![]() We were invited up to Six Flags Magic Mountain on Saturday night for the first of their "Farewell Colossus" events. This one being put on by the all-new AMP 98.7, which I guess is a new format for this station. Included was the new morning show host, Woody. Get it, Woody, wooden coaster, woody/coaster party? Since the event didn't start until 11pm we decided to head up to the park a bit early for a few rides. We arrived at the park around 6:00pm and decided to head up to Ninja first. It's always good to see this at the front of the park. Apparently they have been using it more. Hercules contest, you can win a big ol' TV. Good thing is, actually seeing the movie isn't a part of the deal. =) Hiya!! MmmHmm ... "Routine Annual Maintenance". =) But seriously, no surprise that the ride is only running 1 train, and it's nice that they are letting people know. The line was moving VERY slow due to a lot of Flash Pass holders so we decided to come back later in the evening. If a ride is only operating 1 train I really don't think it should have Flash Pass, but that's only my opinion. It was a very busy day (no surprise) and quite warm (also no surprise). This was the line for Roaring Rapids. Speaking of warm, the upcoming Biggest Loser race that was to be held at the park on August 10 has been moved to November 23. Apparently somebody finally looked at the weather for that time of the year in Valencia. If you'd like more info on the race, you can check out their facebook page. They should probably update the date on their cover photo as well (seen below). Tatsuuuuuuu!!! For those of you who don't know, California is in the midst of a SEVERE drought including water restrictions. Not sure how well you can see it, but this part of jet stream is leaking like a waterfall. Hopefully this is something that will get addressed at the end of the summer. It would be a shame if they closed it now. Walking down the hill, we decided to take a look at all of the trees that have been cleared around Ninja. As you can see, they've cut quite a lot. The area is much more open, but it doesn't seem to impact either ride. They totally have enough room for another Kiddie coaster in this spot now!!! =) From the Jet Stream line The third train is still sitting over in the transfer track to the left You can pretty much see all of the Ninja track now, which is probably the point. Jet Stream is still fun and everybody seems to love it. Moving on, we decided to ride Wonder Woman Lasso of Truth in honor of the new Wonder Woman design that was announced at Comic Con. I mean seriously, how awesome is that? Superman was running both sides and Lex Luthor was running very well so it was a good time to get both in action from DC Universe. Batman at sunset We decided to head out and grab some dinner at Red Robin with The Coaster Guy before heading back to the Colossus party. Once back in the park it was nice to be able to take some pictures of stuff without a lot of people. Misty Full Throttle Now on to the Colossus party The chance to ride Colossus with pretty much an exclusive ERT session all night is great. And Scream was open too, so anybody who wanted to could pretty much sit on either ride all night and have a great time. This was the description of the event: Guests will receive all access to Colossus and Scream, entertainment provided by ALT 98.7, hourly contests with prizes in addition to a one-of-a-kind Farewell Colossus button. This was the ALT 98.7 entertainment. Also, this booth was set up near the "Cool Zone" which really isn't near the ride. It should have been set up in the plaza between Colossus and Scream and maybe had some cool lights, etc to make it more of a "party" atmosphere. In addition, for a radio contest, there was no food or drinks. You had to purchase them at normal park prices. But the star of the night was Colossus, and we had fun riding in the front, back, middle, wherever for a few hours. But at one point it seemed more people were sitting in the Scream plaza than actually riding Colossus. Just a couple of minor tweaks would have turned this from a "we can ride as much as we want event" into a "Wow, this is a can't-miss event". This sign was added a few weeks ago ... makes you wonder if both sides may be open for the final weekend? Or if this side is permanently closed. We'll just have to wait and see. That's going to wrap it up for this update. Thanks to the park for having us out, we really did have a GREAT time and any opportunity we have to get some final rides on Colossus we are definitely going to take. We also did grab an extra Colossus button, so make sure you comment below and we'll select a winner at random.
Chris
7/28/2014 07:13:17 am
Ninja looks kinda like it did when it first opened. While the lack of trees kinda sucks, I remember the interactions with the supports being just as fun :) Those Colossus buttons are awesome!!!
CoasterGuru14
7/28/2014 07:41:42 am
Hopefully the next farewell colossus party's are more dignifying for this incredible coaster In all honesty, the park should have been keeping the trees trimmed on a regular basis. The main thing, though, is that Ninja is back up and running. With relatively few suspended coasters operating in the world these days, keeping Ninja running would be well worth doing. If they aren't able to get new trains, then replacing the current ones with the Vekoma floorless seats (like at Chessington in England) would be a good move. And it would give Ninja a whole new feel.
Eri Oh
7/28/2014 01:28:52 pm
Great article! It's sad to see this coaster "leave". Hopefully the rumors of the RMC makeover happens. But this coaster is definitely one I will miss.
Eric
7/28/2014 01:29:30 pm
Oops. Typed name wrong.
Henry
7/28/2014 09:29:44 pm
The 98.7 Radio Station in Detroit has the same format as the one in LA. Ours is "Wayyyyy less commercials. More hit music. Detroit's new 98 7 AMP radio"
Scott C.
7/29/2014 08:31:00 am
Great write up. I love reading your blogs, along with Kurt's and Kris'. I am planning on my last ride on the Big Woodie the Monday before the closure (did I really just say that?). It is for this reason only, I did not attend the event on Saturday. After reading your's and Kurt's write ups of the event, I am sorry that I did not attend. It looked very fun.
Scott C.
8/4/2014 09:39:10 am
How nice of you. I will send a message. 8/6/2014 02:18:26 am
Thanks for the great pics and commentary! Trees do tend to get in the way of rollercoasters. I used to be season ticket holder for many years to Six Flags Magic Mountain but now I live closer to Six Flags New England. Comments are closed.
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