The Six Flags Magic Mountain (SFMM) Discussion Thread

[PortugePunk]

Although I'm not a fan of Disneyland, to me, Space Mountain kicks major coaster a.s.s. compared to some towering B&M snooze-fest.

 

I agree that Space Mountain is amazing, but would it do well at a Six Flags park? I doubt it. People go there for height and extreme stuff, not for something that's small but effective.

 

I really wish SFMM would get something like Maverick - low to the ground, but intense and using the terrain would kick a$$!!

[PortugePunk]

I agree that the restraints were a large part of the problem. They were very hard, like the ones currently on Revolution

 

Revolution would still be ace without those stupid harnesses, which serve no purpose but pain, BTW.

[Sir Clinksalot]

^ Revolution would probably be in my top-5 coasters at the park without the OTSR's. Honest. The ride was amazing before them. Now I avoid the ride at all costs.

 

As for Psyclone and Flashback:

 

Psyclone was without a doubt my favorite woodie when it opened. (Granted, the only other wooden coasters I had ridden at the time were the two Giant Dippers and Colossus) but still. The ride was REALLY good. Then the earthquake hit in 1994 and that was the end of that.

 

As far as Flashback is concerned, I actually enjoyed it. It would have been better without the OTSR's but for it's first few years it was a ride we would ride everytime to the park.

[austinlee]

I used to always wonder why Flashback was closed. I never got to ride it (or Psyclone), but I guess they weren't huge losses.

Lucky you. Psyclone was the only ride that made feel like throwing up all over the place.

 

Agreed. Psyclone was the only ride which has ever made me feel like my back was about to be broken. Flashback was the only ride which has ever made me feel like I was about to get a skull fracture.

[austinlee]

I agree that the restraints were a large part of the problem. They were very hard, like the ones currently on Revolution

 

Revolution would still be ace without those stupid harnesses, which serve no purpose but pain, BTW.

 

Agreed. Revolution was a favorite of mine for many years before it had OTSR's. With the OTSR's it is mediocre on its best day and a below average, painful ride at worst.

[CreditCrazy]

I've been wondering this for a long time; why didn't the earthquake e(a?)ffect Colossus?

[ebl]

^ It is "affect" with an "a."

 

One of the factors as to whether a wooden coaster survives an earthquake relatively unscathed is due to how well it's built, obviously. Wooden coasters tend to flex, being that they're made of a flexible material, but they too can buckle and break, depending on their design and how well they're built, and how the ground moves beneath them.

 

GhostRider at Knott's has almost as much wood in it as Colossus, despite being only a single track coaster vs. the dual tracks of Colossus. It was built that way because of California earthquake building codes. But that doesn't necessarily mean that should a large quake hit the area that GhostRider will emerge without major damage. Again, it depends on many different factors.

 

Eric

[coasterking2981]

I've been wondering this for a long time; why didn't the earthquake e(a?)ffect Colossus?

 

Because Colossus finally got those Lucky Charms? lol jk

 

As EBL said, it could be anything ranging from the luck of the Irish to being a well designed/built ride. But I think it really has to do with the soil both wooden coaster sat on. Colossus is probably sitting on well compacted dirt, whereas Psyclone wasnt, so they had to pour foundations for Terminator.

[ebl]

^ Colossus was built on a section of the original parking lot. Like with Scream!, you could see painted lines underneath it for years.

 

Eric

[coasterking2981]

^There ya go

[Sir Clinksalot]

My theory as to why Psyclone didn't fare so well in the Earthquake:

 

Because God was mad they got rid of Spillikin Corners.

[OldJJman]

Because God was mad they got rid of Spillikin Corners.

 

I concur!!

[MagicMountainMan]

^ Colossus was built on a section of the original parking lot. Like with Scream!, you could see painted lines underneath it for years.

 

Eric

 

You still can believe it or not!

[chickenbowl]

I have an idea. Magic Mountain should reprofile Collossus and have them race again. If the Texas Giant remodel is a success, it would be smart for SFMM to invest in a RMC remodel or something along those lines to have the trains race. Even just track re-profiling could do the coaster good. It could increase lost popularity for the ride and show that SFMM wants to mantain their classic coasters.

Is this idea even plausible?

If not, a maverick type ride could be sweet for SFMM in the future too.

[Mechanic]

Tim Burkhart has answered the question about Colossus ever being reprofiled to its former glory at past WCB events and has indicated that it wouldn't be changing back. That was before this current conversion of Texas Giant though. I wouldn't be surprised if the question comes up again, particularly since there's a new variable in the equation now.

[CreditCrazy]

I don't think there's much you can do with Colossus, other than having it race again. The ride has such a basic layout that smooth track, higher bangked turns, etc. wouldn't really work or change anything.

[austinlee]

I have thought that having Colossus run backwards all the time would be a good draw to get people to want to ride it again. It would give the ride a unique element, especially now that the park has another wooden coaster which is much better. When I rode it backwards it made the ride much more exciting.

[ebl]

Back in 1984 and 1985, Colossus did run one side forward and one side backward all year long. But at the time, they ran trains of four three-bench trains, and the ride was only about six or seven years old and not as rough. Also, running it backwards all year would take away one unique feature of Fright Fest.

 

The way it is now makes it sort of a training ground for newer riders for their first experience on a big wooden coaster.

 

Eric

[AWill961]

Anyone know when will be the best time to go to the park around the time frame of March 22 - April 9?

 

I was initially going to go sometime next week (March 26), which I think would be a good time, but some of the guys I'm going with can't make it then.

 

I'm definitely going to avoid March 29 - April 2 as that is spring break for LA Unified.

 

However, the week of April 5- April 9 sounds pretty good to me now. I'm not sure of all the colleges, school districts that have that as a spring break week aside from CSUN and Fresno (not worried about Fresno though).

[Dietcokevan]

^ My school has Spring Break during the 5th-9th. So that might not be a good thing, because its all of the High Schools and Jr. Highs in the SCV have it that week. (Unless there is some other school disctrict that I don't know about)

[PortugePunk]

I have an idea. Magic Mountain should reprofile Collossus and have them race again.

 

I'm guessing that the racing issue is just because it's not cost-effective. On most days the queue for the one track in operation isn't even half full, so you'd be causing unnecessary wear and tear on parts for the 2nd track that wouldn't really bring the crowds to justify the cost. There's also the labor to think about - that's now double the employees working one ride for a smallish queue.

[PeoplemoverMatt]

It has been previously mentioned by SFMM brass that Colossus won't be running both sides simultaneously mostly because the cost of staffing both sides is prohibitive, and that Colossus won't be running backwards year-round mostly because the heavier B&M Psyclone trains beat the structure up pretty good each year.

[Freefallbestrideever]

I'm still the type of person that likes to make sure they ride every roller coaster in the park every visit. But I'm getting to the point after all these years that I'm probably not going to be riding Revolution anymore...unless I'm with someone who never has. Anyone else here... make it an effort to ride every ride in the park every visit or am I just the only one?

I'm getting there as well, one other annoying thing that happens is my arm gets caught between the OTSR and the side of the car

What's the point of your post? It wouldn't make any sense to scrap these rides... they're more beneficial to have exist than to tear down and not replace with anything.

 

How does Riddler's Revenge hurt your legs and crotch? Can you not get the right balance?

I was just backing up Scream, i'll take it over any of those rides any day. For some reason my left calf really starts hurting on RR don't know why, also standing up on a ride seems like a chore/gimmick.

[cooksta77]

Anyone know when will be the best time to go to the park around the time frame of March 22 - April 9?

 

I was initially going to go sometime next week (March 26), which I think would be a good time, but some of the guys I'm going with can't make it then.

And my school is out next week, the 22nd to the 26th

[austinlee]

In my experience Colossus almost never has much of a line anymore so running both sides at the same time seems like a waste of money to pay ride ops and unnecessary wear and tear on both tracks. Even when I was there during Summer Break last year it was a walk on during a day when the parking lot was almost at capacity.

 

I have had the same problem with my arm getting caught between the side of the car on Revolution. If I use the side of the car like an armrest it is not a problem anymore.

 

I'm going to the park this Tuesday, 3/23. Some schools are out next week, but many more are out the next two weeks after that. I'm not expecting it to be deserted but I think crowds should be fairly light.