Six Flags Magic Mountain tops off Full Throttle

As the first viewer and first poster of this new discussion topic, I'd like to say that Full Throttle looks like an awesome, but brief, ride.

Very brief. Is the park commenting on the ride time? I would guess 25 seconds from launch to breaks, depending on how long the stop in the tunnel is.

And I mean, it's just a loop, like we have all rode before. And it's just an airtime hill, like we have all rode on before. I don't see the appeal.

But hey! A short ride means a shorter line, I suppose; at least after the newness wears out.

There's only one train, right? Even if the ride is less than a minute long, you're still spending like three minutes or more loading and unloading between every cycle.

RCDB says 2 trains... http://rcdb.com/10948.htm.

"2 trains with 3 cars per train. Riders are arranged 2 across in 3 rows for a total of 18 riders per train."

LostKause said:
Very brief. Is the park commenting on the ride time? I would guess 25 seconds from launch to breaks, depending on how long the stop in the tunnel is.

And I mean, it's just a loop, like we have all rode before. And it's just an airtime hill, like we have e all rode on before. I don't see the appeal.

But hey! A short ride means a shorter line, I suppose; at least after the newness wears out.

Have you seen the completed coaster pics? Cause it's a little more than what you describe. I think the ride looks intense!

LostKause said: And I mean, it's just a loop, like we have all rode before. And it's just an airtime hill, like we have all rode on before. I don't see the appeal.

I trust you have never ridden one of these? Probably the funnest 32 seconds on a coaster you can get. Not high intensity, just fun. Full Throttle is going to be longer than an Anton Shuttle Loop, and probably more intense, but won't be as good cuz it's not an Anton. But I'm sure it will be a whole lotta fun and the people that go to Magic Mountain are gonna eat this thing up.

The cost of 3 launches has to be staggering, even with the improved efficiency. I could see the 2nd launch (backwards) eventually stopping and have it just go straight through with the 2nd forwards launch. But of course, they could market it with the backwards launch during Fright Fest or something... same as they do with American Eagle and Colossus running backwards sometimes (which is very cool, and the people definitely come out for that!)

Not saying the ride will be good or bad.

I just cringe every time a coaster is built like a TTD or a KK is built and all that Kinetic energy is haulted soon after by brakes.

KK which I loved BTW, Could have 4,000 ft of action coaster after the tophat but stops on the downhill side of what could be multiple airtime hills.

Full Throttle will come off a 170ft hill into brakes. :(

^I couldn't agree more, Chuck. There is so much energy there. How about a rise into a block break, with a nice twisty-filled ending including a heartline, some speedbumps or something. If the park wanted to, they would have built it so :) Costs lots of money. They will do the minimum to get the most profit (I know, it's a business...) Just look at the ending of Gatekeeper.

rollergator said:

RCDB says 2 trains... http://rcdb.com/10948.htm.

"2 trains with 3 cars per train. Riders are arranged 2 across in 3 rows for a total of 18 riders per train."

Oh well in that case it probably won't be too much longer than an average coaster wait as long as they can load and unload quickly.

I wonder if cost plays a part in that trend. The cost of some of these steel coasters is staggering. $25 million for a ride like Skyrush... seriously?

^At least the ride looks good, and you get good (albeit brief) views from the ride. Unlike I-305.

GayCoasterGuy said:

They will do the minimum to get the most profit (I know, it's a business...) Just look at the ending of Gatekeeper.

I looked at it...and?

LostKause said:

And I mean, it's just a loop, like we have all rode before. And it's just an airtime hill, like we have all rode on before. I don't see the appeal.

Well, there is also some twisty track after the loop and a very steep dive into the tunnel.

I think this coaster looks rather spectacular and deffinatly looking forward riding it over and over again

http://www.thecoasterguy.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/S...310_08.jpg

It's gonna suck because its being built at Six Flags.

Six Flags does stink.

^It's sad to see good sarcasm go unappreciated.

I too am defiantly looking forward to riding it.... ;~P

Need a Cali trip sometime soon, what with that crazed drop-ride at SFMM and the wooden coaster going up at CGA...

Full Throttle looks like it'll be a great ride. It seems like most are eyeing the new Rocky Mountain offerings, but I could see this one being the sleeper hit of 2013. I don't recall ever riding a Premier launcher that I didn't greatly enjoy (post-OTSR).

Re: Capacity. I was actually surprised by how quickly S:UF at SFDK moved a line. It's 1 train of 2, count 'em, 2 cars (12 per load) but because it's a launch, they actually managed to dispatch about every 1:15. I'm not saying that 576 pph is good or even acceptable for a ride of that caliber, but it's still better than Deja Vu, for instance.

I am surprised we're not seeing more Maverick/Cheetah Hunt style setups with shorter trains that load simultaneously. I have to believe you save on support structure with the lighter load and you don't lose on capacity. Is extra station hardware or extra staffing requirement the downside?