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With college move-in coming up, I still hadn't gone down to Six Flags Over Georgia yet, so I headed down to visit on August 9th and 10th. I have always thought Six Flags Over Georgia has one of the most well rounded coaster collections I've ever seen, as they have so many great coasters. Superman, Mind Bender, and Georgia Cyclone are all what I would consider 'Top 10 Rides,' and Deja Vu, Great American Scream Machine, and Batman are great rides as well. The plan was to go Saturday evening and from Sunday morning till afternoon. Going on a Saturday, I feared the worst, and when I saw things like this I thought my fears were confirmed. It wouldn't turn out to be too bad however, as I think people were heading out of the park early. After using my season pass I bought at Worlds of Adventure to get in, I strolled through the park, eventually ending up at the back in the Cotton States.
First ride of the day was Great American Scream Machine, which I waited around 30 minutes for. I sat down in my favorite seat, the middle of the last car, and we were off. I was very pleased to see the few potholes that were there last year gone, and the ride was very smooth. It didn't have the airtime that I remembered from 2002, but this is still a top-notch wooden coaster. I'm not sure I could handle riding it for 30 hours though :-).
Superman: Ultimate Flight looked like it was a bit too long of a wait for the moment, and I was anxious to get a ride on Mind Bender, so that is where I headed. The line for Mind Bender was only 10-15 minutes, and that was the longest I would see it. The line for the front seat was the same length or shorter than the others, so that is where I headed. What a great ride. Mind Bender was my favorite steel coaster at Over Georgia before Deja Vu and Superman, and while I slightly prefer Superman now, Mind Bender hasn't diminished a bit. It's just plain fun, with a sampling of extreme positive G's, airtime, large drops, and inversions. Anton was the man. Going over to Batman, they were handing out the numbered tickets for the line, and the line looked like it was about 10 years long. I'm not sure if they were running one train or what, but I decided to save it for Sunday, and went back over to Mind Bender, where I waited 5 minutes and took an awesome ride in the back seat.
The Georgia Cyclone looked like it had a fairly short line, so I queued up. For some reason they removed the second train from the track while I was in line, so I guess I ended up waiting 15 or 20 minutes because of that. To the backseat, and wow. This coaster seems to get better every single time. Best coaster in the Southeast? I think so. Okay, so I'll admit I haven't been to many of the Southeast parks, but this coaster is just awesome. The airtime on the first four hills is ridiculous, and the rest of the ride is filled with great airtime and an out-of-control feeling. I <3 the Georgia Cyclone.
I needed my pretzel loop fix, so I decided to walk to the back of the park again and wait it out for Superman. The ride was actually using the dual loading stations, but they were just running two trains. I waited about 30 minutes for the back seat. The pretzel loop was just as insane as before. That inversion is simply so intense and powerful, and while the rest of the ride isn't intense, it gives a great flying sensation. I still like Top Gun better ;-).
Night had fallen, which meant Mind Bender and Georgia Cyclone some more. Mind Bender was pretty much a walk-on by the final hour of operation, so I was able to ride three times, twice in the back, and once in the front. Awesome as always. I finished off the night with an amazing back-car ride on Georgia Cyclone, then headed to find some food and go back to my hotel to get ready for Sunday.
Up bright and early Sunday morning, I was at the park for opening. There was quite a massive line waiting to get in the gates, and I thought the gates and front plaza opened at 9:30, but apparently I was wrong, as the entire park and the entrance gates opened at 10. I figured it was best to get Acrophobia out of the way before the crowds got too thick, so that is where I headed first. It was a walk-on for the first ride of the day, and great as always. Acrophobia is definitely unique, but call me crazy, my favorite drop rides are still the Intamin second-gens, more specifically Drop Zone at Carowinds, even though it is shorter than others I've ridden.
Continuing to try beating the crowds, I rushed back to Superman, which was essentially a walk-on. I was able to ride three times, once in the front seat, and twice in the back. It's hard to say, but I think I prefer the back on this coaster. I was able to get a walk-on on Scream Machine as well, which was delivering the airtime that it had been missing Saturday evening. The sign at Deja Vu said it would open at 11 AM, but when I got there at 11, the time had been pushed back to 1 PM. Surprise, surprise. I went over to the other coaster I had missed Saturday, Batman: The Ride. Batman was running both trains, and the line was almost a walk-on as well, so I took a seat in back-right. Still a very good ride, Batman is short, but intense.
I was very pleased to see the lack of crowds early on, so I took advantage of it and got another Mind Bender ride, then headed for Georgia Scorcher. I am not a fan of stand ups at all, and my favorite had been Mantis, even after riding Scorcher. This time around however, my opinion changed. Don't ask me why, but I rode in the front car, and really enjoyed the ride. This is definitely my favorite stand up now, and maybe the only stand up that I think I would actually look forward to riding. I really like the mini Stengel Dive-ish element, and the straight first drop.
After my first ride of the day on Cyclone, I looked to hit the coasters I hadn't done yet, the first being the Dahlonega Mine Train. Am I the only one who thinks this mine train just odd? It has a lot of little bunny hops with some ejector air, and the layout seems like it was just kinda drawn out. Not that I'm complaining, as this is an interesting ride, but not my favorite mine train. I got to Deja Vu a few minutes before 1, and just in time, as people were just starting to pour into the line. If I had arrived 10 minutes later I would have probably been waiting an hour or more to ride. While in line, a guy driving the go-carts got stuck against a wall and had the embarrassment of every single person in line watching the attendant go onto the course and push him back onto the track. If that wasn't enough, less than 10 seconds later on the very next turn, the guy did the same thing and got stuck again, this time taking out another car with him. I think I waited 20 minutes maybe for Deja Vu, and was lucky enough to be assigned to 1-B. For some reason I have an odd luck with assignment seating, as the previous time I rode Deja Vu I got the last seat, and in 2000 at Cedar Point in my three rides on Millennium Force I was assigned to the front seat twice, and the back seat once. While the breakdowns and the million catwalks and stairways covering the entire ride to assist during valleys are quite comical; okay, very comical, this is an outstanding ride in my opinion. It does have a little bit of the typical Vekoma headbanging, but nothing to bother me too much, even though I doubt I could do any type of multiple rides on it. The intensity of it has won me over, I will say that.
Lunchtime at none other than Tondee's Tavern, across from the Georgia Cyclone. This is my favorite place to eat at Six Flags Over Georgia, and believe it or not, one of my favorite amusement park eateries overall, because of their cheesesteaks. I also like being able to get a free drink with my season pass. I had a cheesesteak with fries and a coke, and was on my way. I walked around to the parking lot to get good views of Mind Bender and Batman, then headed back inside for a few more rides before I had to leave to catch my bus back to Charlotte. I couldn't pass up a ride on Georgia Cyclone, so I did that and headed to the back of the park for one final Superman ride. One side of the station was in use today, and I probably waited around 30 minutes, maybe even 40, for the back seat. A great last ride on Superman, but there was thing I had yet to do: Ninja. I'm one of those who doesn't think Ninja is all that bad; certainly not smooth, but not really painful either. I actually enjoyed my ride on Ninja, and quickly headed to the front of the park. Georgia Cyclone was fittingly the last ride of the trip, and I finished off my visit in the back car. Crowds were not too bad during the two days, and I really had a great time at Six Flags Over Georgia. Now, let's see a hyper for next year ;-)
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Jonathan Hawkins
Starcoasters.com | ThrillSpot
Carowinds Connection - Unofficial Carowinds Site
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Ride Of Prey
Dahlonega used to be much better when the first tunnel existed. It has been gone a long time, and I'm not sure why it was removed, but without it the layout does seem a bit odd. I still like it though, and the last drop into the main tunnel is great!
After my first ride of the day on Cyclone, I looked to hit the coasters I hadn't done yet, the first being the Dahlonega Mine Train. Am I the only one who thinks this mine train just odd? It has a lot of little bunny hops with some ejector air, and the layout seems like it was just kinda drawn out. Not that I'm complaining, as this is an interesting ride, but not my favorite mine train.
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Nashville needs a theme park!
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