The first day we went was really hot, like 92 degrees.  At times we felt like we were melting.  We went into each restaurant along the way and asked for water and sure enough we got FREE glasses of ice water.  I knew some parks did that, but I did not know Six Flags Magic Mountain did that.

We spent a total of 3 days at the park.  Well, our half day the day we arrived, full day on Tuesday, then a half day on Wednesday before we had to catch our flight.  Because we went for 3 days we purchased the season passes.  This also allowed us discounts at stores plus coupons for so much more. We could have gotten into Hurricane Harbor for FREE, but we never did go.

If you are going and you want to get the most out of your day, make sure you go first thing in the morning.  We hit 6 rides in an hour and half.  The day before we had gotten there at 12pm, because of our flight, and we stayed until 6 and we rode 6 rides.  The lines were longer later in the day.  For even more tips about getting in quicker than everyone else make sure you check out yesterdays post.

Let' s back up and remind you of my first secret.  That was checking school calendar.  I realized that California was still in school June 14-16, so therefore the park was not super full.

Everyone runs right for Tatsu and X-2.  If you are going more than one day, pick one day to go the other way first, because very, very few people go that way.

We were on the very first ride of the day on Goliath.  By the time we made our way around to Scream, we sat and rode it 3 times in a row.

If you are a wooden roller coaster fan don't miss The Terminator.  It's one of the best wooden roller coasters.  It is super fast and the seats are ultra cushy making the ride much more enjoyable.  Don't pass this one by.

Because we did run a lot in the morning and hit the opposite side that most people go to, we were able to get in 14 rides on the 2nd day.  We would even take breaks.  Remember that we always pack our snacks, so they are healthy and much more affordable, but we mostly do it because it's just healthier.  We had trail mix and jerky packed in our cargo shorts.  Also, like I said before, we would stop and get our FREE glass of water to have with our snack.

I do also need to mention that we did something we don't often do.  This was do to that fact, that even though I was running through park and riding coasters, I did have back surgery scheduled for the day after we got home.   We did need to take breaks on this trip.  We ended up hitting the park hard in the morning, then we left for a few hours of napping, eating and swimming, only to return to the park right before closing and hitting more rides.  Had we stayed that extra 4 hours we would have had nearly 20 rides that day.

So I guess to answer my question, do you really need a flash pass for Magic Mountain, I would have to say, if you timed it right, there is no reason.  If you HAVE to go in the middle of summer and have the money to spend I would probably get one just so you can really enjoy the park. Read for restrictions before purchasing though.

Tomorrow I am going to post about the Hotel we stayed at and places we ate.

This is linked to Works for Me Wednesday

Want to learn how to really enjoy and get the most out of your theme park trip?  I have some proven tips to share with you.

If you have already booked your trip there are still some tips to help you out.  Even if you can't use them all there are still some great tips in here to keep you happy while at the park of your choice.

1. Pack Light – If you don't have little ones, take as little as you possibly can.  This works great for places like Disneyland, because you can skip the bag check line and pass up all those people.  We load up the boys cargo shorts with things we might need, like snacks, phones, cameras and sunscreen.  You never have to keep up with a bag and in the end, we have never missed the bag.
   
2. Be Willing to Eat in the Park – This is a big one for me, because I like good food and good food is hard to find in a park, and it's expensive.  We try and choose a hotel with a big breakfast, then we pack snacks in hopes of just needing to eat a light lunch.  Try and find healthy food so you don't make yourself sick and miss out on all the fun of the park. We don't like to waste time leaving the park and re-entering, so we just try and find something there.
3. Don't be Cheap, Drink Lots of Water – Especially during the summer, stay hydrated.  You don't want to ruin your day and get sick because you didn't drink enough.  Try asking for a free glass of water at the counters.  I know Cedar Point has to give them out.  Other things we have done in the past is carry a reusable bottle and filled it for FREE at the water fountain.  Our kids also have fond memories of us buying a HUGE water bottle and walking from our motel to the Disneyland entrance, we couldn't enter until the whole bottle was gone.  That was our way of making sure they started the day hydrated.
4. Wear Good Shoes - There will be lots of walking no mater what park you are intending on going to, so make sure you have good shoes.  Our family runs from ride to ride, because we keep track of how many rides we can go on during the day and write it down when we get back to the hotel in the evening.   Here's a comment from my daughter when she wore the "cute" shoes instead of the comfy shoes.
   
5. Check School Calendars -  I mention this tip a lot, but it has given us some great vacations.  You pay so much money to go, you might as well try really hard to find out when the area is out of school or when they go back.  We have done Cedar Point late August a few times because they had gone back to school and we hadn't yet.  We also hit the California parks once we get out, but before they get out.  We almost always use this tip.  You can see from the picture above, that April is a great time to go to Great America in California, we had the place to ourselves.