Power Outage Stops Rides for 2 Hours at Magic Mountain

A power outage at Six Flags Magic Mountain shut down rides and attractions for nearly two hours Sunday, leaving some of the park’s 12,000 visitors stuck for up to an hour on stalled rides.

Park officials estimated that between 500 and 600 people were on rides when the power failed shortly before 2 p.m.

Some riders were stranded for as long as an hour, but none were endangered, park spokeswoman Bonnie Rabjohn said. There were no injuries.

In the event of a power failure, thrill rides such as roller coasters automatically return to a platform called a “safety zone,” where passengers must wait for park employees to help them out of cars and escort them down stairways, Rabjohn said.

Southern California Edison spokesman Bob Goodlow said the outage appeared to have been caused by a streamer from a metallic balloon that brushed against a power line in Saugus.

A handful of residences around the park were without power for several minutes, he said.

Power was restored to the park rides shortly before 4 p.m. after Magic Mountain engineers examined equipment.

Patrons were allowed back onto the rides about 30 minutes later.

The outage dampened fun for some park visitors.

“We were in line for a ride and we noticed that the power had stopped,” said Charles Johanson of Long Beach. “Everything was down. You couldn’t buy a soda. You couldn’t do anything. . . . People were chanting: ‘Refund. Refund.’ ”

Customers who left the park after the outage were given vouchers for free admission on another day, Rabjohn said.

Many at the park seemed unfazed by the event.

“We were having a pretty good time in line,” said Neil Little of Canyon Country, who waited out the power failure in line for the Viper roller coaster.

When the ride was started again, “it was like a stampede,” Little said.

Terry Kirsch of Westlake Village, who arrived at the park during the outage, said he didn’t mind the inconvenience.

He bought a voucher from a departing patron for half the price of a regular $23 ticket.

“We got in for a decent price and the lines are much shorter,” he said as he waited in line for Viper.