Once you descend the mountain from Rapids Camp Crossing and enter the Baja Ridge themed area, you have completed your circle tour of Six Flags Magic Mountain. (Baja Ridge adjoins Six Flags Plaza, which is both the park's entry and exit gateway.) On this tour, I saved the best for last, the infamous X--No Limits roller coaster. It's infamous because it turns blasé, seasoned coaster fans into screaming scaredy-cats. But who am I to talk? I'm telling you this at the prompting of my friends who have actually ridden X, because I, myself, have never summoned up the nerve to try it!

This coaster boasts a 200-foot first drop down, which you soar at 76mph. Those two features by themselves would make for an adrenaline-filled ride, but that's only the beginning. The train itself has a unique shape. The individual cars stick way out from the center of the train, and each car SPINS INDEPENDENTLY of both the train AND of all the other cars! Thus, not only are you dropping and zooming on this ride, but spinning forwards or backwards at the same time! (Which way you spin at any given moment depends on gravity, as you ascend, plunge, veer right, or hang left.) As I photographed X, the riders screamed nonstop throughout the whole length of the ride! I'm so envious of them. SOMEDAY I'm going to get the courage to board this mean machine!

The other coasters in Baja Ridge are wild, but do-able. There's the Viper, which came to the park in 1990. Its green-and-orange trains loop and corkscrew around a steel track, traveling at 70mph. That one, I enjoyed. Its attractive entry building fits in well with the Mexican-Baja California theme of this "land." The third coaster in Baja Ridge is Revolution, which was actually the first looping coaster ever built, the park claims. It's 113 feet tall and travels at 5mph. Personally, I won't be going on this ride again. It just doesn't give a smooth ride. I like to dip and plunge, but I hate to bang and bash! But, try it--YOU might like it!

If you're hungry while in Baja Ridge, you can eat at a branch of the chain restaurant, Panda Express. Now, as you might know, that's a Chinese restaurant, so what it's doing in Mexican-themed Baja Ridge, I'm not sure! But the food is good, just like the food served at any other Panda Express in town.

On your circle tour of Six Flags Magic Mountain, once you leave Cyclone Bay (which is at the back of the park), you'll start heading around towards the main gate again. AND you start to CLIMB! The hill between Cyclone Bay and the next themed area that you'll encounter, Rapids Camp Crossing, is a workout! Luckily, it's lined with tall trees and, therefore, is a scenic hike.

The star attraction of this "land"--actually, the ONLY ride--is Roaring Rapids, a raft ride. You'll journey along a beautiful, woodsy white-water course in round 12-person rafts. This was the first raft ride to be built in the western USA. Of course, now these rides are common. In Southern California alone, three other theme parks have raft rides: Knott's Berry Farm, Disney's California Adventure, and Sea World of San Diego. But, since the free-floating sensation you'll feel while in the rafts is always a pleasure, I recommend going on this one, too.

Once you board your raft, you'll meander downstream, where the crosscurrents will splash water at you from the side and tall jets of water will rain upon you from above. In other words, you'll get soaked! The crowds love this, though, especially on hot days. Thus, on sultry summer afternoons, you'll find the longest lines for this attraction, so you can plan around visiting during these busy times if you don't want to have a wait. Otherwise, the line for this ride isn't too long.

After leaving Roaring Rapids, you may wish to play a few arcade games (which are the only other things to do in Rapids Camp Crossing.) A nice place to eat is Katy's Kettle, a fast-food restaurant housed in an attractive rustic-style building and surrounded by tall pines. You can order burgers or, like I did, the chicken strip meal. I think it cost around $7 or so for the chicken strips, fries, and a drink. You'll dine at a table under the shady trees. And when you're done, you'll get a special treat! As you continue on from Katy's Kettle Restaurant, the pathway will start to head DOWNHILL!

The Cyclone Bay themed area is the last "land" that you can reach on your circle tour of the park WITHOUT climbing a big hill. So enjoy it! Your feet will start to get sore once you leave this place! To teens and adults, the huge attraction here is the Deja Vu boomerang-style roller coaster. (That just means that it doesn't complete a full circle during the course of the ride. It stops midway at a "dead end" and then repeats the same course, this time going BACKWARDS.)

Well, this is another one I wasn't brave enough to try! It's so TALL! The "dead end" towers soar 200 feet above the ground! Plus, there's a 90-degree first drop! Not for me, I don't think! But many people LOVE this ride. It loops around the track at 65mph, the riders hanging in suspended cars. Whoa! I DO enjoy it as a piece of eye candy. What a fun ride to photograph!

There's another roller coaster in Cyclone Bay that I HAVE been on, the traditional-looking wooden coaster, the Psyclone. I screamed going down the first hill, after which the rest seemed tame. I will say, though, that this ride has a drawback. It's very bumpy and jostly. Kids over 54 inches tall may ride it.

There's a water ride in Cyclone Bay, too--the Arrowhead Splashdown. If you try it, you'll climb into a "jet boat," ascend up the Samurai Summit hillside, and then wind around on that scenic hill. At the end, you'll take a 57-foot plunge--and just might get splashed!

At Cyclone Bay, the 6 Flags people hope you'll spend some more of your hard-earned cash, as evidenced by all the extra-fee attractions in that area! Coming into Cyclone Bay from the Movie District, you'll pass through a section of carnival games. You can toss a ball, throw a dart, etc., to try to win a prize. (They have some cute stuffed animals as prizes that your kids--or your girlfriend--will love.) If you're feeling wealthy AND adventuresome, you can try the expensive "Dive Devil," where you'll plop down over $25 to enjoy a skydiving-type experience. (The exact per-person price varies on how many people in your group will be going on the ride. You can ride alone or have up to two other people with you.) You'll get into a harness at the top of a tall structure, then jump out into thin air, where you'll have a free-fall experience--traveling around 60mph as all four limbs wave in the breeze! Still haven't spent enough? Try the Cyclone Bay 500, a go-cart ride. Actually, though, the fee for this falls into the "reasonable" range at $6, though that's only for one set of laps.

From The Movie District themed area at Magic Mountain, you can proceed with your circle tour of the park, which takes you ahead to Cyclone Bay. Or, you can climb the mountain in the middle of the park, detouring to the Samurai Summit themed area.

For now, let's say that you've chosen to climb to Samurai Summit. Good choice! Why? Because Samurai Summit is now heavily under construction (with a new ride coming for summer 2006!) All paths onto the hill have been closed, except ONE, the path near The Movie District's Goldrusher mine train ride. In fact, it appears that the Samurai Summit's name might be changed when the new ride opens. That's not "for sure," but the oriental gardens have been removed, and if the theme will remain the same, then why did they remove them? The Sky Tower is closed. (That's the tall tower you saw back in my "Six Flags Plaza" photos, and which you'll also see in the photos below. It housed a slow, elevator-to-the-top ride and provided stunning view opportunities.) It's still standing, though, and, personally, I hope it's not torn down. It's such a landmark--a building that just SHOUTS, "You're at Magic Mountain now!"

Two rides DO remain open on the summit, "Superman the Escape" and the "Ninja" roller coaster. Superman the Escape is a HUGE 41-story tower that's a whopping 415 feet tall! It's ridden in a 15-passenger car that shoots out from the base station, going from 0 to 100mph in just 7 seconds! The ride ascends the tower, hangs at the top briefly, and then drops back down to the ground way below, giving riders a feeling of weightlessness. Confession time: I've never had the nerve to try this ride: it's just TOO tall and TOO scary-looking! But, there is a tamer, but not TOO tame, coaster at Samurai Summit, and that's the Ninja. It's a suspended coaster (the passengers ride BELOW the track) that travels at speeds up to 55mph. I thought it was a fun ride. It was thrilling without making me feel like death was an imminent possibility!

The Movie District themed area within Six Flags Magic Mountain has a number of popular rides and attractions that you'll want to check out. New for 2005 is the Batman Begins stunt show. (In fact, this is Magic Mountain's ONLY new attraction for 2005.) This live-action show features real stunt men "doing their thing" with costumes, sets, and a scenario that tie into this summer's blockbuster hit, the "Batman Begins" movie. You'll see explosions, fire, sword fights, fire, daring leaps, and did I say fire? The movie's major characters are represented, and, of course, Batman saves the day at the end. This show is in the same outdoor arena where the Batman & Robin stunt show was held for the past several years. It's hard to go wrong with the stunt shows at Six Flags. They're fascinating and also admit a large number of people, so you're going to get in without standing "forever" in a huge line.

Of course, Magic Mountain is most famous for its coasters, and the Movie District has a great one. It's "Riddler's Revenge," a roller coaster that you ride standing up. You'll experience a 156-foot first drop and make six inversions throughout the course of the ride, while traveling at speeds up to 65mph. To me, standing up during a coaster ride doesn't make much difference in the ride experience (as compared to sitting down.) But, anyway, this is a great coaster! The minimum height for this ride is 54 inches.

But teens and adults aren't the only ones who can enjoy the Movie District. The other rides in this section admit younger children. For families, there's the Scrambler, which is the same familiar scrambler ride that you'd see anywhere else. It admits kids only 36 inches tall, as does the Spin Out, another familiar old ride where you stand against the wall of a barrel, the barrel spins, you "stick" to its walls, and then the floor drops out from under you to emphasize the fact that you're REALLY stuck! Kids of 42 inches can ride the popular Tidal Wave, a short--but wet!--ride in which you board a boat, climb a hill, and then plunge down, soaking yourself as you land in the pool beneath. Kids 42 inches tall may also ride in the "Sandblasters" (bumper cars), although they can't DRIVE the car unless they're 54 inches tall. Finally, for families with children 48 inches tall and over, there's the Goldrusher, a mine-train ride that's a 1971 original to the park. It climbs a hill, then zips around a mountain through the trees at 35mph. Plus, there's only a short wait for this ride! For the adventurous, there's a rock-climbing wall, which has been themed to the movies by calling it the Kruger Apartments! There's an extra fee for this attraction. (Note: The Free Fall, a 10-story tower rise-and-drop ride, is now closed.)