Keen observers have noted that pillars have started to go up for Six Flags Magic Mountain's newest thrill ride, “Full Throttle,” which will see primary staging in the area where the classic Log Jammer once stood. And while their PR team readies an all-out publicity blitz for the Summer 2013 opening of its newest coaster, they've been almost irritatingly silent on pretty much everything else with the exception of their heartfelt cries to please please oh-my-god PLEASE buy their 2013 Thrill Pass.
However, Monday, the Valencia, California theme park broke its silence via their official park newsletter, cleverly called In The Loop. And their big, earth-shattering announcement: there's now a SlingShot in the park.
Somebody hold me up; I feel dizzy with excitement.
Pardon the underwhelming tone, but let's take a look at the SlingShot: the attraction is literally a slingshot – a bungee-cord attraction designed with a two-person gondola. Park-goers can strap in, then just like a slingshot, feel their gondola be pulled back and snapped into action, launching the riders up to 229 feet into the air at up to 60 miles per hour. The attraction plays out until all the dynamic energy is released and riders return slowly lowered to the ground.
At first glance, it sounds pretty fun. But the attraction, manufactured by Funtime Group, loses some appeal when park-goers realize that this brand-new attraction, which made a soft opening December 15 of last year, is the same SlingShot that can be set up at any county fair or carnival in the world. Why pay $40 for Magic Mountain's gate fee when you can ride the same quality of ride at the Townsville Carnival for a gate fee of five or ten bucks?
I enjoy a bit of hyperbole here; park-goers will not pay $40 just to ride SlingShot.
They'll pay $80.
That is not a joke, unfortunately, as Six Flags has also announced in In the Loop that SlingShot will also incur an additional ride charge of $30 for single riders and $40 for double riders. However, Season Pass Holders will receive a discounted rate of $30 for double riders.
Oh, lucky them.
It is absolutely ludicrous that Magic Mountain expects, on top of the gate fee, that park-goers should pay the cost of double a one-day ticket simply to ride an attraction that can be found essentially anywhere else in the world. Six Flags Magic Mountain made its name off of unique, heart-pounding, adrenaline pumping rides such as “Viper,” “Batman: The Ride,” and “Goliath.” And while carnival rides are nothing new to the Valencia park (no matter what shiny colors you paint it, “Wonder Woman: Lasso of Truth” is simply a carnival ride), exacting an extra fee – and a steep one at that – is simply mind-numbingly stupid.
This is one idea that might have SlingShot itself straight into the side of Magic Mountain's budget at full throttle speeds.
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