TR: Six Flags Magic Mountain

[KBrylczyk]

First, a note for everyone here -

 

I understand that many of you enjoy Magic Mountain. I respect your opinion. However, be warned that this will be a pretty scathing review. Also, you will notice a complete lack of photos. This is because we chose to not take any pictures so we wouldn't have anything to remember this day by. Now, on with the report.

 

This was, without a doubt, the worst day I have ever had at an amusement park. Some of the rides were great, but overall this place is a craphole. I couldn't believe how terrible out day was after seeing all of the reports that it was among the better Six Flags parks (which isn't a great claim to begin with, honestly).

 

Our day began well enough. We didn't run into any traffic at all, which shocked us. We were tavelling on I-405 from Anaheim to Valencia and we were expecting to crawl past LA. Instead we had smooth sailing the whole way and made it to the park with an hour before the opening. We were among the first in the parking lot and were smiling like idiots at our good fortune. Unfortunately, these smiles would not last past the next couple of hours.

 

While waiting for the gates to open (pre-printed tickets, thanks Club TPR!) I asked one of the survey guys if they knew where I could grab a park map. They directed me to the Guest Services window. Here I was told that they did not have any maps and I would have to wait for the gates to open and get one from the ticket takers. Why doesn't Guest Services, the people who are supposed to service the guests, have park maps to hand out? At this point we had about 45 minutes until the gates opened and we were hoping to plan out our day. Neither of us had ever been to the park before and we had no clue where to go for which rides.

 

After that incident, we hung around cluelessly until the gates opened. We promptly grabbed a map and made a left turn towards X2. We ended up waiting about a half hour even though we walked into the queue right up to the point where they split the line. Look, I understand that this loading process is a bit different from regular coasters, but this ride has been here for years and they still can't figure out a more efficient way? Wow. Oh yeah, this was also our first encounter with the $1 single use lockers. Horrible idea. Just put some friggin cubbyholes in the station instead of charging people. Moving on...

 

X2 -

 

This ride managed to scare the living daylights out of me, and I loved every second of it. I was screaming like a little girl from beginning to end. It is such a funky concept, I really don't understand why this hasn't been a more widespread design. The first drop almost made me pee my pants and the rest of the ride was just a blur of insanity and fireballs. I loved it.

 

After getting off of the ride, things were looking up. We had out adrenaline shot to start and we were going to get our chance to say a proper farewell to the good ol' Arrow Megaloopers with a ride on Viper. This was a walk on, but we chose to wait the extra time for the front row.

 

Viper -

 

There is definitely something to be said for nostalgia. While many people hated it, I loved the Great American Scream Machine at SFGAdv. It was a shame that it got torn down for a repainted Chang (seriously, you could have put it in a different location rather than replace a classic). Riding this guy was like visiting an old friend. While it has some slight design differences, the layout is essentially the same. Simply a fun ride. Oh, and we got the train that wasn't a rolling billboard! Bonus!

 

So, to recap -

 

We were excited, had a bit of a downer, but things are now looking way up after two excellent rides. Now, pay attention, because this is where things go downhill. Fast.

 

After Viper we continued around the loop, planning on paying Tatsu a visit next. As we passed the big eatery, we see the entrance for Tatsu and grab a locker for $1. As soon as we're done putting our stuff in the locker, we turn to get in line, and they close the line, saying that operation is going slow. They give us tickets saying to return between 1pm and 2pm. Well, slap my arse and call me Sally, but if you're going to close the line, shouldn't you have someone by the lockers informing people to not waste their money? After retrieving our things from the locker we closed no more than 45 seconds earlier, we grudgingly move along to see what awaits on the other side of the hill.

 

Oh, look! Termina-uh, I mean, Apocalypse. Let's get in line! What's that? $1 locker? Oh yeah...fine. This is also the point where we realize that most of the coasters are running one train. The line doesn't look too bad, though, so we don't mind terribly.

 

About 45 minutes and 4 trains passing later, we made it to the first room of the neverending preshow from Satan's editing room.

 

Apocalypse -

 

I'm not even going to get into detail about the preshow. This was so ridiculous and horribly-scripted/acted that I was laughing uncontrollably the entire time. When we got to the third room I asked to nobody in particular, "Wow, can we just ride already?" to which the preshow attendant replied, "Sorry, man, but there's still another room that's even worse than this one."

 

We finally made it to the loading platform and opt for the front row. There were only three people ahead of us for it, so we figure a two-train wait. First group goes, one person standing between us and the ride. Next person goes, we're up next, right? WRONG. Apparently Six Flags allows baby swap to use the front row. Screw you, Six Flags.

 

Anyways, we finally get onto the ride and settle in to the nice Millennium Flyer train. My friendly ride op felt the best way to make friends was to jam the lap bar so far into my gut I'm sure he cracked my spinal column. Thanks, buddy! The ride itself was alright. It had a good amount of airtime, lots of twists and turns, but it felt like it was lacking a certain oomph. Oh, well. Still nice enough.

 

Oh, also, let me take this moment to mention that the on-ride sound systems weren't working today for Apocalypse and X2. Boooo.

 

After glancing at my watch, I suggest we grab some lunch and by the time we're done, out tickets for Tatsu would be good for entry. On our way, I suggest we hit Superman because I saw it running earlier. After our trek to the top of the hill, we're met by a nice big fence saying it's closed. Well, poo.

 

We grabbed our lunch at the big eatery next to Tatsu. I had myself a grilled chicken sandwich with cold fries for $14. Thanks again, Six Flags.

 

Tatsu time! Whoo! Hey, the line is really short, too! After using those $1 lockers again, we flashed our passes and we were on our way...

 

Tatsu -

 

...to a complete halt. There were 15 people between us and the staircase that leads to the loading platform. How those 15 people took a half hour to go through, I will never know. Once we made it into the actual loading station, I made a startling discovery! They were running one train on one of the most popular rides in the park! AND IT HAS A DUAL LOADING STATION! What kind of crap was this?! Anyways, we got lucky when the group ahead of us asked if we wanted to jump in front of them so they could line up with the rest of their group.

 

This ride was excellent. Unlike the craptacular Superman clones and the Vekoma tragedies, this is a flying coaster that actually makes you feel like you're flying. It also pulls some stupidly insane g-forces in the pretzel loop. Really fun, lots of "Wow, that's cool!" moments. Also, the lift hill was nerve-wracking thanks to the location at the top of the hill in the park. It seemed so much higher than it was.

 

Finished up on this side of the park, we decided to make the loop around the front over towards Goliath. Along the way we stopped to ride Revolution.

 

Revolution -

 

What's this?! A single riders line?! NO WAY! Let's take advantage of it! Oh, wait, there's absolutely no line in the normal queue. And they're running two trains. Wait, what? One of the oldest rides in the park and obviously the least popular has both a single riders line and multi-train operation?! Why the heck hasn't this been implemented on the rides that need it?!

 

The ride itself was fun. Nice piece of history, but those OTS restraints have got to be burned. There is absolutely no reason for them to exist. Their only purpose is to smash one's jaw into millions of hurt-filled pieces.

 

On to Goliath!

 

Goliath -

 

Half hour wait, two train operation. This is one of two rides in the park that had crews that knew what they were doing and were genuinely nice to the guests. When we got to the station they were joking around with everybody and having a grand ol' time. It was a much-needed lift after so much crap earlier.

 

Unfortunately, the ride was simply "meh." Sure, its big and all, but nothing really made it stand out. The only part that really got me was the infamous helix. I got slight tunnel vision, but I've gotten worse tunnel vision on Nitro's helix. The first drop was too angled. It hit the drop angle and just sat there. That first turnaround was alright, the airtime hill provided absolutely no airtime, and the twists and turns to finish everything up would have been really cool if I could see something aside from Collossus parts on asphalt. It wasn't a bad ride; it just wasn't a great ride.

 

Collossus was closed, so boo for that. After the day we'd had, we made the call to do Riddler's Revenge and call it a day.

 

Riddler's Revenge -

 

I love standup coasters. I'm not sure why, but I do. We rode in the front row and it did not disappoint. This thing was pretty darn fun and surprisingly long. The double Immelman was really good at throwing off my sense of direction, and the little airtime hills thrown in made for some cool moments.

 

After walking down the exit, I discovered the single-rider line and immediately went up the stairs. The ride op saw me and point me straight to the seat I had just climbed out of. Two rides, same train, same seat, same dispatch, essentially. My travelmate decided to sit a second run out.

 

Also, this was the only ride aside from Goliath with an excellent ride op team. Good on you, guys! Oh, and this was running two trains, as well. Its a miracle!

 

Final Thoughts -

 

This place is crap. It has a few good rides, two great ones, but it is so horribly run that I will never recommend this park to anybody. Thankfully we did not end the vacation here. We saved Knott's for that honor (which ended up being one of the greatest decisions ever). We left this park with the general opinion being "never return."

 

Robb, I thank you a ton for Club TPR and those hugely discounted tickets. If I spent any more than I did, this place would have been highway robbery.

 

I invite you guys to change my mind. The park has excellent potential, but the way it is being run is just killing it. I've seen the Superman grand opening pictures, the WCB pictures, all of that fun stuff, and it looks like you can have an excellent time here. It really does! But from what we saw and experienced, we have no intentions of returning in the future. Sorry for such a negative review, but I had to share my feelings.

 

On a more positive note, keep an eye out for my Knott's Berry Farm Photo TR! It is full of happiness, fun, and petite lap giraffes!

[Sir Clinksalot]

Funny how the beginning part of your TR is about how crappy the park is ... yet from your description of the coasters it sounds like you enjoyed them and had a fun time.

 

Yes ... some of the rides are only running 1 train ... Magic Mountain is a year-round park. Unlike other parks they don't have months to close down to refurb everything. They do warn you before getting in line that there is only 1 train on certain rides.

 

I know many of your complaints were about the lockers, but you also complained about the waits. Trust me when I say that without the lockers, your wait times would have been a LOT longer.

 

As for GR not having maps ... I agree. Not sure why they didn't, they usually do. I've gotten them from Will Call numerous times.

 

Sorry your experience wasn't the greatest.

[stormrider]

Man, what a contrast to when I visited! Halloween night 2009 and the next day, rides were almost walk-ons. The most I waited was for Terminator, and that was the preshow. I was amazed at how sparse the park was then, it felt awesome to have 5 minute waits for the other rides. But I DID visit back in 2003 when I was 12 years old, and I remember the loooooong waits for X and Batman. THAT day was, to my memory, worse than what you described about the park

 

Oh, and when I visited SFGADV last May, it was even sparser than Magic Mountain was on that Halloween night and the following day Walk-ons on Nitro (they had 3 train operation), 10 minute wait for El Toro (since I wanted the back seat). The longest wait I had was around 30 minutes for the line, then the wait for the front seat, on Kingda Ka. I did end the day with Great American Scream Machine, and for some reason, I rank Viper and that ride as some of the worst rides I've been on. I think they're the only rides I've been on that I consider rough to the point that it's funny.

 

So, too bad you got Magic Mountain on a bad day

Edited March 25, 2011 by stormrider

[KBrylczyk]

Funny how the beginning part of your TR is about how crappy the park is ... yet from your description of the coasters it sounds like you enjoyed them and had a fun time.

 

Oh no, I mentioned many times how the rides are good and the park has great potential. The way the park is run, the unsupervised teenagers wreaking havoc, the absence of any sense of cleanliness (we saw one sweeper in the entire park. One.), and the use of single train operation on their most popular rides was inexcusable. I know it is a year round park, but so is Disneyland and Knott's and we had no problems with ride operation at either of those parks. Knott's had single train operation on its two most popular rides, as well (Silver Bullet and Xcelerator), but those ones were actually undergoing maintenance. You'll see in the pics from Knott's that the second Silver Bullet train is literally in pieces on the transfer track. Xcelerator was being repainted. I never saw anything remotely resembling maintenance on the single-train rides at Magic Mountain.

 

Once again, good rides, even a few great ones, but the overall park experience is horrible.

[PAL]

^What, you think they were running one train just for giggles? Would it have been better if they'd taken you to the disassembled carcasses of the Terminator and Apocalypse trains, for proof? Just like Silver Bullet, they are undergoing maintenance.

 

Colossus is undergoing track work; it's easily visible from the Scream lift hill. Deja - well, it appears just to be sitting there, but who knows what's happening during the week. There was some noise about a new lift cable.

 

You didn't see the park at its best, but that's what you should expect when you visit during the off-season.

 

Any theme park day is what you make of it.

[rcdude]

It sounds like your experience could be summarized by this: "The park has some great rides, but they just aren't worth the ordeal involved to get to them." Honestly, based on what you have said, I would recommend trying to visit again. I was there for WCB, and they explained that the second train on Apocalypse, as well as two of the three Tatsu trains were currently undergoing maintenance. They said that whenever possible, they WILL run two trains on everything, but they have to do maintenance at some point and would prefer to do it now than in the middle of summer. At Knott's, the maintenance areas are uncoverd, so it is easy to tell when trains are being worked on, but at SFMM many of the maintence areas are in their own buildings, so it is not always easy to tell that a train is disassembled.

 

Did you visit on a Saturday or Sunday? This can make a huge difference. When I visit in the off-season, I always pick a Sunday, as Saturdays are much more crowded. To give you an example, on a Saturday, I have waited over forty-five minutes for Tatsu when it was running two trains, while a Sunday had a three train wait. Both visits were in the same month of different years. Also, avoid any weekend that is a school break, as these weekends are extra crowded.

 

I agree that the lockers are expensive, but they do increase loading speed. The park is supposedly working on an alternate solution to these, although I am pretty certain they will not be removed from X2 due to the way it loads. I also am surprised you were unable to get a map prior to entering. They really should have maps availiable on request at Guest Services.

 

As I said, I would strongyly recommend giving the park another shot next time you are out here. Visit on a Sunday that is not a holiday weekend, or a weekday during the summer, and you will probably have a decent time. Tatsu, X2, and Apocalypse are all among the best of their types, and many of the park's other coasters are excellent as well.

[PeoplemoverMatt]

Funny how the beginning part of your TR is about how crappy the park is ... yet from your description of the coasters it sounds like you enjoyed them and had a fun time.

 

Oh no, I mentioned many times how the rides are good and the park has great potential. The way the park is run, the unsupervised teenagers wreaking havoc, the absence of any sense of cleanliness (we saw one sweeper in the entire park. One.), and the use of single train operation on their most popular rides was inexcusable. I know it is a year round park, but so is Disneyland and Knott's and we had no problems with ride operation at either of those parks. Knott's had single train operation on its two most popular rides, as well (Silver Bullet and Xcelerator), but those ones were actually undergoing maintenance. You'll see in the pics from Knott's that the second Silver Bullet train is literally in pieces on the transfer track. Xcelerator was being repainted. I never saw anything remotely resembling maintenance on the single-train rides at Magic Mountain.

 

Once again, good rides, even a few great ones, but the overall park experience is horrible.

 

The majority of coaster maintenance done at SFMM is not visible to the general public.

[KBrylczyk]

rcdude - We were there on Sunday, March 13th. The park wasn't what I would call "packed," but it had a pretty good crowd.

 

Also, I'd like to clarify one of the major themes I'm seeing here: single train operation.

 

Its not so much that they were running one train, moreso the fact that the crews were not being efficient at all with it. When dispatches take seven minutes, there is something dreadfully wrong. It seemed like, since they didn't have to clear the station for another train coming in behind it, they took their sweet time to do the checks. On Apocalypse we were sitting in the train for two minutes, all strapped in, while I watched the ride ops stand around the control booth and chat. On Tatsu it seemed like nobody knew where to go or what to do. Is there a reason we had three separate ride ops come and check our side of the train, and four ride ops check the other side? Sure, there is a slight chance that there was an actual reason, but I doubt it, since it was happening for every dispatch.

 

When you're running one train, run the ride efficiently. If they were able to get the trains in and out of the station in a decent amount of time, we wouldn't have been nearly as turned off.

[DJeXeL]

KBrylczyk sorry your experience wasn't the greatest. You are correct about GR not having maps......they should have boxes of them in their office. Weird you experienced this though cause all the times I've visited the park I couldn't get 20ft past the metal detectors without 20 people ramming a map down my throat.

 

X2- While I'll admit that X2's loading process isn't the most efficient in the park, it IS a huge improvement when compared to previous years. Management recently installed train counters and timers in the load station which is a constant reminder to the crew how fast they should be moving. Are they always going to abide by this? Absolutely not but my past 2 visits the crew usually has a train approaching the lift while the other is coming through the transfer. I don't think it'll ever seen all 3 trains running again so that's as good as it gets. I either get to X2 right when the park opens or I don't ride it.

 

Tatsu- Unfortunately 2 of the 3 trains reached their rehab interval at the same time which is unfortunate. Silver Bullet at Knott's has the same issue with 1 of Silver Bullet's trains being in rehab pretty much every spring break since it's been open. This crew isn't very fast when I have visited and the 2nd station is rarely used unfortunately. Tatsu also has a train counter and timer. I do like the system SFMM had though of only allowing the amount of people the ride can output in an hour into the queue. If you think about it they saved you some time and prevented the line from reaching past Jetstream.

 

Apocalypse- The pre-show is horrible you're correct. The baby swap is something you would enjoy if you had a child. It's nice that parks offer this.

 

Goliath- The crew is usually the fastest in the park. Simple lapbar design with no seat belt makes the train VERY easy to check. You should see them with 3 trains in the summer.....they crank those trains out.

 

In regards to the rides with 1 train, you do need to keep in mind it's better to have the attraction open with 1 train then not open at all. Just like Knott's and Cedar Fair, SFMM is the only year-round park in the chain. Other parks in both chains have the luxury of being able to rehab all rides and ride vehicles at the same time and most of the seasonal parks have 6 months to do this. So with that unfortunately some rides are run at their lowest capacity. If you think about it you can't really knock a park for maintaining their attractions. I for one am glad they do! lol

The off season is the best time to do this work. Other wise they would have summer crowds waiting in line for a ride with 1 train because it wasn't put into rehab in the off-season.

 

Sucks your visit wasn't the best but don't think that's a reason to never go back. Just my 2 cents.

Edited March 25, 2011 by DJeXeL

[Sir Clinksalot]

I think most of us here will give you the Tatsu crew ... they are horrid (even during morning ERT last week) and have been since the ride opened.

 

But I actually find most other crews to be pretty efficient with some of the best being on Goliath, Scream, Apocalypse, X2, Batman and Gold Rusher. Heck, I've even found the Riddlers crew to be pretty consistent lately.

[DJeXeL]

^Hey! Hey! Their opening weekend in '06 they were doing great! But you're correct.......after that it's been horrid. X2 is probably dispatching trains faster than Tatsu.

[Ejectorbater]

Every visit to Magic Mountain has been a similar experience to KB's trip. I couldn't agree more with his evaluation and i'm glad he had the guts to express his honest feelings about this park. Sometimes I feel it gets a pass because so many members reside in California.

[cal1br3tto]

I'm sorry you didn't have a great experience. I had a very good time when I visited last March, so I can't comment on operations. That said, I'm glad you enjoyed several of the rides! I especially agree with your opinions on X2 and Tatsu.

[Skycoastin Steve]

With the one train thing, BGT is year round and always has multiple trains available on every coaster for busy days if they need them. In fact, they even have three trains available on Montu at all times of the year. It's not that difficult to do.

[DJeXeL]

Busch purchases 4 trains for their B&Ms. So they can run at full capacity even with a train in rehab. Six Flags is strapped for cash so purchasing extra trains isn't in the cards.

I do get what you're saying though. It sucks to wait in line for a coaster with 1 train.

[Skycoastin Steve]

^I could go into my "Six Flags is cheap" rant again, but there's no need for that. We all know how cheap they are.

[DJeXeL]

Oh yes.....we're all aware.

[FeelTheFORCE]

X2- While I'll admit that X2's loading process isn't the most efficient in the park, it IS a huge improvement when compared to previous years.

 

Agreed. When I was at SFMM in 2006 I ended up waiting 2 hours for a ride on X, when the wait should have been no longer than 15-30 minutes. While I haven't been to SFMM since, from reading numerous trip reports it definitely sounds like those days are long behind them and things have greatly improved.

 

 

Regarding the TR, it's a shame you didn't enjoy the park. I thought it was one of the best (if not THE best) parks I have visited. 5 years has been way too long and I am DYING to go back.

[DJeXeL]

^You've got Hershey Park near you so you should want for nothing.

In all seriousness though I remember those "pre-X2" days of 3 hour waits for X. Back in the summer of 2002 where I probably went to the park twice a week June-August and not once were X and Deja Vu both open on the same day. It was 1 or the other or neither. My worst experience at the park I can remember was Sunday in August 2002 where Deja Vu, Riddler's, Batman, S:TE closed for the entire day. Goliath, X, and Colossus had 1 train each. Goliath's line was back where Granny Grand Prix used to be, Colossus was back by Magic Moments Theater, and X's line was all the way down the bridge and down the stairs. I would have skipped it but I was with a friend that had never been on it so we braved the queue from hell. 4 hours we waited for X. No one in that line was pleasant by the time we got to the loading platform. Glad those days are over.......park still has a ways to go but VAST improvement from the Premier Management days.......thank goodness!

[HappyEisentrout]

Speaking of the lockers, I remember going to Paramount's Carowinds in 2005 and they had lockers set up for BORG. The attendant at the lockers put your stuff in a locker, used the automated checkout thing, gave you a slip and when you came back, he opened your locker up. All for free. I'm not sure if the lockers were broken that day or what, but it worked. I didn't get upset about leaving my stuff in a locker for once.

[KBrylczyk]

Apocalypse- The pre-show is horrible you're correct. The baby swap is something you would enjoy if you had a child. It's nice that parks offer this.

 

Oh, I have no doubt. I know how the system works and it is an excellent thing to have in the parks. However, the front row should not be allowed. People wait extra time for the front row and it should never be given away like that.

 

HappyEisentrout - First off, your post is hilarious to read with the word filter. Secondly, the single use lockers are excellent when they're free. I use them all the time at USF and love the system. Single use lockers or cubbyholes should be everywhere, so long as they're free. After paying the ridiculous parking fee ($15. Ha.) and the gate price, I don't want to be nickel and dimed into oblivion once I actually get into the park.

[Sir Clinksalot]

The lockers are $1 ... if you can't afford $5-$7 per day to make sure your personal belongings are safe on a coaster, then maybe you shouldn't be going to a theme park. Or maybe don't bring things that you have to put in a locker. I only used one all day during WCB. And the only reason for that is because on X2 I always put the contents of my pocket in a locker.

 

My $.02 ... take it or leave it.

[PAL]

^Agreed. X2 will pick your pocket. Every other ride, travel light. Don't carry so much crap. Not only will you save l.ocker cash, you'll save time and get on more rides - even at UO.

[DJeXeL]

Oh, I have no doubt. I know how the system works and it is an excellent thing to have in the parks. However, the front row should not be allowed. People wait extra time for the front row and it should never be given away like that.

 

I'm not sure about your particular case but if the 1/2 of the party that did the swap waited in line for the front, their other 1/2 should have the front as well. Only fair.

 

I see your stance on the lockers HOWEVER if there were cubbies on the loading dock you put your belongings in and they got stolen you'd be pissed about that. So would you rather pay $1 to have your stuff be secure OR have it stolen from a cubby hole or lost during the ride? Tatsu's pretzel loop claimed one of my phones back in '07. Yes the lockers COULD be free but they aren't. They're a dollar. I'm sure someone visiting the park has enough change in their car's ashtray to cover locker expenses. I'm not trying to argue with you I'm just trying point out that it's really not that big of a deal.

 

Actually better yet don't take unnecessary stuff in the park. I travel light and take only my Season pass, ID, and credit card. Most of the time I leave my phone in the car.

[Skycoastin Steve]

I've always thought the l.ocker complaint was silly. All I ever do is wear shorts with cargo pockets or a jacket with zip up pockets (depending on the weather). The only time I've ever lost anything was my phone on Goliath at SFOG, and that was because I forgot to zip up my jacket pocket. Other than that, I have 100% success rate not losing crap, and I NEVER use l0ckers. How much stuff do you really need to bring into the park anyway?