Six Flags Magic Mountain announces another kiddie coaster

It seems kind of strange they are adding a 4th kiddie coaster when they already have so many. If they only had 1 kiddie coaster that anyone over 54" couldn't ride, I could see another kiddie coaster without a height limit being a good addition so parents can ride with their kids but otherwise this just seems like they are trying to up their coaster count so when they add another coaster they can advertise how they now have 20 coasters.

I guess SFMM doesn't believe there are any other ride options outside of rollercoasters at this point to draw crowds? Kind of sad. There are so many great flat/family rides and other thrill rides I can think of that the park is sorely lacking, yet they seem to continue to have this single-minded focus on coaster count. Their attendance isn't growing with this focus, yet history shows when the park had more "balance" to it they were pulling in 3+ million guests a year. How do they not connect the dots?

But didn't Magic Mountain *just* add an interactive dark ride? Kidding, obviously....

The other SF parks seem to be interested in other offerings. I wish they'd just do a ride package like SFOT did a few years ago with some decent flats, paint everything, and focus on atmosphere. They have enough coaster.

I would assume all cap ex is approved at the corporate level, but it's still a really strange strategy.

[Yawn] Still using the "Most Coasters" marketing strategy? That is so late 1990s-early 2000s.

The kiddie coaster capital of the world!

The title has been vacant since Wild Adventures retired...

I think a lot of it has to do with the competition the park is up against in the local area.

With Disney's two West Coast parks, Knott's Berry Farm, Universal Studios Hollywood, and Legoland within a 100 mile radius, Magic Mountain has relied on its heavy push on thrill-rides and roller coasters for the past few decades to define itself in a highly competitive market.

And while an ad for a record-breaking roller coaster has more appeal than a bunch of flat-rides, I still do think there is no excuse for them to not offer more variety in-between every large roller coaster installation.

My biggest problem with the park is not so much its lack of variety in attractions, but just how poorly the deferred maintenance is handled at the park. All the facilities are in dire need of being replaced, the natural landscaping is overgrown, and there is an absolute disregard for the overall aesthetic of its parkways.

As for the 19th coaster...I don't think it odd that the park will operate four junior coasters by the end of this year. Proportionally to the overall count of 19, four junior coasters is actually not that many. I just find it mind-boggling we actually have an amusement park approaching the 20-coaster count mark. That number is absolutely ridiculous.

I'll bet they regret tearing down Z-Force now...

Lord Gonchar said:

The kiddie coaster capital of the world!

LMFAO Those were my exact thoughts. Are they really using all these kiddie-coasters to continue to have "World's Most Coasters". It seems pretty lame and cheap. I guess I'd rather be "The Roller Coaster Capital of the World" or "World's Best Roller Coaster Collection" than "World's Most Coaster (which include tons of fillers so we can keep this record) In One Park."

They really need to get some nice flatrides and thrillrides other than coasters. Don't get me wrong. They have some great coasters and X2, Riddler's Revenge, Superman, and Apocalypse are on my list of 'most wanted to ride'.

I was at SFMM in October, and honestly I think the place could use some house cleaning more than anything. Obviously it's lacking flat rides, and I completely agree with the overkill on adding coasters. But there are several plots of land that used to be home to rides, that are now just run down, overgrown, and generally looking like crap.

D vo, I've never visited SFMM, but have followed it through media and websites like Coasterbuzz. Obviously it's one of several parks out there that got caught up in the coaster craze era and ignored improving other areas. We've all seen how things can go stale pretty quickly following that pattern.