Day 3 - In Which Matt & Rach Ride Rollercoasters and Get Wet.
Summary: Magic Mountain
Itinerary said: Magic Mountain! - RIDES! :-D RIDES! :-D
Stay at Santa Clarita Motel - Cuddle Rach Kick Matt. A lot.
Up bright and early (well, early at least), and got on a bus to LAX, where we picked up another bus to UCLA Westwood. Had to walk then (or run, as we thought we were going to be late due to the traffic) to find another bus up to Santa Clarita. This had a very friendly driver who told us we needed then to get another bus to actually get to Magic Mountain. This whole journey cost us less than $10 each - really impressive.
We got to the park before opening time at 10.30, so once we got in, we made it straight for X2, their current flagship ride. I’ve never been a fan of rollercoasters or theme parks in general, but I think today probably converted me. X2 was totally mental - the seats rotate as well, so you spend a LOT of time tumbling around. Then there’s the flame thrower... Still, having survived that, I thought I’d probably be ok with all the others.
Was a really hot day, but we bought one of their souvenir cups which gets you free refills all day - drank a LOT of fizzy-pop. Ah well - is all hydration, right?
In total, we rode 12 individual coasters and 4 water rides (got well and truly soaked, great fun!), and there’s a little bit about each one at the bottom of the entry.
The park stays open till quite late, so we got to ride some coasters in the dark, which was awesome. Then we walked to the motel - I’d thought it was about 3 miles, but in reality it was just over 5. Was already footsore from walking around the park all day, so when we got to the motel I was ready to drop! Really nice place though, and someone had goofed and given us two queen beds, very nice!
COASTERS:
X2: A bit gimmicky and a little too mental for my liking - zero G was fun though. Flamethrowers also good. 5
Viper: The harness needed to be a bit softer, but the ride was good - lots of fun and suitably fast. 7
Tatsu: This was AMAZING! It’s a flying coaster and it was brilliant. Pretty long queue, but worth it, was a reasonably long ride. Plus, we were at the front, which made it even better. 10
Riddler’s Revenge: A standing coaster - was a really fun experience. Rode it at the front the first time, then again in the dark - great fun. 9
Déjà Vu: The longest queue, not helped by the fact that it broke down. We waited though, and got to ride it. Was good, but gimmicky again, and too short. Cool idea though. 6
Superman: Overrated. Queue too long, ride too short. Extreme acceleration was fun, but maybe not worth the wait. 5
Goliath: This was fun. Really good first drop, then a good track after - nothing too fussy, just good coaster! Especially good in the dark - dropping into a pitch black tunnel! 8
Colossus: Ouch! This was painfully rattly - old wooden coaster and you knew it. Not particularly fast either. 3
Scream: I liked this, Matt wasn’t so keen. Just a standard coaster really, but fun. 7
Terminator Salvation: This is how a wooden coaster SHOULD be! Wouldn’t have liked to queue as long as earlier queues though. Also, flamethrower + wooden coaster...? 7
Revolution: A bit of coaster history - the first one with a full loop. Was probably more fun because it was dark. Loved all the warnings before the loop. 6
Batman: A lot of mental in a small space - felt pretty confined. Good fun though. 7
Day 2 Day 4
Itinerary said: Magic Mountain! - RIDES! :-D RIDES! :-D
Stay at Santa Clarita Motel - Cuddle Rach Kick Matt. A lot.
Up bright and early (well, early at least), and got on a bus to LAX, where we picked up another bus to UCLA Westwood. Had to walk then (or run, as we thought we were going to be late due to the traffic) to find another bus up to Santa Clarita. This had a very friendly driver who told us we needed then to get another bus to actually get to Magic Mountain. This whole journey cost us less than $10 each - really impressive.
We got to the park before opening time at 10.30, so once we got in, we made it straight for X2, their current flagship ride. I’ve never been a fan of rollercoasters or theme parks in general, but I think today probably converted me. X2 was totally mental - the seats rotate as well, so you spend a LOT of time tumbling around. Then there’s the flame thrower... Still, having survived that, I thought I’d probably be ok with all the others.
Was a really hot day, but we bought one of their souvenir cups which gets you free refills all day - drank a LOT of fizzy-pop. Ah well - is all hydration, right?
In total, we rode 12 individual coasters and 4 water rides (got well and truly soaked, great fun!), and there’s a little bit about each one at the bottom of the entry.
The park stays open till quite late, so we got to ride some coasters in the dark, which was awesome. Then we walked to the motel - I’d thought it was about 3 miles, but in reality it was just over 5. Was already footsore from walking around the park all day, so when we got to the motel I was ready to drop! Really nice place though, and someone had goofed and given us two queen beds, very nice!
COASTERS:
X2: A bit gimmicky and a little too mental for my liking - zero G was fun though. Flamethrowers also good. 5
Viper: The harness needed to be a bit softer, but the ride was good - lots of fun and suitably fast. 7
Tatsu: This was AMAZING! It’s a flying coaster and it was brilliant. Pretty long queue, but worth it, was a reasonably long ride. Plus, we were at the front, which made it even better. 10
Riddler’s Revenge: A standing coaster - was a really fun experience. Rode it at the front the first time, then again in the dark - great fun. 9
Déjà Vu: The longest queue, not helped by the fact that it broke down. We waited though, and got to ride it. Was good, but gimmicky again, and too short. Cool idea though. 6
Superman: Overrated. Queue too long, ride too short. Extreme acceleration was fun, but maybe not worth the wait. 5
Goliath: This was fun. Really good first drop, then a good track after - nothing too fussy, just good coaster! Especially good in the dark - dropping into a pitch black tunnel! 8
Colossus: Ouch! This was painfully rattly - old wooden coaster and you knew it. Not particularly fast either. 3
Scream: I liked this, Matt wasn’t so keen. Just a standard coaster really, but fun. 7
Terminator Salvation: This is how a wooden coaster SHOULD be! Wouldn’t have liked to queue as long as earlier queues though. Also, flamethrower + wooden coaster...? 7
Revolution: A bit of coaster history - the first one with a full loop. Was probably more fun because it was dark. Loved all the warnings before the loop. 6
Batman: A lot of mental in a small space - felt pretty confined. Good fun though. 7
Day 2 Day 4