Tatsu!
 

I had an absolute blast at the media day of Tatsu, the new flying coaster at Six Flags Magic Mountain.

Definitely the best coaster at SFMM (which isn't saying TOO much), Tatsu is the kind of coaster that I always hope I'll find when looking for another good one.

I'll post some pics when my brain knits.

:confused: Matt, was that you I saw being interviewed by K-CAL 9 today? Or was that another Matt?:confused:

I am really tired right now, but as far as I know, I wasn't interviewed by K-CAL 9 :D

Ooh, must have pictures! Very cool!

Well, I did a crazy people camp out, but at 3 in the morning, I got this pic...

Imagine Fantasmic's opening lights - but covering the ENTIRE top of Magic Mountain.

The coaster even made the news out here on the bitter east coast.

I think that's the first time SFMM has made the news here since, err ummm, ever.

Everyone at school has been raving about it. One of my friends is a ride operator on it, and he said that they have been having some major problems with the system, though.


Of course, he is also the one who E-Stopped Superman when I went on it because he saw "something on the track". It costs $4,000 to restart the ride.

Major problems with Tatsu?

Interesting, because the ride has been running with 3 train operation for 2 days now, with only a few minor 10-7s(shutdowns). Today they were running 30-50 second dispatches, with a few guest related hiccups.

Mmmm, Chicken Tatsu...

:D

I think Coaster Matt kinda likes this coaster

Last night, while in line for the matterhorn, we met a girl who works at Magic Mountain, she said that people are waiting in line for 6 hours to ride. Is this true?

We rode 3 times on Sunday, with the longest wait being an hour (which included about 10 minutes of downtime due to a minor code blue in station 2).
3 trains holding 32 passengers each dispatching every 20-50 seconds speeds things up nicely.

What makes Tatsu stand out compared to all the other coasters?
(I'm just looking for info, not meaning to sound skeptical. I'm really a coaster wuss. But I have been on Viper, Superman, Ninja, Colossus...)
:)

Which Superman? ;)

(I'll just assume that you've been on Superman: The Escape at SFMM)

Tatsu is closer to Batman: The Ride - same manufacturer, with a great emphasis on flying.
The coaster sits high on the hill, and the seats fold up against the track, putting riders in prone position - it feels like being Superman.

Tatsu has excellent pacing, the biggest element of the ride isn't until just before the end. Depending on your position on the train, it has a very different "feel" - the back row is almost too intense for marathon riding, while the front row is swoopy and more visually amazing.

Tatsu is the best steel coaster in California, imho (we don't have that great of a choice, in the grand scheme of things), and an excellent addition to SFMM's coaster collection.

Oh, something that just came to mind - my FAVORITE steel coaster in the entire USA is Superman: Ride of Steel at Six Flags New England, not too far from Boston (Agawam, to be precise).

Yes, Superman the Escape.
Thanks for the info. Sounds cool.
Agawam, eh...?
:)

I'm actually excited to try this out. Although, Ken refuses to go. :(

My favorite part of rollercoasters is the very front seat, because I love the "flying" sensation. I'm betting I'll absolutely LOVE this ride!!!!

I'd love to ride it in the first row.

That's the only way I would ride it.

I love Batman, but once I rode it in a middle row, it scared the bejeezus outta me, and I was miserable the entire ride.

The same thing happened to me on Batman. Totally miserable. Rode Top Gun at Great America the same way, too. Mega miserable.

The only difference view wise with a flying coaster, is that if you are in any row other than the front row, you see people's shoes - the view is down below you, not straight ahead.

Here's a site with onride video - watch the B-roll, there's edited, raw reverse POV and raw forward POV.