The Six Flags Magic Mountain (SFMM) Discussion Thread

[DoinItForTheFame]

I still think for this years “new attraction” they are just going to re-announce West Coast Racers as “New For 2020!”

[Kylis]

I also just want to mention that I had an awesome front row ride on Riddler last Sunday. It still runs remarkably well and is one of my favorite B&M loopers out there, if not my favorite.

I'm not a fan of stand-ups at all and I'm not particularly into B&M loopers — especially when it feels like a ride is just a catalog of stock elements. I rode it in the front on Sunday as well and it was indeed good. The last few times I've ridden it, it's boxed my ears in pretty bad, but not this time.

 

The center seats (like any 4 across coaster) are fairly smooth while the edge seats are a bit whippy. guessing you more than likely sat on edge seats before but center seats recently.

[Arthur_Seaton]

The center seats (like any 4 across coaster) are fairly smooth while the edge seats are a bit whippy. guessing you more than likely sat on edge seats before but center seats recently.

Nah, it was the edge, but the front is always a little less brutal I find. I don't ride it often and I think the last time I rode it, it must have been just prior to a maintenance cycle. Scream can be similar: usually, it's smooth but it can get super rough and rattly too.

[MagicMountainMan]

I just hope that while they're waiting on the part, they take the time to give the trains the refurbishment they need, buuut, I don't have my hopes too high on that one.

 

You gotta understand, it's A LOT of work for the already overworked mechanics at the park to take a train apart like X2, haul it to the complete other corner of the park (where the refurb shed is), have the entire train refurbished, then hauled all the way back to the other side of the park to be placed back on the track. This isn't Disney efficiency we're talking about, it's a tough job! And they're dealing with very heavy cars that they have to be extremely careful with!

 

One thing about Magic Mountain (Six Flags) most people don't get, is they keep adding coasters and rides that need daily maintenance, but they DON'T increase the number of mechanics needed to operate all the coasters proportionately. So, they do what they can with what they have, and the spaces they have to work backstage with are literally the same they've been for decades.

 

When a ride like X2 goes down for parts, or Apocalypse goes down due to a new ride addition, the mechanics take a sigh of relief as that is a LITERAL break from having to inspect/upkeep the ride for a couple weeks/months/years.

 

This is not a Magic Mountain specific issue, this really is corporate decisions squeezing everything they can out of the personnel who IMO really are already underpaid and work their butts off.

 

As shared NUMEROUS times in this thread over countless years, the park/Six Flags needs to drop this coaster/ride addition crap like 10 years ago, and really focus on what they have and maintaining THAT up to quality standards. The park/corporate refuses to do so and therefore things fall behind, get delayed and half assed, and you see the same issues repeating themselves and snowballing into a lot of what we see at the park today.

To further clarify this, amusement parks allocate budgets differently according to the type of work that has to be done. So the typical daily/weekly/yearly preventative manufacturer specified maintenance always has some sort of budget since it's work that has to be done. Stuff that goes above and beyond typical preventative maintenance (like train refurbishments and the like) is also budgeted on a schedule, but at a much much lower priority. So if something unplanned happens, like now, there is no "extra" budget to throw at an accelerated train refurbishment just because the timing would be convenient. That's the unfortunate reality at Six Flags Magic Mountain.

 

Also, ride mechanics and electricians aren't necessarily ever grossly understaffed but sometimes they do struggle (these are the people responsible for the vast majority of the daily PMs), however Cycle Shop and the other shops on property are almost always perennially understaffed as those jobs don't pay nearly as well as a ride mechanic or ride electrician. This is why Magic Mountain is almost always behind on scheduled train refurbishments and when incidents like the Ninja accident from a few years back really screw with the park.

 

In somewhat related news, the entire park is on a corporate mandated 10% budget cut until the end of the year. The park is now looking at ways to save money in any way possible. Justice League has been opening at noon or later due to cuts. Staffing has decreased. Entertainment at the park (what is left of it) has been cut down to almost nothing. There will be no show in the Gearworks Theater until next summer and Fright Fest has gotten its budget cut as well. Every department is being affected

 

 

 

Personal opinion time: It seems as if Six Flags is headed down the same path that lead them to the 2005/2006 shareholder revolt and takeover and the subsequent bankruptcy. This time they are hedging with monthly flat fee memberships and in park advertising which takes away some of the volatility of guest visitation trends, however to me it's as if Six Flags is playing a type of business Jenga: keep pulling pieces out of the tower to see just how little of the tower is actually needed to be functional. Their debt is also as high as it has ever been. I know that their financials are good right now and it's a hot take, but seeing Six Flags slash budgets at a time when all the other theme park chains are pouring money into their parks leaves me skeptical. The regional theme park market is fickle, and if something big enough or bad enough were to happen at even a single park it could kneecap the entire chain.

[Dombot]

I still think for this years “new attraction” they are just going to re-announce West Coast Racers as “New For 2020!”

That would be the funniest thing ever and I hate that it sounds like an actual thing Six Flags would do.

[TatsuXtreme]

I just had an interesting thought. Does anyone think Six Flags will work with Premier Rides in the future after this? At this point, the delay on West Coast Racers is Premier's fault. The park hasn't even received all the track pieces yet!

[thrillseeker4552]

^It is not entirely Premier's fault, if at all.

 

That area needed a LOT of work before any supports or track were installed. Apparently there was lots of underground work that needed to be done (electrical, water) and lots of outdated infrastructure had to be replaced and upgraded. This, combined with Six Flags being year round and not needed to open their new ride in the summer, plus the complicated support structure of this ride being crammed into the area it is, is the reason for its "delay" (compared to other SF parks opening their rides).

 

It's not like Six Flags was just sitting around twiddling their thumbs waiting for Premier to send ride pieces. They had a LOT of work to do in the area on their end that didn't even have anything to do with the coaster itself. The whole area is receiving a (much needed) transformation. I don't think anybody is to blame for this coaster not being open yet other than the perfect storm of an extremely outdated area needing lots of work, the usual "Six Flags slowness," Premier having to perfect the design of the complicated support structure, and the lack of a rush to open this ride in the summer when the park gets just as crowded (if not even more crowded) in the fall and winter time.

 

I am sure Six Flags will work with Premier again. Hardly any of this had to do with Premier Rides themselves being difficult to work with, I assume.

[Arthur_Seaton]

The park hasn't even received all the track pieces yet!

Really? Where was this announced? Would you mind providing your source, as I'm curious to see what else they had to say alongside that point!

 

I was there a few days ago and the track was almost complete. There were a few remaining parts across from the parking lot, but unless they're expanding it beyond plans, I wonder what's now missing? Did they take parts out and send them away again? I know they initially had problems shipping the parts in from China, but from what I gathered, the pieces were all on-site.

[TatsuXtreme]

The park hasn't even received all the track pieces yet!

Really? Where was this announced? Would you mind providing your source, as I'm curious to see what else they had to say alongside that point!

 

I was there a few days ago and the track was almost complete. There were a few remaining parts across from the parking lot, but unless they're expanding it beyond plans, I wonder what's now missing? Did they take parts out and send them away again? I know they initially had problems shipping the parts in from China, but from what I gathered, the pieces were all on-site.

 

And how do you gather that? I was there just yesterday. Compare how much of the yellow track that is still missing from the site to how much they have in the overflow lot and there you have your answer.

[robbalvey]

And how do you gather that? I was there just yesterday. Compare how much of the yellow track that is still missing from the site to how much they have in the overflow lot and there you have your answer.

So you DON'T actually know for sure if they have all the track or not... you're just "guessing" and making stuff up, right?

Edited August 15, 2019 by robbalvey

[Arthur_Seaton]

And how do you gather that? I was there just yesterday. Compare how much of the yellow track that is still missing from the site to how much they have in the overflow lot and there you have your answer.

No, an official source/statement — not a personal guess / assumption. Given how definite your claim is, I'm interested in learning what happened and why what was an almost-complete track is now missing pieces.

[Intamin_coyote]

What I find funny is how both Premier and S&S have come under fire this year for having "late" ride openings, yet some seem to be completely neglecting the probably more important fact that this is Six Flags and Parques Reunidos we're talking here. Neither of which are known for getting rides open on time.

 

Meanwhile, Premier didn't seem to have any problem getting the Sky Rocket IIs open on time at the SEAS parks...

[JJLehto]

I mean, I fully admit I don't know quite how the construction process works, who bears responsibility for what and etc

All I know is....it does seem to be a historic issue with Six Flags. I mean this isn't exactly new for em lol

[Superbatboy]

Meanwhile, Premier didn't seem to have any problem getting the Sky Rocket IIs open on time at the SEAS parks...

Maybe the copy and paste rides aren't as taxing to get open on time, I dont recall any delays for any of the S&S Free Spins at Six Flags parks either.

[Jew]

^It is not entirely Premier's fault, if at all.

 

That area needed a LOT of work before any supports or track were installed. Apparently there was lots of underground work that needed to be done (electrical, water) and lots of outdated infrastructure had to be replaced and upgraded. This, combined with Six Flags being year round and not needed to open their new ride in the summer, plus the complicated support structure of this ride being crammed into the area it is, is the reason for its "delay" (compared to other SF parks opening their rides).

 

It's not like Six Flags was just sitting around twiddling their thumbs waiting for Premier to send ride pieces. They had a LOT of work to do in the area on their end that didn't even have anything to do with the coaster itself. The whole area is receiving a (much needed) transformation. I don't think anybody is to blame for this coaster not being open yet other than the perfect storm of an extremely outdated area needing lots of work, the usual "Six Flags slowness," Premier having to perfect the design of the complicated support structure, and the lack of a rush to open this ride in the summer when the park gets just as crowded (if not even more crowded) in the fall and winter time.

 

I am sure Six Flags will work with Premier again. Hardly any of this had to do with Premier Rides themselves being difficult to work with, I assume.

 

That is all stuff a good project manager would have been able to solve...

[mary.pesik]

I just had an interesting thought. Does anyone think Six Flags will work with Premier Rides in the future after this? At this point, the delay on West Coast Racers is Premier's fault. The park hasn't even received all the track pieces yet!

Well after what happened with the Chiller (RIP)...

[Jew]

Six Flags will work with whomever gives them the bid they are looking for.

[Nrthwnd]

Does anyone know if they’ll be a Meetup for Six Flags MM and/or Knotts this year?

 

https://www.themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=76997

 

Some people are probably still wondering...

[joelwee]

Does anyone know if they’ll be a Meetup for Six Flags MM and/or Knotts this year?

 

https://www.themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=76997

 

Some people are probably still wondering...

That’s a bummer. I had a great time last year. Looking forward to it next year, though.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Kylis]

Some current images from 8/19 of the progress of the figure 8/spaghetti bowl section and what track/supports are left in the overflow lot.

Them taking another piece out of the overflow lot.

[DoinItForTheFame]

Yep! I’m still thinking announcement day is going to be like:

 

“All new for 2020!!!!

 

WEST COSST RACERS!!

 

Opening Summer 2020.”

[AmyUD06]

Wouldn't be the first time. Chiller at SFGAdv originally opened for like a week in '97, then closed for the rest of the year, and they advertised it again as their "New for '98!" attraction.

 

[KBrylczyk]

I've always loved that advertising. "Just when you think it's over, you'll complete your escape...backwards!" Yeah, backwards, all the way back to the starting point of said "escape." Not a very good escape, really.

[coasterlvr]

Wouldn't be the first time. Chiller at SFGAdv originally opened for like a week in '97, then closed for the rest of the year, and they advertised it again as their "New for '98!" attraction.

 

 

same with superman at sfmm. supposed to open in 1996, but opened in 1997. pass holders did get to ride it in 1996 since it was a benefit advertised for buying a pass. i forget how high it went, but it wasn't full power for sure. hell, i have a hard time believing it went 100mph until the latest incarnation.

[ytterbiumanalyst]

Same with Mr. Freeze. Was supposed to be new for '97 but opened in '98 instead.