Now that the construction walls are finally up at Six Flags Magic Mountain for the Full Throttle roller coaster construction, I’m going to start numbering my updates that are specific to the build. This is construction update #1 from 18 Nov 2012.
The first thing you see when you enter the Six Flags Plaza and try going to the right, towards Goliath, is a giant blue construction wall. The entire midway has been walled off:
The only sign that explains the wall is that tiny blue “Excuse Our Mess” sign you see above. What boggles my mind is that there are absolutely no detour signs at all, telling people how to get around it, and it is not intuitive. The Mporium store is on the right of the wall. The detour path routes behind Mporium, but anyone familiar with the park knows that area has been fenced off for several months. I didn’t even consider trying to go that way at first, and I’m here all the time. Those not familiar with the park didn’t know you could go that way either. After a couple of people asked a passing employee where to go, others followed them and a blazed a trail. However, there should still be some sort of signs, in my opinion:
More construction walls behind Mporium:
The wall finally turns a corner on the backside of the old Palace games building:
I don’t like to bash the park, because I see a lot of potential in it, but I also don’t consider myself a park apologist or fanboy. When I see stuff like this, it really gets under my skin. These are recycled construction walls from the Lex Luthor build. While I applaud them for reusing materials, this looks positively horrible. There is absolutely no excuse for this and should have been painted over before being placed in view of every passing park guest:
The (hideous) wall ends just before getting to the old Log Jammer station:
The construction wall is around 7′ tall and they have the entire area very well blocked off from prying eyes. If you peek around the end of the wall, you can just make out a huge pile of broken up concrete in front of the Palace games building that hasn’t been cleared yet:
I’m guessing these were all the trees that were in planters along that section of midway:
It’s weird looking across that area and not seeing the What the Fried? building:
From the Sky Tower, this area doesn’t look like it’s been touched lately:
The Palace games building is still there and the rumors are that this will be a restaurant for the new themed area. All the trees around it are gone:
This is all that’s left of the WB Kids Club theater:
It’s hiding behind Tatsu, but that’s the beast that’s performing all of the destruction:
I’m not sure if this building will be re-purposed or just hasn’t been razed yet:
I couldn’t help but notice a rock crusher on the far side of the parking lot turning concrete chunks into gravel:
I figured this was all the concrete being ripped out of the park, but it seems like a lot:
It’s going to be really hard to get good construction updates with how they have the wall positioned, however I’ll do my best. Please check back often.
I Went to Six Flags The Day Before,and Those Walls Confused Me Too!I Didn’t Know Where to go,and We Ended Up Going Through Some Place I Had Never Seen Before.Anyone Have Any Idea What The Blue Building Behind The Looney Tunes SuperStore Is(or was)?Other Than That,I Didn’t See Any Changes So Far.Also,Anyone Have An Approximate Date On When Full Throttle Is Opening?Thanks!
They always say Memorial Day Weekend but it always ends up being pushed back to July.
Thanks!
Thanks for the update Kurt. I’m sure they’re not going to leave those re-used walls like that. They might of just put them up and didn’t have enough time to start painting them…. At least that’s what I’d like to think.
Nope, I disagree. As I documented in one of my previous trip reports, they had the new walls setup in their backlot and painted weeks ago. These should have been done at the same time. It’s either laziness or lack of caring.
If that’s the case, first time ever saying this, two thums down for such a sore eye. Shame on you SFMM.
Woah I am so confused for the boundaries of the ride! Why did they need to rip out the Kids CLub?
It’s not for the ride itself, it’s just for the “Yolo” themed area.
There’s been a pile of concrete over there for a long time from some unknown location, they just finally started cleaning it up.
No, this is a different pile. It’s actually in the middle of what was the midway just last week, so it’s new. I think it’s what’s left of the planters and the midway itself they just ripped out.
I’m sure there’s a method to their madness, and to be sure, there is some madness in their method. Some of the stuff being ripped out is a bit of a surprise, and some of it makes sense.
This area is going to be transformed to something totally different from what it’s been for over 40 years now. While I liked the High Sierra theme, it’s about 20 years old now. I’m not so sure about the YOLO area, but will wait and see what develops.
I applaud the park for reusing the Lex Luthor construction walls, but agree fully that they should have been painted over, even with a simple coat of the light blue paint. Better signage to direct people around the construction zone would help as well. But who knows—maybe they’re getting to that and just haven’t done so yet.
Another thought I had: so far, I cannot find a published figure as to the track length of Full Throttle. To me, that’s very odd because certainly there must be a figure available somewhere out there. Premier must know how long the track is. What I was thinking is that maybe an exact figure hasn’t been made public because there will be more to the ride that what we’ve seen in the video. Most people who have commented on the ride have expressed disappointment with the ride ending right after coming down from the so-called “top hat.” My thought was this: what if there is more and they haven’t released it? Sort of like a surprise ending. Chances are, it’s just wishful thinking, but who knows?
I’m not sure the entire High Sierra theme is going away. From where the walls are, it doesn’t look like they aren’t going to touch Mooseburger Lodge, Golden Bear Theater, Sierra Treats, or the General Sam tree, all of which are key elements of that theme. It’s possible they could change them after the heavy construction is done, but I doubt it.
As for the track length, I was really hoping that some new Full Throttle information was going to come from Premiere Rides at IAAPA last week. I’m guessing SFMM asked them to keep it under wraps because I didn’t hear a single thing about it. I’m not even sure they had a picture of it in their booth, did they?
Speaking of the tree, why does it lack a top?
My guess is that it was supposed to mimick one of those trees you see in nature that broke halfway up for whatever reason. Either that, or they ran out of money during construction.
I know everything there doing, because I talk to one of the designers and it’s funny to see your updates not knowing everything yet. I knew last week they were getting rid of WB Kids Club. The palace games a will not become a restaurant. Just to tell you the Log Jammer station will stay, but unknown what it will do if anything. Thats as much as I can say, but good luck on your updates.
Love your videos…. you get A+ for effort.
Dang sorry Kids Club went away sure hope Bugs Bunny and Daffy show up elsewhere in the park … or can you tell me GAC if they are?
Based on the preview video we saw, I think the Log Jammer station will be the maintenance shed for the ride. The track will run along the side of it, identical to what Log Jammer did, with the transfer track feeding into the upper floor. The track will then make a sharp left turn into a brand new station, perfectly lined up with the loop for the initial launch. If you saw the earlier photos I published (Trip Report 9/16/12), you’ll notice the heavy markers on the ground in this area. I suspect that is because that is where the new station will be built. There is no way they aren’t using the Log Jammer station after all the effort they put into saving it.
I think the Log Jammer station will be a queue line for Full Throttle.
They’ll probably use the upper level where the logs used to be stored as transfer track and the lower level where the LJ queue used to be as part of the queue for FT.
Go idea, but the track will be far away from the Log Jammer station.
I got to see the blue prints for the ride and Full Throttle isn’t even close to the Log Jammer station. You can also see on the animation it’s not next to the Log Jammer station.
Do you have any idea as to the track length, or tell us whether there is more to Full Throttle than what is shown on the video? As I said before, it seems like such a waste of momentum to come down from the top of the loop only to hit the brakes. I know you probably can’t reveal specific details, but even a “yes” or “no” will do for the second part of my question.
I don’t know the track length, because I don’t think it really matters. If I ever meet Tim [the desinger at Magic Mountain] I will ask him the track length. Yes there is more to Full Throttle than anyone would think. I can’t tell anyone detail, but I will say just wait for the entrance it will be amazing! For your last question after the top hat over the loop it is done. Even though the animation is not 100% accurate you can see it has magnetic brakes after that. I respect Tim for letting me be the first ever person to know this info out Six Flags or Premiere Rides, so I’m sorry that no details can be released. You’ll understand when the rides construction progresses.
Tim “the designer”? Are you referring to Tim Burkhart, the General Manager and Director of Maintenance/Construction? You want us to believe that he’s shared all of the Full Throttle plans with you, yet you’ve never met him? I’m sorry, but I don’t believe a word you say. You’ve lost all credibility with me.
The whole point of telling you these stuff isn’t for anything other than showing you what is important on your next update. I don’t know if it was Tim Burkhart, because he never said his last name, but I’m guessing it was. I went the 11th when that group Key Club was there. Half of the time I was there I was waiting for a guy named Tom to let us in the staff entrance. This is not fake it acually happened.
After some thought, I’m going to agree with Kurt. Having actually met Tim, I know he would have given you his first and last name. (Of course I knew who he was beforehand; I’d listened to him and some others at one of the West Coast Bash Q&A sessions). Also, I’m 10000% sure that Tim would never release information to just anyone and show blueprints—especially for a project like this. I’ve been looking at the Internet since the mid-’90s, and over and over again there have been people claiming to “know” things that are privy to others.
That said, I’m going to retract my comment from above and just wait till the details are made public.
Nor would Tim authorize anyone else to release details. That person would be fired on the spot.
Anyone else call BS on this guy? Anyone can make an “authentic” username and pretend to be the all-knowing god. I call BS
It will be good to see that whole area of the park regenerated. I know Six Flags have an 8 year long term plan for Magic Mountain which will improve most areas, add rides and increase attendances.
I can already see where they have started to improve over the last 2 years with this years haunt upgrades, renovation to S:EFK, adding LL:DOD, DC Universe and other touch ups.
I am optimistic that SFMM are on the right track and are making the correct decisions for the future of the park.
BTW has the park actually announced how long the ride is ( track length )?
The details of the ride have been very vague, does anyone think that SFMM has anything up their sleeve?
As I mentioned in my comment earlier, no track length figure has been published or announced anywhere that I know of. If I had to guess, I’d say somewhere between 2500-3500 feet tops based on what we’ve seen so far.
Sorry Eric, I hadn’t read your response when I started typing!
I pretty much agree on your thoughts in your earlier post. I am amazed at the amount of negativity that the ride has received, without hardly any details known!
The same ‘fanboys’ or ‘critics’ that say the coaster is too short, not long ago, were saying that they shouldn’t build a coaster, they should just add flats and tidy up…..SFMM are doing both
How many years are they into their 8 year plan?
Do you know when the slingshot will be ready to open and I can see them easily closing gold rusher for full throttle construction.
SlingShot is planned to be open by the end of this year. No ride will be closed for the construction of Full Throttle.
SFMMCrazy is correct. I ran into Neal Thurman yesterday, the park’s Director of Operations. He confirmed that the Sling Shot will be open by the end of the year, but he didn’t have an official date to share.
I’m pretty excited for the upcharged ride. I’ve never been on a slingshot ride before.
I’ve been on a couple, but I’m usually too cheap to pay extra for them, especially what they charge at carnivals. I’ll go on this one at least once, just so I can review it and provide a profile.
Why Is Everyone Talking About a YOLO Themed Area?Is YOLO Even a Theme?
The reason people refer to this as the “YOLO Coaster” is because there was a giant YOLO graphic used in the promotional video that was released for this ride. It’s kind of become an on-going joke that won’t die.
Ohhhhh,I Get It!Thanks Kurt!
Because it only lives once
The whole area is getting re-themed.. Not sure what you mean by a ‘YOLO’ theme
YOLO is a acronym for You Only Live Once. It’s a very popular saying. Yes The whole area is being rethemed but not to that.
“You Only Live Once”…..
California has a Yolo County. That’s where Sacramento is…
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I’m at the park today and they have painted over the horrible construction walls.
One thing I can’t tell from the pics is where is the gate that used to be up next to the palace arcade that was put up after the demolition of the metro station. Also is the the old queue building for flashback still there? Also, considering that the old palace building has no running water lines installed in it the odds of becoming a food place are slim.
R.I.P. WB Kids Club Theater.
Twas a good show during my childhood, unless they move it over to Bugs Bunny World though I don’t know for sure.
Sadly,I Think WB Kids Club Is Done For Sure!
Was just there about 3 days ago, and they have replaced the walls with new construction walls with giant pictures of the ride along with its name. they have also made it a bit more clear as to which way to g to get around the mess.
Check out my latest trip report.
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