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Apocalypse is still down to one train, not much progress has been made on the train in refurbishment, so I expect it to run train for a few more weeks. Created some crazy lines Sunday, where they even used the first set of switchbacks, which I haven’t seen filled in years! After all rough rides on it, I rode it in the rain Sunday, and had quite an amazing spin on it. Sadly the fire didn’t work. Knowing Apocalypse, this will be back soon. It’s rare for the fire effects to be turned off on Apocalypse. 
Batman: The Ride is also down to one train still. Pretty surprising knowing that the trains returned a while ago. Nonetheless, the Magic Mountain trains are the best after all. I had an incredibly fast, yet butter smooth ride on it this weekend. 
Ninja is still running two trains. This time I made sure to wait for the refurbished train. That has been refurbished in every way possible, after years of not being used. It was like experiencing Ninja in a new train, incredibly smooth. Though it’s definitely not that popular anymore, it’s still one of my favorites. I will ALWAYS smile when swinging around on Ninja. Always. 
Well, it sure is off-season in Bugs Bunny World and Whistlestop Park too. The train-ride in Whistlestop Park is closed for maintenance. And Speedy Gonzales Hot Rod Racers is missing the lead-car. 
I believe Road Runner was running on Saturday. Though Sunday it was closed. The trains were on the track, so we’ll see whether or not it will undergo a quick refurbishment this week or the next, or perhaps it was just closed for the day. 
I have seriously no clue what the bathroom hand-rails are for. (Bathroom in between Gold Rusher and Scrambler, across from The Riddler’s Revenge). Perhaps for busy summer days? Not to point out one sex in particular, but the hand-rails are on the side of the women’s restrooms, and I’ve seen crazy lines for the women’s bathrooms at Six Flags Magic Mountain before. 
The fence we touched on last week, is not a construction wall, rather a new wooden fence/wall for the Tidal Wave line. My guess is this ol’ Intamin water ride is sticking around for at least one more season! On a sort of related note, I’m always amazed to see about 10-15 Tidal Wave boats laying around the park (mostly in storage areas, or next to the ride), though the most boats I’ve seen on it is 3, and recent years only 2. I wonder what the reason was to get so many boats over the years. 
The Flashpass Sales Center has received a big Flash cut-out. Look’s pretty cool. 
Oh Look! It’s Scream!’s amazing repaint! 
WHAT?!? That High Five looks amazing. (Quick Tip; Ride Goliath, the view of the High Five is spectacular). 
For our full Twisted Colossus and Scream! Update from the same days, 
It looks absolutely amazing, twisty, and action packed. I’m still flabbergasted how the old structure is supporting the insane amounts of steel used on top of the structure. 😀
Notice the new metal tops of the structure that have been placed. They will be the approach to the green double down, and the blue dive underneath it. 
It’s very low compared to the old Colossus, actually, the High Five element is only located a few feet above the original third turnaround!
All this track that’s laying around (AND YES, IT’S A LOT!), is to go up for the green double down and the blue dive/drop. 
Blue drop track… It will be insanely interesting to see the Top Gun go up! That will be a crazy sight!
It’s hard to get a good shot of the High Five from the side of the ride. But if you look good, and ignore the annoying sun glare (it was hazy out, combine that with the Cali sun, and your pictures look like this 🙁 )
Hidden behind Hurricane Harbor. 
It will sure look spectacular from Hurricane Harbor. Always loved seeing the old Colossus from HH, will be very exciting to see Twisted Colossus race by every couple of seconds! 
The parking lot, that used to be in the shadow of the old Colossus and faded Scream! Is starting to look like an exciting beginning of guests’ days! The bright colors of Scream and the spectacular maneuvers of world’s longest Hybrid Coaster really represent the future of the park very well. 
Look it’s Scream! 
Looking all fresh! The supports of the drop are currently being painted. 
Some of the loop’s supports have been painted now too. 
The Interlocking Corkscrews have been completely painted, both supports and track! Looking better than ever before! 
The drop after the MCBR and the entire helix have been painted. 
The Zero-G-Roll has also been painted entirely. 
Here’s a better look of the Zero-G-Roll and the Reversed Immelman/Dive that are almost completely repainted!
Guests will walk down a path leading to a set of switchbacks. The path, fenced with wooden handrails, passes under the lift-hill. Many guests though, won’t realize it’s the lift they’re passing under, since the rock-like theming around it blocks guests from seeing the track. 
From the switchbacks closer to the station, there is a perfect view of the newest elements of the ride, the two back-to-back vertical loops. The trains seem to whip through them at tremendous speeds, leaving the mesmerized guests wondering what kind of forces could possibly await. 
Once the switchbacks are completed, guests will be assigned rows inside the station. The station itself is outdoor, like all steel-coaster stations at California’s Great America, though the air-gates part of the station is covered by a wooden structure. Once the gates open, riders will pass through, cross the train, and will place all loose items in the cubbies for their respective trains. They then take a seat in the classic Arrow trains, which are a lot smaller than Viper’s newer generation Arrow Looper trains, have their restraints and attached seat-belt checked, and they’re off! (Note to tall people, just like on the newer Arrow trains, request to sit in the front row of a car. There’s not a lot of space anywhere in the older generation Demon trains, but its definitely better than the back rows of each car).
When the train reaches the top, it makes a 180′ degree turnaround, and drops 90 feet at a 54′ degree angle, reaching the top speed of 50 miles per hour. 
The riders then fly through the back-to-back loops of 70 feet and 55 feet tall, which pull some excellent G’s, and not of the negative variety! Notice that in between the two loops, there’s a small straight section of track, which causes a bit of a rough transition. Remember those forces you were imagining in line while looking at these beauties? Yes, they are just as you imagined them. 
Riders are then enveloped by a tunnel. The tunnel used to light up orange and yellow with the light bulbs inside the tunnel. This no longer happens, though at the Chicago version, these lights still work. Riders will exit the straight-sectioned dark tunnel and then rise into the second turnaround. Before the train rolls into the second half of the ride, a block brake section, used more as a trim, slows the train down slightly, if at all. A small drop follows and then, the ride’s “new” name becomes very apparent. The trains are swallowed by a humongous rock formation that is the head of, yes you guessed it, the Demon! 
This provides what has got to be one of the best head chopper effects out there. Keeping your hands up throughout this element is not an easy feat. After zooming past a waterfall on the back side of the Demon’s head, the trains maneuver through the rides original signature move, the double corkscrew. The speed with which it spirals through the 35 feet tall corkscrews is amazing! 
Though tall people must watch out for their knees, and the shorter people for the head-banging, as the transition into the corkscrews is very rough. A great mix of laterals positives and even a hint of airtime are present in the corkscrews, before the ride leads into a funky turnaround, and then slides into the brakes with riders attempting to regain their breath. One final turn onto the transfer track brake section, and the train’s ready to roll back into the station.
We like to look at it from a different perspective. It’s a classic that still runs very well, gives riders a taste of the older style coasters, and is the clear predecessor to giant loopers we know now. Due to California Great America’s limited coaster collection, it is a must-ride while at the park, especially for first time riders. We may like this classic Arrow, but what do you think? Agree? Disagree? Comment below, and let us know!
Magic Moments theater hasn’t been touched yet, but soon will also undergo its refurbishment. 
Twisted Wiches, the Gourmet Sandwich shop, is slowly starting to be refurbished. Notice the style they’re going with at the entrance of the building. 
They will replace all pavement in the area, they are not exactly sure what the new layout or colors will be. 
Finally, the awful looking Coca Cola vending machine collection has been removed!
This is right next to the entrance of Twisted Colossus, and near the new Twisted Whiches. The park is placing sets of small stairs in the hill-side. 
The station track is connected on both sides. They yet have to modify the station platforms. The new trains and track are wider than the old. 
The control-panel booth has been taken out and the gap in the station is filled. The new panel will be on station level, located on this metal platform below. 
WHAT? That’s shiny Scream! We’ll get back to that later in this update. 
The unused side of the station is now covered up! 
Here’s the actual TC station where guests will board one of the 4 trains. They repainted the walls below the track white. 
Here’s the view of the brake-runs from the station. The transfer track has been placed as well. They’ve been working on that for months due to the fact that the new track is a lot larger and thus the transfer track couldn’t just be added to the old structure but had to be altered, which turned out to be very time consuming!
Looks a little messy, but there sure are lots of tiny details going into a monster hybrid coaster like this.
One of the many container-work-shops. 
UNWRAPPED! 
What?! It’s the famous lead car! And she’s a real beauty in person. The details on the train are incredible! 
The trains have seat-belts, and lap-bars with shin-guards. 
Some second row good-ness. 
The nerd back-side of the train! 
This is only the first of 4 trains, the other trains will each have a different color scheme, blue, green, and purple.
Here’s the trim-brake section before riders will enter the second (green) half of the ride. 
That transition from blue to green! 
Interesting looking structure in which two break-runs will be located. The green one on top, the blue trim-breaks on the bottom. 
In case of an evacuation from the blue-brake section or the green lift-hill, behind this panel a staircase will be installed. 
The empty Colossus Turnaround Colosseum… For those of you who were worried the blue trim-breaks indicated that the out-ward bank on the blue side would not be placed. Worry no longer, no such thing was ever mentioned, the blue outward-banked airtime hill will still be part of Twisted Colossus. 
I say… FLATRIDE! Really, they could fit some in here, it’d be spectacular with Twisted Colossus flying by. Sadly no such thing was mentioned… 😀
Rest in pieces block-brake section! Here’s the booth and staircase that were connected to the mid-course break-run on the Ol’ Colossus. 
The deepest point of the ride is located before the double-up. This dip is coated with asphalt. 
Rocky Mountain Construction is adding a lot of extra wood to the already existing structure to support the heavy track. The old track crossing through will not be demolished, but has become part of the supporting the structure. Wood is being placed all over it!
See, this is a sign of the construction moving along at a great pace, track everywhere! 
And then… like Twisted Colossus wasn’t looking pretty enough yet, here’s two absolutely stunning drops. These will be filled with ejector-time! 
Look at those little floater hills! 
The new, white, structure seen here is the structure for the green double-down, and the blue dive underneath it. 
What?!? I’m in the middle of the two drops! Notice that the old track on the left will not be demolished. It will be part of the supporting structure. 
Artsy air-time hill shot! 
Beyond these hills… lays the magical twisted High Five element!
Oh, there it is! 
They were placing the High Five element as we were taking the tour! Very exciting!
Wood of Twisted Colossus meets paint of Scream!… 
All of Scream! is being painted by hand! The primer for the supports is peach, and the actual coat of paint is bright orange, as Sue from Six Flags Magic Mountain said, it really pops. It does, I was a bit conflicted with the colors at first, but now I got to walk around the ride, it really does pop. It looks great! 
Busy painting! 
After the primer, the bright orange is added, and then it looks like this, amazing!
The helix on Scream! has completely been painted. 
There are two trains still on the storage tracks. The track on top of the Zero-G-Roll behind it has been painted as well!
The painted track on the loop!
Let’send with this shot of Scream!’s interlocking Corkscrews! Looking awesome with the new paint!
Mostly the entire old block-brake structure has been removed. 
The structure for the double down is being placed. In the background you can see the approach to the high-five element being completed on both sides. (The green track in the below the structure will be going up the High Five next). 
There’s a lot of track and wood ready to be placed. 
And then here’s the beautiful moment at which they’re placing the actual High Five. All track preceding the High Five has been placed. And as I was taking pictures, the metal beams, for the 90′ degree banks in the middle of the element, were being placed. 
Notice the amounts of blue and green track! Ready to go up very soon! 
Here’s the crane that’s placing the High Five beams and track onto the structure. 
Definitely seems as if Magic Mountain is really aiming for that Spring opening!
Oh look! That’s Scream! over there! Let’s move on to the Scream! repaint.
A lot of track has been repainted already. I would say about 80%. Including the interlocking corkscrews of course!
Most of the lift’s track, the drop’s track and the loop’s track have been repainted already.
Wow… What’s that? That’s orange supports! 
The orange is way lighter than I initially thought I saw for the helix. Maybe they’re going over it again? Maybe it’s more Steam-punk-esque this way…
Now I think about it, I kind of like both colors of the supports. But I guess I’m going with the new fresh, bright, orange! 😀
The drop, as I mentioned before has been repainted as well. The track that is.
Look at that loop, all shiny repainted in blue!
An overall shot of the Scream! repaint on the side where no orange is to be seen. The brake run, parts of the Zero-G-Roll, the valley between the drop and the Reversed Immelman/Dive, and the entire Cobra Roll are left to be repainted. Track wise. 
Finally the park is continuing Swashbuckler work. 
All Holiday in the Park Rockin’ Universe lights have been removed. All buildings are returning to their DC Universe state. 
While in DC Universe, Batman The Ride is still running one train. So lines for Batman were ridiculous today. 
At least Apocalypse had a sign out today stating it was only running one train. One of the trains is dismantled for a refurb on the side of the ride. 
Valentine’s day means lots of first-timers, because even Green Lantern received some love from guests. Long line! 
There’s a new promotion kiosk in front of Gold Rusher.
And I have a feeling the changed the signs to ‘Capitol Thrill Family Giveaways’ to appeal more to the thrill-seeking audience at Six Flags Magic Mountain. 
So there’s still the clear rumor that Tidal Wave is leaving the park, which would be a shame for a park located in a dessert with insane heat, and only 2 water rides left. (If Tidal Wave were to close). There was a construction crew building a wall around the side of the ride next to the game section of Colossus County Fair. 
Valentine’s Day… LOVE FOR VIPER! The line was all the way down the ramp, and the switchbacks inside were in use! The park was dispatching train after train!
The Road Runner Express repaint has been completed. It looks great shining in the sun!
Let’s end this update with some Flashpass line love! This was the enormous line at 1:30PM! 
Springfield will have a wide selection of food options, recreated from the popular Simpsons series. The version found in the Orlando resort was a huge hit with guests, convincing enough to use the -already limited- space at the Hollywood park to recreate Springfield. 
The old Ben & Jerry’s next to the Special Effects stage is under reconstruction to meet the Springfield needs. 
Look at that Springfield Skyline, in a couple of months that’ll be in the shadow of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter!
But the Wizarding World buildings sure look spectacular alright!
The construction is moving rapidly, there are workers seriously everywhere you look along the Wizarding World lot. 
Shrek line! I meant… Wizarding World…
The huge ride building is enclosed, receiving AC vents. Lots of work going on inside!
And then just to imagine how massive Wizarding World will be for Universal Studios Hollywood!
Lots of progress on the castle. 
All of Universal Plaza was beautifully decorated with lanterns and flowers. 
With an amazing center piece!
All chines horoscopes were presented on different lampposts around the plaza. 
Even the selling of snacks was done in style! 
Beautiful decorations. I found it really unique. Looked wonderful!
There was almost no one as I entered the plaza, at about noon. Later, when I left the plaza, it was definitely a lot busier. 
Curious George, in style! 
Even though there weren’t many people out on the plaza, as soon Mandarin speaking Megatron came out, people came running from everywhere. Quite funny, there were many Asian tourist tours at the park today, and as soon as Megatron came out, many of them were surprised to hear Mandarin, and came over. Very exciting to see. And indeed, this ‘event’ speaks to a large Universal audience. 
The exit and entrance are divided by a huge set of planters, on the other side of the entrance plaza appropriate stylish lights have been added!
On board Studio Tour. The Psycho mansion is being reconstructed and receiving some love!
It’s drop is measured at approximately 65 feet, at the bottom of which the coaster reaches it’s top speed of about 50 mph. The total track length is 2,640 feet, which is navigated by the coaster’s Morgan trains. It has two trains with six cars each that have two rows and seat two across, for a total of 24 riders a train.
After entering the line, riders will pass through a quick set of outdoor switchbacks before coming upon a plaque informing them that it is indeed an ACE landmark. Riders then enter the indoor waiting area, where many facts and pictures of the ride can be found.
After scanning their wristband, guests are allowed to select their seat, restraints are checked, and the horn blows. Before you know it, you’re underway! The interesting thing about the Giant Dipper’s trains is that one side is entirely enclosed, riders can only enter and exit on one side of the train. Riders enter and exit on the right side of the train.
After that, a series of airtime hills ensue. Surprise surprise, unlike its cousin at Belmont Park, this Giant Dipper’s airtime hills actually provide… airtime! Although not all of them do, throughout the ride there is sufficient airtime and some enjoyable head choppers can be found within the support structure. We found that these sensations are best enjoyed in the back seat. After some more hills, some more un-banked turnarounds, and total of one minute and 52 seconds spent, it comes screeching into the brake run, with the riders almost always erupting into a round of applause.
Even without the nostalgia that surrounds it for many, it is a great wooden coaster. At 91 years old, it’s smoother than many modern woodies and really only has one or two rough spots. Yes we’re looking at you guys, Roar and GhostRider. If you are at the Boardwalk, you really don’t have an excuse not to ride. It is the parks flagship coaster, and rightfully so. Even with Goldstriker only an hour-drive away, it’s hard not to think of The Giant Dipper when discussing the best Californian woodies. We may love this ride, but what do you think? Make sure to leave your thoughts below.
It was challenging to get a picture of the beginning of the High Five element, I even rode the little train in Whistlestop Park to see if I could get a better shot. But nope… So try look for it… 😀 There’s a lot of blue track stored next to the structure. I’m expecting that to be placed this upcoming week.
Notice the weird looking structure in between the two larger mass structures? That’s the new structure that they were putting together last week. 
The entire track preceding the actual High Five has been placed. Including the tiny drops after the hills. 
On the other side of the ride, more of the original structure has been taken away. The footers and dip in the ground below (where the original triple jump was located) is now coated with asphalt. 
Exciting, and not exciting, news… The brake-runs have been placed. 
The green track above is the final brake run. Which is still missing catwalks on the top brake. But the brake that leads back to the station has catwalks already. Now note what’s up with the blue track below…
Yup, that’s a brake-run too! The videos and materials the park provided show a curved turn that leads right into the second lift-hill. Which, when you think about it, would not really allow for the trains to line-up, and would put a lot of force on the lift-hill structure. Since it’ll have a lot of speed approaching the second lift. So indeed, there’s a brake run before the second lift. With catwalks already placed. 
The Twisted Colossus trains arrived yesterday, were stored at the Colossus entrance this morning, and at night they were relocated somewhere else again. I’m not sure where they are now. 
One last look at Twisted Colossus, they’re working on the structure EVERYWHERE! 
More of the Dive Loop/ Reversed Immelman has been painted all blue. 
More of the Zero-G-Roll has also been painted all blue. 
Here are some good shots of what the painted supports look like. Only the supports in the helix have been painted so far. And from that helix-track, only 1/4th has been painted all blue yet. 
PARKING LOT! Hopefully they’ll cover that up, finally. 
Let’s get to the corkscrews! It’s like we’re looking at Bizarro! 
I honestly kind of like the look of it with the purple supports, but it sure will look even better with the freshly repainted orange supports!
Notice that the second corkscrew is yet to be repainted. 
A couple more shots of the repaint. 
While everyone’s dying and hyping over the Scream! repaint that just started, the Road Runner Express repaint is almost completed!
Only the lift-hill and the first drop are left to be repainted! 
Apocalypse had me on edge today. First off, the usual ‘we run only 1 train for your future enjoyment’-sign wasn’t there. Additionally there was no wait time listed. They sent me in the line, and I found myself waiting in the switchbacks, and no trains came by. It already looked like a one-train operation. So after 5 more minutes of waiting, I was able to find an employee to ask, which then told me they were indeed only running one train. People (on a deserted day) waited in a long line without any info on how many trains were operating, or what the wait time was… 
Besides that, which just bothered me a bit because it was cold and drizzling :P, there are multiple spots on the ride where Apocalypse is being retracked. 
After a couple of years, the station covers in the back of the X2 station are being replaced one by one. The first one, all the way in the back, is taken out now. 
They then walk through a small set of shaded switchbacks and reach the ride platform, where tickets will be collected or wristbands will be scanned. Riders are then hurried into a train that snuggly fits four people, two pairs back to back. Ride operators will check restraints, and you are zoomed up the lift hill.
Once the train passes through the block brake, the spinning mechanism is unlocked and now the ride really gets going! After a banked drop following the turnaround, it rises up into an 85 degree bank! It seems as though the trains are designed to face vertically, so riders are either facing up or down. Both are very cool sensations, as either way there is no track in sight and it feels as if you are falling out of the train. 
Another block brake follows, and the train then descends into a section of quick s curves, one after another. This is where the train really gets spinning, and it certainly doesn’t stop any time soon. After a helix, and a few more turns, the train coasts into the brake run, and is corrected to it’s original non-spinning position.
