Antinos
Slut for Spinners
Yes, that's right. After seven years of listening to literally everybody rave about Boulder Dash and Bizarro, I finally made it to New England on a trip that was truly seat of the pants! As with my recent Cedar Point trip report, I'll steer clear of the traditional format and list the highlights. Surely Snoo and Youngster Joey will add their thoughts as well.
Day 0.1 - Drove from Detroit, MI to Columbus, OH and crashed at the Snoo residence. Hyde came over and we all caught up over a couple beers.
Day 0.2 - Snoo and I dropped off his kids at daycare, grabbed some lunch, and hit the road.
We reached Rochester, NY to pick up Youngster Joey around 6:00pm, ate dinner, got some ice cream, walked along the Erie Canal, and hit the road again. We got a hotel in Albany, NY.
Day 1 - Drove the rest of the way to Six Flags New England, where I got a new state cred. We were there from rope drop til closing and were able to get plenty of rerides with the light crowds. Overall, SFNE is my favorite Six Flags park. It's in a gorgeous location and has a nice ride line up. Although poor operations and moronic staff is to be expected, we only had one minor issue with staff.
Deja Vu: Yes, I know the ride's actual name is Goliath, but in my opinion the only Goliath that matters is at Six Flags Great America. This was mine and Snoo's first ride on a giant inverted boomerang after both getting spited on two separate occasions at two separate parks; third time's the charm. It was insane. Rip out every other standard boomerang model and replace them with these because despite the pain, they're worth riding. They're so nuts, you don't realize how you're getting your ass kicked.
New England Sky Screamer: Just to compare to the Windseeker models - these are way more terrifying as well. The chains allow for the seats to be blown around in the wind and it gives a whole new dimension to the ride.
The Dark Knight: I thought it was a fantastic little floorless looper. I wish more parks would put rides like it in.
Bizarro: Luckily, the light crowds allowed for plenty of rerides. Our first ride was in the back row and for whatever reason, the ride had quite a rattle and the restraints nerfed the airtime that the ride is known for. I thought the ride was good but I initially felt let down. We only rode in the front for the rest of the day and the ride was lightyears better. Bizarro was smooth as butter, had intense ejector airtime, a fantastic soundtrack, and left you feeling that you rode a truly complete ride. Absolutely fantastic. It's only unfortunate that the trains have been frankensteined so much that they're slightly uncomfortable and some people have to contort themselves to get in their seats.
Wicked Cyclone: There were plenty of great rides on this trip, but this was the reason why we came after all. First off, it's an astounding ride. They've managed to pack so much airtime into such a tiny space with all the little hills and outer banked turns as well as plenty of floater with the stall and barrel rolls. The ride had great pacing (even at the end in my opinion) and didn't let up until the brakes. Unfortunately, I felt that it was slightly lacking. I don't know whether to blame the hype machine or iron horse vs topper or size or me becoming jaded or whatever else one could blame it on, but the ride didn't have the wow factor that left us completely speechless in Goliath's brake run. Goliath is still king in my opinion, but Wicked Cyclone is still a hell of a ride.
We left the park and rolled into Hartford, CT. We found a hotel right in downtown, grabbed a room, and freshened up. The clerk at the desk let us know where the bar scene was and we walked a few blocks to an Irish pub. After a few drinks, a few rounds of pool, and some friendly conversation, we headed around the corner to another joint. This place was closer to a club minus the velvet ropes and the line. We ended up on the roof of the place and relaxed in the cool evening atmosphere with a few more drinks. We ordered a pizza and skyped Tomahawk when we got back to our room and hit the sack.
I'll do this report in two parts. Also, I'll post my updated top ten at the end of part 2 for anybody who is curious or slightly cares.
Day 0.1 - Drove from Detroit, MI to Columbus, OH and crashed at the Snoo residence. Hyde came over and we all caught up over a couple beers.
Day 0.2 - Snoo and I dropped off his kids at daycare, grabbed some lunch, and hit the road.
We reached Rochester, NY to pick up Youngster Joey around 6:00pm, ate dinner, got some ice cream, walked along the Erie Canal, and hit the road again. We got a hotel in Albany, NY.
Day 1 - Drove the rest of the way to Six Flags New England, where I got a new state cred. We were there from rope drop til closing and were able to get plenty of rerides with the light crowds. Overall, SFNE is my favorite Six Flags park. It's in a gorgeous location and has a nice ride line up. Although poor operations and moronic staff is to be expected, we only had one minor issue with staff.
Deja Vu: Yes, I know the ride's actual name is Goliath, but in my opinion the only Goliath that matters is at Six Flags Great America. This was mine and Snoo's first ride on a giant inverted boomerang after both getting spited on two separate occasions at two separate parks; third time's the charm. It was insane. Rip out every other standard boomerang model and replace them with these because despite the pain, they're worth riding. They're so nuts, you don't realize how you're getting your ass kicked.
New England Sky Screamer: Just to compare to the Windseeker models - these are way more terrifying as well. The chains allow for the seats to be blown around in the wind and it gives a whole new dimension to the ride.
The Dark Knight: I thought it was a fantastic little floorless looper. I wish more parks would put rides like it in.
Bizarro: Luckily, the light crowds allowed for plenty of rerides. Our first ride was in the back row and for whatever reason, the ride had quite a rattle and the restraints nerfed the airtime that the ride is known for. I thought the ride was good but I initially felt let down. We only rode in the front for the rest of the day and the ride was lightyears better. Bizarro was smooth as butter, had intense ejector airtime, a fantastic soundtrack, and left you feeling that you rode a truly complete ride. Absolutely fantastic. It's only unfortunate that the trains have been frankensteined so much that they're slightly uncomfortable and some people have to contort themselves to get in their seats.
Wicked Cyclone: There were plenty of great rides on this trip, but this was the reason why we came after all. First off, it's an astounding ride. They've managed to pack so much airtime into such a tiny space with all the little hills and outer banked turns as well as plenty of floater with the stall and barrel rolls. The ride had great pacing (even at the end in my opinion) and didn't let up until the brakes. Unfortunately, I felt that it was slightly lacking. I don't know whether to blame the hype machine or iron horse vs topper or size or me becoming jaded or whatever else one could blame it on, but the ride didn't have the wow factor that left us completely speechless in Goliath's brake run. Goliath is still king in my opinion, but Wicked Cyclone is still a hell of a ride.
We left the park and rolled into Hartford, CT. We found a hotel right in downtown, grabbed a room, and freshened up. The clerk at the desk let us know where the bar scene was and we walked a few blocks to an Irish pub. After a few drinks, a few rounds of pool, and some friendly conversation, we headed around the corner to another joint. This place was closer to a club minus the velvet ropes and the line. We ended up on the roof of the place and relaxed in the cool evening atmosphere with a few more drinks. We ordered a pizza and skyped Tomahawk when we got back to our room and hit the sack.
I'll do this report in two parts. Also, I'll post my updated top ten at the end of part 2 for anybody who is curious or slightly cares.
