The Six Flags Magic Mountain (SFMM) Discussion Thread

[ebl]

I wonder how bad Friday nights are? Being that I'm kinda busy these days, I may try to get out to the park after work, and I get off at 6. If they continue to stay open till 11, that'll work out OK.

 

Eric

[Sir Clinksalot]

^ When we were there last Friday (the 15th) it wasn't bad at all. Last Saturday (the 16th) was as busy as I've seen the park in a LONG time. I can only imagine that Fright Fest will be busier each weekend as it get's closer to Halloween.

[COASTAH FREAK]

Being that I've gone to SFMM a bajillion times, it seems to me that no matter how many people are in the park the best way to skip the lines is to pick one (or two if theres not a long line yet) of the coasters at the front (I usually hit X2 and Tatsu if I can), then just hit all the coasters in the back of the park in order from Deja to Goliath. Most of the crowds go straight for the coasters they see when they walk in, and don't know about the ones at the back. Also, it is always a great idea to ask for single rider. It's not always open, but especially on rides like Riddler where the line gets backed up in a sweaty room for no reason, it's the best way to get on the ride aside from a Flash Pass. Also, for those that don't know the park, you can walk directly into the exit of Revolution and follow it all the way to the top of the hill if you wan't to skip walking around X2 and Viper. Hope this helped somebody!

 

EDIT: DO NOT ask the Ride-op's about empty seats, it is annoying to them

Edited October 25, 2010 by COASTAH FREAK

[AWill961]

^ I agree with this. Though, I tend to skip X2 and go to Tatsu first then get multiple rides of Deja Vu and Termy.

 

But I just laugh at the thought of people waiting 10-30 minutes for Revolution and Viper.

 

Every time I go to Six Flags and make an observation, people ride these rides first.... what a complete waste of time, I think. You can catch them as walk ons later on in the day..... goes to show that many people go for the ride they see first.

[COASTAH FREAK]

^ everyone take this moment to laugh at GP

[WFChris]

(if it's closed, then just point out to the ride-op an empty seat and say "but look at that seat, can I just take that spot?". It works all the time for me).

 

Would you want to deal with that all day if you were a ride op?

[COASTAH FREAK]

How often would they have to deal with that? 99% of the people there don't even know what single rider is

[WFChris]

All I'm saying is, that as a coaster enthusiast, you should not use your knowledge to pester busy ride ops. If there is a single rider line, use it. We should be the least of the ride operators concerns, not the ones coming up the exit acting like were entitled to skipping the line without purchasing a pass that allows us to do so. I know if I was a ride operator, it would annoy the poop out of me, especially if they were rocking any coaster related clothing.

 

We need to respect each other by respecting the parks and their employees. If you are not happy with the status or lack of a single rider line, stop by guest relations and let them know!

[Fat-G]

^ Thank You so much, I cant tell how many times I had to deal with that over the summer.

[robbalvey]

All I'm saying is, that as a coaster enthusiast, you should not use your knowledge to pester busy ride ops. If there is a single rider line, use it.

I couldn't agree more. If you're one of those people who goes up the exit and points out empty seats to the ride ops after they tell you the single rider line is closed, then you are ANNOYING THE RIDE OPERATORS!!!

 

I speak from experience on this. You should always, always, ALWAYS respect what the ride ops says. You are NOT above them.

 

Period.

 

--Robb

[socalMAN123]

Last night was probably the most crowded I have ever seen the park. They were parking people in front of the toll booths and on the whole road to the parking lot. Overflow was completely full and the line of cars went nearly all the way to X2's final raven turn. But regardless, I had a great time at the park yesterday, and Fright Fest is certainly a step up from years previous.

---Brent

[Gmaster562]

If you wanna skip lines, buy a flash-pass. They're totally worth the money.

[John Knotts]

^ I agree completely! Unless it's a slow cloudy day on the off season, or a TPR event, I just don't go to SFMM without planning to add a Flashpass.

 

They may be expensive, but totally worth it on crowded days. And I will NEVER ride Green Lantern without a Flashpass in my hand!

[atem122]

Went to SFMM today. Overall, the Fright Fest special features were much less than expected. X2's soundtrack was pretty cool, but its retheme left much to be desired. Thumper Bumpers was no where near the quality of a techno party ride that SFGAm puts on with Terror Twister. And the coasters in the dark kind of failed because the coasters that were supposed to be dark were lit up. I finally got to ride Colossus Backwards too! It mayyyyy have reached my pain threshold, but it was definitely an interesting experience. Still though, it was a fun day at Magic Mountain. Lines were pretty much nonexistent until the afternoon, but once Fright Fest started up at 7, all of the lines died. Also, as far as operations at SFMM go, they were pretty on it today. Most of the rides weren't really stacking, and if they were, it wasn't for too long. Certainly, they're no Disney, but they're definitely not lessening my park experience with operations. I didn't do any of the scare zones or mazes cause I'm a poosay, Also, you'll be happy about this, Robb, I saw some guy walking around with a Club TPR shirt on. So a shout out to you, Mr. Club TPR Shirt Guy.

I kinda found it ridiculous how the Snickers Fright Fest is sponsored by Party City....but it keeps the park in business.

This was about as extensive as X2 Area 19's theming got. Save for the one little flying saucer that they had next to the lift hill.

For you painting nerds...you're not gonna have to wait too much longer.

The weather today was less than desirable too!!! Although it made for a cool and creepy setting. Perfect for Fright Fest.

My camera is crap, but you can kind of see the "light show" put on for Thumper Bumpers.

So while SFMM didn't really put on that great of a Halloween experience from what I personally saw, I have to say that I do like what they're trying. Area 19 and Thumper Bumpers are both really good ideas executed poorly. SFMM needs to retheme X2's queue and station a little more to give it a full re theme feel, and they need to take a page out of SFGAm's book in theming Thumper Bumpers. I also feel like they should work to make their "dark" rides darker. I understand that they need to keep some lights like the lift hill ones at all times, but Viper's turn around was illuminated, and if they're going to advertise it as a pitch black ride, they should really turn their flood lights off on it.

 

Still though, looking at SFMM through a non-haunt oriented POV, they're still doing awesome. I saw a lot of management walking around, lots of really friendly employees, and the place is just all around fun.

[COASTAH FREAK]

Apologies to all of those offended by my comment. To clarify, I do not do this often and will remove that from my post. Now that I think about it, that would definitely annoy the hell out of me. Shame on me!

[TonyG]

Hello I just got home from my to MM for FF had a blast. My friends and I went from Friday till Sunday, did rides friday night, mazes saturday night and rode some rides sun morning before heading back home. To point out I also saw the TPR shirt guy on mu sunday trip so heres another shout out to you MR.

This was the best thing at area 19

I thought this sign looked awsome at night never had really paid attention to it

Me just having fun

Shot close to termy as you go down the hill from tatsu

I love these tombstones i think they are really funny

and another

and I had to take some awsome X2 flamethrower pics as i left the park

NICE!!!

[SFMM fanboy]

Anyone ever notice that brocken car door is a Toyota Tacoma's car door?

Plus the motorcyvle by the lift?

 

I went to SFMM Sat. & Sun.

Ride Count:

 

X2: 3

Tatsu: 1

RR: 1

Termy: 1

B: TR: 0

Goliath: 1

Phsyclone: 1

Scream!: 1

Viper: 1

[daveydo5172]

You got 1 ride on Psyclone?

[ernierocker]

You got 1 ride on Psyclone?

 

I noticed that too! Is there a time machine featured at Fright Fest this year? It would be pretty frightening to have to ride that again!

[Sir Clinksalot]

^ Perhaps he means Colossus backwards (since it uses the Psyclone trains)?

 

I actually found my rides on Colossus backwards to be pretty pleasant. I did sit in the front (back of the Psyclone trains) so maybe that helped?

[xsk8erboi73x]

I was at sfmm yesterday as well. Fright Fest was impressive, i got plenty of scares. I prefer it over Knott's Halloween Haunt because the Fright Fest staff only allows groups at a time.. instead of crowding the maze like Knott's does. Plenty of rides during the day with little to no wait. Later on the park started getting crowded. Like atem122 said, the weather was perfect for Fright Fest, cloudy throughout the day and drizzle (or sprinkling) during the night. I thought Colossus backwards was fun but killed my thighs because the restraint was to tight (damn my skinny thighs). X2-Area 19 was pretty cool, the giant screen in the station showed scenes of ufo's and what not, and the audio is better than the original. Overall, Great day.

 

Ride Count

X2- 2 (morning and night)

Terminator - 2

Goldrusher - 2

Riddler's Revenge - 1

Colossus - 1

Colossus (backwards) - 1

Scream! - 2

Goliath - 1

Ninja - 2

 

Oh and ride operators say the funniest things! We got on the sky tower, and on our way up someone had asked him what they are doing to Superman. The ride operator said "they are flipping the train backwards and as you get to the top of the tower the seats will rotate 360 degrees" lol! i was laughing.

[SFMM fanboy]

I mean Colossus Backwards. I WOULD NEVER GO ON THE "REAL" PSYCHLONE!!

[coaster1000]

Wow... Looks like a lot of TPR people went on Sunday. I did too, and I had a great time. I was at the park from opening to 5 PM. I rode nothing but coasters but got on every of them except Superman (obviously), Deja Vu and the kiddie ones...

 

General observations:

 

The park wasn't very crowded at all, especially before 2 PM. X2 had a consistent 1 hour wait, all the other coasters were 10 minutes or less in the morning and 30 minutes or less after lunch. The staff was better than what I had heard, the operations weren't fantastic, though. The stacked trains on Tatsu, X2 (barely), Gold Rusher. And these coaster didn't even run 3 trains. The front of the park looked really nice; Colossus County Fair... not so much. But it wasn't that bad. The park was pretty clean, too.

 

I left before Fright Fest started. But the theming was pretty bad to be honest. I didn't even notice that X2 was Halloween-themed. Thought it was just the normal stuff.

 

Now for the coasters. The first number is how many times I rode it, the second is the rating from 1 - 10.

 

Tatsu: #2, 8/10

This was my first flying coaster and a very enjoyable experience. I went straight to this ride when the park opened (used the Revolution shortcut) and I had 2 consecutive rides with no line. The first drop was great and the feeling of speed was pretty nice. The corkscrew-esque inversions didn't do much but the pretzel loop was super forceful if a little rough. After the pretzel loop, the ride sort of loses its pace which is a shame as it makes it end in a pretty dull way. Overall, though, Tatsu is another great and very unique B&M with great landscape interaction.

 

Ninja: #1, 7/10

A decent suspended roller coaster. Faster than Cedar Point's Iron Dragon but shorter and a bit rougher. The turn over Jet Stream was particularly enjoyable and quite forceful with it nearly 70 degree banking. Fun ride with no wait at all.

 

Terminator Salvation: The Ride: #2, 9/10

Excellent wooden coaster. The theming was surprisingly good even though it was kind of frustrating spending 15 minutes in the pre-show rooms even when there was no queue. The ride itself was so much better than expected. It was packed with airtime,

tunnels, headchoppers and had fantastic pacing until the last turn, which was the only real drawback of the ride (way too slow). This was my first GCI and now I understand why people like these so much. Airtime, laterals, this ride has got everything. It is also a perfect coaster for families, not too intense nor too boring!

 

Gold Rusher: #1, 4/10

Unsatisfactory. The turns were super awkward and very jerky and the ride didn't do anything but meandering around. I know it's old... But it just wasn't cool.

 

The Riddler's Revenge: #2, 8.5/10

I rode Mantis earlier this year and didn't really like it. This ride was great, though. The semi-theming was nice, the pacing was great and for some reason the ride felt extremely fast. There was basically no headbanging and I really liked the layout. It just never let up! One thing; the station was simply awful. Loud music and a weird setup with super long rails before the air gates... If you've been on the ride you know what I mean.

 

Scream: #2, 6/10

Scream is an example of a sluggish coaster. "Let's copy Medusa and throw it down on a parking lot to boost our roller coaster count... If we hide it behind Colossus no one will ever notice we built it!" The theming was boring, the paint was fading and the ride was actually kind of rough. Allright, allright I may be a little hard on the ride... But really. I hated it, even though the coaster itself was actually decent.

 

Batman: The Ride: #1, 8/10.

Super forceful. The ride was pretty much one long greyout for me. Really a great layout; I can totally understand why this design has become such a winner. I felt pretty dizzy after my ride... Didn't feel like doing it again, but it was enjoyable. There did seem to be some head-banging. But that was just due to the insane speed. Cool!

 

Colossus: #1, 5/10

No airtime. Not a whole lot of anything, actually. Not a painfully rough ride but definitely NOT smooth either. I wonder why the slow this ride and Goliath so much down before the first drop... It's actually pretty cool, though. Suspense!

 

Goliath: #3, 8/10

Goliath had a whole lot to offer but lacked one thing that defines a hypercoaster for me: Airtime. The first drop was great (best part of the ride) and the 3rd hill had some mild floater air but after that there was nothing but crazy positives. Also, the trains weren't super comfortable. Not a lot of leg room (even for a short guy like me!) Even still, it is a great ride with a nice layout. The helix of death was so much fun, too! Besides, it has the coolest entrance ever.

 

X2: #2, 9/10

X2 is the future of roller coasters. Such an original ride that I really, really want to give it a 10/10. The layout is fantastic and the first drop is one of the best in the world in my opinion. The only thing that keeps me from giving this ride the highest possible score is the roughness... Both of my rides were in the first car inner seat. But even here, there was a consistent rattle the approached something quite painful in the bottom of the second raven turn. I'm going to be honest: I didn't even dare to ride this in the back row. But in spite of the roughness I was totally blown away on both of my rides. This coaster is really unlike anything else I have ever been one. I hope to see more of these. Please don't let this design die!

 

Viper: #2, 8/10

This ride really surprised me by being so good. I rode it twice in the second to last row, and yes, it seems to be the "magic" seat. It was a very smooth and forceful ride. The first drop was great. It was too bad that they decided to trim-rape the last part of the ride totally.

 

Revolution: #1, 6/10

The only good part of this ride was the loop and the long, shallow drop before it. The rest was bumpy and really slow. The shortcut through the Flashpass queue was great, though!

 

Superman and Deja Vu don't count!

 

Roller coasters, all-over score.

(Sum of ratings/(number of ratings+1))+(number of open coasters in park/10)

(86.5/13)+(14/10)=

 

8.05/10

 

(Just my own little nerdy system )

 

So yeah... All in all a nice day with a lot of rides.

[Hydraglow]

^ Great write up! It was an enjoyable read.

 

I agree with nearly everything you wrote except for your excerpt on X2.

 

Too bad Deja Vu was closed. That ride really "redefines" enjoyment you can get from a first drop!

[SFMM fanboy]

^^

Nice report.

 

What exactly is the Revolution shortcut? I'll have to try that some time.

 

On X2, did you get the side faceing MM Pky. or the rest of the park? On the side facing the park its like flying on an angel's wings. The back is pretty much the same. TRUST ME!

 

On Termy, You should've been there when the audio wasn't TPR infected.