Advice for going to Six Flags Magic Mountain

The 12th or 13th should be fine days to go, but I recommend avoiding the 14th. Saturdays at the park are often very busy, and with Fright Fest going on the crowds will only get larger. If you do go on Saturday, expect waits of an hour or more for the major coasters (on the other days, waits will probably be 20-30 minutes for most rides).

Get to the park as early as possible (ideally 45 minutes before opening). Unlike most parks, Six Flags Magic Mountain does not do a rope drop, so if you are at the back of the crowd it may be 15 minutes after opening before you are even inside the park. Once the park opens, head directly to Full Throttle, as it has low capacity and is right at the park entrance. From there, I recommend circling the park counter-clockwise, riding each coaster as you come to it. On most days, you should be able to get all the way to Tatsu before running into a significant line. Aim to reach X2 mid-afternoon for the shortest waits at that ride. Once you get back to the entrance, take the Helpful Honda Express to the top of the mountain, do the coasters on top, then head to whatever you want to re-ride.

I would start with Gatekeeper, then bypass Raptor in favor of Valravn, then you will want to start edging toward the back of the park with a visit to Millenium Force or Top Thrill. Loop around the back of the park for some drooling on Vengence before a quick jaunt on Maverick.

Jeff, (snicker), do you realize how confused Anski is now? Everyone knows that those coasters are at Elitch Gardens in Denver!

I thought those were the coasters at Six Flags Belgium???

Get a Flash Pass

Thanks guys.

Anski, seriously, AJ always has great advice for visiting parks. The rest of us got a bit silly- sorry about that! Really, it's Jeff's fault...and btw, Jeff's one of my best friends- he just gets a bit carried away when he's off his medication ;+)

I have no experience with Six Flags, but if coastercinema recommends getting the Flash Pass then I would definitely get one.

And welcome to Theme Park Insider!!!

The main thing I'll add about Flash Pass is that you should only buy it if the crowd warrants it. If the longest line in the park is 15 minutes, it is a huge waste of money. However, if you get unlucky and visit on a day where everything is 90+ minutes, it may be the only way to ensure you get on all the coasters. On a Saturday, it might be a wise investment depending on actual crowds, but in the off-season it wouldn't be worth the cost on most other days.