SFA 10-20-07

On Saturday 10-20-07 Janis, Sarah and my friend Allen and I went to Six Flags America. As many of you know, SFA isn’t our favorite park. We went back in June and it was our first time there in nearly 4 years. Our trip that day and yesterday were no where as bad as they had been in the past. We went in June to get season passes because we wanted to go to Great Adventure this summer, which we did. We went yesterday because we got a heck of a deal on season passes. Sarah (my step daughter) went with her dad to a park buy out that her dads job was part of in Sept. They allowed people to buy season passes that day for 2008 for only $19.95. That was a heck of a deal, so Sarah got us some, we went up yesterday to get them processed to we would have them for an early SFoG trip next season.

The park opened at 1pm, we got there about 12:30, parked and had our passes processed by 12:45. Then we waited at the main gate to get in. The park opened promptly at 1pm and we headed straight for Superman. My friend Allen had never seen a coaster like that before and he was impressed, the helixes made him a tad ill, but he held back the puke thank goodness haha. We rode two times without getting out of the back car. It was running ok, but not as good as this past June. I think the wheels on the trains in some cars need changing. I doubt this late in the season they will bother though. I also noticed that some seatbelts were much shorter than others, making some seats difficult to get in.

While riding I noticed that old rides (including Ultratwister) were stored around it, as a matter of fact rides and parts are stored all over the park. I really wish SFA would clean that up, its an eye sore. The employees on Superman were ok, not as slow as they used to be years ago, but they still could be a bit faster. Overall Superman is still a good ride, just needs some new wheels and the brake needs to lighten up on the bunny hills, it was on hard yesterday, much harder than I remember even in June.

Next we headed back to Batwing, my friend didn’t know if he could handle riding it, he decided to watch while I rode the first time. Then he decided to skip it all together, so we rode one more time while he sat. It was the only coaster running one train, I just don’t know what it is with that ride that SFA has such a hard time with running two trains. I think I have been to the park about 7 times since it was built and I saw it operate two trains once time, and that was only for part of the day and then it went down, and opened back up with one. I guess the duel station is just too much for them to handle. Its frustrating because I find it a good ride and I never get to ride it more than twice a visit, if that many… I love the layout of the Vekoma version, but B&Ms load faster.

On the way to Roar we decided to ride Jokers Jinx. It was running pretty good, seemed smooth and fast. We only rode it one time because we have FOF at home at KD.

Now it was time for Roar, we rode three times during the day. I think it has a wonderful layout, but horrible trains. Those PTC trains just rattle and shuffle all over the place. I don’t think it will ever happen, but that coaster could REALLY benefit from a set of new GCI MFer trains. The wait was maybe 2 to 3 trains max. The crew seemed to get the trains out better than they used to, I was pleased to see that. There was one really rough piece of track, I believe it was the bottom of the 2nd hill, it just shuffled and actually hurt my legs a little.

We then moved over to Mind Eraser, this was running only one train in June and it was a huge line, so we didn’t bother. But yesterday it was running both trains and was a walk on. So we rode twice. I had not been on an SLC in about 4 years. I guess Alpengeist just spoils me to death. This was the first time I had been on Mind Eraser since the paint job. I think I like the old scheme better.

Next we went to the Tower of Doom. My friend Allen had been on KD’s Drop Zone many times, and I wanted him to try an older version of the ride. I think after Drop Zone, he wasn’t impressed much, but I told him that these versions led up to Drop Zone being created.

The Wild One was next, we rode only one time. It was running two trains and the crew was very slow. The coaster was running good for what it is, but every time I get off that ride now I am sad with the memory of how it once was with Adventure World. The older Wild One was sooooo much better.

We stopped at the swinging boat ride and took a spin, and then headed back to Superman for a few more rides before heading out. We stopped at Roar on the way out, but the train was stuck between the final brake and the station and went down. We were on a time constraint and had to get back to Richmond for a hockey game, so we couldn’t stay and wait it out, so we left. It was a decent day at SFA. I think my overall opinion has improved and I think I will try to get there at least once a year again. I do think they are way over do to add something major, but Six Flags seems to not be really interested in investing money there right now. I have no proof, just heard rumors that SFA may eventually be up for sale, and maybe not as an amusement park, but maybe a residential zone. I would hate to lose another park, so I hope that never happens.

Danny