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September 10, 2004

Day Four: Six Flags Magic Mountain

It's playtime.

(For best results as you read this, you may want to download and play "We Like To Party" by the Venga Boys (iTunes has it for $0.99). Alternately, you can visit this link and play the thing in the background.)

Magic Mountain is, without question, the best theme park I've ever been to. It's like Mecca for coaster enthusiasts.

I arrived right as the park opened, and met a couple of very nice women from the Bay area while waiting to pay. Turns out that Sophia is a fellow coaster maniac, and Meetha is a good friend of hers who is "undecided" about the coaster thing. Since they had the same idea I did - get on everything they possibly could, all day long - we joined forces.

Our first stop was X, the world's first "four dimensional" coaster (and, truth be told, the best thing I've ridden. Ever.). X is hard to explain without visual aids, so just imagine a traditional roller coaster - the rails are below, with the car on top and the people in the car. On X, the car straddles the rails (two people each side), and the seats are mounted on a pole that runs through the car. The pole rotates with 180 degrees of motion. So, as the coaster runs, you're being rotated forward and backward so you're viewing things from the most optimal position. It's the damndest thing.

From there, we went on (in order) Viper, Revolution, Goliath, Colossus, Scream (twice!), Batman: The Ride, Riddler's Revenge, Gold Rusher, Superman: The Escape, Deja Vu, Psyclone, Ninja, and back to X. With stops for the Tidal Wave and Freefall.

There were no lines. Ever. X had a small wait (10 - 20 minutes), but that was mostly due to the fact that they were only running one train, and the load/unload cycle takes some time. In one day, we literally managed to ride every coaster that was open and operational. During the summer, with crowds and 2-hour lines, you might do a third or a fourth of what we pulled off.

As I write this, Friday morning, I'm kicking myself for not having made the trip here before now. Magic Mountain is amazing (and given how coasters-a-go-go Cedar Point is, I'll be off to Ohio sooner instead of later). If you like thrill rides, come here.

If you come to Magic Mountain with a limited amount of time, ride X, Scream, Goliath (I almost blacked out on it - the G-forces are incredible), and Riddler's Revenge. If you have time, hit Deja Vu and Superman: The Escape. And the rest are gravy.

Small observation about parks. Los Angeles is an interesting microcosm of theme park audiences. On the one hand, there's Disneyland. Disneyland is all about little kids (and adults like me that are in touch with their inner 5-year-old). On the other, there's Knott's Berry Farm, which caters to 45-year-olds and the pre-teen audience, very Midwest and wholesome. And then there's Magic Mountain, which is an all-coaster, all-the-time thrill park. It's for adrenaline-seekers of all ages ... but caters mostly to that "18 - 34 year old boy" demographic.

So the day ended, Sophia and Meetha said our goodbyes, and I retreated for the safety of my air-conditioned rental car. I was hot, sticky and sweaty, my camera was almost full, and I was pooped. But right now, the whole trip is officially Worth It.

UPDATE, September 10, 2005: One or more of the original hyperlinks on this page expired, and has been dereferenced. The hyperlinked text is now underlined.

Posted by Gavin Shearer at September 10, 2004 9:39 AM. Posted to Travel.

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