Six Flags Magic Mountain is the best park for rollercoasters in California. There are 20 coasters to ride (19 for those over 54″ high), which can be a lot for a day unless you are prepared. This post will help guide you through from parking to rides. It will be updated as time permits, so revisit for additional information.

For park rules and policies, please go to the Six Flags Magic Mountain official website.

Arrive Early!

The park gets busy and parking can fill up quickly. Try to arrive 30 minutes early if possible. There is a shuttle that runs from the lot to the entrance but it doesn’t always work. Plan on a long walk from the lot unless you see the shuttles running. As a side note, solar panels have been installed over the parking lot, which makes for a much shadier and cooler lot.

At the Entrance Plaza

The entrance plaza, near opening, can be very confusing. Magic Mountain is to the left and Hurricane Harbor is to the right. Basic rule is Diamond / Prestige pass entrance is to the left marked by the red carpet and separate stanchions. Diamond / Prestige pass holders will be allowed to enter the park early but only to the temporary gates just within the park. The general line is to the right and those gates open at park opening.

Food / Drinks

Ace of Clubs

• Great place for BBQ. Not always open and tends to open later. Seating is outdoors with shaded benches. Nearest restroom is across the path near

Food Etc

• Wide selection. Dole Whips, Beef Bowls, and Mexican food. Has A/C and indoor seating in the lower area. Restrooms in back (small).

Katy’s Kettle

• Best place for burgers in the park. Outdoor seating, mostly shady. Views of Tatsu and Revolution. Can get busy, so use mobile ordering if you can.

Twin Charged Tacos

• Best place for tacos, nachos, and quesadillas in the park. Seating is across the path adjacent to West Coast Racers. Sit, eat, and watch the trains go by. If you have a drink plan, there is an easy refill on the right side. This place does close a little early, just FYI.

Drink Refills

• These are spread out in the park. Most don’t open until 1 hour after the park opens. The two best ones are located near Full Throttle and at the bottom of the hill near Apocalypse. Refills can also be at all food service locations but those tend to have longer lines.

Special Ride Notes: Most rides have cubbies/shelves for your loose articles. There are no drink holders and some containers may be wet 🙁 from spills. Two rides – Justice League: Battle for Metropolis and West Coast Racers, do not allow drinks in the bins at the ride.

Ride Tips
(Not all rides included)

This park is open year-round. They have 60 or so trains to maintain which get rehabilitated every three years. You may encounter “single-train ops” during off-peak times as a result. This is the price we pay to ride rollercoasters in winter. The price is still worth it.

Apocalypse

• Wooden coaster opened in 2009 and built by GCI. This is a one-train operation and can be a slow loader. The ride is fairly mild for Magic Mountain but still packs a decent punch. Best seats are toward the back.

Batman: The Ride

A sleeper of a ride. The rear right seat is the “whippiest” of the train.

Ninja

• Arrow Dynamics suspended coaster from 1988. This one will surprise you if you sit in the right car – which is Car 3. This one seems to have more swing than the others. As a side note for this ride, the station was formerly the upper station for “Dragon” which was a people mover closed in 1981.

Riddler’s Revenge

• B&M stand-up coaster from 1998. This is one of the last of this type and is a lot of fun. Best advice for riding is to first pull down the over-the-shoulder harness after boarding and lower the seat so you can sit comfortably before they lock. Watch for the “head bang” at the end of the mid-course brake run.

Roaring Rapids

• You will get wet, you may get soaked. It is really the spin of the roulette wheel on this one. Plan on being wet. There are no lockers and no dry bags either. Plan accordingly.

Scream

• A hidden gem in the back of the park. It gets lost here but would be a standout ride in any other park. Built by B&M in 2003, this floorless ride is a real treat. Great views of the surrounding area from the lift hill and a possibility of a “re-ride” depending on how busy it is. When running two trains, the line goes quickly. The back edge seats are the best. For views and some different airtime, sit up front.

Tatsu

• This is the best B&M Flying Coaster in the US. The ride glides along the treetops and well above the surrounding terrain. I highly recommend this for a night ride. Beware of “single-train ops” which can dramatically slow queue times. As of this writing, it is two-train and goes fairly smoothly.

Twisted Colossus

• Formerly Colossus, not Twisted Colossus, an RMC hybrid (wood/steel) conversion from 2015, is a ride not to be missed. Back row is best. When the ride “duels”, which is when two trains are out on the tracks “racing” each other, this is like no other. Do your part to help – “If you wish to race, you must pick up the pace” is the slogan some ride ops say. Quickly put away your stuff, sit down, buckle up, and DON’T PULL THE LAPBAR DOWN! They will do that part for you.

If you can, a night ride is something special. This is a great coaster to close the park with.

Wonder Woman: Flight of Courage

• Newest coaster at Magic Mountain, having opened in 2022 and built by RMC (same as Twisted Colossus). This the tallest and fastest “single rail” coaster in the world. Lockers are MANDATORY here, unlike other rides as the train doesn’t stop in the station. You will be loading and unloading while it is slowly moving. Don’t worry, you won’t miss the train. You won’t get a choice for seats on this one. All seats are good regardless. The back will get the most “airtime” and pull off the hills.

Special Note: The station for this ride does not have air conditioning or fans. It can get hot and stifling on many days. If you don’t have Flash Pass, ride early or late on hot days.

Viper

• The last great Arrow Dynamics Mega Looper which has 7 inversions with 3 of those being loops with two of them being in a row. Arrow is sadly well known for having “janky” transitions, meaning where the track goes from one element to another. This is easy to handle if you ride it right. Sit all the way back and sit upright. That’s it. Rows 8 and 10 are best on this coaster.
  
  NOTE: This ride may be closed on weekdays.

X2

• The last coaster built by Arrow Dynamics (their first was Matterhorn at Disneyland), though later slightly modified to become X2 by S&S Sansei. This is truly unique as only three exist in the world and the only in North America. The queue can be the longest in the park, so plan accordingly. There are no bathrooms or drinking fountains in the area. The nearest water (outside of the in-line vending machines) and bathrooms are near the carousel at the bottom of the hill. It is not for the “faint of heart” and is tough to describe. X2 is a “4D coaster” meaning that, in addition to the normal movements, your seat also rotates. Not a “free spin”, this one moves the same every time.

Now, to describe the ride itself… I will just give the first part. You start off facing backward heading out of the station. You’ll stay that way on the lift hill. Once you start down (don’t forget the “pre-drop”), your seat will be rotated where you’ll be facing the ground some 200 feet below you and begin to drop facing that ground. It gets crazier from there. The photo is after the first loop where you’ll be facing forward again.

Best seats are Train 1 Row 7 (rear) on the far side of the station (right side of the station). If you want a smoother ride, stay toward the front and side on the inside seat.

A night ride when the flames are going is a must for those brave enough to conquer X2.

Do you have any ride tips? Let us know in the comments below!