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Great trip report, as always, 29yrs! But oh my gosh, the ad. I don't really mind the train wraps that much- I wish they'd be removed, but you have to look for it to really notice it, but this, to me, is too far. El Toro is the best wooden coaster in the entire world, is an incredible piece of engineering and a major, ongoing investment, not to mention SFGadv's marquee attraction and calling card for enthusiasts, and they plaster an oversize, cheap advertisement to grab a few bucks that barely makes a dent in Six Flags' revenue. You might disagree, but too far, in my book.

Personally I'd rather have a better ride experience and faster loading than the slight possibility of re-rides on the rare day with walk ons. How often would you be able to get rerides on MF? Weekdays in May is probably the only time with even the possibility. Also, I would have no problem doing away with the reride option of platinum FP anyway.

MF runs three trains, but it is still a people eater. An Intamin Giga would be greatly appreciated, in any case!

^I should have done that! I thought we only got discounts at the park with the season pass (SFA). I'll have to get discounts at Gadv next time I go.

Some very good points you made. Thanks for the answer, Daved. As a general question about the chain, or theme park chains in general, when they invest capital in certain parks, do they choose to invest more in parks that generate more profit, or those that they see the most potential? We have seen CF announce large investments in Carowinds in the near future due to potential for growth. However, the parks SF invests most heavily in (MM, Gadv, Gam) are not necessarily those with potential. I would imagine parks like SFOG, SFStl, and even SFA would have the most growth potential considering they manage to make a profit (most likely) even with smaller investments as compared to other parks. We've seen SF dump capital into Gam and MM the last few years, and Gadv as well, just not quite as much. I understand this may be difficult to answer, considering your last name isn't Reid-Anderson, but any insight would be appreciated.

Interesting. Opening day at SFA they had no idea how to use the eCoupons, and in May they didn't know how to access the coupons. I'm surprised they run the two parks so differently, in the same chain in relatively nearby locations.

Looking at the numbers between Magic Mountain and Gadv, Gadv is only about 100,000 behind in 2013, but had 5 months of offseason when Magic Mountain was open weekends. Do you know which park is more profitable for the chain? Also, does this mean that Gadv is often busier during the summer season? Does anyone know where to find chain wide attendance figures? I'm curious as to what my home park (SFA) gets annually.

Six flags needs to provide merchandise and food cashiers with the eCoupon guide, or plug them in to the computer. I couldn't get a food discount at SFA last week because the cashier didn't have the guide to the coupons. I checked the website that night- there was a discount, so I got ripped off. At Kings Dominion, they asked me if I had a season pass with every purchase and had the discounts on hand.

Basically, yes. The wood track is removed and the supports are reprofiled, then RMC's installs their "I Box" track, which is just steel track that fits to the support system like wooden track. The name comes from the I-shaped track. The Texas Giant had this done, then the Rattler at Fiesta Texas and now Medusa at Six Flags Mexico.

https://twitter.com/Park_Journey/status/473515920690642944/photo/1 It will never operate as Colossus after August 16th as it is. SF hasn't confirmed an RMC Iron Horse or not, but from what I've heard it seems likely. Edit: Also, August 16th is National Roller Coaster Day. This is no coincidence.

On June 2, Six Flags Magic Mountain released the closing date of their famous racing wooden coaster- August 16, 2014. This all but confirmed the rumors of Colossus receiving the "Iron Horse" treatment from Rocky Mountain Construction (RMC). What do you all think of this decision? Is this a breath of new life into Colossus, Magic Mountain, and the Six Flags chain, or a multi-million dollar mistake over-investing in this costly park for the sake of adding coasters? Things that I find interesting about this decision: -Six Flags continues to re-engineer (or perhaps demolish) outdated/past their prime wooden coasters -Six Flags chooses to invest millions in Magic Mountain in coaster projects yet again -RT, a comparable coaster, was demolished, not redone Some questions I have- Recently, SF has been installing one completely new coaster per year, plus one Iron Horse project. SFnE's Cyclone is very likely to receive the same treatment- will SF install a NEW coaster in the chain in 2015, more importantly at Gadv? Why did SF choose to remove RT, but (probably) not Colossus? Is it that much better? Feel free to discuss!

^Funny, I was just thinking the same thing. My aunt sends me Candy Crush requests almost weekly. I've never played before, so...

Do you think this is still a possibility? I'd love to see a KK spotlight with everything about the coaster wars and all that jazz.

The area between El Toro and Ka looks much more "planned" than it did with Rolling Thunder smoothed between them. It's unfortunate that RT had to be removed, but this is probably much better for handling crowds and leaving space. It looks good.

I took a front row ride on Bizarro last month, I had the train to myself. The floorless effect may be a gimmick, but it was pretty cool to see the track disappear beneath my feet. I don't get to go to Gadv very often, but riding front row row certainly moved Bizarro up my list. It's strange that it isn't one of the more popular rides in the park- at this point I prefer it to Superman, which always has a longer line.

Looks like a great trip. I hope Gadv doesn't start doing a tiered FP system in terms of ride availability. I believe Magic Mountain does it this way- Regular doesn't offer all the rides Gold and Platinum do. I don't have a problem with Cedar Fair parks doing this because the tiers don't have separate waiting reductions. I think it should be one or the other, but not both.

The park looks great, as always. Is Bizarro merchandise still half off throughout the park? Not that it would necessarily indicate anything, but a little "springtime speculation" can't hurt!

Considering this is a temporary (only for the weekend) opening, does this mean it may still be a few weeks before Zumanjaro opens, not the first week of June? If Zumanjaro were to open the first week of June, you'd think they could keep Ka open until then, only adding on one week until then.

After thinking about it for a good while, I don't really have a problem with new, bigger rides requiring extended construction opening late (meaning between Memorial Day and mid June). Zumanjaro fits that criteria in my book, but I think they could have started earlier in the fall to get the Memorial Day opening. That is how Cedar Point and Kings Island run their business, and Six Flags does it differently, which is fine. However, I do have more of a problem with smaller or relocated (or both) rides opening after opening day, especially after Memorial Day. As an example, at SFA (my home park), their new flying scooters were not ready for opening day. There really is no "harsh winter" excuse for one of the smallest flat rides opening late.

The price differences amaze me between parks for not only food/merchandise, but especially Fast Lane/Flash Pass. We paid around $80 last summer for regular Fast Lane at Cedar Point, FL+ was probably around $100 apiece! At SFA, not that anyone should need a Flash Pass, but Gold is less than $40.

Last month at Gadv, a young man (25-ish) next to me on Skyscreamer whipped out his iPhone and took a bunch of selfies mid-ride. When I was waiting in line for Windseeker last summer at Cedar Point, someone pulled out a phone and the operator immediately brought the ride back down and quickly began to recite the safety requirements/rider code of conduct over the speakers. I was pretty impressed with Cedar Point, my only problem was that I had to wait a few extra mintutes after already waiting longer than I had hoped with a Fast Lane!

I'm planning a visit for June 29th, so I think I should be good. I'm sure it'll be open by then. What amazes me is Six Flags can open Goliath at SFGam this month which is still a ways from completion, but Zumanjaro, which appears closer to completion, is delayed at least 2 weeks.

April 5th- Six Flags America April 12th- Great Adventure April 14th- Great Adventure April 17th- Kings Dominion

The reason I ask is in comparison to Cedar Fair parks, Six flags seems to advertise much more frequently and blatantly. Cedar Fair doesn't do train wraps (to my knowledge) and certainly not flat wraps. Is this in part due to Six Flags' financial situation, or just how Anderson and corporate run things?

Does Six Flags choose to use so much advertising and train wrapping as a necessary revenue source that is vital to the company, or just as an additional source of income?