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.

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.

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.)

After leaving either High Sierra Territory or Bugs Bunny World, you'll come to the Colossus County Fair area next. This is the home of the Colossus dual-track wooden roller coaster. In 1978, when it was installed, they say it was the world's tallest, fastest, and longest roller coaster. Of course, these days, it seems like a fairly tame antiquity compared to the other coasters at the park! In fact, it's eclipsed by other faster, taller coasters even here in its "own" namesake area! Goliath is the park's monstrously tall steel-track roller coaster that debuted in 2000. Riders descend from the 255-foot-tall first hill plunging downward at 85mph! (I once lost a camera at that spot! Thank goodness it was just a "disposable" one!) The long tow time up that first hill gives you plenty of time to wonder if you're really glad you boarded or not! As you hurl towards the ground, all you can do is scream! At least, once that drop is over, the rest of the ride seems tame by comparison!

The other fast coaster is Magic Mountain's newest coaster, Scream, which opened in 2003. This was the park's 16th coaster, which was actually a major event here. With this ride, Magic Mountain "tied" with Cedar Point (in Ohio) for the amusement park with the greatest number of roller coasters! (Up until 2003, Cedar Point had always been THE definitive park for coaster-lovers.) This coaster features floorless trains, which gives the passenger the feeling of moving in a "flying chair." It zips along at 65mph. The first drop is only 150 feet, so speed and the "feeling of flying," rather than height, are its strongest points.

Tamer things to do in Colossus County fair include catching the Hot Ice Show (an ice-skating revue) at the Magic Moments Theater, or riding several older, carnival-style rides. There's the Buccaneer swinging pirate ship, a pendulum-type ride. You can try the Swashbuckler, which is a typical "swinging chair" ride. (Chairs suspended on long chains lift into the air and circle, in unison, a central hub. It gives the rider a mild "flying" sensation.) Or, you can go on the Circus Wheel, which is a new name for that old standby, the Tilt-a-Whirl. Kids need to be at least 42 inches tall for all of these three rides.

As you walk through High Sierra Territory, you'll come to a towering fake tree--that's actually beautiful and quite realistic-looking. It happens to be the world's largest man-made tree! By passing through a tunnel at the tree's base, you'll emerge in Bugs Bunny World, the children's ride area with a Looney Tunes theme.

Let's talk about the tamer rides first. There's Elmer's Weather Balloons, where your kids will board colorful hot-air-balloon-type, ride cars, and circle around a central hub. They will go up and down, but won't be able to regulate that action independently. There's Daffy's Adventure Tours, where your children can hop aboard a "bus" that rises into the air and comes back down again in a circular motion--first several times going forwards, and then traveling backwards. Taz's Lumber Co. is a truck ride where your kids will enjoy traveling around a scenic, shady track. (See photo below.) On the Tweety's Escape ride, your tyke will enter what looks like a very large bird cage. Then, the cage will circle around a central hub, simulating a gentle "flying" feeling. Also tame are the Merrie Melodies mini carousel and the Foghorn Leghorn's Barn and Railway.

Getting a little wilder, there's Sylvester's Pounce & Bounce, a ride that takes the children up into the air on a straight tower, drops them down quickly, and bounces up and down several times. Pepe Le Pew's Tea Party is a spinning ride similar to the Mad Tea Party ride at Disneyland. There are two junior roller coasters to try. The Canyon Blaster is a mini-coaster that allows parents to board, while the Goliath Jr. coaster admits children only. Yet, even wilder than the coasters is Yosemite Sam's Sierra Falls, a water slide (which you ride in your street clothes, but you DO get wet!). You and your child (42 inches and above) can ride down one of two twisting, turning, and plunging slides while riding on a two-person ride mat. You may congratulate yourself on staying fairly dry as you're sliding downwards, but at the end, you'll land in a shallow pool of water (to stop your momentum). Now, THAT'S where you'll get wet! Getting up and getting off the ride is the tricky part!