Six Flags Magic Mountain Reopens To Members, Pass Holders After Yearlong Shutdown

VALENCIA (CBSLA) -- Six Flags Magic Mountain reopened Thursday, making it the first local theme park in Los Angeles and Orange counties to open with rides after the pandemic shut down amusement parks for over a year.

The popular theme park is now open to members and pass holders and will reopen to the general public on April 3.

Six Flags will take precautions to keep visitors safe while visiting the park. Guests and employees will be required to wear masks at all times and get temperature screenings before entry into the park.

Restaurants in the area are gearing up for some much-needed business they have been missing since the park closed.

"I'm excited!" said Ignacio Jimenez, manager of Jimmy Dean's Charbroiled Burgers. "It feels great. It's going to bring more customers and more business to our place."

Since the closure of the theme park, the parking lot of Six Flags has been used as a coronavirus vaccination site. That site will continue on, Magic Mountain said.

Under the state's guidelines, theme parks in counties in the red tier or higher are allowed to reopen at 15% capacity beginning April 1, but with in-state visitors only.

"We started putting more people on the schedule," said Jimenez. "More hours, more people on the cashiers, more cooks, we're getting ready."

Disneyland announced that it will reopen April 30, while Universal Studios Hollywood will reopen April 16.

A reopening date for its sister water park, Hurricane Harbor, has not been announced yet.