COASTER FREAK 11 Posted March 30, 2009 Share Posted March 30, 2009 What are you spamming for the parks now? Jeez man. Well, dont forget Wes, he works there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Mike Posted March 30, 2009 Share Posted March 30, 2009 I think it's a little bit lame how you guys are ragging on matt for his enthusiasm for the park. If all our employees were as enthusiastic about there jobs the park would be much better for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
COASTER FREAK 11 Posted March 30, 2009 Share Posted March 30, 2009 Were just having fun with him Mike. Its great that he is so excited about his job (and that he even has one in this economy). And he is providing useful information, and a good argument for the park and what it offers. Again, we're just playing around, bacause its rare that someone is that excited for their job. But its great that he is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Mike Posted March 30, 2009 Share Posted March 30, 2009 ^ Thats cool. I figured you guys were just messing around. I wasn't tryin to come off sounding like an A** or anything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimBeach Posted March 30, 2009 Share Posted March 30, 2009 ^Did anyone else notice at WCB that it looked like Mr. Six's face was melting off. When you add his face and the fact that he didn't talk and you get 6 creepiness flags. I noticed that too at WCB. Something abot his face was greasy, sweaty and 'unreal' like som sort of putty. He also had a large bulge at the back of his neck as well as something odd going on with his eyes and glasses. Certainly not the same guy/costume featured in the ads. There is something very disturbing and creely about him these days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir Clinksalot Posted March 30, 2009 Share Posted March 30, 2009 My kids just got out of that "under 48"" zone a few years back. Granted, this is before SFMM started it's most recent up-ward swing, but IMO, there really isn't alot for kids under 48" to do at the park. ESPECIALLY compared to other parks in SoCal. And also compared to even other Six Flags parks in the chain. If they would put the requirements of Gold Rusher, Colossus and Revolution back to their 42" height requirements, it would help ... ALOT. There are much more intense rides in TX, PA and GA that are 42". I don't think Colossus is any more intense than Judge Roy Scream at this point. I CERTAINLY don't think Revolution is more intense than Shockwave and most of the other mine trains are 42". In fact, I'm pretty sure they all are. The list that Matt posted is pretty good, and does seem like alot. But not compared to what else is at the park. Granted, kids over 48" only have a few rides they can't ride, and that's great. But even with Thomas Town, they really didn't "add" anything since Granny Gran Prix left. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimBeach Posted March 30, 2009 Share Posted March 30, 2009 With all the talk about height restrictions and family rides, I think Revolution is fairly tame these days. The problem, IMO, is those head restraints. They bash your ears to the point of aching throughout the entire ride. SFMM mgt says this is due to the inversion, but no other ride such as Viper has anything as uncomfortable and pain inducing as those on Revolution. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebl Posted March 30, 2009 Share Posted March 30, 2009 "If they would put the requirements of Gold Rusher, Colossus and Revolution back to their 42" height requirements, it would help..." (Sir Clinksalot) While Revolution's height limit was once 42", Gold Rusher and Colossus have always been 48". But I agree that Colossus is tame enough to have a lower limit, but it also depends on the train manufacturer's requirements. At WCB, it was mentioned that new trains were in the works for Colossus. I don't know if anyone caught that. Eric Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SharkTums Posted March 30, 2009 Share Posted March 30, 2009 ^I'm pretty sure it was even mentioned by the park that Colossus used to be 48'' to ride alone, or 42'' if accompanied by an adult! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebl Posted March 30, 2009 Share Posted March 30, 2009 ^ I seem to remember something like that, but I believe it was before the Morgan trains arrived in 1987. The thought of new trains on Colossus got me to wondering what kind they'd get? Before the Morgans, they had four-car, three-bench PTCs, and before that, the original five-car, three-bench IADs. From what I recall, the Morgans were supposed to run faster and smoother. Now that they're over 20 years old, they sure don't seem so smooth... Eric Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeoplemoverMatt Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 Well, dont forget Wes, he works there. ...and he grew up 4 miles away from the park, and he had a season pass from age 4 to age 24. I know I sound a little spammish, but honestly, job or no job, I'd still point out that SFMM is far from a park with little to nothing for kids 48" & under, or "only has big coasters and nothing else." Yeah, when I have to point out "Kids Karaoke" there is a bit of an indication that the list could be a bit longer & have more kid-sized thrills, and experiences meant for the whole family to have fun together. I'd love to have a dark ride installed. The Golden Bear Theatre area is practically sitting there begging for a major demolition/rebuilding into a dark ride. Disney's going to spend upwards of $100M to build their Mermaid attraction. Does anyone think Six Flags is going to get a discounted price? Of course not. Problem always is that they don't have $100M lying around, and if they did it would be snatched up by the creditors. Until that reality changes, we'll just have to sit on our wish lists for SFMM, and wonder. It's all we can really do until the stock is healthy again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
themeparkman25 Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 Six has been chilling beneath a dollar for over a half a year and they are currently down a penny at 28 cents per share. When they hit one year beneath a doller they are removed from the exchange, at that point what happens with the company? Is there still talk about lessening the amount of stock available by half and combining shares that way. I don't know if I am making any sense but I remember that they were going to make it so if you held 2 shares of six stock, you would know have 1 but it would be worth twice as much? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MagicMountainMan Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 ^As of right now no company will be delisted because of the current economic conditions. Check out this thread and it will fill you in. Just the thought of Colossus getting new trains makes me hopeful. I'm too young to know how Colossus rode in its day but I'm sure it was good. Did they also hint at removing the MCBR? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebl Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 ^ I wouldn't count on the block brake being removed or that double dip returning. It was redone with that to allow three-train operation on each track, though I have yet to ever see six trains running at one time. Original Colossus was...insane. There was ejector air that left bruises on thighs and sent one rider flying out of the train. (We all know about that.) In short, it was quite a different ride from the one you take today. Terrifying to be honest. And at the same time, quite the thrill. Eric Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atem122 Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 Hopefully if they do get new trains, the restraints wont hurt your man parts in the back rows coming out of the mcbr (someone's gotta know what I'm talking about), although that's probably too much to ask for since new restraints couldnt really change physics....dang Edit: Yay I'm a full fledged donkey enthusiast now...I'm that annoying Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calicoasters Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 I've never had "man part" problems on Colossus. by the way, is it just me or is Colossus running really great and smooth this year? I noticed there was some work done on the pre-lift left side of Colossus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atem122 Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 ^Ride in the back row, right after the mcbr there's ejector air that hurts, may have just been the restraint location though, cause I have been on it in the back other times without it hurting Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebl Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 ^^ They were also retracking the first turnaround on the left track recently. I've also noticed that much of Colossus' track has been redone with steel I-beams. You can see that if you look at the opposite track while riding. Eric Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeoplemoverMatt Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 ^ I wouldn't count on the block brake being removed or that double dip returning. It was redone with that to allow three-train operation on each track, though I have yet to ever see six trains running at one time. Pretty sure Tim said at WCB that the block brake would never be removed & double dip would never be returning because... Original Colossus was...insane. There was ejector air that left bruises on thighs and sent one rider flying out of the train. (We all know about that.) In short, it was quite a different ride from the one you take today. Terrifying to be honest. And at the same time, quite the thrill.Eric ...because while it was giving riders bruises, it was literally tearing itself apart. I never rode Colossus before the double dip was removed, but I remember when that happened. Today I took a spin on Colossus to see how it was going, and it was going pretty well. Tim was pretty much dead on in his description of its current operation. Fun, but not overly intense. A really great in-between Bugs Bunny World and insane rides like Tatsu & X2 for the 48-54" crowd. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr.Six Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 Hope these two rather glaring issues can be fixed! How can anything get fixed if you decide to NOT go to Guest Relations about it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeoplemoverMatt Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 It wasn't a decision not to go to GR. I had a lot of stuff to take care of that I just moved on to after leaving Flags, and I was down the road before thinking "Oh wait, I was going to mention..." . Yeah, my bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jew Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 ^^It's not his job to tell GR! I can understand going to GR about the employee discount situation, but I really hope the park isn't counting on TPR members (and other guests) to police the park for stuff like cell phones. Regarding all the talk about how family friendly SFMM is.. People aren't bringing their kids to SFMM to eat lunch at Mooseburger, play in the arcade, play the midway games or have a kids meal at one of the quick serve locations. To a lesser extent, you can even argue that the shows are also not a draw. I believe that SFMM's entertainment department does a great job with the more limited resources they have (compared to USH and Disney), but I would hardly call the shows a draw. Shows are supplemental, not the main draw. The reality is that in southern california, SFMM is known as a rides park. The only way they are going to shake the stigma of not being family friendly is to build more family friendly rides. Not only that, they need to actually market them as family friendly. The shows, characters, and the "new and improved" atmosphere around the park all supplement that. But before you can get families to realize there is more to do than they thought at SFMM, you have to give them a reason to return first. And the main way to do that is rides. I personally consider family friendly to be 42" and under (I know that Mummy has to turn away tons of kids under 48" inch day, most who want to ride and are just a few inches too short). SFMM seems to agree with me, as clicking "family" on the rides portion of their website yields a list of rides with height requirements of 42" and under. They are still lacking anything remotely close to a signature attraction in this area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robbalvey Posted March 31, 2009 Author Share Posted March 31, 2009 I have updated the first post in this thread to reflect all the updates that have been done to date! Wow, that's a LOT of SFMM discussion! --Robb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robbalvey Posted March 31, 2009 Author Share Posted March 31, 2009 People aren't bringing their kids to SFMM to eat lunch at Mooseburger, play in the arcade, play the midway games or have a kids meal at one of the quick serve locations. Agreed. They can get this experience at most of their local shopping malls. The only way they are going to shake the stigma of not being family friendly is to build more family friendly rides. Not only that, they need to actually market them as family friendly. The shows, characters, and the "new and improved" atmosphere around the park all supplement that. I personally consider family friendly to be 42" and under (I know that Mummy has to turn away tons of kids under 48" inch day, most who want to ride and are just a few inches too short). SFMM seems to agree with me, as clicking "family" on the rides portion of their website yields a list of rides with height requirements of 42" and under. They are still lacking anything remotely close to a signature attraction in this area. Also agreed. (Although Ninja is quite a signature ride for that height group.) My biggest complaint when they removed the Tilt-A-Whirl, FreeFall, Spin Out, Granny Grand Prix and Sierra Twist wasn't so much that they removed "flat rides" but that they removed "family rides" (all of those rides had a height restriction of 42" or under.) And while Thomas was a great replacement for Granny Grand Prix the rest of the removals has left the park with far fewer family *rides* than it had before. Terminator will do VERY well with the 48" group (and that is also a good family category) but most kids reach 48" around 9 and 10 years old (based on the national kids average height charts) and most kids reach 42" around 6 years old. I would say that most of the rides in Bugs Bunny World, Thomas Town, and even the Wiggles World areas at other Six Flags parks actually cater more to the 36" - 42" (which is AWESOME, BTW), but that leaves not too much to do for the 6 to 10 year olds who visit the park and either feel too old for the Tweety Bird Cages or not tall enough for Terminator. IMO, this is a pretty big problem for Magic Mountain, and while they have made strides to improve, they still have a ways to go. When your "competition" in the area offers rides like Space Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain, Tower of Terror, Mulholland Madness, Splash Mountain, Matterhorn, Toy Story Mania, etc, for that 42" - 48" group, it's no question where families are going to bring kids where they can ride "adult sized rides" together. Even Knott's took a step in the right direction with the 42" Sierra Sidewinder (although took a huge step IMO in the WRONG direction with the 48" Pony Express that feels like a ride that should have a 36" height restriction). Gold Rusher, Revolution, and Colossus are all rides where similar versions in other Six Flags parks all have a 42" height restriction. And I don't see Colossus being any more or less intense for kids than the 42" Judge Roy Scream, the 42" Screamin’ Eagle, or the 42" Great American Scream Machine. Revolution is less intense than the 42" Mindbender or 42" Shock Wave, and Gold Rusher is about on par with the 42" Dahlonega Mine Train, the 42" Runaway Mine Train, or even the 40" Big Thunder Mountain. Perhaps it's a California state issue, I'm not sure, but I do think that if these rides can't someday be modified to make more family friendly, then rides of this caliber that ARE family friendly should be considered for future additions. And who knows...perhaps they are! Basically, you can quote as much as you want that SFMM has shows, games, kids areas, and a petting zoo for younger kids, but IMO, when my local shopping mall has a carousel, arcade redemption games, kid-friendly restaurants, a kids play area and seasonal shows, that's not a huge reason to bring your kids to SFMM. They want rides. And SFMM *needs* more rides for families to experience together, not just for toddlers where parents WATCH their kids on a ride, but for FAMILIES, especially if they want to be considered a "family park." I am hoping the 2010 addition is a 42" Tony Hawk coaster (or something similar) and I would hope that the 2011 addition is something major that a family can experience together. They have plenty for the 48" group, the 54" group, and even the 36" group. They need to focus on 42"...at least in my opinion. I want more than anything for SFMM to be a true "family friendly" park. --Robb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon34MA Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 Robb makes a lot of great points (too many to quote) 42" Judge Roy Scream, the 42" Screamin’ Eagle, or the 42" Great American Scream Machine Thunderbolt at SFNE is 48", and Pandamonium is 47" (43" to 47" w/adult). And it is known how strict Massachusetts is with amusement parks and safety. Tony Hawk is more family friendly while still providing a great ride. SFNE's Wiggles World was the most family friendly cause all but 2 rides are 42" or with an adult. Having worked at SFNE in Wiggles World most of the kids were under 5 years old. Except for the occasional teen that was being silly most kids just used the area to ride Rt 66 and cut through to Superman. The rides are a good family collection but IMO they should try a different theme to draw the older kids and families. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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