The Six Flags Magic Mountain (SFMM) Discussion Thread

[yay101]

^Of course it would grab attention, lol! What I'm saying is that Colossus is not not getting attention so I think it's fine.

[EastCoastKid]

^Of course it would grab attention, lol! What I'm saying is that Colossus is not not getting attention so I think it's fine.

 

I've been reading this and I have to jump in on this. I've been to Magic Mountain and I disagree. Colossus feels like it's not getting attention. The ride was good, but there was no line, and only one side was operating, while we waited over an hour for other rides. That whole section of the park feels cut-off and unloved, and converting Colossus to I-Box would draw more people to that area of the park and liven it to to feel new again.

 

I think it's a bit bold to state that a ride is or isn't getting enough attention, especially by someone who has never been to the park.

 

I prefer quality over quantity. A new coaster may be new and shiny, but Colossus and Scream feel like they're getting left behind. I, along with many other enthusiasts, I'm sure, would like to see Magic Mountain invest in bettering itself before adding more attractions.

[thrillseeker4552]

^ Well said. If they iron horse Colossus in 2015, maybe we can see an upgrade to the whole area with a Scream re-paint!

 

I can dream...

[gerstlaueringvar]

iron horse Colossus in 2015

Possible

we can see an upgrade to the whole area with a Scream re-paint!

Yeah, just a dream

 

I hope we can see a management change. I would love to exchange it with an awesome RMC coaster because no matter how amazing that ride will be, a bad park is a bad park.

[XYZ]

Wasn't there an article some time back where it stated that SFMM is the most profitable Six Flags park? If that's true, then I doubt there would be any serious management changes now.

[Xcoaster]

^

Colossus has been a target for SF corprate to get the RMC treatment?

Well no because its simply speculation and rumor.

That's exactly how I treat Iron Colossus its rumor and nothing more. It's all based on speculation and assumption. Until there's evidence or confirmation' date=' iron Colossus is simply speculation and rumor.[/quote']

During the 2011 and 2012 WCB Q&A, SFMM management was extremely enthusiastic about the work that was done on Texas Giant. Nothing's certain until there's an announcement, but it's a realistic possibility.

[PeoplemoverMatt]

I think it's a bit bold to state that a ride is or isn't getting enough attention, especially by someone who has never been to the park.

 

I prefer quality over quantity. A new coaster may be new and shiny, but Colossus and Scream feel like they're getting left behind. I, along with many other enthusiasts, I'm sure, would like to see Magic Mountain invest in bettering itself before adding more attractions.

 

First & foremost, if you prefer quality over quantity, you're probably following the wrong park.

 

Secondly, if Colossus was being left behind, it wouldn't be standing much less operating today. That ride has tried to tear itself apart since the day it began operation. What it hasn't done to itself, weathering and earthquakes have done for it. It's a miracle that ride is still standing and operating today. The park does what it needs to do in order to keep at least one side running, but not much else. There isn't much else they can do considering the structure is going on 36 years old now.

 

By comparison, Texas Giant was only 19 years old when RMC converted it. Rattler was 20 years old. Medusa was 13 years old. Do we know RMC can take a 36 year old structure heavily worn by its own racing layout, weathering, and earthquakes and covert it? If it can't, there's no reason to speculate on when or if "Iron Colossus" will ever exist.

[warrenslo]

Update from January 25 and 26:

X2 - On Saturday, did not open until around 11:30am, they were trying to test the ride since park opening at 10:30 but were having unexpected issues. On Sunday, was open about 10 minutes after park opening, it appeared they started testing a bit late; however, later in the day the line was about a 10 minute wait.

Batman - was running one train, the other train had been removed from the track entirely, I assume to retrofit for a backwards run.

Colossus - maintenance was working on the underside of the backwards running trains (old Psyclone trains) in preparation for backwards run.

Goliath - it appears they have reprogrammed the restraint locking mechanisms so they are locked as they are checked (per car) due to the new seatbelts. This significantly increased loading time.

New Kiddie Coaster - a footing has been poured for support columns where the big tree has been removed.

[_IntaMAN_]

Goliath - it appears they have reprogrammed the restraint locking mechanisms so they are locked as they are checked (per car) due to the new seatbelts. This significantly increased loading time.

 

 

There is hope for the universe... Hopefully Full Throttle gets this as well.

[JeromyL]

If it increased the loading time. Wouldn't that mean everything is going slower???

[Pacificoaster]

Goliath - it appears they have reprogrammed the restraint locking mechanisms so they are locked as they are checked (per car) due to the new seatbelts. This significantly increased loading time.

 

Facepalm. The panel operator has the option to lock/unlock each car manually or lock/unlock all restraints. The reason of doing it a car at a time is to ensure the attendants can check the seatbelts before guests pull down the lapbars.

 

What slows down dispatches the most are guests that don't listen to the spiels. Between the people that are reluctant to put their bags to the side of the train and those that don't buckle their seatbelt are the greatest influence of the slower dispatches.

[rcjp]

^^ I think _IntaMAN_ meant increased efficiency or something like that (by reducing loading time)

[Jerome]

^Of course it would grab attention, lol! What I'm saying is that Colossus is not not getting attention so I think it's fine.

 

I've been reading this and I have to jump in on this. I've been to Magic Mountain and I disagree. Colossus feels like it's not getting attention. The ride was good, but there was no line, and only one side was operating, while we waited over an hour for other rides. That whole section of the park feels cut-off and unloved, and converting Colossus to I-Box would draw more people to that area of the park and liven it to to feel new again.

 

I think it's a bit bold to state that a ride is or isn't getting enough attention, especially by someone who has never been to the park.

 

I prefer quality over quantity. A new coaster may be new and shiny, but Colossus and Scream feel like they're getting left behind. I, along with many other enthusiasts, I'm sure, would like to see Magic Mountain invest in bettering itself before adding more attractions.

 

I agree. They need to work on that whole area of the park that Colossus, the old Ben and Jerry's and Scream are located at.

[coasterfreak101]

^Agreed. That little corner of SFMM feels so abandoned - not to mention that when you do find the rides back there, they're slapped on asphalt. None of SFMM is particularly great or gorgeous, but that corner is definitely the worst.

[dannyboy13]

Totally agree that this corner of the park needs some TLC. Colossus is a must ride every time I head down (not sure why, but I love woodies, even the rough ones), though more often than not we skip Scream (probably because I get to ride the much better Medusa at SFDK so much). I'd love to see Iron Colossus and at least a couple new flats added to this area. Not sure what could be done about Scream, but I think if Colossus were really to get the Iron Horse treatment, the ridership on Scream would increase just due to proximity.

[WFChris]

If they want people to listen to the spiels, they have to limit the amount of people crowding into the station. If they had a grouper allow a maximum of two trains worth of people into the station, it would be much quieter and perhaps people would actually listen to the safety talks. As it is and has always been, nobody can really hear anything in there even if they wanted to (I'm talking about Goliath specifically but certainly applies to other stations around the park as well).

 

There is a lot of chatter here about people not paying attention but lets be honest, when is the last time you were able to actually hear the attendant and understand what they are saying? Most people know 'Gates open, hop in, secure safety bar.' The park is trying to introduce a foreign concept without altering the preparation leading up to that point.

[singemfrc]

more often than not we skip Scream (probably because I get to ride the much better Medusa at SFDK so much).

I often skip Scream for the same reason. It's practically the same ride except its rougher and the view is crappier. I don't mind skipping Scream to save time since I can just ride Medusa later.

[warrenslo]

^^ I think _IntaMAN_ meant increased efficiency or something like that (by reducing loading time)

 

Sorry, yes I meant increased efficiency, not loading time, oops. In the past after the seat belts had been added they were averaging about 2:30 to 3:00 per train to load, this was because the individual cars needed to be unlocked when someone put their restraint on so the seat belt could not be seen, at the time they were locking all of the cars at once. With the change, the cars are locked one by one from the front to the back, they were averaging about 1:30 per train this weekend. I am not sure if the operator is manually locking them one by one or if they had the automatic button re-programmed to lock them in succession. I assume any change to the operating procedures either way would have needed Cal-OSHA approval and retraining of ride operators, this might be why it took so long to adjust. In addition, they weren't reinforcing to riders not to lock the restraints themselves anymore, because they couldn't.

 

With that said, Full Throttle has not been changed yet, passengers are still able to lock their restraint before the seat belts are checked, so a ride with already low capacity is still reduced due to the seat belts and dumb riders. On an afternoon with 10 minute X2 and Goliath lines, Full Throttle still had an hour wait...

[goatdan]

Wasn't there an article some time back where it stated that SFMM is the most profitable Six Flags park? If that's true, then I doubt there would be any serious management changes now.

 

It's most definitely not.

[singemfrc]

Wasn't there an article some time back where it stated that SFMM is the most profitable Six Flags park? If that's true, then I doubt there would be any serious management changes now.

 

It's most definitely not.

There was and it is (or was as of January 2013). I'm guessing goatdan might be saying that because the source of the information is one that is not allowed to be mentioned. The original post on page 2849 was edited by Robb so I gather (since it was edited and not deleted entirely) that despite the source, the information is ok as long as the source isn't mentioned.

For the second year in a row, the Magic Mountain park set a new record for their business performance and was also the top performer out of all the Six Flags parks. The even bigger news is that for the very first time ever, Magic Mountain broke the all-time company earnings record that has been held by Six Flags Great America for many years. So now, not only is Six Flags Magic Mountain the Thrill Capital of the World with more roller coasters than any park on the planet, they are also the top performing Six Flags park out of the entire chain. Additionally, Magic Mountain also leads the company in overall Guest Satisfaction.

 

Here are some highlights of Magic Mountain’s financial performance for 2012:

 

Highest profits in the company – ever!

Highest total guest spending in the company – ever!

Highest single revenue month

Highest single day revenue

Highest catered ticket and meal revenue in the company

 

In addition to their financial performance, here are some ride statistics:

 

Ride down time came in at 1.9% (under their 3% threshold)

A total of 22.5 million rides delivered

Eight attractions delivered over 1 million rides each

Goes to show that enthusiasts are not the majority of their business, and that catering to the YOLO crowd may seem silly but seems to be paying off financially. I'd be interested to see the 2013 numbers compared to 2012.

[Jew]

^I don't think any of us have ever doubted that. As it has been discussed over and over again in this thread, the problem with their business model is that it relies upon big capital spending every year. It will be very interesting to see how this year turns out, with the big addition being B:TR backwards for spring break only. Colossus backwards probably won't have as big an impact, since most of the local market has already experienced that during one of the many Fright Fest's it has already run backwards.

 

I doubt there will be any records being broken this year.

[Jerome]

^I don't think any of us have ever doubted that. As it has been discussed over and over again in this thread, the problem with their business model is that it relies upon big capital spending every year. It will be very interesting to see how this year turns out, with the big addition being B:TR backwards for spring break only. Colossus backwards probably won't have as big an impact, since most of the local market has already experienced that during one of the many Fright Fest's it has already run backwards.

 

I doubt there will be any records being broken this year.

I agree. The season dining pass does help bring me to the park... but it's not a great year for new rides.

[GigaG]

Why can't we mention the source?

[singemfrc]

Why can't we mention the source?

Robb's rule, if you mention that person or their website you'll be banned from TPR. That's all I know.

[Jew]

We're a pretty good source of SFMM information here. No need to go anywhere else. I'll be doing updates at least every few weekends (if not every weekend). That will be the end of the discussion.