Today’s post is
very photo heavy, I hope you like
Magic Mountain! The first section is a vintage brochure, the second section is how the park looked yesterday.
First up is a great Brochure from
March 1979. The park was sold to Six Flags in 1979, but there is no mention of Six Flags in this brochure. The name changed in 1980 to “Six Flag Magic Mountain”. The mimes on the front give me the creeps, mimes are like a clown’s cousin, both nightmare inducing!
Spillikin Corners! The 1970’s were so fun and folksy!
This folds out BIG! Thanks Richard! This is the Magic Mountain of my early teen years. From 1975-1979 I spent many summer days at the park. Back then my yearly Magic Mountain to Disneyland ratio was about 25:1
Details on the back, wait, where is the Ronald Reagan Freeway? Yes the actor! "
No Cumbersome Ticket Books".
Hint: Currently online you can get admission tickets for $26.99 (good thru 5/26) what a deal!
All of these photos’ are from yesterday. This first photo could easily be from
1979. Yes these are
OLD trams, but they are fast and get the job done. More important, they instantly transported me back to those summers of my early teens, worth the $15 for parking fee just for that.
Lots of flowers, the park was noticeably cleaner than my last visit in 2005.
If you live in the Los Angeles area, I suggest you go to Magic Mountain during the week and before Memorial Day; there was virtually no one there and the price is right.
The
Valencia Falls are running again! The falls have been out of commission ever since they started
Tatsu Construction in 2005. It’s great to see them running again, I hear they just started them up again last week.
The Carousel seems to be in fine shape, it just needs some riders.
Ah early 1970’s architecture, I still have a fond place in my heart for this style of buildings, nice to see them still in use.
Squint your eyes and this could be Disneyland. Ok, maybe not.
Superman, the ride. Not for me, thanks.
The last remaining Troll, still driving his little bumper car!
My earliest memories of Magic Mountain are from the summer of
1971, when the park was new. Two distinct things come to mind; “
Valencia Grass” everywhere and “
Music” coming from loud speakers on poles and in the ground. It’s VERY nice to see both still exist today. They were playing music the whole time I was there; I don’t remember that in recent years.
Tatsu. Well, I did it! Let’s just say I am NOT that teenager anymore! It was fun, it was FAST, and it made me need to sit down for a few minutes afterwards! I was thinking it would be more like Ninja (which I rode twice, no line!) but it was more like a Space Shuttle launch. If you like coasters, it’s a must do.
One of the main attractions I wanted to see today was closed. The
Sky Tower was closed all day, maybe due the winds or low attendance (or both). Too bad, I was willing to deal with my fear of heights because there is a Magic Mountain Museum at the top. I’ve seen pictures of it online, it looks fun. Maybe next time.
********** SAVE THE METRO **********Ok, if you lasted with me this long, indulge me here at the end. One of my favorite attractions at Magic Mountain was the
Metro Monorail. This was an original attraction to the park. It has three stations and is fully automatic. It was a real transportation system that actually worked. Yes two of the stations were kind of close, but the third one was up the hill and really saved time and eased tired feet.
The Metro has been nonoperational since at least 2003, maybe longer. I have heard all kinds of reasons why it’s not running, the big ones being: Doesn’t meet code and can’t find parts since the manufacture is out of business. Neither of those rings true; this same exact ride system is still in use at Hershey Park (since 1969!) somehow they keep it running and complying with codes.
Back in 2007, Magic Mountain hinted that a “
Three Station Transportation System” was returning to the park, but I think we are getting Thomas the Train-land instead. I would like to think we can get both? Ok, enough of my “
cause”. If you want to see the Monorail trains, here is a link to my previous Metro Rants (
link).
Since the entire Metro infrastructure might go away someday, I got some pictures of the three stations. I wonder if people even know what these are for? This first station is the nearest to the entrance, just before the kiddy land.
This is the exit area for the first station. Ok, it needs some paint and TLC, but it’s all there.
The second station is up more near the “Carnival Games” section. This station has a super 1970’s look to it. I remember waiting in line on those stairs!
The building could use some paint and TLC too, but again its all there, the area’s for all of these stations are really nice and green.
The last station is somewhat hidden and partially blocked off (didn’t stop me!). The main entrance is still open; it’s on the back trail up the mountain (towards Superman and Ninja).
The path to the boarding area is blocked off (I reached around for this picture), this loading area is in a tunnel that runs under Superman (it used to just run thru the mountain). The Metro comes out the other side of the tunnel and runs near the falls then back to the first station. This station is in worse condition than the other two.
Whew, I hope I didn’t bore you to tears! Plaese come back tomorrow for some Disneyland Stuff.
See you on tomorrows post.
