The Six Flags Magic Mountain (SFMM) Discussion Thread

[Mr.Six]

Doesn't sound like too horrible of a day. Especially if the worst thing was a slow Tatsu crew - which is mandatory it seems upon visit. Although the park opens late ( 10-:30 ) which I do agree is a bit late.. I'm going to have to disagree that there's no excuse for having a ride down upon park opening. Every park has it occur every once in a while, and there's no way around it. Technical problems occur during early morning testing, and sometimes can't get worked out until after park opening. Sure you could argue that they should start earlier, but even if they do start earlier and finish earlier -- that still leaves you with a margin of time for the attraction to go down.

 

Now, if its down due to a late block check due to low staff then that's a bit inexcusable.

 

-Mike

[Jew]

Then I got a phone call friend rode Batman while I was on phone.

 

 

15. Obey Park Rules - If you're going to make a post bragging about breaking park rules, which includes but it not limited to: sneaking cameras on rides, line jumping, standing up on coasters, or any other park rule, you're account will be deleted and your IP address banned.

[haiderodes]

^Perhaps it was the fact it was a poorly written sentence, but I thought he meant that he got a phone call so his friend rode Batman while he was on the phone. As in he didn't ride, but his friend did.

[Bolliger&Mabillard]

The whole post is grammatically irratating.

[snoflake15]

Just got back from the Mountain, such a long day, good things and bad things, but the bad DEFINITELY outweighs the good. It was hot, almost 100 and humid for Cali, like I don't think it has ever been that humid.

 

We got to the park at 9:50 no realizing it opened at 10:30, worked out perfectly, but I was still a little upset the park opens so late. So we go straight to X2, they let us in line, but 15 minutes pass and no one is entering station yet. HAVE THE RIDES OPEN WHEN THE PARK OPENS! There is NO excuse why ANY ride can't be open when the park does especially when the park opens at 10:30! That is just a piss poor job in my books. X2 last row, I love this ride so much. The crew was a bit slow, the girl doing the rows was bad, but she looked new.

 

!

 

When did you get off X2? The reason I ask is that I plan to make a dash for it when I go in then go and get my flashpass which i need to collect by 12. If that is a problem then I may have to do it differently.

[cooksta77]

We got to the park at 9:50 no realizing it opened at 10:30, worked out perfectly, but I was still a little upset the park opens so late. So we go straight to X2, they let us in line, but 15 minutes pass and no one is entering station yet. HAVE THE RIDES OPEN WHEN THE PARK OPENS! There is NO excuse why ANY ride can't be open when the park does especially when the park opens at 10:30! That is just a piss poor job in my books. X2 last row, I love this ride so much. The crew was a bit slow, the girl doing the rows was bad, but she looked new.

 

Next we went to Tatsu. Line was not very long, but of course the "excellent" Tatsu crew made the line fly. 2 switchbacks, 45 mins. There were 2 trains, but they were running them as slow as one train. I was pretty upset by this point. It was my first Tatsu ride in about 8 months and I forgot how much I enjoyed it. Still another strike.

 

 

Finally we went to X2, last ride of night, they had a few problems, it took us an hour 50 mins, but I don't ever mind waiting. We got off at 10:15 and left immediately. The effects were in full swing both times, at night its so much better, with the flames.

 

Overall I was disappointed with Tatsu crew and X2 opening late, both HUGE problems in my book. They need to get Tatsu 3 train up again, or not stack, its bad.

 

Well it sounds like a bad day but look at it....... Tatsu every time you go there they lag and it is very slow! As far as Tatsu running 3 trains well it would be great but if you look closely the 3rd Tatsu train is always in peices in the train storage! :l

 

X2 well I think you got some new people working because that is usaully an amazing crew! I mean usaully they dispatch every 2-3 minutes! And what would be great to see is 3 train operation on X2 that would be great and cut down lines!

 

Another thing if Six Flags is gonna put new people on a new ride with long lines (Such as X2 now) they should make sure they are trained well enough that they can keep up and consistantly get those 2-3 minute dispatches!

[Manic Monte]

I'm really happy about some of the positive changes the park has made. Here it is the middle of August and the worst thing we're hearing about are slow operations.

 

However I must hope that Jay is reading this. The Tatsu situation needs serious attention. The slow loading on this ride is becoming legendary and it's inexcusible. The last two times I have visited the park it has been the slowest moving line in the park. Slower than X2 and Deja Vu combined!

 

This makes no sense for a new B&M. Running 2 trains (1 on each side) on a popular coaster is the equivalent of running 1 train, especially if you designate one side to flashpass. This really has become one of the worst loading rides I have ever seen. And at SFMM that is quite an accomplishment. End rant.

[sixflagsjunkie88]

Sorry about some of the bad grammer, I passed out seconds after I posted it and didn't bother to proof read my mistake. To clear up a few things.

 

I didn't ride Batman, I got a phone call and my friend decided to ride while I was on the phone. I just sat on a bench and talked.

 

We walked straight to X2 and while there were a lot of people in front of us, by the time the ride actually opened we were probably about the 10th train of the day. Every single time I go to SFMM X never opens on time. I think it has 2 times in the 60 times I have gone in the past few years. That is just bad in my books and irritating. I can see some of the coasters in the back of the park that don't have the immediate rush to get there, but not one of the main 3 that everyone runs too (X2, Goliath, Tatsu.) It was sitting on the top of the lift hill at 10:35 when we got into line so I believe it was a late block check, correct me if I am wrong though.

 

The X2 crew was amazing and they worked through break downs extremely well. After my night ride the train that was in the station had yet to load because one of the cars was having a problem. 2 minutes later it was fixed and they dispatched the train in 2 minutes flat. I was shocked.

 

As far as Tatsu goes, if it is not up to the same speed as the opening day crew was, it is not good enough in my eyes. Granted I know they had the best people operating it that day, but at least try to dispatch the trains quickly. By the time our train got back to the station, they hadn't even started checking the restraints.

 

Hope that clears up a bit. The day was not all that bad at all, it was just the first two things of the day that made it bad. The heat didn't help either though.

[Jew]

Let that serve as an example of why correct grammar and punctuation are so important on these boards. Apologies. But in the future, please proof read your posts before posting in order to avoid situations like this one.

 

I'm really happy about some of the positive changes the park has made. Here it is the middle of August and the worst thing we're hearing about are slow operations.

 

Slow operations in the middle of August are still a huge problem.

[dpxtreme]

I got kind of lazy about writing a TR, but here it goes. When it comes to talking about the ride experiences, I'm going to describe and rate how well the crews did, the wait times, and any other miscellaneous things. The order of the rides is the order we went on them.

 

I went to the park on 8/1/08 which was a Friday. I've never been to the park on a Friday, so I didn't know how busy it was going to be. It was actually more empty than when I had gone on Monday the previous week.

 

So I already knew that the park opened at 10:30, so we got to the gates around 10:15 and waited while they did that corny opening show. As soon as the gates opened, my cousin, brother, sister, and I hauled ass to X2.

 

X2: Since we got there at park opening, we only waited about 20 minutes for it. The crew was actually doing a great job. They dispatched a few trains before the other train even reached the brakes. Not much else to say considering this is the best ride ever.

Crew - 8/10

Ride - 10/10

 

Tatsu: Just like sixflagsjunkie88 mentioned, this is the absolute worst crew in the park. Not even one of the switchbacks entirely filled and the line was a good 30-40 minutes. What kind of had me baffled is how an operator was texting and a manager walked by and didn't say anything. Anyways, the ride is still awesome and that pretzel loop gets me every time. I honestly still prefer Vekoma flyers.

Crew - 3/10

Ride - 8/10

 

Ninja: For some reason, I just really like this ride. It's in my top 5 of the park. I just like the location, layout, just overall a good ride. The ride was a walk-on. The crew was average and didn't really stand out. Hiyah!

Crew - 7/10

Ride - 7/10

 

Superman: Great ride, but what is up with rehab and only running one side in the middle of the summer?! We only waited 4 cars so it wasn't bad at all. And can't complain about the AC. My only other complaint is when the crew would wait until people are going down the stairs to open the air gates.

Crew - 6/10

Ride - 8/10

 

Scream: Being built in a parking lot could matter any less to me. Great ride and I got some good hang time in that loop. Kind of rough for a B&M only built 5 years ago, but nothing bad. The line for this was also a walk-on. This is probably the second worst crew in the park. Granted this was a walk-on, the other train was just sitting in the brakes for a good 30 seconds before the train in the station was going to be dispatched.

Crew - 5/10

Ride - 9/10

 

Colossus: Great wooden coaster and the park definitely needs another one. Only running one side, but I'm not surprised. Solid the entire ride with a little bit of airtime. Only waited about 10 minutes.

Crew - 7/10

Ride - 8/10

 

Riddler's Revenge: Another one of the best coasters in the park. We waited about 45 minutes and it was worth the wait. Great variety of elements and not one rough spot the entire ride. My only complaint is the crew. Even though stand-up coasters have longer than normal load times, with a ride this long, they have plenty of time to dispatch the train before it gets to the brakes.

Crew - 6/10

Ride - 9/10

 

Goldrusher: I remember going on this last year and not being so rough. It was one of three coasters during this trip that were unbearable to ride, Viper and Revolution being the other two. I got shuffled around so much in my seats it was ridiculous. But they did have a great crew. The ride was a one train wait.

Crew - 9/10

Ride - 4/10

 

Deja Vu: The second best coaster at the park with the second best coaster crew. We waited 1 hour and it's worth the wait every time. Just like X2, not much else to say, solid ride. IMO, it wasn't even rough at all.

Crew - 9/10

Ride - 10/10

 

Revolution: This ride maybe a classic, but those OTSR killed it big time. It's not that the ride was rough, but every time the ride turns, my ears got a good smackin'. We only waited 2 trains.

Crew - 7/10

Ride - 4/10

 

Viper: This is by far the most painful ride in the park. I don't know what's up with those ridiculous OTSR, because the arrow coaster, Demon, at my home park of CGA, is comfortable. The worst part were those damn corkscrews. My shoulders got some painful burns after this ride. To kind of balance it out though, the crew was pretty fast. This was a walk on.

Crew - 8/10

Ride - 4/10 because of roughness.

 

Goliath: This is definitely the best crew in the park. They were dispatching trains really fast. I just wanted to see what they could do with 3 trains. One of the signs said the approximate wait time was 60 minutes, and we were on the ride in under 30 minutes, no joke! They really deserver some recognition. The ride itself is great, but not really my cup of tea.

Crew: 11/10

Ride: 8/10

 

The only coaster we didn't ride was Batman because it had a ridiculous wait time and I find Flight Deck at CGA a lot better than this.

 

Overall it was a great day at the park and the ride experiences that stood out the most to me was X2, Goliath, Deja Vu, and Ninja.

[n7]

Well I went to Six Flags this Monday and I had a really pleasant experience. And this is huge since my last day trip was a pretty dismal one. (I did get to go to the park at night for a special event one year...so that was cool)

 

First Thoughts - Six Flags has upped the overall quality of the park in the way it's kept and through a lot of the staff. I did see the security guard balloon shapes...haha, lots and lots of unraveled swords.

 

We first headed to the bathrooms...and this is one of the worst notes of the trip. 30 minute wait for my 'friend girls'...30 MINUTE WAIT! That's longer than most of the rides in the park. The facilities themselves are just outdated and disgusting. They might look pretty on the outside but they're at the point of "illegal" and "biohazard" on the inside. Six Flags could benefit in some new facilities. Maybe enough stalls to accommodate the population of the park in 2008 and not 1973.

 

So anyway, while they waited in the line for the bathrooms, I stayed outside and watched Revolution and the mainstreet areas of the park. I couldn't help but notice how amazing Valencia falls looked with water pouring over and just how much kinetic energy that created. Big props to fixing them. And I also noticed how amazing the Revolution looked all around the area. So naturally we went on it first, kind of as a warmup coaster. It's painful and the trains are over-protective (I mean, ostrs AND a lapbar? come on) but it's a classic and it's historic. I shrugged the pain off and enjoyed as best as I could (although I do wish I could have ridden it when the trims weren't there) The poor thing is so overtrimmed too. C'est la vie...

 

Next we went to Viper to get our 7 inversion Arrow fix in. The line was fine and we were on the ride fairly quickly. Ah, I don't know how anyone couldn't love this coaster. It's intense and it's scary and it's unrelenting and did I mention it's intense? From the seemingly-endless lift hill to those powerful vertical loops...this Arrow can't be beat. It's rough, sure...but it's not a seriously uncomfortable rough... It's more of a "holy s*** that hurt" while laughing kind of rough.

 

Then we decided to tackle Tatsu and it was about a 90 minute wait. Sure the operations were slow, but they do have a machine that is so prone to breaking down, it's easy to see why it always moves so slow. The crew that I had were fine and I didn't notice anything seriously wrong. Anyway so we started back at where Jet Stream passes over the path and we got some DipNDots beforehand to pass the time. ($8.00 for a large DipNDots...ugh...) We finally made it to the mister tents and for some reason it was hotter inside than it was outside...how can that be? I'll tell you!

 

Sun + Sunshade + Mist + Wind Flow = Cooldown

Sun + Sunshade + Mist w/ NO WIND = FLORIDA

 

The misters were essentially creating a humidity percentage of probably 40% compared to the 0% outside. I don't know if park operations knows this...but you have to have windflow in order to allow the liquid to evaporate off of your skin to get some sort of cooldown. Letting it just sit there underneath that hot sunshade made it a complete waste. And pissed people off more than helped them. Just a few boxfans would have done the trick...something to get the flow going...

 

So anyway, 60 minutes in it breaks down. Ok, so we had the decision to wait or to leave and we decided to wait for it. I knew from past experience that a coaster will be down for about 10-20 minutes for small problems and only when they tell you to leave the line is when the problem is more serious. So we waited and got to talk to a cool Canadian father and son duo who seemed really excited about Californian culture. 15 minutes later, the ride starts a test train up the lift hill and about 5-10 minutes later, the ride was operational again. (Note that about 75% percent of the line had left) Eventually we made it and our ride began.

 

Tatsu..tatsu...It's one of the greatest coaster experiences ever. From that assaulting lift hill that seems to stretch like the elevator in the Haunted Mansion, to the series of incredible elements that all lead up to the grand daddy of inversions. Tatsu is always a coaster I'd gladly wait 2 hours for any given day. It's unlike anything else and it always delivers a smooth-as-silk ride. Best decision Six Flags ever made.

 

Throughout the rest of the day, we tackled Jet Stream, Ninja, Goldrusher, Riddler's, and Scream and then we decided to call it a day. I wanted to ride x2 but I wasn't in the mood to wait in another 2 hour line. Overall it was a pleasant day. I saw a few bad things in the park, but they're not things that are new...so management is still moving forward!

[cooksta77]

Honestly I still think that the Goliath and X2 crew are tied for the best crews in the park! And I think Goliath is a 10 ride not an 8!

[Bolliger&Mabillard]

Judging from everyon's positive reactions of X, it prompts me to ask if anyone has been on it with three train operation?

[Top Thrill Dragster]

^ I have.

 

With no unload, three train operation doesn't really help at all.

[SFMM162op]

Scream: Being built in a parking lot could matter any less to me. Great ride and I got some good hang time in that loop. Kind of rough for a B&M only built 5 years ago, but nothing bad. The line for this was also a walk-on. This is probably the second worst crew in the park. Granted this was a walk-on, the other train was just sitting in the brakes for a good 30 seconds before the train in the station was going to be dispatched.

Crew - 5/10

Ride - 9/10

 

My only question is what time of the day did you ride Scream?

Overall there is a massive difference between day and night crews.

Day crew is the really lazy crew who has operators who will not speil, check the restrains right, or just be in an overall bad mood.

I find it sorta funny being that Scream is considered as one of the fastest loading rides. (At least to the management and supervisors of the park.)

[cooksta77]

Yeah but i've never seen X2 (or X) with a three train operation! When was this???

[Bolliger&Mabillard]

^If I'm not mistaken it was the last Saturday of June. Each train spent about four minutes baking in the sun in Readies.

[cooksta77]

Ok so they spent 4 minutes in the sun before they even went into the station? If they used the old unload area mabey they could run 3 trains!

[Bolliger&Mabillard]

We spent four min. in Readies and two-three in the former unload.

[cherrydrink]

X2 tends to run thee train operation during the weekends / busy days.

 

In my opinion, this isn't a good strategy because three train operation tends to have no affect on the speed of train dispatch, and with three trains there is a greater chance that technical problems will occur. And if the ride did breakdown... that just more heads you need to take care of.

 

It's better to run two trains, and run them well.

[cooksta77]

Yeah thats a true statement! But I have a question whenever I go I always see the third train in the storage disassembled!

 

 

Plus off the record why does X2 still have one old X train? So you can see the changes I mean I just want to know!

[Top Thrill Dragster]

Plus off the record why does X2 still have one old X train? So you can see the changes I mean I just want to know! Taiko Rolls Eyes

 

To evaluate the new trains. Once that is done the old X trains will leave.

[cooksta77]

Thanks I just have seen them so many times since May 24 (Or Opening Day) I just wondered!

[Bolliger&Mabillard]

After the evaluations, X 2nd generation train will be moved to the Sky Tower museum in tact.

[ebl]

Diana's at SFMM today with her friend Matt. I'm looking forward to a trip report from her.

 

Eric