Magic Mountain
Do you ever wonder exactly which six flags they film all those silly commercials at? Or how about which theme park people in sitcoms go to for filming an episode? Well, here’s the answer for the first, and a high percentage of the second question - here at Six Flags Magic Mountain! It’s located just north of LA in Valencia, CA - one would say the perfect spot for a year-round open park closeby to one of the top film locations in the entire world. You’ll recognize the giant wooden roller coaster from the opening of “Step by step” as soon as you drive into the park. Once inside, you’ll also recognize key aspects of the crazy dancing man commericials, and a record-breaking roller coaster seen by many on both the Discovery and Travel channels - more on that later.
Kris and I wanted to use our season passes to the full extent. We’d already been to SF New England and SF Great Adventure once this season. Those started our summer of “roller coaster trip usa.” We continued on our actual road trip to Cedar Point, where we had a blast, but unfortunately is not part of the six flags conglomeration. Along our travels we passed several six flags we could have stopped at - in Gurnee, IL (outside Chicago), in Eureka, MO (outside St. Louis (both already closed during the week when we passed by -even before Labor Day!!!), and Frontier City, in Oklahoma City, OK (which was not included in our season pass, but also not open - 
). Darn. It was pretty clear when we passed by the parks too, even without the SF signs. All 3 were easy to see from the highway, and included several familiar coasters from the other parks we’d already been to.
In any case, we finally made it out today to visit Magic Mountain. We waited like 3 weeks longer than we originally planned, but finally went, and had an awesome time. It’s a big coaster park, with as many coasters as Cedar Point (that’s 16). I think the overall park at CP is better, but MM has the better coasters. Again, CP has the “big” record breakers, but MM has the most original coaster recently devised.
So went went on everything, except the Superman (wasn’t working, and we figured we’ll be back). After having been on many of the top ten “high” coasters Goliath didn’t really scare us. I got a bit shaken on the stand-up coaster, the Riddler’s Revenge. Not impressed at all by Batman the ride (yes, it’s the EXACT SAME COASTER as in about 9 other SF parks - you wonder about these things…). Enjoyed Deja` Vu, the Ninja, even the Gold Rusher. Enjoyed the Revolution - a “revolution” in roller coasters - the *very first* to go upside-down. It’s so funny too, you have to take your stuff with you on the ride (yes, I asked Kris, “Doesn’t this thing go upside-down???”), and there’s this warning at the top of the hill before the loop, like, “look out, here it comes!” The Viper is the Great American Scream Machine in NJ, the Scream is the Medusa in NJ. We didn’t go on the kiddie coasters - not worth it in a park with so many others to choose from. The wooden coasters were good, but once again, the dueling Colossus was only running one track. This might have been because the other track was being prepped for Fright Fest, but still it’s a shame to see such a cool concept go into such disrepair. And they just built a new one in PA! Why would they build new ones if the old ones aren’t popular? Oh well.
Kris told me about a Fright Fest thing that MM does, and I almost didn’t believe him. Apparently the cars from both wooden coasters are interchangable, and they take the cars from the Psyclone and run them backwards on Colossus!!! Thankfully we were a weekend early - I wouldn’t want that to be my very first experience on that coaster - backwards. Yikes.
And finally - the X! This is the only coaster grouped in the “fourth dimension” catagory. I can’t even begin to explain this ride. It gripped me with terror, but also excitement. You start off going up the lift hill backwards, are plumpted down facing the ground, and just are turned all over the place. I understand how the coaster works (the direction of the cars is controlled by a different rail than the cars are actually on), but I can’t really decribe the ride experience other than to say - you have to go on it.
What amazed me the most about our day was the people we met. Waiting in line to ride Scream a second time, next to us was an older couple. Definately old enough to be our parents. Old enough themselves to have grandkids. We started talking with them, I’m not exactly sure how, but they asked us if we’d ridden the X. We’re like, “have you?” Surpringly enough, they’d ridden it - several times. I know my parents have gone on coasters, but I also know it’s going to take a bit to convince my father to go on the X. I highly doubt my mother would go on it. Hopefully I’ll get my sister on it, but who knows. It’s crazy, but it’s a lifetime experience I enjoy having under my belt. 
Magic Mountain - you just wait! We’ll be back….
