Need help with Magic Mountain strategy

[karylrocks]

First of all, getting there (from DLH) on a Tuesday if we want to be there when the park opens at 10:00. Should we take I-5 or the 57/210/5 route, and what time should we leave?

Secondly, to X or not to X? Seems that you either love it or hate it. I'm thinking maybe skip it and head straight for Deja Vu. What others should we definitely do or not do?

Lastly, yes we are going in spite of the fact that it is far/hot/dirty/dangerous or whatever else; my psychologist DH (I can picture him giving the "what every young man needs to know" speech) and twentysomething kids (who have always wanted to go there) can handle it. My Disney-loving DS13 and myself will not be going.

 

[firstcruiser]

The 5 is going to be backed up all the way through downtown. You may want to try the other route. The 210 usually isn't as bad as the 5.

I'm a chicken and have never been on either of those coasters.

We've never had trouble at MM. As long as they know not to expect DL and just keep to themselves they'll be fine.

Have fun!

 

[gmi3804]

We went to MM last summer about this time. I'd suggest arriving at the entrance gate at least 30 minutes with admission in hand and rushing over to X as soon as you're let in the gates (they sometimes let people in early). The wait for X swells to three hours within an hour of the park's opening because it's such a slow-moving line. We made the mistake of not going the first thing in the morning and as a result didn't get to ride because we didn't want to wait. Well, OK, I'll admit, I was a bit relieved because that thing lookd DIABOLICAL! Anyway, if you get right on that one you can rush to the other major rides before the park starts to get busy. We did Revolution, Batman, Psyclone, Colossus, and Goliath within about 90 minutes. Moral: arrive early and hit the major rides first. Enjoy!

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

Another route you can take is the 5-N to the 91-W, to the 405-N, that will take you back to the 5-N orrrrr 5N-91W-605N-105W-405N-5N. You'll bypass downtown, but you'll go by LAX airport.

 

[got2travel]

Oh man, X, the first time I rode that I swore I would not get back on it. Well, I ride every time I can. The problem with getting there first thing is sometimes it does not open until 1 or 2 hours after the park opening. I haven't been there this summer yet, so I don't know if that is still the case. Just be sure to ask before getting in line. I'd had to see your family waste an hour or 2.

We've never had any problems at MM, so you should be ok. Especially mid week and at opening. The local kids tend to gather on Fri and Sat evenings.

 

[MateasMom]

I live near MM...and I know you said you knew it was hot but as I sit in my air conditioned house afraid to travel out into the 100 degree heat reading todays paper about how children/elderly shouldn't go outside today....I feel compelled to remind you (then) that it is HOT (hot hot hot hot) and a concrete jungle, so dress appropriately. Lots of sunblock and wear comfortable shoes (it's hilly, lots of walking).

You should be good on a Tuesday, both with the traffic and with the crowds and 'type' of guests. The ghetto rats from L.A. usually come up on the weekends. Kids around here should be going back to school soon. This area (Valencia/Santa Clarita/Atelope Valley) go back mid August but I think LAUSD starts going back next week through Sept 8 (they aren't all on the same schedule). Also....if your DH and kids want to get a sit down dinner or lunch or whatever there are nice shops/stores just up Magic Mountain parkway (Target, mall, restaurants) or just up the old road (Chilis, Claim Jumper, dirty yucky Walmart).

 

[karylrocks]

Thanks everyone!

Another route you can take is the 5-N to the 91-W, to the 405-N, that will take you back to the 5-N orrrrr 5N-91W-605N-105W-405N-5N. You'll bypass downtown, but you'll go by LAX airport.

Sooo, how long will that take, and is it significantly faster than I-5? Surely, the Rascals must have some opinions on the best/worst coasters.

 

[MateasMom]

I've never tried the route Mary Jo suggested. We normally either stick to the 5 or 210 route. I'd rather poke needles in my eyes then drive past LAX I would have your family go around (210) on the way there and if they are leaving to go back to DL in the evening (after 7ish) just take the 5. If they've never been to L.A. before I'd go the 5-170-101-5...it's about the same drive but takes you through hollywood/LA and at least to me is a more interesting drive (though smaller lanes and more transitions...driver has to pay attention). Anyways....we do just the opposite (Valencia to DL AM and DL to Valencia PM) but I would say it will take just over an hour each way unless you end up in heavy traffic.

 

[karylrocks]

I am expecting it will be heavy traffic because they want to get to MM around 9:30 - so can they leave around 8 or would 7:30 be better? None of us are morning people so I am trying to make this as painless as possible, but I understand the importance of getting there early if they want to ride X (and/or Deja Vu). They will be returning (minus DS who will be visiting his gf's family in Santa Barbara) after closing at 8, so I am not too worried about the drive back. The day before this trip we will be going to Universal (not as worried about getting there early) so we will be somewhat familiar with the drive in that direction.

 

[damo]

We were there last summer at about the same time as you. We found that going first thing in the morning for a few hours and then after dinner for a few hours was best. It really is very hot. My kids rode X several times but advised me not to ride it because of the roughness. The wait was always at least 1 hour. There are many other great coasters to ride and you won't feel cheated if you decide not to ride X. Is Superman running? Goliath is great, as it the Riddler's Revenge and Batman. By the way, it was only hot. Not at all dirty or dangerous when we were there. We were very pleasantly surprised because of all the very negative reports it gets on this board. We will be there again this summer. We are actually staying in Valencia for 2 nights so we can work around the weather. They have a very nice mall! We also did Universal. I suggest getting the front of the line passes. It is well worth the extra money when it is so hot.

 

[ktglads]

Okay, this may sound like a weird question, but are the seats/restraints for X large? What would you say would be the max size of a person who can fit in it? Are there any rides for a pooh-sized person to avoid due to being too big for the restraints?

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

The rascals like Scream (I think that's the newest), X, Riddler's Revenge, Batman, Goliath, Deja Vu, Superman. I like Ninja, Jet Stream, Colossus.

For some reason a lot of people don't like Pyschlone. That wooden roller coaster never bothered me, but a friend of mine swore off coasters after that one, and for some reason it freaked out my cousins (they were here two weeks ago & went to MM).

They also liked the water raft ride.

 

[karylrocks]

We were there last summer at about the same time as you. We found that going first thing in the morning for a few hours and then after dinner for a few hours was best.

The park is only open from 10am to 8pm that day, so I don't think I want to have them leaving and coming back. I am thinking that for an afternoon break, they have lunch at Mooseburger Lodge and then watch the Batman Stunt Show.

I suggest getting the front of the line passes. It is well worth the extra money when it is so hot.

I have heard that these only work if the lines are over an hour. Do they take these at X, and if so wouldn't that shorten the wait considerably?

Here is my plan:
X (arrive early and head straight for it), Viper, Goliath, Scream, Batman, Deja Vu, Riddler, Superman. That should be enough but if there is time they could do Ninja, Colossus, Revolution.

Now I just need to figure out what DH is going to do for 10 hours.

 

[damo]

The front of the line passes I meant were for Universal Studios. We did purchase the fast lane passes as well for MM but they were only for certain rides and this didn't include X. I think it did include Goliath and a few other good coasters though.

I second the idea of Mooseburger Lodge. It is very nice and cool in there!

 

[alanjones]

When we went to MM at the start of June, it never felt dangerous, but line cutting was terrible, probably due to a large number of school groups that day.

Anyway. We basically did the park in a clockwise direction, starting a X, then Viper, Deja Vu, Psyclone, Superman, Riddlers, then over to Colossus, Goliath, Scream, then back to Batman. Finally did Revolution towards the end of the day, which by 6pm had no queue for anything but the front row, and finally Gold Rusher. Flashback wasn't open (I've heard this is quite common). We missed out Ninja because even at around 6pm, the queue was huge (probably well over an hour, maybe more) and looked very slow moving, so decided to skip it. The strategy seemed to work quite well, and once all the school trip crowds left at about 4pm, the lines at most rides towards the back like Scream, Batman, Colossus etc. all went down to no more than 20 minutes. Longest I waited was about 1 hour 30 mins for Riddlers, which we did at around 1pm.

 

[raidermatt]

From DL, we took the 5 to 101 to Universal Studios on a Monday and it took us 90 minutes.

On Thursday of that week, we started on the 5 towards MM, hit traffic as the carpool lane ended and backtracked to the 91 to 405. That took about 75 minutes.

Not exactly a valid sample size, but I'd go 5/91/405 next time.

 

[raidermatt]

As far as the rides, I didn't care for Psyclone. It was rough to the point of being uncomfortable.

We arrived around Noon, had lunch at Mooseburger, then went counter-clockwise, hitting:

Goliath
Batman
Tidal Wave
Riddler
Ninja
Psyclone

then Dinner at Food etc, then:

Scream
Colossus
Superman
Viper

Headed to X at 9:15 (park closed at 10:00) but they closed the line at 9:00. The ride wasn't even running from at least 9:30 on.

Wait times for Goliath, Batman, Riddler, Tidal Wave, and Ninja ranged from 20-45 minutes. Psyclone, Colossus and Viper were walk-ons. Scream and Superman had waits of about 5-10 minutes. The park definitely thinned out after about 7pm.

I would never miss Colossus.

Superman looks and sounds a lot cooler than it is to ride. Also, they were only running one track throughout the day and it had several breakdowns.

Batman, Goliath and Scream were a blast. Wouldn't bother with Riddler again.