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Park News - (5/15/12) I’ve received a couple of e-mails from locals with connections regarding that “No Inversions” sign posted for the crew at Green Lantern. From how it has been explained, the “No Inversions” warning isn’t about the overall ride experience, but is apparently a term used to describe when a very unbalanced car returns to the station and is so out of whack, it cannot right itself. When this happens, the ride shuts down and maintenance is called out to manually adjust the car and restart the ride, a process which takes about 15 minutes or so.  So while the warning is a good one that makes sense, perhaps a better term could be used.
    (5/14/12) I’m a bit dismayed by a picture that was sent in to me this evening from a reader. The picture is of a dry-erase board that is apparently meant for the crew of the Green Lantern coaster at Magic Mountain. The sign is a notice to the crew that the park’s GradNight event was taking place this past Saturday night, and that they would be running until a 1:00am closing time. On top of the great motivational notes for the crew, was one that stood out asking them to “Avoid Inversions”. In other words… load the car riders in such a way as to make the cars as balanced as possible, thus mellowing out the ride experience. Ummm… this is Grad Night after all… when the park is full of all those rowdy teens that you build these thrill machine for… and you want to mellow the experience?
    Really… maybe the park shouldn’t have bought a Zac Spin coaster in the first place, because the ride experience is supposed to be all about getting as many flips / inversions as possible, isn’t it? 
    (4/25/12) A great new Facebook page has been created with a  mission close to my own heart. Take a peek at the Restore Revolution page… who’s goal is to have Six Flags Magic Mountain restore the once awesome Revolution coaster back to it’s former glory. The effort goes beyond just some TLC… they park needs to remove the unnecessary shoulder restraints that were bolted onto the trains in the 90s and make the ride run as Anton Schwarzkopf intended. In it’s current form, it’s just far too painful to be enjoyable due to the poorly designed addition of shoulder restraints onto the cars and layout that were never intended to have them. Take a look and join the revolution.
    (3/30/12) The Three Stooges will invade Six Flags parks this April as part of a promotion for the new film. Highlighting the event will be the temporary re-branding of Colossus at Six Flags Magic Mountain as “Curly’s Colossus”. On April Stooge Day (April 1st) select parks will be hosting Three Stooges look-alive-contests as well. At SFMM, the first 500 Stooge look-alikes will be eligible for “early ride time” on Scream and Curly’s Colossus, as well as a voucher to see the film when it is released.
    April Stooge Day events will take place at the: SF over Georgia, over Texas, Magic Mountain, Fiesta Texas, Discovery Kingdom and Six Flags America parks.
    (3/28/12) It may be blasphemy to some, especially in Disney fan circles, but I’m not a Dole Whips fan. (I just don’t care for Pineapple… what can I say?)  That said… fans of the creation who also love thrill rides may be interested to know that Dole Whips are now being sold at Six Flags Magic Mountain at the former Johnny Rockets location that was near the now demolished Log Jammer. (That cryptic enough? LOL!)
    (3/14/12) A huge trip report from the West Coast Bash event at Knott’s Berry Farm and Six Flags Magic Mountain can now be found at Theme Park Review.
    (3/1/12) As you can see in this picture, the Thrill Shot at SFMM has now been removed without a trace.
    (2/16/12) I double checked with SFMM’s Sue Carpenter regarding the status of the Thrill Shot upcharge attraction. She confirmed that the Thrill Shot is indeed being removed, and noted that it has also not been operated for the past three years.
    (2/15/12) One of our readers drove by Magic Mountain a little bit ago and saw what appeared to be a large crane in the backside of the park, appearing as if they could be taking down the three S&S Thrill Shot ride towers. Can anyone else confirm?
    (2/3/12) A news article from the UK confirms that Six Flags Hurricane Harbor at Magic Mountain will add the Lo-Q Q-band virtual queue system to the park for the 2012 season.

2012 - Lex Luthor Drop of Doom - (5/4/12) The new track for Lex Luthor Drop of Doom are now going up onto the Superman tower. It’s quite interesting to see how they are attaching the new track for the drop ride in with the existing ride tower. Check out the pictures posted to TheCoasterGuy.
    (4/6/12) A new construction video for Lex Luthor Drop of Doom can be found here, though the footage is mixed with talking-head footage trying to explain what seems to be going on.
    (4/4/12) TheCoasterGuy reports that the first pieces of hardware for Lex Luthor: Drop of Doom are now on site at Magic Mountain. I’m really looking forward to seeing just how they pull off this feat of engineering. Unlike how we’ve seen the ride in the concept animation, I’ve heard that the two sides of the tower will actually be connected and run as one giant unit, with hardware wrapping around the backside of the tower to connect the two 8-seat units.
    Speaking of which… I’d expect to see long lines for this one. With only 16 riders per cycle, and a very long climb to the top of the 400+ foot tower, the line is going to move slow. Maybe they should have built double-decker cars instead. Intamin did this before for the Pepsi Max Drop at London’s Trocadero, and I think it certainly would help out capacity at Drop of Doom.
    As the biggest drop ride in the world, I’m certain the ride experience here will not be lacking in the slightest. If the cloud scratching height wasn’t enough to scare you senseless, the fact that the tower itself sways about a foot in either direction when the coaster runs up the other side will certainly be an added thrill.
    (3/23/12) A new video construction update from SFMM showing off the progress over at Lex Luthor: Drop of Doom has been posted to YouTube.

    (3/13/12) Construction work is starting for Lex Luthor: Drop of Doom at last. You can find a few pictures of the site posted to TheCoasterGuy.com.
    (2/7/12) I’ve confirmed with the park that Superman: Escape from Krypton is now closed to begin construction work on Lex Luthor’s Drop of Doom. Don’t look for Superman to reopen until they are ready to open the Drop of Doom as well.
    (9/2/11) It’s one thing to read about Lex Luthor’s Drop of Doom… but wait until you see it! Check out the animated video below.

    (9/1/11) Six Flags Magic Mountain has announced the Lex Luthor: Drop of Doom, which will be the world’s tallest vertical drop tower ride standing 400 feet into the air. Long a dream for many, there will be two Intamin drop tower rides mounted to the sides of the Superman: Escape from Krypton tower, seated on an eight-across person bench.  Simply amazing, and long overdue. Way to go SFMM for finally realizing the potential you’ve had sitting there for so long and claiming a record that I don’t think anyone will be able to take away from you for a long long time.
    (9/1/11) While I’ve been getting rumors about a new drop tower attraction on the way to SFMM for 2012… the latest little tidbid is very interesting, as they claim the site will host “two” towers and not just one. Very curious… is this two separate attractions for capacity’s sake or are we about to see some kind of unique new attraction where the riders are suspended between the two towers?  We’ll know soon enough!
    (8/26/11) Going along with the rumors of a possible new massive drop tower project coming to SFMM in 2012, the latest video blog from the park also seems to tease about this same thing at the very end. Check it out here… a cryptic shot of the Superman tower. This does fit in with another rumor I’ve heard… that the tower ride could possibly be themed to Superman’s nemesis… Lex Luthor. I was kind of hoping that rumor was not true myself as there is nothing about Lex that screams ‘Drop Tower’ to me. Plus he’s just not as menacing as some of the other DC comic villains in my opinion. I guess we’ll have to wait and see.
    (8/17/11) The latest buzz from Magic Mountain points a clear finger to me at the park adding a large new drop tower for the 2012. The park has been without one for a few years now, and has long been lacking a next-gen style drop tower anyway, so this should be a good fit. The only question is… who will make it? S&S, Intamin, Moser or someone else entirely?  As for the location… it could fit just about anywhere in the park, since drop towers have a tiny footprint, so there is no telling until we find some survey flags. I’m hearing the announcement will also come in early September, so we wont have to wait much longer anyway.

2013 - Full Throttle - (4/24/12) Several SFMM locals have reported over at CoasterFusion about receiving an e-mail survey to get their opinion on the name “Full Throttle” for a future park attraction. One very very interesting question in the survey seems to give away a possible major spoiler for the ride experience. “Lets’s say that at some point in themiddle of the full throttle themed ride there is some kind of tunnel. During this ride you’d shoot into the tunnel at 500 miles per hour, stop short, wait a few moments and then fly out of the tunnel backwards the way you came in. What kind of experience would you want to have in the tunnel? Keep in mind that the ride is only going to be in the tunnel for several seconds before they shoot back out backwards. What should they experience?”
    Wow… while the 500mph bit is complete over-hype… the basic concept here sounds very interesting experience may be planned for the former monorail tunnel inside the mountain itself.
    (4/23/12) A new video showing off the latest progress in the former Log Jammer site has been posted to YouTube and embedded below.

    (4/18/12) Remember that slip on Facebook several weeks ago when the official Six Flags account mentioned that SFMM’s 2013 coaster would be named Full Throttle?  (Before it was quickly pulled…) Well, it looks like they are still serious about that name as Six Flags has just filed for the trademark use to use the name ‘Full Throttle’ for a theme park ride on April 4th, 2012.
    (3/13/12) A reader sent in another very sad looking shot of the former Log Jammer site at SFMM. Hard to believe that one of the world’s bigg est log rides (for a time) used to reside here. Whatever The Mountain has planned… it better be good.
    (3/9/12) The LA Times has reported an interesting story where it seems like the Six Flags Facebook page accidentally leaked the proposed name for the 2013 coaster… only to yank it down later on. According to the report and people on the various fan sites who read it before it was deleted, the plan was to call it “Full Throttle”, and it sounds like it will have two launches and may attempt to take the record for having the tallest inversion in the world. The old Metro tunnel is also rumored to play a roll here… possible used as a launch tunnel for ride’s LIMs to help keep them out of the direct sunlight and elements. (Besides... the name makes me smile. I hope they keep Full Throttle if they can... brings back memories of playing the old LucasArts video game from the good old days.)
    (2/27/12) Screamscape sources who attended West Coast Bash came back with a little info about what The Mountain has in store for the old Log Jammer site. For starters… it wont be an AquaTrax. (LOL!) It will be big enough that I’m hearing that the park may have to make an announcement around July 4th however, and that will will break some kind of record. The removal of the old Metro monorail beamway will continue to remove it inside the old tunnel station as well. That’s said, I think it’s safe to assume that whatever this new coaster will be may put the old tunnel to use for something. Could be a queue… but if it was big enough for the Metro, it should be big enough for a coaster car to pass through, right?
    Speaking of which… I wouldn’t count on seeing anything from B&M go in here. The rumored list of supplier is short, but so far my top leads have led me to believe we could be seeing some kind of new creation from Premier Rides. Premier is building the new Superman concept coaster at SFDK for 2012 after all and impressed the coaster fans at Kennywood with SkyRocket back in 2010, and has always been known for their impressive Launched coasters (Mr. Freeze is still awe inspiring BTW), just to give you an some ideas of what kind of elements could be included here.
    (2/21/12) Magic Mountain hasn’t wasted any time in removing the Log Jammer. There are some good pictures of the cleared site, bulldozers and all, posted over at All American Thrills this week. Whatever The Mountain has planned for 2013, they aren’t wasting any time in getting started, so I’ve got to imagine that they may have something special in the works. They also check out the Lex Luthor site, but there really isn’t anything to see yet.
    (2/10/12) It’s still a bit too early to lock in anything for the SFMM 2013 project just yet, but with demolition fully under way, what we have heard so far is what it wont be. Screamscape sources confirm that this is not expected to be a B&M coaster of any kind, so throw out all those long rumored Dive Machine rumors that have been brewing forever. (Which is just disappointing, the terrain of the Log Jammer site would have made for a great themed Dive Machine...)
    (2/7/12) Demolition work has begun at Six Flags Magic Mountain on the old Log Jammer ride area. The station building itself is fairly removed, though from the midway it may look more intact than it is due to the façade out front still standing. The splashdown lagoon is being torn up and they’ve even begun work to demolish the old Metro monorail station across the midway from the Log Jammer as well, along with a few sections of the Metro’s nearby beamways.
    (1/27/12) The first 2012 edition of the SFMM GoBigCam video blog ends with what some are thinking could possibly be a clue about the park’s 2013 attraction. While the theme of the video is about working out, the hostess ends it by posing in front of a Wonder Woman backdrop and says, “Maybe by 2013 I’ll look like that,” in reference to Wonder Woman. With Six Flags seeming to have a renewed focus on ride’s themed after the DC Comics characters, could it be time for a Wonder Woman themed coaster all these years?
    Now in all seriousness, this “clue” is probably way way WAY off track here. After all, the new 2013 coaster is supposed to take over the Log Jammer spot, which is located no where near the DC Universe section of the park. So I really don’t put any stock into this idea at all. I’ve got a feeling we could be seeing something with a more unique theme coming in 2013.

    (11/3/11) Sue Carpenter, spokeswoman for Six Flags Magic Mountain confirmed to the local news that the Log Jammer is now closed, to be removed to make way for a future park expansion project which will be announced sometime in 2012. So at least we know where to keep our eyes focused for the park’s 2013 ride plans… lets just hope they try to work in some of the natural landscaping and water features leftover from the Log Jammer into the new ride.
    (11/2/11) With the demise of the Log Jammer happening any day now, you can take one last look at the ride as it stands today over at Theme Park Review, as well as catch some pictures of Déjà Vu coming down.
    (10/28/11) Sad news today regarding the fate of the Log Jammer at SFMM.  I’ve been told that a sign in a ‘break room’ at SFMM indicated that the Log Jammer only had a few days left to run. The basic gist of seems to be that the Log Jammer will be no more following Halloween.
    (10/19/11) Its been a few weeks, and I’m sorry to say that the rumors about the possible removal of Log Jammer from SFMM have not let up. As wrong as it seems to remove a classic “log ride” from any park… I’m starting to get worried the rumor could be true. If so… get your last rides in while you still can, or regret it forever.
    (9/19/11) To be honest, this is the first I’ve heard of the following rumor… and I have yet to get the story fully double-checked with any other sources at this point, so I have to remain skeptical about it still. That said, a report has come in claiming that Magic Mountain may be considering the possible removal of the popular Log Jammer flume ride. I really hope not, as it get hot beyond belief in the summer at The Mountain, and that park really needs more water rides, not less. Even today, I think the Log Jammer probably has the most consistently long line of all the park’s water rides. If anyone has anything else to share about this, please do let me know.

2014-2015 - Colossus Refurbishment - (2/27/12) During West Coaster Bash Six Flags management did confirm that they were still seriously considering performing a full Rocky Mountain Hybrid transformation job on Colossus in the future. What it is coming down to however is to see if they think that they can get a return on investment for the project… which essentially means that they want to know if they can promote Colossus to the general public as a new coaster experience and lure in the crowds. (It seemed to have worked with X2, and certainly it seems like The Texas Giant was able to hit the target as the ride was reported as being packed all last summer).
    (1/30/12) It’s a bit early to lock down this project, but I’m hearing that after The Rattler, Colossus may indeed be the next Six Flags coaster to get a major overhaul from Rocky Mountain Coasters. Look for this in either 2014 or 2015 and I’ll leave you with this little tidbit... if the rumors I’m hearing are true, the name Colossus may mean something to the world once again.
    (4/25/11) Screamscape sources indicate that following the successful opening and transformation of the Texas Giant this past weekend, management has now set their eyes upon the next candidate for transformation. We’ve heard it rumored before, but now it seems like a good bet that Colossus at Magic Mountain will be the next woodie to ride the Iron Horse rail system. Much like the transformation of the Texas Giant, I’m told that the ideas they are planning for Colossus will be quite shocking and take it to the next level. Stay tuned!
    (6/5/10) I’ve got a soft spot for Colossus at SFMM… after all it was the woodie I rode most as a kid growing up in SoCal. I remembering riding it with the 3-Bench PTC trains in the early years and on the 2-Bench California style Morgan trains that were added in later years. I’ve even ridden it backwards many times using a borrowed B&M train from the Psyclone coaster.  That said… I’m hearing that Colossus is due to another revamp sometime in the next few years… as the Morgan trains are coming to the end of their lifespan and need replacing. Facing the aspect of buying some costly new coaster trains, management is hoping to find a way to market this costly expense in their favor and all eyes are keeping careful tabs on the Texas Giant rebuild in progress, as Colossus is said to be a possible candidate for the process as well.
    If Colossus does get the green light, it’s said that we could very well see some huge changes made to the ride’s layout in order to spice things up like banking those slow flat turns, and making the hills even more thrilling and full of airtime. Yep… I think it would be a great idea to make remodel Colossus back into the monster coaster it could be once again, so cross your fingers.