Swimace
Posts: 5916
Registered: 8/28/2003
Rank: Platinum Critic
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 8/8/2004 8:24:47 PM
My trip to SFA marked alot of things for me as a coaster enthusiast. It was my first SF park to begin with, also, I rode my first Intamin, and my first major Vekoma, and I blacked out for the first time. I also rode my first LIM coaster, first premier coaster, first SLC, and it was the first time I've ever seen high ride ops.
My first impression of Six Flags:
A fairly varried collection of rides that were pretty good. The staff can kiss my ass, they need to go on a feild trip to Florida and learn how it's done. The food was ok, but the lines for food was longer than the line for Supermna (and Im not kidding). Water was $2.75  ! WTF?! Are they trying to kill us? You'll see later in this TR how that poys off for them. Hey, at least the rides were fun. However, my biggest complaint is that I didn't get to ride Batwing! They couldn't get the restraints to lock, so it was closed all day.
Well, here is my day at SFA. Keep in mind that I am with a large group of people who know nothing about SF or coasters, I would do alot of things differently:
Got into the park at about noon. We headed towards the back of the park until one kid saw Iron Eagle, which is a zamperla flat ride which basically holds you upside down. We wait for about 20 minutes and ride it. We then head back to Gotham City. I made my group ride Jokers Jinx instead of the penguin water ride. They thought it was a kiddy ride (now granted it isn't the Hulk, but a kiddie ride?). It was a walk on, so we pick the front. The ride was pretty good. The launch could have been better and it slowed towards the middle of the ride, but it was still fun. One of them got off and said "The Mummy Ride at Universal is the exact same ride except indoors"  (well, at least they picked the right manufacturer).
After waiting on the black brakes for no apparent reason for 5 minutes (standard SFA procedure Im sure), we headed for "the big red one"(that's what they called S:ROS), which "looks boring because it doesn't go upside down" (they changed their minds later.)Now "the big red one" was my first of two Intamin coasters on my trip (the second being Storm Runner). It was a walk on, so we pick the back. The grafitti is horrible. There was graffiti everwhere, even on the trains. Dumbass and Moron 4 eva was written everywhere!!!! (well, minus the dumbass and moron). The restraints suckes. I hope to God MF doesn't have those annoying ankle restraints/shakles. Even so, the ride was great. We rode twice in a row, the second time, I blacked out on the 1st Helix. That was pretty cool. The ride won't make you blakout alone, but you have to ride it twice in a row with your hands up and you should black out.
Anyways, we then went and got lunch at some pizza place byt Roar. (BTW, they really need a food place by Batwing). The food was fine but the service (big surprise) sucked. We then road Roar. I was the only person in my group who liked/had any appreciation for woodies.
Funny Story @ Roar!:
The Ride ops were all vivibly High. A rider put her pack of cigarrettes in the loose object cubbies. The train left the station, and then one of the ride ops went and helped themselves to a couple of cigarretes. The other one who was manning the microphone was doing the "Timmy" sounds from South Park. He would say things like" enjoy your ride on Chimmmaaaayyyy" It was funny, but pretty bad.
Anyways, Roar was fun, we were then off to "the one that's just like Montu" (a.k.a. Mind Eraser). The ride ops there were the worst I've ever seen. They urned what would have been a 15 minute line at IOA,BGT,BGW,Hershey,etc. into an hour and a half line for an SLC. As a matter of fact, the combonation of the high water prices and the unshaded block brakes caused a little problem. You see they were loading so slowly and keeping the other train out in the sun for such a long period of time, that when the train behind me pulled in (my group was split int
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Cyclonic
Posts: 2636
Registered: 7/19/2002
Rank: Experiment 626
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8/8/2004 9:12:11 PM
You certainly picked one of the worst SF parks to be your first (I know you had no choice). SFA has some of the worst park ops I have ever seen, though I like the park itself, it has a good collection of rides and for the most part is nice. It is a shame you didn't catch a ride on Wild One. It is an excellent out and back.
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Swimace
Posts: 5916
Registered: 8/28/2003
Rank: Platinum Critic
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8/8/2004 10:06:51 PM
I thought it looked like fun, but my group split up and half went on that and the other half went on 2 face and I picked two face mainly because it would be my first boomerang. Personally, I was alot more pissed about missing Batwing
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larrygator
Posts: 4654
Registered: 11/7/2002
Rank: Platinum Critic
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8/8/2004 11:23:22 PM
In my opinion going to SF America is like going to an alternate universe. Other than good/great rides everything is done backwards. It's a shame you missed Batwing since I don't think you have ridden a flyer yet, but you missed an unknown gem not going on WildCat.
Message updated 8/8/2004 11:24:51 PM by larrygator
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Cyclonic
Posts: 2636
Registered: 7/19/2002
Rank: Experiment 626
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8/8/2004 11:37:30 PM
Yup. Word of advice, never skip the wooden coaster. Boomeranges are a dime a dozen, but wooden coasters are always one of a kind.
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larrygator
Posts: 4654
Registered: 11/7/2002
Rank: Platinum Critic
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8/9/2004 12:04:49 AM
Quote:
Cyclonic said:
Yup. Word of advice, never skip the wooden coaster. Boomeranges are a dime a dozen, but wooden coasters are always one of a kind. |
I almost gave the same advice. But realized he only did it because of the uninformed people in his group. There's really no such thing as a cloned woodie. Two woodies built to the same specs can run different because of the environment/climate, wear and tear/upkeep, trains too many variables.
Also, experience the set of Gestapo trained ride ops for WildCat is unique. They are ready to have your head if you duck under the bars on the queue even when there is no line.
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Cyclonic
Posts: 2636
Registered: 7/19/2002
Rank: Experiment 626
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8/9/2004 12:25:21 AM
*Wild One* 
And yeah, I have experianced those Ops. Course, it would help if the station was not so poorly designed.
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larrygator
Posts: 4654
Registered: 11/7/2002
Rank: Platinum Critic
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8/9/2004 10:28:53 AM
Quote:
Cyclonic said:
*Wild One*
And yeah, I have experianced those Ops. Course, it would help if the station was not so poorly designed. |
My memory of the ride ops is as vivid as the ride itself. The refrain of "Go Back", "Go Back", "Go Back", "yes, I'm talking to you", "Go Back" every time someone ducked under the bars echoes through my head. Heaven forbid the person that exactly tried to unclip a temporary chain, "don't touch that chain, you don't touch my chain, "DON'T TOUCH MY CHAIN"
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Swimace
Posts: 5916
Registered: 8/28/2003
Rank: Platinum Critic
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8/9/2004 1:22:07 PM
No, the funniest ride op ever was the one one my 3rd and 4th ride on Storm Runner. You'll read about him when I get around to writing my TR
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tacoking
Posts: 9914
Registered: 2/19/2003
Rank: Platinum Critic
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8/9/2004 5:13:58 PM
Quote:
Swimace said:
The launch could have been better and it slowed towards the middle of the ride, but it was still fun. One of them got off and said "The Mummy Ride at Universal is the exact same ride except indoors" (well, at least they picked the right manufacturer).
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People these days.
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Revenge of the Mummy is the greatest ride ever! 
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Swimace
Posts: 5916
Registered: 8/28/2003
Rank: Platinum Critic
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8/9/2004 7:39:32 PM
I know, I had to control myself from falling over laughing. I also love the "The big red one looks boring, it doesn't even go upside down". They changed their minds on that one however
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tacoking
Posts: 9914
Registered: 2/19/2003
Rank: Platinum Critic
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8/10/2004 6:15:25 PM
Oh yes, SRoS looks like a bad ride. I mean...there are no loops!
Man I hate stupid people...
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