does X2 have reasonable lines in the afternoon now? Same thing with Tatsu?

 

How long are the lines for YOLOcoaster usually? It wasn't in the park the last time I went (Was JUST starting construction)

 

How long are the lines for the Drop tower?

 

For those that go regularly, are a lot of rides closed right now? I understand Colossus is gone, but are there other rehabs I should know about? I saw somewhere Scream is getting repainted. Is closed right now too?

 

Any new/good places to eat around the park in the last 3 years?

 

How's the park doing now a days with general cleanliness and ride upkeep?

 

fluffy, fluffy bunnies filled with medicine and goo: Are they still a big thing on all the rides? Should I bring a lot of $1s with me?

 

Any other suggestions? I used to be a season pass holder at SFMM, going 7 or 8 times a year for years... but when they started putting advertisement skins ON the trains and wouldn't let you ride Terminator/Apocalypse with so much as a fanny pack (really guys? How is that different than a belt?) I got a little frustrated and haven't been back in years. It's time to make another run but I'm curious as to what I should be planning for.

 

Thanks!

In my opinion it's best to start at YOLOCoaster, since the line for X2 will always die down at about 4-4:30 in the afternoon, YOLO's line sometimes dies but sometimes doesn't.

 

Lex Luthor's line is comprable to a mid-range coaster usually, but it has pretty good capacity and also has a single rider line so if you're solo or in a small group you can use it to cut the wait to 15 mins or less. Viper, Revolution, Green Lantern, and Riddlers also have Single Rider lines.

 

The only major attractions that are closed are Scream for repainting and the Sky Tower is still SBNO pending possible rehab. The entire Colossus County Fair area is closed for retheming. Ninja is still on one train due to the tree accident, we believe they're working on fixing another train.

 

Cleanliness is better in the last year from what I've heard. It's no Disney, but lately they seem to be making an effort to improve.

 

The improvement made in the last few years for fluffy bunnies is they now have electronic FBs where you get a code to use and you can take your stuff from one to another without paying for a second one. Still heavily enforced on X2 (And someone correct me if Im wrong I Think those are or were not connected to the others)

 

The fluffy bunny policies are only getting worse, especially with things like what was mentioned above with the guy dropping his hat, ignoring warnings and climbing over fences and suing the park when a train hits him.

[NYTrojan]

In my opinion it's best to start at YOLOCoaster, since the line for X2 will always die down at about 4-4:30 in the afternoon, YOLO's line sometimes dies but sometimes doesn't.

 

Lex Luthor's line is comprable to a mid-range coaster usually, but it has pretty good capacity and also has a single rider line so if you're solo or in a small group you can use it to cut the wait to 15 mins or less. Viper, Revolution, Green Lantern, and Riddlers also have Single Rider lines.

 

The only major attractions that are closed are Scream for repainting and the Sky Tower is still SBNO pending possible rehab. The entire Colossus County Fair area is closed for retheming. Ninja is still on one train due to the tree accident, we believe they're working on fixing another train.

 

Cleanliness is better in the last year from what I've heard. It's no Disney, but lately they seem to be making an effort to improve.

 

The improvement made in the last few years for fluffy bunnies is they now have electronic FBs where you get a code to use and you can take your stuff from one to another without paying for a second one. Still heavily enforced on X2 (And someone correct me if Im wrong I Think those are or were not connected to the others)

 

The fluffy bunny policies are only getting worse, especially with things like what was mentioned above with the guy dropping his hat, ignoring warnings and climbing over fences and suing the park when a train hits him.

 

 

Thanks! How bad is Throttle's line normally? We talking hours here? Ditto X2 and Tatsu now a days? Nice to hear they're cleaning things up again! I really enjoyed watching the park come back from a real low in the 2009-2010 timeframe but it seemed to dip again shortly afterwards. Nobody expects Disney (or you shouldn't anyway. You're not paying Disney prices either).

 

Excited to finally hit the mountain again. Any other suggestions? They're all appreciated.

[singemfrc]

Thanks! How bad is Throttle's line normally? We talking hours here? Ditto X2 and Tatsu now a days? Nice to hear they're cleaning things up again! I really enjoyed watching the park come back from a real low in the 2009-2010 timeframe but it seemed to dip again shortly afterwards. Nobody expects Disney (or you shouldn't anyway. You're not paying Disney prices either).

 

Excited to finally hit the mountain again. Any other suggestions? They're all appreciated.

YOLO's line when its backed up to the entrance may be up to 60 mins or so. X2's line can get out of control in the morning, an hour or two after opening it might be up to 90 mins (Since GP always runs there first), but its usually down to 15 or less in the afternoon on most days after all those people already rode it in the morning.

 

Tatsu is similar..the line can get to 60-90 on a busy day. If it's bad, then get a flash pass and you can skip the whole lower queue and go straight to the stairs. I've never once waited in Tatsu's lower queue. General flash pass advice (especially when going on a Saturday like you are) is to budget for a Flash Pass and then judge when you get there whether to get one or not. If you decide to get one, go ride YOLO first (since its not included in the FP) and then get the FP after that.

[NYTrojan]

YOLO's line when its backed up to the entrance may be up to 60 mins or so. X2's line can get out of control in the morning, an hour or two after opening it might be up to 90 mins (Since GP always runs there first), but its usually down to 15 or less in the afternoon on most days after all those people already rode it in the morning.

 

Tatsu is similar..the line can get to 60-90 on a busy day. If it's bad, then get a flash pass and you can skip the whole lower queue and go straight to the stairs. I've never once waited in Tatsu's lower queue. General flash pass advice (especially when going on a Saturday like you are) is to budget for a Flash Pass and then judge when you get there whether to get one or not. If you decide to get one, go ride YOLO first (since its not included in the FP) and then get the FP after that.

 

Thanks again, exactly what I was hoping to learn.

 

Anybody been in the last weekend or two? Has the park been busy?

[scottiemon]

If you can change from tomorrow to Sunday, you will do a lot better. Saturday is always way more busy than Sunday.

[JeromyL]

I'll send you a PM. Maggiekat and I will be there tomorrow as well.