Six Flags Magic Mountain

[spendleb]

Just read this about Six Flags, it's such a shame as the park has some great rides and is in a beautiful area, we were also shocked at the run down look of the park, dirty restrooms, non english speaking staff and overall lack of organisation the whole park showed. Just hope they can sort out their issues soon!

Six Flags Magic Mountain has suffered quite a bit over the last few years, falling from it’s iconic static as the Xtreme park after countless reports on and off the web about it become dirty and rundown, frequent maintenance problems, low rider throughput on top coasters, lack of flat rides, rude employees, and even class action lawsuits against the park about how security treated minority guests. Now the latest media reports bring to light that guests may not even be safe from other guests right now after two massive fights have broken out in the park over the last two weeks. Park officials decided to close the park early the other night following a massive fight which involved anywhere from 25-50 people near Goliath. Park security and local area Sheriffs broke up the fight and detained two people, but as the rest of the people were exiting the park a second fight broke out where 10 more guests were arrested (7 were juveniles). This is after 20 more guests were arrested after another brawl happened the week before. Is this the beginning of what the Play Pass (season pass for the price of a daily admission) will bring the park by luring all of the thugs back into Magic Mountain? Perhaps ultra cheap tickets and season passes are not the answers to Six Flags woes, and even new coasters have not helped very much. Perhaps the time has come to seriously re-evaluate what has gone wrong with the park and improve the atmosphere and raise the quality of a day’s experience at the park in all aspects.

 

[karylrocks]

That is really disappointing. I have known that there is sometimes gang activity at MM, but DD22 has been wanting to go there for so long; she loves roller coasters and the rest of us prefer Disney attractions. I promised her that we would go this summer (actually DH is taking her and DS25 while DS13 and I do some other things). I wish I could convince her that Knotts is just as good for coasters, they just don't have as many but the ones they have are good. We have never been to either, so I would love to hear opinions on which park is really better for coaster lovers!

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

We have been there quite a few times. My company has had a couple of picnics there. There are obviously a lot more unsupervised teens there, and in the evening I've stood in line for the coasters where you could smell the pot in the air. A few years ago, when my kids were much younger, we were at the park, and there were three older teen guys smoking pot right out in the open, next to where we were standing - this was at 3pm. I just asked them to be cool and not do it near my kids & they said okay & walked away. The last time I was there I asked a security guard about the rougher edge & pot (groups of kids also cut in line at once, and you can't really stop them) - the security guard said that they had cut down the budget, which meant less security guards.

You have to go through metal detectors when you arrive at the park, but it still has a rougher element than what the Disney guest is used to.

 

[geffric]

we are planning on going on July 4th, since we decided that the Disney parks would be very crowded... we have the annual pass from 6 flags, so it does not cost us any money... hmmm.. maybe I will rethink that...

 

[ZenMickey]

I've been going to Magic Mountain since it opened, and my last trip in Dec03 I definetely saw some problems with park operations. I've heard a lot about security personnel issues, tough crowds and the like, but I took my niece and newphew in early Dec, so that made a difference. The problem really is "low rider throuhput thru their top coasters", as the article says. One train operation on all the major coasters, a lot broken down, and unmaintained stations and queus. For the last ride of the night, I really wanted to ride Goliath for the first time. There was no indication of any wait time, but the line took us 2 hrs & 30 min to get through. Never again.

Karlyrocks- if your DD likes coasters, and you're staying near Disneyland, I'd advise to hit Knotts instead. Its a 10 min drive, compared to about an hour and half. And Knotts is home to several great coasters, the new Silver Bullet, the tough woodie Ghostrider, and Xcelerator- which I bet she would love!

It's a shame that Six Flags has left one of their signature parks to fall into such disray.

 

[geffric]

ZenMickey is it worse than 6 flags/Great America?

 

[ZenMickey]

geffric- Oh, yeah. I go to SFGA every year as well (but again, I avoid summer) and it is always been cleaner, better run, with nicer crowds and employees than SFMM has ever been. Magic Mtn has had these problems for YEARS, but with this latest news, it's obviously getting worse. I don't mean to worry you, I've never felt unsafe there. But there is no denying that MM attracts a tougher crowd. And 4th of July will be busy there!!

 

[hookedup]

I grew up about 20 mins from MM. I can remember going there as a child when it first opened. Over the years I have watched it change a lot. When I was in high school (okay 20+ years ago) we loved going there for concerts. In the 90's the gangs started to really cause problems there at night. They had several big brawls and stabbings in the parking lot. Security got much tighter and they tried very hard to get the rough elements under control.
I have not been there in a while but I have read a lot of bad press about budget cuts and security problems. Too bad, it would be nice to have a good family amusement park in LA with big coasters and extreme rides.

 

[tweetybird0306]

My friend and I went to DL, MM, and universal 2 years ago. I was extremely disapointed in MM. I love rides and did enjoy that but at least half the rides were closed. Most of the food venders were closed and it was filthy!! I will not go back again. It was just not worth the money. We would have been done with the park by mid afternoon but we went shopping in the one and only store they had opened and I decided to go on their big ride the Extreme one more time and I waited in line for 1 1/2 hours. I wouldn't suggest this park to anyone. I must say Disney was the best. Of course!!

 

[ralfrick]

As is generally true at theme parks, arriving at opening is best, and diminishes the chances of encountering such riff raff. I think it's stupid that grass is illegal, but since it is one should at least be discrete about it. We were there 2 days last year because of our Marine World passes, and only encountered one group that, well, had unimaginative vocabularies. Biggest operational problem was not opening X until 45 min after opening, and single trains on Riddler and Batman. They do have a better selection of coasters than Knott's, but if you're in Orange Co., you'd have a long early drive to get to MM. Xcellerator and Ghostrider are both outstanding, MM falls short with coasters of wood.

I'm not really a trip report person, but I posted this elsewhere since there's not as much out there for MM as there is for Disney and Universal.

We were there on a Wed-Thur in Aug (25th-26th). Since I'd asked for advice before this trip, it's only fair that I help someone else plan their trip. With that in mind, here's how it was for us a couple of weeks ago.

I can highly reccommend the Holiday Inn Express, a new hotel that is now the closest. They have pool, hot tub, breakfast, and the rooms have fridges and microwaves (with mw items in the vending machines, along with ice cream).

We arrived in the lot about 30 minutes prior to opening, and were within 15 feet of the season pass gate 10 minutes later (got to use our Marine World passes), but it really didn't seem to matter if you just had a regular ticket. Would've been about 30' away in the other lines.

Day 1:

Went to X but told it wouldn't open for 45 minutes. Went to Superman, and were probably the first ride of the day. Went to Goliath which was a long walk (son is 52" so were starting with things we could both ride), and got there about 10:45. Were running 2 trains, but one was stuck on the hill as we got to load. We would've been on within 4 trains if that hadn't happened, but it took at least 20 minutes to switch on another train.

Went to Colassos (sp) and they were switching a train as well-and only running one. It was about 11:30 when we finally rode, but 15 minutes was waiting for the switch. I went to Scream, which was a 1-3 train wait for the front (running 2), and a walkon anywhere else. Rode front and back.

Went to Batman, which had only one train, but still got on within a couple of cycles for the back. We then went back to X, which had at least 45-60+ of waiting, so we bailed to see if it was on Fast Lane-wasn't. Decided to wait til next day. Got on Viper (2 trains) after about 8 cycles, and the line was shorter later in the day. Got on Revolution (2 trains) within 4-5 cycles for the back.

After lunch I went to Riddler's Revenge, it was about 3 by now, they were only running one train, and the wait for the back was an hour. After this Ninja and Goldrusher were walkons. We also rode the log ride, about a 10-15 minute wait.

It was around 5 by now. We would have taken a break earlier and come back if our MW parking pass had been good there-no in and out, or if the hotel was close enough for walking. So we called it a day.

Next morning we went straight to X, but it was over 30 minutes before it opened. We were on the 4th ride of the day, and still didn't dispatch until 10:50. Another ride would've been 45-60 minutes. Went to Deja Vu, and got on after one cycle. Got to Riddler's Revenge, and waited about 15 minutes for the front. Batman was about a 4 cycle wait. It was about one when we subjected ourselves to Psychlone, and we waited about 4-6 cycles.
After that we drove home.

I'd only been once before in 1991, and remember enjoying Psychlone, but it hasn't aged well, and the other woodie is a lumbering snore. Many hate Viper, too, probably because on sharp turns, you can really bash your head against the restraint (Hey, 6 Flags, they sell padding, you know), but I think it's a fun coaster otherwise.

Goliath has a great drop, but doesn't sustain the excitement like Desperado outside of Vegas. Still a rush to be that high and fast, though. Scream is nearly identical to Medusa at MW, which is better in the back, but Scream gets a tiny edge in the front.

Superman is OK, but the launch doesn't compare to Xcellerator(sp) at KBF. Even though Superman reaches higher speeds, it takes longer to do so. However, if you have to wait a long time, this queue has great air conditioning. Ninja and Goldrusher are fun rides through the trees. Revolution has that as well, but has a few too many lulls to be more than historically interesting. Deja Vu is a great out and back with vertical hills as it's distinctive gimmick. Hard to choose between it and Invertigo at Great America, whose gimmick is facing seats.

IMO, the 3 best are X, Batman, and Riddler's revenge. The stand up near us at Great America has never been more than an afterthought, but RR is wonderfully ecstatic. It swoops and curls through the wind with only one set of brakes. Batman starts with 2 loops seperated by an in line twist. It's very intense, full of lateral G's, and the height requirements seem to be on the honor system, as my son was able to get on it while I was riding Scream.

X takes you up a hill on your back, then into a small (10') dip before spinning you face down into a sheer, perpendicular to gravity drop. About a minute later it stopped. I'm not really sure what happened in between, although I'd like to find out someday.

It never seemed crowded, although I often felt old. Most there were 12-25 years old. I had worries when someone cut into the entry line just before they opened, but other than a group of guys with limited vocabularies behind me for RR that were on the phone inviting their friend to just cut through and find them, I only had one person "excuse me" their way through at the log ride shortly after we got in line for some people not far ahead. It's a big place, but spread out for the most part, with a lot of shade, especially around Revolution.

They have souvineer bottles you can refill with soda for $.99, or Icee's for 1.99. They cost $7.99, but you can get them with a meal (well, burger and fries) for only about $1.50 more.
My last tip is if you like peanut brittle, check out the candy shop in the back near Deja Vu.


Cheers.

 

[Bill Lumbergh]

I've been to many Six Flags around the country. I would have to say Six Flags Magic Mountain is one of the worst I've ever visited. The operation is terrible, the food isn't any better, and 75% of the coasters are medicore to terrible. They may have a lot of roller coasters, but they don't know how to run them or give good customer service.

Knott's was better. Ride throughput was pretty good. Knott's Berry Farm may not have as many roller coasters, but they have a better operation than Six Flags Magic Mountain.

I think I'd rather go to Adventure City before returning to Six Flags Magic Mountain!

For the best Six Flags, go to Six Flags Over Texas. It's the best operated Six Flags park in the U.S.

 

[spendleb]

Yeah we loved Knotts and Xcelerator has to be one of the smoothest and best coasters ever, GhostRider was closed :-( but Silver Bullet was also very good! I found the coasters at MM rough, especially X which was awful with a massive queue, there was also a bad vibe all day, like others have mentioned older kids in large groups even mid week when we went. They also failed to recognise the child swap concept and charged us $30 for the front of line passes only for us to find that they are useless unless the queue is over one hour long! Luckily (and after many conversations with staff) they refunded this!

The best bit was the kids area which had loads of rides and was completely empty!

 

[cjsmom5]

We have friends who live in the area and they say "locally" that most will not take young children there and avoid it in the later afternoon and evenings. When asked why they say it simply isn't safe anymore. They indicated this is widely known locally but they are trying not to let the word get out. We were in LA when the fights broke out and saw the news accounts and read the paper. I think I would select another theme park before going there -- I have a 7 year old that loves coasters but don't believe it would be the best spot for a "family outing."

 

[iceskatejen]

As one of the actors in Laughing Stock says at the end of their second act: "The place where all hardened criminals go--Six Flags."

 

[aussiemickeys]

Has it really changed that much in the last few years? We were last there in 2002 & squibbed out on doing X. It has bothering me ever since! Well in September we are finally coming back to Disneyland & had a day planned for Magic Mountain. It will be myself & my sister (in our 30's) & our two nephews (15 & 11). We had planned on being there on a friday, for opening & probably leaving by 4.00pm at the latest. I can put up with dirty, I can put up with semi slow waits, but I can't put the boys (or ourselves) at risk. How bad is it? Also, if they are letting things go in these areas (security, less cars/carraiges on rides, shops opening later) is anyone concerned about the rides safety issue? Someone please let me know if I am over reacting. I would really welcome any advice as I hadn't even realised until this thread
that there where any problems at Magic Mountain. Thanks..........

 

[spendleb]

Must admit we never felt settled all day when we were there, there was a weird vibe that we hadn't experienced in any of the other parks, we had a good day overall though but if you are going simply to ride X I wouldn't bother, I hated it, I love coasters and have been on hundreds over the years but this was painful, very rough and after the first drop it's a blur, you just get very disorientated and your head is thrown back and forth and side to side, not nice!

 

[karylrocks]

Just wondering if you happened to visit Knotts while you were there, and if so what did you think of it? I am really glad you posted this thread because I was already not having a good feeling about MM, and after discussing these issues with DD she was fine with doing Knotts instead which makes more sense to me because we will already have tickets anyway with our CityPasses, it is so much closer (I was worried about that long drive), and not all in our party like roller coasters.

 

[spendleb]

We certainly did and loved Knotts, it's not as polished and themed as Disney but then what is! The rides are good (Xcelerator is great!) and it had a nice feel to it, also the queues were non existant, in fact we felt like we were the only ones there sometimes!

If you don't like getting wet avoid Perilous Plunge though, easier to go jump in a lake, I was drenched completely and the drop is pretty severe! The kids section (if you have toddlers) is lovely too and there is a real stage coach that tours the park.

Also everyone heads to the new rollercoaster Silver Bullet when they first get there, we did too and regretted it, we queued for a massive 20 minutes!! LOL, the queue went to less than 5 minutes after the first 2 hours though as people headed off to the other rides.

 

[karylrocks]

Thanks so much for the reply. In all my trips to SoCal I have never been to Knotts; we always opted for one more day at DL instead. This will be a good time to visit, with the history of it being the first theme park, along with DL's 50th.

 

[damo]

We were there last summer and much preferred it to Knotts. We didn't find it in the least bit dirty. We went first thing in the morning, went home for the afternoon and went back again in the evening. We never encountered any problems whatsoever.