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The Six Flags Magic Mountain (SFMM) Discussion Thread


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[coastertube] WE[/coastertube]

they could just turn around the cars and make it go backwards. that sounds like it would be cheap, easy, and really change the experience.

Ha! What a silly idea. They would never do anything like that.

 

...or would they? Would this really be considered as a BIG thing, or does BIG refer to the size of the ride or how much different it will be? Its funny that Robb said that in sort of an intriguing kind of way like there is something really to this backwards idea or it is just so silly (or makes too much sense) that they would never do something obvious like that. Don't know but its fun to guess!

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[coastertube] WE[/coastertube]
they could just turn around the cars and make it go backwards. that sounds like it would be cheap, easy, and really change the experience.

Ha! What a silly idea. They would never do anything like that.

 

Subtle. Nice.

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Local newspaper article quotes SFMM Management as being in approval of proposed new housing development immediately south of SFMM:

 

Picture yourself on a roller coaster at Six Flags Magic Mountain.

 

You’ve just crested a breath-taking arch in the ride and you’re about to drop.

 

Chances are you can’t take your eyes off that terrifying plunge of track ahead of you. But if you halted the coaster there and lifted your eyes above your white knuckles, you’d see an expanse of dry, grassy hills below.

 

That’s where Newhall Land Development LLC’s latest proposal – called Entrada – is planned.

 

“Entrada” is Spanish for “entrance” and in this case it means the entrance to Newhall Ranch, and the 21,000 new homes planned by Newhall Land for development on the west side of the Golden State Freeway.

 

The simplest way to picture Newhall Land’s vision for Entrada is to picture Valencia Town Center — a centralized cluster of shops, theaters, restaurants and offices — and then transplant it between Six Flags and Westridge.

 

“It is sort of an entrance to Newhall Ranch,” said Newhall Land spokeswoman Marlee Lauffer.

 

“The vision includes office buildings in addition to retail outlets, restaurants — the type of place where a Dave & Buster’s would go — the idea being that this would be the type of place for these types of tenants.”

 

The development proposed for the rolling hills north of Westridge and south of Six Flags is expected to create a myriad environmental concerns — from chloride entering the Santa Clara River and oak trees being uprooted to not having enough water to meet firefighting standards.

 

With the goal of helping them measure effects of the development, officials with the Los Angeles County Regional Planning Department are seeking comments from Santa Clarita Valley residents.

 

Until Aug. 14, copies of the department’s notice of preparation, which contains details about the project’s possible impacts, will be available to the public at local libraries.

 

In addition, a “scoping meeting” has been set for the evening of July 28 at Rancho Pico Junior High School on West Valencia Boulevard in Stevenson Ranch.

 

“We want to elicit the input from people about anything we may have left out,” said Samuel Dea, the department’s supervising regional planner.

 

The Location

Under Newhall Land’s proposal, Entrada takes up 515 acres inside a chunk of land shaped like a pizza slice, with the tip of that slice sitting where the Chevron gas station sits on the southwest corner of The Old Road and Magic Mountain Parkway.

 

If you stand on The Old Road looking at the gas station, you will see the line of electricity transmission towers to your left, next to the putting greens of the Tournament Players Club Valencia.

 

That utility easement line separates Entrada from the homes in Westridge.

 

How far does the property extend?

 

Take The Old Road to Valencia Boulevard, then drive along Westridge Parkway until the road ends. You’ll stop at the back door of the Entrada project.

 

Building Entrada would mean extending Westridge Parkway over to Magic Mountain Parkway. This would be the wide edge of our pizza slice.

 

Extending the two parkways promises full fast-track access to Newhall Ranch, making Entrada truly “the entrance” to Newhall Ranch.

 

County planners have included a horseshoe-shaped area of golf course land, owned by the Tournament Players Club at Valencia, LLC since some of the outer edges of the land — not affecting the golf course — could be affected.

Developing next door to one California’s more popular theme parks requires some particular planning.

 

Tim Burkhart, general manager of Six Flags Magic Mountain, says he couldn’t ask for a better neighbor.

 

For him, the new neighbor has an old, and trusted, familiar face.

 

“They’ve been good neighbors to us,” he said of Newhall Land, “and I like to think we’ve been good neighbors for them.”

 

“Look, growth and development around our park is inevitable,” he said. “I’d rather see a good job done by someone I know, rather than some outfit I know nothing about.

 

“Newhall has always produced good, well-planned developments.”

 

The specifics

Newhall Land wants to develop three times as many multi-family units in Entrada as there are single-family homes: 1,232 multi-family units to 408 single-family homes.

 

According to Lauffer, the multi-family units could mean affordable housing, condominiums, town homes or hotels.

 

“Yes, the goal is to provide some more affordable housing,” Lauffer said.

 

Any of the above options suits Burkhart and Six Flags just fine, he said.

 

Entrada planners have set aside enough land for a few Dave & Buster’s-type of entertainment restaurant businesses: commercial areas totaling 726,000 square feet of development. In addition to the 408 single-family homes, they plan to develop 39 condo lots and 17 commercial lots.

 

And, because Newhall Land owns all the property around the theme park and over to California Highway 126, plans are in the works to extend both Commerce Center Drive and Media Center Drive, better connecting Castaic to Valencia and Westridge to both.

 

At that point, Entrada would truly live up to its “entrance” name.

 

The reputation

Like Burkhart, Rosalind Wayman, who is field deputy to Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich, says she has confidence in Newhall Land’s ability to make Entrada an asset to the community.

 

“When I think of Entrada, I base it on my experience with Valencia,” said Wayman. “I’ve lived here for 50-plus years, and I saw Valencia being built.

 

“Now that I see it completed, I think we can say that Newhall Ranch and Entrada will be the same.

 

“I have to base the future on the history of the past,” she said.

 

The impacts

More than 8.1 million cubic yards of grading have to be done to level out the area for construction, both on-site and around it, as well as 7.4 million cubic yards “balanced” or shaped on-site.

 

That’s just one of the environmental impacts that the development would have.

 

“It’s all part of the process,” Lauffer said about the county’s litany of possible impacts caused by the project.

 

“It’s all part of moving forward,” she said.

 

Here’s what the regional planning department has identified as possible environmental impacts in is notice of preparation, a myriad of concerns from fire and flood to noise and sewage:

 

* Oil wells: several abandoned oil wells, none of them active, dot the site.

 

* Landslides: The property contains landslide areas.

 

* Floods: The department’s initial study says with the grading required, “there is a potential for high mud flow conditions should a landslide occur during the rainy season.”

 

* Fires: Entrada is in “a very high fire hazard severity zone.”

 

* Noise: The initial study identifies Magic Mountain theme park as a “high noise source.”

 

* Water quality: The department has concerns about the discharge of storm water and runoff into Santa Clara River.

 

* Air quality: Dust kicked up by extensive grading “could be considered excessive.”

 

* Biological: The grading would also get rid of “substantial amounts of natural habitat areas.”

 

* Visual: It would also “substantially alter” the view inside Entrada.

 

* Historical: Workers could run into historic structures.

 

* Traffic: Possible traffic congestion is a concern due to 1,640 new dwelling units.

 

* Sewage: An Environmental Impact Review is needed to determine if there is capacity available.

 

* Library: More people mean an increased demand for “library services.”

 

* Utilities: There’s not enough water pressure to fight fires.

 

* Animals: Entrada could “degrade wildlife populations and impact the number of rare or endangered species.”

 

* Trees: Planners need permits to remove 65 of 102 oak trees and protection for others.

 

“We’re addressing all of these areas,” Lauffer said.

 

The Signal

 

So what will the building of 1,640 new housing units mean for SFMM and its future?

Edited by PeoplemoverMatt
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^LOL!

 

Did anyone actually read all of the 'impacts' at the end of the document? It sounds like a horrible idea! Everything is negative about it!

 

My personal two favourites from the list!

 

* Fires: Entrada is in “a very high fire hazard severity zone.”

* Utilities: There’s not enough water pressure to fight fires.

 

-Craig

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^^I passed a sign on I-15 saying "houses from $179,000" I kinda doubt anythings going to be built in the next couple of years.

 

Was that the amazing "Bakersfield YEAH!" billboard? We drove by that yesterday and laughed.

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they could just turn around the cars and make it go backwards. that sounds like it would be cheap, easy, and really change the experience.

Ha! What a silly idea. They would never do anything like that.

 

I think there was another hint earlier, when he said that if they wanted a drop tower on the backside, they'd find a way to work one on there. That and one side being launched backwards are, to me, fantastic ideas for this ride. When I rode it was fun, but disappointing in the fact that it simply didn't do anything. Maybe an extra 20mph and 100 feet would've changed that, who knows, but I think some new paint and the knowledge that there's an Intamin drop tower right on the other side certainly would've made the ride seem better in my head!

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Earlier, I did say that a drop ride wasn't going to happen on this tower, and that was because if you look at the tower from the side, you can see that it isn't just straight up and down. As the track curves upward on the tower, there's a slight jog to it. Robb did quote my post and said that it is possible for SFMM to do something if they really wanted to. I'm not a structural engineer, so what may appear to me to be "undo-able" may be done with some modifications.

 

In nine or ten months, we'll be riding whatever the park is planning for Superman. It may be backwards launching cars, or they may make a full circuit ride out of it. Think about being a car being loaded on the left track and blasted out of the station, going up over the tower, and returning on the right track and unloading. Then the car is slid over, not unlike the Mr. Freeze rides. Then they could run two cars on it and get some decent capacity. Who knows what's in store?

 

Eric

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^ I was kind of thinking something along those lines as well Eric. Launch up one side then it curves around the top and then back down. Although I'm not sure there is enough room to make that kind of turn. I think there would for sure have to be some kind of LSM's or something at the top to get it up and around that.

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^ It's quite possible that the single cars and I-beam track that they have now will be replaced with tubular steel track and new cars or trains that can make turns. If tubular steel track is in fact in the works, we will no longer hear that incredibly loud noise every time a car goes up and down the tower---at least not the same noise and most likely not as loud.

 

^^ The current tracks would have to be slightly angled away from each other (that is, getting further apart as they head away from the station) or have a gentle curve added. I also think that the LSM launch would either be scrapped in favor of a cable, or have additional LSMs to boost the cars up the tower.

 

Sometimes I like to know what's in store, and sometimes I just like to be surprised.

 

Eric

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^If they're planning on doing something cool like that, or adding a drop tower to the side of it (which better be possible), then I'd be excited. But if it's as simple as painting the tower and maybe running one of the cars backwards...well...then...meh. It'll just attract even more lines for the same and useless (in my opinion) ride, and I'll probably just ride it once when I get the chance.

 

Another problem that I foresee with this is that it might lose the GP's trust in new attractions. I mean most of the GP finally did catch on to X2 being X, and as a result (well that and lack of observation), some thought Terminator was just Psyclone. With a second revamped ride, which I'm sure they'll be able to figure out isn't a new ride, it might be harder for SFMM to market new rides in the future that are actually new. I'm not saying it will happen, in fact, I have my doubts that it will, but it is a possible problem.

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Jay Thomas has said that his goal is to draw some of the guests away from X2 and towards another area. Tim also said he is working with Intamin, so perhaps this will be something cool. If not, and they just plan on running a car backwards, that will still be fun, and perhaps it will just be one of a few cool thing they add to the park in the next year or two.

 

I'm still hoping for a giant gyro-frisbee soon...MaxAir is just killer...

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As long as they improve the thrill factor (and/or incorporate a brand new ride), I'll be fine. Of course the consensus seems to be that they definitely will, especially since it's for the 50th. I'd hate to see them just retheme it and nothing else, but I'm sure that's not the case. I'm excited!

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Jay Thomas has said that his goal is to draw some of the guests away from X2 and towards another area. Tim also said he is working with Intamin, so perhaps this will be something cool. If not, and they just plan on running a car backwards, that will still be fun, and perhaps it will just be one of a few cool thing they add to the park in the next year or two.

 

I'm still hoping for a giant gyro-frisbee soon...MaxAir is just killer...

 

 

Tim probably said he is working with Intamin because, you know. Superman IS an Intamin ride. Just a hunch.

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Working with Intamin could mean nothing more than a slight modification or something as BIG as a completely different ride, or it could have nothing to do with S:TE. Who knows, it could mean working on a giant Intamin coaster for somewhere else in the park for the future, or even a drop ride, finally. Nothing is impossible and nothing is confirmed.

 

As for the article, of all the concerns on the list, fire, flood, sewage and other major really bad things that could happen, my favorite was about the library. Nevermind the fires or mudslides or nasty sewage stench because omg the library will be over crowded...lol.

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Jay Thomas has said that his goal is to draw some of the guests away from X2 and towards another area. Tim also said he is working with Intamin, so perhaps this will be something cool. If not, and they just plan on running a car backwards, that will still be fun, and perhaps it will just be one of a few cool thing they add to the park in the next year or two.

 

I'm still hoping for a giant gyro-frisbee soon...MaxAir is just killer...

 

 

Tim probably said he is working with Intamin because, you know. Superman IS an Intamin ride. Just a hunch.

 

 

Um...yeah I know, which I thought was my whole point. Silly me...

Edited by John Knotts
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Superman is an Intamin? No way! I refuse to believe it. I mean, it's never had a rogue cable lasso innocent riders or carelessly tossed anyone to the ground. It can't possibly be an Intamin creation. Every other Intamin ever built has left a wave of destruction in its path, right?

 

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Working with Intamin could mean nothing more than a slight modification or something as BIG as a completely different ride, or it could have nothing to do with S:TE. Who knows, it could mean working on a giant Intamin coaster for somewhere else in the park for the future, or even a drop ride, finally. Nothing is impossible and nothing is confirmed

 

 

Exactly.

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^^Ask any non coaster nerd, and they'll tell you stories like that about Superman! From my friends, I've heard that people have fallen out, it's overshot the tower, it's gotten stuck at the top, and my personal favorite, some drunk guy grabbed on to Superman at the top and fell out.

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