The Six Flags Magic Mountain (SFMM) Discussion Thread

[natatomic]

I was at SFMM the day before (Jan. 8th), and we didn't have any major complaints (aside from the fact that it's a Six Flags, but what can you do, eh?) As far as I know, most of the rides opened on time that day, but I can't say for certain. We were going to start with X2 and Tatsu (the basic GP order, I know, I know), but then I realized I forgot my croakies*, the only store that sold them didn't open until noon, and so we decided to do the other side of the park first where there are more glasses-friendly rides. This ended up being a good thing, since my absentmindedness ended up spurring us on to do the park in a very efficient order, as NO ONE was going toward any ride other than X2 and Tatsu. At that time, only Goliath was running two trains, but we were still able to walk on to everything with no more than a one train wait (we actually walked onto the front row of Batman). Tatsu did have a full queue by the time we finally got to it, but thankfully they were running two trains that day, and our wait was only about 40 minutes (however, it could have been much less if they didn't load so slowly - even on just two trains, the second train was stacked every cycle, which left all the riders forced to stare at the gross fresh loogies and worn-away-from-spit spots on the platform below). By the second time, the line had died down and we waited only about 25 minutes. X2 was only about 30 minutes the first time, and then 45 minutes the second time we got on, when we were going for a ride in the dark. The most frustrating part of the day was when we went to get pizza - we waited 45 minutes with only 3 families ordering in front of us. Now, I may not know all the finer points of the art of pizza making, but I feel like the line could have been a tad bit faster if they had the foresight to take the order of the next party while the order of the previous party was being made. I dunno, just a thought, Six Flags. Just a thought.

 

*I swear, I alone am keeping that company in business. I've yet to remember to bring them with me to a single park.

[Bolliger&Mabillard]

...I feel like the line could have been a tad bit faster if they had the foresight to take the order of the next party while the order of the previous party was being made..

I wouldn't want to overload those kids taking orders. I mean taking orders AND handling cash can be pretty overwhelming...aside from their main priority the texting, whew!

[COASTAH FREAK]

Coming from a former Tatsu operator, the required staff it takes to run efficiently, the ride just doesn't get. Too many times that ride gets 3-4 operators PER DAY. I've been there plenty of days where we had to drop a station due to staffing. Not saying it's the only problem, but it was (and maybe still is) a big one.

 

This. Every time I go I can't count any more than 5 ops actually working. If there's ever any more, they just kind of stand around doing nothing. Also, I don't think its the putting the stuff on the side time that makes it so long, it's really just the amount of time they take to check/unlock/relock/recheck trains. People put stuff on the side for Scream and Deja too, but they're both more efficient in my opinion. Again, I don't know about other people's experiences, just my own. At least it's not as bad as it used to be when it first opened!

[BeachKidBoy]

I think this comment you made speaks volumes into part of what we are talking about. If the park had a good selection of reasonably priced (for a park, at least) places to eat, people wouldn't have to leave the park to eat. The last time I was there, lunch cost me around $45 for me and my two sons, and that was just personal pizzas and sodas. Way too much!

 

I'm not so opposed to the price of food as I am the selection, I expect amusement park pricing for food. I can't be at a park with a grease ball or dairy in my stomach and I don't find much at Six Flags that I like to eat, but I know that going in and plan accordingly, not a big deal to me really.

 

This ... when you go to a theme park, or a ball game or a concert, paying a premium for food should be something you are prepared for, and it shouldn't surprise you. It's always been that way.

 

The ONLY time I ever leave the park to eat is when there is nothing at the park that I want to eat, and this is why the only time I generally eat at SFMM is during WCB. Most other times I'm simply not at the park long enough to justify eating there. Simply put, SFMM has ZERO options for people wanting to watch what they eat, or who don't want a burger or pizza. I've heard the Sushi isn't bad, but I still can't bring myself to eat sushi at a theme park (except for EPCOT).

WARNING: This is related to the above 'food' issue but involves SFGA and ACE.

Yesterday on a Food Network Show "Dinner:Impossible" a chef had nine hours to prepare various food items for 250 coaster enthusiasts (an ACE event) by using only foods available in the park. He did a really good job although he cheated a bit. Maybe Robb could devise something like this for WCB? Go to Foodnetwork.com and click in 'Dinner Impossible' for Amusement Park Food to see the show.

[SFGAm Shock Wave]

^ At Great America, the leg flaps are a visual check. However, each harness should be physically checked with both hands.

[ebl]

How will Green Lantern (at SFGAd) run efficiently with three trains when Riddler can barely run with two? Will ride ops there be more efficent, or am I misunderstanding something?

 

Note, it's been a rough couple of days for me, so my thought process is not all there...

 

Eric

[snowboard83]

^Well here at Great Adventure we pride ourselves on efficiency. Nitro is the highest throughput ride in the chain and we want to keep the momentum going when we install this coaster. So we will have 6 attendants checking restraints to help the process go along faster. We feel that we can do it. Also there will only be 7 rows as opposed to 8 on your standard B and M Stand-Up.

 

So...how is SFGAdv going to do so well with Green Lantern if they can't send more than 2 trains out on S:UF in 10 min, and that may be generous many days. SFGAm is SO efficient with their S:UF. Hell, I've seen SFA send out Batwing quicker before.

 

But I HOPE you are right, but 3 trains on a shorter track length than RR seems superfluous. CP does OK with 2 trains on Mantis, and they are about the kings of efficiency. But even they said screw it to the 3rd train.

[SharkTums]

I could see two Six Flags parks that could make three train ops on a B&M Standup work...SFGAd and SFGAm, so hopefully they'll make it work.

[Sunfire]

On the subject of Riddler, it REALLY needs its other train(s). When I visited the park on a dead Wednesday, it was running one train, and waited over 30 mintues, and that was only the station. They really need that other train back. What will they do on a Saturday in July when the line stretches all the way out to the entrance? Then again, is SF really willing to pay for another train, considering the cuts they just made?

[CoasterGuy06]

^Well here at Great Adventure we pride ourselves on efficiency. Nitro is the highest throughput ride in the chain and we want to keep the momentum going when we install this coaster. So we will have 6 attendants checking restraints to help the process go along faster. We feel that we can do it. Also there will only be 7 rows as opposed to 8 on your standard B and M Stand-Up.

 

So...how is SFGAdv going to do so well with Green Lantern if they can't send more than 2 trains out on S:UF in 10 min, and that may be generous many days. SFGAm is SO efficient with their S:UF. Hell, I've seen SFA send out Batwing quicker before.

 

But I HOPE you are right, but 3 trains on a shorter track length than RR seems superfluous. CP does OK with 2 trains on Mantis, and they are about the kings of efficiency. But even they said screw it to the 3rd train.

Cedar Point also unlocks seats for anybody that is not fully standing up, which slows down the loading process.

[GLund]

It seems SFMM simply can't hold their employees accountable for the lackluster performances in regards to efficiently operating the coasters--especially ones like Riddler and Tatsu. There aren't enough employees there that care, and when the supervisors aren't around, they shift into slow-mode regarding checking restraints and dispatches. I have even heard the GP on several of my Tatsu rides yell "This is the worst part of the ride!" when they've been laying on their stomach on the block brakes for 3-5 minutes waiting to get back to the station.

 

There's just so much going on in the park, and the infrastructure of employees makes it nearly impossible for those in charge to make sure the ones below them are doing their jobs. No camera's in the station, nobody watching the people operating the rides making sure they're doing their jobs.

 

The employees in charge go on power trips regarding guests, and must think it's cool to make people wait on you because there's nothing they can do about it. I'll never understand requiring people to stand and watch a 10 minute preshow while empty trains are rolling by. And I can't even count how many times it looks like every employee in the station is standing around doing nothing, and the train in the station is doing nothing, and the train that's stacked behind it isn't doing anything either. Then you look at the ride operator on dispatch, and they're talking to 2-3 other employees that are standing around doing nothing either!

 

One thing you can credit the park about though -- except for the death in 1978 on Colossus, no guest deaths on the parks roller coasters have been a result of ride operator negligence, which is a pretty amazing record if you think about it.

[Sunfire]

^Yeah, it seems that even when parks don't have the best or fastest operations, the coaster's safety records are remarkable.

[Sephiroth77]

Hey everyone, its bene a long time but I feel like a should comment as SFMM is really changing. I have been going to the park atleast twice a year since 2005. From about 2005-2008, I really felt the park was at its prime. Once terminator opened, the park felt nearly complete. Tatsu still felt new, looked new, and had 2+ trains (when I went), X2 was operating well (what X should have been since 2002), Viper looked brand new, Terminator was really fun for a ride of its size (the preshow didnt bother me too much), and Riddlers allways had 2+ trains, Scream had 2+ trains, and Goliath often had 3 trains. SIx FLags was awsome with Psyclone gone and Flashback (which was a waste of space) quietly disposed of. However with this, my feelings were mixed with the whole Shapiro thing. I understand SF is a business but they kept regurgitating attractions.Yea, we got X2 but it is what X should have been from day one. What else? Terminator...but they didnt pay very much for it as they got a major funding from elsewhere. So mcuh in fact that it took over a year for them to announce the actual spending on the attraction. I give them credit for making the park look pretty. The park was clearly better taken care of. But...call me old school but there were places I liked it looking rundown. I thought the devel may care attitude worked well around Batman and Riddlers. But...ill certainly take a fresh coat of paint with no complaints. And now we have this...3 NEW THRILLS!! Sorta...we get superman...but we already had it. Its going to be an interesting upgrade for sure, but its not a huge new thrill. Green Lantern...ill ride it, it looks fun. But after we got Riddlers, Goliath, Deja Vu, X, Scream, and TAtsu all within 8-9 years, I dont feel like its the same thing. Sure the economy is down, but I just dont want them squeezing in rides where they are not needed. After Terminator, I felt there next move was to update Scream and make it feel less like an afterthought. Or...if they were to tear down Viper (God Forbid-as they already tore down their other arrow loopers) at least we could get a Maverick or Storm Runner. Before Terminator, I thought if NInja had 2 go (just cause most of its kind are gone, we could get a GCI mountain woodie-without a disappointing ending). But hey, if they think this will bring them money then they should go for it. I love Six Flags and am not the least bit discouraged from this last trip. The sign is probobly temporary because of the short notice of the liscenece removal. The Tatsu thing is fixable and just requires some planning ahead. So the employees need to giev loading a bit extra, management just needs to lay doen the hammer. As for the trashcan puke...Im afraid little can be done to keep that from happening. The Riddlers train however was disgraceful. Its unacceptable to have the 2nd or 3rd most popular ride in the park have one train even during the low season. Dispite its age, its still a great ride. Again thanks Rob for the update. I dont want to complain too much but managment does need to make certain changes to insure SFMM keeps getting better:) I want to see my favorite place stay awsome and get even better.

 

-Sephiroth

[Bolliger&Mabillard]

the park has said it takes about 14 weeks to rehab one of its trains, which means it takes 42 weeks out of 52 if you only rehab one at a time, so why did the park not just go ahead and order 4 so you can make sure you always have at least two ready for operation?

I just ran past this...and I have to say...Either the park gave you misinformation, or they just need to hire a new maintenence department. I'm not calling you out. Just saying that I find it hard to believe it take 3 1/2 months to rehab ONE train. I don't think any ride, I don't care how complex it is, should take that long to take apart, inspect, replace parts and reassemble. I've seen rides be stripped and reassembled in less than 3 weeks. To reiterate...I'm not saying this isn't true. I just want someone to explain to me WHY it takes Magic Mountain 3 1/2 months to rehab a train.

 

 

On that note. I don't care about 1 train operations during this time. I'd rather have a coaster running slowly than not running at all. I can't expect anything less than a park that doesn't essentially have an "off season" in the traditional sense. I just have a hard time believing that:

 

Scenario A:Six Flags did not think to factor in ride upkeep and timeframes when they bought Tatsu to schedule appropriate maintenece to keep the ride running at full or near full efficiency during peak times

 

Scenario B:It takes nearly four months to repair one train, which, if done one at a time can take all year, which in turn would not have purchased additional trains to keep at least two available at any given time.

[MagicMountainMan]

If any of the Six Flags parks could run a stand up with 3 trains efficiently, it's SFGAdv. The employees there are opposite of most (not all) of the employees at Magic Mountain, they do their job well.

 

I'm saddened to hear these negative reports about Magic Mountain. I actually visited the park 2 months ago and I got the same vibe that others are describing. It's like they just took a giant step backwards after they had taken so many smaller steps forwards. I'm in Robb's boat though, I'm not writing the park off yet, I might have just had a bad day (it was cold and windy). I'm definitely going back sometime this year to go and ride the new coasters, but I think I'm going to hold off on a season pass. More and more, it seems the less I go to the park, the less I hate it.

 

Hopefully this is just some kind of dry spell at the park since they just had a ton of corporate and park level management changes. It would be nice to see the park I knew in 2009 back again. I'm rooting for you Six Flags.

[GLund]

^Sadly, it sounds like more than just Robb has had a bad day at the park as other people have given their reviews of the park as of late, and yours truly was there the 28th of December and had very similar experiences.

 

So without a doubt the park is running subpar right now, lets just hope it's a pattern of bad days because of the off season. I can't imagine how miserable a day at the park would be mid-summer if it was run how the park was run on my visit.

[Gmaster562]

I guess it's just me, but i love going to SFMM! Now that I think about it, however, I've never had high expectations for the ride ops, the scenery, or anything really. I just like going to ride coasters. I haven't had a bad time at SixFlags, except every once in a while, when it gets so out of hand, that I actually realize it. It's so sad to see my favorite park turn out this way. I hope it improves greatly when the 3 newbies come out.

[Six Flags Enthuseast]

I don't like the new preshow very much. The older one was decent, but the new one... I just think it's kinda cheesy. Maybe it would be a better idea to just convert the room so that it has the preshows playing, but you're not forced to wait and watch them all? Like a 'pre-ride introduction' that you're not forced to watched but can serve as entertainment as you wait in line? IMO, that would keep trains from being half-empty yet allow for the show to stay.

[Sir Clinksalot]

Got an email from SFMM this morning that they are offering some kind of payment plan for their passes (It was with the email about buying 4 passes and getting free parking).

 

It's not a "monthly" thing like Disneyland, but it's basically $20 a month for Jan/Feb/March.

 

I wonder if this has something to do with a lack of people getting SP's this early in the year? I can't imagine having to do a payment for a $60 pass, unless you are buying 10 or something perhaps.

 

Here is the text about the payment plan:

 

LIMITED TIME

 

Buy your Magic Mountain Thrill Pass or Hurricane Harbor Season Pass online using 3 Easy Payments and we'll charge your credit card with three easy monthly payments - with no interest fees!

[RoCo]

H...And now we have this...3 NEW THRILLS!! Sorta...we get superman...but we already had it. Its going to be an interesting upgrade for sure, but its not a huge new thrill. Green Lantern...ill ride it, it looks fun. But after we got Riddlers, Goliath, Deja Vu, X, Scream, and TAtsu all within 8-9 years, I dont feel like its the same thing...

 

I'm sure very few on this site are doing cartwheels of joy over the new kiddie coaster, but I must say, I think getting the U.S.'s first Zac Spin and a complete revamp of Superman in the same year is pretty freaking amazing. All other issues aside, I give SFMM a massive high-five for the goodies this year.

[forces]

I just encountered SFMM for the first time this past November (went on Veterans day.) The park was relatively crowded and yes they were only running one train on MOST of the coasters with the exceptions of Viper, Tatsu, Goliath, and Batman if I remember correctly. I do believe we waited well over 2 hours for Riddler's Revenge. We did not get all of the credits we could possible so we went back on the upcoming Sunday (after doing Knotts, and the Disney Parks.) I did not fully understand WHY they were only running one train but figured perhaps it was the fact that it was a holiday. Look, I am from the east coast (DC) and my home park is Six Flags America with Six Flags Great Adventure a mere 3 hours away. It is SICKENING how those two parks have changed over the past years for the better. I won't even begin to tell you the horror stories encountered from employees letting riders on (small children) not tall enough to ride, people getting mugged in the bathrooms, the overall "I don't care" attitude",etc... NOW I ask "where am I" when I frequent these parks because the employees and the operations are so much improved from where they were. The reason I am saying all of this is that I certainly did NOT get the old east coast Six Flags feeling when I was at SFMM. I thought it was a great park. I hope for all of the west coast family that it was just a faulty day....

[cooksta77]

SCREAMSCAPE posted a link concerning S:EFK's official opening date, March 19th. Also Lance reporting that after a few months one train will be turned back around so you can choose the way to go Backwards or forwards. More at the link.

The revamped Superman roller coaster at Six Flags Magic Mountain, with new trains that rocket riders backward at 100 miles per hour, is scheduled to reopen March 19, just in time for spring break.

 

The streamlined trains, which are expected to arrive at the Valencia amusement park this week, will have lower-profile sides for a more exposed feeling but will also be equipped with more restrictive over-the-shoulder restraints.

http://www.latimes.com/travel/deals/themeparks/la-trb-superman-escape-from-krypton-magic-mountain-01201112,0,33627.story

[ebl]

So it looks like S:EFK will be open for WCB. You guys will probably get the first ERT on it!

 

Eric

[Ace Of Spades]

^^I do like the "choose your fate" idea, but if the backwards run is a substantial improvement, I can't see why they'd revert back to the way things were.

[JJ728]

SCREAMSCAPE posted a link concerning S:EFK's official opening date, March 19th. Also Lance reporting that after a few months one train will be turned back around so you can choose the way to go Backwards or forwards. More at the link.

The revamped Superman roller coaster at Six Flags Magic Mountain, with new trains that rocket riders backward at 100 miles per hour, is scheduled to reopen March 19, just in time for spring break.

 

The streamlined trains, which are expected to arrive at the Valencia amusement park this week, will have lower-profile sides for a more exposed feeling but will also be equipped with more restrictive over-the-shoulder restraints.

http://www.latimes.com/travel/deals/themeparks/la-trb-superman-escape-from-krypton-magic-mountain-01201112,0,33627.story

That's a lot earlier then I originally expected, but with the way they busted through that paint job I guess I'm not surprised.