Rainy Day update from Six Flags Magic Mountain

This past weekend was one of the first rain-out weekends Southern California parks have had in some time as the area received some much needed rainfall. At least 3 major parks in the area were closed on Saturday March 1st due to the rain. 

Sunday saw most parks returning to action including Six Flags Magic Mountain so we headed up to bring you the following update. 

---

Bugs Bunny World / Speedy Gonzales Hot Rod Racers

Considering it had been 2 full weeks since our last update we kind of expected more work to be done on the Bugs Bunny World refurbishment and the new coaster. In fact, only a few things are really different from our last update. 


The new sign post in front of Bugs Bunny World is complete although the sign is yet to be added. 

There's some asphalt on the outside of the compass cement. Hopefully this is just for the time being and a more permanent concrete walkway will be added soon. This could be because they are re-doing the concrete in this entire area (it could use it). 

There really wasn't a whole lot of movement on Speedy Gonzales Hot Rod Racers in the last two weeks. No footers holes have been dug. 

Tweety's Escape looks to be completed and I'd expect it to be open soon. It may have opened this weekend if not for the rain. 

It's nice to see this popular kids ride get some TLC. It looks great in it's new home. 

Pepe Lepew's Tea Party is still closed, in fact it doesn't look like any work has been done on it at all. They did cover up some of the rides mechanism with plastic to protect it from the rain. 

The Merrie  Melodies Carousel is still having work done. 

New Sports Bar

Mooseburger continues it's transformation into a Sports Bar. The outside is losing it's "High Sierra Territory" feel in favor of a more "sports bar" feel. 

Some of the wood in front is getting some work done. 

A peek inside. There will reportedly be about 20 TV's in the Sports Bar once it's completed. 

One of the flashy ad's has been removed from the building. The ad actually fits the Sports Bar theme more than the High Sierra theme. Not sure if a similar ad will come back. 

A closer look at the exterior paint being placed on the building. 

Bonzai Pipelines (Hurricane Harbor)

The Demon Drop slide has been removed in preparation for the Bonzai Pipelines opening at Hurricane Harbor this summer. 

There are supposed to be two new slides, thus doubling the capacity although it will be interesting to see how they deal with the staircase just below. 

New Entrance Turnstiles 

Six Flags is going to start rolling out Biometric scanners at all of their parks with all domestic parks receiving them sometime in 2014. The Coaster Guy had a great article about the new scanners after meeting with Jay Rasulo, Vice President of Project Management and IT for Six Flags Corp. 
If you'd like to read more about the new scanners, I invite you to check out the article here. 

A good portion of the old turnstiles have been removed at the front gates. 

As a result, before the park opens they are letting guests enter the front entry area and doing a "rope drop" similar to how pretty much every other park (including other Six Flags parks) currently operate. Hopefully they will continue this practice once the new turnstiles are installed. It really helps with the flow of the park and allows people to get Lockers, Flash Passes and maybe do a little shopping before the park opens. 

General Admission park guests are held just outside Full Throttle and near the Grand Carousel prior to 10:30am. 

Gold Thrill Passholders still get early entry. 

Around The Park

Due to the rain the early entry wasn't really necessary since a few popular rides were closed and crowds were very small.  

Some of the vinyl on the DC Universe entry is faded or it could be due to the recent rain. We really haven't had any significant rainfall since this area opened. 

Scrambler and Swashbuckler are still closed for refurbishment

Some trees near the Swashbuckler were tagged for something. Hopefully not removal as the trees looked pretty healthy to me. Maybe just trimming prior to the ride reopening. 

Bonus Points to anybody who recognizes this building that has recently resurfaced due to work being done in Bugs Bunny World. 

For our last update we shared that some trees near Jet Stream had been removed for what we hoped was flume work. Turns out it is for a new fence. 

It's a standard chain link fence that stretches all the way from where Jet Stream crosses the path all they way to Cyclone Bay. 

While separating guest from ride is a necessary thing, something other than a Chain Link fence would be nice. Similar fences are found in backstage area's which is fine, but on-stage, something nicer should be used. 
Hopefully this is a temporary solution due to some present need to close off the area and a more permanant solution will present itself soon. 

Since there is no gate to go along with the fence I wouldn't anticipate this being addressed anytime soon. 

The front entry fountain has been drained for some work. Hopefully more fire effects for Fright Fest!!! 

Fright Fest Fire from October, 2013

The Falls have also been turned off during the closure. 

One of the Psyclone Backwards trains has been moved to the other track for Colossus. Hopefully this means they'll be running both sides this spring (one forward, one backwards). 

We also heard reports that Batman Backwards is testing. Both should be opening sometime in March. We'll keep you updated. 

Superman was closed due to the rain. After a slow start, most major coasters were running by the time we left, around noon. 

And lastly, the sign in front of Laughing Dragon Pizza Co. has been removed. This location is generally reserved for private events (Media Days) and was used for the Willoughby's Fright Feast the last couple of years. Maybe if the new Sports Bar is successful this will come back as well. It's actually a nice space. 

That's going to wrap it up for this week. As Spring Break approaches I'd anticipate receiving some opening dates for both Batman and Colossus Backwards. Not sure if they will be having any kind of media day but we'll certainly be there when they open to bring you lots of pictures. 

---

---

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.