Six Flags Magic Mountain is located in Valencia, California. It attracts visitors who travel to vacation at the many family friendly attractions in southern California, such as beaches, water parks and Disneyland. Cedar Point is located in Sandusky, Ohio, on a stretch of land that reaches out into Lake Erie, roughly between Cleveland and Toledo. Though Cedar Point is not part of a vacation hot spot, it attracts visitors from around the country with its legendary reputation.
Six Flags Magic Mountain is tied to the history of Six Flags Entertainment Corp., its corporate owner. The company runs 19 amusement parks within the United States, Canada and Mexico. Founder Angus Wynne first opened Six Flags Over Texas in 1961, and Six Flags Magic Mountain opened 10 years later.
Cedar Point is the original amusement development of its owner, Cedar Fair Entertainment. It began as a beach and beer garden in 1870, attracting locals on holiday. Its thrill ride history began in 1892 with a seemingly modest 25 feet tall, 10 miles per hour roller coaster dubbed the Switchback Railway, which opened the door to the myriad of rides Cedar Point sports today. "Amusement Today" magazine named Cedar Point the Best Amusement Park in the World for 13 consecutive years, as of June 2011.
Six Flags Magic Mountain has 41 rides, as of June 2011. Its latest addition, the Green Lantern, is one of a kind with "suspended trains that rock back and forth on the straightaways and rotate head over heels as cars plunge over free-fall drops," reports the "Los Angeles Times." Cedar Point lists 17 roller coasters on its website, perhaps the most notable being Millennium Force, which is 310 feet tall and reaches speeds of 93 miles per hour. In 2011, Cedar Point also debuted Wind Seeker, a 301-foot tall spinning chair ride.
Six Flags corporation's licensing agreement with DC Comics and Warner Bros. means visitors to Six Flags Magic Mountain ride coasters and hug costumed characters within their superhero and story themes. Ride themes include Batman, Superman, the Riddler and the Green Lantern. Children's rides are found in the Bugs Bunny World section of the park, where many of the rides are named after Warner Bros. cartoon characters.
Young Cedar Point visitors can enjoy the children's rides at Planet Snoopy, its children's section themed after Charles Schultz's Peanuts characters. Snoopy, Charlie Brown and the rest of the Peanuts gang make appearances the park. Some children's rides are themed: the Red Baron, Snoopy Bounce and Snoopy's Space Race.
