Where's the SFMM Info?
As a steady lurker of CBuzz, I always notice the CP vs SFMM flame wars, etc. Brief background (you'll see why d below) I am from Ohio, who grew up at Geauga Lake (less than 2 miles away), lived for CPas a teen, and worked at KI in college. I now live in FL and have BGT as my home park. With WDW, USF and IOA within 90 minutes.
My son and I will be visiting Southern CA the week of June 17th. I have not seen any recent info about Magic Mountain. Am I missing it, or is it just a dry spell.
I am looking for some general, honest, worthwhile info. For example, which weekday is best to visit? Are the Passholder days that we should avoid (like Tuesday at PKI)? Does Deja Vu run at SFMM, or does it sit as well? How does SFMM compare to SFWoA or SFOG? I am very familiar with Ohio and Florida parks, will I be disappointed, or intrigued? Can it be done in one weekday?
Any info would be helpful.
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Sometimes lurkers speak . .
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A CoasterForum Member
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Starting this week, the Summer hours are in affect. The park is at least open until 8pm on weekdays instead of 6pm, so the chances of "light" crowds are pretty slim. I would say that most of the weekdays are pretty equal, with Mon & Tues possibly having slightly smaller crowds. Avoid weekends at all costs, and if you must, Sundays are better than Saturdays.
SFMM does no such "special passholder days" as a part of normal operation. There was the Passholder party when X opened, but that was it for 2001, nothing on deck for 2002.
I am sure a first timer will love the park, and I think even with 15 coasters, all (except Goliath Jr & Flashback) could be done in one day. Get there before the gates open and run to X. Get that out of the way, then skip Viper (it rarely has a really long line) and go all the way back to Deja Vu, hopefully it will not have a giant line by then. While back there, hop on Psyclone. The next "slow loader" you'll need to do is Superman, most people will not have made it up to the top of the hill by then. Do that and Ninja then go down to Riddler. Make your way around the park clockwise from Riddler to Viper, hitting in this order (Riddler, GoldRusher, Batman, Colossus, Goliath, Canyon Blaster if desired, Revolution, Viper)
That's the pattern I recommend, it may take you up & down the "damn hill" a few times, but I think this pattern would be best for minimizing wait times. Have fun!
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CoasterDad64:
Soggy's suggestions are good - but there are some exceptions. I myself would leave out Revolution as it was ruined a few years back when they added OTSRs. When it had just a lap bar it was a great coaster ride in its day (it opened in 1976). I was at SFMM on Memorial Day and again yesterday (June 2nd). Memorial Day was very crowded and unless you got right up to X at opening, the average wait time was 5 hours as they are only running one train right now. Deja Vu's wait was well over 2 hours but by the time we got back there on Monday mid-afternoon, it had broken down. Yesterday the sign out front said it was still down but to our surprise it was up and running by late morning!! The Sunday crowd is definitely lighter than Saturday if you must go on a weekend, and Monday and Tuesday during the week are probably lighter than the other days. You probably won't find Flashback running at all during the summer months - it's too close to the water park (Hurricane Harbor).
As an example, yesterday for X we ran right up to the ride at opening time, but the younger, more fleet-footed patrons managed to pass up us old-timers. We were about 75 people back in line and still had to wait until about 10:30 a.m. before they opened the queue. However, even waiting for the front row (IMO, the best seat), we were off the ride just after 11:00 a.m. After that, and knowing that Deja Vu was open, we hightailed it over the hill after getting a locker and our Fast Lane passes (you can either walk through Roaring Rapids Camp by continuing up the hill past Viper or you can go down by the carousel and take the Orient Express up to Samurai Summit and then take the stairs back down to Roaring Rapids Camp and then on down to Psyclone Bay, where Deja Vu is located). It may seem like it's a longer route but if you are with a child it will be faster and save your 'legs' for later. Enjoy your visit to my home park!!
*** This post was edited by MMCoasterBear on 6/3/2002. ***
Great info so far . . . Thanks.
My son is 16, so no worry about him keeping up, more the other way around. I am curious about Flashback. I lived in Atlanta for 5 years, had SF passes, but just missed Z-Force (aka Flashback). Is it a bad ride? Why don't they operate it in the summer? I think at least for the unique ride it would be worth a whirl. On the "X" side, how forgiving are the seats? I am not huge, but not a little guy either (don't tell IntaminFan). For example, on FoF the restraint is no problem, but that darn dog leash hook is a pain. Given the nature of the ride, is there a "test" seat, and if so, is it realistic?
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Sometimes lurkers speak . .
The reason I was given for Flashback not operating in the summer was because the screams from the ride distract the lifeguards at Hurricane Harbor. They could open the ride after the water park closes, but that would mean it would only be open for a few hours and they probably can't justify staffing a ride for that short period of time. As for being a bad ride, let's just say there is a lot a headbanging and ear boxing to be had unless you can manage to keep your head away from the restraints (hard to do unless you are really tall). I have tried and tried to do that, but because of the quick dives and twists of the ride, I also manage a couple a good blows to the head anyway!!
As for the "X" restraints, they are well-padded, very comfortable, and kind of mold to your body, so to speak. Just think of it as putting your arms through the sleeves of a vest and then pulling it closed tight, and then the restraint also adjusts to your height by pulling it down to your shoulder level. There is a 'leash' between the front sides of the restraint but it is elasticized and locks in easily. Unfortunately, none of SFMM's rides have test seats like some of the other parks.
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"Excitement, Adventure. A Jedi Craves Not These Things."
Is there any reason that X is not running 2 trains?? I went yesterday, 6/3, and even though i arrived at the park just as it opened I still ended up waiting 2hr 45min for a ride on X - and that wait did not shorten most of the day as far as I could tell ( and I'm too cheap to do the fastlane deal).
As far as I could tell the only reason they wouldn't put 2 trains on is they only had about 4 ride ops - so they had double duty, walking down to unload then walking back up to load - VERRRRRRRRRY SLOW. Ahhh well, it's a HELLAUVA ride once you get on!
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