Six Flags Magic Mountain 12-17-12

I left Knott's Berry Farm at 12:30. I should have stopped and gotten something to eat, but not knowing how L.A. traffic would be midday on a Monday, and not knowing exactly how long the ride would be, I waited till I got to Six Flags, which was a mistake I'll get into in a bit. Overall, it to me about an hour and six minutes to make the drive from Knott's to Six Flags. Not bad, from what I can tell, in moderate traffic. Who says driving in L.A. is hard?

It went from beautiful to partly cloudy, to pretty dreary by the time I got to Magic Mountain. Why is it always dreary when I go to Magic Mountain? I was, however, happy when I arrived and saw things that made me happy. First, X2 was running. Second, there was only 1 lane open in to the park, which I hoped meant that it was about as busy as Knott's. Third, Getting into the parking lot, seeing a couple hundred cars, and parking right behind the handicapped spaces. Fourth, only one gate into the park open, followed by empty midways. There were more employees at Magic Mountain than guests.

Already, I was in a better mood than my first miserable experience, but then I was just heading in. Would the park be clean? Would the rides be opened? I figured without pressing my luck too much, I would head to my favorite coaster in California thus far...

X2-Because of the weather, the only 'enhancement' that was working that wasn't present from my last visit was the on board audio. I basically walked on to the front seat. I like the video that plays in the station, but I think it would get annoying with X2's notorious wait times. Going up the lift backwards is kind of weird. Now that I've done the Vekoma Flyers, it reminds me of that. And the trains bounce a bit. But that's okay, because what happens next is amazing. People can say what they want about X2, but I still love the ride. Love the forward facing fall down the first drop. Love flipping around and flying over the raven turn. Love the halftwist with half rotation (or whatever. I love the whole ride and wish there were more of these close. I don't care what the haters say, I love the ride. Especially when there isn't a line.

I really needed to eat by this point, as it was around 2pm and I'd only had water and a Red Bull all day. So I ate at Panda Express. It was good and fresh for theme park food. Unfortunately, it was probably the worst thing I could have eaten just before riding a bunch of rides with positive G forces. And since I had Chinese food, what better way to make myself sick than to go ride Tatsu.

Tatsu-First off, the bad. Eating just before riding was a terrible mistake. I was queasy for the entire rest of the day. The feeling never quite left until the last 30 minutes I was at the park, which meant that while I could have been riding and re-riding everything at Magic Mountain with it's ERT like conditions, I was instead sick. Now to the good. Tatsu is by far the best flying coaster. I didn't get a front seat ride, but that's okay. The first drop is fun around the sky tower, but after that, going way up in the air on the mountain, and then swooping down into the wooded areas, then flying back up, with amazing views of the park, this, THIS is what a flying coaster should be like. And that pretzel loop is still amazing.

So I got off queasy. I figured I'd head up the mountain and down the other side at this point. Unfortunately, Superman was blocked off. I have the credit, but it absolutely sucked the last time I was here, so I wanted to try it out now with the improvements. I wasn't extremely disappointed since I have ridden it, but I would have liked a shot. Oh well. I assume it was blocked off for construction of the new ride since a large area around it was blocked off. Lex kept testing but it was also closed. Part of me wanted it to open so I could ride, heck, it was part of the reason I came out west. The other part of me hoped it wouldn't open so I didn't have to ride. Yes, I'm very afraid of heights. So next up, I decided to ride something with no inversions, and hit up Goliath. I loved it the last time, but wasn't as impressed with Titan in Texas.

Goliath-To me, this one is better than Titan. The airtime hill after the turn around has airtime, where as my one Titan ride had none. I don't mind the forces you get in the helix. Didn't even come close to greying out. The first drop is still great, the turn around is kind of fun. The airtime hill delivered, and then you just kind of meander. I still like the coaster a lot. It has been surpassed in my rankings because I've ridden better stuff, but I still think it doesn't get the credit it deserves.

This trip had the ability to add 10 new credits to my count. I count both sides of a racing or two tracked coaster, so I could have gotten the other side of Superman had it been open, and the other side of Colossus I didn't get from my last visit. Unfortunately, Colossus was just as I'd left it, only running one side and one train. Sadly, it was the same side. Good for me, though, is that this time the line wasn't 90 minutes long, with the train getting filled up half way by Flash Passers as it was in 2005.

Colossus-Not that they needed to be running both sides or more than one train, mind you, but I would have liked to get the other credit. As far as Colossus goes, it's still very Meh. It has a few good hills, some air, and has a lot of potential. It wasn't nearly as painful this time, but still shuffles an aweful lot. It's just not that fun. I'd like to see Rocky Mountain Coasters come in and put topper track on the entire thing (which isn't much different than the I Beams on it now), restore the double down, and give it new trains. It would be a fun coaster then, I think.

I got off and took a seat near the entrance of Scream. Didn't feel like riding, but there was no line. I noticed that I actually had LTE on my phone, so I made a facetime call as I rested. After I had sat for a bit, I realized Lex Luthor was cycling with riders. I headed over, but decided to do a few things, including some pictures from the Sky Tower, before riding. I headed to Green Lantern, but it was down for a couple minutes, so I went up the mountain. Whew! What a hike. Once up there, I headed to the top of the Tower and took some photos. Wasn't up there long, and didn't want to wait 6 minutes for the next elevator, so I went down after taking my pictures. I headed to another credit that I missed last time due to the 90 minute wait on Colossus.

Ninja-I'm not a huge fan of suspended Arrow coasters. Big Bad Wolf was a lot of fun, but none of the rest do anything for me. Ninja, though, was very good. I liked it. It has a nice setting, and really made use of the terrain, which adds to the swinging and near missing. I'm actually very glad I finally got to ride this. The first drop was fun, the turns near the log flume, and the swinging thru the trees were all what this type of coaster was meant to do. Unfortunately, Flight Deck & Iron Dragon don't do enough of that.

The sun was starting to set. I headed over to the park's newest wooden coaster. The last time I rode a wooden coaster on that spot it was easily one of the worst 5 coasters I've been on. But you can't go wrong with a GCI.

Apocalypse The Ride-Solid coaster. It's no Thunder Head or American Thunder (I'm noticing a theme here), but it was very solid. Almost an empty train, and I should have went for another couple of spins. I liked the first drop. DIdn't really notice the station fly-thru. The tunnel was nice and had some nice pops of air. And anything is better with a flame thrower. I'd say Apocalypse is very middle of the road, but that's good. And it's way better than what used to be there (but at least I got the Psyclone credit).

I don't know if the kiddy coasters that adults can ride were even opened. I decided not to bother with them. It was getting dark and I still had a couple of new things to ride, and a few re-rides I needed to make. I headed over to another super hero next.

Green Lantern: First Flight-I sat facing the front. Very short line, and they were only loading one side of the car, so there were 2 girls siting behind me, and no one else on the ride (seriously, there was barely anyone at the park, and there were more employees running the ride than people in line). This was an interesting experience. Would it be like X2? Once at the top I start rolling backwards. And then just drop. That was scary but fun. During the first half there was some rocking motion, but no really spinning. The second half was a bit less tame, and the last pop up before the brakes was nice as the care did almost a full spin. I'd love to ride this with some uneaven cars. I liked it. It could give a much better ride, but it's definitely got potential.

After Green Lantern, I needed a villian fix, so I headed over to Lex. It was a walk on.

Lex Luthor: Drop of Doom-First, the restrains were very comfy. I like these much better. I'm very afraid of heights, but on Intamin drop rides, the worst part is the slow ascent and then feeling like you're a the top forever. You go up this one pretty quickly. And you're not at the top very long. The drop goes on for quite a while. To me, this is the world's best non-Tower of Terror drop ride. I almost got back in line, but it was getting late. I'm glad I rode, and will definitely give it another shot on my next visit.

I snuck around for another Goliath ride, and then headed to a classic over on the mountain, snapping pix the entire way.

Revolution-Have the restraints been changed on this? Seemed different than the last time. More comfy, but still not the way Antons were meant to be. But I digress. Anyways, Revolution is one of those coasters that I would like to have ridden early on, but after all of the foliage grew in. I got a decent ride on it in the front. I feel as thought it has so much potential. It gave a good ride, but you just don't get very many coasters that have airtime and inversions. I'm not one to complain much about trims and OTSRs, but they make a difference on this ride. I still like it, but I don't love it the way I want to.

It was dark out now and the park was closing soon so I ran over for another ride on X2. They put me in the second seat, which was fine. The ride is still a ton of fun. Afterwards I stopped for a potty break (funny story about the bathroom nearest to the carousel. It caused a heated conversation the last time I was there about unisex restrooms. I headed out of the park to get gas and drive back to Vegas. This was so much better than the last visit. Even if I were sick and it was gloomy, the half day was a billion times better. There were no lines, there were no crowds, rides were opened. They even opened Lex pretty late. The park was even clean! I do wish they'd paint some of the larger rides, and it could use some more (newer) flats, but it was infinitely better than last time. I'm glad they've invested some money in theming and sprucing the park up. I just wish it wasn't so hit or miss.

Great trip report! I am sorry you were queasy the whole day though. :( I know the feeling...at at the taco stand at Great Adventure before riding Superman, and a piece of taco meat came back up my throat on the pretzel. Not from puking, I mean fully formed piece of meat! *chuckle* it made me cough, and then we were stuck on the station brakes for forever. Throat irritated, stomach burning from tacos...ugh!

Still don't think I'll ever ride Lex. I've just started doing drop towers and still would rather NOT.

X2 is one of my "priority" coasters. I'll get to do it some day!

Sounds like a good day. I liked Magic Mountain when I was there about 7 years ago. Not my favorite park, but a nice mix of coasters. Glad to hear they're improving, too.

Tekwardo said:

X2-... People can say what they want about X2, but I still love the ride. Love the forward facing fall down the first drop. Love flipping around and flying over the raven turn. Love the halftwist with half rotation (or whatever. I love the whole ride and wish there were more of these close. I don't care what the haters say, I love the ride. Especially when there isn't a line.

I've ridden X2 a few times, over the years. The extra rotation of the seats is really well done in my opinion. It is what I expected of Green Lantern but was not to be.

Tatsu-... Tatsu is by far the best flying coaster. I didn't get a front seat ride, but that's okay. The first drop is fun around the sky tower, but after that, going way up in the air on the mountain, and then swooping down into the wooded areas, then flying back up, with amazing views of the park, this, THIS is what a flying coaster should be like. And that pretzel loop is still amazing.

Maybe because it was a flying coaster, or maybe I just had a good day, but Tatsu is currently my top, "WTF did I just ride?" coaster. I honestly felt like I was personally flying like a super hero ... with flapping cape behind me as I flew...

... Unfortunately, Superman was blocked off. I have the credit, but it absolutely sucked the last time I was here, so I wanted to try it out now with the improvements...

Superman is MUCH better now. It is faster, higher, and the visuals are much better.

Goliath-... I've ridden better stuff, but I still think it doesn't get the credit it deserves.

It is a solid coaster. If you are not in good shape, and not used to extended G's, that helix pushes the limits of todays generation of gaming fat kids.

... Unfortunately, Colossus was just as I'd left it, only running one side and one train. Sadly, it was the same side...

Colossus-Not that they needed to be running both sides or more than one train, mind you, but I would have liked to get the other credit. As far as Colossus goes, it's still very Meh. It has a few good hills, some air, and has a lot of potential. It wasn't nearly as painful this time, but still shuffles an aweful lot...

What side were they running? In the many times I'd been at the park I had always ridden in the outside. I've even ridden the outside backwards.

This last time I got a ride on the inside. I had a GOOD , FUN , RIDE. I had almost given up on this ride with how bad the prior rides had been. It appears that SFMM isn't yet willing to just let this ride die.

Ninja-I'm not a huge fan of suspended Arrow coasters. Big Bad Wolf was a lot of fun, but none of the rest do anything for me... I'm actually very glad I finally got to ride this. The first drop was fun, the turns near the log flume, and the swinging thru the trees were all what this type of coaster was meant to do.

Ninja always seems to have a line of people willing to wait for the ride even with "better" rides in the park. I liked BBW a little better, and it looks like SF is not currently willing to maintain it at its past levels.

Apocalypse The Ride-Solid coaster... I'd say Apocalypse is very middle of the road, but that's good. And it's way better than what used to be there (but at least I got the Psyclone credit).

I think I agree with your assessment of this ride being very middle of the road. It was OK good, and NOT bad. I enjoyed the ride, but I did not find it in any way to be special; and I think only one effect actually worked, and I blinked and didn't even personally see it.

Green Lantern: First Flight-...This was an interesting experience. Would it be like X2? ...but it's definitely got potential.

At least four of us walked off that ride in pain. I'll never ride it again.

Lex Luthor: Drop of Doom-First, the restrains were very comfy. I like these much better. I'm very afraid of heights, but on Intamin drop rides, the worst part is the slow ascent and then feeling like you're a the top forever. You go up this one pretty quickly. And you're not at the top very long. The drop goes on for quite a while. To me, this is the world's best non-Tower of Terror drop ride. I almost got back in line, but it was getting late. I'm glad I rode, and will definitely give it another shot on my next visit.

I didn't used to be afraid of heights at all. Old age effects us all in some ways.

To this day I do not know why my sweaty palms dried out on the way up the tower. I ENJOYED the ride up ... and the visuals.

I was on the OUTSIDE seat.

The airtime zero G to the magnetic brakes was AMAZING to experience. The line was to long for me to justify riding it the next day at the park.

Revolution-Have the restraints been changed on this? Seemed different than the last time. More comfy, but still not the way Antons were meant to be... I still like it, but I don't love it the way I want to.

From 1976 it is fast approaching a 40 year old coaster, in the outdoors.

I don't know if the restraints have been changed, but I experienced a LOT less head banging and cauliflower ears on my last ride; also left me wondering if something is different about the restraints.

... Even if I were sick and it was gloomy, the half day was a billion times better... rides were opened. They even opened Lex pretty late. The park was even clean! I do wish they'd paint some of the larger rides, and it could use some more (newer) flats, but it was infinitely better than last time. I'm glad they've invested some money in theming and sprucing the park up. I just wish it wasn't so hit or miss.

The bathrooms are terribly stinky.

The park is generally ... well not really like a park.

SFMM has some really good coasters though if you can get around the whole idea of a "park".

Hope you enjoyed my review of your trip report.

Well Im sorry your almost perfect day was marred by an upset tummy. You missed three of my most favorite roller coasters, Riddler's Revenge, Scream, and Viper. If havent ridden a floorless coaster before its a definite treat, and Scream is my 2nd favorite (behind Medsua at SFDK) of them all. As far as Apocalypse, I feel the same about it as I do about Roar and American Thunder - They are good quick coasters, but dont seem to have the character that Colossus, American Eagle, or the Beast have. Just my opinion on that one. I hope you feel better on your next coaster journey...Eat a big yet semi-light bfast before riding (stay away from McDonalds!) =)

KTH

this tr is soooo eleven months ago....

An oldie... But a goody.

Been a few days since my reply, and a weekend in-between also... so I don't remember exactly how I found this trip report to reply to it.

My original intent was to ask the OP what side Colossus was running. I admit I got a little carried away with adding more then that.

But, I can tell you that I can be lazy at times. And, I can also tell you that it was easier to just add my own comments than it would have been to create my own trip report.

Next time I'll to find a trip report that is only 10 months old to reply too...