The Six Flags Magic Mountain (SFMM) Discussion Thread

[DJeXeL]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ytCEuuW2_A

[singemfrc]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ytCEuuW2_A

[CedarFlags]

Honestly, I find Lex's drop to be just as exciting, especially my first ride. Having Supreme Scream at Knott's as my only real frame of reference for big drop rides, I was used to about 2 seconds of actual freefall before hitting the gradual air pressure slowdown. The extra second-ish of drop time on Lex actually started triggering a bit of a panic response. My brain was like "Wait, why am I still falling? We should have hit the brakes by now. Wtf? Something's wrong."

[thedlr]

When I first rode Lex, I was like holy crap this is high. Last time at WCB, I was almost surprised when we "already" reached the top. Haha

[joshfreund]

Perhaps it's a bit mean but I did chuckle that the event going on today at SFMM meant to compete with WCB fizzled. They had to eliminate most of their events and ERT because they sold less than 50 tickets.

 

So glad I chose TPR and WCB!

 

Dang! I would have been a bit angry had I spent 70 dollars on top of my pass and not get all the event promised...hope they did partial refunds or something

[gisco]

Honestly, I find Lex's drop to be just as exciting, especially my first ride. Having Supreme Scream at Knott's as my only real frame of reference for big drop rides, I was used to about 2 seconds of actual freefall before hitting the gradual air pressure slowdown. The extra second-ish of drop time on Lex actually started triggering a bit of a panic response. My brain was like "Wait, why am I still falling? We should have hit the brakes by now. Wtf? Something's wrong."

 

I know what you mean. It was a much longer drop then what I was used too.

[coasterlvr]

Honestly, I find Lex's drop to be just as exciting, especially my first ride. Having Supreme Scream at Knott's as my only real frame of reference for big drop rides, I was used to about 2 seconds of actual freefall before hitting the gradual air pressure slowdown. The extra second-ish of drop time on Lex actually started triggering a bit of a panic response. My brain was like "Wait, why am I still falling? We should have hit the brakes by now. Wtf? Something's wrong."

 

I know what you mean. It was a much longer drop then what I was used too.

 

i love lex luthor. i mean, lex luthor drop of doom, the ride. lol to me, it's one of those rides you don't quite get used to. it's dang high, and the drop feels like it goes forever. i think the tight security of the restraints make many feel like it's not so out of control. i understand that. i also think that some of the fun is watching and hearing other freak out from the height.

 

i always felt the s&s towers felt like, well, like there's a cable attached. lol rode supreme scream the other day, and i still prefer lex.

 

any ride that is smooth, and has decent capacity at magic mountain is a good ride, imo.

[robbalvey]

Perhaps it's a bit mean but I did chuckle that the event going on today at SFMM meant to compete with WCB fizzled. They had to eliminate most of their events and ERT because they sold less than 50 tickets.

 

So glad I chose TPR and WCB!

I don't think it's fair to bash another groups event. We have been successful because we focus on what we do and not worry about what other groups are doing. And personally, I don't look at three groups coming together and selling 50 tickets to be "competition" for WCB. No one is trying to prove anything. That's not what it's all about. Instead of bashing other events, show your support and come to WCB again next year!

[Ridewatchers]

Trip report for Friday, 10/2

 

The park was a relative ghost town today at opening, with regulars in the gold pass line and no more than 500 at the main gate besides. Ridewatchers first went to Full Throttle. CLOSED. Then it was time for Goliath. CLOSED. Lex Luthor? Looked closed, but nevermind.

TC had almost no line, and Ridewatchers was fortunate enough to get 8 or so rides in over the course of the day, although none of them had "double dueling." It was a bit funny to see a security guard at the TC gate looking for line jumpers On one ride, there were only TWO people in line besides myself, and they were waiting for the front row...that's how empty it was!

 

Goliath opened later, but it was a one-train operation, and it took about 15 minutes to get on well in the station. For some reason, the drop doesn't seem so exciting anymore, and it's as if there's more friction on the downhill, but it was fun. Buccanner (called "Buck" by the staff) was empty, and one of the ride ops had to ride with me because of SF's "buddy system." FT finally opened, and the deceptively short line past the switchbacks under the canopy was 20 minutes.

 

Superman was running on the left side, which is rare, and probably for good reason: there was a high-pitched screeching sound on the way up and out of the curve and into the vertical, and it was clear maintenance was needed. But we had a great time, and everyone in our car was cheering loudly, like they actually had fun!

 

Gold rusher: CLOSED. Maintenance people were on the beginning section of track for an unknown reason. Jet Stream: CLOSED. Tidal Wave: CLOSED. Carnival games: CLOSED. Yes, many things were closed, and that's really not fair during a normal operating day--especially during Fright Fest.

 

When it started to get busy at about 3:30, it was time to go, but despite the numerous closures, it was a good trip thanks for plenty of ERT on Colossus and Superman.

[coasternut]

^ Yes, I too was at the mountain today. TC had little to no line until about noon. Got 14 rides in. Not too many had dueling. Supe was running both sides later in the day. Lex is a blast when both sides of Supe running - lots of tower sway. Goldrusher was running with 2 trains around noon. Same was true with Goliath (2 trains), and no line around 2pm. Left a little after 7 when Fright Fest started. I'm not into it, so I got out quickly. Got my new season pass processed quickly with parking, gold, and meal pass. Worked great and now I'm good until 2017. A good day overall - 36 rides by 7pm.

[dylanreich]

Superman was running on the left side, which is rare, and probably for good reason: there was a high-pitched screeching sound on the way up and out of the curve and into the vertical, and it was clear maintenance was needed. But we had a great time, and everyone in our car was cheering loudly, like they actually had fun!

The guide rail on the left side was recently replaced, and has a screeching sound but is really much quieter compared to the right side, which still has that roaring wind-tunnel sound. I wonder if they will do this to the right side at some point as well.

[ioio]

Is it crowded today? Trying to gauge about crowd size for tomorrow

[SFMMGeek27]

^Tomorrow will be dead. One, it's a Sunday. 2, rain is in the forecast for the morning. I'll be there by at least early afternoon.

And I'm staying for fright fest. But this particular Sunday has always been dead for Fright Fest.

[Superbatboy]

Just got to the park and had to park in the gravel lot behind Scream, I'd say the crowds are pretty healthy.

[JeromyL]

We will be flying out for next Saturday

[ioio]

Does anyone know how much the maze passes are if you buy it at the park? And speaking of, where do you even buy it at the park? Thanks

[Superbatboy]

Does anyone know how much the maze passes are if you buy it at the park? And speaking of, where do you even buy it at the park? Thanks

 

It's $15 for season pass holders, there's a spot right across from guest relations where you can purchase a wristband.

[ioio]

Does anyone know how much the maze passes are if you buy it at the park? And speaking of, where do you even buy it at the park? Thanks

 

It's $15 for season pass holders, there's a spot right across from guest relations where you can purchase a wristband.

 

Thanks!! Hoping for dead (sorry for the pun) crowds tonight!

[CedarFlags]

Late report, buuuut. I went on Friday, and was pleased overall. Some parts were really terrific and very impressive, some parts were meh.

 

Awesome Tier:

Red's Revenge - Amazing scenic design, a fun concept, energetic talent.

Vault 666 - The scenery wasn't as intricate, but it totally worked with the industrial theme of the maze. The talent was a good mix of actors and monsters, some clever and unique scares.

Willoughby's Ressurected - I was really surprised to hear that it was one of the older mazes in the park, because it rocked. The rooms felt large and were fully furnished. The talent was on fire when I went through, even being later in the night. I had no idea there was so much space available up by Ninja. It gave me a very similar vibe to Knott's Lore of the Vampire from way back when (which is a huge compliment, cuz that was one of my very favorites.)

 

Unleashed - Really fun show. Good mix of dancers and specialty performers. Everyone was top notch. A lot of the tricks are the same you can see anywhere else, but they were wonderfully executed.

 

Decent Tier:

The Aftermath - Fantastic use of an otherwise dead space. I was really impressed by the scope of the maze (huge set pieces, junked cars, pyro), but the "post apocalyptic" theme is so vague and hard to make me interested in. The talent was not super committed, and also smelled blood in the water in the group behind me and let me walk through pretty much unbothered. With more energetic talent, this could have been an Awesome Tier maze for me.

Willoughby's Garden of Darkness - I think I went through during a break, because it seemed a little under staffed. I dug the idea of the haunted garden, and enjoyed a bit of the design, but the hanging vines and walls covered in gilly-suit material got boring by the end of the rather long walk. Plus, I'm really tall, so having to push crap out of my face and slouch the whole time was not so great.

 

Not Good Tier:

Chupacabra - The set felt very bare and sparse, the talent wasn't super into it, the metering was absurd (groups of 2-4, spaced 30 seconds to a minute apart. 20 people in line ahead of me and I waited almost 10 minutes).

Toyz of Terror 3D - Honestly, it was all just so bad. The talent did not give a CRAP, and this was at 7:30. The set was so bland and messy. The whole thing felt like a bad mashup of Doll Factory and Carnival of Carnivorous Clowns from Knott's. However... it made me weirdly nostalgic for those old, crappy 3D mazes from back in the day at Scary Farm.

 

Literally Satan Tier:

I (very stupidly) got in line for Shadows of Evil. The actors in line were just okay (except for the boxer, who was just the worst), and I really thought there was going to be SOMETHING on the ride. But not. It's Apocalypse in the dark. But the real killer was that they were running one train. On a Friday night. ONE. TRAIN. 4 - 4.5 minute cycle times.

[CedarFlags]

In related news: I'm still batting Zero (0/4) on racing on the green side of TC. It's such an awesome ride, but ugh... so frustrating to have bad luck.

[Arthur_Seaton]

Willoughby's is solid. When we went last year, there was a 45 min wait to get in but the talent in the queue was exceptional — a highlight of the night. There was no queue when we went last week, and nobody in the maze either. We got the occasional "boo" from someone in a mask, but that was about it. The space itself is cool, though.

 

The crappiness of Toyz is what we loved about it. It has a real old-school funhouse feel, but the talent ruined it when we were there as well. Shadows of Evil was baffling — two guys in fedoras at the entrance and then one person yelling boo from behind a net. Midway through, the regular ride staff were giving people the choice to walk right back out again because the ride itself was more than an hour wait. No idea what they were thinking with that maze, and they could easily have doctored up another ride's queue line instead.

 

We gave Fright Fest the benefit of doubt and will be going back once the season picks up a bit, but last year's event was considerably stronger. And bad luck on the TC duels. I think I've ridden it more than 30 times, and can only think of a few occasions where it didn't duel — or at least get close.

[Superbatboy]

I actually liked Toyz, I did get a bit dizzy (not a fan of 3D)

 

Red's Revenge and Vault were by far the best, though we skipped Aftermath as it had a huge line

[mich311e]

Here's my quick trip report from Friday October 2!

 

We got to the park about 10ish. Got up to entry area and entered thru the gold pass member line. Stood at the "rope drop" area and it dropped about 10 minutes before the park opened. My first stop was the bathroom though!

 

We were going to head to YOLO but it didn't appear to be open. So we did take the Orient Express up the hill and road Ninja first since my husband needed a warm up. Then 2 rides on Superman all by ourselves! It was our first time riding facing 'backwards', as we hadn't rode the ride since 2008. It was super cool and the ride ops were great and friendly!

 

Then we rode Apocalypse in the front row, which we loved. Then I rode Tatsu (husband not a fan). Then Goliath, Buccaneer (I love that one!), and Lex Luthor Drop of Doom (husband not a fan). We got on Twisted Colossus next! We totally loved it and got the dueling action on our first climb up the lift hill. I only wish I would have got back on for a second ride, we planned to hit it at night though. Then I rode Scream (husband not a fan). Scream looked so nice with the paint job. I do find I'm having a hard time (I'm almost 40!) with more twisty rides and inversions. That will probably be my last ride on Scream. The loops on many of the other rides don't bother me. On the way out of the park we hit YOLO and loved it! We really think it's a great ride.

 

We left the park to get lunch and had an excellent happy hour at Claim Jumper on the Old Road - great beer and appetizers, really good prices! We also hit the hotel so I could shower (wore sandals in the morning, and had to kick those off for 3 rides - dirty feet, yuck).

 

Came back to the park around 6:45 and it wasn't crazy! We were able to secure a spot in the back of the front parking lot. We started going through some mazes and got in a few night rides. We did Chupacabra then I rode X2. I do love X2, that first drop is so amazing! I do miss the music they used to have with Drowning Pool's "Let the bodies hit the floor" and Aerosmith saying "Going Down" and I think Rage at the end? That was the best. I did, however, feel the pain in the back of my legs near the end of the ride that I've read about here before. I don't recall feeling that before. It was like calves - calves- HEAD. And I took a hit to the head. I must have looked dazed when I got off the ride because a woman who was getting on was asking if it was really that bad. I said, oh no, it's fine. But the combo of the restraints squeezing me down in the chest area and hitting my head meant I needed to catch my breath a minute. I still think it's a really awesome ride and I will definitely ride it again.

 

I opted to skip Viper because my head was already hurting after X2. We rode Apocalypse at night (Shadows of Evil) and it had about a 30 minute wait. We were in the middle of the train this time and that and the darkness made it a much more intense ride! Then we rode Gold Rusher. We did some more mazes: The Aftermath, Toyz (I love this one, so cheezy and fun!), Vault 666, and Red's Revenge (I thought the set design was amazing!).(We did the Willoughby's mazes last year so didn't do them this time) Then we saw the show Unleashed which I thought was super cool! Loved the aerial acrobatics and the trampoline dudes! We were going to ride TC one more time at night but it had an hour wait and we had been spoiled all day. We were honestly tired by this point. So I got one last ride on YOLO and it was great at night.

 

We loved all the scare zones at night. I think Six Flags does a great job. All the employees we encountered were nice and friendly. I'm a little sad it's over, as I probably won't return until my son and his friends (our best friend's kids) want to go. My son is 11 and late to thrill ride fun. I can't even get him on Space Mountain but I'm working on it. Thanks for the tips here. I love to read and stay caught up on what's going on in the park.

Edited October 5, 2015 by mich311e

[soilooklikemanson]

I don't think it's fair to bash another groups event. We have been successful because we focus on what we do and not worry about what other groups are doing. And personally, I don't look at three groups coming together and selling 50 tickets to be "competition" for WCB. No one is trying to prove anything. That's not what it's all about. Instead of bashing other events, show your support and come to WCB again next year!

very well said Robb. I didn't get to go to any events this year, other than TC media day. I didn't do so good on my report for a local TV station, Oh well. I like all the coaster clubs. (My greatest fun has been with TPR and can't wait for new adventures, THANK YOU) The passion for FUN is unilateral. Next year is gonna be Awesome. Can't wait to ride Rev, close to it's originality

[vedved82491]

I don't think I've seen this answered yet, but what is the process for processing Gold Season Passes at the park? Last year the passes looked just like the regular passes and there weren't any extra steps required beyond scanning your finger at the turnstiles, but I believe they said this year Gold Members have to go elsewhere to get the pass processed. Can anybody clarify this for me?