The Six Flags Magic Mountain (SFMM) Discussion Thread

[Jew]

It was a bring a friend day.

[ZeroG001]

Does anyone know what's going on at the park on Sunday, January 27th? I'm planning on going to the park that day with a group of friends and it says "Yup, it's packed!" on isitcrowded. The reason why I'm asking is cause on Saturday the 26th, it says that isn't going to be packed. I'm confused as to why Sunday will be more crowded than Saturday because I always assumed it's the opposite.

[coasternut]

I was at the park yesterday. I've never seen it so busy. If I didn't have a platinum flash pass, I would've been gone early. The overflow lot was full at about 3 or so. They were parking cars to the right of the road the employees use to drive in. Crazy day...

 

Both the membership website and flash pass sites are down this morning. I guess too much traffic!

[Too Fast For Comfort]

I was mentioning this on another thread, but this is a fairly fair rule of thumb to go by for this 365 day operation parks (not that this doesn't apply to seasonal parks, but it definitely applies to 365 parks):

 

You really have to study the school year calendar. For parks like Universal and Disney, you have to worry about all of the districts across the country, but for a park like SFMM, you're safe enough just looking at California. The summer will have more crowds than the rest of the year on average, but the crowds will be more spread out, because parents have three months to take their kids to the park. So you might be a little safer to get away with a weekend then (but don't even for Fourth of July or Memorial Day or Labor Day). But its going to be mobbed any weekend, holiday, winter break, or spring break day. Parents just have fewer days to work with outside of the summer, and unless they want to pull their kids from school, they're going to have to jam themselves into those days.

 

So yes, unless you're talking about Monday through Thursday (Fridays can work, but you still get a lot of the weekend traffic) during the school calendar, you can expect crowds. But believe it or not, probably about half of the days in SFMM's calendar are pretty dead, so just try to prioritize going when you know the local kids will be in school and pray for no field trips.

[Edgar Allan Pooh]

Today it is insanely crowded. It’s bring a friend day, and everyone is trying to use up the last day of their season pass.

[Twistedtatsu805]

Today it is insanely crowded. It’s bring a friend day, and everyone is trying to use up the last day of their season pass.

 

They extended Holiday in the Park and 2018 passes through this Saturday, so the park is gonna be insanely crowded all week.

[VF15]

Need some input, is it possible to do a Magic Mountain/Knott’s Trip without a car? I’m thinking about flying to L.A. sometime this summer to visit SFMM and KBF, but renting a car isn’t really an option since I’m under 25. Is there any public transit I could take to get between the two parks or would I have to rely mostly on taxi/Uber/Lyft?

[coasterlvr]

Need some input, is it possible to do a Magic Mountain/Knott’s Trip without a car? I’m thinking about flying to L.A. sometime this summer to visit SFMM and KBF, but renting a car isn’t really an option since I’m under 25. Is there any public transit I could take to get between the two parks or would I have to rely mostly on taxi/Uber/Lyft?

 

i'd uber/lyft. i think some have done public, but to me that's way too much a hassle, and, imo, possibly not that safe.

[Twistedtatsu805]

Need some input, is it possible to do a Magic Mountain/Knott’s Trip without a car? I’m thinking about flying to L.A. sometime this summer to visit SFMM and KBF, but renting a car isn’t really an option since I’m under 25. Is there any public transit I could take to get between the two parks or would I have to rely mostly on taxi/Uber/Lyft?

 

If you want to take public transit your best bet would be to see if there is a train that runs from the SCV to Orange County, then look in to the local tranist systems or take an Uber/lift to/from the rail station. Train schedules can easily be found through Google.

[saweetdude05]

You can take Metrolink from Santa Clarita to Buena Park, however it doesn't run very frequently or past 5pm or so.

[Canobie Coaster]

You can take Metrolink from Santa Clarita to Buena Park, however it doesn't run very frequently or past 5pm or so.

 

Staying by the park would help give a full day.

 

I rented a car in California a few times before I was 25. Hertz waived the under 25 fee for me since I was a AAA member. If the fee is the biggest issue, that may help.

[SteVeUrkle]

Need some input, is it possible to do a Magic Mountain/Knott’s Trip without a car? I’m thinking about flying to L.A. sometime this summer to visit SFMM and KBF, but renting a car isn’t really an option since I’m under 25. Is there any public transit I could take to get between the two parks or would I have to rely mostly on taxi/Uber/Lyft?

 

Honestly, I'd bite the bullet and get the car. Even if it costs you $100-$200 more because of your age.

 

Think of the time you'd save. You can get to Magic Mountain from Knott's (well, atleast I used to be able to do it) in the off traffic hours in about 60 minutes. I would suggest doing Knott's, waiting until 11pm, then driving up to SFMM to sleep there at a local hotel to wake up in Valencia for your day at Magic Mountain.

 

Traffic in Southern California is effing stupid, horrid, pull your hair out imaginable. I can't fathom the price of an Uber or Lyft mid-day. Public Transportation is a joke around there. One of the many many reasons I left California and don't visit Magic Mountain anymore even when I visit home (which is 5 minutes from Knott's).

 

Hate to say it, but it's rough. Rent the car and go in the middle of the night or spend $100 each way on a ride sharing app. Man, I'd be pissed if I was in OC driving for lift and it took me all the way to Santa Clarita LOL!

[SoCalJasonland]

delete.

[Too Fast For Comfort]

Need some input, is it possible to do a Magic Mountain/Knott’s Trip without a car? I’m thinking about flying to L.A. sometime this summer to visit SFMM and KBF, but renting a car isn’t really an option since I’m under 25. Is there any public transit I could take to get between the two parks or would I have to rely mostly on taxi/Uber/Lyft?

 

I'd use Turo. I've started using that over rental cars. Its like Airbnb or Uber, but for rental cars. You use an app, and rent cars directly from hosts. Sometimes they're regular people just looking for spare money, and lately some people are making real businesses out of the app. Its selling point is that its generally a lot cheaper than rental car companies (think the price between Airbnb and a hotel) and you get access to better, more luxurious cars compared to the rock bottom economy cars you'd get from a rental car company.

 

And their minimum age is only 21, so you'd be all set. They also allow you to rent a stick, which is unheard of at rental car places.

 

Only drawbacks are the occasional hassle of putting it together and doing some of the work yourself, having to pay an upcharge to get the car from an airport (but you can Uber to a parking lot and pick it up for no upcharge), and the mileage being limited (I think that its usually no less than 300 miles, so you can get to the LA parks, just no big road trips).

[coasterbill]

Call around ahead of time. I rented a few cars when I was under 25 and I had some people offer to waive the fee.

[Too Fast For Comfort]

To be honest, amusement parks are probably one area where you really need a car to make it work -- maybe an exception would be if you're staying with family and can get dropped off. Parks just rarely are close to public transportation, and long Uber rides will kill you. You may even be getting some crazy surge-charges when you're leaving and trying to get picked up. I could see not having a car if your plan is to fly in, stay at the same park the whole trip, and stay at a local hotel, but if you're going to be moving around you probably need a car in some capacity. For one thing -- you generally don't see big parks in downtown parts of major cities where you would see convenient public transit access. For that matter -- the public transit in America outside of a few cities is certainly something to be desired.

[Lemur]

For one thing -- you generally don't see big parks in downtown parts of major cities where you would see convenient public transit access. For that matter -- the public transit in America outside of a few cities is certainly something to be desired.

 

Irony being that the amusement business in the US was, at one time, centered on "trolley parks" as a way to get people out of the cities and riding public transportation for reasons other than commuting to work. And then the car became the big thing post World War II and it effectively killed off the sprawling public transportation system that was in place. And now, for the most part, the trolley parks have gone the way of the trolley too. If they have held on, there's not much public transit running to them (the obvious exceptions being Coney and Lakeside - which is moving).

[Canobie Coaster]

To be honest, amusement parks are probably one area where you really need a car to make it work -- maybe an exception would be if you're staying with family and can get dropped off. Parks just rarely are close to public transportation, and long Uber rides will kill you. You may even be getting some crazy surge-charges when you're leaving and trying to get picked up. I could see not having a car if your plan is to fly in, stay at the same park the whole trip, and stay at a local hotel, but if you're going to be moving around you probably need a car in some capacity. For one thing -- you generally don't see big parks in downtown parts of major cities where you would see convenient public transit access. For that matter -- the public transit in America outside of a few cities is certainly something to be desired.

 

I was so spoiled by Europe and Japan in this regard. You can basically access any park via fast and efficient public transit.

 

When I was in California for a summer, I visited all the major parks using buses and trains with the exception of one and that one was Six Flags Magic Mountain. It would have been a bear to get to without a car. The 3 hours of buses and trains plus the need for a taxi or Uber convinced me to rent a car.

[Jew]

If you really wanted to do it with no car, the combination of metrolink, metro trains, and the metro 460 bus route would work.

Edited January 3, 2019 by Jew

[tanthonyam]

Well here is proof how insanely busy it was... Me personally, I would have turned around and left. Was there nothing else to do in SOCAL that day?

 

[njcoasterguy34]

I've planned a trip to visit SFMM this coming June for my birthday. Since I can't get a refund on my airfare, what is SFMM's rain policy?

[Twistedtatsu805]

West Coast Customs released New concept art for the WCR trains. Notice anything different than the announcement renderings?

[bluestreak]

No comfort collars thank goodness.

[Too Fast For Comfort]

If you really wanted to do it with no car, the combination of metrolink, metro trains, and the metro 460 bus route would work.

 

If I'm at the point where I'd have to take a bus to connect to something else, that's where I give up and just do a car or Uber directly. I put my time in living in Boston for several years taking the T or Ubering, only using my car once every 2-3 weeks or less. Generally, if there's an adequate place to park and I'm not planning on getting stupid drunk, I jut go with the car option.

[scottiemon]

I've planned a trip to visit SFMM this coming June for my birthday. Since I can't get a refund on my airfare, what is SFMM's rain policy?

 

You are more likely to see a unicorn, than it is for it to rain in SoCal in June. I wouldn't worry too much about it.