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The Six Flags Magic Mountain (SFMM) Discussion Thread


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While waiting on the brake run, it was explained to us that the trains are much easier to sync when all 3 are going as opposed to 2 as the computer is set for 3 train syncing, however their main concern during normal operation is throughput, not dueling. They want as many people to experience the ride as opposed to getting it to duel, so if they miss the mark, that train on the green lift won't be waiting around. That dueling mark was hard enough to achieve with, at one point, 8 attendants, people boarding with no loose articles and the occasional one person getting swapped out. So, you MAY get to see/experience the ride duel, just don't go in expecting it during normal daily operation.

 

^Only 2 trains running, orange and purple. It appeared the blue train was getting the camera mount set up for media day.

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While waiting on the brake run, it was explained to us that the trains are much easier to sync when all 3 are going as opposed to 2 as the computer is set for 3 train syncing, however their main concern during normal operation is throughput, not dueling. They want as many people to experience the ride as opposed to getting it to duel, so if they miss the mark, that train on the green lift won't be waiting around. That dueling mark was hard enough to achieve with, at one point, 8 attendants, people boarding with no loose articles and the occasional one person getting swapped out. So, you MAY get to see/experience the ride duel, just don't go in expecting it during normal daily operation.

 

I understand the push for capacity, but I think it's completely fair to be frustrated with the dueling issue. It's a major part of what the ride was designed to do, so it's pretty lame to just give up on what appears to be a huge part of the experience in the name of throughput. Especially if they're trying to have all of the official media/B-roll consist of dueling. Why show people what they're relatively unlikely to experience?

 

*Disclaimer - I am still excited about this ride. I just think the failure to duel is a legitimate problem*

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Did they add the 3rd train today, or still working with two?

 

no, but did use purple instead of blue.

 

i also got in 16 today, i think. might have been 17 because they sent us one more time to duel with all the employees. all that was left in the station was ONE guy dylan operating the console. lol all operators, camera guys, and whatever MM staff was on the other train. that was fun.

 

 

today i rode the last row, row 6 middle, and row 10. someone else who was there yesterday mentioned he liked the middle better. i'm a back row kind of guy but overall, i really like being up a couple in row 10. middle was pretty good. i just never got near the front to experience that.

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They should strongly enforce no loose articles before even getting in line, and have a way of informing everyone to ensure they are not too large to ride. Make it really loud and clear how important those things are for rider safety and getting the ride to function properly. Problem solved maybe...

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I understand the push for capacity, but I think it's completely fair to be frustrated with the dueling issue. It's a major part of what the ride was designed to do, so it's pretty lame to just give up on what appears to be a huge part of the experience in the name of throughput. Especially if they're trying to have all of the official media/B-roll consist of dueling. Why show people what they're relatively unlikely to experience?

 

*Disclaimer - I am still excited about this ride. I just think the failure to duel is a legitimate problem*

 

I agree. It's similar to the Dueling Dragons issue....it stinks make a ride that is designed and marketed around the experience of dueling, but then doesn't. Would have been a lot less trouble to just make a regular, non-dueling coaster. I feel like manufacturers in general tend to severely underestimate the amount of time it takes to unload, load, check, and dispatch a train.

Edited by CedarFlags
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While waiting on the brake run, it was explained to us that the trains are much easier to sync when all 3 are going as opposed to 2 as the computer is set for 3 train syncing, however their main concern during normal operation is throughput, not dueling. They want as many people to experience the ride as opposed to getting it to duel, so if they miss the mark, that train on the green lift won't be waiting around. That dueling mark was hard enough to achieve with, at one point, 8 attendants, people boarding with no loose articles and the occasional one person getting swapped out. So, you MAY get to see/experience the ride duel, just don't go in expecting it during normal daily operation.

 

^Only 2 trains running, orange and purple. It appeared the blue train was getting the camera mount set up for media day.

 

On Monday, I over heard management and lead operators talking, they said that once open to the public, each train will get at least one racing lap (out of the two laps). I wouldn't worry.

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i jokingly yelled at one of the RMC guys today telling him to tell Alan i'll give him a hand job and he replied back, tell him yourself, he'll be here tomorrow. so, i'm guessing he's coming to TC.

 

Haha i kept messing with them telling them how much i wanted their job. Seems like a really good company to be apart of especially with what they are doing

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With my two favorite coasters being RMC's and from the reviews this thing has received, this will surely make my Count. But... Since my family will be gone the whole month of June, I won't be riding until probably mid-late summer. I'll be riding both Wicked Colossus and TC, so I'll be able to compare the four that I would have ridden.

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Some interesting tidbits I randomly heard from management today:

 

(1) there will eventually be a real ride seat in front of the station for riders to check if they can fit on the ride

 

(2) apparently, on NTAG, despite warnings about loose articles, they keep a tally of how many phones are dropped out of that ride, and they counted over 11,000 phones in one year, and regularly swoop up 200-300 phones in a single day

 

(3) they wanted to market/announce the last time they were running Colossus backwards (Fright Fest exclusive), but couldn't because of TC (so obviously plans were already in motion all the way back in 2013)

 

(4) the guy who designed the artwork on the trains and the Screampunk district was there today and rode TC (forget his name, starts with a D if I remember right?), Bonnie rode yesterday (I was on the train that dueled with her, that was fun )

 

(5) apparently some of the management will be arriving to start setup at 4am for media day, ouch!

 

(6) there were at least two people who lost their phones on TC today

Edited by ioio
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While waiting on the brake run, it was explained to us that the trains are much easier to sync when all 3 are going as opposed to 2 as the computer is set for 3 train syncing, however their main concern during normal operation is throughput, not dueling. They want as many people to experience the ride as opposed to getting it to duel, so if they miss the mark, that train on the green lift won't be waiting around. That dueling mark was hard enough to achieve with, at one point, 8 attendants, people boarding with no loose articles and the occasional one person getting swapped out. So, you MAY get to see/experience the ride duel, just don't go in expecting it during normal daily operation.

 

^Only 2 trains running, orange and purple. It appeared the blue train was getting the camera mount set up for media day.

 

Interesting that u overheard that. Thinking back at the day now I think that might partially explain why sometimes they were having a hard time dispatching the second train while the first was running. The operator kept saying he was getting an error. System might have been running into issues timing the 2 trains rather than the 3 it is designed to run optimially at. Honestly I can see the dueling getting FAR better and more likely to occur if they iron out ride program and maybe varry the lift speeds a little more to even it out. Hopefully with Alan there tommorow maybe he can help them even out the ride program

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Jeez, Six Flags couldn't even wait a week to start running the ride below maximum capacity?

 

The ride is open to the public for a week? That's news to me. It is clear SFMM is using this week to see how it is best to operate and adjust operations. Smart move actually. I am with you critisising the park on poor operations, but doing so BEFORE the ride even opens to the public is a little much.

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While waiting on the brake run, it was explained to us that the trains are much easier to sync when all 3 are going as opposed to 2 as the computer is set for 3 train syncing, however their main concern during normal operation is throughput, not dueling. They want as many people to experience the ride as opposed to getting it to duel, so if they miss the mark, that train on the green lift won't be waiting around. That dueling mark was hard enough to achieve with, at one point, 8 attendants, people boarding with no loose articles and the occasional one person getting swapped out. So, you MAY get to see/experience the ride duel, just don't go in expecting it during normal daily operation.

 

^Only 2 trains running, orange and purple. It appeared the blue train was getting the camera mount set up for media day.

 

I don't see how, with 3 trains running, throughput would be diminished if the "green" train waits to duel with the blue side. If there are 3 trains, the "green" train is either going to have to wait before/on the lift or on the break run. Therefore, with 3 trains, I don't see why they wouldn't make the "green" train wait until the "blue" train is ready.

 

^So far, yes. It's impossible to check seatbelts otherwise so I see why they do it.
Do they enforce the whole "wait to lower your lap bar because seat belts" policy like they do on YOLOcoaster?

 

These RMC trains, to my knowledge, were not designed to have seat belts with them, but after the NTAG accident, RMC retrofitted Outlaw Run (the only RMC train at the time) with seat belts. Because of the way RMC had originally designed the seats, the seat belts are inaccessible when the lap bars are down, so the ride ops have to check seat belts first then check lap bars. On Outlaw Run and Goliath at SFGAm they will typically have two ride ops per side, one to check seat belts then one following right behind checking and assisting with the lap bars. One of the biggest problems with the loading procedure is the public not listening to instructions and lowering the lap bar too early and then they have to re-check the whole car. It can take a long time.

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(3) they wanted to market/announce the last time they were running Colossus backwards (Fright Fest exclusive), but couldn't because of TC (so obviously plans were already in motion all the way back in 2013)

I don't follow. Why did TC prevent them from announcing backwards Colossus for FF2013? Why were they able to announce it backwards for last spring?
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(3) they wanted to market/announce the last time they were running Colossus backwards (Fright Fest exclusive), but couldn't because of TC (so obviously plans were already in motion all the way back in 2013)

I don't follow. Why did TC prevent them from announcing backwards Colossus for FF2013? Why were they able to announce it backwards for last spring?

 

It prevented them from telling guests it would be the last time Colossus would run backwards.

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This is the first RMC Coaster on the West Coast, but here in Texas we have two. When I enter the train I buckle my seat belt and by that time the lap bars should be able to be brought down. I take the seat belt tail and lay it over the lap bar. This way the ride operator can push down on my lap bar with one hand and grab the tail of my seat belt with the other and make sure each is secure. It should only take 2 seconds to do that.

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(2) apparently, on NTAG, despite warnings about loose articles, they keep a tally of how many phones are dropped out of that ride, and they counted over 11,000 phones in one year, and regularly swoop up 200-300 phones in a single day

(4) the guy who designed the artwork on the trains and the Screampunk district was there today and rode TC (forget his name, starts with a D if I remember right?), Bonnie rode yesterday (I was on the train that dueled with her, that was fun )

 

some of us really didn't believe the 200 or whatever number he said and laughed about it. but i guess it could be true. seemed more like he was exaggerating the way he was telling the story.

 

guy from corporate is named Guillermo. he rode in front of me that last batch.

 

with the stern enough instructions both days on not bringing anything with you, too bad for whoever lost phones. if you lost a wallet, should have been more prepared.

 

i want to see the POV iphone video from the "actor" guy. good thing SFMM paid him $400 to not follow directions.

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This is the first RMC Coaster on the West Coast, but here in Texas we have two. When I enter the train I buckle my seat belt and by that time the lap bars should be able to be brought down. I take the seat belt tail and lay it over the lap bar. This way the ride operator can push down on my lap bar with one hand and grab the tail of my seat belt with the other and make sure each is secure. It should only take 2 seconds to do that.

 

The Texas RMC's both have the Gerstalauer trains, which are different from the ones used on Twisted Colossus and the rest of the RMC coasters. It's probably more difficult to check the seatbelt on these trains.

 

Plus, none of the GP are going to consider that the attendant needs to check the belt and make it convenient

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