The Six Flags Magic Mountain (SFMM) Discussion Thread

[thrillrider]

Question......

 

Why do so many people constantly rip on this park?

 

We have visited Magic Mountain 3 or 4 times, and had a blast every time. The coasters were fun and the staff seemed ok(no worse than any other six flags park). We are really looking foreword to being able to visit again. We have been to almost every six flags parks in the states, and I would rank it up there as one of (if not) the best six flag park. Definitely in the top 3.

 

Just curious, that's all.

[JeromyL]

Not everyone rips on the park. I love going there.

[Jew]

IMO, it's not even CLOSE to the best park in the Six Flags chain that I've visited. SFoT, SFTT, SFoG, SFGAm, SFGADv, and SFDK were all much better IMO.

 

Aside from the fact the rides are all average at best besides YOLOCoaster, the lack of upkeep and care from line employees is obvious throughout the park. When is the last time any of their rides even ran with a full fleet of trains?

[JeromyL]

Maybe it's just that everyone has different expectations and tolerances. Everyone has different likes and dislikes. There is no way that we would all agree on this

 

[thrillrider]

Yea,

 

The lines were not any longer than any other theme park we have visited in the past, so we did not really notice any more of a hold up by not having a full fleet of trains. The employees were just fine, and the park seemed clean to us. I heard about the gangs of people and the line jumping problems that magic mountain had on theme park boards, but only had 1 person cutting in line while we were there. We did not witness any of the problems that people are always complaining about. Was it a perfect park?.....no, but what park is?

 

I really did enjoy the selection of rides they had, and the atmosphere of the park as well.

 

I guess if you are a regular at a park, you would tend to find more things wrong with it as you go there quite often. For me, cedar point is my home park, and I see several things wrong with the park. But that's probably because I go 10-12 times a year. To a casual visitor that goes to the park once every year or 2, would not notice what I notice.

 

I couldn't tell you how many times that Millennium force is only running 2 trains with a 3/4 full line, or mavericks break downs,shoot the rapids, or the lousy food and crabby employees.It happens....

 

This past summer we were able to visit six flags Atlanta. While it is a nice park, I would take magic mountains coaster selection over it any day(except for mindbender ).

 

This is just my view as someone who only gets to magic mountain every 3 or 4 years.

[Manic Monte]

The park (SFMM) itself, I love. I like the location, the woodsy, desert feel, And I like the rides. I just wish the park weren't so cheaply managed. Now, in addition to them copping out on upkeep, they're also giving the shaft to their coaster projects. If you want to be known for coasters, fine. But they should be amongst the most spectacular in the world. And if you're going to let the rest of the park basically run itself, at least what you're known for should most times be in tip top shape.

[PeoplemoverMatt]

It is also in the same market as Universal Studios, Disneyland, Knott's and Sea World. No other SF park has to share a market with that level of competition. As such, its faults are laid that much more bare because of the ease of comparison. Most other SF parks are in their own market, or have one or two independent or CF parks to compete with for the local audience. GP has higher tolerances when there isn't the competition, or the same level of tourism.

 

If SFMM in its current form and state of operations was in the Orlando market next to WDW, USO, Sea World, BGT etc, I'd bet it would receive very similar criticisms.

[Coasterbp]

I've been several times... While it's not the "best. park. eva.", I still have a good time.

 

Speaking of, I might be heading that way next weekend, on Sun the 19th... how have the crowds been on the weekends in Jan? I know that Monday is a holiday, so we won't be going then, but curious as to how Sunday might be.

 

Thanks!

 

-=CoasterBP

[christianscoasters]

I couldn't tell you how many times that Millennium force is only running 2 trains with a 3/4 full line

 

Millennium Force will always run with 3 trains. If it's only running with 2, which it does sometimes as you said, it will be either because 1) Rain. 2) A mechanical issue on a certain train. 3) A mechanical issue affecting the ride in 3-train mode. The difference in capacity between running 2 trains and running 3 isn't as high as you'd think, unlike, say, a 3-train B&M dropping down to 2 trains. Cedar Point won't let their star attraction run at a lower capacity because it's "not busy enough" or something like that, unlike SFMM.

[coasternut]

Yea,

 

The lines were not any longer than any other theme park we have visited in the past, so we did not really notice any more of a hold up by not having a full fleet of trains. The employees were just fine, and the park seemed clean to us. I heard about the gangs of people and the line jumping problems that magic mountain had on theme park boards, but only had 1 person cutting in line while we were there. We did not witness any of the problems that people are always complaining about. Was it a perfect park?.....no, but what park is?

 

I really did enjoy the selection of rides they had, and the atmosphere of the park as well.

 

I guess if you are a regular at a park, you would tend to find more things wrong with it as you go there quite often. For me, cedar point is my home park, and I see several things wrong with the park. But that's probably because I go 10-12 times a year. To a casual visitor that goes to the park once every year or 2, would not notice what I notice.

 

I couldn't tell you how many times that Millennium force is only running 2 trains with a 3/4 full line, or mavericks break downs,shoot the rapids, or the lousy food and crabby employees.It happens....

 

This past summer we were able to visit six flags Atlanta. While it is a nice park, I would take magic mountains coaster selection over it any day(except for mindbender ).

 

This is just my view as someone who only gets to magic mountain every 3 or 4 years.

 

I totally agree with everything you said about MM. For me it's my #1 park. I go there for the rides, not the ambiance. Sure things could be better. Bitching about the new roof over YOLO is absurd!

I also grew up close to Cedar Point. It used to be a great park with employees that loved their jobs and customers - not anymore. It changed for the worse over 5 or 6 years ago. I find the MM rideops more hospitable than Cedar Point. I go to MM at least 15 - 20 days per year.

[XYZ]

This is my opinion of the park and quote this as much as you desire.

 

The park does focus on their coasters and honestly, there isn't any coaster in the park that I really enjoy. Heck, only a few of them are really good. A good amount of the coasters in the park have the potential to be way better than what they can be like Revolution, Scream, and Green Lantern, though I see no effort into improving these coasters. Whenever I'm at the park, there really is only a few coasters that I am interested in riding.

 

In most of my visits to the park, I'm in one of two situations: The lines are long and I can either wait in long lines or do nothing as the park offers so few attractions that beat the lines. Or, the lines are short and I accomplish the park in such little time since I am only interested in a few of the rides, plus I feel "coastered" out after riding so many coasters in such a short period of time with a massive amount of walking.

 

The park does actions that are unacceptable such as the effort-less look of Full Throttle and Jet Stream leaking in the same spot for many years.

 

I have hope for the park as I feel that the park is close to greatness. I do not like the direction the park is going as there is such a large mass of rides being added recently yet only a few of them are really good. Plus, they are taking out nice areas of the park for rather ugly-looking areas (High Sierra Territory's removal). If you see me complaining, it's not because I do it for fun, it's because I really want the park to improve and the park to achieve greatness. I'm not really asking for much, I just want some more attention to their existing attractions and for the park to have a little more quality.

[thrillrider]

^The same can be said about just about any other park as well. Not every coaster is going to be your favorite. We could use cedar point for example. These rides are very bland, or just not enjoyable...

 

Mean streak

Iron dragon

Mine ride

Mantis

 

Now I don't want to turn this into a park vs park debate, I am only using this as an example as to that every coaster in the park is not going to be what "you" like.

 

Now in my visits to Magic mountain, the lines were not that bad and we waited no longer than an hour for a coaster. Now I have been to cedar fair, six flags, busch, and universal parks where we have waited just as long and a lot longer to ride a coaster. As far as the parks offerings, I loved it. I thought they had a good mix of attractions that I liked. This could just be a personal preference, but again I really did not have any complaints about the mix of attractions.

 

I have not been there since yolo has been built, but I could care less what it looks like. If the ride is fun, what's the issue? All of the coasters you have listed, we enjoyed(except for gl because it was not there yet). Again, I think it's just one persons perspective of things. I have also noticed that the majority of people that rip on the park are from California. So this brings us back to the "home park" argument like me and cedar point.

[RandallDuell]

This is my opinion of the park and quote this as much as you desire.

 

Why?

 

Have we seen any wok started on the water park additions, yet?

 

As far as the incessant complaints about the park? I think it's a combination of those who visited the park during" better" times, recollecting those times fondly, and the fact that the regulars of this thread enjoy complaining. There's a lot of backseat managing going on, while everyone also admits that they're probably doing the right thing based on their current state/budget/niche.

 

They've chosen a direction and do what they think best keeps them in that lane - easy to disagree if it ain't your thing, but I've always felt that it's easier to speak with your vacation/leisure dollars wing spent elsewhere.

 

I like the park - it's terrain is fairly unique (similar to, but obviously not exactly like, Fiesta Texas) and I think portions are really pleasant. In other managerial hands I think it could be better, but I don't think you'd have 2/3 of the coaster count that they do (and, yes, maybe that'd be ok.

[dylanreich]

This is my opinion of the park and quote this as much as you desire.

Okay, I will.

Whenever I'm at the park, there really is only a few coasters that I am interested in riding.

I'm sorry the park doesn't cater directly to you.

In most of my visits to the park, I'm in one of two situations: The lines are long and I can either wait in long lines or do nothing as the park offers so few attractions that beat the lines.

Oh no, long lines! Time to go to Universal or Disney where the lines aren't long!

Or, the lines are short and I accomplish the park in such little time since I am only interested in a few of the rides, plus I feel "coastered" out after riding so many coasters in such a short period of time with a massive amount of walking.

Oh no, short lines!

The park does actions that are unacceptable such as the effort-less look of YOLOcoaster and Jet Stream leaking in the same spot for many years.

I'll give you Jet Stream, but YOLOPlaza is pretty good IMO. It adds some energy to the area, has some cool water mister things coming out of the ground, and has some music playing along with videos to make the line less boring. Also, live music in the summer and Fright Fest. Remember when everyone praised the park for the concept art? Well, it looks exactly the same as the concept art.

I do not like the direction the park is going as there is such a large mass of rides being added recently yet only a few of them are really good.

Totally subjective. I really like Full Throttle, Lex Luthor is pretty fun, and Green Lantern is so so. Not speaking to you directly XYZ, but I know people in general have said that the park should be spending more to have bigger and better coasters. Well, that's how the park got into financial trouble to begin with. They're actually trying to be fiscally responsible while at the same time adding some fun rides to the park. I think we all expect some sort of Iron Colossus soon though.

 

The park can definitely improve in some areas, but I think people would enjoy the park a lot more if they focused on enjoying why they came to the park, for the coasters and not focus on areas that they have no business trying to compete in with the surrounding parks.

Also, so this isn't taken the wrong way by anyone, I'm not trying to come off brash or anything, these are just my two cents on the topic.

[Woodie Warrior]

^The same can be said about just about any other park as well. Not every coaster is going to be your favorite. We could use cedar point for example. These rides are very bland, or just not enjoyable...

 

Mean streak

Iron dragon

Mine ride

Mantis

 

Yeah, but at Cedar Point they have exceptional coasters, such as Millennium Force, Maverick, Top Thrill Dragster, and there are other ones as well that are also great. SFMM has some decent coasters, but a lot of them are just there to boost their coaster count. And Cedar Point definitely caters to families and SFMM doesn't cater to anyone who is too short to ride the major coasters.

 

I know you weren't trying to start a debate of park vs. park, but Cedar Point is honestly in a completely different league than SFMM and a really poor example to use. I have a different opinion than yours, but I respect your opinion and I'm glad your family enjoys the park.

[RollerCoasterAwesome]

I've been several times... While it's not the "best. park. eva.", I still have a good time.

 

Speaking of, I might be heading that way next weekend, on Sun the 19th... how have the crowds been on the weekends in Jan? I know that Monday is a holiday, so we won't be going then, but curious as to how Sunday might be.

 

Thanks!

 

-=CoasterBP

Expect the park to be pretty crowded, holiday weekends tend to be more crowded then normal weekends. Expect most of the major coasters to have an hour wait or more depending on the crowds.

 

Have we seen any wok started on the water park additions, yet?

Yes there's been some activity in the water park but nothing too noticeable. Mostly preparation work for where the Bonzai Pipelines are going.

[yankeeman311]

^The same can be said about just about any other park as well. Not every coaster is going to be your favorite. We could use cedar point for example. These rides are very bland, or just not enjoyable...

 

Mean streak

Iron dragon

Mine ride

Mantis

 

Yeah, but at Cedar Point they have exceptional coasters, such as Millennium Force, Maverick, Top Thrill Dragster, and there are other ones as well that are also great. SFMM has some decent coasters, but a lot of them are just there to boost their coaster count. And Cedar Point definitely caters to families and SFMM doesn't cater to anyone who is too short to ride the major coasters.

 

I know you weren't trying to start a debate of park vs. park, but Cedar Point is honestly in a completely different league than SFMM and a really poor example to use. I have a different opinion than yours, but I respect your opinion and I'm glad your family enjoys the park.

 

I don't mean to make this more into a park vs. park thing but I'm going to. People have to remember CP has no real competition around them and SFMM is right next to elite parks. They have Disneyland, USH and Knotts as parks that cater to families so they need their own target audience which is teenagers. Teenagers want coasters and extreme rides so that's what the park gives them.

 

I have never been to the park but xyz has and has often so I can understand his complaints. He wants the park to be great so I think in order to do that, they have to maintain the rides they do have better instead of just going for records. It's ok to have focus on coasters and thrill rides but the quality still has to be there for those rides and more enthusiasts agree with xyz when they say it's not high quality.

[Woodie Warrior]

^The same can be said about just about any other park as well. Not every coaster is going to be your favorite. We could use cedar point for example. These rides are very bland, or just not enjoyable...

 

Mean streak

Iron dragon

Mine ride

Mantis

 

Yeah, but at Cedar Point they have exceptional coasters, such as Millennium Force, Maverick, Top Thrill Dragster, and there are other ones as well that are also great. SFMM has some decent coasters, but a lot of them are just there to boost their coaster count. And Cedar Point definitely caters to families and SFMM doesn't cater to anyone who is too short to ride the major coasters.

 

I know you weren't trying to start a debate of park vs. park, but Cedar Point is honestly in a completely different league than SFMM and a really poor example to use. I have a different opinion than yours, but I respect your opinion and I'm glad your family enjoys the park.

 

I don't mean to make this more into a park vs. park thing but I'm going to. People have to remember CP has no real competition around them and SFMM is right next to elite parks. They have Disneyland, USH and Knotts as parks that cater to families so they need their own target audience which is teenagers. Teenagers want coasters and extreme rides so that's what the park gives them.

 

I have never been to the park but xyz has and has often so I can understand his complaints. He wants the park to be great so I think in order to do that, they have to maintain the rides they do have better instead of just going for records. It's ok to have focus on coasters and thrill rides but the quality still has to be there for those rides and more enthusiasts agree with xyz when they say it's not high quality.

 

Knott's proves you can be right down the street from Disney and Universal and still cater to families. They have a nice mix of family rides and thrill rides. If SFMM really chose teenagers as their target audiences then why are they adding a third kiddie coaster as their new major ride for 2014?!

[Manic Monte]

^ That's easy. To maintain their coaster count lead.

[Comeagain?]

If SFMM really chose teenagers as their target audiences then why are they adding a third kiddie coaster as their new major ride for 2014?!

 

Because teenagers still might have family with them as well as younger siblings whether they want to or not.

 

And TPR members, but that is probably more of a side effect.

[dylanreich]

Instead of me and my dad, my family as a whole is going to make a trip to SFMM for the first time ever this year. My younger brother really wants to be tall enough to get on all the "big rides" but isn't quite tall enough yet, so he's really excited to go to the park now that there's a decent amount of rides in the family area. They're definitely getting their foot in the door, and hopefully they can improve their image in this manner.

[Manic Monte]

Honestly, SFMM tried the family route, and it didn't work. They have found what works for them, and they are sticking to it. The family coaster is costing them little to nothing, and isn't really meant to do anything but give them something to advertise for the 2014 season to justify upgrading the area. . Next year you can bet another large coaster is coming.

[PeoplemoverMatt]

For those comparing wait times between SFMM and other parks owned by Disney or Universal, consider the attendance disparity that you may not be aware of.

 

One an INSANELY crowded day at SFMM - the kind of day where lines are horrific, parking is out past the overflow lots, etc - the attendance is maybe 20,000. On crowded days at other major parks, the attendance is anywhere from 50,000-80,000 or more. So consider that if the attendance is ever the same, the other major parks have far shorter wait times for their attractions than SFMM does. On a 20,000 day at SFMM, wait times are horrendous. On a 20,000 day at Disneyland, wait times are practically non-existent. If SFMM ever had 50,000 people in one day, it would be completely hopeless for all involved. Food service locations would run out of food. There wouldn't be a wait for a coaster less than 2 hours. Wait times for major coasters would be 4+ hours. If USH pulled 50,000 in a day, it would be pretty crowded but it would be manageable. That's the comparison you want to make if you're looking to compare wait times and such between parks.

 

Of course such comparisons are problematic because other parks have higher capacity attractions compared with SFMM's coasters, have more staff who're paid better and more experienced, and a host of other problems. I'm just saying if you're going to make that comparison, at least compare crowds to crowds rather than what *feels* like a crowded day.

[IronWolfman]

I know the park could be better, but honestly even with all the hate from locals, I still want to visit. I have to deal with Elitches, and I love that park, which has 6 coasters and only 2 aren't clones (Those are Twister 2 but it is modeled after the original and the kiddie coaster is pretty similar to a significant amount of other kiddie coasters). A quantity-over-quality coaster count may not be what we want, but still 19 coasters is something to brag about, even if 4 are kiddie coasters. Just gives the kids and families that do visit more to do. You guys don't even know how much I'd love to ride coasters like Viper, X2, Goliath, Ninja, Riddler's, Terminator, Tatsu, Goliath, etc. It does suck that they've removed a lot of their flats at an extreme rate and they could add more but as stated many times before in this thread: What they're doing works for them. So just saying, even if they're all mediocre (and a few of them look a lot better than mediocre), 19 coasters really isn't something to complain about. Your bickering is funny though, I guess, but it can get irritating since that's basically what this thread's 3000+ pages are about. I say if you try to enjoy a visit to a park and have friends doing the same thing, you will have a great time. I mean, look at the TPR trips to Fuji-Q.

[RollerCoasterAwesome]

Knott's proves you can be right down the street from Disney and Universal and still cater to families. They have a nice mix of family rides and thrill rides. If SFMM really chose teenagers as their target audiences then why are they adding a third kiddie coaster as their new major ride for 2014?!

The fourth kiddie coaster is not for the target audience but Batman and Colossus backwards are.