18 replies to this topic

[Nvyseal]

Today, Sixflags Magic Mountain opened Tatsu. You ride this beast on your belly. Would you ride this?? Maybe one of our members will give us a first hand report on it

watch this video http://www.sixflags.com/parks/magicmountai...su-virtual.html

[theman]

I wonder who that particular member could be.

Well, I've been working almost exclusively at Tatsu the past few days. Today i just got back from a 15 hour shift. I've been doing lighting for a private party, drove the band members around, did special effects for the party, etc etc.. Anyways, actually the official date of its release to the public is this Saturday, not today. Today, in addition to the private party (which there were LOTS of very famous celebs) there was a news conference/release (which i set up risers and giant video screens for) and an exclusive reporter thing at the ride. I helped escort CBS2 news vans, and we had some really advanced newsvans with giant satelite connections..it was insane. Oh and also later on this night, not everyone knows about it, but there was also a large scale fireworks show for the private party. I set up the area for those fireworks too.

And no, I haven't gone on the ride yet because I've been so busy. But I could have gone as long as a week ago if I wanted to (before almost everybody), because I'm in the Entertainment department and they like us because we made them look all tricked out. Most of my co-workers went on it and loved it. They said the most intense thing is the first looping drop, its sorta like X but you're suspended completely differently.

Oh and I'll add, this was taken the night before the press release. Only a couple of Entertainment employees and artists and some ride ops saw this at the time. You can see the sign and kind of a part of the ride, but you california people will see commercials with the full thing soon (we also shot commercials using a helicopter and a camera crew).


Can't get much more exclusive than that!

Edited by theman, 12 May 2006 - 08:17 AM.

[theman]

Got to ride it today, right before two major radio stations arrived to get on it. It's freakin' amazing! It's really like there's nothing around you except for above you, its just like you're flying. Anyways, fun experience

[Nvyseal]

thanks for the report, id like to try it someday

[theman]

No problem, this thing has been my life the past couple of days so it's pretty darn easy to talk about it.

[error51]

You spoiled no good dirty rotten little aaagggghhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!

LOL. You are so lucky to have a good job! It would be so neat to be a professional kid and do something you like all the time.

I want to come to California so bad to see a really good friend and this roller coaster would be a great excuse. Is there anywhere with the specs on it anyways?

[Nvyseal]

I think the link i posted had the specs, but here they are again:

Features:
Custom built exclusively for Six Flags Magic Mountain, producing a one-of-a-kind ride experience that sends riders flying through the Park’s distinct mountainous terrain.

• Speed – 62 mph

• Height – 170 feet

• Elevation change – 263 feet

• Track Length – 3,602

• First drop – 111 feet

• Inversions – four

* Record-breaking 124-foot pretzel loop
* 103-foot flat spin
* 96-foot-tall Zero G roll
* 360-degree inline roll over Revolution

• Wraps the legendary Sky Tower

Flight Time:

3.5 minutes

Vehicles:

Three sleek trains specially designed to carry 32 passengers FLYING four abreast.

Station:

Double-sided station design allows two trains to load at once.

Capacity:

1,600 riders per hour

Height Restriction:

Must be at least 54" tall

[error51]

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1111!!!!!!!!!1!!!!!!ONEONESHIFTONE!!!!!

That looks like a crapload of fun. I'm sure the lines will be a mile long but that looks like it can really crank people through if it is operated effeciently. I have a really bad addiction to things that give me an adrenaline rush so getting on this thing will be a must some day.

[theman]

lol rudy calm down there. take deep breaths. and yeah now since everyone can go on it, the line is at like a 6 hour wait. lol but then again it just opened and everyone in southern california wants to go on it. Oh and the ride itself is 1 minute long, not 3.5 minutes. Six Flags accounts for load-in/load-out time which adds quite a lot. But I like this one more than X which is saying quite a lot. It's pretty intense.

Oh and that one party I helped host/do special effects for- HERE's the link to the press release of that. All sorts of cool celebs were there. I drove back some band members back to their cars, I think it might have been Maroon 5. This coaster got quite a lot of attention last week.

[Nvyseal]

theman, is this a cable driven system, electro mag driven sysetm like superman or just gravity and motor driven? Best place? front or back? I generally have debates with friends as to if the front is better or back. I say the back, because you get the full drop on a chain or cable driven ride because you are not released to gravity until the last car is off the drive system, which means the first car is almost half way down the drop

[theman]

I'm pretty sure it's only cable driven for the first and only lift, the rest is gravity. But since it's so dang new, it uses smoother parts/catches so the ride up is barely noticible. Ahh yeah, for this ride it depends what you want to experience. Front is the best for a really nice scenic view, I would recommend that to first time people. There's no train in front of you and you get the most out of the flying idea. And yeah the back is the most intense because you have the most drop and more speed (this is the same case for most train roller coasters).

[clarky3429]

unfortunately, i dont have the guts to do that... lol

[tntoak]

If I didn't face a 6+ hour flight to get there, I'd head to Six Flags ASAP and ride that monster!!

[Nvyseal]

tntoak, on May 22 2006, 11:40 PM, said:

If I didn't face a 6+ hour flight to get there, I'd head to Six Flags ASAP and ride that monster!!

You should see some of the other rides they have there, enough to make your toes curl. BTW theman, what is this they are selling MMountain and going to build houses on it?? Foolish developers!! :smoke:

[theman]

Nvyseal, on Jun 23 2006, 08:23 PM, said:

You should see some of the other rides they have there, enough to make your toes curl. BTW theman, what is this they are selling MMountain and going to build houses on it?? Foolish developers!! :smoke:

It's pure speculation at this point. Newhall Land is currently a developer company but they did actually own the park at it's beginning. No one knows who is going to buy the park, or if it will go out of business, but something's going to have to happen by the end of the year because that's when all the debt's balance is due. And really I don't see the logic of tearing the place down if it can make even more money. There is no way that park could be used for housing, its probably the worst terrain in the area and its stinky (the Santa Clara river runs through a part of it).