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Six Flags New England really did an awesome job. I had expected many rides to be closed due to the weather and lack of crowds, but they surprised many of us by operating just about every ride in the park. Even Superman was practically a walk-on all day long, even with just one train!
We got to the park sometime around 10:30am and headed directly for SROS. Joe (Legendary) and I waited 2 trains for the back while it was a steady downpour outside. Walking over to SROS had gotten us slightly wet, but by the time we got off the ride, we were both drenched head to toe! I can't say that ride was enjoyable, with rain pelting my face, but it was neat to go through the mist-filled tunnels during a rain storm, which seemed dry compared to the outside rain.
After purchasing ponchos ($5 each), we met up with some friends (newbies to SFNE), Jack, Amy, and Jeff, and rode SROS again. This time the rain had died down to a steady mist and I could actually keep my eyes open during the ride. Everyone loved Superman and I believe it lived up to everyone's expectations.
So we did a bunch of stuff all day blah blah fun times and all that, but I'll just get to the night ERT on Superman.
As the park closed, everyone gathered near the Batman stunt show, where we were all informed that they would be running two trains for ERT. That definitely made everyone's day. All day the park had run one train, and now they were putting on the other train for a group of about 50 enthusiasts. It was definitely unexpected but made this event the 2nd best coaster event I have ever attended (SRM '02 being my #1). We easily racked in 25+ rides on Superman during the ERT alone.
Riding Superman at night is one thing, but during the ERT, it was by far the best and most 'fitting' environment for riding a coaster - ever. Visibility couldn't have been more than a mile, the air was filled with a light misty drizzle, and there were huge patches of fog everywhere around the ride. In fact, it looked as if all of the clouds in the sky had lowered to ground level, and it was as if we were riding Superman while soaring through the clouds. Definitely an awesome and one-of-a-kind experience! It was also pretty cool looking up at the low clouds while climbing the lift hill to see the shadow of the train, track and supports projected onto the bottom of the clouds from the bright spotlights below.
All said and done, it was an awesome event, and was ran well. We definitely got our money's worth even though we skipped out on the morning ERT. With free parking, a free meal, and basically a reserved seat on Superman with 2 hours of ERT, you can't get any better than that, at least at SFNE.
The only downside was that SROS wasn't running quite as fast as I remembered it from last year, which could have been due to the cold weather. The first half of the ride was unbelievable and filled with just as much, if not more, ejector air in just about every seat on the train... however, the second half, although extremely enjoyable, seemed slightly tamer and sluggish. Even so, I still rank Superman at SFNE my #1 and considered my rides during the event some of the best moments on a coaster I have had in a long time! If it had gone any faster, with more than 25 rides in that short period of time, I would have bruises all over my thighs from hitting that lap bar!
Also part of the trip to SFNE was a visit to SFGADv, with a memorable quote from a ride op on Nitro whose native language is probably not English:
"While sitting on silver hand rails... Get down."
*not poking fun at her of course, just amused at how she worded what she meant!
Only downside of the trip was paying $8 just to cross a bridge in New York (the Verazzano bridge I believe), and not even being able to see the NYC skyline from only a mile away (damn humidity and haze!!!!!)
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-Keith "Badnitrus" McVeen
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-Sean Newman
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-Keith "Badnitrus" McVeen
I definitely hope they keep this event, it was quite a good time!
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Top Thrill Dragster -- The most intense, unbelievable, and spectacular fifteen seconds on any coaster, anywhere, ever.
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