An outdoor amphitheater at Six Flags Magic Mountain that hosted concerts by Van Halen, Kiss, Motley Crue, INXS, R.E.M., Weezer and even Spinal Tap will be demolished to make room for an anticipated new attraction in 2024 or 2025.
The Golden Bear Theater at the Valencia amusement park will be torn down, according to a demolition permit filed with Los Angeles County. The permit calls for the 24,000-square foot theater to be demolished down to the slab at a cost of $75,000.
Six Flags Magic Mountain officials confirmed the Golden Bear Theater will be demolished, but had no information to share about what will replace the venue.
“While there are no announcements for a new attraction at this time, the park will be taking steps towards improving the park and overall guest experience,” according to Six Flags Magic Mountain officials.
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The Golden Bear Theater is surrounded by the Superman: Escape from Krypton and Full Throttle roller coasters, Bugs Bunny World kiddie land, Buccaneer swinging ship ride and Swashbuckler swing ride.
Magic Mountain has not yet announced plans for any new rides in 2024 or 2025 — but the location would be ideal for a new attraction.
“It’s a decent-sized plot of land, but probably not enough for a major coaster,” according to Theme Park Insider. “But it would be an ideal location for expanding and plussing Magic Mountain’s kids’ area.”
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Magic Mountain officials have often bragged that the park has more kids rides than Disneyland. A pending merger between Six Flags and Knott’s Berry Farm parent company Cedar Fair could bring a Peanuts-themed kiddie land to Magic Mountain.
The Golden Bear site could be combined with the land under the Buccaneer and Swashbuckler rides to create a spacious location for a larger ride like a roller coaster.
Magic Mountain’s next coaster is expected to open in 2025 on the Golden Bear Theater location, according to Screamscape. Speculation has focused on the addition of a 200-foot-tall hyper coaster or 300-foot-tall giga coaster, according to Screamscape.
Six Flags Magic Mountain has more roller coasters than any amusement park in the world — a point of pride for the park. The 20 coasters at Magic Mountain lead Canada’s Wonderland (18), Poland’s Energylandia (17) and Ohio’s Cedar Point (16), according to Roller Coaster Database.
Energylandia is hot on Magic Mountain’s heels with plans to build two new coasters in 2024 — which would bring the total to 19, just one behind the leader.
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In recent years, the under-used Golden Bear Theater has hosted hypnotists during Fright Fest events and Christian musical acts.
“The Golden Bear Theater hasn’t seen any major productions in quite a while,” according to Theme Park Insider. “I’m actually struggling to remember the last show that I watched there.”
The Golden Bear was a regular stop for pop music bands in the 1970s, ‘80s and early ‘90s.
Magic Mountain’s Showcase Theater — the precursor to the Golden Bear — hosted shows by Sonny & Cher (1971), Van Halen (1977), Motley Crue (1982), R.E.M. (1983), INXS (1983), Oingo Boingo (1984), New Kids on the Block (1989) and C+C Music Factory (1991), according to the Setlist.fm website.
The pace of live concerts at the Golden Bear slowed down after a 1993 riot when a TLC show at Magic Mountain was oversold and violence erupted.
“Weird Al” Yankovic was a regular at the Magic Mountain venue in 1994, ‘95 and ‘96. The KROQ Punk Rock Prom with Weezer and the Offspring played the Golden Bear in 2001 followed by the Jonas Brothers and Modest Mouse in 2007 and the Aquabats in 2009.
Kiss played the theater in 1978 when Magic Mountain was used as the setting for the “Kiss Meet the Phantom of the Park” made-for-television movie.
Spinal Tap performed as the second billing to a puppet show at a sparsely attended concert at a fictional theme park in a scene from the 1984 “This is Spinal Tap” mockumentary movie that was filmed at Magic Mountain’s Showcase Theater.
