The Six Flags Magic Mountain (SFMM) Discussion Thread

[DJeXeL]

B&M stopped using photoeyes on their lifts probably for that exact reason.

[Comeagain?]

If it's raining or wet, that's probably the issue. Our log flume uses those and the lift acts hilariously when it's raining because the rain usually makes them always "on".

[scottm13]

B&M stopped using photoeyes on their lifts probably for that exact reason.

I don't think B&M ever used photo eyes on their lift hills. They've stopped using photo eyes entirely as a part of their control systems too. I'm really not sure why SF is still using them, let alone using them on lift hills, which is very uncommon. They use photo eyes at every block still, too.

[coasterlvr]

I was at the park today. Many rides opened late (Goliath, Scream, Riddler, Lex). Still a great day to get rides. Not very busy at all. Only about 1 1/2 parking lots full. YOLO finally opened around 4 or so. I do have a question. Where do the estimated wait times come from on the 6 Flags app?

 

i was yelling, hey Ed, hey Ed. while i was getting on Riddlers and you went to the row in front of us. then, didn't fit or whatever reason you went back in line. LOL

[coasterlvr]

Yolo broke yesterday and was down the second half of the day, interesting that it's still down today. TC is having a lot of issues with lift 1 apparently (sensors tripping in the rain). If it's still down Saturday I might go over and find out some more details.

 

Also, I don't believe the green train has been salvaged for parts, two of the cars are sitting out by the ride still on their shipping crates untouched. I'm not sure where the other cars are but I'm assuming they are either still in the coaster shop or somewhere else on property and not salvaged for parts.

 

the ones that were originally near the transfer tracks definitely were at least missing seat cushions. when you see those missing in pics, then brand new black ones on the trains, my guess is that's where they came from. i saw the covered trains in a different area today. if they are the same ones, that's new covering for them. i always thought it was dumb to leave them out half covered before.

 

 

that's not too untouched to me. that's a newer tarp over the old white plastic.

[Arthur_Seaton]

Ended up going to the park for a few hours this evening after all. Arrived about 5pm waited maybe 15 mins for Goliath. TC had about a 30-minute wait — largely due to the missing train. That, however, was the last line we waited in and everything else was a walk-on for the rest of the night with many rides allowing us to simply change seats and go again. Rode Goliath three times, Batman once, Ninja twice, Scream twice (ouch), Superman twice, Tatsu three times (not fans of that ride, but had to take advantage of an empty station), X2 twice (same as Tatsu) and then back to TC at 7:15 to find the station empty, so four more rides on that. The TC ops did a fantastic job with dueling all night, and they managed to sync us up for all five rides. Yolo was running sporadically for the last couple of hours, but we didn't bother with it this time as there was a short line, and we had already been spoiled by walk-ons by that point. A great night, overall — nice and chilly with a beautiful moon out.

 

Also, something I noted several pages ago: When TC duels, the train on the left needs a good 5-second head start now for the top-gun stall and barrel roll to be synced. When the trains leave the lift at the same time, the hi-five moment is perfectly synced, but they fall out of sync soon after. I've noticed this more and more since the ride first opened, so I wonder if there's something structural in the track / train wheels that causing a disparity as the ride ages?

Moon over Six Flags

[DJeXeL]

B&M stopped using photoeyes on their lifts probably for that exact reason.

I don't think B&M ever used photo eyes on their lift hills. They've stopped using photo eyes entirely as a part of their control systems too. I'm really not sure why SF is still using them, let alone using them on lift hills, which is very uncommon. They use photo eyes at every block still, too.

 

B&M used photoeyes on their lift hills. I know this for a fact. Scream has a couple at the top of its lift as does Silver Bullet at Knott's. You're correct though that they stopped using them.

[coasternut]

I was at the park today. Many rides opened late (Goliath, Scream, Riddler, Lex). Still a great day to get rides. Not very busy at all. Only about 1 1/2 parking lots full. YOLO finally opened around 4 or so. I do have a question. Where do the estimated wait times come from on the 6 Flags app?

 

i was yelling, hey Ed, hey Ed. while i was getting on Riddlers and you went to the row in front of us. then, didn't fit or whatever reason you went back in line. LOL

 

Hey JT, I thought I heard my name on Riddler's, but I had to go back to the single rider line because that seat was the broken one. I didn't notice until I tried to pull down the harness. It had the vest on it, so I returned to the line. Merry Christmas...

[LuminousAphid]

B&M used photoeyes on their lift hills. I know this for a fact. Scream has a couple at the top of its lift as does Silver Bullet at Knott's. You're correct though that they stopped using them.

Random question- in what situation would a photoreceptor be the sensor of choice? It seems like EM sensors would be much more reliable and less prone to weather issues

[scottm13]

B&M used photoeyes on their lift hills. I know this for a fact. Scream has a couple at the top of its lift as does Silver Bullet at Knott's. You're correct though that they stopped using them.

Random question- in what situation would a photoreceptor be the sensor of choice? It seems like EM sensors would be much more reliable and less prone to weather issues

Just a redundancy. It is almost always used in addition to proximity switches/sensors. Some water rides and water slides use them by themselves though. Almost all older coasters have them, but most newer ones do not. SF still uses them on their control systems for whatever reason.

[DoubleDown]

My only issues with TC and RMC is the design to assist with the dueling aspect, which are affected by a couple things.

 

The restraint sensors/dispatch systems are a little abysmal as far as getting trains cleared and dispatched quickly. I think it could have been better.

 

The sensors to race the ride just don't cut it. It should be second nature to be able to have two trains leave the to of lift hill at the same time in 2015.

 

I kinda wish they would have added a bit more to the first half of the ride, to give a little bit more time before the second lift, so that there is a little gap to help with the racing. Something like a couple bumps, turns and a helix before the 2nd lift hill would have helped a bit.

 

And maybe it's just me, but with the added thrill to have both trains duel, I'd be willing to crawl up that second lift so that the first lift could catch up and let them race. It's a pretty intense ride, and taking a minute but less than two to get up that 2nd lift hill wouldn't be a problem for me.

[CrazedZooChimp]

^ It doesn't always completely stop. Sometimes the MCB just slows the train down. Not really sure why sometimes is does stop. Not a fan of that. It ruins the pacing.

 

Yep, that's basically why I asked. It's not like it would be amazing, but it would be a much better paced ride if it didn't come to a complete stop. Nice to know it at least only sometimes does that.

 

 

Yolo broke yesterday and was down the second half of the day, interesting that it's still down today. TC is having a lot of issues with lift 1 apparently (sensors tripping in the rain). If it's still down Saturday I might go over and find out some more details.

 

Also, I don't believe the green train has been salvaged for parts, two of the cars are sitting out by the ride still on their shipping crates untouched. I'm not sure where the other cars are but I'm assuming they are either still in the coaster shop or somewhere else on property and not salvaged for parts.

 

It was certainly having trouble in the rain when I was there a couple weeks ago. They were running three trains with no issues all day. It started raining in the evening, they swapped to two trains (I had assumed unrelated, maybe not?), and it broke down multiple times. One of the breakdowns I happened to be on it, and I can safely say sitting in the train outside the station waiting for maintenance while getting rained on is not particularly fun. They really ought to extend the cover

[jray21]

I really need to make a trip down there. Last time I visited was when Green Lantern opened!

[coasterfreak11]

Hey CA folks, hoping to hit up SFMM on Thursday which is New Years Eve. Anyone have any experience on how light or heavy of crowds I can expect on NYE? I don't need to make it on all the coasters as I've been there once before, but definitely need a few good rides on TC. Thanks in advance!

[DJeXeL]

I really need to make a trip down there. Last time I visited was when Green Lantern opened!

 

Shame on you.

[MagicMountainMan]

Hey CA folks, hoping to hit up SFMM on Thursday which is New Years Eve. Anyone have any experience on how light or heavy of crowds I can expect on NYE? I don't need to make it on all the coasters as I've been there once before, but definitely need a few good rides on TC. Thanks in advance!

Crowds will be relatively light, the park closes at 8 so there's none of the crowd you'd expect for New Year's since they don't do anything for it.

[thrillseeker4552]

Also, something I noted several pages ago: When TC duels, the train on the left needs a good 5-second head start now for the top-gun stall and barrel roll to be synced. When the trains leave the lift at the same time, the hi-five moment is perfectly synced, but they fall out of sync soon after. I've noticed this more and more since the ride first opened, so I wonder if there's something structural in the track / train wheels that causing a disparity as the ride ages?

 

Alan Schilke noted that the trains are designed to "shuffle" throughout the ride and shouldn't line up perfectly at every element.

 

Also, was anybody at the park this weekend? How were crowds? I'd like to go this week prior to New Years but my family is reluctant due to extreme crowds.

[CedarFlags]

Also, something I noted several pages ago: When TC duels, the train on the left needs a good 5-second head start now for the top-gun stall and barrel roll to be synced. When the trains leave the lift at the same time, the hi-five moment is perfectly synced, but they fall out of sync soon after. I've noticed this more and more since the ride first opened, so I wonder if there's something structural in the track / train wheels that causing a disparity as the ride ages?

 

Alan Schilke noted that the trains are designed to "shuffle" throughout the ride and shouldn't line up perfectly at every element.

 

I noticed that as well when the ride first opened. You can have the high five or the inversion cross overs, but not both. I didn't notice it as a full 5 seconds before... it seemed more like 1 second.

[coasternut]

Also, was anybody at the park this weekend? How were crowds? I'd like to go this week prior to New Years but my family is reluctant due to extreme crowds.

 

I was at the Mountain both Saturday and today - Sunday. Saturday wasn't as busy as today, but the weather (winds) closed / delayed many ride openings. Today was busier, almost 3 parking lots, but still many rides opened late: Goliath, Superman, Scream, Lex, Yolo to name a few. I also thing X2 opened late or didn't open today. Not sure, since I don't care about it and never ride it. I'm not sure if that helps..

[edgeboy]

I went Sunday night just for the lights, arriving at 6:30. X2 was running as we pulled up, but Lex was closed. All other major rides seemed to be open, including Superman. TC's line filled the queue, but didn't go outside.

[Manic Monte]

I have to say, when TC is running three trains, it's easily the most pleasant queue to wait in the the entire park. Even brisker than Viper.

 

No more Full Throttles or Green Lanterns please. This should be the standard of every coaster they build going forward.

[Magic Alumni]

I have to say, when TC is running three trains, it's easily the most pleasant queue to wait in the the entire park. Even brisker than Viper.

 

No more Full Throttles or Green Lanterns please. This should be the standard of every coaster they build going forward.

 

I went to the park last night and TC was back to running 3 trains.

[Arthur_Seaton]

Alan Schilke noted that the trains are designed to "shuffle" throughout the ride and shouldn't line up perfectly at every element.

I noticed that as well when the ride first opened. You can have the high five or the inversion cross overs, but not both. I didn't notice it as a full 5 seconds before... it seemed more like 1 second.

I could be completely wrong, but I swear this is something that's increased over time. I seem to recall it being more aligned when it first opened, but now, if they leave the lift hill together, they don't finish together. Honestly, I could be imagining it. Anyhow, the ops were doing a stellar job of syncing last time we were there, so we got the best of the high five as well as the barrel roles. I'm still not completely enamored by the ride itself (I personally would have preferred something more like Wicked Cyclone), but there's no denying that the fun-factor goes through the roof when the trains are racing.

Edited December 29, 2015 by Arthur_Seaton

[X2coasterfreak]

^In theory the train on the blue side should always drop before the green side, since the blue track dives deeper than the green on the hi-five.

[coasterlvr]

Alan Schilke noted that the trains are designed to "shuffle" throughout the ride and shouldn't line up perfectly at every element.

I noticed that as well when the ride first opened. You can have the high five or the inversion cross overs, but not both. I didn't notice it as a full 5 seconds before... it seemed more like 1 second.

I could be completely wrong, but I swear this is something that's increased over time. I seem to recall it being more aligned when it first opened, but now, if they leave the lift hill together, they don't finish together. Honestly, I could be imagining it. Anyhow, the ops were doing a stellar job of syncing last time we were there, so we got the best of the high five as well as the barrel roles. I'm still not completely enamored by the ride itself (I personally would have preferred something more like Wicked Cyclone), but there's no denying that the fun-factor goes through the roof when the trains are racing.

 

this is true, it's different now than when new. during commercial shooting if they left at the same time, the high five was off, but top gun and zero g was even as well as going up the double up. it's not like that now.

 

lately, it's been totally different. i'm sure just a few rusty wheel bearings here and there can change it all. but my expectations have lowered, if i'm within 10ft of another train, i'm happy and amazed. haha