The Six Flags Magic Mountain (SFMM) Discussion Thread

[ryder]

I've never had a problem before.

[Jew]

Glad everyone is ok, but that sounds like a literal disaster in the making.

 

You can’t cut off the only egress from a place. If there is that much of a threat of similar incidents, then it sounds like a secondary egress route needs to be paved in.

 

It also sounds like better coordination of emergency planning and management needs to exist between the park and the Fire Department.

 

The fire burned along the path of both the main entrance and what would be the alternate route (out the back where employees usually enter).

[fyrfyter33]

Glad everyone is ok, but that sounds like a literal disaster in the making.

 

You can’t cut off the only egress from a place. If there is that much of a threat of similar incidents, then it sounds like a secondary egress route needs to be paved in.

 

It also sounds like better coordination of emergency planning and management needs to exist between the park and the Fire Department.

 

The fire burned along the path of both the main entrance and what would be the alternate route (out the back where employees usually enter).

 

Bad and worse.

 

This is truly where jumping fences becomes an emergency exit.

[PeoplemoverMatt]

Glad everyone is ok, but that sounds like a literal disaster in the making.

 

You can’t cut off the only egress from a place. If there is that much of a threat of similar incidents, then it sounds like a secondary egress route needs to be paved in.

 

It also sounds like better coordination of emergency planning and management needs to exist between the park and the Fire Department.

 

The fire burned along the path of both the main entrance and what would be the alternate route (out the back where employees usually enter).

 

Yep, and they certainly couldn't block the backstage roads with exiting cars in case emergency medical personnel needed to get through.

 

Keep in mind it was only a year or two ago where a fire broke out on I-15 in the Cajon Pass and people were ordered to abandon their cars that later burned on the freeway as the fire came through. The Fire Dept has every right to block vehicle access whereever they need to as long as people have a safe evacuation route. That was provided in a couple of different places. Jumping fences was never necessary.

[Twistedtatsu805]

The bad part is, the fire department was saying to shelter in place inside the park, and employees were telling everyone to leave. I was stuck in my car for an hour in the parking lot with no water, no bathroom, and a palm tree burning 50 feet away from me.

[MagicMountainMan]

Thankfully the fire didn't turn into anything major so hopefully this acts as a rude awakening for Magic Mountain management as there was a serious lack of emergency preparedness. I have worked at Disneyland, Universal, Knott's, and Magic Mountain, and the amount of emergency training and awareness that employees receive follows that same order.

 

I genuinely hope that Six Flags takes this close call and learns from it, but the park and company never fail to disappoint so my expectations are low.

[fyrfyter33]

The bad part is, the fire department was saying to shelter in place inside the park, and employees were telling everyone to leave. I was stuck in my car for an hour in the parking lot with no water, no bathroom, and a palm tree burning 50 feet away from me.

 

That’s a huge problem. A major disconnect between the park and FD. I’m guessing the park doesn’t know what shelter in place means.

[Jew]

The bad part is, the fire department was saying to shelter in place inside the park, and employees were telling everyone to leave. I was stuck in my car for an hour in the parking lot with no water, no bathroom, and a palm tree burning 50 feet away from me.

 

That’s a huge problem. A major disconnect between the park and FD. I’m guessing the park doesn’t know what shelter in place means.

 

It's easy to play armchair QB at this point, but unfortunately we don't know the exact timeline. Perhaps the situation changed from the time they initially called the park. The fire appears to have started north of the park and burned its way towards Magic Mountain parkway, so it's reasonable to assume the initial plan was to close the park for smoke and traffic issues BEFORE it burned towards the entrance road.

 

My outside observation is the one thing SFMM should have done better is they should have had more team members in the parking lot providing the most up to date information.

Edited June 12, 2019 by Jew

[daveydo5172]

From my visit to the park yesterday.

 

It was brutally hot, btw.

[thrillseeker4552]

I really like the color scheme they chose for West Coast Racers. It contrasts with Ninja but also blends in perfectly with the area.

 

I'll be here on Saturday (mostly just to get my sister her membership activated), so despite the crazy crowds I'm expecting, I will try to grab some photos of WCR if any new progress is made by then.

[Twistedtatsu805]

Just got into the park. So far I've tried X2, Viper, Tatsu, Ninja. All freaking. Closed! This is ridiculous!

[coasterbill]

Just got into the park. So far I've tried X2, Viper, Tatsu, Ninja. All freaking. Closed! This is ridiculous!

 

... f*cking really?

 

[RaceBoarder]

But he can't claim the "1st train of the day on _______" credit that he needs to climb to the next level of the Enthusiast bragging chain!

[robbalvey]

Just got into the park. So far I've tried X2, Viper, Tatsu, Ninja. All freaking. Closed! This is ridiculous!

Go take your complaints to guest services. We are sick of hearing them.

[Twistedtatsu805]

Just got into the park. So far I've tried X2, Viper, Tatsu, Ninja. All freaking. Closed! This is ridiculous!

 

... f*cking really?

 

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Yes fucking really. Season passholders and members are let in at 10:20

[robbalvey]

Just got into the park. So far I've tried X2, Viper, Tatsu, Ninja. All freaking. Closed! This is ridiculous!

 

... f*cking really?

 

[attachment=0]Untitled.jpg[/attachment]

[attachment=1]2.jpg[/attachment]

 

Yes fucking really. Season passholders and members are let in at 10:20

Man, you must have a REALLY SMALL penis...

[mikeykaise]

^^

[Superbatboy]

Oh myyy lolol

[SixFlagsAstroworld]

Wait... someone actually expects a Six Flags park to have their rides open on time?

[bluestreak]

[Garet]

Just got into the park. So far I've tried X2, Viper, Tatsu, Ninja. All freaking. Closed! This is ridiculous!

 

... f*cking really?

 

[attachment=0]Untitled.jpg[/attachment]

[attachment=1]2.jpg[/attachment]

 

Yes fucking really. Season passholders and members are let in at 10:20

 

Granted most of my experience is Asian parks, but I thought most parks that let people in early normally the idea is just that it gives you the chance to be front of a line before the crowds get there in that time for when the ride does actually open?

 

My last two park trips were Gyeongju World and Everland. I always head back to Phatheon since Gyeongju World always has a sign apologizing for block testing to finish for the first 10-15 minutes before Draken opens (and Phantheon has one train so it'll end up being the biggest line later) and Everland lets crowds in early because it's so busy that crowds block off the ticket booths and every morning I avoid T Express because even if it does open exactly with the park it can be one train ready and one being prepped and tested so I just wait until it's 2-3 train operation since a transfer really can slow down the wait.

 

My point being the staff already have a long shift and I don't think people realize how much checks and tests have to go into getting it completely up and running.

[coasterbill]

I thought most parks that let people in early normally the idea is just that it gives you the chance to be front of a line before the crowds get there in that time for when the ride does actually open

 

At most Six Flags parks that’s exactly what it means. It’s not Cedar Fair where they actually open rides early (shut up in advance people from Georgia who want to gloat). Sometimes rides will finish testing and open early at Six Flags but that should be looked at as a bonus.

[WolfBobs]

When I was an op at SFWoA we were instructed to open our lines when our ride was ready to open. However, that typically only meant 5-10 minutes before rope drop.

 

People need to realize that every ride goes through required maintenance over night and early morning and needs to be inspected and signed off that they're okay to operate before ride ops can even begin their morning opening procedures and testing. It's not as simple as turning the ride off at close and turning it back on in the morning.

 

This can take awhile as most parks probably only have between 5-10 overnight mechanics and maybe double that for morning/day shift mechanics. Some mechanics are dedicated to only 1-2 rides when it comes to coasters. Other mechanics could have between 5-10 rides they're responsible for. Sadly it's not a 1:1 ratio. As good as parks like Point are even they don't have 1 mechanic per ride.

[Jew]

The whole point of the early entry for passholders is to get away from the initial gate rush. Not "we are giving you 10 minutes of ERT."

[southpuddle]

But he’s a MEMBER! Part of an exclusive club of Six Flaggers who are willing and able to pay $8 per month!