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I woke up fresh as a daisy at 2 and decided to head on over the park. I knew since it was a Saturday that the lines were going to be pretty long but oh well a few rides are better than none. After paying the outrageous $12 to park, we were in with our season passes. Since its been a good month or so since I have ridden a roller coaster I decided to head off to the closest thing in the park, which led me to the Georgia Scorcher.
Georgia Scorcher – 1 ride – 30 min wait
After riding Chang and Mantis earlier this season, I really didn’t expect much from this stand-up. The ride delivered some pretty good g’s and the layout was pretty nice. But all in all I really am not a big fan of standups. Sure they are different but to me I would rather have a floorless or a sit down coaster. Score – 7/10
After that I headed around the hilly park over to Mindbender, but as soon as I got on the ride, there was lightning in the area and they made us get off. So after waiting another 15 minutes in the cramped station I decided just to come back later since the lines for this coaster are never really long. I looked over to Batman and it was running but the line could be seen from the entrance and I knew that it must be long so I decided to hit it tomorrow and head on over to the other side of the park.
This park needs to be built on another piece of land or have escalators; the hill to get out of gotham city and the one to get to Déjà vu just sucks. But I had to go on and forget that I had legs, so eventually I made it over to Déjà vu but it was closed, oh well. Onward to Ninja.
Ninja – 3 rides – 5 to 10 min wait
Not a bad ride at all. I rode the Ninja up at SFSL, and it was quite possibly the worst ride I have been on, but the one at SFOG took me by surprise. The head choppers from the track and being over the water definitely got bonus points. The run over the station is pretty cool. But I did get a little bit of headbanging so…Score – 8/10
I passed up going on the Great American Scream Machine to get on my first ride on a flying coaster.
Superman: Ultimate Flight – 3 rides – 1 hour wait on Saturday, 5-15 min wait on Sunday
When I first got in line on Saturday the line didn’t look too long, so I thought I would just wait it out. But oh my gosh the line went so slow. They were only using 2 trains and only one side of the station, plus the ride ops made no attempt to go any faster and were stacking with 2 trains, and letting the train in the brakerun stay there for 2-4 minutes. But eventually I got on, and let me tell you nothing in this world give you the sensation of flying as this baby. The pretzel loop is perfect, and the g’s at the bottom just makes you want to scream. The rest of the ride is pretty sweet too, with the finals being the twist. Overall the ride is short but sweet, and is easily the best ride in the park.Score – 10/10
After this it was probably getting close to 6 to I headed on over to the place to eat in Lickskillet and got some food. After which I walked by Déjà vu to see testing going on. YES!! I got in line and was told that the ride was probably not going to open, but I was determined so I stayed in the short line at the front of the gate and waited, then it started to sprinkle but I kept my hopes up. Then finally 15 minutes later, we were told that the ride was going to open.
Déjà Vu – 2 rides – 15 minute wait on Saturday, 75 minute wait on Sunday
My first ride was in the front seat and only had to wait 3 ride circuits to get there, and trust me it was worth it. The ride is pure amazing. I love the feeling of looking straight down at the midway below looking at people thinking that I am crazy for riding it. The ride offers some insane g’s and great visuals, the thing is general is just massive. The downside is the loading time, but all good things come with patience. Score – 9.5/10 A
fter that we were informed that the park would stay open an extra hour because of a concert that night (Shedaisy) which was great for me because either most of the people didn’t know and left already, or they are heading for the concert. But I decided to just spend time with my little sister and ride some coasters with her (she’s only 50” and cant ride SUF, Déjà Vu, or GS) so we rode Ninja again and the Great American Scream Machine.
Great American Scream Machine – 3 rides – 5-15 min wait
What a great woodie. This easily gets put up in my top 10 wooden coasters. The night was dark but the lights on side makes you feel like your going really fast. The coaster offer’s great airtime and little roughness, but the brakes at the end almost ruin it because it’s such a sudden stop. Either way I still love it, but I did notice on Sunday that some of the seats were blocked off (anybody know why). Score – 8.5/10
After that I knew that the park was getting ready to close and the sound of the SheDaisy concert starting I headed up to the front of the park but was surprised to see Georgia Cyclone still open so I gave it a try.
Georgia Cyclone – 4 rides – 15 minute wait
Some might say it’s a little rough, but I liked this coaster. Call me crazy but every time I rode it I put my hands up with pride. It had some good laterals, and speed. And overall a great classic coaster designed to give all that older twisted roller coaster type. The midcourse brake on the hill is a little unexpected but otherwise a great ride.Score – 8/10
After that I called it quits for the night and headed to out hotel 10 minutes away. The next morning came very quickly and I was still sore from all the walking last night. But either way I was off to the park for another great day. I walked into the park with my battle plan, and went off to attack Acrophobia.
Acrophobia – 2 rides – no wait!!First ride of the day and was the 3rd person in line! If you are a guy the seats are quite uncomfortable, especially when you hit the brakes (OUCH!!), but other than that it’s a typical drop ride but the seats do push you outward giving you a great visual of the ground. After I rode it once, they let me stay on again to ride, and by the second straight ride I wobbled off.Score – 8/10 (the pain, the pain)
My game face was a little distorted because of Acrophobia but no worries I was off to the back of the park for Déjà Vu, which was closed until 11. So I had to go over to Superman to find some very short lines, and only wait about 5-15 min wait for both. Then around 11 I headed over to Déjà Vu but it was still closed the guy waiting outside the entrance said it would be another hour or so. I didn’t want to have to wait so I gave up and headed over to Gotham City for Batman and Mindbender.
Batman: The Ride – 1 ride – 30 min wait
I have ridden the Batman ride at SFSL and it is a great ride, and I was given the same exact great ride but mirrored. The query for theses rides are always great but always never air conditioned, which can be a drag when its 95 degrees outside. Either way I love Batman the ride, the pacing the elements everything about it is almost perfect. No matter how many times you ride it you come off the ride with a smile. Score – 9/10
Next up on the agenda Mindbender
Mindbender – 4 rides – 15 min wait
After having to get off the ride yesterday I really wanted to ride it so I grabbed the back seat and away we go. The ride is great. The loops offer some great g’s. Overall a great ride. The only problem I did have was the fact the water below the second loop looked real nasty, and the fact that in the brochure its says Mindbender is the world’s first triple loop coaster, where is the third loop? Did I miss it? Score – 8/10
After this I saw Déjà Vu running so I ran across the park to ride it, the line was long and slow but I still rode it. Then I ate some much needed lunch and met up with my family, where once again I rode Ninja and Great American Scream Machine. Then I headed over to Dahlonega Mine Train
Dahlonega Mine Train – 1 ride – 15 min wait
Ouch, Ouch, Ouch. This coaster hurts and is quite possibly the worst ride in the park. Im 6’ 3” and the trains are not designed for people like me the last finale into the tunnel, ouch, I got off crying (well maybe not), but now I have ridden every coaster in the park, so I didn’t care.Score – 4/10 (only because my sister liked it)
So then we headed over to Georgia Cyclone for a few more rides. And then so abruptly my day had come to an end. The park closed at 6 which to me is a little early, but oh well I still had a great time
The good – Superman, and Déjà vu, 2 great coasters. The food is pretty good too, forgot what the names of the places were but still it was good.
The bad – the hills!! I know the park cant fix this but going up and down them all day gets you really tired. Also some of the places to eat don’t offer water and being as hot as it is people need water than a $3 bottle of coke. Also there really needs to be some way to connect Gotham City to the area near Déjà vu, walking all the way around is a killer.
The ugly – line cutting. Simply put SFOG is the worse park I have seen when it comes to line cutting. Every line I got in on Saturday was met excuse me, my friends are up there. I am not the kind of person that will say anything but there needs to be something done. The ride ops apparently done care, but still something needs to be done.
What the park needs – bigger paths, a few good thrilling flat rides, and a nice big ol steel hyper.
Overall score – 8.5/10
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*** This post was edited by coaster-freak 9/2/2003 11:08:52 PM ***
*** This post was edited by coaster-freak 9/2/2003 11:09:52 PM ***
*** This post was edited by coaster-freak 9/2/2003 11:10:32 PM ***
I won't get into all the coasters, I rode them all, GASM was a pleasant surprise and BTR was much smoother than my home coaster, but other than that, no special rides to speak of. Acrophobia is just plain painful at the bottom. Please change to regular seats before someone gets hurt.
Now on to Q-bot. I had done what they suggested and reserved several different rides and in the downtimes in between managed to fit in some other rides with minimal waits. Here's the problem however. After riding SUF with a time of 1:57 and not actually getting of the ride until 2:07 my bot now told me that my ten minute window for the monster ride in the center of the park was already ticking down. It was not even possible to get there in that time due to the several dead ends in this park and crowded midways. Upon arrival, I told the operator of the problem, and sensing that I was not going to just let the expired reservation go, he let our group on.
The other problem I saw with Q-bot was when Mind Bender was down for a brief period and someone tried to cancel their reservation. It won't let you cancel, so now all of your other reservations are piled up until your time expires I guess.
When I returned this piece of garbage at the end of the day, and told the woman about the timing issue from Superman to the middle of the park, I was told that the system was not "that sophisticated". What did SF put this system into effect for? I know it is all about the mighty dollar, but really, it should take into account the following things when showing up for your reserved ride:
Time from box to actual loading on the ride, actual ride time, time from this attraction to next attraction reserved. Also, the ten minute window has to go. If you already used Q-bot to wait in line for you, what difference does it make if you show up on time, 9 minutes later or 2 hours later. Bottomline is, you can't use all your other reservations until you either use or cancel your current one.
My other issues with SFOG are all the dead ends, slow moving ride ops, and incredibly slow concessions. Glad it's not my home park. Not that I don't have issues with SFGAdv, but relatively speaking, its better than some of its sister parks.
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Jim Hansen
Number of coasters ridden: 313
*** This post was edited by SJCoasternut 9/3/2003 12:29:58 AM ***
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-Why oh why didn't I take the blue pill?-
I do agree that some of the walks are a bit strenuous, but I think the hills add charm to the setting. I especially like the wooded section by the Merry-Go-Round in the middle of the park - it adds a nice touch. And while the Gotham theming is a little grody, it is clever (i loved the green slimey water and the sewer duct in the Batman queue).
There are a lot of dead ends, but they serve to seperate different themed sections nicely, I thought. And if you just follow the path, you'll hit all the coasters. If you want to see a park with foot traffic nightmares, go to SFNE. Although to be fair, I went on a less crowded day. I wouldn't wish any Six Flags park summer weekend on even my worst enemy (SFGAdv is the worst culprit here, IMO, but i digress).
I'm also sure S:UE is nothing short of an amazing ride, but i'll never forgive them for getting rid of Viper. I LOVED that ride! Oh well...
hope to get there in the near future. And despite what SJCoasternut says, I'd be glad to have it as my homepark.
~me
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S:ROS; SFNE. Ride it, and you'll understand.
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