The Wizarding World Of Six Flags Magic Mountain: A Troll In The Park

In 1971, Magic Mountain amusement park opened in Valencia, California.  In its first year, the park enlisted the Warner Brothers Looney Tunes to greet visitors.  By 1972, Magic Mountain had its own unique mascots, the Trolls.

In addition to the Trolls, there was also a Wizard.

The Wizard was kind of a jerk.

Magic Mountain is a big, beautiful mountain of fun!

The mountain Trolls were mere minutes away from Hollywood.

And yes, you could meet the Wizard and the fuzzy Trolls in person.

Magic Mountain's mascots look a little bit like the love children of The Muppets and H.R. Pufnstuf.

The 1970s were a groovy time to be a long-haired, hippie Troll.

As time marched on, Magic Mountain added more and more thrills.  And the Trolls were everywhere.

This monstrosity is a Magic Mountain Troll Snow Globe that also tells you what day it is.

The Orange Troll is named Bloop and the Girl Troll is named Bleep (I think).

There was also a "teeter totter in a bottle" for Magic Mountain.

This type of gaudy souvenir still exists today---just visit any big tourist trap shop in Florida.

Let's check out what is new in 1974.

Wait an Internet Trollin' minute!  Bloop had his own ride!?!

Yup, the wonderfully named Big Bloop!

Bloop the Troll was the focus of much of the merchandise.

Cuddle with a cute (?) plush Bloop, lovingly made with features applied using a hot glue gun.

Being so close to Hollywood, Magic Mountain has been used in countless movies and TV shows.

The funniest use of Magic Mountain was probably in the 1991 opening credits for the ABC show Step By Step.  The show's creators turned the parking lot into a (very fake) lake.

Magic Mountain was also the star of National Lampoon's Vacation in 1983.

If you want to go to the real Walley World, go to Magic Mountain.

The Wizard and Bloop enjoy Magic Mountain's rides, most of which were made by Arrow Development.

Bloop the Troll has a certain charm to him.

Are you a member of the Troll Patrol?

Bloop is adorable, in a blobby sort of way.

The hills are alive with the sound of screaming (people on roller coasters).

Biker Gang Troll Bloop wants you to drink beer from a Magic Mountain Stein.

It'll put hair on your chest and everywhere else.

Is the Wizard supposed to be a good guy or a bad guy?

The Wizard is kinda creepy.

Bloop is a mellow sort of fellow.

Have you ever heard of a pizza restaurant called Mellow Mushroom?  I feel like Bloop could get a job there.

Magic Mountain was developed by Newhall Land and Farming Company.

In addition to rides, Magic Mountain became famous for its shows.  In the early days, the park's amphitheater hosted performances by Jimmy Durante, Helen Reddy, and Rich Little (if you are young and reading this, you may not know who these people are, but they were all big in the 70s).

I know that Aerosmith played at Magic Mountain at some point.  They mention it during the "Back in the Saddle" song on their "A Little South of Sanity" Live Album.

In 1979, Magic Mountain was sold to Six Flags.

The park became "Six Flags Magic Mountain" in 1980.

The Trolls survived the takeover---for a few years.  Then their world was turned upside down.

In 1985, the Warner Brothers Looney Tunes characters became the mascots for Six Flags parks.  The Trolls and the Wizard magically vanished.  It is rather ironic that the Looney Tunes were at Magic Mountain in the first year of the park's operation.

The rise and fall of the Trolls at Magic Mountain is not an unusual story in the world of amusement park mascots.  In the recent past, Hanna Barbera and Nickelodeon characters were evicted from the former Paramount Parks chain (Kings Island, Kings Dominion, Carowinds, California's Great America, and Canada's Wonderland).

As it turns out, the sneaky Trolls weren't completely evicted from Six Flags Magic Mountain.

As of May of 2013, this Troll continues having a magical time on the exit sign for Magic Mountain's Bumper Cars.  Thanks to TokyoMagic! at MeetTheWorldInProgressland.blogspot.com for the picture!

Yosemite Sam, Pirate Of The Caribbean

During Yosemite Sam's long career at Warner Brothers, he's caused trouble for many of the Looney Tunes characters. Most people probably remember Yosemite Sam as a cowboy with a bad temper, but during the 1970s, Yosemite Sam was also a pirate starring in his own comic book series.

The Looney Tunes became amusement park mascots in 1976 for Marriott's Great America theme parks in California and Illinois. Bugs Bunny and the gang greeted guests and performed in shows.

At Marriott's Great America in Santa Clara, California, Yosemite Sam appeared as a cowboy riding a tiny horse. Great America has changed owners over the years, eventually becoming Paramount's Great America and ultimately California's Great America. The Looney Tunes characters later moved to Magic Mountain in Valencia, California when Warner Brothers joined forces with Six Flags theme parks.


At Marriott's Great America in Gurnee, Illinois, visitors could meet Pirate Yosemite Sam. Today, you can still find the Looney Tunes at the park, which is now called Six Flags Great America. I've never been to Illinois, but I can remember seeing commercials for Great America as a kid on the WGN Chicago cable channel.

The pictures of Yosemite Sam at Marriott's Great America parks are from a book by Tim Onosko called "Fun Land U.S.A." from 1978. I got this book for 50 cents back in the 1980s at a store called Zayre (anyone else remember Zayre?).

The Yosemite Sam comic book was a bit different from Sam's Looney Tunes cartoons. Pirate Yosemite Sam was a rowdy treasure hunter and explorer.

Sam was often paired up with Bugs Bunny, who was often an assistant rather than a foe. Bugs finds a message in a bottle in a story from 1977. Yosemite Sam helps him solve the mystery of the message, and then yada, yada yada...

These stories are still pretty funny after all these years. It's interesting to see Yosemite Sam and Bugs Bunny as a team.

In 1985, The Looney Tunes teamed up with Six Flags theme parks across the United States.

The Looney Tunes gang took control of the areas of the Six Flags parks aimed at kids.

The park closest to me was Six Flags Over Georgia.

The biggest attraction at Looney Tunes Land was the Yosemite Sam Playfort. Sam also got a new ride, the Yosemite Sam Buccaneer Boats (a flying pirate ship ride). This picture is from 1988, when Six Flags Over Georgia got a new roller coaster called Z-Force (which later moved to Six Flags Magic Mountain and was renamed "Flashback").


This map of Looney Tunes Land at Six Flags Over Georgia is from 1988 and features Cowboy Yosemite Sam at the Pirate themed Buccaneer Boats.

The attraction roster and names of rides in Looney Tunes Land changed quite a bit over the years. The Mini-Mine Train was removed to make way for more flat rides. The land itself later became known as Bugs Bunny Land. The Elmer Fudd Fewwis Wheel is one of the funniest ride names I've seen. Other rides included the Road Runner Runaround and the Henery Hawk Happy Worm.

Henery Hawk took time off from chasing Foghorn Leghorn to team up with Pirate Sam in a story from 1979.

What? Sam has a tough time keeping someone working with him? I can't imagine why!

Sam kidnaps Henrey. That's not very nice, but it does make Sam an interesting "bad guy main character" in the story.

Henrey was never nice in the Foghorn Leghorn stories, so maybe he and Yosemite Sam are a good match as a team.

Wow! Sam kidnaps Henrey then maroons Henery on an island. Then Henrey eats the natives!


Yosemite Sam (as a cowboy) and the Looney Tunes also had their own town at Six Flags St. Louis.

Yosemite Sam was the corrupt Sheriff of Looney Tunes Town, which was a bit different from the Spanish themed Looney Tunes Land at Six Flags Over Georgia.


The Looney Tunes had to wear name tags at Six Flags St. Louis. I'm not sure why. Maybe Daffy was tired of people in Missouri calling him Donald.

This Six Flags St. Louis picture, featuring Cowboy Yosemite Sam, is from 1986. By this time, I think Pirate Sam was being phased out.


In 1977, the Yosemite Sam Pirate origin story was told, thanks to a nice set-up courtesy of Daffy Duck.

Here's a rare glimpse of Yosemite Sam as a baby, and his parents.

Artists and writers were not credited at this time, so I don't know who came up with this story. It's fun and different.

I think Yosemite Sam works well as the main character. Maybe Warner Brothers could do a Yosemite Sam show. After all, the Tasmanian Devil had his own TV show and he barely talked.

Six Flags Over Texas has a boat ride called "Yosemite Sam and the Gold River Adventure." It's a western themed dark boat ride with animatronic Looney Tunes, and it opened in 1992, replacing an original Six Flags dark ride called "Speelunker's Cave".

It's too bad the Yosemite Sam boat ride at Six Flags Over Texas did not have a pirate theme. It could have been a clever spoof on Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean.

This version of Yosemite Sam could be a good mascot for Captain D's or Long John Silver's restaurants.

Daffy Duck loves to break the fourth wall.


In 1992, Pirate Sam appeared as a mug in the Warner Brothers Catalog. This is a mug that looks like it's ready to mug someone.

I bet the designers chose this version of the character because the sword was a clever way to make the handle.


In 1993, Yosemite Sam got his own ride at Six Flags Magic Mountain in California.

The Yosemite Sam Sierra Falls water ride features Cowboy Sam (or is that Prospector Sam?).

I've never been to Magic Mountain. I wonder if the actual ride looks like the artwork. It looks really nice!


If your biscuits are burnin' (as Sam says in Who Framed Roger Rabbit) this ride should cool them off.

These days, Yosemite Sam is primarily seen as a cowboy, and is still a mascot at Six Flags parks.


Yosemite Sam has been getting angry at various Looney Tunes characters since 1945. He's been a cowboy, a pirate, a knight, a viking and more. As long as that "rackin', frackin' varmint" Bugs Bunny stays busy, Yosemite Sam should have no problem staying in trouble.