Before I went to Six Flags Magic Mountain, I heard stories of “rounding the bend” and just seeing the entire park appear. After driving south for over five hours, at 11PM on Wednesday night, we “rounded the bend,” and there it was. Obscene language immediately came from my mouth as well as my dad’s. Seeing that many roller coasters seemingly sitting on top of one another just doesn’t compare to anything. It reminded me much of driving out on the Cedar Point Causeway seeing all the rides just sitting in the middle of Lake Erie, only this time, they were on a mountain.

Thursday started off with the typical “running of the bulls” to X2. After waiting for a few minutes, we boarded, my dad on the inner seat, and me on the outer seat. Later in the day we rode twice more, and let me start by saying the seating can make or break this ride for you. The ride is much smoother and less shaky from the spinning on the inner seats. The ride experience itself is of course, unlike anything I have ever experienced. As an engineer, I can appreciate just how special a ride like X2 is. Some dislike the audio, but something about “Enter Sandman” blasting in your ear getting ready for one of the wildest coasters on Earth just makes me smile. My favorite part was probably being face down on the drop before doing a front flip into the first “Raven Turn,” all possible thanks to those amazing rotating seats.

After that we decided to go for some more traditional fun, the Arrow mega-looper, Viper, and the first modern coaster to feature a vertical loop, Revolution. Why not head to Tatsu you asked? If you didn’t read my Westward Ho! blog last month, stayed tuned. Both rides were fun, with Viper also proving the Ron Toomer “fifth car” rumor to be true. Revolution was decent, but the ride could easily be exceptional if they would lay off the trims and remove those awful shoulder harnesses and return to just the lap bars.

Next we headed towards Colossus, where only one side was running as usual. It is a decent ride, but if the trains were racing and the mid-course blocks were removed it could still be a very nice ride. Scream! surprised me a little bit. I rode in the front seat, and it wasn’t rough in terms of head banging, but it was pretty shaky and caused me to “head bob” during parts of the ride. Like its mirror clone at Six Flags Great Adventure, it is very intense and a pretty good ride.

Goliath was next up. Goliath was a ride I re-rode again on Friday as well. I rode once in the front and once in the back. Unlike most rides of its size, this one focuses mainly on positive forces more than the airtime, and does it ever deliver. For one of the first times in my life I believe I grayed out for a second or two during the ending helix. Next was Green Lantern: First Flight. For those of you who have never experienced a “Zac-Spin” ride from Intamin, they are very fun, especially when you get an imbalanced car like we did, maximizing the spinning.

On a personal note, I would say that Magic Mountain’s Batman clone is a bit better than Great Adventures. It is just a bit smoother, and is still very compact, intense, and fast, the signatures of these rides. Riddler’s Revenge impressed me much more than I had expected. Unlike Mantis and Green Lantern in New Jersey, Riddler does not strain your legs with excessive forces, and instead offers a relaxing, exciting ride through all of the elements of what is now my favorite stand-up coaster.

Now it was finally time to ride Tatsu, my 250th coaster. As usual, I like to buy airbrushed t-shirts for milestone coasters. Tatsu is very similar to Manta in Orlando while still being totally different. Tatsu soars above the trees and up and down the mountain before the massive “Pretzel Loop” near the end of the ride. I preferred the back seat, where the forces are more intense during this element. The other parts of the ride are performed smoothly and gracefully that make this ride one of my favorite steel coasters.

On our way down the mountain, we hit Ninja, one of the last Arrow suspended coasters in existence, and it still provides a great ride. Unlike most similar rides, Ninja begins and ends with lift hills, so the action in the middle is uninterrupted. The ride weaves in and out of trees and over the lake towards the back of the mountain. It is certainly a ride that you won’t want to miss on a trip to the park. After that came Goldrusher, the Arrow mine train that goes up and down the mountain. For a ride of its type, it is a pretty long ride and actually pretty fun as well.

The last of the bigger coasters to do was Apocalypse, the GCI twister that was a much-needed replacement for the Psyclone. The ride audio has been removed, but the fire still frightens riders as they pass by. This is a great ride that proves good things can come in small packages. The station fly-through that GCI has done on other rides is excellent, and the multiple tunnels add to what is a very exciting ride of twists, turns, and airtime. Apocalypse is certainly top ten material.

Before placing the order for my t-shirt, I needed to ride Road Runner Express and Canyon Blaster to get those credits, and the Magic Flyer coaster was sadly unavailable for riders over 54 inches tall. After that we quick headed back up to X2 where the wait was a short fifteen minutes, so we grabbed two more rides on it and one more on Viper before calling it a night shortly before the 8PM closing time. Thursday was surely a day to remember, where I finally got to ride many legendary coasters that are well known all across the world. Stay tuned for my blog about Friday of our trip, where we spent some more time at Magic Mountain before heading to the Santa Monica Pier and Pacific Park, as well as a quick preview stop at Knott’s Berry Farm.