Six Flags Magic Mountain's new Drop of Doom opening delayed

I posted this story mostly because of the quote they used:

"I just canceled my trip to Six Flags Magic Mountain and will be visiting Knott's Berry Farm instead. They don't have delays like this dump!"

Shame on them for repeating Internet stupidity.

Wow, that's absolutely awful. You can't fault them if they are a week behind schedule. Things happen. Now, a month/2 months/3 etc.. Is a completely different story, but an extra 7 days is nothing to write home about.

but an extra 7 days in April/May (like most of the East Coast parks) is not a big deal.

7 days that fall over the 4th of July holiday week, that is a big deal.

You forget that in SoCal, unlike a lot of (but not all of) the East, schools don't let out until Mid-late June. That's why Carsland opened on June 15. Memorial Day isn't the 'start' of summer out here. However, July 4th is a big deal, and this thing should have been up and marketing before then. Given that there is only the briefest of winter to disrupt construction (rains) I'm always surprised when MM and KBF attractions don't open in plenty of time to take advantage of the summer crowds.

It's a big deal for people who get stressed over piddly little insignificant things in life.

You mean like whether or not they have a bran muffin?

I think that's the point CreditWhore. Both parks have the rest of the year to make up for it. In fact, Knotts busiest season is fall, not summer.

And lol@ the silly comment...Knotts Windseeker was delayed this time last year.

Actually quoting whiny facebook comments for a "newspaper" article is silly.

I will say this though, the ad blitz among the other southern California parks right now is impressive. I was struck by the heavy saturation of tv spots during my recent trip. Even SWSD Manta ads seemed to be constantly playing.

Vater, your words ring so true. Thank god places like this forum exist where we all just laugh at those idiots who get all stressed over piddly details of amusement-park related stuff.

Seriously.

I always wonder why parks don't have new rides up and running by opening day, but what do I know.

Well, according to your logic Magic Mountain is just providing good customer service by leaving the ride closed ;-)

Because, sometimes delays happen, Travis.

Sometimes, McDonald's doesn't have hot fries ready when you go through the drive through, and they ask you to pull ahead and wait 2 minutes. This is the exact same situation. Sure, they could give you cold, soggy fries, but then they'd have a disappointed customer on their hands. Magic Mountain wants to make sure the ride is in top "hot french fries" shape before they open.

Who knows what happened? It could have been a delay in getting a state certification, it could have been a delay in getting enough concrete to finish the queue, it could have been a delay in getting enough speed rail to set up the cattle corral in the queue house. In any case, if they aren't ready to open the ride, then they aren't ready to open the ride. At least it's only 7 days, vs. the amount of time it took the Windseekers to open, or (do I even need to list this as an example?) Flying Turns, or even Black Diamond (but, nobody says anything when it's Knoebels).

Raven-Phile said:

At least it's only 7 days, vs. the amount of time it took the Windseekers to open, or (do I even need to list this as an example?) Flying Turns, or even Black Diamond (but, nobody says anything when it's Knoebels).

Or Maverick...

Oh, the enthusiast inside me is very understanding when the delay is caused by some kind of problem. I'm just saying, in general, I don't know why new rides are scheduled to open past the opening day of the season. Not bashing Six Flags here either, because most every park does this at some point.

It just bothers me to read "New for 2012!" and then the ride opens in June (or July or August, even). People who do not keep up with ride construction (not me) might travel to a park in anticipation of riding a new ride, only to find that it isn't scheduled to open for another month or so.

The good for the parks in this situation is that they will receive more repeat business. The people who missed the new rides opening will be more likely to visit again before the next season. (This is me trying to understand how a non-enthusiast thinks about a situation like this.)

Honestly, I think you've gone too far down the rabbit hole, Travis.

We've turned you into an analyst and a critical thinker, but now you're WAY ovethinking this crap.

The rides open when they open. No one is getting screwed. It's not an abstract concept that garners repeat business.

You know what a non-enthusiast thinks?

"Oh, that ride isn't open yet."

You may be somewhat right (imagine that), but I am getting a little bit of this from when I was a youngin, before the internet. Things may have changed by now.

At least Verbolten opened when it was supposed to. Lol

On the contrary, Krause - I believe your enthusiast side is the side that cares whether or not the ride opens on time. The average person who doesn't know/care isn't going to research how long it's been under construction or when they first broke ground on it. It just doesn't matter to most people.

I thought LLDoD's promos said "late 2012" or "summer 2012" or something like that.

^ Here is the original press release from September 1st, 2011. It was supposed to be spring 2012.

"Soaring at a sky-scraping 400 feet, LEX LUTHOR: Drop of Doom is slated for a spring 2012 launch. "

http://www.sixflags.com/magicMountain/info/News_2012NewCapex.aspx

I've always kind of taken "slated for release/opening" at such and such a date is a tentative thing, like when a movie is coming out, it is slated for a July 4th opening or whatever. Maybe my expectations are too low, but I've never said, "Sweet! That ride is opening in spring, so it should be open three days after the start of the season" or some such nonsense.