Six flags magic mountain

Avoid Saturdays and Fridays, possibly Sundays

Try to get there 15 minutes before the gate opens. If you bring in a Coke can, you can get in earlier, or if you bring a discover card, you can skip the line to get in

Go to Twisted Colossus, Scream!, and Goliath, then go around the park counter clockwise

It depends on how many trains each coaster will run. For example, three weeks ago, Apocalypse was a 45 minute wait, but the next week the added a new train so the wait went down to 20 minutes. However, X2 will probably be 60-90 minutes and twisted colossus 45-90 minutes

Check out this thread: http://www.themeparkinsider.com/discussion/thread.cfm?page=590
I had some of the same questions and AJ Hummel and Russell Meyer answered it really good! I unfortunately can't help you with the questions 1 and 2.

I have a question for Juan. I'm curious how it works that they let you in early to SFMM, just for being a can of coca cola?!

It appears I am becoming the unofficial SFMM advisor of TPI since this is the third time this year I've seen people referred to one of my advice posts. Anyway, Miles, I suggest you take a look at the thread Air Paper referred to as it contains answers to your questions. I'll post a quick summary here as well:

1. Visit on a weekday, ideally Monday through Thursday. The specific day won't make much difference. If you're forced to visit on a weekend, Sunday is your best bet, but you still may need to purchase a Flash Pass to do everything in one day.

2. Plan to arrive at least 30 minutes before park opening. I usually shoot for a 9:45 A.M. arrival so that I am at the gate by 10 A.M.

3. Start with Full Throttle, then head to Twisted Colossus and ride that and Scream. After those two, climb up the hill and do Superman, Ninja, and Tatsu, then proceed around the park clockwise and hit rides as you go. Aim to reach X2 between 2 and 5 P.M. for the most reasonable waits.

4. X2 may be as long as two hours, though on a weekday with two trains it will probably be an hour or less during the window mentioned above. Full Throttle, Tatsu, and Twisted Colossus usually peak at around an hour on weekdays unless there is reduced capacity operation. Other than Apocalypse, Riddler's, and Superman, the remaining coasters will probably be 30 minutes or less assuming at least two trains are running. Note that Goliath is closed and according to recent reports it will likely be out of commission all summer.

I was hoping you AJ in particular would reply since it sounds like you know everything and anything about SFMM. Juan was talking about a can of coke getting you in earlier, can you elaborate on that? Also, which ride in particular would you use the standard flash pass for (we won't be going for gold or platinum passes)?

I wouldn't say I know everything, but it is a local park for me and I visit it frequently. I try to respond to advice threads for all the So Cal parks since I'm a regular visitor to most of them and like to offer whatever help I can to those traveling great distances to visit. I was out of town all of last week or I would have replied to this sooner (I'm usually on here at least once every other day).

As for the Coke can early entry, I actually don't know anything about that and can't find information through a Google search, so hopefully Juan can provide more information. I know that Coke cans will get you a ticket discount. If there is early entry, it probably isn't much (Gold Pass early entry is only ten minutes early).

For a Flash Pass, it is one price and you can use it an unlimited number of times for the entire day. You simply reserve a ride on the Q-bot device and are given a return time. Apocalypse, Batman, Green Lantern, Riddler's, and Tatsu are the five rides where the pass may save you a significant amount of time with a regular pass (Full Throttle, Twisted Colossus, and Superman are only available on Platinum and X2 requires Gold and an additional fee). I would definitely wait until you've determined that you'll need a Flash Pass to do everything before purchasing one. Assuming you visit on a weekday, it shouldn't be hard to get one ride on each coaster, but if you want a lot of re-rides or you discover numerous one-train operations you may want to purchase one. If you decide to buy a Flash Pass, follow my plan above, then after Ninja take the Orient Express down to the front of the park and purchase your Flash Pass. Reserve Tatsu, then make your way around the park clockwise, skipping X2 for later in the day.

So now that Goliath is open, when would you do that and what will the waiting times be like?

I was hoping you AJ in particular would reply since it sounds like you know everything and anything about SFMM. Juan was talking about a can of coke getting you in earlier, can you elaborate on that? Also, which ride in particular would you use the standard flash pass for (we won't be going for gold or platinum passes)?

Ignore the comment above, I don't know why it repeated it!

For Goliath, you'll want to wait until passing it on your return lap before riding. It will likely end up being the last coaster before you get out to Baja Ridge (where X2, Viper, and Revolution are). The ride's capacity is decent (before getting seatbelts, it had the best numbers in the park) and the line is generally no more than an hour.