Recent Tragic Mountain happenings.

So a little update on Magic Mountain and its winter operating season fix-ups for those that care to keep track...

Collective cheer? Approximately 1/4 of Flashback has been removed. The ride is being cut and ripped down in a "it's not ever going to return" fashion. At the rate it's being taken down, I wouldn't be surprised if it was completely gone by next weekend.

Viper is looking pretty with its new paint job -- looks to be almost complete.

Painting for X2 is currently underway. There are a few track sections (burgundy) and supports (dark shade of gray) already painted, while the rest is currently undergoing a powerwash. X2's new paint will somewhat resemeble Japan's Eejanaika.

Land clearing for Thomas Town is complete and there are now markers all over the cleared site.

The towering marquee sign for the park by the interstate freeway has been repainted.

Freefall has also officially closed and now sits dormant awaiting its turn to be ripped down. My guess is once the demolition crew is done with Flashback, they'll immediately move on to Freefall.

Linked photographs courtesy of "Billy" from RCPro.

*** Edited 12/23/2007 6:06:01 AM UTC by kRaXLeRidAh***

I'm not saying it's going to be rebuilt, and I wasn't there watching them take the ride down. But, I don't see anything in those pictures that says it couldn't be rebuilt. Were the pieces being thrown in a dumpster to be hauled away? Were there people cutting the larger pieces up once they hit the ground.

It seems odd to not have a crane there. Is there not much access room in that part of the park?

Locals are reporting that as the pieces are cut away, they are letting them drop to the ground. It doesn't sound like they are making any effort to preserve the coaster.

*** Edited 12/23/2007 2:46:51 PM UTC by Jeffrey Seifert***

There are reports of pieces of track sticking straight up in the ground from being dropped. It's going to the scrap yard.

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Jeffrey Seifert said:
It doesn't sound like they are making any effort to preserve the coaster.

*** Edited 12/23/2007 2:46:51 PM UTC by Jeffrey Seifert***

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Thank god!

Cutting a ride that is bolted together is a pretty good indication that it's done.

I wonder why parks continue to paint rides red. You get at best two years of it looking nice and then it's a faded mess.

It's always good to use dark colors, because they don't fade as fast as lets say yellow. The best color would be black, but the only bad thing about that is as the years go by you can see no more paint where the wheels of the train go on the coaster.

That happens no matter what color you paint the rails. That's why Intamin leaves the unpainted stripe and B&M often paints all but the rails.

What's interesting about coasters being red is the difference between it being its original paint and it being repainted. The best example I can think of is Mantis. The ride looked awful for a few years and ever since it was repainted in 2003 it has looked great.

Actually, Sandor says they leave the paint primer strip on the rails because it tends to not wear off the way the regular paint does.

Hmmm... That Magic Mountain sign is one of the coolest signs anywhere. Along with one of the best park names ever. Thank's for f**king it up Six Flags.

Those generic flag/six flags logo's are even imprinted on headrests like the Mindbender.

Too bad about Flashback/Z-force. I rode it at all 3 parks, once. The last ride I had on it was a total fluke, it was kinda fun! I was in shock.

I sure hope someone has ridden the new X2 trains. I mean, this is a HUGE investment in a park ... that could use the money in other places (REVOLUTION...)

I trust Jay Thomas has it's back... I hope!

Nice to see so many improvements to this park when over the last several years the general consensus has been that the Mountain has gone to s***. It's especially impressive that all of this is being done at one time. I still maintain that since Shapiro stepped in, the company as a whole seems to be moving in the right direction.

I'm really sad about Flashback! I was hoping they would move it to another park closer to Mass. I never got a chance to ride it.

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Parker17 said:
It's always good to use dark colors, because they don't fade as fast as lets say yellow. The best color would be black, but the only bad thing about that is as the years go by you can see no more paint where the wheels of the train go on the coaster.

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You would think so, right? However, brighter colors usually get more attention from people passing bye rather than dark colors. Look at Cedar Point's logic. Paint everything neon, and see the people go to every ride in the park.

Dark colors will last longer, but bright colors will get more people's attention usually, and that's why they would use them.

I think that sign really needs to be updated. It looks outdated in my opinion, and pretty bad looking. Why not spend money on that sign? They also need some spotlights on those roller coasters. You pass by at night, and you can't tell what rides those are unless you know the locations of where those rides are. The product is right in front of people passing by, and they can't even see what the product is at night.

That sign is relatively old, sporting the previous Six Flags logo on it. I would just update the graphics, and give it some new lighting.

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J7G3 said:

I sure hope someone has ridden the new X2 trains. I mean, this is a HUGE investment in a park ... that could use the money in other places (REVOLUTION...)

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I wish I could be optimistic. I read a report from someone who rode both X andthe Japanese one with new trains in less than 2 or 3 weeks and they reported that the Japanese one was much rougher. But, perhaps Xcan have it's "on" days as well. It beat me senseless last time I rode it.

^The new trains aren't supposed to be like the ones in Japan. I think they are supposed to be different.

I'm really sad about Flashback! I was hoping they would move it to another park closer to Mass. I never got a chance to ride it.

Even though the ride is gone you can still experience what it was like to ride. Just put a brick in each hand and alternately bash them into the side of your head.

Z-Force/Flashback (1985-2007)
RIP and good riddance!

^ Heh! I never rode Flashback at SFMM or anywhere, and frankly, from what I've heard, Im not missing anything. As an observer now (only having one trip to the park), it's really neat to see all the cosmetic improvements the place is getting, but they still have a long way to go.

Repainting rides is nice, but they need to have at least a 95% uptime, and removing smaller rides without replacing them is not the answer. (Tilt, Antique Cars, Bayern Curve, for instance)

I wonder if they could get a good deal on DCA's S&S Tower.

DCA's tower is for sale? Do tell...