Random SFMM Photo TR

[Corkscrewed]

Went with some friends yesterday and had a nice time. Park didn't seem super fantastic splendid in totall rebound awesome, but it didn't suck. Some park operations were amazing. Others were lackluster. Overall, it was a mix of the varying reviews I've read.

 

X2 had a two hour wait that was probably up to 2.5 hrs when we got off at 12:40. The ride is nice, though. Not much smoother, but the new station theming, soundtrack, paint scheme, and fire effects do add a lot. The line has been redone and there are TV's that show random extreme sports vids and bloopers... and stuff from Break.com, oddly enough.

 

Tatsu ended up being only an hour wait when we got on late afternoon. The line started out long earlier in the day and just kept on getting shorter and shorter.

 

The new museum atop the Sky Tower is awesome. Loved watching the old Magic Mountain commercials, and the video and photos made me realize just what people are talking about when they think about the park's good old days back in the 70s. It definitely looked really family friendly. A place I would have loved to visit.

 

Viper, Ninja, SCREAM, Revolution, Gold Rusher, and Collosus were walk-ons. Riddler's and Batman had half hour lines. Locker policy didn't seem enforced. In fact, I noticed a guy who was forced to wear his fanny pack and sweatshirt because the ride ops wouldn't let him leave them on the side. Tatsu also didn't enforce its locker policy. With two stations and two trains operating (meaning each train returned to its same station always), people just left their stuff on the floor. One of the ride ops on Tatsu did engage the riders waiting in line, even when some of them were asses and gave him a hard time by ribbing him about his height and age (kudos to Jeff... or "Jeffy" for putting up with it).

 

Revolution was rough. Just painful. And SCREAM! kinda sucks now too. It was never great to begin with, but it's noticeably head-bumpy. Collosus had a great crew, however, and they hauled ass.

 

The Johnny Rocket's is good by SFMM standards and terrible by Johnny Rockets' standards. SFMM food still pretty much sucks compared to the local parks.

 

Only downside of the day was when my friend lost his VW car keys and his Samsung phone on SCREAM. He came off and they were gone. We filed a report, and hopefully, the park will find the stuff and mail them to him. I suppose this may end up being one way to judge how the park has improved, because two years ago, another friend lost his phone on Tatsu, and they never found it. Then again, it's Tatsu, and it's pretty hard to find something on the mountain. Still, it'll be nice if they do find it. Would indicate effort.

 

Overall, I don't care to go back again soon, but the park doesn't seem to be horrible. Definitely encountered more enthusiastic employees than in trips past, but there were also plenty of employees just going through the motions. It think it's a good direction, but Magic Mountain will definitely have to maintain this for years to come before things can really turn around.

Kids are gettin' big!

They wandered down the mountain and decided to enjoy a stroll along the games area.

And then there were... GEESE!!!

Tired of getting made fun of for the horribly hilariously bad Spiderman 3, Spidey decided to ditch Marvel and join DC.

Viper and X2 look pretty rad together, freshly painted, especially when viewed from the Tower.

This guy is so badass for wearing the cape. Him and the 2948 other people wearing the random various-colored Superman capes that day.

I'm sure this pic gets posted occasionally, but still... uh....

X2 looks sexy. Really do love the recoloring and theming of everything!

It's hilarious how absolutely atrocious the parking lot trams are. I think this is the most dangerous ride in the park!

[Xtreme-me]

Strangely enough, your trip report sounded alot like mine from last week as well. I never posted it on the site here, but I did share alot of your opinions. The only one I disagree with is in regards to one thing that you said concerning the sound on the train and in the station. Personally, the new speakers on the ride did absolutely nothing for me and the "music" on the inside of the station (if you can even call it that) was useless. The guy saying "Are you in yet? Are you ready?" over and over again was unbelievably annoying, and the best song they could have played on the onboard speakers during the ride was played while I was sitting in the block brake at the end. That was very frustrating. (the fire made up for it significantly though:)

 

I was suprised by how rough scream was as well! It definitley is not getting older gracefully by any means...

[Corkscrewed]

Now edited to be a Photo TR.

 

Music inside the station wasn't really music. I thought the "X2" whispers were funny. My friend and I kept on asking each other "what ride are we on again?"

 

It amused us, although yeah, I can see how it gets annoying.

[JimBeach]

I was there Sunday too as you were. I fully enjoyed the day. I love your shot of X2 and Viper from the Skytower. That is definitely a top attraction now for an overview of all the coasters flowing into each other. I did hear Tim Burkhart speak about the soundtrack on X2 and he originally wanted the Ozzy Osbourne song "Crazy Train" to be the first song since it synced perfectly right from when you left the station and kicked in right when you hit the top of the lift and down the first drop. But they went with Harry Connick Jr and Metallica instead. Also, at least for me, on the parking lot tram someone yelled out, "Are you in yet. Is everyone ready". And it received a round of applause. Cool also to see Jay Thomas around the park picking up trash and even acting as a ride operator on X2 and even riding with some folks Oh yeah, Deja Vu was also up and running for at least half of the day/night. I think I partially jinxed the park, while in line for Revolution it broke down right before I was a train away from boarding, same with Deja Vu. Rode Superman three times without getting off only to have it overrun the track and have to be towed back by maintenance. Also saw Viper stuck at the bottom of a drop. Otherwise a great day.

[RIP Psyclone]

"Is everybody in?"

[Wes]

^ Do you know what that line is from? You've never ever ever mentioned it before.

[wrs28330]

The pandas in that picture are on a merry-go-round....jeesh!

[JimBeach]

^ Do you know what that line is from? You've never ever ever mentioned it before.

I think it's Jim Morrison from the Doors.

[shepp]

I rode X2 last Wednesday morning, and ended up liking it a whole lot, but not significantly more than I'd liked X. (Though it did in fact seem smoother to me.) Granted, the fire effect was down (I recall someone else saying it had been down when he rode, too) and there was, predictably, no fog. The music did add something, but, um...overhyped. I'm sure the flames would have helped, but it's pretty much the same ride, really, like "X - The Director's Cut." I kept wishing they'd added the rumored tunnels or water or something, like additional on-ride theming. The ad would have been more honest if it had crowed "X2 - now in new colors!"

 

Still, fun.

[JimBeach]

I noticed while riding X2 a few days ago the fire is OK in the day but quite spectacular at night. During the day you mainly just feel the heat, at night it's both the fireball glow and the heat. The lights and fog have no effect in the day but are much better at night since the air is still and the fog lingers a bit, but I agree, not all that great. Tim told us the tunnels were going to be there but in the end just didn't figure into the final design.

If you're a Colossus fan Jay said to look for something later on this summer that will be exciting, as it is Colossus' 30th anniversary.

[shepp]

^ When I was there, the park closed at 6. Oh well, better luck next visit.

[Mechanic]

The pandas in that picture are on a merry-go-round....jeesh!

 

And apparently ignoring the "Keep hands, arm, feet and legs inside the ride vehicle at all times" rule.

[ajinaz]

Tim told us the tunnels were going to be there but in the end just didn't figure into the final design.

If you're a Colossus fan Jay said to look for something later on this summer that will be exciting, as it is Colossus' 30th anniversary.

 

Talking to Jay at the camp out, I got the idea that the tunnels went out when they decided to add the speakers. The history of the speakers was that they considered it back in November but didn't think that it was viable. During March they found a company that said they could do the sound.

Personally, I think that they made the right decision.