My trip to Magic Mountain....
Six Flags Magic Mountain: FINALLY made it to Magic Mountain, here's what I thought...
Got there a bit later that what I'd planned due to delay at rental car office but no biggie as I found out. The major complaint: I flew all that way to ride Revolution & it was CLOSED!! :(:( The only other complaint was that, unlike SFOG, there was no sign to say "trolly stops here" I had no idea. I thought the flags were just decoration so I asked an employee at the parking lot, he said, "go to those flags wayyy over there" I said, is it a far walk, he said not really so I walked & it wasn't a far walk but w/a knee injury & the blazing heat, it took a lot out of me in that short of time but I got thru check in point to finally begin my visit. Went first to Revolution just to find it closed but 2 maintenance ppl were wking on it so I figured it'd be open later, went to Viper since it was open, I won't ride it again. It bit me in the rear on both cheeks. Man it was rough--not rough like bouncy woodies rough but rough like throw me around rough like 'whew' kinda rough but not rough riding as far as the rails go. If that makes sense. Since X was closed :( I went towards Gothem. I kept hearing these jet planes take off every 5 min. I kept looking up for them but could never see them. I thought surely we're not THAT close to the airport. Well (I know what y'all are thinking & are laughing at me right now) come to find out it was none other than Superman! I never wudda guessed it REALLY WAS that loud. (Funny side note, if Superman is really that loud & can hear it all over the park, then how loud exactly was Flashback in order to "close it due to noise", shoooooot it must've been mindblowing loud if Superman wasn't closed for noise!). Anyhoo, I'd only been there like an hour & was already sick from the blazing heat. It was SOOOOOO HOTT it was unbelievable. I thought I wasn't gonna make it thru the day. I kept pouring water on me. I rode Collossus next. The black train was on. Pretty okay ride but ROUGH in places, felt like we were riding on bare wood, kept feeling like we were "hitting the bottom" like when as a kid on the see-saw & hit the ground hard on purpose, that's what it felt like in a few places. I then decided to wait on Scream, I wasn't planning on riding Goliath so I went to Gotham, rode Batman. I felt the G's on this one but it was the first time. On the Georgia one & the SFOT one, I didn't feel the G's at all, weird huh. I headed for Riddler's but couldn't find the entrance so I ended up hiking up to find Ninja but ended up at Superman first. I had to stop half-way up that hill (I thought y'all were kidding about the hill!) to rest for like 5 min. before I could make it to Superman. Made some new friends while there, they asked me to ride w/them. (HI & THANK YOU to my new friends, I didn't think to ask your names, sorry about that but I did enjoy our visit & rides together!). Superman was so great, I wanted to ride it & everything again but I didn't, I should have. After that, went to Ninja but my new ride buddies came up behind me & so I rode w/them up front so I didn't ride in the back, sorry Matthew (I think you were the one who suggested I ride the back, if not I apologize, lol), maybe next time! Thought about Tatsu but the way I was feeling from the heat, I decided I'd better not, the puke factor was high that day! The tower was closed :( so I didn't get to ride up there for photo ops so I made it bk down that hill to find Riddler's which I did. TOTAL blast! Never made it to the DeJaVu side so I decided to ride Scream but by the time I got bk over there, it broke down, as I started walking away, the train started up again w/passengers so I dunno if it was stuck or what but I wasn't gonna walk BACK down there after already leaving the area. Let's seeeee what else. Well I decided to start shopping for my usual souveniers (sp?) since there was nothing else to ride. Walked bk to revoulution, still closed but the motor was running then it stopped. It did that earlier when I got there too so obviously it was broken down :(:(. Well if it does get sold to some other park, I hope it's a US park so I can ride it later on or stay at MM if the park remains open. Side note to Shapiro--fix the tram! That hill is BRUTAL! I bet he's never tried to walk up that hill! If he did, the tram wud be fixed already! If it can't be fixed, buy another one. The one at Dogpatch USA is just sitting there getting growed over! Anyhoo, I'd planned to go bk the next day but since the reality is, Scream wudda been the only one that I didn't get to ride since Revoulution & X is apparantly broken at the moment. Hopefully the park will remain open & I can go bk again. I just didn't see paying $15 for parking again just to ride one coaster if not 2. I know I cudda rode over & over since the park was hardly crowded--a BIG plus! But it was SOOO hot too I just stayed in the motel rm & rested the next day. So that's my trip. Ate at Wendy's, but I got water at the Panda Express I think it was, across from Viper coaster that someone suggested. I didn't eat there though, I didn't think I could eat greasy food in the hot sun. Not a good combonation! The park was CLEAN by the way so I don't know where the "trashy" comments came from unless it was from when the park is crowded during the summer. But it WAS clean.
I know I misspelled some words in my trip report but it's late right now & I'm tired so I'm sure y'all will let my poor spelling slide this time! lol Oh yeah, one thing I forgot to include was that the park should also have "trolly stops here" sign in the entry way where it drops ppl off in front too as well as in the parking lot. That way, ppl like me who've never been there before will know.
Great report.
Magic Mountain is WAYYYYYY cleaner this year than it was in past years.
You should have taken the hottest park of the day to check out some of the shows. Acrobats, Batman, etc. Much better than trying to go up and down the mountain in the hottest part of the day.
Scream is Okay. Clone of the many other B&M floorless coastes around, but not as well themed since it is in a parking lot, parking lines still on the pavement and all.....
X is a blast, the one time I bothered to wait in line to ride it.
Revolution has some historical interest, but largely sucks. They have it badly trim breaked so has lost a lot of its thrill, and the OTSR really box your ears badly. Too bad they can't remove the trims and replace the solid OTSR with over the shoulder belts or something (like 4 point harness in a race car). Something that would hold you in should it get stuck in the loop, without punching you in the ears everytime you enter or leave a corner.
Of the rides you missed, Tatsu is my favorite. Again, too bad it is such a long wait still. It started out a little slow and tame for me... but the middle and end really picked up and were AWESOME!!!
As for Viper... I won't be riding it again. It is better from the back then anywhere else, but it really snaps your neck back/down and crushes you into your seat. I think rides should be more fun than painful, and Viper does not fit that. Psyclone is another that is more pain than fun, in my experience.
Deja Vu..... engh... Not much better than a typical boomerang. The inverted and true verticle are a bit different, but not enough better to justify the wiat that ride has.... in my opinion.
Thanx for the compliment! To tell you the truth, I didn't notice ANY shows going on that day. I was looking but either I missed them or they just weren't having them, I dunno. I didn't really think to look for signs w/show times on them either but ya wudda thought I wudda seen the show going on but yes, it wudda been nice to just sit & enjoy a show for a bit. That's a great idea about the new harness idea. Perhaps you should contact coaster designers & put a few 'bugs' in their ears about that! I never wudda thought of it! Very smart! As for Tatsu, I just didn't think I could stomach it. I stood up there thinking it over but I was just feeling overheated so much that I didn't wanna chance rocketing vomit projectiles ya know lol :) Perhaps if I get to visit again, I won't miss it the next time. :) I DID enjoy my visit but still was so disappointed at missing Revolution (for the nostalgic ride purposes only of course, lol) & X of course. I didn't wanna ride Psyclone, I've ridden the Georgia one & that was enuf soooo from what I was told about how rough THIS one was, I didn't bother & since DJV was the only one else over there I just said forget it. Too far to walk. I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks Viper is tough. Most ppl seem to enjoy it & coasters like it (aka: Vortex, etc.). I sat in the middle thinking it would be ok but turned out it wasn't. I kept trying to keep forward off my seat back which helped but I still won't ride it again. I really hope the park stays open but if not, hopefully all the rides will make it to US park locations elsewhere so we can keep enjoying them.
It does seem odd, but I've actually had to hunt for lists with show times. You would think they would hand them out with the maps......
Very odd. They want to make it more about the show, but don't hand out the show time info as you enter the gate.
Yes you'd think! We enjoyed the shows at SFFT & SF Frontier City. I briefly caught the "water show" at SFOG as I passed above it on the cable car but when I got off the cable car, it was overwith soooo...but yes, you'd think they'd have the times at least put on w/stickers in the map or hand written or like you say, hand them out. SFFT has them on a board outside the venu entrance for each show which we appreciated. The only thing show-like at MM was poor Speedy Gonzalas sitting in a Shelby Cobra as you walked towards Gotham area. Felt VERY sorry for that poor guy, or girl, in that hot costume! At SFOT they had ALL the characters out all day but it WAS way hotter at MM though so it's probably a good thing they weren't out.
Glad you had fun under the circumstances (heat, closed rides, etc). Re: Ninja, yeah that was me; I was just hypothesizing though. I only rode once--near the front--so I could be talking from whence the sun doesn't shine... :)
If you rode Batman and Riddler's you didn't miss much by not riding Scream. IMO Scream was a waste of SF capital--personally I love that ride but it deserved a lot better than to be tossed out in the parking lot. (fantasizing about an overhead installation like Tatsu, or Silver Bullet at Knott's) At least if MM closes it'll probably be the easiest coaster there to relocate....
Re: Revolution, the OTSRs seem totally unnecessary...for a simple vertical loop...a good lap bar should be enough. I figured it was just because the loop wasn't "proven" at the time, being the first one and all. With all the lateral jostling you get they're nothing but a pain. BTW if MM gets closed there's no way Revolution would be kept, if for no other reason because it's way too terrain-dependent.
Viper didn't bother me at all when I rode (was my first time) on the 31st, near the front both times, other than the OTSR bugging me the second time (but not the first time for some reason). As an aside, one thing that DID bother me was the double helix on Goliath--made my vision black out because of the duration--NOT fun. Maybe it should be a single helix instead. Great ride otherwise.
There used to be two sky-way cable car lines connecting the hill, with the two upper stations next to each other. One went northwest down to somewhere around where Tidal Wave is now; it had been dismantled when I visited in 1984 but the upper station was still there. The other was where Superman is now; we used it in 1984 but when I went in 1995 it was dismantled with the stations still there. Orient Express seemed SBNO when I was there on the 31st. There really ought to be a transport of sorts going up somewhere around the north side (vicinity of Superman). Even a series of escalators would be adequate. (Oh, and His Highness can fix the monorail too--it's just sitting there. This park is too big for people to rely entirely on walking. Or I guess "Xtreme" includes Xtreme Fatigue.)
Ya know I cudda SWORN that Revolution USED TO HAVE just a lap bar coz I remember thinking how in the world do the ppl not fall out! (bk when I didn't know any better) ;). Seems like I remember seeing that in photos & also that Rollercoaster movie. Well as far as the hill goes, if his highness HAD hiked up it, the transport wud probably be fixed already. The railcars were still boxed off "under construction" the other day sooo...Ya know it's not a hard thing to do, either replace with something else but similar or fix it. If the parts can't be replaced like if they're no longer available, find another system to use from another defunct park or on ebay, ;) lol. It makes me wonder though if they ARE gonna close the park if that's why nothing's getting fixed. As for Goliath, that's one reason I didn't wanna ride it. I usually can handle hi G's pretty well but wasn't quite sure about this one but more importantly, I'm afraid of heights. I'm just now beginning to get over that after 23 yrs or so (by riding coasters no less). I'm not yet ready to tackle one that high yet. I did ride Desperado that Friday during my visit to Vegas same weekend. THAT was an accomplishment although it's kinda cheating coz the lift hill is above the roof so all I saw was the roof below me, plus it was dusk, plus I had to keep my eyes mostly closed due to the wind, my contacts wudda flown out but I DID ride it & my eyes were open some of the time so it counts lol. I haven't felt brave enuf for the Manhatten Express at NYNY hotel yet though. Ya know Revolution wud do great if Dogpatch USA opens up again, it's nothing BUT hilly there. It wud fit perfectly. ;) Oooo better yet, it might could fit well at Ghost Town in the Sky. Yes, there's Red Devil but it IS on a hill.....hmmmm. Just a thought. ;)
Hi there! I was there at the park as well last week (Thurs). I think this is the best time to go since the crowds are the lightest. Of course it was a disappointment that X was closed, but got to ride Tatsu, the next best ride to X, many, many times and had lots of fun. Tatsu is one of those rides that is so well designed that it is able to have a high thrill factor, yet smooth enough to ride over and over (unlike the first flying coaster built at Great America in the SF Bay, that thing is slow, small, and very rough) I did see maintenance personnel working on X, so obviously there must be some maintenance issues going on. Viper is also one of my favorites, but here is my advice: sit in the forward section of the car, it is much less rough there, either in the front, middle or back of train. Personally I prefer the back of all the rides (except the ones that go backwards, then it's the opposite.) DeJaVu was open and it was a blast as well. I saw the train for Revolution running, but I don't remember seeing anyone on it. As far as getting up the hill to Samurai Summit, try going around the side next to Tatsu, it is much less steep. Glad to hear you had a good time anyway.
Hi Rosa. Thanx for your message. I shudda went Thursday then I guess. I looked for another way to get up that hill but ta tell you the truth, I really didn't see any, other than on the backside coming up the steepest part between Superman & Ninja. If the park stays open & we get to visit it again, I'll definitly go when it's cooler & pay more attention to where I'm at in the park. I was just so deliriously hot that day that I just went where I found an opening ya know but I'll definitly take your suggestions into consideration for next time if there's a next time! Thank you again for replying! :) Also, where was the opening for X anyway? I never could find it even to take a photo.
Hi Adrienne. I'm really hoping that there will be a next time, trying to stay on the positive side here. Anyway, the openning to X is right next to the Panda Express across from Viper. Also, I believe that there is a map of the park you can look up online at the park's website. Another good time of year that I like to go when it's not so hot is during Fright Fest in October(now coming up). I especially like it because that is when they have Colossus backwards. It really keeps you laughing the whole ride. I went there on a Friday last year and it wasn't so crowded as the rest of the weekend. Hope this helps.
Thanx, it does. I was at Panda Express but didn't see anything 'X' around it. I just saw a solid wall all the way around. Was it behind Panda Express or along that wall somewhere? According to the map I had, the entrance was on the left just around the corner to the left up from where the carousel is. I know it doesn't really matter now, I was just curious. Thanx again. Maybe we'll get to go for Fright Fest. We went last yr to Astroworld (RIP) & Fiesta TX for Fright Fest.
Do you remember that bridge going over the main path just down the hill a little bit? The line to X goes over that if I'm not mistaken.
I think soooo. I didn't really explore all that much as it was just so very hott. Thanx for replying though. Perhaps I'll get another chance (crossing fingers, toes, & everything else) to explore the park, now that it's cooling off.
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