tbewindan
Posts: 9
Registered: 4/18/2007
Rank: Aspiring Critic
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 4/19/2007 10:15:34 PM
This trip report is from my trip to Six Flags over Georgia from late last year. I am new to the site and have decided to add this trip report to let people know of my experience at the park.
I was in Atlanta on business (I work for a package shipping company), and I had some free time so I visited the World of Coke and Six Flags. I didn't fell safe enough in downtown Atlanta to do much else than the Museum (SFOG is actually outside of the city). The World of Coke was okay. The coolest part was where they let you taste the different flavors of Coke from all around the world. I like the Mandarin Orange flavor (China) and absolutely hated Beverly flavor (Italy).
Anyways, I headed down to the park and bought a two-day pass for only 10 dollars more than a one-day admission ticket. This was the first theme park outside of Texas in over a decade. I had recently got back into theme parks a couple of years ago when a friend took me to Astroworld (it's second to last season I think.)
Six Flags over Georgia, looks wise, is a nice park located right off of I-20. The park has a lot of trees and has a kind of circular layout. The first ride I rode was Mindbender. The wait was only about ten minutes. Since it was about 35 degrees on this night, the park was not busy. This was my first roller coaster ride in about six months, so I was expecting to really feel the ride. The first drop was really weak, as I didn't feel it at all, and overall the ride was just okay. There was nothing really special about the horizontal loop. I think that this ride is a bit overrated reading what some other people think of it. The vertical loops were the highlight of the ride as is the case with rides like this.
The next ride I took was on The Great American Scream Machine. I skipped Batman because it was the only ride open of the night that had a really long line. I rode in the very front and had a smooth ride on a very old wooden coaster. It had some airtime in the beginning and was not lit so riding at night was a great experience. The next ride was on the Ninja which had no line at all. I soon figured out why. This coaster was very rough, and on some of the transitions my neck hit the harness pretty hard. Suffice to say once was enough on this; easily the worst coaster I had ever ridden. Maybe with just a lapbar, this would be a good coaster, but as it is, it is really bad.
The next ride was Superman: Ultimate Flight. I have to say that this is the first ride that I would say, was worth coming out to the park for so far. The pretzel loop element was very intense but short, and the rest of the ride was great especially the surprise heartline roll at the end. I did not get my souvenir photo on this night, I figured I'd buy one the next day. I'll get to that in a moment. Next up was the Georgia Cyclone. At Astroworld, we had an exact model of this one which was very good. This particular model was not so good. At the bottom of the first two drops, I felt sharp pains in my back. I sat forward a little the rest of the ride and it helped, but this was a rickety, headache enducing machine. Luckily, the pain was only for a few seconds, but this coaster can seriously cause injuries to someone. This was definitely not the Texas Cyclone. Since I like souvenir photos, I thought I might buy one, but as it turns out, the girl in front of me blocked my face on the photo. I wasn't about to ride that again.
Next, I rode the Georgia Scorcher. I wasn't expecting much since the only other standup coaster I had been on was a batman themed one at Astroworld, which was horrible. I had to say my expectations were exceeded. There was some airtime on the first drop, and the loop and corkscrew elements were great, especially standing up. I really loved this ride. I was going to ride the freefall ride, Acrophobia, but it was closed. I was going to ride DeJa Vu, which looked cool, but it was closed as well. I like the old fr
Message updated 4/20/2007 12:30:02 AM by tbewindan
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Timberman
Posts: 845
Registered: 9/21/2004
Rank: Gold Critic
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4/20/2007 11:23:44 PM
Welcome to the site, tbewindan. Too bad the trip was such a mixed bag, but your report was interesting and informative nonetheless.
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BobFunland
Posts: 7962
Registered: 8/9/2001
Rank: Site Moderator
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4/21/2007 9:11:53 AM
Downtown Atlanta is just as safe as downtown Houston or San Antonio. In the day its fine. I haven't been to the World of Coke in years but they are opening a new one next month that is supposedly going to be amazing. Its right next door to the Georgia Aquarium, which is the world's largest.
Regarding the Mind Bender, where did you ride? I'd have to guess the front based on your claim that the first drop was weak. It is very shallow in degree and not too tall but there is airtime to be had. I'm surprised you thought the third loop wasn't special at all, it's more forceful than the vertical loops.
No way Ninja would ever run with a lap bar. Unlike the genius who designed the Mind Bender to operate with just a lap bar, Ninja's designers knew there would be a lot of problems if they put lap bars on their rides.
Talking about the Cyclone's now, from what I remember about the Texas Cyclone is that it was smoother than the Georgia Cyclone but didn't offer near the ride quality. Especially that late in the season, it is really rough, but the airtime is still top-notch. Unless you rode in the front, of course, but up there its pretty smooth - basically you have to put up with the roughness to get the best ride in the back.
As for the three rides being down, all had legit excuses if you will. The Freefall ride was always closed for the park's Fright Fest as it is located near their haunted house. Acrophobia was closed half of the year due to a major mechanical problem. Deja Vu didn't operate because it was so cold (its temperamental without the cold weather, it is just impossible to run at those temps)
Sorry your Saturday was so busy, but how much can you blame a park for being busy? It sucks but at least you got a lot done the night before. oh, and it honestly sounds like there wasn't anything major going on with Goliath, because the park is pretty good (re: too good) at babying it. Sorry you feel there are only two good rides in the park, and that you're never coming back.
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tbewindan
Posts: 9
Registered: 4/18/2007
Rank: Aspiring Critic
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4/22/2007 12:55:17 PM
Thank you for your comments. Downtown Houston is very dangerous and I would not go there by myself either. Key word being myself. Unfortunately, I was in Atlanta on business and my friends were not with me, or I would have enjoyed Atlanta more. There is a lot to do there. You forgot downtown Dallas which is much more dangerous than San Antonio.
I did ride Mindbender in the front and back and the first drop still did nothing for me. The Shockwave at SFOT has a much taller and steeper first drop and I have the same problem with it. At least Shockwave gives some good negative G's. I think the last thing I would want on the Georgia Cyclone would be airtime because I would probably slam into my seat so hard I would be on worker's comp. This ride really is a lawsuit waiting to happen. I rode in the front and it jarred my back, imagine what the back would do. At least the smoothness on the Texas Cyclone allowed me to enjoy the airtime, not brace for it. Let's face it, there are about 5 to 6 Cyclone clones more often tan not, the ride quality is poor. The one in California has been scrapped already, there is one in Japan, which from what I've read is almost as bad, and there's this one, which I could guess is probably one of the worst. More often than not, the original Cyclone is a tough one to copy.
I realize that Freefall was closed due to a haunted house and that is a legit reason; it was just the time I had went. If indeed Acrophobia is down half the year, that is not a legit reason. The park should have a major attraction running more often than not and there is no excuse for mechanical problems to persist throughout a season. Maybe the maintenance staff has neglected it like it seems to have done to the Georgia Cyclone and Ninja.
I did not say that there are only two good rides at the park. Batman, The Scorcher and i can imagine DeJa Vu as well are good rides, but they are not reason to come all the way to Atlanta. There are many Batman models elsewhere, and the Scorcher, while being a good ride, is not worth the trip alone. Maybe DeJa Vu is, but it seems that this rides is down most of the season as well so it may not be a good idea to come to Atlanta only to find out it is not running. Ode to the park's mechanical staff once again! I do realize that the other parks that have these DeJa Vu models have the same problems as well.
Lastly, I don't blame the park for being too busy. I actually have encountered longer lines at SFOT, but my wait time was at least twice as short. The staff was so horrible, I heard other people vow not to return as well. I had never heard people say this at an amusement park. The lines along with how the rude and inept staff handled them is why I will not return.
Message updated 4/22/2007 12:58:24 PM by tbewindan
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BobFunland
Posts: 7962
Registered: 8/9/2001
Rank: Site Moderator
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4/23/2007 7:30:37 PM
I'm sorry you don't feel safe in these major cities during the day. I have felt pretty comfortable in those cities (Dallas excluded since I haven't been there in 15+ years).
Honestly I find GA Cyclone to be the second best of the clones I have been on. The Chicago one is real good, smooth AND abundant with airtime. Never ridden the original though.
I really want to agree that there is no excuse for Acrophobia to be down for a long time. However, I know that they needed to get some parts custom made for it, and since the park has a bad relationship with Intamin I'm sure that made it even tougher.
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Timberman
Posts: 845
Registered: 9/21/2004
Rank: Gold Critic
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4/23/2007 10:20:36 PM
Quote:
BobFunland said:
Never ridden the original though.
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For God's sake, Funland, you name the day and the time and the ticket is on me.
Message updated 4/23/2007 10:21:06 PM by Timberman
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