Six Flags Magic Mountain announces Lex Luthor: Drop of Doom

LostKause said:
Josh, standing in line for hours and hours is not entertainment. Just saying.

Most forms of entertainment come with a cost. Waiting in line is one of the costs for amusement park rides (and some other forms of entertainment as well). If the enjoyment of the entertainment is worth the costs, you go. If not, you don't.

On average, I spend less time waiting in lines than I did ten years ago, and not just because I hate standing in lines. Part of that might be that my home park is Cedar Point, and they've ridiculously increased their overall capacity over that time period, but I think that's a general trend around the industry.

That's a really good counterpoint, Jeff. The lines at CP have got a lot shorter with every new ride installed.

BUT, on the other hand, most of those new rides could handle more than a few hundred people per hour, so maybe high capacity has something to do with it too.

Oh, Gator, that why I said, "with a few exceptions". I can think of more than a few Disney rides and attractions that have pretty crappy capacity, but their are some that have amazing capacity.

I honestly find this discussion rather pointless

Just 10 months ago everyone on these(or other Messageboards) would have argued that SFMM should get rid of this big tower in the middle of there park

Now the Park did something smart and invested in a "old school" ride and actually made 4 different ride experiences out of it(if one side will run forward next year)

Now we argue about capacity of a "Tower" that nobody cared for a couple of months ago

Makes no sense

I would say, good job SFMM!

I've not observed any such discussions.

You have not observed discussions about "capacity" and "lines" in this thread?

No. I think he's talking about getting rid of the tower. I don't remember any such nonsense, either.

Oh, ok. My mistake.

I was just pointing out that most people thought that Superman was not a "must do" ride at SFMM before the "upgrade" and now a year later we talk about "capacity issues" when it comes to the tower, so there is something that SFMM did right

Raven-Phile, I am certain you meant no disregard in this comment:

"Operating a ride, shoveling trash or serving food != a "career in the industry" "

Let me just remind folks that every single position in a park plays a vital role in creating a positive guest experience. Someone who operates a ride, cleans a restroom or serves food is as valuable and worthy as a Director, Park President or full-time manager. Without them there would be no amusement park to enjoy. I see these type of comments pop-up on forums from time-to-time and I personally find them to offensive, especially having been an HR Manager.

Is a 16-seat drop tower that out of the ordinary? The PittFall is a 16-seater and rarely has a line over 10 minutes. I've never waited for Power Tower or Dr Doom for more than a couple cycles. I imagine after a few years, this will be the same.

I think it's freakin' awesome that they're modifying the tower to do this. It's the most innovative and unexpected announcement I've heard in a while. All in all, I'm damn impressed with the Six Flags additions across the board.

Wow you'd think kpjb worked in the industry or something.

I'm almost afraid to jump in here, but for some reason I also tend to automatically think of capacity issues whenever a new ride is announced, and this one was no exception. I guess in the end it won't matter to me, as I never go there, but I did wonder why only two drop towers up the side of the coaster? Why not one (or two) more up the back of the structure as well? There may be structural/engineering/cost issues around it, I dont know, but it seemed to me that while they were at it that 4 tracks with only 6 riders would be better than 2 with 8. Just sayin.

As mentioned above, larger parks with tons of rides have an advantage over smaller ones. And maybe when you throw in a couple of people-eaters like Diamondback and Windseeker your crowd won't mind the queue for Firehawk that moves at a snails pace. But I've seen fist fights break out in 2 hour lines on a hot day, and the number one complaint I hear from park-goers is about lines.

I'm a worry wart about two things when I'm on my way to a park, one being weather and the other being the crowd and whether we have long wait times. I can't help it.

I just canceled my Kings Island trip for those two reasons, RCMAC. I was planning to go tomorrow, the Sunday before Labor Day, but a few days ago I touched base with my family members who were going to go with me and we all decided that a Holiday weekend in which the weather is calling for thunderstorms might not give us the best chance for short lines or open rides. We could have been wrong, but now we might go during Fright Fest Our plans will probably get canceled for the same reasons. I just hate long lines and overcrowded midways.

If they were offering their "give-us-money-and-we-will-bend-the-no-cutting-rule-just-for-you" pass, we might have decided to go.

I still think the capacity issue is overblown. Drop Of Doom will have the same projected hourly capacity as the 1st generation freefall, which operated in several parks for decades. Add to that, this freakin ride is 400ft high with your feet hanging right over the edge. Intimidation will keep a few people from stepping foot on it.

I don't want to be a sour puss either but capacity is also an issue for me. I really hate waiting in lines. Well I really don't know anyone who enjoys it. While I know that is the nature of the beast, waiting in line costs me more rides for the day. I don't like shelling out my money to do something I hate. However, I really enjoy thrill rides so most of the time I wait. But there is a tipping point. I have been to CP on a couple of occasions where I did not ride MF, my favorite coaster at CP, because the line was 2 hours +.

As far as drop towers, like most, they still scare the crap out of me no matter how many times I had already been on it. The tallest one I have been on was at KI when it was called Drop Zone and I actually thought "what was I thinking as it climbed to the top". This is coming from a coaster lover. I am certain the casual park goer may skip a ride of this nature out of fear.

Now here comes Drop of Doom. Skipping past the 300s and going right to 400, I have to say they may have actually built a thrill ride I might NOT go on. I would give it 60% that I would ride if I go to MM. Which makes me think this ride may "scare" long lines away. When I saw the stats, my first thought was "holy shi*!". I have to say, I am impressed with everything but the capacity but it just may not be an issue.

I think it's funny that most people complaining about capacity here are also talking about how they're not likely to either:

A) Go to the park (at least any time soon)

B) Ride this

So why complain?

What the hell else would we talk about? ;) :P

I don't think anyone has mentioned this yet. But, unless I'm missing something, Marineland already has the world's tallest drop ride at 450'.

http://www.marinelandcanada.com/attractions/skyscreamer/

<edit to add>

They say highest not tallest, is this just marketing? Do they have this thing up on top of a hill or something? Or are they measuring to the bottom of the falls? If that's what the case, wouldn't the one on top of the Stratosphere be the highest?

Marineland includes the topography of the land to get that number. Note they say the world's highest rather than tallest. (and even that's incorrect)

It's just Power Tower-sized S&S tower on top of a hill that stands 150 feet over the rest of the park.

You got your post in right as I was editing mine :-)