The Six Flags Magic Mountain (SFMM) Discussion Thread

[ericthewanderer]

I cant believe how much further behind this installation is compared to SFOG and SFGAd. Was there some kind of problem?

The Justice League were kidnapped, and the ride was delayed while the construction workers rescued them.

Maybe the Justice League put their equipment in a locker and they lost the key.

[DBJ]

Southern CA had a lot of rain this past spring. The rain also delayed our new football stadium as well.

[coasterlvr]

I cant believe how much further behind this installation is compared to SFOG and SFGAd. Was there some kind of problem?

 

pretty slow, even for SFMM standards.

[Manic Monte]

Not much being said about the progress of Justice League... anyone have any updates or possible opening day projections?

I know it's Six Flags and all, but it's really pathetic that this wasn't open by Memorial Day. They've had since the announcement in September to work on it and it's not like they have weather delays in LA. Plus it's not a prototype either, so it just baffles me that it's taken so long to build. Crazy to think that Twisted Colossus opened on time but a JL clone is so behind schedule.

I was thinking the same thing. When I went the whole area was discussing and looked like atleast July.

 

 

They were having issues with getting permits issued from the city. This delayed ground breaking and progress on the ride building and ride itself by several months. I know a few ride ops and leads in entertainment that have told me that it's looking like the ride won't be up and running with guests until August.

 

Posted several pages back...

[alexinla]

There were permit issues that I find odd for a big business that has been in operation for almost 50 years. It is what it is, you can not really blame the park for the delay, I am sure they want the ride to be open by now.

[MagicMountainMan]

June and July are the two highest attended months for the park. Naturally they would have loved to get the attraction open sooner but things happened. It was originally slated to be open Memorial Day weekend...

[bf9]

I cant believe how much further behind this installation is compared to SFOG and SFGAd. Was there some kind of problem?

 

I believe there was a rainfall issue many months back as well as a permit issue as stated above. As for it being a long standing business, without knowing any details I can't help but remember what state we're dealing with here- wouldn't exactly be out of the ordinary for a government body in California to take forever to issue a permit for something. lol

[joelwee]

Nice find, but when exactly is it from?

I didn't see a date on it, but the trolls were the park's mascots from 1972-1985. When I get a chance, I'll take a closer look to see when it was made.

 

I'm up in Santa Barbara getting jaw surgery this week. I visited a local thrift store yesterday and stumbled upon this gem. It makes up for not being able to ride coasters for at least the next 8 weeks.

 

[attachment=0]IMG_2534.JPG[/attachment]

 

WOW!I remember that character from Magic Mountain. Geeesh, I even have pictures with him from back in the early 80's. How did the Jaw surgery go?

Well, I've been pretty miserable the past few days, but I'm starting to feel better today. The surgery was a success, though, as my teeth now fit together. Thanks for asking!

[DoubleDown]

Southern CA had a lot of rain this past spring. The rain also delayed our new football stadium as well.

 

LOL one of the most bankrupt cities in the country with the most tax money available --Los Angeles-- has now adopted the exact same excuses Magic Mountain uses for the delays of its projects! Absolutely fantastic, and completely ludicrous.

 

Isn't it crazy that Disney continues to meet, exceed, and more often BEAT, projected opening dates in all sorts of conditions, ALL OVER THE WORLD, while these Six Flags and Los Angeles fools fall behind year after year on their projects, overspend budgets, and find bologna excuses for their delays?

 

There were permit issues that I find odd for a big business that has been in operation for almost 50 years. It is what it is, you can not really blame the park for the delay, I am sure they want the ride to be open by now.

 

I wouldn't blame the park for the delay if this is the first time in a decade that this has happened. However delays almost always happen when they open a new attraction, and the excuses they come up with are bologna. I'm SURE the park would LOVE to have the ride opened today, but their continuous poor planning, absurd management, and budget cutting approaches are what lead to these kinds of situations.

 

I fully blame the park, it's terrible budget management, and ride installation crew for the delay of the ride.

 

I apologize for my pessimism, but please understand, I have been following this park religiously for 2 Decades now, since the announcement, installation, and opening of Superman: The Escape, and none of it is new to this park. They should have permit expectations, weather inclinations, planning projections, and opening dates easily accurate by now. Freaking Cedar Point deals with SNOW and inclement weather every offseason. SFMM is my home park, and I love it and always want it to do good, but from my perspective, any of their excuses is pure incompetence.

[RAWKIN_coaster38]

I'm up in Santa Barbara getting jaw surgery this week. I visited a local thrift store yesterday and stumbled upon this gem. It makes up for not being able to ride coasters for at least the next 8 weeks.

This is really neat! Just another reinforcement to why I always keep an eye out for theme park memorabilia when I'm at thrift stores. I found a really cool Knott's mug with Corkscrew on it, old Great America, Marine World, and Sea World shot glasses, and my prize possession, an old Marine World (SFDK) plate with an orca and other animals on it. I also found a hardcover roller coaster book at one point, but that's not as rare as the glasses.

 

Also, sorry about the jaw, I wish you speedy recovery.

[Superbatboy]

 

LOL one of the most bankrupt cities in the country with the most tax money available --Los Angeles-- has now adopted the exact same excuses Magic Mountain uses for the delays of its projects! Absolutely fantastic, and completely ludicrous.

Not excusing Six Flags' tardiness, but you do realize neither MM or Disney are located LA City right?

[VCXfreak]

Nice find, but when exactly is it from?

I didn't see a date on it, but the trolls were the park's mascots from 1972-1985. When I get a chance, I'll take a closer look to see when it was made.

 

I'm up in Santa Barbara getting jaw surgery this week. I visited a local thrift store yesterday and stumbled upon this gem. It makes up for not being able to ride coasters for at least the next 8 weeks.

 

[attachment=0]IMG_2534.JPG[/attachment]

 

WOW!I remember that character from Magic Mountain. Geeesh, I even have pictures with him from back in the early 80's. How did the Jaw surgery go?

Well, I've been pretty miserable the past few days, but I'm starting to feel better today. The surgery was a success, though, as my teeth now fit together. Thanks for asking!

 

Nice! I am glad all went well and the teeth fit nicely. I need to have that surgery done too but I keep putting it off. Kind of scared.

[coasterbill]

Why do people on this forum still get all worked up when Six Flags (especially THIS Six Flags) has long construction delays and new rides take forever to open? Is that annoying? Sure. But it's also incredibly predictable and I feel like people who follow this forum should have come to expect this type of thing by now.

 

If a Six Flags park announces a new ride and I want to make sure I ride it, I don't bother planning a trip until it's already open. In many cases it opens so late that I almost forget the new ride even exists. I feel like that's the mindset people need to have with Six Flags. When Justice League opened at our home Six Flags last week, my reaction was literally "oh cool, I forgot that thing was even coming".

 

I'm not excusing their late openings, but at this point we should really come to expect them. If you have any expectations about when a new Six Flags ride is going to open you're just setting yourself up for disappointment.

[cejackson]

Why do people on this forum still get all worked up when Six Flags (especially THIS Six Flags) has long construction delays and new rides take forever to open? Is that annoying? Sure. But it's also incredibly predictable and I feel like people who follow this forum should have come to expect this type of thing by now.

 

If a Six Flags park announces a new ride and I want to make sure I ride it, I don't bother planning a trip until it's already open. In many cases it opens so late that I almost forget the new ride even exists. I feel like that's the mindset people need to have with Six Flags. When Justice League opened at our home Six Flags last week, my reaction was literally "oh cool, I forgot that thing was even coming".

 

I'm not excusing their late openings, but at this point we should really come to expect them. If you have any expectations about when a new Six Flags ride is going to open you're just setting yourself up for disappointment.

 

 

Six Flags usually isn't this late. They do tend to hold off opening new rides till Memorial Day for marketing reasons.

[jonskinny12]

 

LOL one of the most bankrupt cities in the country with the most tax money available --Los Angeles-- has now adopted the exact same excuses Magic Mountain uses for the delays of its projects! Absolutely fantastic, and completely ludicrous.

Not excusing Six Flags' tardiness, but you do realize neither MM or Disney are located LA City right?

 

I think the point he was making was about the new football stadium, and was comparing the city of Los Angeles to SFMM and Disneyland.

 

I'm not excusing their late openings, but at this point we should really come to expect them. If you have any expectations about when a new Six Flags ride is going to open you're just setting yourself up for disappointment.

 

I feel like this is the general approach best taken when visiting SFMM these days as well. I usually visit once or twice per year and I know exactly what to expect and what I'm getting when I go, and I'm never disappointed.

[Superbatboy]

 

LOL one of the most bankrupt cities in the country with the most tax money available --Los Angeles-- has now adopted the exact same excuses Magic Mountain uses for the delays of its projects! Absolutely fantastic, and completely ludicrous.

Not excusing Six Flags' tardiness, but you do realize neither MM or Disney are located LA City right?

 

I think the point he was making was about the new football stadium, and was comparing the city of Los Angeles to SFMM and Disneyland Flags ride is going to ope.

My bad, misinterpreted.

[Arthur_Seaton]

I haven’t visited the park much this year due to intense work projects, but I took a drive up today figuring it would be fairly quiet—and it certainly was. It was about a million degrees, so I assume that’s a big part of the reason why. I pulled in around 4:30pm and found most every ride to be a walk-on all evening. Revolution’s VR gimmick was broken when I got there, so the line was short and the ops were dispatching trains like crazy. It’s the first time since the coaster first re-opened that I’ve been able to ride without having to wait 60+ min for them to dispatch six trains or so (something I simply won’t do). Sadly, they fixed the VR soon after so the fun was over. Anyhow, I first rode the revamped ride back when they were still offering front-row opt-outs of VR and it’s certainly broken in a bit since then. I recall thinking it was running slowly when it first reopened, barely making over the hill before the final helix. That was not the case today, and it’s running just like it used to years ago.

 

Because the park was so dead and the stations were all empty, I was able to get multiple repeat rides on TC and Goliath. Goliath, I have to say, is still a big favorite of mine. Even though the drop is seriously meandering in the front, the sense of speed and the great floater hill make it a must-ride for me. TC is running as great as ever, although the ops weren’t as on their game as they usually are. The GP, however, were holding up dispatches as per usual. Out of the three rides, we got four duels although the syncing seemed a little off throughout the course.

 

I was looking forward to checking out the re-tracked Apocalypse, but the park was struggling to get it running in the time I was there. Drop of Doom was also down despite attempts to fix it, and Füll Throttle went down before I had a chance to ride. Riddler’s was also closed because someone dumped a bunch of dirt and garbage in front of the entrance Neither Viper nor X2’s magic seats spared me a beating on this trip, and X2 was especially aggressive today—full-on ragdoll mode. I also rode Batman in the front and the back and was surprised by just how different a ride these positions gave. The front was glass-smooth (although the negative g’s were a bit much), but the back was all head-banging from start to finish.

 

Speaking of negative g’s, I grey out fairly easily, and Goliath usually triggers it (Superman’s curve up onto the tower can do it too). On Goliath, I usually lean into the helix and it helps, but I rode four times on this trip and couldn’t stop it from happening. I never lose consciousness, but I am aware that my vision’s going wonky. I don’t think it was running any faster than normal as the mid-course brakes were as aggressive as ever, though. Having said that, I'm impressed by how smooth SFMM has managed to keep the ride given its age. The SFOT version isn't faring quite as well, with some serious rattle going on the last time I rode it. Anyhow, a few pics:

 

Viper's station. Even though I find Viper to be a little too rough to be enjoyable, I still ride it because there's rarely a wait—even on busy days.

Tatsu's swamp pen. I'm not the biggest fan of Tatsu and usually skip it unless there's no line—which was the case today. I still think the lift hill is the best part of the ride.

TC's Station. For as much as I do enjoy the RMCs I've ridden, I must be the only person on this site who really doesn't like the aggressive, bucking-bronco style bunny hops or the outward-banked hills. Meanstreak 2.0 looks great, but that massive outward bank turn is making me nervous.

Scream was running medium-rough today, even in the front-middle—which is usually one of the safer spots.

Revolution, after they reinstated VR and murdered the capacity. At least the guy in the 3rd row knows how it's supposed to be ridden.

Ninja's still a personal favorite at the park, although The Bat at KI puts it to shame in terms of intensity.

The new dark ride. There's a lot of work to be done still as the area's a mess.

I rode JL at SFOT as wasn't impressed in the slightest by it, but it's going to draw insane crowds here. It's just what the park needs, even though it's something I'm more than happy to skip.

This is about as high as Superman was getting—which is, I think, about average.

They were also running both sides, launching them within seconds of one another but never fully synced.

For all its ear-bashing and arrow coat hanger-style track design, it's a fairly iconic ride.

[Jew]

 

LOL one of the most bankrupt cities in the country with the most tax money available --Los Angeles-- has now adopted the exact same excuses Magic Mountain uses for the delays of its projects! Absolutely fantastic, and completely ludicrous.

Not excusing Six Flags' tardiness, but you do realize neither MM or Disney are located LA City right?

 

Neither is the football stadium. It's in Inglewood. And mud when digging a giant hole for a stadium isn't ideal.

 

I would say that anyone who has ever gone through the permitting process in LA county, LA city, or any of the smaller cities throughout the region can tell you that it is AWFUL. My guess is someone in the permitting office for LA County or Santa Clarita has a bone to pick with the park and makes them jump through extra hoops. And if you're the park, you can't really fight back since they control your fate.

[alexinla]

Where do you get the idea that L.A. is bankrupt? In any case, SFMM is located in Santa Clarita. I am sure there were permit issues and the rain did not help either. It will open when it opens. I would think another month in construction and we can enjoy the ride

[VTown661]

Where do you get the idea that L.A. is bankrupt? In any case, SFMM is located in Santa Clarita.

 

 

I'm not sure if SFMM has ever been annexed into SCV and might still be considered located in the unincorporated area of Los Angeles. I have known for years SCV wants SFMM within the city as its a cash cow for the city but far as I know LA has never let it go. If you have a site that says different please let us know.

[JT325]

My trip to the park is coming up next month, any change in Revo's operating/VR schedule? I have been hoping they would do VR only for a limited time each day as to enable regular wait times for those who want to ride classic Revolution (like CP with Iron Dragon and SFGAm did with Demon, which worked great!).

 

Revolution, Viper and Ninja are the 3 rides I want to hit the most when I'm there. Been a loooong time... and an even longer time I've waited to ride Revolution without shoulder bars.

[cejackson]

My trip to the park is coming up next month, any change in Revo's operating/VR schedule? I have been hoping they would do VR only for a limited time each day as to enable regular wait times for those who want to ride classic Revolution (like CP with Iron Dragon and SFGAm did with Demon, which worked great!).

 

Revolution, Viper and Ninja are the 3 rides I want to hit the most when I'm there. Been a loooong time... and an even longer time I've waited to ride Revolution without shoulder bars.

 

 

Wow, that's an interesting list of "most want to hit rides." Ninja and Viper will be probably walk ons or 5 minute waits. Revolution just go to it first when the park opens unless you want to wait hours later in the day.

[JT325]

Wow, that's an interesting list of "most want to hit rides."

I would like to ride most other coasters, but can skip out on a few (especially B&Ms) if need be... as I have a notion Viper and Ninja are on a short endangered list.

 

As for Revolution... HUGE Schwarzkopf fan here, and I have a personal history with Revolution. So, I'll take as many rides as I can.

 

Ninja and Viper will be probably walk ons or 5 minute waits.

Even in July?

 

Revolution just go to it first when the park opens unless you want to wait hours later in the day.

Does the VR open immediately with the park? Or does the ride open w/o VR? I just need to figure out my game plan to get as many rides (and hopefully re-rides, happy to jump in empty single seats) on Revo. I might take one VR ride if I have the time, but want most of my rides to be non-VR.

 

Also, is there a quick entry to the park? I have a Gold season pass. I saw some of the Six Flags have a "Goodwill" fast entry or similar in place of the former Discovery entrance.

[coasterbill]

Viper's line seems to top out around 15 minutes but Ninja's line posted at 55 minutes twice in the last week.

 

Click here if you want a general idea of ride queue times. When you click on a ride, go to the "Last Week" graph. The data is all populated by the Six Flags app.

[cejackson]

Does the VR open immediately with the park? I just need to figure out my game plan to get as many rides (and hopefully re-rides, I do look for empty single seats) on Revo.

 

Also, is there a quick entry to the park? I have a Gold season pass. I saw some of the Six Flags have a "Goodwill" fast entry or something similar in place of the former Discovery entrance.

 

VR opens with the park. I went to it 1st 1 visit and got on 2nd train of the day. The early entry for Gold Pass you will see on the far right after going thru security. They have a gut that scans your pass to make sure it's Gold. Then at 10am they let you thru the barred gate with the standard pass scanning to enter. Then, they hold you in an area just past the gate. Early entry for rides is suppose to be 1020am, it was not on time every day I went.