Terminator Coaster Construction Photos Plus Extras, Magic Mountain

I was at Magic Mountain this weekend (Sat. March, 21st) and since I have not seen many construction photos of the Terminator coaster, I decided to take some myself. I thought others might be interested in seeing how it's shaping up! There are a lot of shots, so check out what interests you:

Terminator Construction Photos Link

While I was at the park, I also took some documentation photos of the old Metro Monorail. I shot a bunch in the monorail station at the "Colossus Country Fair" area, which is essentially rotting away at this point. The architecture style of this station is the epitome of the look of the park when it opened. A very Southern California/ modern 70s post and beam/ Sunset Magazine feel. It's sad that it's in such bad shape - but in the same breath, I have to say I'm totally fascinated with it's decrepit run down look. There's a lot of photos here as well, I just wanted to document what I could while it still exists:

Magic Mountain Metro Monorail Photos Link

Lastly, there are just a couple of various photos that I thought were worth sharing. Stuff I saw and took a picture of during the day - and when I got home thought that some of them were worth passing along. Enjoy!

Magic Mountain Various Photos Link

Thanks for the cool pictures. Terminator looks pretty much like it did when I was there on March 1st. Did you happen to notice if Deja Vu was open? The message on SFMM's website which said "Deja Vu is temporarily closed" was removed a few days ago.

SFMMAddict:
Deja Vu was open. I was very happy to ride it a couple times when they opened in the morning. I actually didn't know it had been closed, but I noticed things that had been fixed up and figured it must have been done recently.

Re: The Metro... when was the last time it actually ran? I think I remember it running around 4-5 years ago? Looks like it has been derelict for a lot longer than that, however. It's pretty obvious that there are ZERO plans on rehabbing or reopening this attraction, so why don't they just remove it? I guess the trains themselves look like they are in OK shape, but that station and track... yowsa.

Then again, the sign says it all... They are building for your future enjoyment!

Based on some of the Terminator pics, it appears the Sky Tower (or whatever it's called these days) was open. Please tell me that's correct - planning on a trip for this new woodie over the summer (and Cliff's....finally).

Yes, apparently the Sky Tower is open. (at least it's open more often than not) They now have a small museum up there with some historical items from the park.

Rollergator:
Yes, the Sky Tower is open, but you need to time it right to get up there. The two times I have made it to the top, it had an operating schedule from about noon to 3 or 4 in the afternoon.

Like Soggy mentioned, there is a small museum at the top (there is a pic of the troll costume from there in the last link on my original post), but it has deteriorated drastically from last summer. Things are falling apart, and a lot of other stuff has just disappeared. Including a video containing every Magic Mountain commercial since it opened - which I thought was pretty cool. It is still worth going up to check it out though!

Soggy:
I actually think it's been longer for the Metro running, but I could be wrong. As I was taking pictures of the station - and then especially when I got home, I was struck by how it looked like I was in a complete another place. It's like it's own little deteriorating world.

bunchastuf, thanks for the info. Deja Vu was closed on my last 3 visits, in Dec., Feb. and March. They had a fence blocking off that whole area due to construction on Terminator. It was running in October, which is the last time I rode it. I haven't been to the Sky Tower museum yet. I should do that next time I go.

This is the deal with Metro.

Originally, Shapiro announced a few years back that it would reopen in 2007 or 2008, but themed to Thomas the Tank Engine.

However, the ride had been left unmaintained for so many years that it had been weathered to a point beyond repair. The amount needed to restore it would be astronomical.

It was noted that removing it would also consume a lot of resources and that the park would rather first spend money on improving other things such as guest relations, maintenance, park infrastructure, ride refurbishments, repaving walkways, etc.

bunchastuf, thanks for the info. Deja Vu was closed on my last 3 visits, in Dec., Feb. and March. They had a fence blocking off that whole area due to construction on Terminator. It was running in October, which is the last time I rode it. I haven't been to the Sky Tower museum yet. I should do that next time I go.

For those that didn't know, Deja Vu was closed as it underwent an extensive refurbishment. The entire coaster was coated with brand new paint. It looks very spiffy and shiny. In addition, the train for the coaster has also been completely refurbished, with new seats and harness padding, wheels, etc.

Very interesting photos, bunchastuf. Something is bothering me a little bit though. Did you have permission to go into these areas? Were they blocked off? Were you escorted by a park employee?

I'm just asking because trespassing is frowned upon by most CoasterBuzzers.

I love the photos though. It's hard to imagine that they were taken at a fully operating park. I relate to photos that are taken at abandoned places.

Edit - Changed "where" to were.

Lost Kause:
Did I have permission? The answer to that is no. I'm not advocating for people to do it, I'm just posting pictures that I took and thought others might be interested in. Will that just make someone else want to do it because they saw the pictures? I don't know what to say about that - it's an entire essay in itself.

This area is blocked off with some old boards with multiple entrances. Some of them happened to be pulled away and I carefully made my way around. I knew that no one would be giving me permission to do it, so I carefully took my own chances. Would I have done it if there was working machinery or moving rides I was in the path of - no.

I also happen to be 50 years old and figured I could make decent decisions about what might be a good idea or not. Plain and simple, I just wanted to document what I saw - a personal thing. I have seen many other pictures around of dilapidating amusement parks (some of them linked to this site), which could also be construed as a dangerous or illegal situation. Is it right? I don't know the answer to that - but I made my decision for myself. What I left with was a cool document of something that would otherwise never have been done. Does any of that allow me to just make up my own rules - the answer to that is no.

The last part of this story is that as I was taking my last picture, a couple of "dude" guys walked up to the path towards me and asked me if I worked there. When I said "no," one of them pulled out a badge of some sort from his pocket and said "well then you need to get down from there right now." They were undercover security guys that were just walking around the park. The one with the badge told me that I wasn't allowed in this area. To which I said "okay, sorry about that." The other one that was with him was not nearly as intense about it all and was looking around at the area I was taking a picture of and said (sort of smiling) "What is there here to be taking a picture of here anyway." He didn't have clue why I would be doing that. I sort of laughte and just said that I had remembered what it looked like years ago when it was first built and I wanted to take some pictures of what it looked like now. They obviously didn't want me to be there, but these guys were obviously more concerned with the likes of busting kids smoking pot or something than what I was doing. We parted ways, I said "sorry" again and neither of us seemed too concerned with our encounter.

Anyway, that's the long version of my response to your question. I understand your concern, but to be honest, I have no problem with what I did, and would probably do it again. And one more time - I'm not an advocate for anyone doing what I did either.

I'm glad you liked the photos though!

kRaXLeRidAh: If they wait much longer for the removal, I suppose it could just fall down on it's own.

bunchastuf: I think you're right, it probably has been longer that Metro has been closed, but I can't remember for sure. As for restricted areas, I almost walked right into the Samauri Summit station because it wasn't blocked off, and it was definitely not open.

If you're going to trespass to take pictures. Don't post links to them here. That's not negotiable.