Associated parks:
None
My family drove north I-75 and onto I-20 west from a Best Western outside Atlanta, which was pretty nice. The park was fairly easy to find with Mindbender and Batman staring at and tempting you right opposite the exit in a striking location. We accidentally went into the $12 parking lot next to Cyclone, which we didn’t mind anyways since it was incredibly close to the entrance. The park didn’t let us in until 9:55 and then waited until 10:10 to pull the ropes for the rest of the park beyond Cyclone and Scorcher. We headed towards Superman hoping to get a couple rides in before the park flooded with guests, passed by a closed Acrophobia and Mine Train, and decided to make a visit to:
Monster Plantation (River Dark Ride, walk-on, 1 ride)
The quality on some of the animatronics was fair compared to Disney and Universal, but this provided for a more harsh atmosphere once you reach the creepy marsh. I think the older and “cheaper” look to this made the area all the more better than if it would have been made today where it would be much more plastic and cartoon. It was mainly a toned down version of Splash Mountain, but I really enjoyed the uniqueness of the ride and was happy to see another seasonal corporate park attempt a dark ride experience similar to Phantom Theatre at PKI. The plantation house looks great and it seems the park keeps the ride up reasonably well. 7/10
Next, a closed Déjà Vu led to my first ride on:
Great American Scream Machine (PTC out-and-back woodie, 10 minute wait, 2 rides)
Well, I was expecting a Top 20 wooden coaster from this park, but boy how I was surprised when my first coaster of the day was a Top 10 woodie! The ride is quite smooth and the camelback hills and bunny hops carry exceptional floater air throughout! The creative L-shaped design made it much more interesting than traditional out-and-back coasters and I really don’t think you can have more fun on a ride with a big group besides a racer. It could use some new paint, but it compliments Superman well and I liked it so much I bought the t-shirt! GASM was seriously our surprise-hit coaster of the entire trip. Everyone loved it! Single position lap bars rule! 9.5/10 SfoG’s new B&M flyer hadn’t started testing yet, but we decided to get in the short waiting-to-open line anyway. 30 minutes later, the park tested each train twice and we were flown off with a 20-minute wait to:
Superman: Ultimate Flight (B&M flyer, 30/20-50 minute wait total, 2 rides)
The Metropolis area surrounding the coaster is themed nicely with some cool life size 2D figures of the Superman characters along the queue. As we were waiting, we kept wondering why there was all this screaming on the platform before the ride even began. Once we saw how fast the train swept into the flying position, we knew what all the commotion was about. Once you sit into the unbelievably comfortable seat and restraints, the train lifts you up within two seconds, as you’re off to experience the ride.
Just being in the flying position even up the lift hill is a pleasure to do, but once you take off down the first drop, the ride lets you know you’re on it! As we hit the bottom and were soaring up the second hill, my sister said something about it being really fun so far. We were looking at each other and all of the sudden we’re thrown like rag dolls through the air into the pretzel loop into a mind boggling rush of forces coming at you from all sides. When someone talks about Insane Pretzel Loop Action, that’s an understatement! This has to be the single best element I’ve ever been through on a coaster and I highly recommend coming for Superman alone if you’re in reach of the park! The rest of the ride has interesting twists, turns, and thrills that don’t let up and I have no reason to think the P-Loop is anti-climatic at all. It may seem short, but I think the length is perfect and enough to keep you coming back for more. I want one at PKI! Like loriu said, Vekoma what? Wonderful ride experience! 10/10Next, we stopped for a quick ride on:
NINJA (Vekoma looper, walk-on, 1 lap)
This ride seemed to have a few problems today as it opened right as we were walking by and closed after our second lap on GASM. Anyway, I got it for the count, so I might as well say a little something about it. The location, twisted layout, and picturesque quality of the coaster is severely deceiving to most riders I would say as if you’re under the OTSR level, you’re sure to get a beating. We’ll the ride has Ninja in name and reputation as it’s a pretty good headbanger although I would say the intensity of that has been overrated. This steel looping twister has some great headchoppers along the course and if not for the poor transitions might actually be a halfway decent ride. I would rate it above Shockwave at SFGAm, but below most every other Arrow or Vekoma looper I’ve been on. Try once as some seemed to enjoy it and make it a reride marathon. 4.5/10 I passed for the marathon and headed to:
EAT! We went to this big indoor restaurant on the corner of the USA area. The only serve burger for the most part, but the name escapes me. They were good though!
On through Gotham City to:
Batman: The Ride (B&M invert, 80 er, no wait!-for me, 1 ride)
I was the only one who wanted to ride Batman, so I decided to try and go up the exit and ask if they’ll accept single riders. The guy just shrugs his shoulders, I saw a cute 10-year-old girl sitting by herself and went ahead and sat beside her. Easy enough I guess. With absolutely no wait at all, I was off for my flight on Batman. This coaster is non-stop intensity and it feels even swifter and intense than most other inverts and BTR clones I’ve been on. It may be a little too fast to actually enjoy the ride and have fun, but its really a blast and short but sweet! BTR is close to Son of Beast as the most intense coaster I’ve been on and this is another real winner from B&M! Excellent theming and some of the best in the park! The barrel rolls and zero-G roll is madness! 8.5/10
My favorite Batman villain was calling me, so I headed towards:
Mindbender (Schwarzkopf terrain double looper, 40 minute wait, 1 ride)
The color scheme and theme surrounding the ride as well as the strong positive reviews made this coaster a big point of interest for me to ride. The wait seemed to be pretty long, but I didn’t mind since the area is shaded well. Once we reached the ride, we got in and found the ride op to be a big stapler. It was ok though. Nothing too bad. I really like how they have the landscaping here as the trees and waterfall really add dramatically to the experience. This is one of the few coasters to really get my stomach going and the loops are fairly tight, smooth, and rapid. The course design is superb and the terrain hugging areas truly gave the sense of speed. Decent air and a very classic ride that still seems innovative and has an intense attitude that’s hard to explain from other coasters. My dad and I were both impressed with the ride and it’s a huge one to come back for as well. 8/10
We passed up the 90 minute wait for Georgia Scorcher. We needed to head home, so 1 more ride for the day was it. I decided to make that one:
Georgia Cyclone (Summers/Dinn wooden Cy‘Clone’, 15 minute wait, 1 ride)
Outrageous ejector air on almost every hill. Fast, steep, and intense drops. Forceful turnarounds and a beautiful structure. But that doesn’t mean it was a great coaster.
I had been looking forward to another ride on Cyclone since my dad said this used to be one of my favorite woodies and Viper is one of my top 10. I had heard mostly positive reviews on GC, but if this ride doesn’t rough you up, I don’t know what will! I would say while the ride doesn’t approach being seriously painful, the drops bottom out incredibly hard for my taste and the trains are horribly uncomfortable. Bouncing back from the ejector air wasn’t very pleasant and I’m sure this can be an extraordinary wooden journey. A little too bumpy for my tastes, but hopefully this is the worst it will get. I hope they retrack and repaint it in the near future, because I know it could really love it. For now though, my thoughts aren’t very favorable of the ride. 6.5/10
Overall, the park is extremely thrilling and fascinating all at once. It’s a lot bigger than I expected it to be from memory, has an attractive wooded location, and the coasters are of good variety. I would like to see some more flat rides, a hyper, and a kiddie coaster in the future to help even out crowds, but otherwise exceptional atmosphere and cleanliness. I think we all had a fun-filled and entertaining day and would gladly return again. This is now one of my favorite seasonal parks overall, so at least it isn’t too far away. If only for Superman and GASM, everyone should get here!
Any comments on how I can make my TRs better in the future would be great as well as any questions about my trip. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed!
-----------------
Danny
PKI:UNCOVERED!
http://xpp.coasterbuzz.com/pki/uncovered.asp
*** This post was edited by Koaster King on 6/19/2002. ***
GASM was my #134
SUF was #135
Ninja #136
Batman #137
Mindbender #138
All three drop rides were unique and fun in their own way and the water rides were the usual set, but all full of quality scenery and clean courses. Ride ops were very nice and quick getting trains out for the most part. Superman was stacking with only two trains, but it was ok. Deja Vu closed for most to all of the day was disappointing, but didn't put a dark cloud over the park in the least. The shops and settings were all done nicely although the Gotham City and dead end by Superman could be fixed hopefully. Found an SF Astroworld key chain and Viper postcard and bought them. Two thumbs way up again for the park! I had a great day.
I forgot to do my Acrophobia review, so I'll do that tomarrow. It's pretty late I would say and I've barely slept in a week. Night!
Well, I've ridden Drop Zone at PKI dozens of times, blasted up and down Power Tower, Supreme Scream, and countless other vertical towers, but nothing could prepare me for the shear terror this thing forces upon you.
You get onto the bicycle-type seats and pull down your restraints both of which were fairly comfortable. As we rose to the top, I was thinking this couldn't be that bad since its quite a bit shorter than DZ and SS. This should be a piece of cake! The spiraling ascent gives a great view of the park and the original tilt didn't seem all that bad. Who knew that once you reached the top, you would make an extreme tilt and be looking almost straight down at the ground with nothing even closely being able to take your mind off how freaky this stunt was(sorry for the people who got stuck last night!).
The feeling and force your body takes on rivals the intensity and air DZ delivers, but the height truly has an effect on how great it is. This is a real gut-wrencher which I'll think twice before riding again. If any type of ride really gets my blood pumping, these drop rides do it without much work at all. This is one of the scariest ride experiences I've ever been through and one of the most enerving drops for anticipation. I never make much noise on rides except for the occasional joyous yell such as through the PL on SUF. If you don't scream on this one, you're probably dead. Or maybe just scared stiff. :)
Cute 10 year old Girl????????? How old are you??. I am hoping I can talk the rents into stopping at SFOG on he way to college in Fl.
If your parents will let you stop, its definitely worth it. The park is only 9 miles or so off I-75 and extremely easy to find. When you see the beautiful structures of BTR and Mindbender off I-20 west, you know that's your exit! It's really easy to find and one of the better corporate parks I've been to.
Hey man,
Sucks you didn't get to ride DV. It's an awesome ride, just bad engineering. Head over to SFMM and you're most likely to ride it as it seems to be operating reliably recently. I dunno.
Will Johansson
If I find the Deja Vu at SFGAm is running well, we might decide to go ahead and stop there since I've been wanting to try American Eagle again and I've not had a chance at their V2 either. I need to pack some rides in on Whizzer too in case this season is its grand finale.
My buys at the park were a SFoG keychain, and I was surprised to find an Astroworld keychain as well at the Six Flags store up front at the park, so I took that one as well! My parents and sister said that the SUF t-shirts looked really immature if I bought one and wore it, so I passed it up and got the black GASM shirt which has an excellent logo and picture printed on it.
The only thing negative I could find about the park is that the lines tend to get long very quickly. You could think you're standing in a 10 minute line at first and it turns into a 30-45 minute line within minutes which happened on both Superman and Acrophobia. If you come on a weekend, I would say a Q-Bot would be a perfect idea since this line always seemed to be extremely short.
I would like to see the park get a hyper in the next few years, but I thought Mindbender was actually a decent substitute for now even though its a much smaller looper.
You must be logged in to post