Year-Round Magic Mountain Will Benefit Santa Clarita

Six Flags Magic Mountain will welcome guests 365 days a year beginning Jan. 1, the Valencia theme park announced Wednesday. “This has been in our plans for many years, but we’ve really been gearing up … for the last five,” park President Bonnie Weber said. The process has included upgrading infrastructure as well as adding attractions to its portfolio of rides, which includes the world’s largest number of roller coasters. The move marks the amusement park’s entry into the “destination travel market” and puts its operational calendar on par with those of rivals Disneyland and Universal Studios Hollywood. Magic Mountain is currently open daily during the spring and summer months but limits its schedule to weekends and holidays during the fall and winter. Year-round Magic Mountain thrills will be good for the local hospitality industry, Evan Thomason, economic development associate for the city of Santa Clarita, said. The region has enjoyed strong tourism over the past few years, a large part of which has been driven by the theme park, he explained. “The park is our primary tourism driver – they’ve had a tremendous impact,” Thomason said. “Our hotels and restaurants benefit from the tourism in the area.” The expanded calendar also means more jobs for area residents. Already the Santa Clarita Valley’s largest private employer, the park is in the process of adding a significant number of seasonal and full-time workers to bolster its new schedule, Weber said. “Job creation and spurring the economy … is good business for Southern California,” Weber said.