Six Flags Magic Mountain (SFMM) - First Visit

You are fortunate, as you will be visiting the park on an off-season Sunday when no special events are in progress. In my experience, these days have been DEAD (aka 4 train wait for X2, walk-on for most non-headliners). Even though the park is only open from 10:30 A.M. to 6:00 P.M., you should have no problem getting on everything (and getting re-rides on your favorites). I recommend getting to the park around 30 minutes before opening, starting at Full Throttle, and going around the park counter-clockwise, stopping at anything that catches your interest as you pass it (climb Samurai Summit from the Tatsu side rather than the Gold Rusher side, as it's easier).

Although I think your biggest worry will be something down for maintenance (unlikely but possible), I recommend budgeting for a Flash Pass just in case it is unusually crowded (Regular or Gold...don't even consider Platinum). Ride Full Throttle first (not on Flash Pass), and if the ride is more than a 60 minute wait, go get a Flash Pass. If not, don't worry about it unless you start encountering 60+ minute waits. In the unlikely event that you do need a Flash Pass, don't buy the X2 add-on. Instead, go to the ride mid-afternoon (3-4 usually works best) and the line should be down to around 30 minutes.

thanks AJHummel,very helpful

Hi AJ.

I sent you a private message last week, but I'm not sure if it went through. I had a few follow-up questions to this post and a Touring Plan that you posted last September.

My nephews will be coming for a visit from Thursday August 28th until Monday September 1st. I assume that the best day to visit SFMM would be Friday, do you concur? We have a Honda so we can get into the park an hour early and Ninja and Superman will be available for riding. Here are my questions:
• During our early hour, should we ride Superman, or wait in line for Full Throttle and/or X2?
• Your touring guide is very helpful! Do you have any changes (other than Colossus) since it was written in September of 2013? Where would you insert Lex Luthor and Roaring Rapids into it?
• What would your touring plan be if the goal was not to ride all of the roller coasters, but to ride the good ones (rated 9) multiple times? I like X2, Tatsu, Goliath, Apocalypse, and Lex Luthor. I have never been on Green Lantern or Full Throttle.
• Do you have any idea of what the crowd level might be like on the Friday of Labor Day weekend? Would Sunday be better?

That’s all I can think of for now. Please feel free to offer any additional advice or guidance you think I need.

Thanks!
~Stefanie

Hi Stefanie,

I never received your message, probably due to that issue Robert posted about. I'll do my best to answer your questions here, but please keep in mind that I rarely visit the park on holidays, so you may find different conditions than what I list here. I recommend that you budget for a Flash Pass (Regular or Gold) just in case it is busy, but don't buy it until you've decided you need it. I also recommend downloading the app "Ride Hopper" if you have a smartphone as SFMM has no official wait time monitoring. Its accuracy seems to vary, but it will at least tell you if a ride is busy or not.

I'll just go down the list.

-I am guessing crowds will be lower on Friday than on Sunday, but Sunday has longer operating hours, so it's a bit of a toss up which day to go. I would probably lean toward Friday, but I'm guessing you'll get around the same amount of stuff done on either day. Based on my experience with busy days, I'd say expect lines up to 60 minutes on either day for any major attraction, with possible 90 minute waits for headliners or low capacity attractions. Now, I'm guessing most rides will probably be around 30 minutes, but just be prepared for long waits. Whatever you do, don't go on Saturday or you will need a Flash Pass just to ride every coaster once.

-I'm not extremely sure how the Honda thing works, but if riding Ninja and/or Superman is important to you and they are running during that hour, ride them then. Superman has the worst capacity of any of the park's coasters, and due to the accident Ninja only has one working train right now. I'm guessing you should be able to ride both of those once (or possibly twice), then get to either Full Throttle or X2 before the park opens, but I could be wrong. If you want to ride Full Throttle, you either need to be down there by opening or come back at the end of the day, so if you don't think you'll make it try for X2 instead.

-I still recommend this plan if your goal is to ride all the coasters(I think it's the same one you found before):

1. Full Throttle
2. Goliath
3. Green Lantern
4. Batman The Ride
5. Riddler's Revenge
6. Apocalypse
7. Tatsu (if line is over 45 minutes, return at the end)
8. Ninja
9. Superman
10. Gold Rusher (optional)
11. Scream!
12. Speedy Gonzales Hot Rod Racers (optional)
13. Road Runner Express (optional)
14. Canyon Blaster (optional)
15. Revolution
16. Viper
17. X2

For Lex Luthor, you can either do it after Goliath or before/after Scream. If you want to ride Roaring Rapids, do it before or after Tatsu, but honestly I recommend skipping it if the wait is more than 15 minutes or so (not a bad ride, but there are better rapids rides out there).

-If you only care about the good coasters, do the following:

1. Ride Full Throttle first.
2. Head to Goliath and ride. If you get here quick enough, you may be able to ride twice before the crowds arrive. Do not re-ride if the line exceeds 20 minutes.
3. Ride Lex Luthor. You may re-ride through the single rider line if desired.
4. Bypass DC Universe and head to Riddler's Revenge. Like with Goliath, if the line is under 20 minutes ride again if desired.
5. Go to Apocalypse and ride. Feel free to ride 2-3 times if desired, as the wait will probably still be reasonable (this one usually takes the longest to fill up) and you will not be returning to this area.
6. Climb to Tatsu. If the line is 60 minutes or less, ride now. If not, continue to the top of the hill.
7. Check on Superman. If you want to ride and the line is still inside the building, do so. If the line is out of the building, skip the ride.
8. Head back down the hill by Gold Rusher. If you want another ride on Riddler's Revenge, now is your chance (use single rider if wait is over 30 minutes).
9. Head to DC Universe and ride Batman if desired. This is also a good time for Green Lantern if you want to ride, but do not invest too much time into that coaster (use single rider if the wait is outside the building).
10. If you want to re-ride Goliath or Lex Luthor, do so now.
11. Ride X2.
12. If you skipped Tatsu, go ride it, then use the rest of your day for re-rides on whatever you want or ride stuff you skipped.

One comment about the single rider lines at SFMM. At SFMM, single rider is available at Riddler's Revenge, Viper, Revolution, Lex Luthor, and Green Lantern. If you want to use them, just follow the signs. Very few people know they are there, so just because nobody is in line does not mean it is closed. For Green Lantern and especially Riddler's Revenge, single rider will almost always get you on within 5 minutes. It is less helpful at Lex Luthor, Revolution, and Viper.

I think that's all I've got for now. If you haven't, read everything in the other guide again, and let me know if you've got any questions.

Thanks so much for the information!