Photo TR - Magic Mountain for West Coast Bash

[KBrylczyk]

What's there to say? Magic Mountain went against all odds and actually delivered a great day for West Coast Bash!

 

After my last visit to the park in 2011 I had pretty much decided I would never return. It was the worst day I had ever had at an amusement park. Single train operations on every coaster, many of which weren't even open, rude employees, horrible clientele, trash everywhere, just a terrible, terrible day. I hated it and honestly thought that if it were to burn to the ground nothing would be missed. The only reason I bought tickets to go this year was because my girlfriend had never visited and she wanted to check it out, so I figured if we went during a TPR event at least we'd be able to smile every now and then throughout the day.

 

Magic Mountain delivered. It wasn't the greatest day as there were still some issues, but it was a BILLION times better than the last time! Rides were open! Multiple trains were running (except Tatsu because you suck Six Flags)! Everything was ready to go on time (except X2 because who knows)! Only one ride "crashed" (Supes)!

 

The event began with our morning ERT for two hours on YOLOcoaster, Goliath, Lex Luthor's Drop O' Happy Funtimes, Green Lantern, and Batman. We opened the day in that order, funnily enough.

 

Full Throttle / YOLOcoaster - Solid ride. Nothing to lose your head about, but very fun. The launch is super wimpy but the hangtime in the loop is wicked! Twisty bit after the loop is kinda dull as it loses a loooooot of speed going over Supe's plaza. I still feel like the pause and reverse launch are completely unnecessary, though! Just do the twisty dive and hit a second launch without stopping! There's not need to a horribly mushed-together Pink Floyd / Ozzy / Techno audio bit! Just blow the train though and let us boogie! Going over the top of the loop has some surprise airtime as you crest the hill. Watching from the ground it doesn't look like there's enough speed for any airtime but it'll get ya! We rode a few times throughout the day and I prefer the front row. The back was fun with the reverse launch hangtime but the front just gives an overall better ride. Again, solid ride and a good addition, I just feel the stop and reverse launch are completely pointless.

 

Goliath - Maybe my memory is fuzzy, but I don't remember this ride being as much fun as it was. It still isn't anything super crazy, especially since you come to a complete stop on the brakes and the helix no longer has any power to it, but when I rode in 2011 it bored me to tears. This time we rode up front a bunch and in back once, the front is the way to go! The back seemed to lack the oomph that the front had, especially over the airtime hill. The second half of the ride is just totally lacking now. That stop on the midcourse kills it. Still, being the front it's kinda terrifying leaving the brake run with the 90-degree banking that you take at about 1mph. I called it the "dump seat" all day.

 

Lex Luthor's Drop O' Happy Funtimes - No longer the tallest but still a fun ride. I gotta say, though, after the first ride it never felt as scary the rest of the day. The first ride my brain was still trying to comprehend the height. The rest of the rides it didn't get me so much but it was still a fun, suuuuuuuuper long drop. Once they got Supes running it made for some freaky trips up the tower with the amount it shudders. Good times!

 

Green Lantern - OK, seriously, what is everyone's problem with this ride? I'm not even close to joking. This was AWESOME! We flipped nonstop the entire ride (except the lift hill, duh) and never once felt uncomfortable! Maybe because we had an unbalanced car? We had two on one side, one on the other. Flip city, guys! No pain, just tons upon tons of screams and laughs! Of course due to the unbalance we broke the ride in the brakes since we weren't upright. We sat for about 10 minutes until maintenance came and righted us. If there's any complaint I have it's that they don't have a way to make the cars sit upright at the end.

 

Batman - We've all ridden it. Solid, old school, awesome. The end.

 

After morning ERT ended the park was open to the public for the day. It was around this time that some issues began to bubble up. We got one last ride on YOLO before the public came in and went straight to X2 to beat the line. We ended up waiting about a half hour past the park's opening before they decided to open X2. Why it took so long I have no idea as we saw the ride testing for the past two hours of ERT. Go figure. Once up to the station we noticed that trains were leaving while mostly empty even though the queue had filled up. Whoever was in charge of splitting the line had no idea of how many people to send and how long to wait. The queue was full, the station was empty. We went to the front row and the only other people on our train were in the back row.

 

Tatsu was running half of the station with one train. Big surprise there. Supes had reportedly crashed (employee's words, according to Robb's Twitter, not mine) and was only running one track. Riddler was running two trains but with all the speed of a snail. Two train ops on a really long ride and they still managed to stack constantly. Dispatches ranged from 5 minutes to 10 minutes between trains. I really appreciated sitting on the brake run forever while my scalp baked in the sun. Some employees were rude, the clientele continued to blow, etc. The usual. Just on a lesser scale than my last visit.

 

After lunch we jumped in line to process our season passes that I bought during the labor day sale. 45 minutes! 45 MINUTES! THERE WERE 5 PEOPLE IN FRONT OF US!!!!!!!! WHAT THE HELL?!

 

Anyways, enough of the ranting. Like I said, it wasn't nearly as horrible as 2011 but still there were issues that have the simplest solutions in the world. Stop being lazy and actually try. Problem solved.

 

On with the ride reviews for rides that weren't in either ERT session!

 

Mine Train - Fun little mine train that works well with the landscape. There's not big hills or airtime moments but it has plenty of quick turns and unexpected jolts.

 

Ninja - We didn't hit a tree! Yes! It's a good suspended with some big swings but there were sections where you could feel the train waiting to catch up with itself. It works well with the landscape and the pool at the bottom of the hill, but unfortunately the log flume is am empty shell to interact with. Also, this ride is home to the most exciting finale in the history of rollercoasters!

 

Riddler's Revenge - So many people hate on stand-ups. I enjoy them! Outside of the wretched crew, I love this ride. It's big, long, and fun! I've never had any bad headbanging that I always hear people whine about. The layout is also completely unique! Great ride, needs a crew with a brain.

 

Scream - Yay. Medusa in a mirror and parking lot. Surprisingly rough, though! I've never had an issue on Medusa but this thing gave me a headache.

 

Apocalypse - NO PRESHOW! HOLY CRAP ON A STICK THANK WHATEVER DEITY YOU BELIEVE IN THEY DON'T FORCE YOU THROUGH THE PRESHOW ANYMORE! I don't thing you understand how much I HATED that damn thing. Just let me get on the damn ride! Fantastic wooden coaster! I love this ride so much! GCI has yet to let me down. Their rides are just pure adrenaline from start to finish! Once you're off the lift you're hauling until the brakes! I'd swear they don't lose speed at all. The guys at GCI are wizards and abuse the laws of physics. Airtime everywhere, laterals and positive Gs everywhere, bonus explosions and tunnels! WHOOOOO!!!!! I'd go so far as to say it's the best ride in the park. If ERT was offered on this I probably wouldn't bother going to any other coaster. So, soooooooo good!

 

I think that about covers the normal operations attractions. Onto evening ERT! This is where stuff went WILD, kiddies!

 

SUPERMAN: ESCAPE FROM MY DOUBLE SHOT HEAVEN - THIS CREW WAS AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!! OK, full disclosure, Supes has been a bucket list coaster for me since before I can remember. I have always wanted to ride it, the thing was a legend in it's own time. Sure it's been beaten in speed and height, but this was THE king for the longest time! Back in 2011 I wasn't able to ride because, as we've gone over, the park blew harder than Jenna Jameson that visit. Supes was shut down. I was sad. This year, though, it was open but with only one side running it had an hour long or more line all day, so I waited until ERT to hit it. Holy. Crap. First ride was in the front row (or last row, depending on your feelings. We had nothing in front of us.). The launch was stronger than I was expecting! No need to do a blow by blow for such a simple out and back ride, but it's just a pure shot of adrenaline! We immediately jumped back on, this time in the back (or front, only two seats). About this time more TPR veterans were showing up (Cliff, Caesar, and more) and we all happened to be on the same ride together. As we came back into the station a chant had started. "DOU-BLE SHOT! DOU-BLE SHOT! DOU-BLE SHOT!" What happened? Yep, they crew gave us a double shot! We tried for a triple shot but to no avail. A quick circle back around to the station and we were back on, same group together again. Again another double shot. Repeat this process about 5 or 6 times. Double shots for every trainload on Supes during ERT! The girlfriend and I decided to head down to the other coasters after about 45 minutes of this madness since she still hadn't gotten on Tatsu! Seriously, Supes team, you're AWESOME!

 

Tatsu - My favorite flyer. This one was designed properly! It isn't just a bunch of turns and a pretzel loop. It actually feels like you're flying around the mountain! One second you're 5 feet from the ground, the next you're swooping over the valley from what looks like 1000 feet! I love it! We unfortunately only rode this twice in a row before realizing we were running out of time for the other coasters.

 

Revolution - A classic that brings the pain due to corporate idiocy. I only got knocked twice, just like my last ride in 2011, but there's no need for the OTSRs at all. Shame.

 

Viper - Shimmy shimmy shimmy, shudder, shake, rattle, copy, past, repeat for about 2 minutes. I mean, hooray classic Arrow loopers, they're solid rides, but I don't remember this one being so shaky. No big headbanging, just a lot of vibrations that never ended. It doesn't ruin the ride, it just makes me wonder if someone isn't tightening the right screws, haha.

 

And now, the ride that still manages to break my brain, X2.

 

X2 - Yep, it's still the one ride that will terrify me to no end. I can't explain it. I love this ride, love love LOVE it, and I can handle the bounciness (not headbanging, but violent bounces), but for some reason it just scare the everloving CRAP out of me! Each time we rode throughout the day I'm pretty sure I had a panic attack as we crested the lift hill. It is so insane, so confusing, so bugnuts PSYCHO! Every time I hit the brakes I have no idea what just happened to me. The entire ride is a blur, I just can't comprehend it. It's an amazing ride, fan-friggin-tastic, and I love it to death. I just don't trust it. I know I'm safe, I know I'm secure, but for some reason I just don't trust the ride at all. It's WRONG. It shouldn't exist! It goes against everything I've ever known coasters to be! BUT IT IS SO DAMN AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Vine and photo time!!!!

 

Full Throttle Hangtime!

[vine]https://vine.co/v/OzWwLHZPeBO[/vine]

 

Supes Vs. Lex!

[vine]https://vine.co/v/OzWjiAPxazW[/vine]

YOLO!

Caught it between the supports.

Over the top!

IT'S COMING RIGHT FOR US!

Wheeeeeee!

"Mine's bigger than yours."

For our Spanish friends, "GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOLiath."

Fun - Brought to you by Toyota and GIANT UNICORNS!

Awesome, awesome, awesome ride. I don't understand the criticism.

Amateur photographers take note - Don't do this. It's pretty crappy.

This is a little game I call "Misdirection."

Low Capacity - The Ride. Shame since it's such a great ride!

Historical pain!

Hooray! We're special!

Tourist photo

Best ride in the park.

Some call it themeing. I call it Six Flags Custodial's Reputation.

Out of the tunnel.

Heading into the YOLO twist!

Wheeee

Fun with angles!

Hangtime!

Wheeeeeeee!

Hey, Robb, are you the reason Foghorn Leghorn isn't in any of the fountains anymore?

One last look at X2 on our way out to the car.

[willthethrill]

Awesome report, loved reading your descriptions. Superman is finally the ride it should have been from the very beginning. Operations aside, with the addition of TC I'd venture to say that Magic Mountain will have THE premier comprehensive coaster lineup in terms of overall variety, quality, and quantity. Pity we don't have DejaVu anymore...

[Manic Monte]

I'm with you on Green Lantern! It's awesome and trippy and I don't get the hate. Great report!

[XYZ]

Green Lantern is hell if you have a balanced car (which is what happens most of the time). I had only one flip when I went on GL and those turns really bashed my head as they feel that they were designed for much more flipping.

[KBrylczyk]

Awesome report, loved reading your descriptions. Superman is finally the ride it should have been from the very beginning. Operations aside, with the addition of TC I'd venture to say that Magic Mountain will have THE premier comprehensive coaster lineup in terms of overall variety, quality, and quantity. Pity we don't have DejaVu anymore...

 

I think you're halfway right about the lineup. There are some great rides but they're not all home runs. Scream, for instance, isn't anything world class. Fun, sure, but not anything to write home about. Same for Goliath, Viper, Revolution, even Apocalypse. Yeah, I called it the best ride at the park but that doesn't mean anything when there are a bunch of other top notch GCIs all over the place. Yeah, Apocalypse is awesomely awesome, but Thunderhead is a better ride at Dollywood.

 

The lineup is nice and varied, unfortunately there's nothing else to the park at all. It's coasters, coasters, and more coasters with maybe 3 flat rides in the mix.

 

Also, I just noticed that the once time I typed YOLOcoaster's actual name, right next to "YOLOcoaster," it got autocorrected to YOLOcoaster. Damn straight, Robb!

[grsupercity]

SFMM has been my dream to go to for ever. I hear bad things about the park, but on paper there coaster line up looks amazing

[Philrad71]

Nice trip report!

 

Is is just me, or haven't we been seeing many PTR's of the more recent park events? A few here and there, but no where near what I used to see.

 

Is it because:

 

A). More are getting posted to Twitter and/or Facebook (I don't use either)?

 

B). Because of the work that goes into one and then there are little or next to no comments or posts (unless you bash a coaster, park or attraction that a lot of enthusiasts like)?

 

C). Other reasons?

 

I'll admit that I have slacked a lot on trip reports lately, but it is mostly due to reason B.

 

Not intending to hijack the report, Kyle...I'm just curious to know other people's thoughts on this.

[KBrylczyk]

^ Reason B seems most likely, though Twitter and Facebook are also a big player. Twitter is fun for the in-the-moment type of things but I do love having it all in one place like a TR. Some of the jokes on this TR are lifted directly from my messages to Robb on Twitter (Fun - Brought to you by Toyota and a unicorn). You'll see the same thing when I get the time to put together my Disneyland report (most likely tomorrow, finally have a day off).

[Philrad71]

Looking forward to the Disney report, Kyle...and I always appreciate the trip reports that are not just all about the coasters. Love the food, humor (especially) and just people's overall opinion of their visits.

 

I suppose that I should break down and get Twitter on my phone. I did Facebook once and just found it to be relatively annoying.

[KBrylczyk]

I suppose that I should break down and get Twitter on my phone. I did Facebook once and just found it to be relatively annoying.

 

Just make sure you tailor Twitter to what interests you. For instance I follow TPR and a few other accounts related to the industry. I follow a bunch of comedians and people in the film industry (actors, directors, screenwriters, everything), and a handful of friends who I actually care to hear what they say. I've only got two of those that I follow to send my phone a notification when they post something. It isn't something I use endlessly unless I'm live tweeting from a park or event (like at Magic Mountain or Disney last week) but it is actually a very useful tool for connecting with people in the moment when it's used properly.

 

Alright, time to write up the Disney report.