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| My eye looks so excited to be riding this roller coaster! |
I made the cross-country drive from California to Florida for the holidays, I decided to have one last hoorah with some friends by going to Six Flags Magic Mountain theme park. This was my second trip to Six Flags – I had gone for the first time maybe two months ago after purchasing a fantastic Labor Day (I think?) Gold membership deal that included the rest of the year plus all of 2015 as well as VIP Parking (and with $20 minimum for parking, that was a HUGE bonus!). The last trip was fun but we only went on 4 rides before my sister wasn't feeling too well. Being a huge fan of roller coasters, I have been looking forward to going back so when my friend Luke invited me to go, I jumped at the chance.
My friends and I all arrived at the park bright and early around 9:30am. Unfortunately, the park didn't open until 10:30. On that particular day, however, they were letting Season Pass holders in half an hour early to ride the popular X2 roller coaster. My friend Kyle and I were the only pass holders and as much as we love our friends, we couldn’t say no to the early access. Unfortunately, X2 was closed due to the wind that day, so we instead got to ride Full Throttle which is the world’s highest vertical loop roller coaster. Since there was barely a line, we got to sit in the very front – something I always want to but rarely do because of the extra long wait – not an issue this time! In short, Full Throttle was AWESOME!
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| NO LINES!! Why can't rides always look like this? |
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| Front row with Kyle on Full Throttle! |
Afterwards, Kyle and I went to check on X2 but it was still closed and didn’t look like it was going to be running anytime soon (it did not run the entire day). Since we liked Full Throttle so much, once our other friends were let in, we decided to ride it again with them. The second time, I decided to ride it from the very back. Once again, it was awesome (although front row is definitely the way to go).
Next up was Superman. You are accelerated in reverse from 0 to 100+mph in seven seconds and climb nearly 41 stories into the air before plunging back down. This is a ride that Kyle, our Six Flags and roller coaster connoisseur has never ridden for one reason or another. Last trip, it was down for maintenance. This time around, not only did we get to ride it, but the wait time was the shortest out of all the rides we went on that day (minus the early access Full Throttle). Despite the short duration time, it was still quite the thrill. Little piece of advice though if you ever go on it yourself - try to sit in one of the inside seats. I was on the outside and your outer arm is closed off so you can’t lift it or move it much and it feels very awkward. I wanted to raise my hands up during the ride (like I do on most roller coasters) but could not all while feeling very uncomfortable.
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| Everyone (Kyle, Kaleb, Sammy, Chelsea, me, and Luke) in front of the Superman ride |
Goliath was next on the list. This was the only roller coaster from the day that I had been on from my first trip. It features an opening drop of 255 feet into a underground tunnel and multiple steep banking turns. I'm glad I got to go on it again as I feel this was probably favorite ride of the day because it felt the longest and also seemed to have the most variety. Luke and I made it our goal to try and look as bored as possible when the camera took our picture during the ride. Since I had never ridden this coaster before, I didn’t know where the camera would be. I had a split second to make a face and I think my bored face came off more as disgust. I quite like it. I also like how peaceful Luke looks. I had to be sneaky about taking a picture of the screen so sorry for the terrible quality.
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| Luke and mine's "bored" faces |
After Goliath, we were ready to tackle Tatsu. It is known as the world’s tallest, fastest, and longest flying coaster, the only flying roller coaster to feature a zero-gravity roll, and has the world’s highest pretzel loop. So lots of accolades. Impressive. I have never been on a "flying" roller coaster. Apparently, this is a type of roller coaster that is meant to simulate flight by harnessing you into a prone position with your back parallel to the track. Interesting. We waited in line for about two hours before we finally made it to the front of the line. There were only three people ahead of me so we were up next. Then, the announcement we all dread hearing was made. The ride was shut down for maintenance. NOOOOO. We waited a bit before giving up and deciding to have lunch.
While I had packed a few snacks, I didn’t have any “real” food so I dished out $12 for some overpriced Panda Express – something I’ve only had once before. Luckily, I was able to get two meals out of it later so that helped justify the cost in my head somewhat. Not really.
It had been getting colder and windier as the day progressed. Most rides seemed to be closed – we actually had quite a difficult time trying to find one that was open. We finally saw Apocalypse, currently Six Flags only wooden roller coaster, was running. While there were no crazy loops, it was still a very intense and aggressive ride that I really enjoyed - perhaps helped by the fact that I was once again in my favorite spot, the front!
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| All of us waiting in line for the Apocalypse ride |
After Apocolypse, we circled the park again looking for more rides that were actually open. Tatsu by that time was back up and running. Alright, Take Two. We waited another hour and a half, but we eventually did make it! I have to say this was definitely the scariest out of all the roller coasters I've ever ridden. Since the cars are suspended below the track, you have no idea where you're going or what’s coming next on the coaster which was scary and thrilling at the same time. It was dark so a little difficult to see, but they fly you over trees which are really beautiful and since there’s no track you can see in front of you, just whatever is below you and open air, it almost feels like you’re flying through a forest.
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| How GORGEOUS was this sky? |
With the park closing in an hour or so, we were debating whether or not to squeeze in one more ride. Chelsea and her boyfriend, Sammy, were done for the day and decided to get funnel cake – not a bad decision, but the rest of us decided to head to Batman. The wait was relatively short as was the ride (although it wasn’t Superman short). There were some intense corkscrew spins and I’m not sure if it was the wind or the ride itself, but there were some parts of the ride where the pressure was so much I couldn’t even raise up my arms.
With that, our day at Six Flags was over and it was time for me to go back to my place, finish packing, and start my insane road trip back home to Florida! Thank goodness, I did not have to worry about driving, just managing the Spotify playlist - which if you don't know about yet, there is a 99 cent for 3 months premium deal for first time users that is an absolute STEAL. As I post this, I am currently in Louisiana, just another 11 hours or so from home!
Merry Christmas Eve Eve!
