The Six Flags Magic Mountain (SFMM) Discussion Thread

[lk2500]

Aren't most of the SoCal schools back in class the last week of August? What would be the best day to attend that week? Or perhaps August 21st-22nd?

Edited June 22, 2013 by lk2500

[mykolbeta]

That YOLO shirt is awesome.

[robbalvey]

Who here would have rather seen YOLOcoaster be a Vekoma Tilt?

[youtu_be]

[/youtu_be]

[dylanreich]

Who here would have rather seen YOLOcoaster be a Vekoma Tilt?

[youtu_be]

[/youtu_be]

Wow, that actually looks pretty fun. IDK that I would have wanted it over YOLOcoaster, but maybe it could go in Dejavu's old spot.

[RCT3Bross]

^^ I would definitely think that way more YOLO then a backwards launch.

[Tmcdllr]

"YOLOTILT!"

[PalmTree55]

Who here would have rather seen YOLOcoaster be a Vekoma Tilt?

[youtu_be]

[/youtu_be]

 

You have no idea! It's a shame this concept didn't catch on! I would love one at my home park!

Mabey an extended version though, with another inversion (Zeroooo Geeee!)

[Tmcdllr]

Well at least it might have better capacity.

 

A giga version of it would be fun to experience.

[chris_hunter132]

The Midnight Event was amazing.

 

I got the 3rd ride, after I got off and got my T-shirt/food I heard everyone screaming and pointing, looked over to see Full Throttle had rolled back. They oh so slowly rolled it back to the station, took everyone off, and proceeded to send through 4 empty trains which cleared the loop with no problem. They put people back on, and after 1 Cleared the loop the 2nd again rolled back. I was talking to one of the Hostesses and she said it had only happened once at the media event. They waited like 10 minutes to start sending more trains through, and the first one rolled back -- It wasn't looking good. Finally they got 4 Tests over and the ride seemed to be working again.

 

I got 2 rides, One in the middle and one in the 2nd to last back seat (The very back was closed off for some reason) The back seat is an AMAZING ride. My restraint had left a huge gap between me and itself due to the shin gaurds, So at the top of the loop I literally fell out of my seat, It was amazing. The Dive Loop is amazing aswell, mostly the backwards launch into it because, again, I was out of my seat for it (This ride has a LOT of inverted airtime ) But the best part had to be dropping off that tophat. Its insane. Something I can't explain, just the feeling of it is great.

 

The wings were GREAT. The fries were GREAT (And they were Crunchy! I was soooo happy!) The T-shirts were GREAT and went EXTREMELY fast. Overall the ride was extremely fun. I'm not the Roller Coaster Enthusiast that travels the world riding every coaster, Magic Mountain and a few others have been my only homes, and after going to Magic Mountain hundreds of times I can say this is one of my favorite rides. I just hope they treat the Rollbacks like Kingda Ka/TTD do sooner or later.

[Mechanic]

The couple seconds of - Welcome to the machine - in the tunnel was a cool little surprise. The ride looks fun. I can't wait for WCB.

[PAL]

Does Yolo have a maximum rider height limit? We found out about GL's the hard way. Hoping not - Discovery Kingdom's new Premeir is tall friendly.

[bostonlva]

They announced FT in AUG, So I think its possible we know their 2014 plans in 2months (+/- a few days)

[UberBeavis]

Absolutely had a blast on Full Throttle - It feels kind of like the bastard kid of Mr. Freeze and Orlando's Mummy. Better in the back - especially the weird sideways hanging bit after the backwards launch. The hangtime in the loop going forward is indescribably cool - you can really feel the train hanging on the upstops, and it feels like you're upside down longer than you'd imagine from just watching.

 

I don't miss Log Jammer one bit - I rode it maybe twice in the last ten years. I'll be running to ride Full Throttle every morning I can. It'll be interesting to see at night with the area lights, too.

 

Here's a few cellphone pics-

 

Hopefully the station gets a cover, soon.

 

Backwards Twisty!

 

Zoomin' across Superman Plaza

 

I really enjoyed this ride a lot more than I thought I would.

[adamd]

They announced FT in AUG, So I think its possible we know their 2014 plans in 2months (+/- a few days)

.

 

I was wondering what their 2014 addition would be. An Iron Horse to Colossus would be AMAZING. If they announce in the next month Colossus will be closing I think thats the safe bet (They announced in early July that Rattler would be closing at the end of Aug). I would also be happy to see maybe a Dare Devil Dive type of ride where Deja Vu sat (I'd be happy with a Smiler type, but I think Dare Devil would be more geared toward the younger rider which they might want). I think a couple flats in the next couple years would be great (maybe a Giant Frisbee where Flashback was or in the FT area)

 

I'd love to see them get new trains and the magnetic brakes on Revolution like they did with Sooper Dooper Looper. Its silly that FT is lap bar only when you go upside down 2-3 times (3 if you're in the back) but Revolution with one small loop has TWO restraints.

 

I can also see in the next 5 years them removing Viper and possibly putting a ride similar to I305 there. Viper in 5 years will be 28 years old and all the other parks removed theirs.

 

I also heard rumors that they were thinking of removing Jet Stream. I think a Wing Rider would fit in nice there along with being around their other B&M counterparts (Riddlers and Batman) if said rumor is true.

 

Another thing to keep in mind. Six Flags has a ride rotator program. Theres always a chance they remove something to give to another park. It'll be interesting to see what the next ride to leave would be.

 

None the less the last two years Six Flags has announced their following year plans at the end of August so it'll just be two months away to finding out (along with Cedar Fair parks as well). I think there is a LOT of potential for Magic Mountain.

Edited June 23, 2013 by adamd

[bottom_feeder_13]

Viper isn't going anywhere, they have tons of spare parts from Shockwave and GASM to keep it going and it may rarely have a line but that's only because it can really push a ton of people through even with sub-par ops.

[Wes]

Yay they painted the Superman S.

[ILoveRides]

Yesterday was the media day for Full "YOLOCoaster" Throttle at Six Flags Magic Mountain and TPR was there with Corey (AKA Mr. Bebe) and David. Check out our full report below:

 

Also, check out our full POV, rider cam video, and B-roll footage of the ride courtesy of Six Flags:

We're at Six Flags Magic Mountain for Full Throttle media day!

We checked in and headed into the park.

There were stages set up in the new plaza area in front of the coaster. This area was mostly dirt about a week ago, so it's impressive how much got done in a week!

The Full Throttle Dancers came on stage to entertain the crowd.

These dancers weren't just for the media day - they will perform at SFMM daily.

We were told the area comes to life at night when lighting effects enhance the dancing.

There were also some characters on stilts walking around.

YOLO!!!

They had free freestyle Coke! You can't go wrong with free Coke, especially since it's not Pepsi, and especially since it was 90+ degrees outside!

An MC came on stage and selected four volunteers to play a game.

Bowls, brownies, and whipped cream were then brought out.

The game was to see who could eat a whipped cream smothered brownie out of a bowl the fastest using only their face.

It ended up being a tie.

I'm pretty sure the only things they won for competing were the free brownie and the messy face. YOLO!!!

When Gangam Style came on, Mr. Bebe couldn't help but start dancing.

Some of the signage in the plaza area.

More signage.

Among the new merchandise were these Full Throttle helmets.

Park president Bonnie Rabjohn came on stage and welcomed the crowd.

She also introduced Six Flags CEO James Reid-Anderson who was in the crowd.

And of course, she introduced Full Throttle and the new plaza area! She started a countdown...

5, 4, 3, 2, 1

And the coaster was launched to a burst of fireworks and confetti!

Full Throttle is now called "Full Contfetti"

When the coaster launched over the tophat there was another burst of fireworks and confetti!

Look at all that confetti!

Mr. Bebe frolicked in the confetti.

There are some misters built into the ground in the plaza. Mr. Bebe showed off his Marilyn Monroe pose, working hard to keep his dress down.

But we all know that Mr. Bebe is a manly man, so he stopped being Marilyn Monroe in favor of a 100% official manly pose!

The crowd gathered outside the ride waiting for it to open.

Once the word came from the state that the ride was approved for guests, the crowd was allowed in to ride.

Here's a photo from the line. There are no switchbacks - just a long walkway that leads out to the plaza. Thankfully there is some shade overhead.

Here's the station. They weren't able to get it covered in time for the media event, but we hear that it will be getting covered soon.

Zoom! Here's the view from the line of one of the first trains with riders launching. Being this close, one of the first things you notice is how quiet this coaster is. It's one of the most quiet coasters I've ever heard. It's nice not having your eardrums blown out while waiting in line.

A look at the trains.

And here's the view from the exit ramp looking towards the massive loop.

The loop in all its glory. All 160 feet of it.

On the opposite side of the plaza as the coaster is this building with 2 restaurants - High Octane Wings and Loaded Dogs - and a small shop.

They were letting everyone try out the food. Here's Mr. Bebe's chili dog. He had already been snacking away at the fries by the time I got this pic, so you get even more than what's pictured.

Mr. Bebe's favorite ride at SFMM is Full Chilidog.

Now lets go behind the scenes of the commercial/B-roll shoot for the ride.

Have you ever wondered how they get amazing aerial footage of rides?

This is how! We met the guy from Dronefly.com who brought this helicopter camera rig and he told us all about it. It's really neat! I think every photographer who saw it wanted one!

Here it is capturing the footage. This footage will be used for an upcoming commercial, and can also be seen in our Youtube video posted at the top of this report!

Speaking of capturing footage, this camera will capture your smiling face after exiting the YOLOop. Ride photos can be purchased at the exit of the ride.

And speaking of smiling faces, everyone seemed to love the ride.

Look at all those happy people!

For me, the loop is the star of this coaster.

It feels unlike any other loop I've ever experienced. The train moves slowly enough through the loop that you just hang there being held in by only a lap bar. It's a unique, scary, and fun feeling!

While you don't get too much airtime on the tophat, when you hit the brakes on the way down you're thrown forward and outward. It catches you off guard and is a great end to the ride. Most people were criticizing the brake placement of this ride as it was being built, but believe it or not, the brakes add to the experience.

Lets head up the mountain and check out how things look up by Superman. This shot is looking down into the valley that Full Throttle occupies.

The coaster goes right overhead. You can see how close people are in the bottom right hand corner of this picture.

After crossing over the walkway, the coaster makes a dive loop into the old monorail tunnel.

Here's the dive into the tunnel.

The dive loop from another angle.

This is the view standing by the dive loop looking towards Superman.

And this is the view from Superman looking back towards Tatsu. Also, this is what the underside of a Yolotrain looks like. Very YOLO!

Pop quiz time: Is Mr. Bebe sad becasue A - He's in jail. B - He's out of focus. Or C - because he waited 45 minutes in the sun for a Full Throttle train to go by, and one hasn't come yet. I'll give you a hint, it isn't A or B.

Mr. Bebe is very happy to learn that a train is finally on its way. (Operations were slow in the middle of the day because of the commercial shoot. They had to move cameras, adjust things, etc. in between launches. Also, the coaster was being a little finicky - they were still working the kinks out. Normally things should run much faster!)

Over the walkway!

Into the tunnel!

Over the tophat!

Pop quiz #2: What's the best way to get down the mountain? A - walk. B - take the Orient Express. C - roll. These kids clearly thought the answer was C, but they were wrong, the answer is B.

Here's a shot from the side of the dive loop as a train dives into the tunnel.

This picture shows how high the train goes on the reverse launch. This photo was taken at its maximum height. This is one of the reasons why most people seemed to prefer the back seat on this coaster - in the back seat you go much farther up the loop on the reverse launch.

One more picture of the dive loop into the tunnel.

Back down the mountain, here's the view from behind the station, looking towards the loop.

The train launches right out of the station.

Loop!

Tophat!

Happiness!

Overall Full Throttle exceeded our expectations, and is a solid ride with some unique experiences - extreme loop hangtime, ejector brakes - that you won't find on many other coasters. Thanks Six Flags for throwing an awesome media day and inviting TPR to attend, and thanks to you for checking out our report! Now get to SFMM and ride Full_Throttle because YOLO!!!

Edited June 23, 2013 by ILoveRides

[adamd]

Viper isn't going anywhere, they have tons of spare parts from Shockwave and GASM to keep it going and it may rarely have a line but that's only because it can really push a ton of people through even with sub-par ops.

 

They could put a ride in its place that can eat up just as many people. If the ride isn't popular (or if they could replace it with something that would be more popular) I don't think having spare parts would stop them from replacing it. I'm not in anyway saying Viper is going, but its just an idea and as I said next 5 years not right away.

[rcdude]

Full Throttle sounds great. I always find it funny how some rides get tons of criticism while they're being built, then end up exceeding all expectations. I always expected the ride to be one of the better coasters at the park, but I'm hearing nothing but positive reviews of the coaster and it sounds like it could be one of the best rides Premier has built to date. I can't wait to ride it (going on Tuesday...yay).

[PKI Jizzman]

The best coverage of any new coaster! And best T-Shirt. Beats our Lazer Snake Horse On Fire!

[TBpony414]

Great YOLO coverage! Can someone tell me what kind of launch system does it has? I don't recall but it must be nice to not have your ear drums burst every time a train goes by. The loop looks enormous.

[Wes]

Great YOLO coverage! Can someone tell me what kind of launch system does it has? I don't recall but it must be nice to not have your ear drums burst every time a train goes by. The loop looks enormous.

 

LSM

[KevRus]

I'll try to refrain from judging too much (granted, I am definitely judging in this post hah) until I ride it, but...I still think this looks like a cheap "plop it in the park ala RCT" coaster. All the dirt and the gross, uncovered station are just strange (it's supposedly all temporary, right?)...and the whole ride experience seems just that: strange.

 

I'm not too excited about a ride whose "ejector brakes" are one of its selling points?

 

Based on the POV, I miss Log Jammer. Wish SFMM could've gotten something like S:UF at SFDK.

[UberBeavis]

One less person in line would be great.

[XLRBR]

Great coverage indeed! Glad to hear that it's not just some gimmicky, one-trick pony; sounds more like a ridable, even enjoyable one-trick pony.

Although I do miss the log ride too, I can't wait to get back to SFMM to ride it myself! (One of these days...)