After 42 years of service at Six Flags Magic Mountain, the old green parking lot trams are finally being retired. They are being replaced with a fleet of six articulated buses. One of the new Magic Mountain buses was formally unveiled to the public on February 27, 2013.
The old trams were original to the park in 1971, and some of those were even bought used at the time, so they’re even older than the park itself. A few months ago, Six Flags was able to acquire six slightly used articulated buses at a big discount. Each bus cost about half of what it would have cost to buy a new theme park style tram. The buses also come with additional benefits such as increased safety, higher capacity, more passenger comfort, and lower maintenance expenses.
The buses arrived plain white and the park has been busy applying graphics to them. The park also needs to complete other activities before they can put them into service. Training is a very big issue, as there’s a lot more to driving one of these than a standard tram. They also need to alter the tram routes as there are no “doors” on the driver’s side, which is where most loading/unloading occurs today. The bus below is parked where the tram would normally unload in front of the park. With no doors, it will need to come from the other direction:
In addition to the graphics on the sides, advertising can go on the front and back as well:
Unlike the existing trams, where every row can load simultaneously, the buses only have two doors on the passenger side: one in front and one in back. The park is going to install two sets of queues at each load point to assist with orderly loading. When you board through the front door, it looks just like an ordinary city bus, but without the payment stand:
It doesn’t look like the interiors have been modified at all. I think my quick and dirty count came up with 64 seats. Passengers will be allowed to stand as well, so that should increase capacity by roughly another 30 people, or close to 100 people total:
It’s interesting that there are seats located in the articulating section, where the bus bends:
Another advantage the buses have over a regular tram is the ability to handle wheelchairs. A couple of seats flip up to provide a place for a chair to sit. This is a prime example of the kinds of additional training that a bus driver needs over a tram driver:
Although we only got to see the Full Throttle bus, the other buses are receiving different graphics packages. This is what the Tatsu bus looks like:
Applying the graphics is an interesting process. It looks like they tape the giant graphic onto the side of the bus where they want it to go. Then through the use of either a heat gun or a sticky back, they start to adhere the graphic to the bus a little bit at a time, being careful not to trap any air bubbles underneath:
The parts that aren’t needed, like the clear plastic on the windows and the section over the wheel well above, are cut away and discarded, leaving only the wanted portion behind:
Here’s another bus I spotted out back. It has the graphic taped onto the side, ready to be applied. I think that’s a diagram taped to the window showing exactly where the graphics are supposed to go on the bus. I’m not sure what coaster that is, though. It has a blue car with a yellow lap bar. I’m almost thinking it’s a generic coaster photo from another park, even though the text in the orange background says “Thrill Capital of the World”:
Still no official ETA on when we will see these rolled out. If I were to guess, I would say sometime by the end of March. When they do, the park has already confirmed that they will be used exclusively. They will not be using any of the older trams for anything, even internal use. As far as what to call them, the park said that they will likely use the words bus and tram interchangeably, so go ahead and call them whatever you prefer.
Maybe the last picture is the Goliath bus?
yea thats what i was thinking
If I look at the coastercar on the last bus, it looks like it is goliath yes, the picture is either from Titan or Goliath, I expect Goliath…
I don’t think it’s Goliath because the car is blue. The Goliath cars are yellow. With a blue car and yellow lapbar, I’m wondering if it’s Superman ride from another park.
Wow! They look cool!! I love them. Thanks for the update.
Interesting how the queues and tram route will be set up. They only ever ran two trams at once previously (or at least that’s all I ever saw). I wonder how many busses they’ll run simultaneously.
I’ve seen three trams out there on busy days quite a bit.
A few times at closing during the busy summer 5 trams were in service. They have a great holding pattern that works like poetry in motion.
they should have a bus for each coaster! x2 and tatsu bus all the way!!!!
WOW!!!That tatsu wrap is amazing!!!Also,on the hard hat tour,did they mention if Airbourne’s song will be on-ride music or not?(or if there will even be on-ride music?)
It didn’t come up and I didn’t think to ask. My bad.
It’s alright!Thanks for the great update!!!
So there are six buses in total. We know that there is one for Full Throttle, one for Tatsu, and one for Goliath. I think that the other three are for X2; Superman and Lex Luthor; and either apocalypse or Riddler’s Revenge. These buses look amazing, even though it will still probably be faster to walk from your car to the park. A reason for that would be because the queue line to actually get into a bus would probably be longer than Scream’s queue.
I don’t think they’re wrapping all of them, at least not yet. No sense on spending money prettying up more buses than you’re actually going to use.
True, but they may rotate buses in and out of service, so having them all ready with desired graphics would be a good thing.
More comfortable? Safer?
Considering many passengers will be standing…I think not.
Now throw in strollers in the mix.
With only two doors, these will be a huge fiasco.
you’re a very negative person. why don’t we just wait and see what happens
Im not a negative person. I have experience in the transit industry and this is a bad idea.
I agree with you JJJ. These are not going to work. People I know from the park were not happy with this purchase.
“Six Flags was able to acquire six slightly used articulated buses at a big discount.” To me this means they didn’t work for someone else also.
What theme park uses regular busses to shuttle people. It is just a big mistake. I am sure they could have gotten new trams. Only the front car has the engine. The rest is just trailers. This has a bigger engine AND air conditioning. Knowing SFMM service record, do you honestly think they will fix the AC when it breaks.
It’s not that they didn’t work for someone else. They were purchased new for the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City. After the Olympics, there was a surplus of buses that were eventually sold off at a fraction of their cost. Six Flags started testing these exact same buses out at another park last season and they worked perfect. Now they’re rolling them out to SFMM.
and Disneyland uses buses for the timon and pumba parking lot.
I don’t think it’ll be as bad as people think. I’ve been on bus tours that loaded and unloaded the entire bus very fast. However, I hadn’t thought of the strollers. That may be an issue. Loading and unloading a wheelchair will definitely take some extra time, but it won’t be horrible.
I mentioned this somewhere else, but I would hope that these buses are equipped with a wheelchair ramp. Most transit buses are these days. Not having seen them up close yet, I couldn’t tell you if they have the ramps or not. They are of the low floor variety, which is helpful to load and unload wheelchairs.
Considering the buses were built after 1990, not being wheelchair capable means they would violate federal law.
Now, that doesnt mean theyre wheelchair COMFORTABLE. Usually loading wheelchairs is a hassle because it requires the ramp, folding a section of seats, and a rope system – and obviously, the area needs to be free of people so the driver can do his thing.
Mind you, Ive not seen many people at six flags in a wheelchair, and obviously their parking is so close to the entrance the shuttle isnt really needed.
Strollers are common, and people with strollers are more likely to use the bus, completely blocking the aisle.
I agree Kurt. Wether you want to ride them or walk, bad idea or not, it’s totally up to you.
these buses look awesome! especially the tastu tram/bus!
I really like the claws on the Tatsu bus.
I wonder how long it will take for kids to start tagging and scribing on the back of the seats.
Honestly? I bet it will be the first day, especially towards the back of the bus. I hope not, but we all know it’s going to happen.
I wonder if Coaster Guy will post pics after the first day. I am sure they will be covered in graffiti.
Perhaps the drivers can just hand the guests marks-alots on the way in and promote tagging and get it over with.
I have to agree with JJJ while the concept is awesome and i absolutely love the fact sfmm is trying the reality seems to be that this will fail..miserably. Theres probably a pretty good reason why ive never seen transit busses used as trams. Packed in passengers standing everywhere with 2 exits seems like this is going to be one huge mob of madness. And the thought of adding all the people with strollers into that madness makes me wanna cringe. I can already see all the mothers having issues trying to fit it through the door holding everyone else up. I have a feeling i could make it from the overflow lot walking before one of these things is even loaded. Better hope these things come with a/c or i see a lot of aggitated people added in the mix. Again love the attempt and we’ll see but im just not convincee yet
The doors are wide enough for a wheelchair to fit through, so that won’t be an issue. The problem is going to be those people with the massive strollers who don’t fold them up and carry them on. Trying to get them in and out fully open is where it may be a concern. Heaven help us if they insist on the driver deploying the lift for their stroller. I’m hoping the policy will be to only to use the lift for passengers that need assistance for themselves, not their accessories.
Yes some strollers are as huge as a Smart car and i shake my head when i watch as those people make the choice to load it onto the tram and become flustered that it doesn’t fit unless it gets broken down in some fashion. I hope the A/C works well as tossing about 70/90 warm body people onto a tram for the 47 second ride to main gate (from 1st loading area) not sure how cool it will really be inside. I think it will be a better ride after a long day at the park when returning to the cars on cold/cooler nights or rain days.
About the seats in the bending part of the bus…even the MTA down in L.A. has seats in that spot on their articulated buses. It does seem strange, but it must be safe or else they wouldn’t be doing it. I didn’t notice it on these buses, but the MTA’s low floor articulated buses have seats over the front and middle wheels that sit pretty high off of the floor. They remind me of the high seats at a shoeshine stand, so I refer to them as the “shoeshine seats.”
Did you notice if these buses have the wheelchair ramps that extend from them? In order to meet ADA requirements, I believe transit buses are supposed to have those. With these buses being of the low floor variety, I’d be surprised if they didn’t. Just a side note, back in 2007 I worked for Ricon, one of the leading manufacturers of those ramps for buses and trains. It was interesting being able to see them being tested out in the shop area. For my job, I had to write procedures for operation, installation, and service. Very interesting position, but the company went through some changes and they laid off the technical writing department.
As far as the official date for these to enter service, did they give that date, or are they officially in service as of now?
Yes, there are seats over the wheel wells. And yes, there is a wheelchair lift. I don’t think they’d have space dedicated for wheelchairs inside if they couldn’t get them on the bus. The lifts not only extend from the bus, but the front of the bus also lowers at the same time to assist with the loading. They are not in service yet and there is no official ETA for their deployment. I think it’s just a matter of training and logistics. They need to figure out what the new route should be, perform some slight modifications to the road to accomodate the wider turning radius, and install queues.
I spoke of ADA above, but another point is that for a transit agency, the driver needs to check if the ramp is operable at the start of every shift, or else the bus cant run. Not 100% sure if that is the same for theme park operation, but id assume so.
I think the buses will be fine. I wonder since these are actual buses that the hold up might be hiring a company of trained drivers for the buses. As far as efficiency and strollers go I think Magic Mtn might put policies in place to where all strollers must be folded before boarding or something to that effect. If Disney can do it with no muss or fuss for the satellite parking lots then Magic Mountain can as well.
So many complaints about an UPGRADE the park is putting into place for its guests…good lord people! They haven’t even started running them and you’re offering expert advice.
As for using busses instead of theme park style trams, Disneyland has been doing it for over 6 years now. As an Annual Passholder I very much prefer parking off-site at the Toy Story lot and using the busses. It’s tons faster for park/entry and exit, has heat in winter and air conditioning in summer. Less hassle for folks with strollers and wheel chairs.
I’ve used the busses at WDW and Disneyland Paris and both work quite well with strollers, wheelchairs and standing people. And this as someone who completed the Disney College program in Florida working at the TTC…driving trams.
It’s simply not going to be bad. I take the folks complaining havent been on a city bus in a while. Newer busses have the wheelchair ramp build into the floor near the doors…they either pull out or fold out automatically.
And for those that are just so convinced that old school trams are better, you always have the option of walking.
Until a few minutes ago, I had only heard of the Toy Story lot, but didn’t know exactly where it is. Thanks to Google Maps satellite view, I found it. Click here to see an overhead shot of the lot, complete with more than a dozen Disney buses waiting to take people to the park. I knew such buses are in use in Florida for some time, though I’ve never used one there. Point being, transit-style buses can work.
My concern is that Disney is way more efficient with moving people—not only on their attractions, but throughout the parking lots and transportation systems, so almost any type of vehicle will work there. Even the tram operations at Disney parks far exceed those at Magic Mountain (haven’t been to any other Six Flags parks, so I can’t compare). It all comes down to the basic training that employees get and how seriously they take their jobs.
Knowing Disney and their relentless pursuit of guest convenience, it honestly wouldn’t surprise me if one day they had a subway station right under their main entry plaza with routes leading to multiple satellite parking locations. No trams, no buses, just an underground subway system.
You do not know how GREAT that would be!!!
Ive never been on a Disney bus, just their tram, but looking at that picture straight away…
-They use buses because they have to use public streets (it appears), the theme parks trams cant do that.
-Theres like 50 of them in just that shot alone, I doubt they let the buses get anywhere near full.
-Theyre 40 ft buses with two doors, vs 60 foot buses with 2 doors.
And I would guess the inside has been modified for a wider aisle, for strollers. But thats just a guess.
Id wager Disney is using buses out of necessity – six flags is going it because they got a good bargain at the used bus store.
The busses used at DLR are not modified at all other than the wrap on the outside and the placard advertising Disney/ABC inside. City busses are made to move lots of people quickly by design…there is nothing that Disney has to do for this to still happen.
They do load the busses pretty heavily during entry and exit. They use the front door as the only entry point and request folks keep moving back until full. As mentioned the bus drivers are not cast members, but are contracted. However, they still provide information regarding park hours and shows…for the most part they are just as friendly as the true cast.
As for trams at other Six Flags properties…Magic Mountain, Discovery Kingdom and New England are the only three that use trams (or any form of transit) from parking.
At Discovery Kingdom, the parking lot is on the other side of the lake, but there is a sidewalk. Most folks walk it as there is a single tram stop at the front of the lot – by the time you’ve walked to the tram stop, you might as well keep walking to the entrance. The trams have chains on each row that they ensure each one is secure before moving which slows the process.
At New England the main lot is across the street with a single tram stop at the entrance. They use the same tram style as DK, meaning it’s a slow load process. AND the tram never crosses the street…it simply takes you to the pedestrian bridge so you’re still walking.
I thought that SFNE was one park that tried out these buses instead of trams.
No-nonsense bus drivers for Toy Story/Timon/Pumba lot aren’t cast members, they’re employed by Anaheim & couldn’t care less if you have a magical day. Sometimes it’s actually refreshing.
What’s going to happen to the old trams? I see some behind Apocalypse. I wonder how many they currently still have in service.
Every single one of the old trams is being scrapped, including the newer-looking short white tram that looks like a van. The park said they are completely moving to the new buses exclusively and won’t even use the older trans to shuttle employees around backstage during Fright Fest.
If i had about 40 acres and room for some stuff i would snap em up and rent them to movie sets for period pieces in the years ahead. Wonder (just a term I don’t really care) what will be used to shuttle Freight Fest peeps around the park? Cant be that hard those trams only have about 10 parts that are suppose to work. Might not be street legal but private prop those things are beasts. … We need more Foghat on the radio.
“Slow ride…take it easy!!”
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