Six Flags Magic Mountain 2009 coaster will be family ride

Hey, maybe it will be a Mack mouse non-spinning that's themed to Tony Hawk indoors. How's that? Tricky, Shapiro you are. I wonder how many more rides they are planning on taking out of the park. If they are going to do this, this might as well just sold the park. Maybe, they will dump the Shoot-the-Chutes ride like Great America and Great Adventure is. For Wiggle's World, I imagine they take out even more rides.

It's the "kiddie" park coaster capital of the world. Yeah.

"Despite rampant speculation, the themed coaster will not be a rotating Tony Hawk’s Big Spin or an indoor Dark Knight, according to officials at the Valencia amusement park."

Why do I get the feeling they listen to the podcast. ;)

^ LMAO!

I thought the same thing.

I smell GCI... but that's just me. ;)

Yeah, I call a Rumbler-sized GCI.

Here's to wishful thinking. Might warrant a visit should they do that.

Location of Wiggles World. Former site of Flashback.

Evil K. clone - former site of Psyclone.

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Tricky, Shapiro you are. I wonder how many more rides they are planning on taking out of the park. If they are going to do this, this might as well just sold the park. Maybe, they will dump the Shoot-the-Chutes ride like Great America and Great Adventure is. For Wiggle's World, I imagine they take out even more rides.

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Due to your passion, I am assuming you are a fan of the park in some way. So, you finally get a CEO for a company who starts making intelligent decisions by taking out useless, outdated, unimportant rides, and now there's complaining?

I hear it will be the first Stand up Vekoma motobike coaster, themed to Heely shoes.

Seriously though I'm hearing it's nothing more then an un enclosed Dark Knight coaster without the Dark Knight theme. If so i'm disapointed beyond words, this is something they could of threw in this year to start filling the spaces of the 7 other rides they took out.

The location is still said the be the old circus wheel location, where the Tony Hawk was suppose to go, So Imo it may not be tony hawk, or dark knight but it is still some mouse type coaster if that's infact the location of the new coaster.

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If so i'm disapointed beyond words, this is something they could of threw in this year to start filling the spaces of the 7 other rides they took out.

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a) the 7 rides needed to go

b) you cant just "throw in" a new coaster when you are spending millions upgrading X, making other improvements, etc.

Sounds like you liked the old establishment that had no concept of long-term goals.

c) Shapiro has stated that the flat rides will be replaced.

The location is still said the be the old circus wheel location, where the Tony Hawk was suppose to go, So Imo it may not be tony hawk, or dark knight but it is still some mouse type coaster if that's infact the location of the new coaster.

There is a lot more space there than just the flat plot of land where the tilt-o-whirl was. The entire hillside, extending south under Superman over to the Yo-Yo and north to Gold Rusher's helix, is all wide open.

*** This post was edited by Mamoosh 2/27/2008 6:32:54 PM ***

Why on earth advertise intentions to be different, more family friendly and then build the usual, another roller coaster? It did not take much for Kings Island to redefine their list of attractions: Tomb Raider, some themed family rides. The best way to re-define the identity of the Magic Mountain is to build the unexpected, like investing in a large non-coaster attraction. They won't even have to advertise, their actions will speak for themselves.

Who cares if Disney has more dark rides then anywhere else. It just means more thrill-seeking families are going to be driving by the park on their way to Anaheim. Give them a reason to stop. Build a dark ride, add some diversity, some depth to the list of attractions. If people think all that MM has to offer is roller coasters, then families aren't going to stop to watch their teens ride coasters all day.

People don't go to Cedar Point just because of the roller coasters. There is lots to do there, they have a giant beach, its a great park. Kennywood has classic rides, but that's not why they come. They have tons of different types of rides, its a great park. Busch Gardens is a beautiful park, they don't even need the big attractions to bring the people in. Holiday World knows that just having the best wood coasters isn't enough. Just by offering free soda makes them money, and they've included one of the best water parks to boot. The rides at Animal Kingdom and Busch Africa is icing on the cake because they have two of the best zoos in the world. Knoebels can shut down their coasters and the food alone will bring the people in, again- great parks because there's plenty to them.

I can remember when Magic Mountain was great as well. But these guys don't seem to have a clue on how to make a park great, and all they have to do is look at its history when they had all sorts of rides with tons of families coming in. Roller coasters aren't enough. They need to stop worrying about their competition and market analysis and just focus on what makes a good amusement park.

Donate to good cause, send these guys some tickets to good parks. Then maybe they'll spend less time in the board room speculating about what people want.
*** This post was edited by rc-madness 2/27/2008 8:47:17 PM ***

^ Were you so excited to pick out all the things "wrong" with this news announcement that you failed to notice the title?

"Magic Mountain 2009 coaster will be family ride."

Not "Magic Mountain 2009 will break records with world's steepest this or fastest that."

Not to mention you completely failed to bring up the 2008 Thomas Town addition and the proposed Wiggles World also for 2009.

And those are all only plans that have been disclosed so far. We haven't even been kept in the loop about other plans for other attractions going into the park within the next 3 years that will replace the outdated rides that were removed this year.

Please stop being so short-sighted rc-madness.

^ Gonch, Are ya starting to get a swelled head being a micro celebrity? ;)

Shapiro stating plans to reclaim the highest coaster count is not an example of my short-sightedness kRaxle. Believe me when I say that I'm as happy as anyone for any positive news heading Magic Mountain's way. I'm just re-stating the obvious that more roller coasters for this park is not the good news some are hoping for. Will Thomas Town and Wiggles World be what makes Magic Mountain great again? I sure hope so before Shapiro gets frustrated starts looking for potential buyers again.
*** This post was edited by rc-madness 2/27/2008 10:44:07 PM ***

Oh no.

Okay rc-madness. I'm going to assume you're not following up closely with what's been happening at the park as of late -- and this assumption comes from the content and tone-of-voice from your posts.

The "good news" are completely off-radar to most members here because they're completely unaware of them as they happen. What I'm talking about is all the aesthetic and infrastructure improvements we've all been saying the park needs to take care of first before doing anything else. But because majority of the people at CoasterBuzz that have been to this park dislike it (for whatever reasons), most generally don't show any interest in keeping tabs on what's been happening with the park unless it is brought to their attention (like right now lol).

I'm providing a list of all of the changes and improvements that have been made during this off-season operating up until now --- and also what is to be expected for the 2008 season:

1. Removal of six outdated, unsightly and maintenance budget draining attractions in Freefall, Flashback, Spin Out, Sierra Twist, Granny Gran Prix and Circus Wheel. (Current)

2. Resurfacing and repaving of cracked or worn-down midways. (Current)

3. Complete refurbishment of Jet Stream flume ride. Boats completely overhauled and flume sections replaced. (Current)

4. The park's towering marquee signage alongside Interstate-5 repainted and electrical/lighting work updated. (Completed)

5. New 3-point basketball court-style midway game. (Upcoming)

6. Second Johnny Rockets restaurant location. (Upcoming)

7. "CSI: Live" - a new live entertainment show that will allow family members participate in solving the mystery behind a staged crime scene. (Upcoming)

8. New Thomas Town themed area for kids featuring a water play area and the new Thomas the Tank Engine railroad ride. (Underway)

9. Problematic X transformated into "X2" with 3 brand new trains at a cost of $6 million dollars and also $4 million allotted to aesthetic, theming, lighting, sound effects and multiple tunnel additions. (Underway)

10. Goldrusher roller coaster's station house completely repainted. (Completed)

11. Sky Tower transformed into the Sky Tower Museum -- showcasing Magic Mountain's past ride and park history with memorabilia displays and collector's items (Underway)

12. Viper roller coaster completely repainted and trains refurbished. (Completed)

13. Old coffee house in Six Flags Plaza area to be remodeled and transformed into a Cyber Cafe for parents. (Upcoming)

14. New shelfing/storage fixtures in all roller coaster loading platforms to completely reduce clutter on floor (which poses a safety hazard) left by guests that decided they were too cheap to use the designated "no loose articles" lockers provided. (Completed)

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Was any of that the good news some of you were hoping for? Or are you still upset about the new for '09 roller coaster?

You know what the best part about the list above is? That it's yet to grow as the year continues.

The response to the question "Does Magic Mountain really need another roller coaster" to most of us here is a pretty straight-forward "no." It's a given. But keep in mind it's not like they're introducing a record breaker for the thrill-seeking demographic. It's going to be a family coaster. For FAMILIES to enjoy together.

Sure, flat-rides would have been great...but for anybody that actually listened to the interview Shapiro had at Magic Mountain with Robb Alvey..."Be patient. In due time, we will eventually fill out the park."

*** This post was edited by kRaXLeRidAh 2/27/2008 11:35:04 PM ***

I assume that it wasn't until Shapiro decided not to sell that all these improvements got underway. Making up for lost time, glad to hear it. Is it the news that makes me think the park will be okay, that they've figured things out, plotted a new direction, solved the park's identity crisis? No, but that's my opinion.

Six Flags has spent a decade taking this park in the wrong direction. It is going to take more then kiddy parks, restaurants, themed roller coasters and ride maintenance to make it great again. Roller coaster construction got the park into this ditch. Announcing a new direction by stating plans for more roller coasters makes no sense to me.

More than any park I've been to Magic Mountain is one-dimensional, roller coaster focused. I've gone with friends and family who don't ride them, they've got nothing to do. It didn't used to be that way. And its not just me, the park has established that reputation and suffered for it. It will take something big to shake that impression out of people's minds.

What Shapiro needed to say was, "Roller coaster, hell no. We'll be investing in large non-coaster attractions until everyone knows there's more to the Mountain then just riding the rails."

And on that note I'll say again, thank god for Tatsu.
*** This post was edited by rc-madness 2/28/2008 12:30:38 AM ***

Great post Kraxleridah.

I had written off SFMM as "horrible park, never to visit again" in 2005. I returned last year and had a good time, with the park operating multiple trains everywhere and even going as far as opening Ninja at 3pm (the park closed at 6pm). Now with all those improvements coming, I'm going back for sure this april. The park is trying, making some good efforts and they deserve to be supported through all this.

I wonder what part of FAMILY rc-madness doesn't get? Just because it's a coaster instead of a flat, doesn't mean it's not a family ride. Look at Woodstock Express at CP. The smaller coasters at KI. If it serves the purpose of being a themed, family attraction, then what is the big deal if it's a coaster?