Magic Mountain & Las Vegas

Anyone know how busy SFMM is in September? I was on the website and I know the 1st week they are open 10-6. I am debating on going to Vegas for a honeymoon and thought we could drive to SFMM if it wasn't too busy. Would this be a good idea for the first week of Sept 2004?

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Skol Vikings

YES! Those are probably the best days of the year (crowds wise) for hitting SFMM. They may have a handfull of coasters down, but the crowds will be almost nothing.

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SCREAM with me... in 2003!

Soggy's right! When I visited during the first week of 2000 (on a Wed), the weather was great and the crowds non-existant. 2 coasters were down, Goldrusher and Flashback (pre X, Vu, and Scream) but the rest, including a then new Goliath, were either walk-ons or up to a max wait of 10 minutes. Go and have fun.:)

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So long Stealth, don't forget to write...

That is nice to know, are the coasters in Vegas open year round as well? I read the Flashback will be closed in September due to the water park being open though so that would be a bummer but if all the others are open, it would be well worth it.

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Skol Vikings

Just so you know, it's a loooonger drive than you might think. Consider spending a night in the area and hitting up Knott's. I always gotta plug Knott's because if you like rollercoasters, you'll loove ghostrider. In fact, I'd drive from LV to Knott's and go there for the evening, then hit up SFMM in the morning (Ghostie is better at night).

Just my 2 cents.

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"I go out at 3 o' clock for a quart of milk and come home to my son treating his body like an amusement park!" - Estelle Costanza

The last time I drove from here(vegas) it was about 6 hours and all of the coasters here are open year round and don't forget to do the big shot while your at it.

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I hope they kill that iron yuppie. Thinks he's so big. The great homer simspon

Cool beans, thanks everyone for the tips, we had actually talked about staying 2 nights up there, is there anything else exciting in that area other than Knotts and SFMM?

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Skol Vikings

I would recommend you look into flying rather than driving. It's not that expensive (about $100 / person round-trip) and well worth the time saving.

My lovely wife and I did a one day Vegas-to-LA trip this past January. We flew out of Vegas around 6am and rented a car near the L.A. airport. We drove directly to SFMM and arrived before the park opened. Once in, we hit all the coasters that were open (many were closed). When we were done, we drove to KBF and did Ghostrider and Xcelerator. We then headed back to the airport to catch a 10pm flight. It was a whirlwind trip but it was great.

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Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former." - Albert Einstein
*** This post was edited by DEK 9/12/2003 1:03:17 PM ***

If I were you I would skip SFMM and just go to Knotts! SFMM was a complete hole in the ground. Some of the coasters were nice, especially X, but honestly all the aggrevation of the day just didnt make it worth it. Knotts on the other hand is one of the best parks I ever went to. I guess I am more of a total park experience person over just the coasters so if you are into the coasters more, just ignore my rant. My must not miss SoCal park, though has got to be Knotts. That is where I would go if I could only do one.

If you do the two days and you want an extra park, Disneyland and DCA are about a couple miles from Knotts. It is an extremely easy drive to get there (i.e. no freeway driving :) ) If I had to pick between those two parks I would say do DCA, especially with Disneyland being down to just the Matterhorn and a kiddie coaster now.(although Pirates of the Carribean might just be worth the visit to DL alone). DCA has two ok coasters, a nice drop ride(although I hate those plastic screens) and probably one of the best river rapids rides I have seen.
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Bob Hansen
Resident Airtime Whore

Hey, you forgort to mention Treetop Racers which is between Disneyland and Knott's.

Ya, I would have said the same thing but I cfc sounded like he really wanted to check out the mountain. Anyway, gotta violate the buzz rules and say: "Me too!" ;)

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"I go out at 3 o' clock for a quart of milk and come home to my son treating his body like an amusement park!" - Estelle Costanza

You know, I drove past that coaster THREE times and didnt stop to ride it. Didn't look like it was worth the stop until the third time by and then I was rushing off to LAX to catch my flight home! :)

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Bob Hansen
Resident Airtime Whore

What is the cost to ride the roller coasters in Vegas? I know the Stratosphere is like 6 bucks to the top and then another 6 dollars to ride, if we go to Vegas and L A, I am just trying to figure out how much the honeymoon will cost.

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Skol Vikings
August 28, 2004-The Day I Am No Longer A Free Man

If you love her, the price shouldn't be a factor... ;)

Just kidding. Speed was like $10 for two shots last year...well worth it!

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"I go out at 3 o' clock for a quart of milk and come home to my son treating his body like an amusement park!" - Estelle Costanza

I was in Vegas beginning of August, great trip. Here is a rundown of the rides and prices:

Manhattan Express - $12/ride - Its a TOGO...basically enough said. Its amazing how much it shakes on a straight piece of track. Luckily we got comps and didn't have to pay to ride it.

Speed - $8/ride or $11 for all day pass. Really good ride. Blasting out from an air-conditioned station into the hot sun is an experience. Absolutely no wait for that coaster.

Canyon Blaster - $5/ride. This was one of the better arrow coasters I have ridden. Great front row ride. Its located in the Adventure Dome at Circus Circus, which can get extremely crowded.

High Roller - $11/ride (which includes atmissiont to top of the tower) or $17 to ride both High Roller and Big Shot (and admission to top). High Roller is nothing special other than its over 1000ft in the air. It really does feel and sound like it has square wheels. Its the BIG SHOT that you want to ride though. Getting shot up at that height is a real experience. (BIG SHOT is $13/ride which includes admission to the top of the tower.)

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Take a Virtual Ride:
http://badnitrus.coasterbuzz.com
Mike "Viper" Semtak

I saw on the coasterbuzz website that there is one called Dragon and one called Lightning Bolt, are these no longer running? What about Miner Mike as well?

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Skol Vikings
August 28, 2004-The Day I Am No Longer A Free Man

Miner Mike I believe is also in the Adventure dome. Its a kiddie powered coaster if I am remembering correctly. Can't remember what it costs to ride that one. As far as Dragon and Lightning Bolt, those might have been at the old MGM park, which is no longer there

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Take a Virtual Ride:
http://badnitrus.coasterbuzz.com
Mike "Viper" Semtak

Miner Mike has a "no adults" policy.

When I was there a few weekends ago, there was a $19 "unlimited rides" option for the Stratosphere -- admission plus unlimited rides on High Roller (Hah! Once for the credit was plenty) and Big Shot. I was amazed at the number of people who HADN'T taken advantage of that, and were instead paying the re-ride fees over and over. I realize that people in Vegas sometimes have money to burn, but sheesh...

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--Greg, aka Oat Boy
My page
"What do you want, you moon-faced assassin of joy?" -- Londo Mollari, Babylon 5

Adults aren't allowed on Miner Mike. Last I read, the Lightning Bolt is no longer there(it wasn't operating anyway). The Dragon at the Las Vegas Mini Grand Prix is open.

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Sue Barry
CoasterSue@aol.com

So there are 5 coasters and the Big Shot to go on it sounds like. Not too shabby, if we happen to do this and go to SFMM, I will be up to 50 different coasters then.

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Skol Vikings
August 28, 2004-The Day I Am No Longer A Free Man

Note that The Dragon isn't on the Strip, although if you've got a car that shouldn't matter.

If you're in a credit-scoring mood, you might also want to investigate making a stop at Buffalo Bill's in Primm for Desperado.

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--Greg, aka Oat Boy
My page
"The safety word is 'banana'." -- Family Guy