The Six Flags Magic Mountain (SFMM) Discussion Thread

[CreditCrazy]

Looks like Deja Vu will have a Flash Pass.

 

I am guessing that means no more single rider line.

 

That makes sense because Deja Vu's single rider actually hasn't been available lately (when I say lately I mean the last times it has been operating).

[winningfreak]

I was there yesterday and got really tired of walking! any news on the old Metro?!?! it seems like everytime I walked in the site of the tracks it was taunting me

 

fact (for now)

if you are at the park and want cold stone, go to the one in the back on Saturday they were moving much quicker ( yes I got 2 cold stones lol )

[YoshiFan]

Amazing how much lower prices are for flashpass than at Great Adventure. For 1 person $34 vs $90 is a huge difference, 6 people for $129 versus $360 is also a huge difference. Even regular is $13 more for 1 person at Great Adventure. I remember it was posted to expect pricing similar to Great Adventure a while ago, I guess that isn't the case.

[Manic Monte]

If those are indeed the final prices, I wouldn't expect them to remain that cheap for long. Opening year tops!

[haiderodes]

^I too was suprised to see the pricing. So much suprised that I stopped to take a picture of the board when I was walking by it last nite...the construction guys working on the signs looked at me a little wierd. Haha

 

I have a feeling they priced it there to first gauge how well this new version of the pass goes over with the public. From that, then they have positioned themselves better for price increases as times go on. Going from a current price of $25 for the paper FP to $90 for the bot would be a quite a shock for most people and would probably have a negative effect on sales. But if they raise it by say $5 a few times during the year, it doesnt seem so bad.

[ebl]

Today (March 1) was a nice day to be at SFMM. Weather was perfect, and the crowds were thin.

 

I got a solo ride on both Viper and Revolution.

Two-train wait for Tatsu.

Walked onto Riddler's Revenge.

Had back-to-back rides on Goliath.

Went to the job fair and had a nice chat with Jay Thomas.

 

Can't wait for the Bash!

 

Eric

[SharkTums]

Also, keep in mind, all the parts on that board are interchangeable, so those might not actually be the 'real' prices, they might have just thrown up some pieces.

[Goliath513]

Thanks for the update Robb. It's great to see how the park is improving.

 

Does anyone know what used to be here? The first 5 people to email the answer to Dan win a TPR Bag-of-Crap! The first person to send a PICTURE to Dan of what used to be here gets a HUGE box of crap! EMAIL DAN: mrt0ad13@aol.com

 

I sent in the answer, along with a picture!

[DCody]

I was at SFMM on Saturday. It was also a glorious day, and except for the "running of the bulls" for X2 in the morning, many of the coasters were practically walk-ons. And I got my first glimpse of Terminator in the flesh (or in the pine, as it were.)

 

In other news, a dude next to me on Riddler's puked. Can any ops enlighten me as to what the typical clean-up procedure entails? Because it looked like they just told no one to board the train, then sent it through a cycle empty. Do they just hope the puke flies off? EWWWWWW!

 

Can't wait for that gold Q-Bot! I used one for the first time at SFGadv a few months ago, and it was the perfect way to have a manageable day despite the insane crowds.

[winningfreak]

I was at SFMM on Saturday. It was also a glorious day, and except for the "running of the bulls" for X2 in the morning, many of the coasters were practically walk-ons. And I got my first glimpse of Terminator in the flesh (or in the pine, as it were.)

 

In other news, a dude next to me on Riddler's puked. Can any ops enlighten me as to what the typical clean-up procedure entails? Because it looked like they just told no one to board the train, then sent it through a cycle empty. Do they just hope the puke flies off? EWWWWWW!

 

Can't wait for that gold Q-Bot! I used one for the first time at SFGadv a few months ago, and it was the perfect way to have a manageable day despite the insane crowds.

 

I agree, I got to try one at SFFT last year it was great, but SFMM has so many rides it might be hard to pick :/

[Jew]

^^That sounds about right. When I worked RRv, we threw some water on it and then cycled the train empty a few times before loading it again.

[macca_boy69]

I hope those are the prices. SFMM seems so EXPENSIVE!!! but when i FINALLY get to go there. I will pay anything to be there. And to ride enough rides. I will pay 600 DOLLARS!

 

Robby

[PeoplemoverMatt]

Are they planning on making the Flash Pass Rental available as an upsell at the ticket booths? I'm assuming this idea has already been considered, but just wondering.

[ajinaz]

Also, keep in mind, all the parts on that board are interchangeable, so those might not actually be the 'real' prices, they might have just thrown up some pieces.

 

They also will probably be wanting to test the system out before going live. 3/22 would be a great day to do that. They could select a certain group of people to try it out and provide feedback

[Sean Menefee]

As some others have said, I will be surprised if those are SFMM's final prices for Qbot rental, when all additions are paid for. I was at SFDK on Saturday, and snapped a photo of their new 2009 Flash Pass rental prices. Check out the price comparison for the two California Six Flags parks below:

 

-Sean

Six Flags Discovery Kingdom

Six Flags Magic Mountain

[NYTrojan]

Took a spin around the loop at Magic Mountain this Sunday as well. Overall a really good experience, except for some issues with X2. While the line was open, they were testing the ride until around 11:00 or so. It finally opened and after 2 trains went through it broke down. Now, I know they can't do anything about the ride breaking down, but this is the first time that 1: The ride wasn't tested and ready to go by the time the gates open and 2: That they let people stand in line for a ride that was still going through block testing.

 

It reopened later in the day with single car operation, which I'm sure you can imagine resulted in a very very very slow line (Wouldn't have waited in it myself but had an out of state friend who had never been to SFMM)

 

Apart from that, real solid day at the park. The rest of the lines were VERY thin and, most surprising, the ride ops were engaging, friendly and fun. It was actually RARE that you got the traditional monotone "Hands and arms inside the vehicle" ride op. Their enthusiasm was genuine, not contrived. Singing into the mic, playing with the guests, etc. It makes a difference when the people you're interacting with seem like they're having fun too. Very Cedar Point-ish and it has me excited for the future of the park. This is one of the greatest improvements they could have made to the park and I can only hope it sticks. One ride op on Colossus (working it something between 1:00 and 1:30 ) was so good that I stood in line at guest relations for 20 minutes to make sure I got a compliment in for him.

 

Other positives: It seems like they've cleaned up (A little anyway, that cop car is still pretty sad) the batman theming and they have the old freeway soundtrack playing there again. Not only that but perhaps they've renovated the train or something but I swear it was running faster and smoother than the last dozen times I've been on it. I mean it was FLYING. Maybe just my and my guest's perception but I'd bet that they've done something recently. The grounds were clean, which we've now come to expect, but the park can't be thanked enough for finally making it happen.

 

Got a peek at the whole QBot setup. No word (nobody I spoke with knew) what the discount would be for Extreme play pass holders... My wallet hopes that it'll be at least the amount they used to charge for fast passes, but somehow I doubt it.

[SharkTums]

^Exactly, and do you see how both 'circles' between the number of people and price are blue? Whereas in the SFMM Picture one is blue and one is red. More likely, those prices are Weekday Regular, and then the prices under 'Gold' are actually Weekend/Holiday Regular...I would assume Gold to be MUCH MUCH more.

[Jhcbiinoc]

^^X2 was the only really long wait I had all day yesterday. They finally put on the second train about 7pm last night, although there was some issue with the second train that had to be fixed which resulted in my second ride of the day being even longer than the first wait of 1.5 hours with the one train operations. However, both rides on X2 were extremely worth it, especially the last night ride, where I was fortunate to have them send me to front row, inside, stairs side-a perfect end to the day.

 

The park was in great shape yesterday-ride ops were doing a great job and Tatsu operations were the best and fastest I have seen them in a while (was able to ride twice in about 20 minutes without using FlashPass.)

 

Tried the new Cold Stone on the way out, I think it's a great addition to the park and will end up doing well for them.

[ChrisZer0]

Call me Old Man Jeff Johnson , but ive never been a big fan of paying for a system that lets you essentaly "cut in line". The way I see it, if your going to offer the product, take a page from the "House Of Mouse" and offer it as a guest service, instead of carrying around an overglorfied pager.

[Sir Clinksalot]

^ I think this topic has been talked about both here and many other websites.

 

My concensus is, it's a free-market society. Those who can afford to pay the extra amount to "cut" in line should be able to do so. Not everybody can afford to go to the park in the first place.

 

It's not cheating, it's a benefit offered by the park. Easy as that.

 

If you don't want to use the system, go on a day where you won't have to. Unfortunately, many times you have no choice but to go on a day where you need it, and therefore, you need the system.

[OldJJman]

Call me Old Man Jeff Johnson , but ive never been a big fan of paying for a system that lets you essentaly "cut in line".

 

Nah. I doubt you could handle it!

 

Anywho, I'm actually kind of the opposite. While Disney does do the "fastpass" system for free, it actually works at the Disney parks, because they have tons of other things to offer to kill that time. It makes managing the parks very easy.

 

Six Flags, not so much. In the way of attractions, there is much fewer things to do, and, though their reputation is focusing on change, you'll NEVER get a "Disney-esque" experience at any SF park.

 

Unless it was a home park, where I can attend local events and such, I'd have no problem paying the extra $$ for the "flashpass", "Q-bot" or whatever they have, to ride the rides that I'm there for.

 

For example, when a group of 4 of us went to SFGAd on the Sunday of MEMORIAL Day weekend in 2005 (not the best choice, but's that's the way it worked out), it was a NO-BRAINER to get the "Gold Q-bot". IIRC, I think we paid about $55 each. BUT, we rode KK 3 times in the first 2 hours of operation, when it had a posted wait time of 5 hours!!

 

After that, with the "Gold Q-bot", everything else was a walk-on. They had sectioned off rows on almost every ride. With a 90 minute wait on Nitro, we got 6 consecutive rides.

 

So, basically, I have NO problem paying the extra $$ to enhance my own experience.

 

 

JJ

[ChrisZer0]

I agree its free market, but that doesnt mean I have to agree with it or use the product . I guess I come from the school of thought that if im going to spend the money to go to a park or pay for a season pass, I should have that included in the cost of purchase price, like w/ fastpass at the Disney Parks. I know "the Flags" been hard-up for cash, but bilking someone an additional fee to get "cut-sies" makes bad business sense, especially in this economic client.

 

BTW Peepaw Jeff, Ive been called worse LOL

[monkeyoverlord71]

I just realised i'm getting a bag of crap.

I forgot about the captions contest until now!

[NYTrojan]

I agree its free market, but that doesnt mean I have to agree with it or use the product . I guess I come from the school of thought that if im going to spend the money to go to a park or pay for a season pass, I should have that included in the cost of purchase price, like w/ fastpass at the Disney Parks. I know "the Flags" been hard-up for cash, but bilking someone an additional fee to get "cut-sies" makes bad business sense, especially in this economic client.

 

BTW Peepaw Jeff, Ive been called worse LOL

 

I both agree and disagree with you. Let me explain.

1. I don't like the practice of selling cuts in line

2. I do think it makes good business sense.

 

Let me elaborate:

The free market argument satisfies number 2... there ARE people willing to pay for it. You are seeing them line up here against you. As long as people are willing to shell out their money it makes good BUSINESS sense to take it.

 

That said, it doesn't always make good sense on the whole. The free market argument does not say that you have to like or even accept the fact that they make the product available. Let me use an over the top example: I'm sure there are people who would pay for products from the gift shop that had explicit language on it. You can't just say "It's a free market... if people are willing to pay for it, they should get it" because that sort of thing doesn't have a place in the park.

 

The question here is whether a park really should allow people to buy their way to the head of the line. I have been on both sides of this (having watched people jump in front of me and having jumped in front of people with something I purchased) and it definitely breeds contempt between guests in park. It creates bad feelings and sometimes out right anger... very rarely do people ever act on these things but they are remembered when folks go home for the day. I personally don't think it's a good idea for a park that is trying to ingratiate itself to families but it is what it is and it's obviously made six flags money at other parks.

[Sir Clinksalot]

I agree its free market, but that doesnt mean I have to agree with it or use the product . I guess I come from the school of thought that if im going to spend the money to go to a park or pay for a season pass, I should have that included in the cost of purchase price, like w/ fastpass at the Disney Parks. I know "the Flags" been hard-up for cash, but bilking someone an additional fee to get "cut-sies" makes bad business sense, especially in this economic client.

 

BTW Peepaw Jeff, Ive been called worse LOL

 

But you are getting it, you just have to wait longer. They aren't saying "you can't ride this without the Q-bot", they are saying "if you don't want to wait in a long line, you can pay more and get this. But if you don't mind waiting, go right ahead and don't spend the money".