The Six Flags Magic Mountain (SFMM) Discussion Thread

[MagicMountainMan]

For me, it's always been the bottom of the first drop on Scream that's been the killer. It gets some nice vibration down there which always gives me an instant headache. I don't mind rough rides at all, it's just those rides that have heavy vibration that you can't brace for that really kills the fun for me. The worst B&M in this respect that I've ridden was Silver Star in 2015; that was really jackhammer-y.

 

With that said, I too prefer Bizarro over Scream, and by a wide margin. Granted it's been a while since I've been on Bizarro but now I avoid Scream when I choose to actually ride some coasters at the park.

[Superbatboy]

With that said, I too prefer Bizarro over Scream, and by a wide margin. Granted it's been a while since I've been on Bizarro but now I avoid Scream when I choose to actually ride some coasters at the park.

It's almost uncanny how much better Bizarro is, it was my favorite floorless 'til I rode Superman Krypton.

[coasterbill]

^^^Full disclosure, it was 2-3 years ago, but back then everyone was talking about how rough it was ad nauseum just like they are now. Before riding it we were prepared for the worst but we honestly thought it rode exactly like Bizarro and the only difference was how incredibly ugly it was and how ridiculous it was that there were still visible parking spaces under the ride.

 

So I guess it's theoretically possible that the ride has become significantly rougher over the last few years but the complaints about roughness on Scream are in no way a new phenomenon. These complaints have existed since the day the ride opened so until I actually ride it again I'm kind of assuming those complaints belong in the same category as the complaints about B&M rattle and roughness on other B&M's like Kumba, Alpengeist, Rougarou, etc. Maybe it's actually gotten significantly rougher but that's pretty unprecedented for a B&M.

 

My guess is that either

 

1) It hasn't actually gotten rougher and people are bitches

 

2) It has some bad wheels and Six Flags sucks at switching out bad B&M wheels. There have been times where certain Nitro trains were running like a jackhammer with square wheels while the other ones felt like you were floating on a cloud and in plenty of cases it was months before they bothered to swap them out. Given the complaints about general shakiness instead of normal headbanging and the fact that it's worse at the bottom of the drop where the train would be at it's fastest speed I feel like this is absolutely the case and it'll be fixed eventually but for now I chalk it up to Six Flags being Six Flags.

[jonskinny12]

2) It has some bad wheels and Six Flags sucks at switching out bad B&M wheels. There have been times where certain Nitro trains were running like a jackhammer with square wheels while the other ones felt like you were floating on a cloud and in plenty of cases it was months before they bothered to swap them out. Given the complaints about general shakiness instead of normal headbanging and the fact that it's worse at the bottom of the drop where the train would be at it's fastest speed I feel like this is absolutely the case and it'll be fixed eventually but for now I chalk it up to Six Flags being Six Flags.

 

I'm guessing this was the case for me. My last two trips were in February and September of last year and I rode it once each time. Both times were pretty bad when in the past it was a smooth ride. So it's possible that I happened to be on a train with bad wheels or in a bad seat or something. Regardless, it's just not one of the better coasters in the park even on a good day so I don't have much interest to ride anymore, especially with TC next door.

[JGuy]

I still prefer Scream to Riddler's Revenge. And while I do notice that the ride has become significantly more uncomfortable recently, as long as it has a short line, I'll still ride it. Somehow, I actually experienced head banging on Riddler's Revenge when I rode it in January.

[SFMMGeek27]

I've always found Scream to be glass smooth for some reason. A little vibration, but that makes it more fun!!

 

Riddlers always gives me an earache and a headache.

[sxexaxn]

I feel like the jack hammer vibrations and headbanging are worse on Riddler's Revenge than Scream.

[Mater]

Poor Scream is somehow now the third best floorless coaster in the state.

[joelwee]

Unless you ride in the front or the back row, prepare to be jackhammered on Scream. The front row is amazing on that ride.

 

I still find it less painful than Riddler, in which case the jackhammering will give you both a headache and leg cramps.

 

Viper is an under-rated ride, IMO, and I find it to be much less painful than either of the aforementioned B&Ms.

[Arthur_Seaton]

I never understood the complaints about Scream being either rough or rattly and I'd ride it on almost every visit. Then, a couple of years ago, we rode it and something was very different — not just rattling or slightly bumpy, but seriously jackhammering like crazy. Since then, I've ridden it a bunch and it seems to go back and forth between expected B&M performance and pretty rough. My guess is that the problem train related. Still prefer it to the other B&Ms in the park though.

[Mater]

Even Tatsu..........?

[Sluggo77]

Not understanding the complaints at all. When I rode in January it was smooth and an awesome floorless like its sister.

[ytterbiumanalyst]

Yeah, I rode it during WCB and it was as smooth as a B&M floorless always is. I don't know where anyone is getting this idea that it's rough.

[Mater]

Yeah, I rode it during WCB and it was as smooth as a B&M floorless always is. I don't know where anyone is getting this idea that it's rough.

 

They probably got the idea from riding it and feeling sensations in their body.

[Arthur_Seaton]

Even Tatsu..........?

For me, yeah — not a big fan of Tatsu (or flyers in general).

Yeah, I rode it during WCB and it was as smooth as a B&M floorless always is. I don't know where anyone is getting this idea that it's rough.

 

They probably got the idea from riding it and feeling sensations in their body.

I think it's more that the ride's fairly unpredictable these days. I never understood the gripes about until the past couple of years, but riding it many times over an extended period reveals just how temperamental it can be. It goes from standard B&M (maybe a little shaky) to "WTF happened to this ride?" within the same month it seems.

[laqueefa]

Yeah, I rode it during WCB and it was as smooth as a B&M floorless always is. I don't know where anyone is getting this idea that it's rough.

 

They probably got the idea from riding it and feeling sensations in their body.

 

This. My group who rode Scream at WCB weren't the only ones who got off the ride complaining about the pain. Like I said, it was brutal.

[knaiwear]

My last ride on Scream was maybe a year ago and it was the smoothest, least shaky ride I've ever had on it. It was quite surprising. Previous rides have had pretty severe jolts especially in the first half of the ride. Nothing I'd consider painful but abnormal vibrations for a B&M (not the typical rattle by any means). Like others have said, I would bet that it comes down to train maintenance and rehab, which is why it makes sense that some have had smooth rides and some have complained of roughness. I've had both experiences.

[ZeroG001]

Unless you ride in the front or the back row, prepare to be jackhammered on Scream. The front row is amazing on that ride.

 

I still find it less painful than Riddler, in which case the jackhammering will give you both a headache and leg cramps.

 

Viper is an under-rated ride, IMO, and I find it to be much less painful than either of the aforementioned B&Ms.

 

I actually rode in the front on Thursday and the "newer" train, and that is where I experienced the insane rattle. I think I'm just going to skip it now whenever I'm at the park. It's not worth having my brain shaken up like a shake weight.

 

The last time I rode Riddler was back in August and I didn't have any issues with it. A little head banging but nothing that would ruin the ride for me.

[Manic Monte]

Personally I've never had an issue with Scream. It's just an average B&M that I'll ride if there's minimal wait. It does feature my personal favorite cobra roll element however, and it's still pretty fun in the very front.

[joelwee]

I actually rode in the front on Thursday and the "newer" train, and that is where I experienced the insane rattle. I think I'm just going to skip it now whenever I'm at the park. It's not worth having my brain shaken up like a shake weight.

Weird. A couple of months ago, I rode in the front and it was smooth as butter. I wanted to ride again, but there were people waiting for the front row, so I moved two rows back. The difference was night and day; I had a splitting headache after riding in the middle row.

[DILinator]

Personally I've never had an issue with Scream. It's just an average B&M that I'll ride if there's minimal wait.

 

This is pretty much how I feel about it...

[Garet]

Even the "roughest" B&M floorless / sit down is still a ridiculously smooth and enjoyable coaster.

 

I'm not 100% if I'd ride Hair Raiser again, I got front row due to assigned seating on my first ever trip and it was still fun but probably my roughest B&M, tried again for a different seat but got front row again, after that I wasn't going to try for a 3rd time for a different seat. Heard from friends who went recently who really didn't like it and it was a one and done for them.

[DoubleDown]

 

2) It has some bad wheels and Six Flags sucks at switching out bad B&M wheels. There have been times where certain Nitro trains were running like a jackhammer with square wheels while the other ones felt like you were floating on a cloud and in plenty of cases it was months before they bothered to swap them out. Given the complaints about general shakiness instead of normal headbanging and the fact that it's worse at the bottom of the drop where the train would be at it's fastest speed I feel like this is absolutely the case and it'll be fixed eventually but for now I chalk it up to Six Flags being Six Flags.

 

I will say ever since the ride opened, and I'm not sure how most other floorless coasters ride as I've only ever been on Scream and Dæmonen in Copenhagen (and Dæmonen was from what I remember, very smooth with a softer wheel compound), but the wheel compound while riding Scream always felt VERY hard, something in stark contrast to the wheel compound on Tatsu, which is quite soft. Tatsu IMO is one of the smoothest coasters I've ever been on. So I think this greatly contributes to Scream's roughness, and although it's not the roughest coaster I've ever been on, I do know the "shuffling" people are talking about. That's something that IMO has developed over time.

 

And this has been said before but apparently the piece of track at the bottom of the drop/before the first loop on Scream was damaged upon installation, something like it was dropped and damaged. The strangest thing to me is since Scream is literally installed on flat ground, on concrete/black top/ in probably the easiest place ever to install a ride, it should be the most consistent and undamaged coaster in B&M's entire portfolio. So to me this is on Magic Mountain and the Scream trains.

 

No reason for Scream to be rough AT ALL.

 

Also wasn't it supposed to be installed somewhere else and SFMM ended up with it at the last minute? Which contributes to it's terrible, budget friendly, "not well thought out" location.

[laqueefa]

 

2) It has some bad wheels and Six Flags sucks at switching out bad B&M wheels. There have been times where certain Nitro trains were running like a jackhammer with square wheels while the other ones felt like you were floating on a cloud and in plenty of cases it was months before they bothered to swap them out. Given the complaints about general shakiness instead of normal headbanging and the fact that it's worse at the bottom of the drop where the train would be at it's fastest speed I feel like this is absolutely the case and it'll be fixed eventually but for now I chalk it up to Six Flags being Six Flags.

 

I will say ever since the ride opened, and I'm not sure how most other floorless coasters ride as I've only ever been on Scream and Dæmonen in Copenhagen (and Dæmonen was from what I remember, very smooth with a softer wheel compound)

 

With SFDK's Medusa not far away from where I live, I can tell you the rides are like night and day. Medusa has always been smooth on my rides, while Scream beats me like a redheaded step child.

Edited April 6, 2017 by laqueefa

[Canobie Coaster]

^ Agreed I've never had a bad ride on Medusa. That has to be my favorite floorless.

 

And it also shares the great theming of a parking lot like Scream.