The Six Flags Magic Mountain (SFMM) Discussion Thread

Two of the launch tracks are up, with a few more supports.

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^

Seeing track and supports being installed makes me much more excited for this coaster! I'm hoping it opens before I leave SoCal in mid-August, but given that it is almost Memorial Day and we just started vertical construction, I'm not going to hold my breath.

I'm a Diamond Elite Member...

... and went to Magic Mountain on Saturday (5/25). I don't usually go on Saturdays because I know the crowds are horrible. I only went Saturday because a friend was visiting from NorCal and it was supposed to rain on Sunday.

I went online to reserve preferred parking early in the day on Friday, thinking preferred parking would still be available, but it was full and I was added to a waitlist. Was told online when added to waitlist that if something came open before 9a on Saturday, I would receive an email. I got to SFMM around 11am, got to the toll booth to have my DE member card scanned and was asked if I wanted to pay $10 for preferred parking. I told the team member that I was tried to reserve online and that it was full. Was told there was nothing she could do. Drove around and had to park in H2 area in front of Scream. Preferred Parking area was barely 1/3 full. Went to Guest Relations and spoke with a awesome team member who listened to our issue. (Don't want to say complaint.) I told her I couldn't reserve parking because it was full but was offered to park there for $10. (Would it have been $5, since DE members get 50% off?) In fact, come to find out, they were offering it EVERY guest. Explained to her that I didn't think it was right that DE members have the pay to use Preferred when it's offered as a perk for being DE. For the inconvenience and being patient, she ended up giving our group three front of the line passes for any rides except X2 and Crazanity.

I think you're assuming that all of the preferred parking spots are earmarked for Diamond Elite members, and they only sell the ones Diamond Elite members don't reserve. I highly doubt that's the case. Likely they have a number of those spots available for reservation and the rest they sell to whoever is willing to pay, and the number available for Diamond Elite members did in fact sell out.

I thought DE members got some sort of extra preferred parking with much lower capacity, which is supposedly even closer than the normal preferred parking for most members, but I may be mis-remembering, and this could all just be made up

This afternoon I drove up to Valencia to check out Six Flags Magic Mountain’s latest thrill machine.

Best SFMM coaster review ever!

I don't always check out the SFMM thread, but I'm glad I did today.

I thought DE members got some sort of extra preferred parking with much lower capacity, which is supposedly even closer than the normal preferred parking for most members, but I may be mis-remembering, and this could all just be made up

For Diamond Elite, it's worded as "Priority Perferred Parking." Which sounds like it's kinda false advertising if they have open spaces for GP to buy, but say their "full" for DE members.

^I agree and I think SFMMFan's criticism was completely valid therefore. I'll defend parks on a lot of things but Six Flags is notoriously bad at minimizing mistakes with new policies/programs when it comes to execution. They definitely need to work out this system across the board (with memberships) despite how happy I am with the concept in general.

Also, if you think Speedy is good, try Canyon Blaster. (I'm only half kidding, lol).

Howdy all - I am headed to SoCal during the first week of July with my family. We are hoping to hit SFMM while we are there. We know it will be a busy week, but it's the only time we're able to go. We don't have season passes, and don't live near enough a Six Flags park to get one (for the time being), so this will be a one and done for all of us. Currently I think the best deal is to get our tickets online at least one full day prior to our visit, or bring a Coke can to get $20 off the ticket booth price.

Are any of you aware of any other local deals (supermarkets, convenience stores, Costco, etc.) that might have a good price for a one-day park admission?

Thanks in advance!

^I agree and I think SFMMFan's criticism was completely valid therefore. I'll defend parks on a lot of things but Six Flags is notoriously bad at minimizing mistakes with new policies/programs when it comes to execution. They definitely need to work out this system across the board (with memberships) despite how happy I am with the concept in general.

 

Also, if you think Speedy is good, try Canyon Blaster. (I'm only half kidding, lol).

Diamond Elite does not guarantee preferred parking. Just says it's subject to availability and you must make a reservation no later than midnight the night before. Mid-day Friday was after the deadline. I am sure SFMM has some sort of ratio for spots available vs. spots they are going to sell (or use the reservations to calculate how many they can sell after taking reservations out of inventory), so if all the reserved spots were taken up by people who DID reserve in time (but may not have arrived yet), all that is left if the spots for sale.

The only thing you can arguably fault Six Flags for is that "midnight the night before" could be taken as up until midnight the day of visit, not midnight the start of the day before you want to visit. I read it has midnight the day before you want to visit, not midnight leading into the day of your visit.

So good for SFMM for taking care of him.

^I agree and I think SFMMFan's criticism was completely valid therefore. I'll defend parks on a lot of things but Six Flags is notoriously bad at minimizing mistakes with new policies/programs when it comes to execution. They definitely need to work out this system across the board (with memberships) despite how happy I am with the concept in general.

 

Also, if you think Speedy is good, try Canyon Blaster. (I'm only half kidding, lol).

 

Diamond Elite does not guarantee preferred parking. Just says it's subject to availability and you must make a reservation no later than midnight the night before. Mid-day Friday was after the deadline. I am sure SFMM has some sort of ratio for spots available vs. spots they are going to sell (or use the reservations to calculate how many they can sell after taking reservations out of inventory), so if all the reserved spots were taken up by people who DID reserve in time (but may not have arrived yet), all that is left if the spots for sale.

 

The only thing you can arguably fault Six Flags for is that "midnight the night before" could be taken as up until midnight the day of visit, not midnight the start of the day before you want to visit. I read it has midnight the day before you want to visit, not midnight leading into the day of your visit.

 

So good for SFMM for taking care of him.

Then I clearly misinterpreted it. My apologies. Agreed nonetheless: good on SFMM for responding in the way they did.

^I would say the problem is that it is not clearly worded. They should go away from “midnight the night before” unless they actually mean you have until it turns 12:00am of the day of your visit. If they mean midnight of the day before, it should say “must be reserved no later than midnight of the day prior to your visit” and provide an example so people understand.

Went to the park last Wednesday for the first time in almost 15 years, only repeat rides I did from that trip were X2 and Viper. The park has changed quite a bit...

The good:

-Tatsu was great, best flying coaster by a mile that I've been on. Same goes for Riddler regarding stand up coasters.

-X2 is as great as I remember. I feel like it gets some hate in the community. I get it doesn't have airtime or laterals or whatever people are looking for, but it's some good old messed up fun. One of my favorite coasters anywhere.

-Battle of Metropolis blows away any expectations I had for a Six Flags attraction. First one I've done and I'm glad they are popping up all over.

-Twisted Colossus was my first RMC and I completely understand the hype. By far the most rerideable coaster in the park in terms of not getting boring and not beating you up. As much as I love coasters there aren't many I get back in line for same day, especially a 90 degree day. This was an exception, pure fun especially when the dueling lined up.

-Full Throttle Sports Bar was a nice surprise. Didn't try the food but great spot to grab a beer and watch some games in the AC to get out of the heat.

The okay:

-Goliath was a letdown. The way it was envisioned in my head from 15 years ago to the way it actually is was disappointing. Just kind of a mediocre ride.

-Not too many issues with ride operations. Really had no problems with regard to the amount of trains on each coaster, they were all operating pretty efficiently except Superman with only one side going. Ninja was closed, Scream may have been closed but we didn't look too far into it...and are Apocaplypse and Green Lantern both STBNO? Last time I was here it was DeJa Vu and Flashback, now these two. Guess it's a Magic Mountain staple to have coasters as decoration.

The ugly:

-Security and lunch lines were both 45 minutes. These are so frustrating because they're so easily fixable. Would take one night of work to rearrange security so it's not such a clusterf*ck.

Overall was a great day, the park seems to be going in a positive direction.

... and are Apocaplypse and Green Lantern both STBNO?

Green Lantern has been SBNO for a few years now and is scheduled to be removed soon.

Apocalypse is currently closed because the area surrounding it is closed off for the construction of West Coast Racers.

X2 is as great as I remember. I feel like it gets some hate in the community. I get it doesn't have airtime or laterals or whatever people are looking for, but it's some good old messed up fun. One of my favorite coasters anywhere.

It's not the lack of airtime or laterals that cause such derision. The Arrow 4D coasters are known to be brutally violent, and this one's no exception. You can sometimes catch a "merely-rough" ride on it, but more often than not, the jerky seat rotations will realign your spine.

are Apocaplypse and Green Lantern both STBNO? Last time I was here it was DeJa Vu and Flashback, now these two. Guess it's a Magic Mountain staple to have coasters as decoration.

No, SFMM is redeveloping the area where Apocalypse stands, putting in a new family-style coaster, and retracking Apocalypse. It's supposed to reopen when that area is complete later in the year. Green Lantern is scheduled for demolition. The park announced a little while back that they were going to get rid of it (it's an absolute garbage ride).

Sounds like you had a blast. It's a great park with a fantastic set of rides — enough to appeal to all tastes (Goliath's one of my personal favorites).

Personally, I found SFGAdv Joker (the one S&S freespin credit to my name) to be bat$hit crazy enough, I can't even imagine what this experience would be like on the scale of X2 or Eejanaika.

That having said, I do enjoy Joker a lot, but oh man did its intensity catch me off guard. You really have to brace for it. Its one of the few rides that legitimately frighten me no matter how many times I've ridden it.

^ Watch TPR's video of Arashi if you want to see what happens if you run a S&S free fly full tilt. I think I got 15-20 flips on that monster.

Looks like there is a fire near SFMM

Edit:

Yup

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Both parks are now being evacuated

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I was at the park today. Got there around 10:30. With the thermometer inching close to 100 degrees, most people were heading to Hurricane Harbor.

SFMM was primed for a typical Sunday -- Revolution running one train, Riddler's Revenge running tests for hours but never opening, Ninja closed all day, wind shutting down Drop of Doom, Colossus trains dispatching too slow to race -- everything proceeding as expected.

It was probably between 12:00 and 12:30 when I exited Batman and there were huge plumes of smoke billowing from the brush area on the far side of the park entrance. The sky turned orange and there was a lot of ash in the air. From where I was in the back of the park, no one was panicking and most rides continued to operate. Many people just went inside stores and restaurants, planning on waiting out the poor air.

It wasn't until between 1:00 and 1:30, after smoke had overtaken most of the park, that rides started shutting down across the back. Rides towards the southern end of the park (Tatsu, Superman, Roaring Rapids) held on for a bit longer. Around 1:30 the park appeared to have decided to call it a day and shut everything down -- all rides, restaurants, shops, etc. No one could leave the park since LA County Fire had shut down Magic Mountain Parkway and the ramps to and from the southbound side of the 5. So they directed everyone away from the fire towards DC Universe and Colossus.

By this point, Hurricane Harbor had already been completely cleared and evacuated since the blaze was directly across the street. People were sitting in their cars in the parking lot and the exit road trying to leave, but couldn't go anywhere because of the road closures.

I needed to get some water, and whatever the Mooseburger Lodge is called now was the only thing still open, so I stopped in there. At that point, a small congregation of people were camped out in the lovely air conditioning. We waited it out in there for about 45 minutes before we heard LA County Fire had opened Magic Mountain Parkway and we exited the park for the day.

While driving out (probably around 2:30) it looked like Superman and Goliath had both reopened with people on the trains. Many people, both SFMM and HH guests, were walking back from the parking lot to try to get back in, seeing that rides were operating. I just wanted to get out of there and away from the ashy air.

Overall, SFMM's emergency response protocol seemed disjointed. Employees didn't have any more information than the guests, and the only way information seemed to be spreading was supervisors calling each ride station and instructing them to close and evacuate guests to certain areas. Came home smelling like I had just gone to a beach bonfire. Interesting day to say the least.

I was there too. They weren't letting people out the gates at the front of the park, so people were literally jumping over! I ended up exiting back by Twisted Colossus along the service road where they were directing everyone

Glad everyone is ok, but that sounds like a literal disaster in the making.

You can’t cut off the only egress from a place. If there is that much of a threat of similar incidents, then it sounds like a secondary egress route needs to be paved in.

It also sounds like better coordination of emergency planning and management needs to exist between the park and the Fire Department.

I wasn't there and I'm not defending it (and I'm definitely not defending their lack of communication), but while this is an easy thing to Monday morning quarterback it should be noted that tons and tons of theme parks in America only have one entrance and exit road from the parking lot.

Magic Mountain deals with this more than other parks but I don't know what they would really do. Is that weird entrance road ever supposed to be anything other than a dead end? I know there's a ton of construction around the park right now. Do you think the "lack of other infrastructure" problem is in the process of solving itself?

Does anyone know if you can go to both parks, MM and HH on the SAME day with a membership pass?

I have a gold membership and I was thinking about hitting HH during the hot day, since it closes at 6pm, then walking straight to the MM gate since it doesn't close till 9pm. I can't find any information online.