Six Flags Magic Mountain
DVD Premiere Party & Backstage Tours
January 2008
Valencia, CA
Official Web Site: www.sixflags.com

The next stop on our most excellent* backstage tour was X....errr...X2 as it will now be known!

Tim Burkhart tells us all about the new X2.  We can't tell you everything he told us because we would then have
to torture you.  And as much as that may entertain some of us, we can't allow that to happen.

The station will look different.  While we can't tell you everything, first of all, wave goodbye to that "Xperience the Xtreme" logo.
The other major change will be that load and unload will be in the exact same area.  For those of you who were with us on the TPR Japan trip
if you remember what the boarding process of Eejanaika's station was like, X2's station will follow a very similar configuration.

Ever seen those coaster club group photos where everyone looks so serious and constipated?
The same can NOT be said for TPR group photos!  =)  We are the "fun" group!

The following photos will give you a good look at X2's XTREME MAKEOVER!!!
In the foreground you can see the new paint...in the background, old paint!

Those 'happy' yellow supports are being painted 'mean and angry' black!

The "lovely as a flower dress" magenta is turning into "I'm gonna kick your butt" red!

And here's what the final product will look like.  Oooh!  Ahh!

The ride is being covered with a special type of paint that is guaranteed to last 10 years!
And it only comes at a cost of $600,000!  Cheap!  =)

I know there must be a very good reason why they haven't painted the bottom of those supports yet....but it sure looks funny!

For those of you pinch wheel enthusiasts out there, here's a picture for you!

Magenta into red, yellow into black.  It's all very scientific.

Next up we split into smaller groups and got to check out the maintenance area and transfer shed.
Guy still thinks he's at El Toro!  =)

Those are some big wheels!

If you ever wondered what the world looked like to an X train...now you know!

Old Paint Job....

New Paint Job!

Tim and Jay were kind enough to describe some of the differences between the old X trains and the new X2 trains.

Here's is a look at the old trains.  Take a good look....are you fixated on it?  Good!

Now here is a rendering of the new trains.  At first glance they may look very similar but some new engineering should allow for a more comfortable
ride.  The new re-designed trains will be about 10,000 pounds lighter which should mean a smoother ride and less wear and tear.

First off, those bars you see behind the seats (called pickle forks...and yes that's a technical term) are being replaced.

The seats are now one solid piece of steel which should help give the outside rider a more consistently smoother ride.
Remember how the inside seat was always smoother than the outside seat?  This new seat design should help both seats ride nice and smooth.
The pedals on the back to manually release the restraints have been replaced with an electronic button panel.
No more jumping up and down on the train to release the harness if needed.

On the old trains there were a lot more welds on the wheel assemblies. 

This will not be the case for the new trains.  The wheel assemblies are machined as one solid piece.  This should help with
maintaining the ride and keeping all three trains (that's right we said three trains) in operation more regularly.

Joe is in engineer heaven!

"Now guys, just because you may see a test color painted on the track doesn't always mean that's going to be the color that a ride is painted.
Sometimes we are testing a type of paint. In this case, we were testing a new bright green paint for my house..."  =)

Old happy X turns into new evil X2!

I told them they should just leave it EXACTLY like this!  1/4 pink, 1/4 black, 1/4 yellow, 1/4 red.

Click here for page five of Six Flags Magic Mountain DVD Premiere Party Photos

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