SIX FLAGS MAG MTN and autism

[Zane21]

Been to Dland many many times....what they do to help my family..we have a son with autism ...has always been perfect.

The kids want to do Magin Mtn for a change...do they offer help for autism?

 

[yiersan]

Honestly, I'm not sure how much assistance they will provide. I don't like to paint with a broad brush as it were (there are friendly and helpful people everywhere) but for the most part we have encountered apathy from the SFMM staff. We had season passes for two years, so we visited during a variety of days, times, off-peak, height of peak season, etc. and the go-out-of-their-way-to-be-helpful employees were few and far between.

If your kids are older and specifically like thrill rides and coasters, then you might have fun, but my concern is that you'd be very disappointed if you have younger children. The park is not as clean or well-kept as Disney, imo (I get that it's Disney and you pay a premium there... but still, SFMM could at least address the peeling paint on their railings).

You need to pass through metal detectors when you enter the park and they search your bags very thoroughly for concealed weapons (yes, you read that correctly) and food. They are sticklers for no food coming into the park (there are certain exceptions). The food expense is on par w/ Disney but the quality is not as great. The park itself is overall so-so imo. The area for younger kids isn't super big either.

Of course SFMM admission is not as expensive is Disney. On the plus side there are lots of mature trees and the shade is lovely. And (in the little kids' areas) the wait to get on rides is generally very short... for the coasters, it's an entirely different story (and their equivalent of FP is an additional cost). There is a tower with an observation deck in the park that has sweeping views of the Santa Clarita Valley and there are some rides with "old school" charm that are kind of fun for adults in a do-you-remember-when type way (instant flashback to the early 80s, anyone?)

I probably sound like I'm totally down on the park and I'm not, really. But I know that if my kids were used to DLR for our annual vacation destination and we swapped that for SFMM one year, they would be very disappointed. The two Parks (DLR and SFMM) are about 65 miles apart, so it's probably not practical for you to go to Disney and take a "day trip" to SFMM, but just be prepared (if you do go) that everything from the rides to the upkeep to the food to the friendliness of the staff is dramatically different from Disney. And while you could make that same argument for many other SoCal theme parks when compared with DLR, the differences between DLR and SFMM are particularly noticeable.

Sorry for the long-winded reply (which didn't really answer your original question ) but at least it's a little feedback for you when weighing all your options.