CedarPoint6
Hyper Poster
Six Flags was supposed to open last week, on February 28th. It would be the earliest the park has ever opened, and I’d get an extra week of distraction from school. And then there was 4 inches of snow. In Georgia. The most we generally see in a year is maybe 2 inches, and that’s not every a guarantee. So last weekend was scrubbed. Thanks to the crazy weather here, it was a nice 70 something degrees this Sunday… perfect for an opening day trip.
Allison and I made the 10 minute trip over to the park a little before opening and got our passes process and bought a season parking pass as well-- $45 although worth it since it’s $15 to park anyway. There weren’t too many people at the park, as is usually the custom for opening days here. Most people don’t seem to realize the park is open yet. Anyway… the pass stuff went pretty quickly and we got our coupon book and coupons for string cheese… because apparently that’s what they do.
Goliath is a good place to start. We passed up Scorcher because the line was a little longer then we wanted. Goliath loads easily so the line is managed pretty well. The back seat came first. There’s still as much great airtime as normal (and all the other stuff I like about the ride), but the vibration from the last few seasons is still there and as annoying as ever. It detracts a decent amount, but the ride is still easily a top 20 for me… still #12.
Next up was Gotham City, Batman first. The main change here this offseason was cleaning up the junk. Yeah.. they actually took away theming. Batman used to have a bunch of junk from the park along a little stretch of queue. But sadly, it’s just rock now. The ride itself is average… intense as always, but one with quite a bit of vibration. It gets harder to ride this one, although it’s still fun. After Batman, we moved to MindBender, which I’d still consider the best ride in the park. There’s nothing to complain about here.. airtime, positive g’s, smoothness, and tons of re-readability… if not for those blasted lines. One train doesn’t do wonders for that, especially when you figure in MindBender’s slow lift. Oh well, it’s still fantastic.
Aww. It's clean.
Careful not to lose your head.
After hiking up the giant* hill out of Gotham city, we went on Shake, Rattle & Roll, a scrambler inside a dome. When the ride first opened, they had the lights off and cool stuff projected on the ceiling. Now, the ride’s music track is still there, but that’s about it. Lights are left on and the giant screens and expensive projectors are off. Sad, but scramblers are still fun. By this time, it was about noon, so it was time for food at Panda Express.. pretty much a staple for us by now. I’d love to see a panda travelling at high speeds, but I haven’t as of yet. Still, you get a ton of food** for a decently reasonable price. On the way over there we ran into Mr. Six (well not literally ran into, but walked by). Now if only they didn’t make him talk in the commercials. That was just concerning…
*may be exaggeration
**also, may be exaggeration
50 minutes for Monster Mansion? Pretty good for a closed ride!
To not throw up after eating, we decided on the Six Flags Railroad for pictures and stuff. The ride has two stations, but we did a whole lap of the park. It’s a good rest, I suppose. Bugs Bunny World is in the middle of the park and a good place to go to get from here to there. We managed to get a few odd and amusing pictures and also did the kiddie coaster since it’s a surprisingly good time. From there it was back to the depths of the park and Superman… that was closed. Apparently it was closed on Saturday too. I guess he’s a late riser. Although, judging from past loading times, I’m not sure we would’ve known it was closed if it weren’t a nice little custom sign with a Superman image on it. So much for that. Great American Scream Machine was open, though. One of the best looking coasters ever, it still provides a good ride, although not as great as it once was. On the plus side, there’s more airtime then last season. They retracked a few things, which is always nice. From there, it was on to Ninja, which also decided not to show up. I think most people thanked it for that. For some reason, somebody didn’t want the lake under Ninja to be there, since it was drained. I guess they’re doing work or getting ready to implode the ride… Either of which probably wouldn’t be so bad. Across the path, Wheelie was all set to go so Allison and I squeezed into one car and went for a spin. These are some of my favorite flats. Always a lot of fun.
Lacking a Deja Vu
Death wish employee?
Open water rides would be nice!
Well, it is free...
Don't be too scared. The test seat doesn't do much.
Did somebody lose their keys down there?
It was time to relax some more, so we did the Hanson cars, one of the original SFOG attractions. It’s been moved out of the British section where it started, and now circles Carousel hill. The cars are a nice relaxing ride, although Allison’s road rage always gets the best of her. We’ll have to work on that. The Carousel is over 100 years old now, although that was closed, so we sat in the rocking chairs up there for and enjoyed the silent sounds of Ninja.
Road Rage Allison. Age 62.
Oh, ok. Thanks.
Nice and quiet.
Across the park, we gave Cyclone its first ride of the season. This one’s interesting… chances are you will walk off the ride in pain. At the same time, it’s one of the best rides in the park. I always ride the back seat… wouldn’t have it any other way. The airtime is by far the best in the park. I don’t find the ride too painful, although Allison might disagree! Nearby, Georgia Scorcher decided to hang out on the lift, so it was closed for awhile. We went back and did Acrophobia, a standing floorless tilting gyro sugarcoated drop tower. The ride’s grown in my over the years, although standing floorless is still one of the stupidest ideas ever… for guys anyways. Dahlonega Mine Train had a surprisingly large queue earlier in the day, but we were finally able to experience mediocrity this time around. You really have to wonder how Arrow thought no transitions were perfectly ok.
With all the operating coasters out of the way, it was time for a few re-rides before heading out. Goliath is the front gives a great view and all that. The vibration is still there for sure, but it is less prominent in the front. I wish they’d just go ahead and replace the wheels. Heading down the obnoxiously large hill into Gotham city, we did the swings (I’m not really sure why) and MindBender. It gets better as the day goes along, and this ride was even better then the first. This would’ve been a good way to end the day, but Scorcher decided to start operating. We ended the day on what I’d call the best standup out there—exactly what they’re designed for. While it’s not the best ride in the park it’s still a pretty solid addition and a nice looking thing up in the front of the park.
From the swings!
Lots and lots of pictures.
Awww.
Ok, I think I’m finally about done now. Overall it was a pretty good day… nice and relaxing, unlike a lot of times when I’m running around trying to ride everything 8,000 times. I figure I’ll be back another 4 or 5 times before the bunch is out anyway. Here’s the final ride list:
Batman- 1
Dahlonega Mine Train- 1
Georgia Cyclone- 1
Georgia Scorcher- 1
Goliath- 3
Great American Scream Machine- 1
MindBender- 2
Wile E. Coyote’s Canyon Blaster- 1
Acrophobia- 1
Gotham City Crime Wave- 1
Hanson Cars- 1
Shake, Rattle & Roll- 1
Six Flags Railroad- 1
Wheelie- 1
Well that was.. excessive. Hope you enjoyed it!
Allison and I made the 10 minute trip over to the park a little before opening and got our passes process and bought a season parking pass as well-- $45 although worth it since it’s $15 to park anyway. There weren’t too many people at the park, as is usually the custom for opening days here. Most people don’t seem to realize the park is open yet. Anyway… the pass stuff went pretty quickly and we got our coupon book and coupons for string cheese… because apparently that’s what they do.
Goliath is a good place to start. We passed up Scorcher because the line was a little longer then we wanted. Goliath loads easily so the line is managed pretty well. The back seat came first. There’s still as much great airtime as normal (and all the other stuff I like about the ride), but the vibration from the last few seasons is still there and as annoying as ever. It detracts a decent amount, but the ride is still easily a top 20 for me… still #12.
Next up was Gotham City, Batman first. The main change here this offseason was cleaning up the junk. Yeah.. they actually took away theming. Batman used to have a bunch of junk from the park along a little stretch of queue. But sadly, it’s just rock now. The ride itself is average… intense as always, but one with quite a bit of vibration. It gets harder to ride this one, although it’s still fun. After Batman, we moved to MindBender, which I’d still consider the best ride in the park. There’s nothing to complain about here.. airtime, positive g’s, smoothness, and tons of re-readability… if not for those blasted lines. One train doesn’t do wonders for that, especially when you figure in MindBender’s slow lift. Oh well, it’s still fantastic.
Aww. It's clean.
Careful not to lose your head.
After hiking up the giant* hill out of Gotham city, we went on Shake, Rattle & Roll, a scrambler inside a dome. When the ride first opened, they had the lights off and cool stuff projected on the ceiling. Now, the ride’s music track is still there, but that’s about it. Lights are left on and the giant screens and expensive projectors are off. Sad, but scramblers are still fun. By this time, it was about noon, so it was time for food at Panda Express.. pretty much a staple for us by now. I’d love to see a panda travelling at high speeds, but I haven’t as of yet. Still, you get a ton of food** for a decently reasonable price. On the way over there we ran into Mr. Six (well not literally ran into, but walked by). Now if only they didn’t make him talk in the commercials. That was just concerning…
*may be exaggeration
**also, may be exaggeration
50 minutes for Monster Mansion? Pretty good for a closed ride!
To not throw up after eating, we decided on the Six Flags Railroad for pictures and stuff. The ride has two stations, but we did a whole lap of the park. It’s a good rest, I suppose. Bugs Bunny World is in the middle of the park and a good place to go to get from here to there. We managed to get a few odd and amusing pictures and also did the kiddie coaster since it’s a surprisingly good time. From there it was back to the depths of the park and Superman… that was closed. Apparently it was closed on Saturday too. I guess he’s a late riser. Although, judging from past loading times, I’m not sure we would’ve known it was closed if it weren’t a nice little custom sign with a Superman image on it. So much for that. Great American Scream Machine was open, though. One of the best looking coasters ever, it still provides a good ride, although not as great as it once was. On the plus side, there’s more airtime then last season. They retracked a few things, which is always nice. From there, it was on to Ninja, which also decided not to show up. I think most people thanked it for that. For some reason, somebody didn’t want the lake under Ninja to be there, since it was drained. I guess they’re doing work or getting ready to implode the ride… Either of which probably wouldn’t be so bad. Across the path, Wheelie was all set to go so Allison and I squeezed into one car and went for a spin. These are some of my favorite flats. Always a lot of fun.
Lacking a Deja Vu
Death wish employee?
Open water rides would be nice!
Well, it is free...
Don't be too scared. The test seat doesn't do much.
Did somebody lose their keys down there?
It was time to relax some more, so we did the Hanson cars, one of the original SFOG attractions. It’s been moved out of the British section where it started, and now circles Carousel hill. The cars are a nice relaxing ride, although Allison’s road rage always gets the best of her. We’ll have to work on that. The Carousel is over 100 years old now, although that was closed, so we sat in the rocking chairs up there for and enjoyed the silent sounds of Ninja.
Road Rage Allison. Age 62.
Oh, ok. Thanks.
Nice and quiet.
Across the park, we gave Cyclone its first ride of the season. This one’s interesting… chances are you will walk off the ride in pain. At the same time, it’s one of the best rides in the park. I always ride the back seat… wouldn’t have it any other way. The airtime is by far the best in the park. I don’t find the ride too painful, although Allison might disagree! Nearby, Georgia Scorcher decided to hang out on the lift, so it was closed for awhile. We went back and did Acrophobia, a standing floorless tilting gyro sugarcoated drop tower. The ride’s grown in my over the years, although standing floorless is still one of the stupidest ideas ever… for guys anyways. Dahlonega Mine Train had a surprisingly large queue earlier in the day, but we were finally able to experience mediocrity this time around. You really have to wonder how Arrow thought no transitions were perfectly ok.
With all the operating coasters out of the way, it was time for a few re-rides before heading out. Goliath is the front gives a great view and all that. The vibration is still there for sure, but it is less prominent in the front. I wish they’d just go ahead and replace the wheels. Heading down the obnoxiously large hill into Gotham city, we did the swings (I’m not really sure why) and MindBender. It gets better as the day goes along, and this ride was even better then the first. This would’ve been a good way to end the day, but Scorcher decided to start operating. We ended the day on what I’d call the best standup out there—exactly what they’re designed for. While it’s not the best ride in the park it’s still a pretty solid addition and a nice looking thing up in the front of the park.
From the swings!
Lots and lots of pictures.
Awww.
Ok, I think I’m finally about done now. Overall it was a pretty good day… nice and relaxing, unlike a lot of times when I’m running around trying to ride everything 8,000 times. I figure I’ll be back another 4 or 5 times before the bunch is out anyway. Here’s the final ride list:
Batman- 1
Dahlonega Mine Train- 1
Georgia Cyclone- 1
Georgia Scorcher- 1
Goliath- 3
Great American Scream Machine- 1
MindBender- 2
Wile E. Coyote’s Canyon Blaster- 1
Acrophobia- 1
Gotham City Crime Wave- 1
Hanson Cars- 1
Shake, Rattle & Roll- 1
Six Flags Railroad- 1
Wheelie- 1
Well that was.. excessive. Hope you enjoyed it!
