SFMM, a couple of Mondays ago (2023)

I was in LA for Cruel World a few weekends ago. It was a festival with a bunch of 80s new wave/synth pop/alternative bands. The show was evacuated about 2 hours before it was to end due to alleged lightning, and they did a great thing and rescheduled the rest of the show for the next day, but that meant changing flights, hotels, car, etc.

Also meant that I had a Monday free in LA with a flight that didn't leave until almost 10pm.

Got a comp pass from a friend at another Six Flags park and headed over. The drive from Pasadena to Valencia is for the most part very relaxing and scenic. Didn't have breakfast and got hella hungry on the way. Got off the exit looking for the closest thing, and pulled in to a Jack In the Box. I had never been to one before, the burger was good. Like, really good for a fast food burger. I've heard people talk about Whataburger and In & Out, but never Jack in the Box. I'd say better than Five Guys and it didn't cost the same as a mortgage payment so I had that going for me.

The park opened at 10:30, and I got there about 10:40. It costs $40 for general parking. I am offended. Also, the parking is a brisk 10-15 minute walk from the entrance. Preferred parking is literally in the same lot for $5 more.

I was at this park once before, about 20 years ago. I don't remember exactly when, I just remember we didn't have kids, so >17. My goal was to hit everything that I hadn't last time and intentionally skip everything I had been on.

First stop, Full Throttle, rookie mistake. App said 20 minutes when I got in line, but it's the first coaster when you turn right and the line kept getting longer. It was about 45 minutes by the time I got on. I appreciated the ride ops engaging the guests, but not so much because it was causing stacking every cycle. Anywho, the ride was really good. I knew nothing about it before I got on, so the "surprise" in the tunnel really was a surprise to me. I was considering buying Flash Pass since I didn't pay to get in anyway but figured I'd wait and see how it played out.

At this point it looked like there were a LOT of rides closed for the day, and that was very disappointing. Last time we were there there were so many rides closed and it was during the worst of the Six Flags leadership. Was hoping that this time would be better. Later I'd figure out that if a ride opened late, it just showed "closed today" on the app until it opened. Turns out that almost everything opened by noon. The only rides down for the day were the drop tower, the rapids ride, the round up, the Justice League dark ride, and the discovery. I would've liked to do the drop tower but the others I really didn't care about.

Walked to Twisted Colossus next and found it with a station wait. I got on the first train that pulled up, around the middle. Holy ****, great ride. Absolutely loved it. Like Steel Vengeance but not quite as ass-kicking and I don't mean that in a bad way. Very rerideable and the dueling thing really added to the fun.

Wonder Woman was next, it was about a 10 minute wait. I think they can run 5 or 6 trains on this but only had on 3 which didn't really matter. Like the constant moving station. Girl in front of me slid her shoulder harness off half way up the hill and they stopped the ride and scorned her over the PA system, and it took about 10 minutes for us to get going again. Not as good of a story as Jeff's lift stops, but whatever. While riding my shoulder harness slipped off at least 4 or 5 times. I think that part of the restraint is fairly useless, as I didn't fall out. Fun ride, my first single rail coaster.

Last time I was here there were 2 log flumes, one was closed. This time the one I rode was removed for Full Throttle and the other one, Jet Stream, was open. Walk on, and it was a classic flume. I saw later that it had just opened that week after a refurbishment and you could tell. It looked and rode brand new.

I really loved Riddler's Revenge last time I was there, but kept with my plan to hit only new stuff and bypassed it for West Coast Racers. This was about a 25 minute wait. I thought it was a racer with 2 separate rides, but found out when I was on it that it was a dueler. It was, however, fairly boring. It was fine, mind you. Not rough or anything, just didn't do anything for me.

Apocalypse next. Walk on. I had high hopes for this, love GCI rides. It was rough. The station pass through was cool. With some track work this could be a great ride, but as-is I don't feel the need to go on it again. For the record, I also thought Psyclone, one of the most hated woodies ever, would've been a good ride with some track work and proper lubrication. Mostly lubrication.

Now this is where I get lost. Magic Mountain is an appropriate name for the park, because except for this stretch of park that I just walked through, I have no idea where the hell anything is, or where I'm going, and it's all hills.

Found my way up to the top of the hill where Tatsu is. 45 minute wait, so I bypassed it. I was trying to find the area where Ninja and Superman were to no avail. Asked an employee and he didn't know (?!) and sent me towards Revolution and I knew that was wrong. Saw the staircase behind Tatsu which I thought was the exit to the ride when I passed it. Turns out it is the way up to Ninja and Superman but there's no signage or anything to indicate this.

Now, I should add at this point that the park looked absolutely spectacular. Fresh paint on everything, great landscaping, sound, lighting, everything was absolutely great. Walk up to Ninja and that all changed. It literally looked abandoned up there. The oil derrick thing I think is actually abandoned. It's boarded up with those bicycle gates around it. I think if I would've thrown a rock at it it'd fall down like that time Nelson Bart and Milhouse went to the World's Fair on the Simpsons. There is literally nothing up there except for Ninja and Superman. Everything else is closed, and long time closed, like paint flaking, wood rotting, abandoned for 30 years looking. This is an improvement over last time I was there when it looked like crap and the coasters were closed, too.

So, Ninja. Walk on. Yeah, did not expect this. Big Bad Wolf was a good ride, but other than that the Arrow suspendeds are generally a bore. OMG, this ride is out of control. So much speed, swinging, so much force around the lower area near Jet Stream. Just a perfect version of this type of coaster.

Superman was running one side, the forward facing one. It was also a walk on (happy with my decision to wait it out and not buy Flash Pass at this point) it was ok, and I could see how cool it'd have been when it was new, but there wasn't much to it. I think the backwards launch looking downward would've been more thrilling.

Headed to Revolution next and sort of got lost again, but found my way. I did ride Revolution last time I was there, but it was "NEW Revolution" era with OTSRs and I thought it sort of sucked. Now it's "New Revolution Classic" which is an oxymoron, but whatevs. Lap bars are way better and it's a much more enjoyable ride, but for Schwarzkopf terrain rides like this, Super Duper Looper is still much better.

X2 had been showing a wait of 1 hour all day, and I was considering the $15 one-time fastpass for this ride. (The other rides had the one-time option for $5). The line was now at 40 minutes, and I had accomplished my goal of riding all the things that I hadn't so I decided to wait in line. I wanted to ride this again, last time I was there it was only X and not X2 with the effects. They were only running one train, and not unloading at the separate station. It was about 6 or 7 minutes between dispatches so the line sucked. It was less than 1/2 hour, though, with the ride ops assigning seats so it always ran full. The biggest delay seemed to be people not knowing where to exit when they got off the ride. I absolutely loved this ride last time I rode it, and it was a total WTF that I had no idea what I went through when I got off. I still want to love this ride and its unique design, but it just isn't good any more. You know that Arrow shake? This ride had it, but not in the running track. The shimmy was on the track that controlled the angle of the tilt. So when you were going on the course it was like you were bouncing around and being shaken forward and back the whole time. It made it extremely uncomfortable even though the train itself tracked well. It's a shame as it has so much potential. Also none of the effects worked. POS.

I got my picture with Daffy Duck and checked out a gift shop. It was still only around 3pm. I was getting hungry so I weighed my options. All the food I saw looked overpriced and boring. So I decided that I was going to skip the walk to the top of the hill and forego Tatsu since it was still showing 45 minutes and the incline thing wasn't running. I was going to do Goliath and maybe RR, then skedaddle. Then, Goliath broke and they evacuated the line. That was my sign. I decided to leave.

All in all it was a good day. The park looked and ran great except for the top of the top of the mountain. Some rides were running fewer trains than normal, but this was a Monday at the end of their off-season so that's expected and understandable. Operations were mostly good and the employees seemed to be having fun and engaging guests. And I spent a grand total of $40.

Drove to Venice Beach and got a pretty good sandwich and salad on the beach then headed to the airport to turn in my chick magnet (Toyota Camry).

Side note: LAX sucks. The food options in the terminal suck. It's overcrowded. There are not nearly enough outlets or charging ports, and the ones that are there don't work. Beer is cheaper on the damn plane.

sooperdooperLooper.
I haven’t been to Magic Mountain in years. I’d pick up close to ten credits, but every time I read a report a trip there seems like a bad idea. Both on and off season have their own set of challenges.

kpjb:

LAX sucks.

It does. We try to avoid it, but now that the youngest is at UCLA, it's a frequent destination. At least the new SkyClub there is nice.

I went to Magic Mountain once in January of 2014. I prepared for the worst and somehow had a day where the stars aligned and I had a non-Six Flags day at a Six Flags park. Every coaster and major ride was open, save for the water rides which were closed for their winter maintenance. Every coaster was running multiple trains, save for Batman: The Ride, which had a sign out front apologizing for the longer than normal wait time because it was only running one train due to the other train undergoing annual maintenance. Ride crews were good. I probably got 40+ rides throughout the day as I had the run of the place. It was sunny and cool. One of those perfect weather days where it was warm enough for a t shirt and shorts but I didn't even break a sweat walking up and down those hills. There was no reason for the park to be as functional it was for such a slow day. I also got to ride old Colossus about six months before it closed, which had always been a bucket list ride for me.

It is closing in on ten years and it is still one of the best days I have ever had at an amusement park. I would love to go back. But I also feel like I hit the Magic Mountain jackpot and wouldn't want to go back and have the traditional Six Flags Day. Part of me is just happy to have the memory of that day.

kpjb:

1) I'd say better than Five Guys

2) First stop, Full Throttle,

3) Later I'd figure out that if a ride opened late, it just showed "closed today" on the app until it opened. Turns out that almost everything opened by noon.

4) Twisted Colossus next..... and the dueling thing really added to the fun.

5) West Coast Racers. It was, however, fairly boring. It was fine, mind you. Not rough or anything, just didn't do anything for me.

6) I think if I would've thrown a rock at it it'd fall down like that time Nelson Bart and Milhouse went to the World's Fair on the Simpsons.

7) X2... POS.

8) I got my picture with Daffy Duck

9) Side note: LAX sucks. The food options in the terminal suck. It's overcrowded. There are not nearly enough outlets or charging ports, and the ones that are there don't work.

1) I'd say the bag your Five Guys comes in tastes better than Five Guys, but even the bag is saturated in oil.

2) Best ride in the park, IMO

3) This was somewhat my experience at SFGAm last summer, except Maxx Force was down for the entire day.

4) You got a duel? Lucky!

5) 2nd best ride in the park, IMO. Also, the only reliable way to get a duel, haha. P.S. Sorry you lost out on a perceived credit.

6) Sick reference bro!

7) Paint shaker

8) A man after my own heart!

9) Don't I know it! I'd ask what terminal you were in, but does it even matter?

Thanks, I really enjoyed your TR. I'm thinking of visiting in a few weeks but am undecided. Only new to me coaster would be the RMC Single Rail.

Tommytheduck:

I'd ask what terminal you were in, but does it even matter?

Terminal 5, because I flew friggin' Spirit. I always say I won't do it again, but a nonstop flight from PIT to LAX was $62 and that's hard to pass up.

I need to go through my track record and see how many of my coaster/park credits are because of the insanely cheap Spirit (and Frontier) flights I was able to score. As much as I hate flying those airlines, the cost makes it the default choice nearly every time I fly.

I always say I'll never fly Spirit again too, but I just keep coming back. ;)

Just landed from a redeye to the East coast (Seeing family and Hersheypark). Everytime I land from a redeye, I say “never again” but then I go to book a flight and “look how much time and money I can save taking a redeye!!”

I did a stint flying back and forth between SEA and DTW for the better part of a year. The SEA->DTW leg is too short to really get any decent sleep on the red eye, so I started intentionally connecting through ATL. The SEA->ATL leg is about the same time in the air, I'd grab a quick breakfast (decaf) on the layover, and another hour or two of sleep on the way home. It was much better.

ApolloAndy:

. Everytime I land from a redeye, I say “never again”

I do the same thing every time I book one of those 5am or 6am departures to get somewhere early to have a full day. From the time the alarm goes off at 3:30am until I land I curse myself for doing it. But I still do it (and benefit from it)

@Brian Noble, your post makes no sense to me. If the first leg provides the same amount of sleeping time, why are you intentionally flying a second leg instead of getting to your destination hours earlier? Sleep in your rental car. Or hotel. Even on a bench at DTW. Whatever, too much can go wrong with connections and the only time you should ever opt for them is when the price is 3 figures different or more.

Also. Never connect through ATL. Ever.

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Ever

On a recent ATL layover I was concerned about my 40 minute layover, because ATL, but for the first time ever not only did I not have to rush to another terminal, but landed at A16 and my connector took off from A14.

Unfortunately ATL can be unavoidable depending on where you're coming from or going to. The same is true regarding connecting flights in general if you're headed to a smallish airport, or if flying on a specific day. I recently flew DTW->CHS and back, and there were literally no direct flights there, but there was one back (6AM every day except Wednesday).

Also CLT. I had a 20-minute layover, gates at opposite ends, ran the whole way, yelled down the terminal "DON'T CLOSE THE DOOR!" and barely made it. Hate that airport.

Flying to Munich in September and they tried to book me with a 35 minute layover in CLT. Yeah, no. Not doing that.

Atlanta is avoidable.... just don't fly Delta! I swear Delta will connect you in Atlanta to fly from Phoenix to Denver.

Flying out of CAK on American pretty much everything goes through CLT, and to make it worse the CAK flights always come into the E terminal. And inevitably the next flight is out of the A terminal, B if you are lucky. Have to watch the layover times closely.

Maybe this should go in the hot takes thread, but CLT is one of my favorite airports anywhere. I love flying through there.

I should also note that so long as I can avoid it, I never book connections less than an hour in duration, and I aim for at least 90 minutes to give myself breathing room and time to eat, if possible.

United Airlines has technology that will hold your connecting flight, especially if multiple pax are yet to still board due to delays. It makes traveling with connections so much easier.

While I won't say that I love CLT, I don't mind flying through it. I have been there enough times to be comfortable with its layout and know where I need to go. Dealing with unfamiliar airports does get a bit stressful for me, especially if there is a tight connection.

I have heard people say that airlines will hold a plane but I have always wondered how real that is. It seems like that would multiply the problem to other flights.

Airlines will hold planes under certain conditions. Much of my career was in airline operations, and I often had to make those decisions. A lot of factors would come into play, such as the below non-exhaustive list:

• How many people?
• How long will the hold be?
• Are there flights with space later in the day?
• Will this impact connecting passengers later in the day? (side note: a lot of bad decisions got made when this criterion was overlooked)
• What is the cause of the delayed inbound flight? I’d note here that weather- and ATC-related delays were the least likely to result in flights holding.
• Are there external factors that make holding the flight untenable? Things like approaching storms, airport curfews (common at several mid-size airports on the west coast in particular) would fall under this one.

I suspect different airlines are more lenient with these than others, but even looking at all these, it wasn’t uncommon to see multiple flights hold at the stations I worked at over the course of a given day, and at times an entire bank of flights might hold for a late inbound that was loaded with connections.