TR: Spring Fling at SFoG Weekend 3/27-28/04
TR: Six Flags Over Georgia Spring Fling Weekend
3/27-28/04
For whatever reason, I never really get enough opportunities to visit this park. In fact, the last time I was at SFoG was during the IAAPA social back in November of 2000. Prior to that, I had two other visits to the park in 1998 and 1999, but both on a tight time schedule that limited me to the amount of riding I would be able to get in.
After rave reviews of last year’s Spring Fling, I pretty much committed myself to attending the event this year. Besides getting to spend time with lots of friends, it would also give the chance to spend a leisurely two days at the park and surely get my fill of rides in. Our small four passenger coaster “team” consisted of myself, Bill(Atlantacoaster), Adam (Lonnol), and Matt D. Throughout the weekend, we would also see many familiar faces from the Ulrichs to Ed Chillforce to Mike Bartlett to Joe C. and Co. Weather both days was spectacular- with beautiful blue skies and high temps in the low 80s.
I came away from this past weekend with pretty much nothing but praise for the park. SFoG is one of the best examples of a well-run regional themer, with only one flaw (which is being seen to this year)- a lack of flat rides. Talk about beauty, this park has it- immaculate landscaping and towering coasters that are hidden thanks to topography and tall, mature trees. This all makes the park feel larger than it really is.
Besides possessing the best (IMO) collection of coasters pound for pound of any park in the country, SFoG also has several other rides worthy of noting:
· The Riverview Carousel may have carpeting on its platform, it may spin at a walking pace, and it may even need some touching up, but even so, this ride is a true jewel of carousel art. PTC #17 carousel features tons of historically significant carvings that all represent this era of carousel manufacturing perfectly. Few realize this fine machine just turned 95 last year. An amazing structure houses the ride, which looks very much like the pavilion that once sheltered the machine up in Chicago at Riverview Park.
· Monster Plantation is a SFoG original that may seem incoherent, but really just features a fairly simple (and somewhat pointless storyline)- Monsters are having a party, and you’re invited. While the ride seems dated a bit, I would hate to see the park swap this out in favor of Scooby Doo. If anything, I’d say just build a separate Scooby ride. I far and away favor Monster Plantation over Yosemite Sam at SFoT and Scooby at SFStl for the reason of it being an original ride, not tied to pop culture cartoon characters. Originality is Monster Plantation’s strongest asset.
· Acrophobia. Not since riding Kissimmee’s Skycoaster four years ago did I scream like a bitch as when I rode this thing. The less than comfortable riding position made re-rides during Sat night’s ERT a bit painful in the end, but as far as drop rides go- this one is right up there with the two other Gyro Drops in the U.S. at PKI and PKD. I loved the tilting of the seats, and I also loved the enthusiastic ride ops and their witty spiels, teasing riders just prior to dropping. For all out thrills, this ride is right up there with the best of the best- it took my stomach each and every time.
Water rides is not SFoG’s strongest suit. Like many other older theme parks, this place has lots of first generation water rides. We did take a ride on Log Jamboree and Thunder River on Saturday, and didn’t think much of either. Thunder River does have some nice landscaping on its perimeter, but also suffers from what most first generation Intamin River Rapids do- lack of spinning. The ride seems to do nothing for most of the course, and then suddenly hits a set of rapids fully drenching four people out of the twelve in the boat. Of course, I was one of those four.
Onto the coasters from bottom to top…
The Dahlonega Mine Train is a tough ride to figure out. Actually, most of the very early Arrow Mine trains are tough rides to figure out. Why is it that the first one at SFoT is so good, and the rest of them are flat out horrible? This three lift ride features tons of laughably bad, jerky transitions. After doing nothing for about two minutes, you drop into an underground tunnel through a violent “S” curve and back up to the station. Perhaps the only positive of this ride is that it makes rides like Trailblazer and SFGAd’s model look good. The station design for this ride is baffling, too. You walk into the station and then get into what must be the longest seat queues for any ride anywhere! The entire 20 min wait was waiting in these.
Ninja is a tough ride to figure out. This custom designed Vekoma multi looper seems to have every looping element Vekoma could come up with at the time BESIDES a traditional vertical loop. While this sounds good and all from a creative standpoint, the ride has several brutal neck snapping elements that looks smooth and elegant from the ground, but ride awfully. We only rode this twice during our two days at the park. My first ride was in the second to last seat (where I had ridden every previous time as well), but I decided to buck this trend and ride the very front for the first time- big mistake. While the back of the train can be enjoyed riding defensively, the front is where you go for whiplash, jaw jabs, and other fun elements of torture. Either way, it seems the GP still seem to like it somehow (although our conductor on the train had less than favorable things to say about the Black Belt of Coasters).
The Great American Scream Machine is a sight to behold. It seems the park repaints this ride every five years or so! It is simply a breathtaking sight, with its fresh red white and blue colors gleaming in the sunshine. Fortunately, it is also running very well these days. Pothole after pothole have been fixed, resulting in an incredibly fast ride with several surprisingly intense moments of airtime. While most John Allen rides seem to be front train rides for me, I found the back was the place to be. The drop off the far turnaround, as well as several of the hills following this featured some severe air. Just be prepared for a violent, sudden stop in the brake shed. Adam mentioned how magnetic brakes would work wonderfully to trim the train here, instead of having it slam into fins at nearly 35 MPH.
Not being a fan of stand up coasters, I really enjoy the Georgia Scorcher-, which speaks volumes for it. The Scorcher does everything a stand up has to do, while not beating you to death, or making your calves cramp. The exciting, yet smooth transitions on this ride are perfect for a stand up coaster. It’s too bad this was the last B&M stand up coaster to be built, as this type of layout would work wonders for just about any park’s coaster lineup.
Superman Ultimate Flight was not a high priority to me to get lots of rides on, yet thanks to the ERT, we got plenty of rides all over the train. As advertised, it was the prototype for the two clones last year in Jersey and Illinois. However, having this layout custom designed to work with the rolling topography of the site at SFoG gives this version at least some distinction from the other two elevated, flat site rides. I found the ride rode just the same as SFGAd’s and SFGAm’s. Thanks to heavy crowds on Sat, we were able to witness the three train/two station operation of this ride. When computer shut downs don’t hinder it, SUF is a real efficient capacity machine that really keeps the line moving.
While most cloned layout rides seem to ride similar to one another, I don’t think there is another major cloned steel layout that varies so from unit to unit than the Batman inverted B&M ride. Some have odd vibrations (i.e. Great White); some feel slow and boring (i.e. BTR at SFNO), while some deliver solid, mind numbingly intense rides. SFoG’s is one of those. Due to single train operation, our riding was limited to the nighttime ERT, but those three or four rides were almost too much for me.
Imagine this- spending a full 14 hours in a single day at SFoG and NOT taking a single ride on the Georgia Cyclone. Due to either a lack of communication or a mis understanding, the soft closing of Sat night’s ERT ended before we ever made it to the Cyclone. Despite not being able to get night rides, the rides we got on Sunday finally proved this ride to me as a top tier wood coaster. Despite having two pointless trim brakes on the course, the Georgia Cyclone can pretty much go pound for pound with any wood coaster out there. In many ways, it is the antithesis of SFGAm’s Viper. Both share a layout inspired by the same coaster, but also couldn’t possibly deliver more different style rides. Where Viper is full of power and grace, Georgia Cyclone delivers a classic, brutal (in a good way), intensity filled romp through deep drops with great overall pacing. It amazes me how Summers had such a classic hit with this, and then one year later designed the ramp filled Psucklone in California. Georgia Cyclone is NOT a smooth ride. It is a rough and tumble ride that many enthusiasts may find to be too rough. I find the roughness on this ride adds to its character, in much the same way as the Texas Giant does. There are at least three or four extreme pops of air, and some great laterals throughout the course as well. I also found the second to last seat to be my favorite, as it produced all of the intensity and air of the back row, without some of the wheel seat harshness. However, what really surprised me was how great a ride the FRONT row gave. No one seems to ever talk about the front row of the Georgia Cyclone, but believe it- tons of air, and even more intense laterals than the back! If I had to choose, I would head to 6.1, but the front row is not to be ignored. Georgia Cyclone is probably the best remaining example of a rough and tumble classic twister coaster left operating (with perhaps the exception of the ride it was based on!)
So the Georgia Cyclone is the park’s destination coaster, right? Half way there. SFoG is perhaps the only regional themer in the country with not one, but TWO destination coasters. Mindbender completes my favorite 1-2 wood/steel combo in the country. Over the years, I have developed quite a fondness for SFoT’s Shockwave, but never really got my fill of its sister in Georgia. The Sat night ERT would change all of that, as our group got upwards of 25 rides on this classic steelie. After dark, Mindbender takes on a new personality- especially while diving into the not quite a loop diving helix. While Shockwave is a back train ride, I found Mindbender to be a bit better towards the front (stronger airtime). Either way, like Shockwave, there really is no bad seat in the house. I found that Mindbender is certainly easier to marathon on, with the loops separated out on the course instead of assaulting you back to back in Shockwave fashion. Which is the better ride? Hard to say. Mindbender obviously has the better layout and setting, but Shockwave has more airtime. Let’s just say they are both modern day classics that deserve top tier status and call it at that. Also of note is how efficiently this thing is run with two trains. Thanks to having NO seatbelts, the crew typically had a train ready to dispatch with plenty of time to spare before interval.
During our time at the park, we also rode the train around the park (with the “new” gas powered locomotive from Fiesta Texas), the Schwarzkopf Enterprise, The Von Roll Sky Buckets, and the Great Gasp parachute drop. Oh yes- and an early morning ERT ride or two on the Dodge City Bumper Cars. Four of us, with about 46 cars sitting idle.
Six Flags Kids had an odd assortment of discount merchandise from $8 Scorcher polos to the “Cotton Pickin’ Cheap Christian Souvenirs” section with everything from Last Supper plates to JC bumper stickers. I also failed to mention the other subtlety that reminded us we were in the bible belt- church services being shown on the Q-TVs Sun morning (which later switched to the Nascar race).
It was a great weekend at a great park. I’d recommend this event to anyone the overlapping ERTs give attendees tons of flexibility (morning SUF/GASM; evening BTR, Mindbender, Scorcher, Cyclone, Acrophobia), and the picnic lunch was great as well- it took place in a pavilion right up alongside GASM’s first drop.
All in all, this was the fourth SF park I’ve visited this year, and all four have seen lots of improvements in the guest satisfaction categories- from rides being ready to run at opening to friendly employees to mostly efficient ride ops. Let’s hope this continues across the chain. Thanks to Robert, the southeast ACE Region, and SFoG for a great time!
Oh yeah- Deja Vu? It's still there.
-sparky
Great TR, Mark.
> Weather both days was spectacular- with beautiful
> blue skies and high temps in the low 80s.
The weather could not have cooperated more nicely. That deep blue gorgeous sky made for some nice photos.....but remember how I told you that our weather here is extremely haphazard this time of year? Right now, as I write this, it is 42 degrees, overcast, windy, with periods of torrential downpours outside. Miserable. Glad that is today and was not last weekend.
> Talk about
> beauty, this park has it- immaculate landscaping
> and towering coasters that are hidden thanks to
> topography and tall, mature trees. This all makes
> the park feel larger than it really is.
In terms of pure visual beauty, you saw my homepark at its finest. Period.
> Besides possessing the best (IMO) collection of
> coasters pound for pound of any park in the
> country
I've said it before - I will say it again - we don't have the tallest. We don't have the fastest. We don't have the longest....but we have the BEST. I am extremely proud of this.
> While the ride seems dated a bit, I
> would hate to see the park swap this out in favor
> of Scooby Doo.
I agree....some updating wouldn't hurt it...but I'd hate to see this genericized into something you can experience elsewhere.
> · Acrophobia. Not since riding Kissimmee’s
> Skycoaster four years ago did I scream like a
> bitch as when I rode this thing. The less than
> comfortable riding position made re-rides during
> Sat night’s ERT a bit painful in the end, but
> as far as drop rides go- this one is right up
> there with the two other Gyro Drops in the U.S.
> at PKI and PKD. I loved the tilting of the seats,
> and I also loved the enthusiastic ride ops and
> their witty spiels, teasing riders just prior to
> dropping. For all out thrills, this ride is right
> up there with the best of the best- it took my
> stomach each and every time.
Acro can do no wrong in my book. Also - did you notice that even though the loading process could be a bit more efficient, the machine itself is a workhorse...it is rare to be standing in line and encounter a maintenance delay. Having said that, when it breaks, it really breaks - and will be down for a number of days at a time - but those have been rare outside of the first season.
> The Dahlonega Mine Train is a tough ride to
> figure out. Actually, most of the very early
> Arrow Mine trains are tough rides to figure out.
> Why is it that the first one at SFoT is so good,
> and the rest of them are flat out horrible? This
> three lift ride features tons of laughably bad,
> jerky transitions. After doing nothing for about
> two minutes, you drop into an underground tunnel
> through a violent “S” curve and back up to
> the station. Perhaps the only positive of this
> ride is that it makes rides like Trailblazer and
> SFGAd’s model look good. The station design for
> this ride is baffling, too. You walk into the
> station and then get into what must be the
> longest seat queues for any ride anywhere! The
> entire 20 min wait was waiting in these.
I'd really like to see them renovate this ride - add back some of the tunnelling it used to have and rebuild some of the trackwork - and make it smooth. It would serve MUCH better as a "family" coaster if not for the horribly violent transitions into the curves.
> Ninja is a tough ride to figure out. This custom
> designed Vekoma multi looper seems to have every
> looping element Vekoma could come up with at the
> time BESIDES a traditional vertical loop. While
> this sounds good and all from a creative
> standpoint, the ride has several brutal neck
> snapping elements that looks smooth and elegant
> from the ground, but ride awfully.
This ride is finicky. ALWAYS stay in the last two rows. Even so - sometimes you get beaten up - sometimes it is actually a very good ride. This weekend, it was somewhere in the middle of that spectrum.
> The Great American Scream Machine is a sight to
> behold. It seems the park repaints this ride
> every five years or so! It is simply a
> breathtaking sight, with its fresh red white and
> blue colors gleaming in the sunshine.
> Fortunately, it is also running very well these
> days. Pothole after pothole have been fixed,
> resulting in an incredibly fast ride with several
> surprisingly intense moments of airtime.
GASM.....a sight to behold - though I will still not forgive SFOG for building the Skycoaster in a spot that ruins photographs of it. I rode this thing in last year's Marathon and took it for 300 consecutive spins. I dunno how I did it. Love the ride.
> Not being a fan of stand up coasters, I really
> enjoy the Georgia Scorcher-, which speaks volumes
> for it. The Scorcher does everything a stand up
> has to do, while not beating you to death, or
> making your calves cramp. The exciting, yet
> smooth transitions on this ride are perfect for a
> stand up coaster.
Although Riddler's Revenge at SFMM edges this one out as my favorite standup, I place this short but sweet standup above Mantis or Chang any day. After the first drop, you won't find a foot of straight track on it....and those twists and turns - and drops - are designed masterfully.
> Superman Ultimate Flight was not a high priority
> to me to get lots of rides on, yet thanks to the
> ERT, we got plenty of rides all over the train.
> As advertised, it was the prototype for the two
> clones last year in Jersey and Illinois.
Another source of homepark pride for me is the fact that we were graced with the first U.S. installation of this beauty back in 2002. I'm a big fan - if only for that sentimentatality.
> while some deliver solid, mind numbingly
> intense rides. SFoG’s is one of those. Due to
> single train operation, our riding was limited to
> the nighttime ERT, but those three or four rides
> were almost too much for me.
SFOG's and SFMM's are the best ones, in my opinion.
> Imagine this- spending a full 14 hours in a
> single day at SFoG and NOT taking a single ride
> on the Georgia Cyclone. Due to either a lack of
> communication or a mis understanding, the soft
> closing of Sat night’s ERT ended before we ever
> made it to the Cyclone. Despite not being able to
> get night rides, the rides we got on Sunday
> finally proved this ride to me as a top tier wood
> coaster.
Year after year, this ride remains on my Top Ten Wooden Coaster list....and people think it's there because I am sentimental. Not true. It stacks up with the best of them.
> Mindbender completes my favorite 1-2
> wood/steel combo in the country.
Not an accolade that I disagree with.
> The Sat night ERT would change
> all of that, as our group got upwards of 25 rides
> on this classic steelie. After dark, Mindbender
> takes on a new personality- especially while
> diving into the not quite a loop diving helix.
Another aspect of the night rides that I'd like to mention was the sensory aspect. Did you notice the oddity in the final loop - situated down in the dell just above the waterline? The top half of the loop was shrouded in warm evening air - but the lower portion was surrounded by a nice, cool evening layer....the effect was that as we plunged down the drop towards the loop, the air temperature suddenly shifted from warm to cool...and remained so until climbing up about halfway into the loop - where it turned warm again for the inversion itself...and then down into the coolness again as we exited the loop. A detail that is hard to describe- you had to be there....so who's coming to Spring Fling next year?
And finally....I won two stuffed animals - NOT the giant ones, but pretty big....a Bugs Bunny and a Scooby. You know those balls you have to toss into the basket (NOT basketball hoop - the other thingy) and get it to stay in? 3 balls for $5 - and I got 2 of them in. :-)
And finally finally....the late afternoon ice cream ritual found a disappointing conclusion as the former "Edy's Ice Cream" was not open. :-( (I did not want the pre-packaged Good Humor crap - I wanted a bonafide Ice Cream Cone. This is a key part of my day at any park - though the theatrics stayed to a minimum. (If interested in theatrics, find my Easter 2002 Carowinds TR to find out the ruckus that happened THERE with ice cream.) Oh...but good news...Ben and Jerry's is coming to SFOG. Yum Yum. I want Ice Cream.
I will make one more point (I know - I've said finally TWICE already). It is QUITE apparent that the park has taken great strides to focus on customer service....the ride ops and other employees have a NOTICEABLY greater interest in greeting you and being peasant and polite as you enjoy your visit. I have ABSOLUTELY noticed this - and I think it will benefit the park greatly as the season wears on. The challenge for park management is to sustain it...but in many ways, the magic is back!
Thanks to Robert Ulrich of ACE, Melinda Ashcraft and Jim Taylor of SFOG (and staff!) for putting together a GREAT event for all of us once again. I was PROUD that my guests who travelled a great distance (one from TN, one from NJ - and one from Dunwoody - LOL) had such a super time at the event. Thanks for all your hard work in making it happen.
Best Regards, Bill M. / AtlantaCoaster
P.S. Hey Mark - Where's MY Rockin' Tug?????????
at 3/31/04 8:20:16 PM
Mark, I completely agree with SFoG having a well rounded assortment of coasters. As Bill said, they are not the fastest, the tallest, the longest, none of that. They simply compliment each other and provide for a full day of fun.
Hopefully the flat rides will pick up at park, but I also hope they keep Monster Plantation as the ride it is now. Upgrade it but don't make it the new Sally Dark ride. They seem to have space to add one of those without taking the Plantation out.
SFoG was certainly a pleasure to visit and I am making plans to return for next years Spring Fling. I could not ask for a better time than last weekend.
Ed
Mark,
I too had a great time! Spring Fling has gone a solid 2 for 2 in terms of delivering an awesome time! Next year should hopefully be just as good, and maybe Deja Vu will we working.
> Our small
> four passenger coaster “team” consisted of
> myself, Bill(Atlantacoaster), Adam (Lonnol), and
> Matt D.
Adam's chants of "Coaster Team" are still ringing in my head. When do the bids open for the jacket? I'm saving every penny so I can be the winning bidder.
> Besides possessing the best (IMO) collection of
> coasters pound for pound of any park in the
> country, SFoG also has several other rides worthy
> of noting
DEFINATELY! I'm very happy that SFOG is close by now. The 7 hour trek from Orlando used to be painful, but still worth it for some reason.
> · The Riverview Carousel may have carpeting on
> its platform, it may spin at a walking pace, and
> it may even need some touching up, but even so,
> this ride is a true jewel of carousel art...
You failed to mention the 'ch, ch, ch , kill, kill, kill..' sound effects left over from Fright Fest. For some reason, these sounds kept eminating from the carousel during it's cycles. Still a great carousel, even with the seat belts and S..L...O....W speed.
> Monsters are having a party,
I believe it's a picnic, and humans are allowed.
> The Dahlonega Mine Train is a tough ride to
> figure out...... This
> three lift ride features tons of laughably bad,
> jerky transitions.
Bill and I were in the 3rd row of the first car, and all I can say is OUCH! It kept slamming my lower back. I've gotten better rides before towards the middle of the train. Carowinds' mine train is far superior, especially at night.
> The station design for
> this ride is baffling, too. You walk into the
> station and then get into what must be the
> longest seat queues for any ride anywhere! The
> entire 20 min wait was waiting in these.
THANK YOU! It only gets worse in the fact that there are a ton of little kids that you can't see who insist on riding by themselves.
> Ninja is a tough ride to figure out.
"The Ninja is a fighter. Ride the Ninja and he will beat you up" - train operator at SFOG
> Mindbender...........
Nothing else much to add. This coaster combines the best of every type of ride and rolls it into one awesome 45 seconds or so. Getting 5 front seat rides in a row at night made it even better (including the last ride with NO lights)!
> During our time at the park, we also rode the
> train around the park (with the “new” gas
> powered locomotive from Fiesta Texas), the
> Schwarzkopf Enterprise, The Von Roll Sky Buckets,
> and the Great Gasp parachute drop. Oh yes- and an
> early morning ERT ride or two on the Dodge City
> Bumper Cars. Four of us, with about 46 cars
> sitting idle.
You failed to mention the painful experience that was Freefall. Yes, the drop and pullout are intense and scary, but the stop at the end of the track is awful.
> All in all, this was the fourth SF park I’ve
> visited this year, and all four have seen lots of
> improvements in the guest satisfaction
> categories- from rides being ready to run at
> opening to friendly employees to mostly efficient
> ride ops. Let’s hope this continues across the
> chain.
Especially at SFNE. I swore off the park 2 years ago, but may need to head up there again for my SROS fix. Hopefully Mark in guest relations has adjusted his sour attitude.
> Thanks to Robert, the southeast ACE
> Region, and SFoG for a great time!
Yes - definate thanks go out to Robert for all the time and effort that went into planning this event. I would have written a TR myself with just as many praises for the day, but Mark pretty much summed it up for me. Bill got his "magical day", and I didn't die from eating a Hotzi - who could ask for more?
-Matt D.
