Canobie Coaster
Posts: 2694
Registered: 7/26/2005
Rank: Platinum Critic
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 7/21/2007 8:47:39 PM
Nine years ago I visited Riverside Park, a small amusement park in Agawam. At the time the park was relatively small and owned by Premier Parks. Now in 1998 I was too small to ride any of the major roller coasters, but yesterday I got another chance to ride them. Ever since becoming branded under the Six Flags name, Six Flags New England has become larger and much better adding many more thrilling coasters and flat rides (not to mention their colossal water park, Hurricane Harbor). Yesterday I went to Six Flags New England and let’s just say I had a thrilling day.
I arrived at the parking lot around 2:30 (paid $12 for parking because of a AAA discount) and parked on the far side of the lot. It was a beautiful day and it was Friday, a combination of events that usually are a recipe for any amusement park being crowded. However, the parking lot was only about ¾ of the way full, so I was excited about there maybe not being too many crowds. I boarded one of Six Flags New England’s trams that took me from the parking lot to the staircase where you cross the street. They were running two trams and they were very efficient. Once exiting the tram I went up and over the staircase to the main entrance, where I paid $27 to get in (yet another AAA discount). I got into the park around 2:45.
First I decided to hit Six Flags New England’s classic wooden roller coaster, the Thunderbolt. The Thunderbolt is located in the center of the park and is a dwarf compared to the other coasters at Six Flags. After passing the large neon entrance sign, which is something that many newer coasters lack, I entered the queue. Because it was a Friday I was expecting a wait around 15-20 minutes, but to my surprise I only had to wait 2 circuits. Unfortunately due to the small size of the station, I couldn’t wait for a certain seat. Once it was my turn to ride I chose the second row. Thunderbolt was only running one train today (the red one), but it wasn’t really a problem as the ride almost never had a line all day. The ride attendants were rather slow at checking the restraints, but they were always moving. Restrained by just a seatbelt and buzz-bar, Thunderbolt gave a decent ride in the second row. For the majority of the layout there were just a few pops of air, but the final bunny hill gave major ejector air like everyone had said. I knew it would be good, but not that good. After my great ride on Thunderbolt I headed into the DC Superheroes section.
I was highly pumped for a ride on Six Flags New England’s goliath of a coaster, but to my horror Superman’s blue train was stuck on the lift hill. So while I waited for the ride to restart, I rode Nightwing. As far as I know this is the only Huss Fly Away in America. Nightwing was a walk-on. They had many vehicles so you would think capacity wouldn’t be a problem. Loading and checking every single car takes forever. The ride took 10 minutes to load, no exaggeration. However, once the ride began it was very fun. It wasn’t as fast as I thought it would be, but the cycle was a good length and I really enjoyed diving towards the ground. Overall Nightwing was a good flat ride only hampered by horrendous loading times. During my ride on Nightwing I noticed Superman reopened, so I ran right over.
Afterwards I went on Six Flags New England’s award-winning roller coaster, Superman Ride of Steel. I entered the queue and passed the test car. Superman had a gigantic queue line filled with various bushes. To my amazement the queue line was in the building part after the “30 minutes from this point sign”. I ended up having a 20-25 minute wait. I eagerly awaited my ride on what has won numerous Golden Ticket awards for the best steel roller coaster. Despite how I don’t usually pick the back seat for my first ride on a roller coaster (I usually choose the front), I decided to head for the very back because of a lengthy line for the front car. Superman was running two trains.
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Got_it
Posts: 818
Registered: 11/1/2006
Rank: Gold Critic
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7/21/2007 11:00:30 PM
When I went Catapult was closed to, but you didn't miss too much with Splash Water. Anyway I am glad you had a good day, and I am glad you liked the Cyclone, it could use a little support, haha. Good report.
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Canobie Coaster
Posts: 2694
Registered: 7/26/2005
Rank: Platinum Critic
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7/22/2007 6:15:36 AM
Thank you. I know people have been disappointed in Splash Water Falls, but I wanted to try it still because it looked unique. I'll try to get Catapult, Blizzard River, Splash Water Falls, and the water park next time I go.
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mrceagle
Posts: 13804
Registered: 6/9/2001
Rank: TPC News Minister
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7/22/2007 12:49:27 PM
Fantastic trip report sounds like you had a good day. Glad you were able to make it.
"he wasn’t sure if it was because there weren’t enough workers or the park was just too lazy to fix the ride"  that's SFNE for you!
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RCGenius
Posts: 1180
Registered: 12/23/2004
Rank: Platinum Critic
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7/22/2007 8:17:07 PM
Excellent TR King Yoshi. Glad to hear that you had an amazing time at a park that obviously means so much to you. A friend of mine from work's also up there right now to visit the park & visit his grandparents. To me, Superman: Ride of Steel & Batman: the Dark Knight alone are worth the trip.
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Canobie Coaster
Posts: 2694
Registered: 7/26/2005
Rank: Platinum Critic
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7/22/2007 9:49:39 PM
Thanks for the compliments! I have posted reviews for all of the rides I went on and all of them are very detailed, especially my Superman review (I typed it on word and had so much details that I exceeded the site's word limit by over a page!).
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