Six Flags Magic Mountain has sit comfortably at the top of my domestic bucket list for a long LONG time. Probably since I was a wee little CoasterBookkeeper long before I was even thinking about accounting as a concept (and should probably be right now). It sat out there in California across the United States and I saw documentary after documentary on it, played it in RCT2, looked at trip report after trip report, video after video. It's very much a Six Flags at the end of the day but it may have the best coaster lineup I've ever encountered easily. Yes I like MMs lineup more than Cedar Point and more than Hersheypark. It's that stacked so many interesting cool unique coasters you will not find elsewhere.
The plan was two full days at Magic Mountain because my enthusiast pal and I needed that much time for this sprawling complex of rides. Magic Mountain actually has a fairly interesting and unique setting as it's unlike anything you will see on the East Coast. It feels like you're visiting a Coaster Mecca in the desert surrounded by mountains and incredible far reaching site lines. There is very little green compared to the East Coast it's mostly brown with various unfamiliar plant life. The park is north of the LA area and requires driving through mountains and valleys from the city area to reach up I-5. The arrival isn't quite as epic as "oh Lake Er..........OMFG THATS CEDAR POINT" but it's up there for me as an East Coast enthusiast just knowing what park I am arriving at in very unfamiliar terrain. The park looks like it's actually on a mountain, a magic mountain if you will (don't kill me). The skyline is unreal just massive rides everywhere, Tatsu rises high on top of the mountain surrounding the closed for many years Sky Deck. You are greeted by X2 when you arrive just this massive red intimidating coaster. In the parking lot you have Twisted Colossus, Goliath, and Scream cycling in front of you to get you just THAT excited. Then you have the randomly really long walk to the park entrance from the parking lot along the perimeter of the water park.
There's the iconic white structure at the entrance you pass under before going into the plaza with the gates for the two parks. Magic Mountains gate certainly isn't quite as epic as Cedar Point's gate with GateKeeper flying over you I will acknowledge that piece. One thing I didn't realize from the photos and videos over the years is the large rockwork waterfall behind the initial fountain because all the pictures I've seen just pivoted up to Revolution and Tatsu. The entrance area was quite pleasant during the day and the music reminded you you are entering a theme park. You are greeted with the options of Revolution or Full Throttle at the front or proceed further along. The park essentially circumvents the large "mountain" in the center of the park that several of the coasters use to their advantage (which honestly makes it fascinating this park has developed how it has over the years). Now Magic Mountain park atmosphere wise had to follow my initial visit to Knott's Berry Farm and Knott's Scary Farm so I was expecting to think the place was "a dump" after that. It wasn't great for sure it's very much a Six Flags park.
A few comments on this aspect before I do a deep dive of the......absurd amount of coasters in the park. Staffing was poor, they ran one train on several coasters on a Saturday (Tatsu, Apocalypse, Riddlers Revenge, Batman all one train and TC and Wonder Woman only 2 trains). Tatsu was extremely frustrating seeing one train on Saturday as Flash Pass largely didn't decrease much of the wait as we got stuck on the stairs forever and a very high volume in the park = A LOT of ADA boardings, it was so many that we had 2 in a row board in front of us on Tatsu when we were up. I understand it, I get it, but man that is so frustrating in the moment when you're sleep deprived, jet lagged, hungry, and thirsty and just want to volunteer as tribute for that Pretzel Loop of death AND it's one train ops on a slow loading flying coaster. Not great. Also we did not do any of the haunts as they were an upcharge and there were far too many coasters to allow Six Flags haunts to distract us. The food was not great, I really didn't like the burger shop near the sports bar. The park has "beer jail" which kind of made it a bummer if we grabbed a beer that we were stuck in a section of the park. Also Six Flags I just feel like is the most aggressive chain at trying to get you to spend more money. Just ads for all the add-ons and upgrades everywhere.
Also I will go ahead and disclose, I did not successfully get on Batman, Riddler's Revenge, or Superman. This was an instance of my shoulders and chest being too big that despite the harness ostensibly locking on me the belts were slightly too short for each of those. Honestly, I understand, ride safety, it's just weird when I've ridden several coasters with identical restraints but can't ride some due to "seatbelt length" when the hydraulic is locked and engaged I don't quite understand why the belts can't simply be "longer" in that scenario. I feel like they should be as long as the minimum lock position on the harness can be. Happy to let an engineer explain this to me why they should have shorter belts on identical rides, I mean I'm not that parks maintenance team, I don't know the ins and outs of their coasters at all but it just doesn't make sense if it's locked down on me but I can't ride because the seatbelt is just too short.
The first coaster we hit was Full Throttle, it just made perfect sense to kick things off with. This ride is so fun honestly, it's very short but the loop and the hangtime with only a lapbar, plus the airtime over the loop after the backwards launch made it a very fun ride. Like Tempesto if it wasn't a flat pretty much with no comfort collars. I also enjoyed the Ops tendency to troll guests prior to the launch. I only rode twice but on our second ride the Op said "hey, do you guys know how tall the loop is? Let's find out! *launch*" I loved Full Throttle great ride very unique and I look forward to another ride one day. Will note, if you ride in the back row (recommended as the backwards launch is excellent with it's own hangtime), BEWARE the brakes on the drop off the loop they will PUNCH YOU IN THE STOMACH.
Next was Goliath, I've ridden Titan, it's like that but "less" most people don't care for these Giovanola hypers I think they're fun, we only rode Goliath once because there was so much stuff to ride that was more interesting. What was interesting, this ride is ostensibly still quite popular with the average guest to Magic Mountain, but it just goes to show that people love "200 foot tall speed coasters with no loops." I will also comment Goliath has the most epic ride sign I've ever seen, just MASSIVE. It's a fun ride and a fun credit to get. I imagine I would do a single ride on it each visit if time allowed but it can draw some lengthy lines.
We attempted Twisted Colossus, but it went down.........so we went to Scream, our objective was to get on 5 roller coasters and head to X2 as that was lined up to be my 250th roller coaster. Scream was basically just mirror Medusa on a parking lot with a slight rattle. I enjoyed it, we rode it once. Not sure I'd go out of my way to get another ride on it especially with Twisted Colossus just sitting there all pretty but we did not get to ride it yet as the first day it just kept getting stuck on the lifts.
We went to Wonder Woman after that, I liked it more than Jersey Devil slightly but not significantly more. The extended ending does add a bit extra to the ride versus JDCs ending. I really liked the themed queue and the fact they offer free lockers to use right before going on the ride. I love RMC Raptors I wish we could have one go up in Virginia, I don't know the odds of that happening (feels unlikely). The strange leg position does leave me prone to leg cramps but the rides are so much fun otherwise. This one and JDC are VERY re-rideable coasters.
Afterwards we had one more to hit before we proceeded to that big red monstrosity you see entering the park so I could post on social media about how it was my 250th roller coaster so everyone in my life could think it's weird I went to California for roller coasters to begin with let alone the fact I am counting them, West Coast Racers! This ride is just cool. It certainly is strange that MM built another coaster to make up for the fact Colossus rarely duels but I am okay with it because this ride is just awesome. The forces are enjoyable (honestly, a comment I feel Premier is somewhat underrated on), the dueling elements are VERY cool and it's fun watching these things race side by side when you're in the plaza. It's not intense by any means but it's VERY fun and I WANT East Coast Racers! Come on Great Adventure! DO IT. One comment, SFMM is the only park you will ever get to experience this, WCR has comfort collars, and Full Throttle...........doesn't Full Throttle also has the longest sustained moment of hangtime I've ever encountered...........with a lap bar. WCR has 4 very rapid inversions but otherwise isn't that aggressive of an attraction. Honestly they should give it the Ice Breaker treatment so they can lower it's height requirement.
Afterwards we went to X2, for that I recommend reading my write up in the thread I posted the other day, but I will say X2 alone made my long flight out west 100% worth it AND this trip had KNOTTS and the rest of Magic Mountain all would be happy to cover if X2 happened to be closed. X2 is an experience unlike anything you've done unless you've done Eejanaika or Dinoconda (anyone on this forum?). I used to always think I305 is "arguably the most intense roller coaster in the world" while that claim is still valid, I do not think I305 is the most intense roller coaster in the world anymore. X2 has claimed that title from I305 for me. This ride convinced me I was going to die each consecutive ride in the best way possible and even after all my rides I still couldn't quite anticipate what it was going to do at a given moment. I will NOTE for those who have not stood in the colosseum of thrill yet, DO NOT attempt to ride X2 defensively, you just have to "let it take you" if you attempt to brace, or prepare, the ride will punish you. I braced at one point and found myself slamming my head into my headrest until I let go. DO NOT BRACE. You have to ragdoll X2. But this was my 250th roller coaster accordingly and man what a ride. I got 6 laps on it including some night rides so worth all of it.
The next few hours resulted in approximately 2 walks of shame from Batman and Riddlers Revenge as well as burning an hour in line for Twisted Colossus for it to............get stuck on the lift hill again. Boo. Batman I'm indifferent really I've done 5 Batman clones at this point, this one does not have 2 seatbelt seats, the belts were a bit shorter on this one than the batman in Georgia. Riddler's Revenge was a bummer as the belt was just too short for me. I rode Georgia Scorcher in May and concluded that, I absolutely despise stand up coasters so not much lost sleep here. We also did a quick ride on Lex Luthor's Drop of Doom which was excellent. Much more accessible than Zumanjaro for sure.
251 finally came after that annoying 3 hours of disappointment and feeling shamed for being big when I got on Apocalypse which JUST reopened a week or two before this visit after a retrack in the back half of summer. This was an excellent little GCI, it's short but it's certainly intense. Some sections were bumpy but nothing terrible or painful it was largely still very much a GCI. I wish they were running more than 1 train so I would have taken an extra lap or two. I thought it had a stronger layout than Lightning Racer but it was very short. Definitely one of the better coasters at Magic Mountain. It kinda cracks me up for the fact it feels like "oh btw we have a GCI!" and also the fact they THEMED IT TO TERMINATOR SALVATION when it opened. WHAT? Some of the theming is clearly left over but man that was a weird choice. Oddly enough it had a decent amount of theming to it for a wooden coaster. At that point in the day we went to check into the hotel and take a breather, we had 2 full days of Magic Mountain after basically blitzing Knotts until 4am Eastern time the day before so we definitely needed a quick break (when traveling for theme parks if you are doing several park days in a row I strongly recommend having hotels near the park and if you have time take breaks! It's very easy to neglect your needs on these trips).
We came back a couple hours later and Fright Fest had descended on the park. I reached the point where I was sick of the fact I had not ridden Tatsu yet. I LOVED Manta in 2021 when I went to SWO and enjoyed my Superman Ultimate Flight ride in May. B&M Flyers are tons of fun and I love them. This was the biggest and best yet and I was hype, I loved seeing how it loomed over the park on the mountain it seems so high up from the rest of the vantage points in the park..................I noticed throughout the day that it seemed to cycle rarely and I found out why. One train ops on a B&M Flyer. We used Flash Pass for our first ride which had limited effect as we wound up on the station steps for around 30 minutes or more each ride. Not great, but I don't want to dwell on that part (it was the same way on Saturday too) as it was time for Ta-Ta-Ta Oh Yeah Ta-Ta-Ta-Tatsuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu. This ride was f*cking awesome. This is the most you will feel like flying ever on a roller coaster, you just soar over the park for the first half with a few flips, and then it tries to brutally murder you with the giant Pretzel Loop of death. The bottom of that thing you just feel it CRUSHING you it's a lot of positives, it felt somewhat significantly stronger than the Manta and Superman pretzel loops. I only got 3 rides total on Tatsu over the 2 days due to the lacking operations but I miss it and I can't wait to ride it again. Definitely the best US flying coaster. Really makes me want to check out Flying Dinosaur.
It was FINALLY time to ride Twisted Colossus. At this point in the day we were largely frustrated the ride kept breaking on our attempts to ride so we saw it was open and bolted across Magic Mountain. We got 6 total rides on Colossus over the two visits including 3 in a row on our initial visit to the ride when we finally got on. This ride greatly exceeded my expectations. I was concerned it would be similar to Wicked Cyclone with them both opening in the same year and nope it was not. Not even close. Twisted Colossus is awesome. The ride has several moments of powerful ejector airtime and a strong blend of elements throughout the entire attraction. We even got an actual duel on one of our laps where the blue side train was matched perfectly with our train on the green side. Right before that we got a sort of duel where it was bit further back. Guys, dueling RMCs is a vibe, I admit. There's something about going through a Zero G Stall and looking down seeing another train of people getting ejector airtime right below you. It was also nighttime so it made it a bit more epic. I still enjoyed the ride quite a bit on the nondueling rides. I was quite surprised they didn't add the 3rd train for Saturday and kept going with 2 trains. Visually it just looks really cool with the blue and green tracks on the white structure. It ended up placing #7 for me in my top 10 right behind X2 which ultimately overshadowed the attraction for me during the visit just because of how unique and insane it was. Twisted Colossus is still a very unique RMC that is very much worth a ride. I like it more than all the other "smaller RMCs" for sure.
The rest of the first day played out with hitting Goldrusher, Ninja, New Revolution, and Viper all at night. Then we closed with X2 night rides. Quick hits on those 4, Goldrusher is a fun mine train on the mountain, a bit more enjoyable than some other mine trains I've done but that's all there is to it. Ninja was a fun Arrow suspended that exceeded my expectations. I honestly may have liked it a bit more than The Bat at Kings Island. New Revolution is a fun classic, interesting approaching that first loop on that shallow hill, almost like they were like "please don't kill someone, please don't kill someone" with it. It was also running one train during both days of the visit. Viper, the first half was VERY intense, it feels like you just crash into that very first loop as well as the two loops afterwards. The 2nd half got a bit rougher honestly and my friend whose head doesn't conveniently stick up above the shoulder harness like me was complaining of terrible headbanging. Arrow stans will love it (I think this may just be taller people?).
The worst walk of shame of my Magic Mountain visit absolutely was Superman. It has the Intamin hard straps like Cheetah Hunt, just a shorter belt and sadly mine wouldn't connect so that was a bummer but it sounds like I didn't miss too much. Overall, Magic Mountain has the best coaster lineup of any park I've done. I mean between X2, Twisted Colossus, Tatsu, Wonder Woman, Apocalypse, Full Throttle, WCR, Goliath, Scream, Batman, Riddlers Revenge (if you like standups....), New Revolution, Ninja, Superman, and Lex Luthor you essentially have a buffet of very fun thrilling coasters to choose from in an incredible setting where you can see for miles from anywhere in the park. Every enthusiast should make a pilgrimage to this park very much in a similar fashion many do to Cedar Point. Cedar Point has SV, Maverick, MF, and then you have a pile of B&Ms. I prefer the unique variety of Magic Mountains lineup. So many rides you can't find anywhere else. It's absolutely worth the time, money, and effort if you live in the east coast and enjoy roller coasters like us. The park itself was certainly not as nice as Knott's Berry Farm and I prefer Knott's overall but it's the best coaster lineup I've encountered period, easily. I'd say the closest comparison for me would be Hersheys stacked lineup of unique cool custom rides. So yeah Magic Mountain is great, thank you for reading, thank you again if you read this and the Knott's thread.
The plan was two full days at Magic Mountain because my enthusiast pal and I needed that much time for this sprawling complex of rides. Magic Mountain actually has a fairly interesting and unique setting as it's unlike anything you will see on the East Coast. It feels like you're visiting a Coaster Mecca in the desert surrounded by mountains and incredible far reaching site lines. There is very little green compared to the East Coast it's mostly brown with various unfamiliar plant life. The park is north of the LA area and requires driving through mountains and valleys from the city area to reach up I-5. The arrival isn't quite as epic as "oh Lake Er..........OMFG THATS CEDAR POINT" but it's up there for me as an East Coast enthusiast just knowing what park I am arriving at in very unfamiliar terrain. The park looks like it's actually on a mountain, a magic mountain if you will (don't kill me). The skyline is unreal just massive rides everywhere, Tatsu rises high on top of the mountain surrounding the closed for many years Sky Deck. You are greeted by X2 when you arrive just this massive red intimidating coaster. In the parking lot you have Twisted Colossus, Goliath, and Scream cycling in front of you to get you just THAT excited. Then you have the randomly really long walk to the park entrance from the parking lot along the perimeter of the water park.
There's the iconic white structure at the entrance you pass under before going into the plaza with the gates for the two parks. Magic Mountains gate certainly isn't quite as epic as Cedar Point's gate with GateKeeper flying over you I will acknowledge that piece. One thing I didn't realize from the photos and videos over the years is the large rockwork waterfall behind the initial fountain because all the pictures I've seen just pivoted up to Revolution and Tatsu. The entrance area was quite pleasant during the day and the music reminded you you are entering a theme park. You are greeted with the options of Revolution or Full Throttle at the front or proceed further along. The park essentially circumvents the large "mountain" in the center of the park that several of the coasters use to their advantage (which honestly makes it fascinating this park has developed how it has over the years). Now Magic Mountain park atmosphere wise had to follow my initial visit to Knott's Berry Farm and Knott's Scary Farm so I was expecting to think the place was "a dump" after that. It wasn't great for sure it's very much a Six Flags park.
A few comments on this aspect before I do a deep dive of the......absurd amount of coasters in the park. Staffing was poor, they ran one train on several coasters on a Saturday (Tatsu, Apocalypse, Riddlers Revenge, Batman all one train and TC and Wonder Woman only 2 trains). Tatsu was extremely frustrating seeing one train on Saturday as Flash Pass largely didn't decrease much of the wait as we got stuck on the stairs forever and a very high volume in the park = A LOT of ADA boardings, it was so many that we had 2 in a row board in front of us on Tatsu when we were up. I understand it, I get it, but man that is so frustrating in the moment when you're sleep deprived, jet lagged, hungry, and thirsty and just want to volunteer as tribute for that Pretzel Loop of death AND it's one train ops on a slow loading flying coaster. Not great. Also we did not do any of the haunts as they were an upcharge and there were far too many coasters to allow Six Flags haunts to distract us. The food was not great, I really didn't like the burger shop near the sports bar. The park has "beer jail" which kind of made it a bummer if we grabbed a beer that we were stuck in a section of the park. Also Six Flags I just feel like is the most aggressive chain at trying to get you to spend more money. Just ads for all the add-ons and upgrades everywhere.
Also I will go ahead and disclose, I did not successfully get on Batman, Riddler's Revenge, or Superman. This was an instance of my shoulders and chest being too big that despite the harness ostensibly locking on me the belts were slightly too short for each of those. Honestly, I understand, ride safety, it's just weird when I've ridden several coasters with identical restraints but can't ride some due to "seatbelt length" when the hydraulic is locked and engaged I don't quite understand why the belts can't simply be "longer" in that scenario. I feel like they should be as long as the minimum lock position on the harness can be. Happy to let an engineer explain this to me why they should have shorter belts on identical rides, I mean I'm not that parks maintenance team, I don't know the ins and outs of their coasters at all but it just doesn't make sense if it's locked down on me but I can't ride because the seatbelt is just too short.
The first coaster we hit was Full Throttle, it just made perfect sense to kick things off with. This ride is so fun honestly, it's very short but the loop and the hangtime with only a lapbar, plus the airtime over the loop after the backwards launch made it a very fun ride. Like Tempesto if it wasn't a flat pretty much with no comfort collars. I also enjoyed the Ops tendency to troll guests prior to the launch. I only rode twice but on our second ride the Op said "hey, do you guys know how tall the loop is? Let's find out! *launch*" I loved Full Throttle great ride very unique and I look forward to another ride one day. Will note, if you ride in the back row (recommended as the backwards launch is excellent with it's own hangtime), BEWARE the brakes on the drop off the loop they will PUNCH YOU IN THE STOMACH.
Next was Goliath, I've ridden Titan, it's like that but "less" most people don't care for these Giovanola hypers I think they're fun, we only rode Goliath once because there was so much stuff to ride that was more interesting. What was interesting, this ride is ostensibly still quite popular with the average guest to Magic Mountain, but it just goes to show that people love "200 foot tall speed coasters with no loops." I will also comment Goliath has the most epic ride sign I've ever seen, just MASSIVE. It's a fun ride and a fun credit to get. I imagine I would do a single ride on it each visit if time allowed but it can draw some lengthy lines.
We attempted Twisted Colossus, but it went down.........so we went to Scream, our objective was to get on 5 roller coasters and head to X2 as that was lined up to be my 250th roller coaster. Scream was basically just mirror Medusa on a parking lot with a slight rattle. I enjoyed it, we rode it once. Not sure I'd go out of my way to get another ride on it especially with Twisted Colossus just sitting there all pretty but we did not get to ride it yet as the first day it just kept getting stuck on the lifts.
We went to Wonder Woman after that, I liked it more than Jersey Devil slightly but not significantly more. The extended ending does add a bit extra to the ride versus JDCs ending. I really liked the themed queue and the fact they offer free lockers to use right before going on the ride. I love RMC Raptors I wish we could have one go up in Virginia, I don't know the odds of that happening (feels unlikely). The strange leg position does leave me prone to leg cramps but the rides are so much fun otherwise. This one and JDC are VERY re-rideable coasters.
Afterwards we had one more to hit before we proceeded to that big red monstrosity you see entering the park so I could post on social media about how it was my 250th roller coaster so everyone in my life could think it's weird I went to California for roller coasters to begin with let alone the fact I am counting them, West Coast Racers! This ride is just cool. It certainly is strange that MM built another coaster to make up for the fact Colossus rarely duels but I am okay with it because this ride is just awesome. The forces are enjoyable (honestly, a comment I feel Premier is somewhat underrated on), the dueling elements are VERY cool and it's fun watching these things race side by side when you're in the plaza. It's not intense by any means but it's VERY fun and I WANT East Coast Racers! Come on Great Adventure! DO IT. One comment, SFMM is the only park you will ever get to experience this, WCR has comfort collars, and Full Throttle...........doesn't Full Throttle also has the longest sustained moment of hangtime I've ever encountered...........with a lap bar. WCR has 4 very rapid inversions but otherwise isn't that aggressive of an attraction. Honestly they should give it the Ice Breaker treatment so they can lower it's height requirement.
Afterwards we went to X2, for that I recommend reading my write up in the thread I posted the other day, but I will say X2 alone made my long flight out west 100% worth it AND this trip had KNOTTS and the rest of Magic Mountain all would be happy to cover if X2 happened to be closed. X2 is an experience unlike anything you've done unless you've done Eejanaika or Dinoconda (anyone on this forum?). I used to always think I305 is "arguably the most intense roller coaster in the world" while that claim is still valid, I do not think I305 is the most intense roller coaster in the world anymore. X2 has claimed that title from I305 for me. This ride convinced me I was going to die each consecutive ride in the best way possible and even after all my rides I still couldn't quite anticipate what it was going to do at a given moment. I will NOTE for those who have not stood in the colosseum of thrill yet, DO NOT attempt to ride X2 defensively, you just have to "let it take you" if you attempt to brace, or prepare, the ride will punish you. I braced at one point and found myself slamming my head into my headrest until I let go. DO NOT BRACE. You have to ragdoll X2. But this was my 250th roller coaster accordingly and man what a ride. I got 6 laps on it including some night rides so worth all of it.
The next few hours resulted in approximately 2 walks of shame from Batman and Riddlers Revenge as well as burning an hour in line for Twisted Colossus for it to............get stuck on the lift hill again. Boo. Batman I'm indifferent really I've done 5 Batman clones at this point, this one does not have 2 seatbelt seats, the belts were a bit shorter on this one than the batman in Georgia. Riddler's Revenge was a bummer as the belt was just too short for me. I rode Georgia Scorcher in May and concluded that, I absolutely despise stand up coasters so not much lost sleep here. We also did a quick ride on Lex Luthor's Drop of Doom which was excellent. Much more accessible than Zumanjaro for sure.
251 finally came after that annoying 3 hours of disappointment and feeling shamed for being big when I got on Apocalypse which JUST reopened a week or two before this visit after a retrack in the back half of summer. This was an excellent little GCI, it's short but it's certainly intense. Some sections were bumpy but nothing terrible or painful it was largely still very much a GCI. I wish they were running more than 1 train so I would have taken an extra lap or two. I thought it had a stronger layout than Lightning Racer but it was very short. Definitely one of the better coasters at Magic Mountain. It kinda cracks me up for the fact it feels like "oh btw we have a GCI!" and also the fact they THEMED IT TO TERMINATOR SALVATION when it opened. WHAT? Some of the theming is clearly left over but man that was a weird choice. Oddly enough it had a decent amount of theming to it for a wooden coaster. At that point in the day we went to check into the hotel and take a breather, we had 2 full days of Magic Mountain after basically blitzing Knotts until 4am Eastern time the day before so we definitely needed a quick break (when traveling for theme parks if you are doing several park days in a row I strongly recommend having hotels near the park and if you have time take breaks! It's very easy to neglect your needs on these trips).
We came back a couple hours later and Fright Fest had descended on the park. I reached the point where I was sick of the fact I had not ridden Tatsu yet. I LOVED Manta in 2021 when I went to SWO and enjoyed my Superman Ultimate Flight ride in May. B&M Flyers are tons of fun and I love them. This was the biggest and best yet and I was hype, I loved seeing how it loomed over the park on the mountain it seems so high up from the rest of the vantage points in the park..................I noticed throughout the day that it seemed to cycle rarely and I found out why. One train ops on a B&M Flyer. We used Flash Pass for our first ride which had limited effect as we wound up on the station steps for around 30 minutes or more each ride. Not great, but I don't want to dwell on that part (it was the same way on Saturday too) as it was time for Ta-Ta-Ta Oh Yeah Ta-Ta-Ta-Tatsuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu. This ride was f*cking awesome. This is the most you will feel like flying ever on a roller coaster, you just soar over the park for the first half with a few flips, and then it tries to brutally murder you with the giant Pretzel Loop of death. The bottom of that thing you just feel it CRUSHING you it's a lot of positives, it felt somewhat significantly stronger than the Manta and Superman pretzel loops. I only got 3 rides total on Tatsu over the 2 days due to the lacking operations but I miss it and I can't wait to ride it again. Definitely the best US flying coaster. Really makes me want to check out Flying Dinosaur.
It was FINALLY time to ride Twisted Colossus. At this point in the day we were largely frustrated the ride kept breaking on our attempts to ride so we saw it was open and bolted across Magic Mountain. We got 6 total rides on Colossus over the two visits including 3 in a row on our initial visit to the ride when we finally got on. This ride greatly exceeded my expectations. I was concerned it would be similar to Wicked Cyclone with them both opening in the same year and nope it was not. Not even close. Twisted Colossus is awesome. The ride has several moments of powerful ejector airtime and a strong blend of elements throughout the entire attraction. We even got an actual duel on one of our laps where the blue side train was matched perfectly with our train on the green side. Right before that we got a sort of duel where it was bit further back. Guys, dueling RMCs is a vibe, I admit. There's something about going through a Zero G Stall and looking down seeing another train of people getting ejector airtime right below you. It was also nighttime so it made it a bit more epic. I still enjoyed the ride quite a bit on the nondueling rides. I was quite surprised they didn't add the 3rd train for Saturday and kept going with 2 trains. Visually it just looks really cool with the blue and green tracks on the white structure. It ended up placing #7 for me in my top 10 right behind X2 which ultimately overshadowed the attraction for me during the visit just because of how unique and insane it was. Twisted Colossus is still a very unique RMC that is very much worth a ride. I like it more than all the other "smaller RMCs" for sure.
The rest of the first day played out with hitting Goldrusher, Ninja, New Revolution, and Viper all at night. Then we closed with X2 night rides. Quick hits on those 4, Goldrusher is a fun mine train on the mountain, a bit more enjoyable than some other mine trains I've done but that's all there is to it. Ninja was a fun Arrow suspended that exceeded my expectations. I honestly may have liked it a bit more than The Bat at Kings Island. New Revolution is a fun classic, interesting approaching that first loop on that shallow hill, almost like they were like "please don't kill someone, please don't kill someone" with it. It was also running one train during both days of the visit. Viper, the first half was VERY intense, it feels like you just crash into that very first loop as well as the two loops afterwards. The 2nd half got a bit rougher honestly and my friend whose head doesn't conveniently stick up above the shoulder harness like me was complaining of terrible headbanging. Arrow stans will love it (I think this may just be taller people?).
The worst walk of shame of my Magic Mountain visit absolutely was Superman. It has the Intamin hard straps like Cheetah Hunt, just a shorter belt and sadly mine wouldn't connect so that was a bummer but it sounds like I didn't miss too much. Overall, Magic Mountain has the best coaster lineup of any park I've done. I mean between X2, Twisted Colossus, Tatsu, Wonder Woman, Apocalypse, Full Throttle, WCR, Goliath, Scream, Batman, Riddlers Revenge (if you like standups....), New Revolution, Ninja, Superman, and Lex Luthor you essentially have a buffet of very fun thrilling coasters to choose from in an incredible setting where you can see for miles from anywhere in the park. Every enthusiast should make a pilgrimage to this park very much in a similar fashion many do to Cedar Point. Cedar Point has SV, Maverick, MF, and then you have a pile of B&Ms. I prefer the unique variety of Magic Mountains lineup. So many rides you can't find anywhere else. It's absolutely worth the time, money, and effort if you live in the east coast and enjoy roller coasters like us. The park itself was certainly not as nice as Knott's Berry Farm and I prefer Knott's overall but it's the best coaster lineup I've encountered period, easily. I'd say the closest comparison for me would be Hersheys stacked lineup of unique cool custom rides. So yeah Magic Mountain is great, thank you for reading, thank you again if you read this and the Knott's thread.
