The Six Flags Magic Mountain (SFMM) Discussion Thread

[MagicMountainMan]

Have any of the other RMC creations had this much of a 'break in' time? It seems like Twisted Colossus is breaking down multiple times a day, every day....

[singemfrc]

Have any of the other RMC creations had this much of a 'break in' time? It seems like Twisted Colossus is breaking down multiple times a day, every day....

All coasters go through this. TC is a bit more complex (mechanically) than a typical coaster, so it's understandably having more issues.

[Manic Monte]

Goliath at SFGam had a lot of downtime last year, and so far this year also.

[MagicMountainMan]

I understand some teething problems, but Twisted Colossus is a mess. Kind of makes me wonder if Six Flags hurts themselves by designing all of the ride control systems in house... I really don't have any idea and I'm not an engineer, but even the guys in ops and maintenance are frustrated with how temperamental the ride has been.

[Manic Monte]

^ Well, Six Flags were the ones that didn't want to pay for two loading stations, leading to a more complicated system then they seem prepared to handle. Might be a situation where we some off season changes made to the ride.

[DJeXeL]

^2nd station wouldn't do a damn bit of good as it wouldn't be staffed.

[Manic Monte]

In terms of efficiency no. But it might have helped with the weird sensor problems the ride is having, where there are so many that even one corruption will shut down the whole ride.

[CedarFlags]

^2nd station wouldn't do a damn bit of good as it wouldn't be staffed.

 

I would venture to say that SFMM's staffing was already stretched pretty thin before TC opened (long drive for most people, low-paying job, school still being in, a ton of coasters to find ROs for), and finding a double sized crew of existing employees to train wasn't feasible. Perhaps they could have built the 2nd station and just waited to use it until summer time, but then come September, it'd be the same problem. Building the 2nd station would have added cost and complexity to an already expensive and complex ride, and it would only be feasible to use for less than half the year.

 

CP gets away with double stations because it's a seasonal park tat only has to compete with school schedules for a few weeks, and because none of their ROs get paid overtime. CP can staff a ride for the entire season with 10-14 people. They work 10-12 hour days, usually 6-7 days per week, and none of it goes beyond $8.10 an hour. Magic Mountain needs to account for overtime pay for: above 8 hours in a day, above 40 hours in a week, and the 7th day in a week. In order to achieve the same staffing while remaining in budget, they'd need a crew of 20-25 for the same ride.

 

edit: fixed the space/time rift

Edited June 25, 2015 by CedarFlags

[coasterlvr]

Magic Mountain needs to account for overtime pay for: above 8 hours in a day, above 40 hours in a week, and above 7 days in a week.

 

i'd hate to work more than 7 days in a week.

[Superbatboy]

There's a huge fire in Stevenson Ranch, I wonder if the smoke is affecting guests

[SimiGeek]

There's a huge fire in Stevenson Ranch, I wonder if the smoke is affecting guests

X2 and viper area was close for a while it pushing guests in doors. Had a few min when it was so bright I couldn't look. Traffic going towards there was bad looked like they closed the freeway.

[Paradox]

Any news on Goliath?

Won't open until September. An inspection found that the lift was not up to code so they're doing a whole refurb.

 

Of course the ride won't be open when I go to this park for the first time next month.

[CedarFlags]

Any news on Goliath?

Won't open until September. An inspection found that the lift was not up to code so they're doing a whole refurb.

 

Of course the ride won't be open when I go to this park for the first time next month.

 

Not up to code? The ride isn't THAT old. What the heck?

[Manic Monte]

^ Welcome to California.

[dippindotsguy8]

^lol! So true.

 

Knott's was never able to get Windseeker re-opened.

[dylanreich]

How crowded is the park on the 4th? Apparently crowds are pretty light at Great Adventure, so I was optimistically thinking things might be the same at SFMM.

[Jew]

^lol! So true.

 

Knott's was never able to get Windseeker re-opened.

 

1. I doubt this has anything to do with California. There is no "code" for rides like there is building code. There's the ASTM standards that everyone agrees to follow because they are the best current documented practices out there. The state just comes in, verifies procedures are being followed, watches a mock evacuation, and that's about it. I bet SFMM screwed something up, at which point the state just said "uhm...guys...this modification doesn't meet one of those requirements...so sorry...it's closed"

 

2. Windseeker was lucky to get approved the first time around. Once the incident showed how insufficient Mondial's evac procedures really were, the ride had no chance.

Edited June 25, 2015 by Jew

[vedved82491]

^lol! So true.

 

Knott's was never able to get Windseeker re-opened.

 

1. I doubt this has anything to do with California. There is no "code" for rides like there is building code. There's the ASTM standards that everyone agrees to follow because they are the best current documented practices out there. The state just comes in, verifies procedures are being followed, watches a mock evacuation, and that's about it. I bet SFMM screwed something up, at which point the state just said "uhm...guys...this modification doesn't meet one of those requirements...so sorry...it's closed"

 

2. Windseeker was lucky to get approved the first time around. Once the incident showed how insufficient Mondial's evac procedures really were, the ride had no chance.

 

I think i saw the same evac platform at Carowinds. Is this just another example of CALOSHA's stricter guidelines?

[willh51]

I may be wrong, but wasn't the evac platform added after it got stuck @ Knotts?

[Vonni]

^ Yes, but of course it was never used at Knotts being that the ride never reopened there. I've not heard if it has had to be used at WOF though.

[DJeXeL]

I personally don't care for Goliath but the GP loves it so having it closed is a bummer.

[Freestyle23]

I'd love a giga like fury 325

 

Any possible ways it could get to SFMM. Obviously a ride has to be taken away for space, but i'd love a long ride with no brakes.

[dylanreich]

I'd love a giga like fury 325

 

Any possible ways it could get to SFMM. Obviously a ride has to be taken away for space, but i'd love a long ride with no brakes.

I wouldn't hold your breath on that. A lot of us were hoping what turned out to be Full Throttle would be a giga that utilized the terrain available...

[Jew]

I may be wrong, but wasn't the evac platform added after it got stuck @ Knotts?

 

Correct. The evac platform was a modification to try and get the ride to re-open. I suspect Mondial and KBF could never get it to work correctly or efficiently enough to allow DOSH to approve it.

[rcjp]

I'd love a giga like fury 325

 

Any possible ways it could get to SFMM. Obviously a ride has to be taken away for space, but i'd love a long ride with no brakes.

Well, while they keep the "we're not spending more than 20 million on a single ride again" policy that's definitely not happening.