Yesterday was a return trip to Magic Mountain – it’s kind of turning into a yearly thing. I think that’s pretty much all I can take with the rides there as the older I get, the more they seem to impact how I feel after riding them. This weekend’s trip was especially notable as it was fucking HOT. Regularly around 100 degrees all day, so we drank a ton of water, had lots of sunscreen on, and I had my hat on as I am no fool.
It was a good time but happily I’m good with not having to stay all day at theme parks anymore, so after getting in a few good rides, especially Twisted Colossus, which was my primary goal for the visit, both Larry & I were ready to get the hell out of dodge. Leaving early means you also get to avoid the mad rush to get out from the parking lot. Eff that noise.
I captured most of the journey around the park we had with Nicki, Brian, Kevin, Jamal, Michael and Marissa in the pictures below, but here’s the rundown of what Larry & I did:
- Twisted Colossus – this area is where we met up with the group as we ended up getting there a little late. The line was really short and we got right up to the front of it when the ride broke down. We waited another 15 minutes or so and then it was clear the ride wasn’t going to reopen for a little while longer.
- Scream! – I hadn’t been on this ride for quite a while, as it is a fun ride and well-engineered, but something about it just feels kind of meh? Maybe there’s no real theme to it and it’s a rollercoaster just next to the parking lot. But it was a good one to start off our day with.
- Batman the Ride – Twisted Colossus was still broken so we headed over to the DC land area and walked basically right on this ride. Still a great inverted coaster even 18 years after it opened. The theming is definitely on point for that Tim Burton Gotham feel.
- Twisted Colossus – We went back and it was open, so we get immediately in line after meeting up with Michael & Marissa. All I can say, this new ride is simply spectacular. One of the first things to notice is you no longer get to choose a side like you did in the original Colossus. That gives a hint as to what is going to happen as there are two colored tracks out there. Once you’re sitting down, you get secured by a brace that secures your waist and legs, but there’s no handle or bar around for you to grab onto like you normally have in a rollercoaster. Nope, you’re basically going to have to trust you’re not gonna fly out of the car and have a damn awesome thrilling experience. It’s unlike any train car in a coaster I’ve ever been on. Next, the ride’s initial drop is (checks internet…) an 80-degree drop which is basically straight down when you’re in it. Then you’re flying FAST through the coaster and doing all sorts of crazy acrobatics, including barrel rolls, which are simply spectacular and intense while in a coaster like this. Best part? Your first circuit isn’t the end – you start off on the blue track but circle back to do it all again on the green track. it’s amazing. Intense as fuck, so one ride was enough. 🙂
- We then had a deathmarch around the park looking at various rides and seeing the lines were really long. No Apocalypse or Jet Stream for us, but we did get on….
- Gold Rusher, as you always have to go on this classic. Seriously. It’s a great mine-train coaster, and one of the originals of the park. 1971!
- After this, we walked up and down the actual mountain in the park and that’s when it was like, I’m dying here. It was so fucking hot and even drinking as much water as I was, I was just fading fast. Everyone was too, and we started looking for food. The main fast-food options in the park were mobbed and also outside and hot, so we kept walking. Finally, Larry looked on the map and found that there was a burger place in the Sports Bar near Full Throttle, and sure enough, we found heaven. Air-conditioned, indoors, and plenty of space upstairs to wait while a table in the dining room opened up? Yes, please. That respite was all we needed to keep going. About 90 minutes later, recharged with food and water, it was time to keep going!
- Full Throttle – that insane coaster was right there, and while some of us were wondering if that recent lunch was going to make a reappearance, the 20-30 minute wait seemed to be enough, as nobody got sick. Still, that ride is just insane. Biggest loop in the country, launched out of the station, a psych-out section, then launched back out OVER that giant loop? It’s intense as hell. But what a rush.
After that, we all walked to The New Revolution, which is the old Revolution but now you wear VR goggles. The line was 90 minutes, at a minimum. It was 4 or 5 at this point, and I looked at Larry and asked if he was ready to go, as I certainly was. He was ready too, so we said our happy goodbyes and did the death march back to the car. What’s nuts is that I’m sure the heat kept a lot of people home, but there was still a TON of cars parked there. We were in the third lot out, and that’s pretty far. It is a summer Saturday though, and probably a lot of people were at Hurricane Harbor too. But man, it was a lot of people also suffering in that sun!
Today was just a nice way to recuperate by not going outside, let me tell you.
June 4, 2016 – Magic Mountain in the Heat
