Coasters at SFGam

I'm heading to SFGam on Monday 8/11 and was wondering what coasters are a must ride. How are the wooden coasters? Rough or smoother than silk? I went to SFoT and SFFT a few weeks ago and was chastised for missing the best coasters in the park, a mistake I don't want to make twice. I was rather surprised at how rough all three of the woodies were and don't want to get caught without my woopie cushion again.

Thanks

Well dont miss Viper, silky smooth, plenty of air, hidden gem of the park, very underrated, definately not one to miss. Also if you dont mind a bit of roughness, Iron Wolf is good, just cuz its the first B&M. :)
*** This post was edited by Magnum XL-200 8/4/2003 4:45:10 PM ***

Raging Bull is a great one. Super smooth.

American Eagle-especially if they are running it backwards.

Viper-great ride

I would stay away from Iron Wolf-unless there is no line.

Superman will have a long line but isn't worth more than an hour wait.

If Deja Vu is running let me know how it is. I tried for 2 years to ride it while I was living in CHicago and now I am in NY and they finally got it up and running.

Have fun!!!!

Opinions of a long time season pass holder:

Tier1 "Absolutely Don't Miss": Raging Bull, Deja Vu, Superman, V2, Viper,

Tier2 -- "Solid coasters, try not to miss" -- American Eagle, Batman:The Ride.

Tier3 -- "If you have time" Whizzer, Demon, Iron Wolf

Whizzer is a fun ride, but the waits sometimes exceed 20 minutes, and that makes it an iffy proposition.

Iron Wolf is definitely a rough one. Ride at your own risk. Demon is worth no more than a 5-10 minute wait. Decent little Arrow looper

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Buy "Stereotype Be" from Kevin Max at Amazon.com

The best time for Demon is at night. The tunnel with all the special effects and the "demon" lit up. Very cool.

If (for some reason) you only do Raging Bull once, do it in the back. The airtime on the first drop is like none other.

V2 has had short lines this year. If the line doesnt go onto the bridge, its only about 30 min or less.

I wouldnt miss Deja Vu, but if its line is 2 hours or so, dont wait.

I would wait for Superman if yoo really just want to see the flying experience. If you hit it early, you wont have teriible lines.

If you didnt hit Batman at SFOT, then dont bother unless its line is relatively short. I remember seeing it at alomost two hours in some pictures. If the line starts at the que entrance, I suppose you could wait. Its worth riding the FIRST B&M inverted coaster.

Iron Wolf is good. The 1st B&M stand-up. The line is very short later in the day, but it doesnt open until 11.

Viper is a VERY underrated wood coaster and really one of the best. Very Good. If you hit American Eagle, ride it backwards if that side (blue side) if its open.

Also, Giant Drop is a good freefall ride. The line is never long at all. Probably 15 min.

Have Fun!
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I have yet to see a sig. that actually follows the rule: tell something about yourself. In fact, this one doesn't even do that.

Well like SFGAMan said, do RB in the back. You don't know what airtime is until you've ridden in the last row on the RB. That first drop is amazing...

Anyways, Viper is a must-ride. I don't care how long the wait is, just ride the thing.

American Eagle is better if you ride it backwards but either way, the ride is pretty fun. Not too rough and tons of air....

Those are the few that stand-out for me but I would encourage you to try to go on every coaster there because GA has a GREAT collection.

Can't really think of anything else so just enjoy yourself!

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Don't Fight It, Ride It, RAGING BULL!!!!!!- Six Flags Great America

I would not miss: Raging Bull (back seat), Deja Vu (be careful, though, even a 1/2 filled line can be over 1 hour wait because of the terrible load times, and I would not wait much more than 1 hour), Batman (if you missed it at SFoT), Superman (worth 1.5 hours for the pretzel loop alone) and *maybe* V2 (it could go under the try to rides, in my view).

Try to ride: Viper (I don't think it's as great as some...), american eagle, iron wolf (I don't think it's as rough as some..., especially in the front).

Can miss: demon and whizzer (although great for historic reasons).

I agree with everything Kevin Max said...

Suggested seats for his "Tier 1" coasters & Batman...

SUPERMAN - back/far left seat (most intense w/excellent face-choppers). The front isn't worth the wait.

DEJA VU: front

RAGING BULL: back

V2: front or any of the first 3 rows. 2nd row should be sufficient to get the full effect of the twisting spike.

(EDIT: almost forgot...)

VIPER: all seats are great on this one... maybe a little more air in the back

plus...

BATMAN: front for great view - back for more intense ride ... but this is cloned at other parks, so If you've ridden one before, try the other coasters first.

*** This post was edited by djgreghaus 8/4/2003 6:24:57 PM ***

Okay, this is the way I'm reading this:

Raging Bull - a must, ride in the rear for the incredible air time at the top of the lift hill.

Batman - if I haven't rode one at another park, which I haven't so I will give it a try at SFGam

Viper/American Eagle - just because I like woodies.

Superman: Ultimate Flight - since I have never rode one.

Whizzer is a must as far as I'm concerned. After last year's letter writing campaign to save it a good coaster enthusiast that has never rode it before must do so to see why the park dumped a Arrow Customer Looper in favor of the Whizzer.

If the line isn't long:

Deja Vu'

V2 - I wouldn't mind riding V2 because of a RUMOUR that SFA (my home park) may get a clone of in 2004.

How about flats? I don't suppose the park would happen to have a Huss Top Spin would they? I really want to ride one. Please tell me Raging Bull is better than S:KC.

Thanks for everyone's help.

The park has not been particularly crowded this year. In fact, they are teaming with the local grocery chain (Jewel) to offer 2 for 1 tickets. You might want to look into that, unless you already have a season pass.

Point being that you probably won't have to wait more than 20-25 minutes for V2 and 50-55 minutes for DV. In the morning and late at night, those times will dwindle. Probably around 10 minutes for V2 and 30 for DV. So I would definitely plan on those 2. Then again, they are both unreliable, particularly DV, so I might shoot for them in the morning and then try to hit 'em late at night again when the lines are short.

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Buy "Stereotype Be" from Kevin Max at Amazon.com

To tell you the truth Deja Vu hasn't had a long line all year so far since it has re-opened. This is in my opinion the best ride in the park and I suggest you ride it no matter what.V2 if long during the day then ride it at night which the line is never that long. No Top Spin in this park but the flat lineup isn't bad at but mainly your common amusement park flats. You can't compare RB & S:KC because RB is a hyper and S:KC is a floorless. But riding in the back of RB is one of the greatest moment's you can have on a coaster. But I can tell you with SFGAm being my home park that none of these coaster's should be missed and with the way they run everything to full capacity you will have at least 1 ride on everything they offer.
*** This post was edited by CrAzedFaNaTiC 8/4/2003 9:11:02 PM ***

My apologies. I looked at the pictures of Raging Bull on RCDB and thought it was a floorless, I guess looks can be deceiving. Next time I will pay closer attention to the stats.

No probelm just helping you out. What's cool about RB is that it does have a floor but your feet can't reach it so they hang kinda like a floorless. When sitting in the back the best way to enjoy the drop is stick your feet out and put your hands up.

Are you only going to be there one day? If so, you're going to have to buy a fastlane to have enough time to go on everything. It is way overpriced ($15) but it doesn't sound like you have much of a choice. The park is always packed in August.

You should do the non fastlane coasters first and in this order:

Superman

Whizzer

Viper (back or 1:3)

Demon (back row for ejector air on first drop)

Deja Vu (if open, Ride in 1B if possible, avoid A seats)

American Eagle (try each side once)

Then use fastlane on:

Raging Bull (back at all costs)

Iron Wolf (near front, keep head against headrest and restraint for smooth ride)

Batman (front if you want to see anything)

Vertical Velocity (near front for twist)

I can Reach the floor on RB

As for the flats go you should definatly not miss: East River Crawler, Trailblazer, Triple Play, and Fiddler's Fling.

And if possible hit Home Town Fun Machine (if its open), Ricochet and River Rocker.

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Shockwave @ SFGAm R.I.P 1988-2002
Top 5 Coasters at SFGAm 1)RB 2)S:UF 3) DV 4)V2 5)Viper
Smell ya later!

Also Ginat Drop is a good ride. Usually a 15 min wait. I like to hit it in the morning when the wait is only 5 min.

I think you mentioned every major flat (not Condor and Whirligig). Its not very likely you could hit all these rides and 11 other coasters. If you only gona hit 3 or so, East River Crawler, Triple Play, and Fiddler's Fling.

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I have yet to see a sig. that actually follows the rule: tell something about yourself. In fact, this one doesn't even do that.
*** This post was edited by SFGAMan 8/5/2003 12:20:04 AM ***

Also, if you are into dizzying spin rides, the Chubasco is a definite. Its a greatly themed tea cup ride in Southwest Territory.

This is a Six Flags park that focuses on capacity with its coasters. So enjoy all of them.

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Arena football has arrived in the Windy City. Go "Chicago Rush"

Dont Miss:

COASTERS:

Raging Bull (Back Row), Viper (Row 1.3), SUF (Back Row), V2 (Back Row), Batman (Front or Back), Deja Vu (Outside Seats)

If you ride American Eagle ride FORWARDS RED it has always been better than Blue even when turned Backwards.

FLATS: Triple Play, Giant Drop, Ricochet, Fiddlers Fling, East River Crawler

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SFGAm Viper

Make it a point to hit Iron Wolf in the front row. The wait for row 1 is only about 5 minutes longer than any other row, and the intensity of the ride will more than make up for it. If you ride Demon, don't settle for anything less than the very back. You'll be treated to some tasty ejector airtime on the first drop. You should be able to ride all of the coasters at least once, even if there are somewhat heavy crowds.

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Never Has Gravity Been So Uplifting.