Ghetto-Style "Photo" Trip Report: SFMM, 8/6/07

[DCody]

This is "Baby's First Trip Report," so to speak, so please go easy on me!

 

I finally hit Magic Mountain yesterday, with three non-enthusiasts in tow. I warned these hardy souls in advance that I am a massive geek and would be snapping more photos than a mom at a school play. But to my horror, my camera did not work! Therefore, you, Dear Reader, are about to be subjected to some really, really bad drawings I dashed off. Hopefully I captured the mood to some degree. Onward!

 

The day began with a delicious hangover-lessening breakfast of eggs, toast, Orange Bang, and pink Simpsons donuts from 7-11. Like the nag that I am, I urged my friends to eat quickly because I didn't want to miss a moment of fun at the park. Luckily, we arrived bright and early and scored four Flash Passes. Heart palpitations began in earnest.

 

First, we hit Tatsu. (We tried the "run to X like demented children" maneuver, but it wasn't operating yet.) The line for Tatsu was a very manageable 30 minutes. We grabbed the front row and...oh (insert deity), was it incredible. I've never been on a B&M flyer before, so let's just say that pretzel blew my mind. I believe Tatsu transcends the typical thrill ride experience and enters the realm of the spiritual. The theming was also gorgeous. (I'm used to "concrete jungle" parks in the Midwest and East, so SFMM's lush setting was a treat.)

 

Next, we rode X. It broke down twice while we were waiting, but we only waited about, oh, 80 minutes total because disgruntled folks kept leaving the line. X was the single most intense ride experience of my life. From a geek perspective, I wished I was able to keep track of all the elements. I have no idea how you people can mentally catalog all those raven turns and whatnot, because all I was thinking was "GAHHHHHHHHHHH!" X kicked my friggin' butt into another dimension, and I wish we could have ridden it twice. Or, say, 20 times.

 

(Though I will say that I think X's theming and paint is rather cheesy, and will probably look very dated and "2002" within a couple of years. But who cares? FLIPPY-FLIPS, y'all!)

 

With Flash Passes balled in our clammy palms, we moved on to Goliath. I don't normally love steel hypers, but Goliath totally pwns! I grayed out during the helix because I'm a delicate flower. The coaster I expected to be a bore is now in my Top 3.

 

Next, we hit Riddler's. Moronically, we assumed the line was manageable because we couldn't actually see it. We waited a really long time. The only stand-ups I've been on are Shockwave at PKD (yeah, I know) and Iron Wolf at SFGAm. Riddler's is delicious by comparison, and I liked watching all the guys getting racked by the restraint system. Heh. Plus, my friend commented on the cool sound the coaster made and I got to explain the "B&M roar" Geek point!

 

Side note: I was happy to see Freefall, since I have a weird obsession with first-generation freefalls. I think it's all those ominous things I heard about The Edge back when I was a kid in Chicago. Yes, I'm old.

 

Back to the thrilling story: I think we broke for lunch then (overpriced-yet-delicious burritos) and then went to Colussus ("CLARK!") and Superman: The Escape. You guys are never going to believe this, but Deja Vu wasn't running. And then, we went to Scream.

 

Maybe I'm jaded. Maybe I need to think back to those dark times when an Arrow mega-looper was considered the height of fun. Maybe I just expected too much. But Scream was a bit of a disappointment. I mean, it was fun, it was sexy, it had the floorless thing going on, but still. It was practically a walk-on, and yet none of us squealed "AGAIN!" at its conclusion.

 

When evening rolled around, we decided to do Tatsu again. Still rad, but not quite as great when you're not in the front. Then we got on Viper, which exceeded my expectations. (Thought it was gonna be a boring headbanger and actually had a blast. At this point, my friends were started to get pretty geeky themselves, so we counted off all the inversions at the top of our lungs. "ONE! TWO! THREEEEEE...!")

 

Last ride of the night was Revolution. I love Schwarzkopfs. What a stunning ride at night, diving through the trees with that trademark Herr Achterbahn aggression. I love that little pause on the hill before the inversion-- a poignant reminder of a simpler time when a vertical loop was a big "ta-da!" moment. And it still thrilled us, even after having our socks rocked off by all those B&Ms. A classic. (BOO to the OTSRs!)

 

Finally we went home, limp with exhaustion. Everyone had a blast. I'm so glad SFMM is my home park now. Yes it's busy, yes it's not exactly service-oriented, but the coasters are world class.

 

Insultingly-bad pictures, as promised:

Side effects may include...

What a nice photo this would have made.

Flashback may be SBNO, but it's still flashin' in my heart.

Oh dragon, how you mock me!

Tasty loopage!

[bulldogmom]

Great TR! Having never been to this park, I enjoyed the first-timer's perspective. Love the drawings, especially the first one.

[Loco]

Lol nice TR! Very unique "drawing" TR.

[Groteslurf]

Great TR. Really liked it.

[pianojohn]

Great TR! I really liked the honest opinions of all of the coasters. And the drawings...flawless!

 

Here's to more fun TR's and maybe more drawings. Though it is easier to just upload pics once your camera starts working!

[worknman]

Hey all, I'm adding my little trip report to this thread, since my dad and I (we're from Texas visiting Cali) were at the park on the same day as the original poster. This was our first time there.

 

I can confirm that Deja Vu was closed, and X was late opening. I can confirm also that X broke down twice while we were in line. However, we rode it in the evening (around 7:30pm), where it sounds like the OP rode it in the morning, so it's possible that it might've broken down more than twice. I know for sure that on one of the breakdowns, the ride actually got stuck on the track.

 

My biggest gripe about this park was the flash pass. We asked which rides the flash pass didn't work on, and was told X, Deja Vu, and Superman. So we buy a flash pass and head over to Viper. The wait is only an hour, so we decide to try using the flash pass. "Sorry guys, no flash passes allowed. Only 1 train running today." WTF? You think somebody would tell the people who are selling the f**king things to let people know who are buying them when they specifically ask which rides will it not work on. But that isn't the worst part .. after we stood in line for over an hour and were close to getting on, they started letting flash passers on!! The flashers would take our train a couple of rounds, then they'd send the flashers away, then they'd let them on, then send them away again. It was clear that somebody was asleep at the wheel. We had to wait at least a half hour longer than we should have. Needless to say, we were quite pissed. I know the park has gotten a bad rap in the past about rides being closed and such, but there are a lot of little nagging problems that could easily be fixed, such as what I described above, and the park opening at 10:30, even though the website said it would be open at 10.

 

That being said, we had a lot of fun. We rode every coaster in the park except for Deja Vu, as it was closed. This took us about 10 hours to complete. The parks I've been to so far are Six Flags Dallas, Houston (Astroworld, now closed), Atlanta, and a few coasters in Vegas and other random spots. To me, the standout coasters were these:

 

- X (The roughest coaster in the park, but a mind-blowing ride. If you go, you HAVE to ride this.)

- Goliath (Haven't yet been to Cedar Point to ride Millenium Force)

- Superman (Though I'd honestly rather ride Greezed Lightnin'. It's not as fast, but it does have a loop and a backwards incline.)

 

Honorable mention goes to Tatsu. It's a flying coaster and pretty standard as far as I'm concerned, but

there's one drop that sends you straight down head first that's just amazing.

 

A few other random notes:

 

- Park's not exactly user-friendly. They could definitely use more signs directing people toward the entrance and parking. Plus, there's a lot of road construction going on around the place .. it needs sidewalks for people walking to/from the park!

 

- We stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn. While I'm certain this isn't the cheapest place to stay, it's a really nice hotel. (This surprised me, since the Hilton I stayed in the night before near the Ontario airport was pretty crappy.) They've got fridge, microwave, coffee maker, and widescreen TV in the rooms. Plus, there's a small room by the check in counter with computer and Internet access. Super friendly staff, too. Whenever we asked for directions on how to get somewhere, they pulled out maps and highlighted directions. I have nothing but praise for this place. Plus, it's only a 15 minute walk to the park, so you can save $15 on parking.

 

- Long lines for Tatsu, X, Riddler, Goliath, and Viper. Shorter lines for Scream, Batman, and Colossus. The line for Ninja was pretty non-existant. It's a tame coaster compared to the others, but it's still fun, so we rode it twice, since the line was less than 5 minutes

 

- Out of the coasters I haven't mentioned (Viper, Ridler, Scream, Batman), I thik Viper was my favorite, although if you don't get to ride all of these 4, there's nothing all that spectacular about any of them.

 

- Colossus is ok for a wooden coaster, but the Georgia Cyclone (and Texas Cyclone, R.I.P.) is better. I thought it was better than Texas Giant though.

 

- Freefall: I don't know what kind of ride this is, but this is one of our favorites, having ridden clones of this at SF Atlanta and Astroworld (where it was called Sky Screamer). This was definitely the worst of all that we have ridden, because it is extremely rough at the end of the ride, after it breaks and goes down the ramp to let you off.

 

- Some have complained that this park is dirty. I didn't notice any trash, but then again .. my old 'stomping ground' used to be Astroworld, so maybe I'm just desensitized to it

 

All in all, we had a good time, but I'm not sure we'll ever go back. The thing with the flash pass plus one ride breaking down and another being closed is not something I am willing to easily overlook. I was planning to go to Cedar Point this year because of the bad reputation that this park has, but I decided to go to SF:MM since I was in the LA area anyway. I don't regret that decision, but one visit is enough for me, I think. I hope the folks who own this park get smart and realize that pissing people off as a result of trying to cut costs and sh*t not working right is not a good way to get repeat customers back in the front gate.

 

I hope they manage to keep X running, because other than the sheer number of coasters, that ride is the only thing that seperates this park from its competition.

[haiderodes]

Looks like you had fun...

 

But I have to ask, were you guys pretty wiped out at the end of the day? I mean, from the way it was written, it seems like you did a lot of hopping around the park and for those that have been to SFMM, we know thats a not so easy thing. How'd you like "suicide hill" or did you take the long way around the mountain each time?

[haiderodes]

 

- Park's not exactly user-friendly. They could definitely use more signs directing people toward the entrance and parking. Plus, there's a lot of road construction going on around the place .. it needs sidewalks for people walking to/from the park!

 

Its always cool to see reactions toward SFMM for those who have never visited. I'm not sure that I understand what you meant by the park not being user friendly...

 

Out of all the parks in the LA/Orange County area, I happen to think SFMM has one of the most straightforward/easy access entrances. Think about it, you enter on Magic Mountain Parkway, drive past the sign that says Six Flags California, and follow the roadway to the toll booths...theres no lane changes or intersections. As they say in the new marketing line...YOU ARE HERE.

 

If you are talking strickly about walking to the park to save money, well yes you are correct...they dont make it really easy for that. But I have a feeling that they never really wanted people to walk to the park. Seeing as how the entrance is quite a walk from the closest main street...uphill even! As far as I can remember, they never had sidewalks up that hill and I dont see a reason they would, I never see more than a couple of people even attempting it anyway.

[TheRapidsNerd]

Hey DCody,

Bummer about you're camera finking out, but still a great TR. Good drawings too.

 

If you watch a certain Adult Swim show, you'll get this...

 

"Did you get that Thing I sencha?"

 

Looking forward to the next TR.

[ECZenith]

Funny stuff, thanks for the report.

[TheRapidsNerd]

^^Yep, you did. Must check messages better....must not look like tool......

[worknman]

But I have to ask, were you guys pretty wiped out at the end of the day? I mean, from the way it was written, it seems like you did a lot of hopping around the park and for those that have been to SFMM, we know thats a not so easy thing. How'd you like "suicide hill" or did you take the long way around the mountain each time?

 

LMAO, suicide hill .. is that what they call it? That thing was a real b*tch, but we only had to walk up it once, so it's all good. Fortunately, we're both in pretty good shape, so aside from a little fatigue, we still felt good at the end of the night. Plus, the weather is nice compared to Houston/Dallas/Atanta, where it's about 95 degrees and hotter than hell at this time of year. SFMM was a cakewalk by comparison By the time we left, it was dark and the temperature felt like it was around 70, and we had both cooled off.

[TheRapidsNerd]

Ok, serious question. How did you like SFMM overall? I've never been, but it looks like it's just jammed packed full of good stuff from the Google Earth (God I love that program!) view. Yes, I read the TR, but was curious about any additional thoughts not posted.

[haiderodes]

^^That's what everyone I know always says about the park...its fun except for "that damn hill" or "suicide hill" or "scaling the mountain". haha...its so obviously pre-ADA guidelines, but it gives the park character.

 

You lucked out with the weather then. I have been when its been hot and humid and walking up those hills isnt pretty in the heat of the day. I love the park at night tho, it cools off, the hill is usually nice and dark, especially in the area near Rapids Camp Crossing, you can hear Revy "whoosing" through the trees and the smell of pine...aww memories.

[worknman]

Ok, serious question. How did you like SFMM overall? I've never been, but it looks like it's just jammed packed full of good stuff from the Google Earth (God I love that program!) view. Yes, I read the TR, but was curious about any additional thoughts not posted.

 

Honestly, I would skip SFMM and go to Cedar Point instead. Even though I've never been to CP myself, it sounds like a much better run park overall, based on what I've read. About the only reason I could imagine going to SFMM instead of CP (assuming you'd have to travel to get to either one) is X, and that's a pretty big reason indeed, but I'm not sure it's worth the tradeoff in the overall quality of the park itself. Then again, Cedar Point might've went to sh*t since the last time I looked into it, so what do I know ?

[TheRapidsNerd]

Hmmm, I just need to try both and give 'em a fair shake.

 

OMG! Purely accidental pun in previous statement! Ack!

 

As Arty Johnson would say, "Veeeeeely interlesting."

As my high school drama teacher would say "Tanks!"

[DCody]

To answer the question about being worn out at the end of the day...we were so tired we could barely stay awake for the ride home! Yeah, we did a LOT of needless hiking. Should have paid closer attention to the map. The "suicide hill" was insane...my friend and I JOGGED up it in the 90-degree heat like lunatics. It was worth it for that cheesy-ass Fortress of Solitude, though!