The Six Flags Magic Mountain (SFMM) Discussion Thread

^ Playpass is a tossup as to its location on a daily basis.

Walking through the park today, and well...um was suprised to say the least. I'll let the picture below talk for itself.

( I erased the numbers so there wouldn't be an influx of calls from the nubmer being posted online.)

(Guy, it was nice meeting you today!)

um....i uh....well.....

Wait....what does that say?

all i have to say is that yesterday was horrible.

First off we had to park in overflow, then walk to the tram stop. then, we had to stand, in the sun and wait nearly a half an hour for the tram.

once we finally got into the park it was about 2. it was way over crowded, lines were going out the entrances for so many things. The only rides that we got on were X (which was amazing, as usual) Colossus, and Ninja.

by the time 6 had rolled around, the sun had zapped all the energy outta us. we were both about ready to keel over and i had a slight heat stroke. (dont worry im okay now)

so, we decided to call it quits and headed down to Wendys, then go home.

There were random groups of employees standing in groups talking, not doing a thing. There was 4 or 5 employees standing in the non operating side of colossus, just talking when they could of opened it up and made the wait considerably shorter.

the "spontainious fun" thing by batman was just plain annoying.

the line for scream was out past the gate, the line for superman was out of the tunnel, the line for tatsu was over halfway down the hill to deja.

the line for X was out to the entrance, but only took about 52 minutes. GOOD JOB X CREW!!!

yeah, this visit seriously put me off of the mountain for a while

It was a saturday! What do you expect, a half empty park? I am happy the park is busy and making some money! Go on a cloudy weekday and i am sure you will be much happier

the line for X was out to the entrance, but only took about 52 minutes. GOOD JOB X CREW!!!

At least they've got the good crew on the better ride!

Thanks for the update wrs! I've been very busy and unable to make it down there lately, so I am sooo interested at the pace of this work!

 

-Jahan

I'll have pictures up tomorrow on the progress. Pictures from Tuesday afternoon.

Wow, the X crew just keeps getting better and better... And yet, Tatsu's crew has turned into X's past crew.

The Tatsu crew is FAR worse than the X crew ever was, considering that they have an easy straghit foward ride to run. That being said, X crew KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!!!!

Here is another (not-so-thumbnail-size) food update, and a few extra things.

Enjoy

Let's start with the bad, and work our way to the good.

"Just because guests pay $60, I don't care if I pig out in front of them.

One last look. Stay tuned for more, later this week.

Or Superman Colors. Which is great, becuase you won't be able to meet Superman.

The red, blue, and yellow seem a bit bright.

On the other side of the park, work continues of Chicken Plantation's Extereme Makeover: Sesamie Street Edition...I mean...Superhero Edition.

Not much has changed inside.

IN RESTAURANT NEWS:

(for Jahan)

work continues on Carousel Grill's Extreme Makeover: Rocket Edition.

Rehersals for this season started on Monday. Here you see a stuntman preparing for a 30 foot high fall.

A press release photo, showing the ACTUAL sliding motion of the Backdrop Door!

Yeah!

See what I mean! Actually, they built a sliding door for The Tumber (Batmobile) to exit after the show, for a Batman Meet-and-Greet after each performance.

That's as good as the landscaping is going to get. But it's nice.

More Marvel Comics midway prizes.

Nothing says "Sierra Territory" like a bright and ugly Superhero meet and greet.

Thanks for the update Wrs! I'm a bit dissapointing that they aren't just buldozing Carousel Grill and starting from scratch. Is it going to be a counter-service Johnny Rockets?

I'm really digging the Batman show meet and greet!

-Jahan

Nothing says "Sierra Territory" like a bright and ugly Superhero meet and greet.

Wouldn't the former Chicken Plantation technically be considered Six Flags Plaza? If not, all the park would have to do is change its listing on the map guide...it's literally on the border of High Sierra Territory and Six Flags Plaza.

What puzzles me is why this Superhero meet and greet area isn't set up in Gotham City Backlot or The Movie District...probably since they want to tie it in with a fun-super-hero themed dining experience Chicken Plantation is being transformed into?

I think the bright colors and new paint looks spectacular. Any sort of improvement is better than that eyesore that was Chicken Plantation. It was so dilapidated with fading and peeling paint. Everytime I passed it last season I shook my head in disbelief at how terrible and run down it looked. I'm just glad older buildings and facades are being refreshened at Magic Mountain, regardless of the theme.

I'm a bit dissapointing that they aren't just buldozing Carousel Grill and starting from scratch. Is it going to be a counter-service Johnny Rockets?

I'm sure it will look nice once it's completed. You can see in the photos that they've added new pillars to the exterior of the building. I'm guessing they'll fence off the front of the restaurant to make it an outdoor patio area.

I agree with the paint. Even if it is out of touch with its surroundings. Chicken Plantation is listed under Six Flags Plaza on the Park Map.

The reason they are using Chicken Plantation, is to try to bring life to a restaurant that otherwise would have little appeal. Instead of trying to incorporate it somehow to the dining locations in Movie District and Gotham City Backlot.

Gotham City Backlot: Hmm...Pizza Vector, which has already been taken over by Papa John's. Corn Corner, that would be a corny meet and greet.

And the Freshers Lemonade, nothing says superhero like a nice tall refreshing glass of frozen lemon flavored ice in a bag.

Movie District: Eduardo's Grill, has a movie tie in, but only has a few outdoor seats in front, and a few seats out back, not enough room for a private meet and greet area for guests. More Fresher's Lemonade. I see only Waterfront being a feasable option, but then it is so close to where the Batman Begins Stunt Show is going to take place.

The goal is trying to make the dinning experience similar to the Character Breakfast at Plaza Inn at Disneyland. The only way to have the characters come to you is through purchasing the buffet. Same with Brunch with Bugs.

We'll see how it goes.

Plus it's next to some water in a nice, more quiet/relaxing location

Nothing says "Sierra Territory" like a bright and ugly Superhero meet and greet.

 

Remember this is the same park that put a Panda Express in an area called Baja Territory.

I just wish, along with all this paint and construction theyd upgrade the seating for these restaurants...they seem to be relics of 1971!

Nice report wes. The park is looking better but they still have much to improve on and all this is worthless if it goes down the drain during summer like it did last year. Keep the reports coming!

!

I went two weeks ago on a thursday and had an excellent time. Let's hope they keep it up, i am sure last year was odd as sf wanting to sell the park, so maybe they slashed some money from the budget in regards of improvements.

But so far this year, i am very impressed. It's these little improvements that actually make a big difference of someones perception of the park

I still believe that half of the world still think MM is closing. I wear a Tatsu jacket all the time, and people always ask if Magic Mountain is closed yet. Half of the battle seems to be getting the word out that Magic Mountain is still open. They have been doing a good job with the commericals I see locally, they are on all the time! It's not bad.

^ Yup. A lot of people I've talked to still think Magic Mountain is on the chopping block or is already closed -- and are suprised when I tell them it's still open and will continue operating. And if a lot of people still think the park is closed or is closing...the consideration of visiting the park is not even in their mind.

Sure, there are TV commercials and some billboards here and there, but that's not much to combat the damage done by the wildfire that is word of mouth.

If it's one big mistake Shapiro made was publically announcing the sale of the park and then end up keeping it.

I remember a lot of enthusiasts theororizing that Magic Mountain was put up for sale to drive up attendance because people would want to visit it "one last time." Turns out it had the complete opposite effect. A detrimental one at that. A 12% decrease in attendance during the park's peak operating months in 2006? That's a lot.

I just wish, along with all this paint and construction theyd upgrade the seating for these restaurants...they seem to be relics of 1971!

They probably are; so are the trash cans... I remember watching the movie "Rollercoaster" a few weeks ago and going, "OMFG, they still have the same trash cans..."

The superhero thing is going to look weird. I mean, Chicken Plantation was trashed (and why it was still on the map the past 4 years, I have no idea), but... I too think it's going to look a little too bright and out-of-place (unless they update/repaint the stuff around it: Freshers Lemonade, WB Kids Club, that little kids store near it, etc.) Plus it better not be a distraction when I'm trying to time shooting water bombs at people on Log Jammer. (By the way, the white and red cannons shoot best!)

Oh well... any change is good that improves MM, I guess. I'm going to try and make it out either next Monday or Friday for sure; all these updates are making me want to do one!

The more trip reports, the better. Everyone focuses on different aspects of the park, different things are more important to different people. You should really post a trip report!

I don't believe that the seating is being replaced at Chicken Plantation or anywhere else in the park. As long as I have a clean surface in the park to park my butt on, I really don't care how old it is.

The Warner Brothers Kids Club stage had a paint job last month.

Fresher's Lemonade however, is just a dump! It still has a "B" rating, and last weekend there were 12 people in line! Couldn't believe they would still go with a "B"!

My money is used best at MM when using the waterbombs; most satisfying use of my money as well.

I have a question for wes or anyone who knows the answer. I remember seing about a couple months back someone posted pictures of spray paint on trees around the log ride. Does anyone know if anything came about or if it was just for when they were cleaning it up?

Those trees that were marked with the orange spraypaint were cut down about a week after those pictures were posted (which was a long time ago). I'm going to assume it's to extend the former Chicken Plantation patio area.

Those trees that were marked with the orange spraypaint were cut down about a week after those pictures were posted (which was a long time ago). I'm going to assume it's to extend the former Chicken Plantation patio area.

That is probably the right answer. But they caught me off-guard because I thought they were talking about Tatsu markers.I am a total dumb a$$.

TatsuXtreme wrote:

the line for X was out to the entrance, but only took about 52 minutes. GOOD JOB X CREW!!!

Wow, the X crew just keeps getting better and better... And yet, Tatsu's crew has turned into X's past crew.

 

At least they've got the good crew on the better ride!

Why do you think that all of the sudden the x crew has become so good? new crew members? the pay rate? supervision?

i think that it is because it was closed so long, and that they took more time to train the people, and make a less variety of operators for X.

more or less, they put the people that know what they're doing in the right place.

Maybe they just appear to be doing a really awesome job when compared to the Tatsu crew???

Eh, a little of everything. Its the largest ride in its area, so you kinda have to show some pride in that your on that crew. You basically can't be slow. The thing that always seems to really slow down the Tatsu crew is simply communication. Now the fault for that can't be based on just the crew, the design of the station is well...just weird! As to where at X, we've always had good communication, everyone knows what to do, everyone can see each other and so forth. I can't even begin to tell you how many times I've heard arguments over the microphones at Tatsu of ride operators. So, I blame poor communication for Tatsu's slow operation.

Just my 2 cents on the topic.

_six