1/10 SFMM trip

[brand42]

Despite the wind advisories, I made my way out to Six Flags Magic Mountain yesterday, looking to make use of my new AP and to ride X2 for the first time.



Traffic wasn't bad at around 10:10 am




As a huge fan of the Justice League/Justice League Unlimited series, I always enjoy seeing the Superman/Wonder Woman/Batman sign.

After the gates opened at 10:30, I power walked my way over to X2 only to find that it wasn't opened yet. Oh well, onto plan B which happened to be Tatsu.







The first time I ever rode Tatsu, I had a really strong "what did I just get myself into" feeling throughout, especially during the "pretzel loop". However, I've come to really love it, especially the stretches of the track where you roll a bit to the left and then to the right...it actually feels as serene and tranquil as Soarin' over California, only you literally are soarin' over california!

I backtracked to X2 only to find that it was still closed so I walked onto Revolution.



It's still a fun ride but you really do bang your head on the shoulder restraints as you move from side to side (as has been discussed here on MiceChat). I could've gone on it many, many more times but for the headbanging.

X2 was still closed so it was off to Ninja and Gold Rusher.





Those Gold Rusher trains look to be in pretty bad condition. You think you've seen wear and tear at DLR or WDW? Feast your eyes on this beauty!



On previous trips, I've noticed similar conditions in the Jet Stream and Log Jammer boats. Which is sad when you consider how many millions are put into the coasters and yet these aging attractions can't even garner a refurb or two?

I know how much we love arcades on this site




I checked back on X2...would I finally be able to experience it????



Yes!!! at last!! It must've just opened because I was able to walk right up to the loading areas.





The fire effects were not operating, mostly likely due to the winds. Still a great, if disorienting, ride nonetheless. As one of the MiceChatters who enjoys listening to Knights of Cydonia on an ipod while riding Space Mountain, I think it would be perfect for X2! Then again, there's no way I'm bringing the ipod with me on the ride, nor would the ride operators permit it (I would hope!)

After that, I decided to call it a day as I was tired already. At DLR, I can go the entire day easily so maybe it was the elevation? As I've been on Goliath and Riddler's and Batman before, I didn't really feel like venturing to that side of the park. I did want to go up in the Sky Tower but it was closed due to the winds.

Here are some random shots I took:




















A common critique of SFMM is that it's not that family friendly (Bugs Bunny World and Thomas Land notwithstanding). Not only that but there isn't much in the way of fun and/or relaxing non roller coaster rides for adults, which we have plenty of in the Disney parks.

As such, I thought about how great it would be if they built a Looney Tunes themed version of TSMM. Perhaps a Marvin the Martian blaster stage, a Wile E. Coyote setting traps for Road Runner stage, a "shoot portable holes at the screen to help Bugs Bunny escape from Elmer Fudd and Yosemite Sam" stage and so forth. Tell me you wouldn't want to ride on that!

Thanks for reading!

[OldSchoolMickey]

Sounds like a fun day!

Thanks!

[tamasurvivor]

Yeah thats a big complaint I have with Magic Mountain... But I do love coasters and love the experience of them so someday I will go there again [either that or save up to take a trip out to Cedar Point some day... maybe leaning towards Cedar point since looking at their park theres a good mix of coasters and flat rides]... but you kinda need a good assortment of other thrill rides or attractions mixed in as well... The coasters are top notch though and awesome but variety is a good thing and seriously thats my only gripe about Magic Mountain

But I do like the new colors on X... so much better than the fuscia and yellow... but whats funny is how everyone I work with thinks that X2 is a new ride and something new built by Magic Mountain and I was like... "hmmmm you really dont know do you... X was built when I was living in SoCal, its like a new paintjob and some new effects... but its the same wild coaster its always been"

[Melonballer]

Thanks for the report. I always love to hear about the non-Disney parks.

But I do like the new colors on X... so much better than the fuscia and yellow... but whats funny is how everyone I work with thinks that X2 is a new ride and something new built by Magic Mountain and I was like... "hmmmm you really dont know do you... X was built when I was living in SoCal, its like a new paintjob and some new effects... but its the same wild coaster its always been"

Don't forget the new train. Do you find it at all smoother now, or pretty much the same?

[tamasurvivor]

Don't forget the new train. Do you find it at all smoother now, or pretty much the same?

If you were quoting me... I have only seen the new train in pictures on the net, I have yet to do the new version but the old version was really really wild... not like anything I have experienced before... but we waited forever for it because it was new.

[WheresMickey]

Nice report, i have been to SFMM for about 2 years now. I think it might be time to go back.

[JediMelmac]

Nice report, brand! That X2 roller coaster looks awesome! I need to go to California - DLR and Six Flags. I can't complain though - living near Cedar Point has its perks too Great pictures too!

[JesterMn]

I don't think SFMM will ever build a dark ride. Aside from Universal (with Transformers on it's way in 2011), I don't think any other park would bother... how can they compete with Disney just down the street?

I've been on the Yosemite Sam dark ride at Six Flag Over Texas... and while it's charming in it's own way, if the same ride were built at SFMM, it would be ripped apart by most people as a weak entry, and a "why bother if that's what you're going to get" attitude. If you owned Six Flags, would you pour money into an attraction that's only going to be trashed and mocked for not being up to Disney standards?

Concerning X2 being smoother, it really depends. For the most part, it is. But there can be occassions where it's pretty jerky. And it seems to appear with no real rhyme or reason. A seat can be smooth one ride, and that very same seat can be rough later on.

As noted many times here and by SF managment itself, everyone knows many things need to be fixed. But when you only have X dollars, and X times a millon things that need to be done, you can only go parts at a time. They are well aware they need more flat rides, and they'll be working on it. But they're working on the new coaster, as they money had been pre-approved for it some time ago.

And before anyone complains "why did they spend money on a coaster when the rest of the park is crap", let's remember that money was also recently spent to restore the beautiful fountain in the front of the park that had been shut off for years due to Tatsu construction interfering with the plumbing. How easy it would have been for them to leave it off for more years to come. But they decided it was worth getting fixed sooner rather than later. There is money being spent on beautification, but again, one part at a time. If you're willing to donate a few spare million, I'm sure they'll be more than happy to do more.

[brand42]

Since I had not been there for a few years, I wasn't aware about the fountain getting shut off. Thank you for clarifying that situation, JesterMn!

In the meantime, I can certainly dream about a Dark Knight themed dark ride, can't I? With EMV's designed to look like the Tumbler, you race out from the Batcave and onto the streets of Gotham City.

Melonballer, I never rode the original X so I couldn't tell you. However, I consider Matterhorn to be one of the roughest rides around with Ghost Rider at Knott's coming in second and if X2 were as rough as Matterhorn, you'd emerge from the ride with injuries. Maybe not serious ones but bruises at the very least.

Now about that fountain



Tell me that this isn't nicer than what you see at Sunshine Plaza in DCA!

[JesterMn]

I've heard a lot of people (not here, just in general) really trash the Dark Knight ride. Apparently, it has not gone over well. Aside from one cool effect in the queue, the ride itself has been really panned and lacking in theming, and not at all like what they were promising in their preview material. It's basically a mouse coaster in a box. I've even heard (don't know if this is still true) that the exit of the ride is through a door that spills natural light into the ride, ruining it for anyone on board at the time a person exits.

[Monkey joe]

I don't think SFMM will ever build a dark ride. Aside from Universal (with Transformers on it's way in 2011), I don't think any other park would bother... how can they compete with Disney just down the street?

I've been on the Yosemite Sam dark ride at Six Flag Over Texas... and while it's charming in it's own way, if the same ride were built at SFMM, it would be ripped apart by most people as a weak entry, and a "why bother if that's what you're going to get" attitude. If you owned Six Flags, would you pour money into an attraction that's only going to be trashed and mocked for not being up to Disney standards?

And that why the WB need to move matters into their own hands. The WB characters derseve more respect from Six Flags, they derserve a Disney type park or Universal one.

[SpaceMTFan]

And that why the WB need to move matters into their own hands. The WB characters derseve more respect from Six Flags, they derserve a Disney type park or Universal one.

Warner Brothers actually had 3 theme parks at one point called "Warner Brothers Movie World". One was in Australia, the other in Germany and finally, the last one to open in Madrid, Spain.

The Australia one was the first to open and is a pretty nice, if small, park on pictures and videos. It features a large themed Splash Mountain esque flume, a Batman themed simulator ride, a suspended looping coaster themed on Lethal Weapon and some shows. They had a Gremlins dark ride, but they closed it to put a "Scooby Doo" indoor coaster in the building and the result looks awesome! It starts with a dark ride portion (watch for the axe blades!) and then the car stops in an elevator. The elevator goes up with 2 cars and release the second one first backward into a drop. Then, another track flip the car over and you do the standard wild mouse (wilder version of Mulholland Madness) in a large room filled with lasers, strobes and pounding music. There is a surprise ending...

The other super attraction is Superman Escape. You board a train that is supposed to be a subway train and you move toward the next station. At that point, an earthquake happens and Superman announce he'll take you to safety! You get launched out, go over a few hills and turns, back through the station and its over. It still operates today, under the WB Movie World name.

Second park they opened was in Germany, near Dusseldorf. It was actually a failed german studio that was purchased and refurbished. Rides include: Bermuda Triangle, which is a pirates style dark ride in a volcano, a Batman simulator, police academy stunt show, a looney tunes dark ride, a mostly indoor rapids rides themed around the "Never Ending Story" and their big attraction was the "Lethal Weapon Pursuit". It had a preshow and then you boarded a police car. The rollercoaster had two tracks and started with a few turns... Then you dived indoor, into "the elevator shaft" and then did a loop with strobes flashing. Then, you had a second lift, went around and dived into another warehouse. You had the effect of a car flipping in a ball of fire over you and then, the ride ended with a barrel roll.

Sadly, the park was soon purchased by Six Flags, who started installing carnival rides, an awful and painful wooden coaster, a lame no theming whatsoever suspended looping coaster and at the end of 2003, sold the park to a capital investment group called Palamon. They had to remove all references to Warner Brothers and Palamon instead got some other licenses to use. The Lethal Weapon Pursuit became the Cop Car Chase, the Wild Wild West wooden coaster became the Bandit, the Looney tunes dark ride "Ice Age Adventure", etc.

The third park to have that name was only licensed and was located in Madrid, Spain. Six Flags designed and operated the park and spanish banks owned it. Unfortunately, they didn't do any market research prior to opening the park and the result was a flop! See, the spainards don't really like loops and tend to avoid rides that feature them. Originally, the park was supposed to have a theater or dark ride in the "Warner Brothers Backlot" section, but for some mysterious reasons, Six Flags decided to take the Giant Inverted Boomerang rollercoaster (a clone of Deja Vu at Six Flags Magic Mountain) and put it in the new park instead of the theater/dark ride. Add to that 2 more looping rollercoasters, a big and awful wooden coaster and a kiddie coaster and those were your big rides. The park also featured a 325 feet freefall ride, 3 water rides, a Batman simulator, 3 stunt shows and a kiddie section. The only dark ride attraction was a Mad House themed around a haunted hotel.

The result was disastrous. The lack of dark rides and the poor coaster selection (5 minutes waits at the 3 looping coaster, 60-120 minutes wait at the wooden coaster!) just didn't work well. The park did not even get a million visitors in its first year.

The park is still around... The name changed to "Parque Warner Madrid" and the new management team (a spanish theme park operator) has started to take measures to fix up the park. They added a Scoody Doo shooting dark ride, tore down the lame antique car ride and replaced it with a nice Yogi Bear Splash Battle water ride (a boat ride where you're armed with a water cannon and you have to shoot at effects and people) and replaced the lame Batman stunt show that did not even have seating with a better one that shares the same facility as the Police Academy stunt show.

Sorry for the long post!

[Monkey joe]

Warner Brothers actually had 3 theme parks at one point called "Warner Brothers Movie World". One was in Australia, the other in Germany and finally, the last one to open in Madrid, Spain.

The Australia one was the first to open and is a pretty nice, if small, park on pictures and videos. It features a large themed Splash Mountain esque flume, a Batman themed simulator ride, a suspended looping coaster themed on Lethal Weapon and some shows. They had a Gremlins dark ride, but they closed it to put a "Scooby Doo" indoor coaster in the building and the result looks awesome! It starts with a dark ride portion (watch for the axe blades!) and then the car stops in an elevator. The elevator goes up with 2 cars and release the second one first backward into a drop. Then, another track flip the car over and you do the standard wild mouse (wilder version of Mulholland Madness) in a large room filled with lasers, strobes and pounding music. There is a surprise ending...

The other super attraction is Superman Escape. You board a train that is supposed to be a subway train and you move toward the next station. At that point, an earthquake happens and Superman announce he'll take you to safety! You get launched out, go over a few hills and turns, back through the station and its over. It still operates today, under the WB Movie World name.

Second park they opened was in Germany, near Dusseldorf. It was actually a failed german studio that was purchased and refurbished. Rides include: Bermuda Triangle, which is a pirates style dark ride in a volcano, a Batman simulator, police academy stunt show, a looney tunes dark ride, a mostly indoor rapids rides themed around the "Never Ending Story" and their big attraction was the "Lethal Weapon Pursuit". It had a preshow and then you boarded a police car. The rollercoaster had two tracks and started with a few turns... Then you dived indoor, into "the elevator shaft" and then did a loop with strobes flashing. Then, you had a second lift, went around and dived into another warehouse. You had the effect of a car flipping in a ball of fire over you and then, the ride ended with a barrel roll.

Sadly, the park was soon purchased by Six Flags, who started installing carnival rides, an awful and painful wooden coaster, a lame no theming whatsoever suspended looping coaster and at the end of 2003, sold the park to a capital investment group called Palamon. They had to remove all references to Warner Brothers and Palamon instead got some other licenses to use. The Lethal Weapon Pursuit became the Cop Car Chase, the Wild Wild West wooden coaster became the Bandit, the Looney tunes dark ride "Ice Age Adventure", etc.

The third park to have that name was only licensed and was located in Madrid, Spain. Six Flags designed and operated the park and spanish banks owned it. Unfortunately, they didn't do any market research prior to opening the park and the result was a flop! See, the spainards don't really like loops and tend to avoid rides that feature them. Originally, the park was supposed to have a theater or dark ride in the "Warner Brothers Backlot" section, but for some mysterious reasons, Six Flags decided to take the Giant Inverted Boomerang rollercoaster (a clone of Deja Vu at Six Flags Magic Mountain) and put it in the new park instead of the theater/dark ride. Add to that 2 more looping rollercoasters, a big and awful wooden coaster and a kiddie coaster and those were your big rides. The park also featured a 325 feet freefall ride, 3 water rides, a Batman simulator, 3 stunt shows and a kiddie section. The only dark ride attraction was a Mad House themed around a haunted hotel.

The result was disastrous. The lack of dark rides and the poor coaster selection (5 minutes waits at the 3 looping coaster, 60-120 minutes wait at the wooden coaster!) just didn't work well. The park did not even get a million visitors in its first year.

The park is still around... The name changed to "Parque Warner Madrid" and the new management team (a spanish theme park operator) has started to take measures to fix up the park. They added a Scoody Doo shooting dark ride, tore down the lame antique car ride and replaced it with a nice Yogi Bear Splash Battle water ride (a boat ride where you're armed with a water cannon and you have to shoot at effects and people) and replaced the lame Batman stunt show that did not even have seating with a better one that shares the same facility as the Police Academy stunt show.

Sorry for the long post!

It is okay. I knew of the park but that all of the information. Personaly I think that the WB can do better than the former studios parks.

[moncho]

I am glad you enjoyed your trip and that you were able to ride X2. Isn´t great?

I went to SFMM last summer and had a great day!

Saludos

[SpectroMan]

Re: Gold Rusher's bad trains, at least the station looks like it was just painted (Revolution tracks, too - they must have done all the white painting at once ) Like JesterMn says, they're trying, just not all at once. There's aesthetics, thrills, and restoration - personally that's my preferred category for them to spend on, i.e. restoring Revolution's ride to what it was (no OTSRs and fewer trim brakes) or getting Colossus back to it's original speed, etc.