As mentioned last time, Yosemite Sam Sierra Falls was a bad ride to work, especially the time spent working unload at the runout. It’s out in the open during the hot California summer (note the absence of shade structures), you get continually splashed as rafts come in for a landing, and then after instructing guests to exit you then retrieve the raft and feed it to the conveyor shed in the middle. Just unpleasant.

In August of 1995, I took a bunch of photos (on film no less) at Six Flags Magic Mountain using an inexpensive camera. I was working as an Operations supervisor at the time, and the purpose of the project was to create a slide show for an employee appreciation party for our Operations staff. I’ve carted these slides around for over 25 years and I finally had them digitally transferred this year. About 2/3s of them aren’t available for posting because they are crew pictures and I have no way to request permission to post them. But I do have 50+ available that are just various shots of the park. Enjoy this time capsule from August 1995.

Yep, flanked by fake trees sits Yosemite Sam Sierra Falls. And yes, it is a waterslide in Magic Mountain. 2 slides, just like you’d find in a waterpark. 2 people get into a 2-person raft, in you know, your normal clothes, and take a waterslide ride down. At least there was a conveyor to take rafts to the top so guests weren’t expected to haul their own. Oh hey, there’s an innovation ahead of its time. This weird ride didn’t last that long, and arguably shouldn’t have been added in the first place. It was a bad experience for ride operators, something that will be evident in next week’s photo.