The Six Flags Magic Mountain (SFMM) Discussion Thread

[Superbatboy]

I was hoping more for one of those Intamin stand-ups

[jamesinclair]

I think he means something more old school. A free fall ride that rattles and shakes and ends with you flying into the brakes on your back. I'd paint it red and white to look like a satellite tower. That would look sweet.

 

Yes, I put a mockup together based on the description.

 

Sorry for the rushed photoshop.

 

[MagicMountainMan]

^Very realistic.

 

In other news, the park again extended its operating schedule out to October 16th as the last day of daily park operation. I don't know if the park has ever gone this late into the season with daily ops. They even added October 30th and 31st to the schedule for Fright Fest (on a Monday and Tuesday) something that I can't ever remember the park doing. They're really dipping into the well this year.

 

Supposedly the park is really trying to make up lost revenue and attendance from all of the weather we had at the beginning of the year... They must still be making a profit those days because goodness knows there aren't going to be many people in the park on a weekday in September and October!

[Freestyle23]

I wish they added an updated Metro. Maybe one that is like a history tour, with facts as you reach each area of the park and coaster. Maybe a tv inside showing older footage and what used to be there. Maybe even drinks/candy being sold on it.

[Jew]

Six flags announced their fright fest offerings at midsummer scream today.

The returning mazes

The new maze for this year. No details provided, presumed to take over willoughbys garden

Metropolis will be a new scare zone that changes throughout the night. Costumes, lighting, etc.

Also new: a VIP tour that focuses on the haunted areas of sfmm

Revolution will have a gargoyle vr overlay. This one is supposed to be interactive and feature multiple endings

[Vonni]

If VR has to return next season I hope they move it to a different coaster.

[singemfrc]

The giant discovery was a huge hit at SFDK, one of those would be cool

The one at SFOT ALWAYS has a full queue. Its a great ride. Lots of speed, airtime, and height.

Yeah, I'd love to see a giant frisbee at the park too. I've ridden a couple (CP and KI), and they're fantastic rides overall. Much faster than they look with solid capacity. Two of my favorite rides at CP were MaxAir and Skyhawk; I liked them more than several of the coasters.

I was at the park on Friday and mentioned to one of the department directors that I enjoyed the Giant Frisbee at DK and would like to see one here, and he quickly said to keep an eye out, I'd likely see one here soon. He was asking lots of people in the gold pass line if they had also been to DK and what they liked more about one park than the other.

I always take stuff from any emps with a grain of salt, and "Director" is a little more reliable than "Dippin' Dots server", but even if true, you never know if it's ordered, planned, or just discovered. That said though I would like to see one at the mountain.

 

Anyhow, I was in town a day early for a concert on Saturday, so decided to hit the park for a quick trip on Friday. I had planned on trying out Justice League, but it proved to be more popular than I thought (at least on this day), and SFMM proved to be SFMM by having absolutely no shade over the outside queue, so I skipped it rather than stand in the 105 degree heat outside for 60+ minutes with the sun reflecting off of the white concrete building at me. It was HOT out there on Friday. (By the way, blowing hot air on Orient Express? Boo! Fix the A/C!)

 

I hit Revolution first because VR was running and I knew it would be my only chance to get on it quick. Still waited 30+ minutes for it to open, sure feels like they run a crazy amount of test cycles on it in the morning compared to other coasters. Good decision though, it was over an hour all day from the moment the park opened.

Did X2 next for basically the same reason, I wasnt going to be at the park late, so it was morning or nothing. Also a good decision because it was 1 train operation and dispatches were extraordinarily slow even by X2 standards. I waited about 60 for it, my longest wait of the day, but man its worth it I just can never get enough of that ride for one lifetime. I can only ride once or twice a day, but I could ride it every day for the rest of my life. As soon as I got off the ride, the line was spilling out the entrance with all the switchbacks being used. ~120 min wait most of the day as long as I was there.

I made a point of hitting Goliath since I didn't get to it during WCB last year. Never really thrilling, but always fun. I liked that they changed the advertising on it to Impractical Jokers.

 

Loved that they were running both sides of Superman, saw some lucky lucky folks on LL who got a Superman car when they were about 1/3 up and then another Superman car on the other side when they were 2/3 up. That must have been quite a ride. I got a vanilla ride on LL unfortunately, but I still love it.

I also got a vanilla ride on Green Lantern. I saw some people right before me get some crazy multi-flip rides, but my car was perfectly balanced and we didn't even come close to flipping, and it was a pain free but also thrill free ride.

Did the single rider for Riddlers. Still my favorite SRL, I love that no matter what day, what time, or how busy the park, you can virtually always just walk right onto whatever train is in the station without waiting.

 

Big surprise of the day was Apocalypse. I made a point to get to it too since I hadnt ridden in a while and I wanted to see if the rumors were true that the latest rehab made a difference. I was skeptical, but they are true! No one would call it a "smooth" coaster, but by god it's actually enjoyable now. Not as drastic an improvement as Ghost Rider, but they've improved it to the point where it's just a regular wooden coaster now. If you haven't ridden since the latest rehab, try it out.

[Airboss]

Hey! I have booked a trip to Magic Mountain and Knotts for the Tuesday-Thursday after Christmas this year. I've asked some locals about crowds, and some have told me that the parks are dead around that time, and some have told me that that's the worst time in terms of crowds. Can anyone here give me some advice? Would the flash pass/fast lane be necessary? Last time I went to SFMM, it was very crowded. Twisted was only running two trains, so I could only get one ride on that, and I did not duel on either sides. If anything, I just want to go on Twisted again and again. How long, on average, has that line been? Thank you to anyone who can offer advice.

[anonymouscactus]

The best way to judge crowds in the future is by looking at the flash pass pricing, IMO. They have 4 tiers, A being the most expensive/ most crowded projection and D being the least expensive / least crowded projection). Interestingly they put Magic Mountain on a tier C flash pass for those days. I would have thought it would be more crowded (we call it 'hell week' in Orlando and it's the busiest time of the year) but I guess the west coast may be different? *shrugs* -- so while it won't be completely empty it should be manageable. But I'm not a SFMM expert by any means. Also I'd imagine some rides and / or trains will be in rehab, but again, I'm no expert

[Airboss]

Yeah, I did check that and notice that it was $10 cheaper than when I went last year. However, isitpacked says "forget about it" so I'm getting mixed messages. I am definitely going on those days no matter what, but I'd just like to know whether a flash pass would be necessary. Also, on the knotts website, it says that Fast Lane isn't even available that day. What does that mean? Will they be available at the park?

[Arthur_Seaton]

Yeah, I did check that and notice that it was $10 cheaper than when I went last year. However, isitpacked says "forget about it" so I'm getting mixed messages. I am definitely going on those days no matter what, but I'd just like to know whether a flash pass would be necessary. Also, on the knotts website, it says that Fast Lane isn't even available that day. What does that mean? Will they be available at the park?

It's hard to say whether you'd need a FP or not until you get there, but, historically, that particular week is probably the busiest week to go to any SoCal park in the entire year. The week before xmas is a dead zone, but the week after is a disaster. I can think of several occasions in the last few years where the various parks have reached capacity early in the day and had to turn people away. If this is a rare trip and you won't be back anytime soon, I'd prepare to splurge on the most elaborate FP possible.

[Manic Monte]

So with 2018 announcements just around the corner, and parks doing teasers campaigns like crazy, SFMM has been dead silent. Most people would take this as 2018 being an off year for the park. But with everything coming to the other nearby parks, is that really possible?

 

So what does everyone think SFMM will do next year?

[susie zueck]

^ Two things:

 

First: Renovate Viper by adding new trains (possibly with onboard audio), new theming, new paint, and new landscape. They'll probably call it either "The New Viper" or "Viper 2".

 

Second: Install a Zamperla Giant Discovery with a sweet LED lighting package.

[JT325]

So with 2018 announcements just around the corner, and parks doing teasers campaigns like crazy, SFMM has been dead silent. Most people would take this as 2018 being an off year for the park. But with everything coming to the other nearby parks, is that really possible?

 

So what does everyone think SFMM will do next year?

 

Uhhh... fix what they have? Work on operations? Clean the garbage of the hill going up Samurai Summit/Ninja? Fix Sky Tower? Those would get my vote.

 

And a couple classic and fun flat rides, of course.

[Manic Monte]

So with 2018 announcements just around the corner, and parks doing teasers campaigns like crazy, SFMM has been dead silent. Most people would take this as 2018 being an off year for the park. But with everything coming to the other nearby parks, is that really possible?

 

So what does everyone think SFMM will do next year?

 

Uhhh... fix what they have? Work on operations? Clean the garbage of the hill going up Samurai Summit/Ninja? Fix Sky Tower? Those would get my vote.

 

And a couple classic and fun flat rides, of course.

 

Haha...Folks have been saying this since the 1998. It never happens.

[JT325]

^Well... they did finally remove the shoulder bars from Revolution, which is a dream to me.

 

But that operation and those stupid head sets. I was just there, rode about 15-20 times over 2 days... no headset, thank you. And thank you hot weather for shutting down that stupid headset operation. But those train shells and seats are awful. Lap bar and chassis are great though! I want to see Six Flags do something with class. I'd be happy to pay Cedar Fair prices. Ok, I'm done

Edited August 1, 2017 by JT325

[Superbatboy]

So with 2018 announcements just around the corner, and parks doing teasers campaigns like crazy, SFMM has been dead silent. Most people would take this as 2018 being an off year for the park. But with everything coming to the other nearby parks, is that really possible?

 

So what does everyone think SFMM will do next year?

SFMM never does teasers for some reason, I guess the PR dept is like "f* that, theyll get what we give em and thats it"

 

I can see the park adding a Giant Discovery, not sure where in the park though. Maybe in the back by Apocalypse, though I'd love to see it somewhere in DC so it can be themed to a superhero/villain.

[Manic Monte]

^Well... they did finally remove the shoulder bars from Revolution, which is a dream to me.

 

But that operation and those stupid head sets. I was just there, rode about 15-20 times over 2 days... no headset, thank you. And thank you hot weather for shutting down that stupid headset operation. But those train shells and seats are awful. Lap bar and chassis are great though! I want to see Six Flags do something with class. I'd be happy to pay Cedar Fair prices. Ok, I'm done

 

Yeah over the years they have surprised me with taking care of the some very much needed coaster TLC. But they are still inconsistent with the basics. SFMM can't be an easy park to run, but at least get the basics right.

Edited August 1, 2017 by Manic Monte

[JT325]

^Such a shame. This park, and many SF parks, have SO much potential. When I was there this time, I imagined what it would be like if Cedar Fair owned it. I mean, it's a standard fallback ideal for many in our hobby, but CF really keeps a park running well.

[Manic Monte]

So with 2018 announcements just around the corner, and parks doing teasers campaigns like crazy, SFMM has been dead silent. Most people would take this as 2018 being an off year for the park. But with everything coming to the other nearby parks, is that really possible?

 

So what does everyone think SFMM will do next year?

SFMM never does teasers for some reason, I guess the PR dept is like "f* that, theyll get what we give em and thats it"

 

I can see the park adding a Giant Discovery, not sure where in the park though. Maybe in the back by Apocalypse, though I'd love to see it somewhere in DC so it can be themed to a superhero/villain.

 

This would be my guess as well, along with maybe a Viper restraint retrofit like Thrillseeker said.

[JT325]

^Just a question for those wanting those newer "vest" restraints that have popped up on a few coasters - have you guys ridden them?

 

Carolina Cobra at Carowinds got them a few years ago, and now the Vekoma in Georgia has them. I find them to be MORE uncomfortable than the standard head-banging old hard shoulder bars.

 

The vests HOLD you DOWN and BACK in your seat, get tighter and lock tighter during the ride... this makes you feel that vibration even more. The head-banging is gone, but other unpleasantness is there to greet you. And remember, those vest trains are going to age too, so you have to factor that in. Just my own opinion. I prefer a little headbanging than not being able to move my torso and being shaken like that.

[Manic Monte]

^ Actually, I don't really want them...or I don't really care one way or another since I rarely ride Viper anymore. I just think it's a pretty good chance that if Viper stays, it's going to get them.

[JT325]

^I could understand that. Here at SF Great America, I sure hope Demon never gets them. It would ruin the air time on one of the last remaining *snapping* drops we have. Oh, that drop is so awesome.

[Manic Monte]

^ I miss that drop on CGA's Demon, but unfortunately ours got neutered, and to this day I'm still not sure why. lol

[JT325]

^I heard Paramount wanted it to be more "family friendly."

 

Heck, my family LOVED our Demon's drop when I first rode back in 1982. I was terrified by and loved that drop as a kid. And as a big kid! You are going to have to come to Illinois to ride it! That and the Eagle are still the best/most unique drops in the park. Plus... our Demon has fire down the side of the black train once again. The original logos are back on all 3 trains (not in 3D though, unfortunately); our disco tunnel is as good as ever, and they play the Demon "theme" after a long absence. I never thought I would love an Arrow looper so much, after staying away from it for years. When Shockwave opened in 1988, riding Demon was like "what's the point." I'm not a teenager anymore and Demon has once again been possessed!