Yesterday I headed up to Six Flags Magic Mountain for their first day of daily operations in over a year. It was great to be back in the park, I saw some very encouraging things and overall had a really fun visit. 

In this update I'll share some of my thoughts on the park, covid protocols and what you can expect if you'll be visiting the park in the near future. 

I arrived about 10:10 for my 10:30 reservation. I wasn't hopeful when I saw this, but they opened parking about 10:15 and I was in the park by 10:30. 

I did a full walk around of the park and commentary on my day. Be sure to check it out on our YouTube channel. 

The queue for the temperature check and security. They ARE checking reservations. I saw somebody with a reservation for Sunday get turned away. So please, make sure you show up at your reserved time. 

Lots of signs around the park and even outside the park. I found the completely touch-less temperature check and security to be a breath of fresh air and I hope all of the parks go this route. Not only does it give people a great first impression, but it's so fast and easy. 

They currently have only 2 of the new security check devices, but you literally just walk through it. There was zero wait. 

We missed you too!! 

Lets head into the park

Absolutely zero wait at the gate. If you have a new pass they'll give you your pass card here. 

It felt great to walk through these gates. 

Lots of "rest" and food area's where you normally wouldn't see them. 

I headed for Revolution first, figured I needed to start on something "easy" after a year of no riding, plus I absolutely LOVE Revolution 

Social Distancing, cleaning and loading every-other row! 

About to ride my first coaster in over a year. Tell me you can't see a smile through a mask! 

It was a beautiful (and slightly warm) day

Heading over to Full Throttle. This was pretty much as empty as I saw the walkways all day. 

20 minutes after park opening, lots of cleaning already going on! 

A reminder, the stickers on the ground are there for a reason. Use them! 

Not even exaggerating, I must have seen 100 sanitizer bottles throughout the day. It's amazing to see. 

Social distancing FTW! 

After a nice back-seat ride on Full Throttle it was time to grab a bite to eat. 

I tried to do the mobile ordering at Wascals, but they were having some issues. No biggie, these are the kinds of things to expect after a year of the park not being open. 

I had to ride Road Runner Express because I was wearing a Vekoma hat. And it's the only Vekoma in the park. 

More seating locations where there aren't normally seating locations! 

DO THE SIX!! 

Batman was closed, it is apparently getting some new paint. 

All of the Green Lantern stuff is still here, will be shocked if the new coaster doesn't use this as the entry/station/queue. 

Don't see any panting yet 

Social distancing markers in the games area too! 

I know I sound like a broken record with all the dining area's, but seriously, it's impressive how prepared the park is. 

If rumors are true, Tidal Wave isn't going to be around much longer. 

I do think the park needs more than 2 water rides, so hopefully they'll get some kind of splash battle or something in the next couple of years. 

Some pics of Riddler's in action, because why not. Click to see larger views of each. 

Justice League was closed when I walked by, but apparently opened later in the day. 

More seating! 

Gold Rusher was also closed when I went by, but did open later. 

The Underground was definitely the most popular area when I was at the park. 

After a quick water/mask break I had to take a ride on West Coast Racers

From this angle I didn't think people were social distancing, but they actually were. So yay! 

The park has gone to 100% mobile/card payments, but you can actually convert cash to a card at kiosks around the park. Really great idea!! 

So overall I had a really great day at the park. There were some technical issues, but it's to be expected after the park has been closed over a year. I mean, you wouldn't try to start your car after a year and expect there to be no issues. Right? 

So just be prepared for ride down time and slower loading times due to cleaning and distancing. 

All that said, there are a few things I would like to see changed. Namely, more drink locations. Again, they are still re-staffing, but with the heat and masks it would have been nice to have more places to just get a drink vs having to wait in line. 

But that's small compared to all the good at the park. 

Kudos to Six Flags and the park staff for taking all the precautions they did. It's so great to have the park open and I can't wait to go back soon. 

It's time for another Twisted Colossus update. Today we had kind of a last minute trip to the park but we figured we'd better do an update this week since it might be awhile until our next one (more on that below). 
We'll also take a look around the park and at a great new program that aims to recognize great employees at the park. 

The Top Gun Stall on the green track has been completed as well as the airtime hill on the blue, which almost could be another kind of high-five moment, just from a totally different perspective. =)

They've wasted absolutely no time on moving into the next set of elements on the ride. 

This is where the blue track will come out of it's zero-g roll. 

The start of the zero-g roll. 

Just like with the top-gun stall, the side of track on the bottom (in this case green) is being installed first. 

Where the green track currently ends. 

Under the zero-g

The lowest part of the ride

A rare piece of straight track. =)

They were working on the final turnaround today. I think it's safe to say the ride is about 80%-85% completed. But this is only the track work, there's still a lot of support work going on. 

Looks like they'll be completing the circuit somewhere around the end of the zero-g roll as they are working from both sides now. 

An overview of the work that's been done in the last month or so. 

Our first look at the twisty final turnaround. 

Inside the park, REALLY liking the look of the theater. 

Elsewhere, the park has introduced a nice new program for employee recognition. From what we were told, random guests will be given these when they enter the park and they can give them directly to an employee who has gone above and beyond to offer great service. 
The employee will then give them to their manager so they can keep track of their performance. 

It's a nice "instant recognition" thing that employees and HR love. =)

Goliath is closed while they replace the lift chain. Unsure of how long it will be down. 

Noticed that the gates have some kind of extender on Full Throttle now, anybody know how long these have been there? Were they having issues with people sticking their hands through the gap? 

I know this has been here for awhile, but this was the first time I'd seen it. Maybe I need to do a loop around the opposite direction next time I'm at the park. Who knows what else I've been missing. =)

As more schools are opting to have their Grad Nights at Magic Mountain instead of Disneyland due to increasing costs/decreasing value, the park looks like they are stepping it up a bit. Nice to see. 

Work is still being done on Lost Temple Rapids in advance of Hurricane Harbor opening next month

Speaking of Hurricane harbor, they did a nice power wash on Tornado. Looks like it was just freshly painted. Glad to see SFHH getting some more offseason love. 

Alright, that's going to wrap it up for this update. 

We will NOT have a park update next week as we'll be at Star Wars Celebration all weekend (Thursday through Sunday) but be sure to follow along all weekend for that fun. We'll have more details on where you can find that coverage on Wednesday. 

Have a great week everybody!! 

If you enjoyed this update please share with your friends and make sure you "like" us on Facebook and "follow" us on Twitter and Instagram. Also, be sure to join our new Mailing List to receive our newsletter (will be sent out about every two weeks)

If you have any comments, please share them below. 

The much anticipated Goliath finally opened at Six Flags Great America this week. The park provided us a great B-Roll and some pictures from the opening of this ride. 

If you missed our report on the park earlier this month you can click here. 

The park provided some GREAT footage that we put together for you. 

The press release for the ride is below: 

Fastest Wooden Roller Coaster with Tallest and Steepest Drop on the PlanetGurnee, Ill., June 19, 2014 / PRNewswire / — 


The new GIANT in the world of wooden roller coasters makes its debut today! Six Flags Great America presents Goliath, the fastest wooden roller coaster in the world featuring the world’s tallest and steepest drop. All total, this wooden marvel touts three world records and goes upside down twice making it the most extreme coaster of its kind on the planet!“Goliath is innovation at its best and will forever change the skyline of Six Flags Great America,” said Hank Salemi, park president. “This park provides the most thrills for all ages at any park in the country and we are committed to bringing new and innovative rides, shows and attractions to our guests every year.”

Record Breaking Facts:

• Fastest wooden roller coaster – 72 miles-per-hour
• Tallest drop on a wooden roller coaster – 180 feet
• Steepest drop on a roller coaster – 85 degrees
• Two upside down turns through two separate maneuvers

The addition of Goliath makes Six Flags Great America home to the most wooden roller coaster track of any theme park in the world. Goliath resides in the County Fair section of the park.

About Six Flags Great America and Hurricane Harbor 
Two great parks, one destination! Located between Chicago and Milwaukee, Six Flags Great America offers endless adventures for the entire family with 14 heart-pounding roller coasters, a 20-acre water park, spectacular shows, three children's themed areas with over 30 rides and a nighttime parade.

About Six Flags Entertainment Corporation 
Six Flags Entertainment Corporation is the world's largest regional theme park company with $1.1 billion in revenue and 18 parks across the United States, Mexico and Canada. For 53 years, Six Flags has entertained millions of families with world-class coasters, themed rides, thrilling water parks and unique attractions including up-close animal encounters, Fright Fest® and Holiday in the Park®. For more information, visit www.sixflags.com.

Follow us at twitter.com/SFGreat_America 
Like us at facebook.com/SFGreatAmerica 
#Goliath

I'd like to thank my friend of 25 years Sebastian Ciceri for allowing us to use his music for the video. For more information about his music you can check out http://satanscharm.wordpress.com/ or http://scbassplayer.wordpress.com/

If you enjoyed this update please share with your friends and make sure you "like" us on Facebook and "follow" us on Twitter. 

If you have any comments, please share them below.