Six Flags Magic Mountain TR

[TopThrill182]

Note: This TR is very long. If you want to skip the interesting narratives, simply skip down to the rides section.

 

I have been looking forward to writing this TR for quite a while.

 

Six Flags Magic Mountain

 

Date of Visit:

 

We visited on Tuesday, the 7th of August 2007, and on Wednesday, the 8th of August 2007.

 

Weather During Visit:

 

The weather was quite nice during our visit. Wednesday was especially hot, although it was still pleasant.

 

Crowds During Visit:

 

On Tuesday, the crowds were extremely light. On Wednesday the crowds were moderate.

 

The Park

 

Six Flags Magic Mountain is one of my favorite parks, and definitely the best Six Flags park. The park gets such a bad rap, but I can't understand that. The staff is friendly, the park is clean, there is plenty of landscaping, and definitely tons of rides, or coasters that is. At other parks like Cedar Point, there are lots of coasters, but there is an ample selection of other types of rides and attractions. At SFMM, however, you really have to look to find any other type of rides. The park has two log flumes and a Rapids, but those are the only main non-coaster rides at the park. I don't really care as I was there for the coasters, but I can see how some might get a bit annoyed.

 

The park is quite large and takes a while to get around. It isn't as big as Cedar Point, but definitely one of the bigger Six Flags parks. I like the feel of big parks as opposed to the ones that feel so crammed and small.

 

The entrance is gorgeous with the mammoth fountain (which was partly off during this visit but looks great when it is on), and Revolution in the foreground and Tatsu in the background. It really looks great. The rest of the park also looks great, and I do mean great. It is just nicely put together. There is a nice mix of shops, coasters, food locations, and landscaping. There really isn't area of the park that looks too cluttered, too spaced out.

 

While Batman is the only true themed coaster in the park, all the other rides are still given nice aesthetic appeal. Viper has a light Western theme, Superman is cool looking, Tatsu has a light Oriental theme, etc. You really don't miss themeing, as things still look great.

 

One interesting note about this park, is the rules on re-rides. Basically, if you get off the train and wait while the other people come on the ride, and then see an empty seat, they let you take it. It is really amazing, and is quite fun. It is great to get 6-10 rides on coasters that don't have much line without getting off. It also works on the coasters with larger lines. At one point, the Tatsu and Riddler's Revenge line was an hour and a half, and after I got off from my first ride, there was a group of 3 in another row, and I got on with them. It is really an incredible experience (although I wouldn't think its the fairest thing if this policy was at my home park).

 

Day 1

 

We got to the park at 10:30 (opening), but since quite a few people had already gotten through the gates we didn't think it was worth it to run to one of the major rides. We instead went to the right and did many of the coasters over there (Scream!, Batman, Riddler's, Goliath, Colossus). That area of the park was completely empty, and even as we took a break for lunch it was clear there weren't many people there. There were lines for the major things, but no lines for the smaller ones.

 

We then did a few more coasters in the back of the park before proceeding to X. We wanted to make sure to get on it, and due to its flakey personality, I wanted to get on it before the motor blew out or something. We got on all the other coasters, then got a night ride on Tatsu, and got in line for X right before closing, getting a great night ride on X.

 

Ride count for the day:

 

Goliath (1 - Front)

Colossus (2 - Front and Back)

Scream (3 - Front and Back)

Batman: The Ride (1)

Riddler's Revenge (1)

Deja Vu (1)

Superman (1)

Goldrusher (1)

Viper (1)

Tatsu (1)

X (2 - Front)

Revolution (1)

Ninja (1)

 

Total for the Day: 17

 

Day 2:

 

We got to the park a little earlier this time in order to run to X. Unfortunately, we didn't get to the gate until 10:25, so many people had already lined up. We wen way over to the side though, to one or two gates that had no attendants and thus no line, which opened as they opened the park. A few people from my group get into the park, but then the person right in front of me (not connected to my group) had some issue with a coupon so the attendant at my gate had to go off to get another coupon. All I could see was everyone getting into the park and running to X.

 

Finally my attendant comes back and I get into the park and start to sprint. A security guard told me, and other runners, to slow down, but not many people took heed. This was a hard run! It doesn't look like much when you walk over there, but it is a long and completely up-hill run from the entrance to X. While running up the hill to the bridge going to X, numerous people had ceased running and were yelling "You're getting tired... getting tired... getting tired" and other hilarious taunts. It was actually pretty funny. Finally I run up the stairs to the bridge and start to cross it. I saw that most other people had given up on the running, so while I was dead, I picked up the speed to past them all.

 

Luckily I passed them all, it was actually quite exhilarating, and arrived at the entrance gate only to be third in line. They hadn't yet opened the ride so it gave me a chance to catch my breath. This was the first time I have ever participated in the running at opening at any park. Very exciting!

 

A few minutes later when the line had grown quite a bit, an attendant comes out to open the line. He opened the line and while it took a bit of pushing I was still 5th in line (only some people in my group passed me). We ran through the queue to the entrance, I was still in a running mode for some reason, but didn't get too much of a lecture from the attendants. I then got on the first car on the third train of the day.

 

After my amazing X run, we then went to Superman and got numerous laps without getting off on that. After that we went over to Ninja. The ride hadn't opened yet as it was still testing, and a line had formed at the entrance. My group (5 people), went down the exit to use the single rider line instead. While the ride was testing, we had a nice talk with the mechanic there. He said to our disbelief that Superman still hits 90mph, but the computers can't handle the faster speeds anymore. I was amazed it was still that fast. We talked a little bit more and then we were let on the ride. Mind you, the mechanic let us on before they opened up the actual line. So we had the first train out, and we were the only 5 on the train. It was actually a pretty cool experience!

 

After that we did basically the same plan we did the previous day, doing the right side of the park first and then went to end the day with Tatsu, then Deja Vu, then X.

 

We rode Deja Vu, which is where all the interesting stuff starts. Deja Vu is one of my favorite rides, but I've found your ride experience depends greatly on your seat. Deja Vu is like Intamin Impulses. If you sit in the back, you rocket up quite high and are staring straight down at the ground below. If you sit in the front, you don't go up as high going backwards, but you go quite high going forwards. In the middle, you don't go high either way. I greatly prefer sitting in the back, as sitting in the back on Deja Vu staring at the concrete below is breathtaking.

 

Well unfortunately, I discovered Deja Vu at SFMM had no priority seating. I even begged with the op to let me go towards the back (as she had only assigned the first three rows), but she didn't budge. I got to sit somewhere in the middle. The ride was really great, but not the same as sitting all the way in the back. So the next night, I was determined to get the seat of my choice. So as I was about to go in the turnstiles into the station, I stopped to "tie my shoelace" until the back of the train was being loaded. I saw that it was and immediately proceeded in to get the 3rd row from the back. Yay! It worked. Well not for long. Unfortunately I had gotten in-between a group of 4 when I walked in, and there wasn't another row for them to take. So they asked me to go sit a single rider in the 4th to last row. I could have created a stink, but didn't want to cause a scene so just went in that row.

 

Now, you're probably saying 4th row from back, 3rd row from back, what's the difference? Well there is a big one. On Deja Vu there are outer seats, and there are inner seats. Unfortunately the inner seats are really bad. The two outer seats have really nothing in front of them which gives you a front seat type experience. The inner seats on the other hand have a huge metal sheet in front of them that connects the two outer seats. You literally cannot see anything unless you turn your head to the side. Well the single rider was sitting in the inner seats, so it wasn't nearly as good of ride as it is on the outer seats.

 

I found this whole experience quite comical. I do hate when parks assign you into rows though. It's really ridiculous after you've waited so long to get on it, and you should be able to pick where you sit.

 

So after Deja Vu we realized that one of our group members who was waiting for us by the exit wasn't there. So this caused a hefty delay. It was already 9:20, and we were in somewhat of a time crunch to get to X. Unfortunately, I was given the job of looking for our missing person, while two of my friends ran off to X. Finally we found the other person, so we started to head over to X. We reached the bridge to the entrance at about 9:40 only to be told the ride was closed. After the Deja Vu op ruining my fun, I certainly wasn't going to take this.

 

Employee: Sorry, but the ride is closed.

 

Me: What?!

 

Employee: Sorry, but the ride is closed.

 

Me: Why?

 

Employee: Well, there is over a 2 hour line, and we need to make sure that the people in line get on, so we had to close it.

 

Me: No. I asked numerous employees today, and they said the ride would not close its line before closing (10pm).

 

Employee: Sorry.

 

Me: I still have 20 minutes and you are just going to close it.

 

Employee: Well I'm sorry, but I was just told to close the ride, and I've already closed the line up there. Sorry!

 

 

 

A few other of my friends chimed in, but he wouldn't budge. He was nice enough about it, but wouldn't let us on. And what bothered me about it was: 1) He was just going to close the line and I knew he hadn't done so yet and 2) I called my 2 friends already in line and they said it wasn't even close to 2 hours. So as it was approaching closing, we wanted to go on something so went over to Tatsu. I was sort of disappointed, as while Tatsu is a good ride, I had just been on it this evening and wanted to have another awesome night ride on X before I left. My first night ride on X was truly incredible.

 

After arriving at Tatsu, I saw that the line was just up the stairs into the station. I was sort of disappointed it was so short, as being my last night in California, I was hoping to maximize my time at the park and get on the ride hours after closing. Well for some reason, the line took forever. It moved incredibly slowly, and there weren't even that many people in line. Finally I get into the station. I decided to get in line for a middle row (which had less people in line) just to get on quickly so as I could get re-rides before closing. Just as I had decided, they come on the loudspeaker and say that there are "absolutely no re-rides due to it being close to closing". Great night so far! SF is really spoiling my fun...

 

At this point I noticed that they had just opened up the last two cars of the train. The last two cars on both side of the station had been reserved for Flash Pass all day, and it was disappointing as those were supposed to be the most intense rows. So I decided I might as well wait for the best row, and got in line for the last one. This took about half an hour, again the crew was very slow. Finally the station starts emptying out. After a little while, the other side of the station gave its last ride, and they move that train over to our side to speed things up. We see that there are about two trains of people still left in our station, so we let a few people go ahead of us in the last car to ensure we would get last ride. One of the trains is retired for the night so we had to wait a while for our train to return. They announced it would be the last train of the night, so a few people in the front row had to find a different row. Finally we get on (the wait was about an hour and a half). I secured an end seat. Luckily we get dispatched without a breakdown, and our ride was really incredible. The air was so cool, and it really made it all much more thrilling. The pretzel loop was also much more intense in the back.

 

So we come back into the station and everyone (3 rows was all that was filled) starts cheering "one more ride, one more ride". I've seen this done all the time at parks, but have never seen the park agree to it. After we come into the station they leave us in the flying position while all this cheering was taking place. They said "do you want one more ride". Everyone cheered. "Two more ride?". Everyone again cheered. So they replied "Come back tomorrow!". Figures! So they lower us back into the loading position, and then a few seconds later, they raise us back into the flying position and said "Enjoy your ride on Tatsu".

 

You have no idea how excited I was at this point. I was screaming at the top of my lungs. It was just such a great way to end the California part of the trip, and a great way to end what looked to be a not so hot night. It was just AMAZING. So the second ride was better than the first, and we get off the ride and I thanked the ops. We then got a few last pictures and left the otherwise empty park.

 

One intersting note is that when we arrived at the parking lot, my friends who had ran to X were already there, and had been for over half an hour. Remember that 2 hour line that was so horrible? It ended up being under 1 hour. Typical Six Flags...

 

Ride Count for the Day:

 

Superman (6 - Front)

Batman (1)

Riddler's Revenge (2 - Front)

Scream (2)

Goliath (1)

Tatsu (3 - Back)

Deja Vu (1)

Viper (2)

Revolution (2)

Colossus (1)

Goldrusher (1)

Ninja (1)

X (1 - Front)

 

Total for the Day: 23

 

So how did we get on more rides when the park was more crowded on Wednesday? Well we got more lucky with the re-rides, and also skipped leaving the park at any point throughout the day to maximize our time.

 

Total time at Six Flags Magic mountain: 26.5 hours

 

Rides

 

Batman: The Ride:

 

What can I say? It is a typical Batman: The Ride. It is a very good ride. It has a lot of intensity, and the pace never lets up. It also has some really fun inversions and two loops which is nice. The first drop is great as usual. I've always thought the ride needs some more height to it, and some more drops, but it is a nice ride none the less. The location of this one makes it better than the Six Flags Great Adventure version.

 

7/10

 

Colossus:

 

The lift is nice but doesn't provide a very good view. The first drop is good, but the following turn around is slow, and not exciting in the least. The next few hills are ok, but are somewhat rough and don't provide any air-time. There are a few more dull turn-arounds, but some of the hills are a bit exciting. There is a double-up hill, and the last few hills of the ride are smooth, fast, and provide pops of air-time. The ride is good, but the roughness along with the slowness really detract from your enjoyment of it. A little bit of rehab could really help this coaster. Don't get me wrong though, it is still an enjoyable coaster. And no, it wasn't racing.

 

6.5/10

 

Deja Vu:

 

Deja Vu is one of my favorite rides, but I've found your ride experience depends greatly on your seat. Deja Vu is like Intamin Impulses. If you sit in the back, you rocket up quite high and are staring straight down at the ground below. If you sit in the front, you don't go up as high going backwards, but you go quite high going forwards. In the middle, you don't go high either way. I greatly prefer sitting in the back, as sitting in the back on Deja Vu staring at the concrete below is breathtaking.

 

My ride in the inner seat wasn't all that great, as you literally can't see a thing due to a metal cage connecting the outer seats being right in front of you, but my outer seat ride was quite good. It is amazing going up the back spike looking down at the ground with all of your weight on the restraint and then free-falling to the ground. The cobra roll is exciting and fast, and the loop is disorienting and fun. The second spike is good too. The only thing is that unlike the Georgia and Chicago models, you pause for a second or two before you drop down backwards from the second spike. This pause makes the free-fall more expectant and less thrilling. Going backwards is GREAT. The loop is fast, and the cobra roll is quite disorienting and fun. You are then raised up the back spike and lowered down slowly which is thrilling.

 

The only thing about my rides on Deja Vu was that I rode it at night. Most rides at night are a bit more exciting, but not Deja Vu. The thing that makes Deja Vu one of my favorites, is being raised up those spikes and realizing just how high up you are. On the SFMM model though, there is A) nothing below you, and B) it isn't lighted at all so you can't see anything that allows you to realize how high up in the air you are. This detracts quite a bit of thrill from the ride, which makes the SFoG model and the SFGAm model (where you are raised up over a midway of people), more thrilling. The SFoG model is my favorite.

 

8.5/10

 

Goldrusher:

 

This is a nice mine train coaster that travels around Superman which is interesting. There isn't much to the ride, but there are a few nice drops and twists and turns through the tress, and a final helix which is good. All of the above makes it an all around enjoyable mine coaster.

 

6.5/10

 

Goliath:

 

The ride was a bit better than I remember. The first drop was taller and much more thrilling than I had remembered, and the tunnel added a lot to it. The first over-banked turn was also thrilling and it was quite high up in the air. An air-time hill follows that gives a nice pop of air. The mid-course-brake run follows, which brings the train to a near complete stop. This does allow a nice sensation if you are in the front, and you are hanging over the next twisted drop for what seems like forever. The rest of the ride is just a lot of fast paced turns with no real drops to speak of. There is also the helix of doom which is incredibly intense. I had a grey-out as I usually do on Titan or Goliath during the helix if I sit in the back.

It is somewhat of an unpleasant feeling, but does add to the thrill! Overall, it is a nice ride with a lot of laterals and speed, but not much thrill. And it was too smooth! You almost wanted some roughness.

 

The queue is also quite nice on the ride and has wonderfully landscaping. The entire queue is completely shaded by vegetation. The entrance sign to the ride is also one of the best out there. One interesting note is that on Tuesday, the ride was only running one train all day, and many of my friends waited two and a half hours for it. Two trains were running Wednesday.

 

8/10

 

Ninja:

 

This is definitely the best suspended. I have been on. The first lift takes you up only maybe 90 feet or so, but the first twisting drop, and all the drops to come, cascade down the mountain. This allows for large drops to happen after the initial one. The ride itself is a lot of fun. You are flying through tress, and even go over a lagoon at one point which is for the log ride. The turns are taken at a pretty fast speed which allows for some nice swinging. It is definitely one of the more enjoyable family coasters out there. The second lift takes you directly to the station, which is a bit odd as you think something is still to come, but the ride is still very enjoyable.

 

7/10

 

Riddler's Revenge:

 

The trains are loaded quite quickly, as the ops don't really care how you are standing, but they still took a while to be dispatched which allowed for a line on Wednesday while most others didn't have one. The lift is great and quite tall (it provides some nice views). The first drop is excellent and long. The first loop is also quite fun as the lift goes through it. Two dive loops follow which are fun, but basically there is just a long piece of straight track connects them. Another near-inversion follows before you hit a very banked turn and head up the mid-course-brake-run. Coming off the brake run and going immediately into a large drop, you get a huge pop of air-time like you do on Mantis. I always enjoy this sensation after exiting a mid-course-brake run.

 

A corkscrew follows the brake run, which is fun, but not very intense. A drawn out turn follows which leads to a hill provide another pop of air-time. Some more turns and small hills with some nice amount of air-time follow, and then another corkscrew which is faster and more intense.

 

It's a great ride, but somehow I always seemed unimpressed after I got off of it, and didn't know why. I recently read the Coastergrotto review of the ride though, and they explain my thoughts perfectly. Basically it is a great ride, but parts of the layout are very "uninspiring". You basically go from one inversion to another with a slight turn or straight piece of track which creates a wish for the ride to be more special. Still, it is a really fun and great ride. It is by far the best stand up in operation with zero discomfort.

 

8/10

 

Revolution:

 

This ride wasn't so hot... It is a nice coaster with a really fun layout and excellent use of the terrain, but it has been somewhat destroyed it seems. There are trim brakes on top of every hill, so you get absolutely no speed going over the hills, and you can forget about air-time. Also, the restraints (lap bar and shoulder restraint) are extremely hard (zero padding), and since most of the drops are turning drops, I couldn't avoid hitting my head on the restraints. This made for a painful ride. Still, there were a lot of swooping drops going with the terrain and a nice tunnel at the end which made it relatively enjoyable. It was also interesting seeing the extremely shallow drop into the first loop in the world, and all the warning signs telling you to keep your head back. How times have changed... The ride is in a nice location in the woods with streams running around it.

 

5.5/10

 

Scream!:

 

Ahhh how I love this ride. It is definitely one of my very favorites. The ride has great aesthetic appeal. I love the colors, and there is a ton of fencing and signage and landscaping outside of the ride. The queue also has the cool "scream" signs. The outside of the ride could use some paint, but it is still cool. The station is again cool to me. The lift is great, and the first drop is excellent! It is a nice swooping drop which truly makes it feel as if you are flying. It is also long and smooth. A huge loop follows which is taken at the perfect speed. It provides intensity, but is slow enough to also provide some good hang time. A nice dive loop follows, which again is taken at the perfect speed to make you feel like you are flying. While upside down, you can also see the rest of the park behind you.

 

The zero-g-roll follows which is the best part of this ride, and the best inversion on any ride! I just love the sensation. You are completely weightless, and it is taken quite fast. The amount of twisting you do is just amazing. The cobra roll is quite enjoyable and disorienting. The mid-course-brake-run follows, and then you enter a (half) helix. The helix is intense and so close to the ground, you feel as if you could touch the parking lot lines! A quick change in direction hill follows, which is exciting and provides some air-time, and then you enter the interlocking corkscrews part of the ride. This part is really fun, as it is again taken at the perfect speed, and it provides a nice amount of weightlessness. Another change in direction hill follows (more air-time), and then an over-banked turn before the brake run.

 

Wow! Just as good as I remember. The front of the ride was a bit rough, and not very intense, but the back is intense and perfectly smooth. This is the perfect floorless. Everything is taken at the perfect speed so that your enjoyment of each element is the most it can be. I just love this ride (the zero-g-roll particularly).

 

9.5/10

 

Superman:

 

I'll keep this short. Basically this feels like driving down the freeway in a convertible. Really, it is the exact same sensation. You don't go up the hill very much, but it does provide a nice bit of air-time (it isn't very thrilling though). I wouldn't wait long for this...

 

But guess what... at one point during the day, I saw both sides running! At the same time! With people. It was great to see, and the mechanic confirmed it.

 

6.5/10

 

Tatsu:

 

The location of the ride is quite nice, as it is over a lot. The ride paint job makes it stand out, and the oriental music playing in the station passes time! The trains are typical B&M comfortableness (better than the Vekoma version). Going up the lift is awesome, as you are extremely high up in the air, and you are looking down at midways and lots of trees. The first drop is awesome, as you truly feel like you are flying, and you fly over many trees and the rapids ride. A corkscrew follows, and you then enter a zero-g-roll which is a ton of fun. Two quick turns then lead into the premier element: the pretzel loop. Looking down at what you are about to enter is pretty thrilling. You are so high up! The element is incredible. It is amazingly intense in the back, and you feel like you are on your back for quite a while. Exiting the pretzel loop is also very quick, and extremely intense. Great element! You then enter an inline twist before entering a very tight turn right over the entrance. The tight turn is one of the more intense parts of the ride, second to the pretzel loop. You then have a small pop before entering the brakes.

 

Wow! This ride was really impressive. Not only is the ride itself great, the drop and the pretzel loop and the last turn especially, but it did actually feel like you were flying! And I still can't get over how high up you are for most of the ride. Looking down at the mountain and entrance below is so thrilling. This quickly entered my top 10, and the ride at night is even better, and my experience on Wednesday makes Tatsu one of my favorite rides on the trip.

 

10/10

 

Viper:

 

I actually really like Viper. The first drop twists quite a bit, and is very thrilling. The loops are very intense, and experiencing them so high up is fun too. The final corkscrews are the best part of the ride. You enter them so slowly, you experience a ton of weightlessness. It is extremely fun. And I find the ride perfectly smooth, although some people do not.

 

7.5/10

 

X:

 

What can I say about X? X is truly incredible, and very quickly moved up into my top 5. The line never actually got that long, and always hung around an hour. The trains themselves are extremely wide, and the station is like an airplane hanger (massive). The ride is just great. Flipping down to face the ground on the first drop is breathtaking, and is especially amazing in the front, as there is nothing below you! The first raven turn is again incredible, and there is tons of weightlessness. The turn around is fun and gives you at least a second to think about what is happening. The zero-g-roll is again incredible. There is so much weightlessness, and it is unbelievably disorienting. The second raven turn is just as good as the first, but much more disorienting. There is also a bit of shaking that the train does through here, which I think makes the ride even more fun and intense! It isn't painful in any way. This ride is just so awesome. And the ride at night I had on Tuesday in the front was the best part of the trip. There is a ton of weightlessness, it is so disorienting, and the first drop is just amazing. This definitely gets a 10.

 

10/10

 

 

Well that's my two days at Six Flags Magic Mountain. All I can say is WOW! The park has some of my favorite coasters, and the park is one of my favorites also. It was just an incredible two days, and I had been looking forward to it for so long. I even got to experience an earthquake in the hotel Wednesday night. I cannot wait to return, but my recent visit will not soon be forgotten.

 

-- Top Thrill 182 --

[Team Thriller]

When I went to Magic Mountain (Which is my favorite park), I was surprised about the size, landscaping, and ride line ups. X was probably the parks best ride (I didn't get a Tatsu credit) and Goliath was one of the better hypers I've been on. Batman was way to short, so was Superman: The Escape, but they where both awesome.

 

I rode all except for Tatsu and DeJaVu.

Anyways, great update, and it looks like you had a blast!!!

[Groteslurf]

Long TR, you said ?

 

I really enjoyed reading it. The running part was hilarious to read.

Very cool the ops let you re-ride when there are open seats left. And extremely cool they re-rode the last Tatsu train of the day.

 

When I ever make it to that side of the Usa, I will definitely visit SFMM.

[almightyfire]

AH-MEN! This park is the best place in the world to me. When i die I want to go to SFMM. That is where I want to spend eternity.

 

Naw for real, I am glad someone loves the park as much as I do. Just needs better loading on X, but there isnt one park i have been to where some rides werent up to par with loading.

[dpxtreme]

Great TR! Can't wait for the pictures. And not to be anal, but I noticed you don't have a rating for Scream!. Just something I noticed.

[kraxleRIDAH]

Good to hear you had a really good time. When I read trip reports like these, it gives me that slight realization that Magic Mountain isn't entirely a dump. Glad to know a lot of people still love the park.

[DBJ]

Wow! That was an impressive write up. Makes me want to skip work and hit up SFMM during the week! I noticed that you skipped all of the water rides. Good thing you missed the heat wave over labor day weekend!

[christianscoasters]

At least you got to ride Tatsu more than once . We put a clock on when Tatsu would dispatch a train. 4 minutes. Figures. When we were on it, we sat on the block brake forever. And in the flying position, you don't want to just sit there. But sounds like you had a fun time. I loved SFMM. BTW, when I rode Colossus, I thought it had GREAT air! But it was waaaaay too rough . But not as rough as X.

[sfmman2000]

I think you should experience being a ride operator. Honestly, no one is trying to ruin your fun, you're just making their job difficult.

 

Also, I think a picture of Superman: TE running both sides should be posted (with a timestamp!)

[Nemesis Inferno]

I just can't understand why everyone loves Tatsu and X so much...

 

I couldn't walk after going on Tatsu, and the Forces in the Pretzel were just too much over too long a period...

 

X is rough... And over-hyped...

 

Give me Goliath over those two anyday...

[almightyfire]

Well Tatsu and X are one of a type coasters. That is why they are so popular. The experiences I had with both coasters was "OH MY GOD". It is like a dynamic experience that is out of this world but I dont want that feeling that often. TATSU was totally painful at the bottom of the loop and I had head problems for 2 weeks after. Now the experience was wonderful but I cant do it all the time. I will ride everytime I go which is once a year but they arent something I would ride over and over again if I lived in the area. That is why I love SFMM a lot is because they have some unusual coasters. Now that is why I love them a lot. X and El Toro are the only 2 coasters that have scared the S _ _ T OUT OF ME.

[jonlocke]

Where are these pictures.

[TopThrill182]

Long TR, you said ?

 

I really enjoyed reading it. The running part was hilarious to read.

Very cool the ops let you re-ride when there are open seats left. And extremely cool they re-rode the last Tatsu train of the day.

 

When I ever make it to that side of the Usa, I will definitely visit SFMM.

 

I also found the whole running thing pretty funny. It was a lot of fun though, I am glad I got to experience.

 

And it really is an amazing system. Obviously you can't get re-rides on Deja Vu and X, but every other coaster (no matter how long the line) they will let you fill an empty seat if it is open.

 

And it was extremely cool they re-dispatched the train as the last ride of the night. It was just so cool that they did that, and was very nice.

 

At least you got to ride Tatsu more than once . We put a clock on when Tatsu would dispatch a train. 4 minutes. Figures. When we were on it, we sat on the block brake forever. And in the flying position, you don't want to just sit there. But sounds like you had a fun time. I loved SFMM. BTW, when I rode Colossus, I thought it had GREAT air! But it was waaaaay too rough . But not as rough as X.

Tatsu had the worst crew in the place. Dispatches were absurd, and that is how the line starting on the stairs to the station took over an hour. I mean, when you have 2 loading stations and a long ride course, how can you not run 3 trains? I just couldn't believe it.

 

And Colossus was pretty rough, but I actually didn't think X was rough at all. The second raven turn was really shaky the first time I rode it, but I kept my head forward the next time and was fine.

 

And we did miss all the water rides. I wanted to get on one, as I love rapids rides, and really enjoyed the Arrohead Splash Down log ride, but the lines were quite long, and I would rather be riding coasters.

 

I think you should experience being a ride operator. Honestly, no one is trying to ruin your fun, you're just making their job difficult.

 

Also, I think a picture of Superman: TE running both sides should be posted (with a timestamp!)

 

On the two other Deja Vus, the ride ops let a train load of riders into the station and let them pick the rows. Same thing goes for most other rides. And I paid to get into the park, the ride op is getting paid. They should be the ones burdened with stuff like that, not the guests. The other ops who worked a little harder to let guests pick their seats didn't look too over exhausted. I just hate when ops do this... and I have never seen an op who didn't accommodate some sort of seating request. This one just didn't want to think.

 

And I don't want to confuse people, both sides of Superman: TE were not being launched at the same time, they were just both running at the same time. And sorry, but I didn't take a pic... I promise though!

 

And I do love SFMM. I am really glad I got to visit, and would suggest the park to anyone. And sorry, but the pics won't be up until tomorrow night.

[Goliath513]

When I rode Tatsu in July, they were running only one train and one station.

[laqueefa]

I recently just had my first SFMM experience, and loved it. Although I only went for the evening, I did manage to ride Goliath 3 times in a row, and once off of a 3 min wait. The park was clean, no crowds, zero thugs or line jumpers, and I got to meet Jahan at the end of the day. Could it get any better than that?!

 

P.S. Tatsu at night was amazing!

[TopThrill182]

Sorry for the lengthy delay, but the pictures are up. There are over 2000 so I hope you enjoy them! I really like some of the SFMM ones. They are in somewhat of a reverse order, so if you want to see them from the beginning (Day 1 - Day 2), you should start at the bottom. It doesn't really matter a whole lot though.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

- Top Thrill 182 -

[ebl]

^ World record number of photos for a Photo TR! But I enjoyed them.

 

"Glad to know a lot of people still love the park." (KraxleRIDAH)

 

I love to make fun of SFMM, but to be honest, deep down, I'd miss it if it ever closed. Being less than an hour from home, it's easy to go over there and get my occasional coaster fix.

 

Eric

[RIP Psyclone]

Well Tatsu and X are one of a type coasters. ...It is like a dynamic experience that is out of this world but I dont want that feeling that often.

 

Yes, X is a "dynamic" experience. Tatsu isn't, though.

[kraxleRIDAH]

EBL - Can't say I disgaree with you.

 

I would be a sad if the park were to close down too (not like it's going to though).

 

I think it's just that we all know the park could be great, but for so many years it has remained the same without much improvement. That's what irks us enthusiasts about Magic Mountain I suppose. It's like the genuis kid in the family that does poorly in school because he's lazy.

[ebl]

Apparently, the president of SFKK has taken the same position at SFMM, replacing Del Holland. So, we'll see what happens.

 

Eric

[PURE]

So lets see what this new GM has to offer, maybe its a foreshadow of a lot of improving years to come.

 

Its good to hear when people can actually be honest about the park, regardless if its in the condition it is now or not. When it was said it would be closed so many people were like "don't care if its gone, its a dump, etc." and its like, how could you possibly root for a park like this one to close down and be demolished? One with so many unique characteristics when it comes to environment and coasters? I'm not a big fan of how the park is run or the condition of many things either, but that doesn't mean I'd rather have it gone than have hope it'll get better.

 

So many pictures, but I liked the angles and perspectives you captured in a lot of them. So, the pictures definitely made up for the wait. Very nice!

 

You commented that Superman was running both sides with people on them. I know track A's car was rehabed back in July and was sitting behind the station for some time. Is it running both sides right now? Or did it only towards the end of the summer?

 

I'm just wondering, I hadn't heard anything about that till now.

[haiderodes]

31st picture down is awesome. Where was that taken, looks like from the Skytower elevator. Really shows of the height of that inversion!

[Spokker]

This is a great TR. Six Flags Magic Mountain is really turning things around. Hopefully it bleeds into next season and beyond.

[TopThrill182]

31st picture down is awesome. Where was that taken, looks like from the Skytower elevator. Really shows of the height of that inversion!

 

Sorry to bring back and older topic, but I'm still getting questions on that pic and meant to answer it.

 

That is probably my favorite photo from the trip. And while I brightened it for the purpose of seeing it in a smaller thumbnail, the real picture has really rich color (which I will post in a bit).

 

It was taken from the Skytower elevator, during the ride down to the ground. I was extremely lucky, as I don't know if I'd ever be able to duplicate that picture again. I happened to be in the perfect spot, eye level with the base of the element, and it was one of the spots on the Skytower where there was a lack of supports in front of you allowing me to take the picture. Plus, the train just happened to be going through the element as we went by. I was going crazy when I got that shot, and everyone else was jealous as they couldn't get their cameras out fast enough.