About five years ago I lived 5 minutes from the park and I used to go every week. Since I moved away from the area I've only been a couple times and haven't been there in at least a couple years. I heard things had gone down a little but are gradually improving, such as with its sister park Marine World up north. I was wondering how the lines might be on the first Sunday in December. Does the park still have a couple special Christmas shows? Are some of the coasters still running only one coaster due to failing the DOSH inspection? (I heard Superman just came back after meeting compliance.) Is "X" a good ride? Nauseating? I rode Stealth when it used to be at PGA I guess its probably like that. Which rides would it be a good idea to hit first and would it be worth it to buy a fastlane pass for that day or will it probably not be crowded? (I know the park is only open 10-6 on that day.) I know its a mouthfull but any help you guys can give me would be appreciated. Thanks.

About five years ago I lived 5 minutes from the park and I used to go every week. Since I moved away from the area I've only been a couple times and haven't been there in at least a couple years. I heard things had gone down a little but are gradually improving, such as with its sister park Marine World up north. I was wondering how the lines might be on the first Sunday in December. Does the park still have a couple special Christmas shows? Are some of the coasters still running only one coaster due to failing the DOSH inspection? (I heard Superman just came back after meeting compliance.) Is "X" a good ride? Nauseating? I rode Stealth when it used to be at PGA I guess its probably like that. Which rides would it be a good idea to hit first and would it be worth it to buy a fastlane pass for that day or will it probably not be crowded? (I know the park is only open 10-6 on that day.) I know its a mouthfull but any help you guys can give me would be appreciated. Thanks.

aare you talking about the one in california? Valencia?
If so, I aactually want some info as well, I havent been for a few years but plan ton this chirstmas..I had a blast there a few years ago

aare you talking about the one in california? Valencia?
If so, I aactually want some info as well, I havent been for a few years but plan ton this chirstmas..I had a blast there a few years ago Yes. Six Flags operates two theme parks in California. One is in Valencia (Magic Mountain) and the other is in Vallejo (Marine World). They also operate 3 waterparks in California, Hurricane Harbor (next to Magic Mountain in Valencia), Waterworld (Concord, near Marine World), and Waterworld (Sacramento, Cal Expo next to State Fair).

I was talking about the one in Valencia, Magic Mountain.

It might be REALLY busy, this is normally the first of two weekends of the Toys for Tots campaign, where you can get into the park for a new toy (needs to be a $10 value)....

But if you live near ANY Six Flags park, the new "Play Pass" is on sale...

http://www.sixflags.com/parks/magicmountain/index.asp

http://www.sixflags.com/parks/magicmountain/TicketInfo/seasonpasses.html

Pay for one day, get a LOT...



Buy the NEW play pass for
just $47.99 today and get all this …

Unlimited visits now through 2005 –
NO BLACKOUT DATES!
FREE Concerts & Special Events all year – Fright Fest, Festival Latino, Hallelujah Jubilee, Gospel Celebration,
4th of July and more!
FREE Admission to all Six Flags Theme Parks across the country!
If that’s not enough … get a FREE “Bonus Coupon Book” with $500 in exciting Six Flags offers for you and your friends: </B>


one FREE friend admission
one FREE child admission
one FREE Hurricane Harbor admission
one FREE parking coupon
discounted admission coupons for friends & family
discounts on food, games and merchandise!

So go for the $10 toy if you don't plan to go back, otherwise buy the "Play Pass" that is good from today thru all of 2005.

I actually went to SFMM last year at the same time (First Sat. of December, Toys for Tots campaign going on.) and have a few recollections. MM was my "home" park for many, many years, and this was my first trip back in 10 yrs.

- Free admission with a $10 value toy cannot be beat. People running the toy collection booths were gracious and friendly. Took all of 1 minute to get tickets.

- Park looked clean. Couldn't say the same about some of the guests. :)

- No Christmas shows or specials that I can recall.

- Park was not overly crowded. But here is where the problems lie:

- Train operations.

Riddler's Revenge- Never been on, really wanted to. One train operation, wait time was approx. 1.5 hrs. Never went on.

Batman- One train operation. Wait was 1.5 hrs.

Superman- closed.

Ninja- closed. Waited forever outside queue while trains were testing. Never opened.

Couldn't do Viper and X due to my young nephew.

Psychlone and Flashback closed.

Don't do Colossus and Revolution anymore due to ridiculous modifications.

That leaves Scream and Goliath, both coasters I really wanted to experience.
Scream was great- quick train operations, smooth fun ride, 15 min. wait.

Goliath. Waited until last ride of the night. Big mistake. One train operation. The wait- no exaggeration here- turned out to be 2 hours, 40 min. Here is where Fastlane really would have helped out.

All in all, we had a good time, but I really should have been able to fit more coaster rides in. I say do X and Goliath first, and follow up with the rest.

Have fun. (and eat OUTSIDE the park :) )

Here's some good news. Sundays are the best days to go. I've been able to go in a Sunday at 6pm, and finish riding the rides I enjoy in under four hours. Given the abbreviated time of 10am to 6pm, I don't think that the crowds will turn out in force.

X is not nauseating at all. Superman has been open periodically this summer/fall, but sometimes it does not feel like quite the same rush. The one train op curse occasionally strikes Riddler & Batman - those two seem to be the most frequent. I don't believe there are any special Christmas shows scheduled. I would count on Flashback being closed, I think they might use it as a training coaster for employees. Psyclone should be closed, extremely rough for a wood coaster.

Imo, X is the must ride of the first morning, then skip Viper ( can always come back to it, never much of a line, if at all), head over to Deja Vu - park's second slowest moving line. Over to the Riddler, Batman, Scream (ride in front if possible), Collosuss, then to Goliath, then repeat the loop picking up rides on Viper, Superman, Goldrusher (no wait typically), or any of the water rides. Log Jammer doesn't get you that wet. Unless you enjoy possibly being soaked, avoid Roaring Rapids & Tidal Wave, Splashdown is also a good flume ride that doesn't soak you.

Fastlane can be a waste of money sometimes. I personally would only use it for X to help hit the ride multiple times (and X's fastlane only puts you into the upper q level - where the wait can still be long - but it helps skipping the stair crowds at least), or if you are a fan of Riddler's Revenge, then possibly that ride.

The season pass offer is a great deal, lowest it has been since I've been going.

It might be REALLY busy, this is normally the first of two weekends of the Toys for Tots campaign, where you can get into the park for a new toy (needs to be a $10 value)....

But if you live near ANY Six Flags park, the new "Play Pass" is on sale...

http://www.sixflags.com/parks/magicmountain/index.asp

http://www.sixflags.com/parks/magicmountain/TicketInfo/seasonpasses.html

Pay for one day, get a LOT...


So go for the $10 toy if you don't plan to go back, otherwise buy the "Play Pass" that is good from today thru all of 2005.Darkbeer, I was on the SFMM website and didn't see anything about the Toys for Tots promotion. Could it be that they discontinued it for this year? The deal wouldn't help me because I have a Marine World season pass but I would rather them not have it because with one train operation on some of the rides the long lines can be quite annoying.

DBJ and ZenMickey, thanks for the info. I can't wait to ride X for the first time!

Well, I went. I thought I would post a quick trip report. They were doing the toys-for-tots thing but it was still not crowded. It was the day of the rain storm so there were only about 4 rows of cars in the parking lot. In fact, I noticed a lot more cars in the employee parking lot than were in the guest lot. The only coasters I noticed that were down were Psyclone, Deja Vu, Ninja, Superman, and Flashback. All rides were walkons with the exception of X. Viper and Revolution were unbelievably smooth, much smoother than I remember them. The park has really done well keeping these rides in good shape. I decided to skip Goliath since I wasn't feeling up to it. Scream is horrible! After being on Medusa its sad to see that this ride is nowhere near as good. Scream is way too rough and compact. Marine World's Medusa is much more smooth and spread out. Scream gave me a bad headache. Riddler and Batman were still good but the special effects were off on Batman, not sure if it was because of the weather but I hope they fix them. Colossus vallied on the way out to the chain lift and a mechanic had to come push the train. They gave us all a re-ride to compensate. Gold Rusher overshot the station so we got a re-ride. X blew me away! It is now my favorite ride of all time. The sensation is totally unexpected and gives you the best rush of any coaster. The head-first drop is the best because you don't know what to expect. It took them 30 minutes just to cycle 5 trains so I guess on an actual crowded day the line must move pretty slow. The other highlight of the trip was the Mooseburger Lodge. I thought the themeing of this restaurant was as close to Disney quality that you can get at Six Flags. The antler ale was a good drink and the jalapeno buns are tasty. The singing moose was a nice touch too. I highly recommend this resaurant.

The park was looking very beautiful and the employees were very friendly, even friendlier than Disney's employees. Almost all employees carried on a friendly conversation with me, joked, and just gave you the feeling they enjoyed their job and were happy to be there. The only drawback is they won't be having their good shows again until the summer season but I highly recommend a trip to this park. I'm going to start going regularly again I was so impressed.

For those of you that are regulars, I was wondering: Will the Metro be running again pretty soon and will Superman be up again soon? Also, does X ever operate more than one train?

I personally have not seen the Metro running for awhile now, 3 years at least. X does run two trains during busier times.

Nice to hear you had a good time.