SFOG---Sunday, October 4th

Sunday-October 4th, 2009

This weekend was the start of Fall Break for my school system. My family didn't have anything planned for this week-off, so I convinced my dad to take my friend, Easton, and me on a 6-hour trip south to Six Flags Over Georgia. Dad's friend, Chris, came along, too--there was a baseball card show in Nashville that they were interesting in visiting on the way there.

While stopped outside of Nashville on Saturday, we caught a showing of Zombieland. Very good movie! I enjoyed almost every minute if it; there were many laugh-out-loud loud moments. However, it was a bit more gory than I was expecting (I know, I know...). There was a scene towards the beginning of the film involving a seatbelt and pavement that I was REALLY hoping they would cut off about ten seconds before it did...but that didn't happen. Besides that, I was really satisfied leaving the theater. I'm sure you all will think it's a lot of fun! Oh yeah...and Amber Heard is really hot. Even as a killer zombie. ;)

We arrived in Austell/Atlanta around 1am EDT, and got a room at the Baymont Inn right up the hill from the park for around $70. (Goliath looked absolutely MASSIVE when driving by it). I would definitely recommend staying at the Baymont---the room was very clean, breakfast was nice and complimentary, and they offered a free shuttle to-and-from the park. We took the shuttle down to SFOG around 10am on Sunday morning, and arrived just as the gates opened. There were about 30 other people entering the park.

It was about 65-degrees out, and clouds filled most of the sky. Coasters were surrounding us before we even got inside. I hadn't visited the park since 2002, so with the addition of Goliath, the whole area looks completely different. All three rides in site (Cyclone, Goliath, and Scorcher) were already testing. We entered through the turnstiles and, immediately seeing that the path to the left side of the park was still roped off, headed right to the Georgia Cyclone.

Ride Reviews
Georgia Cyclone- This was my 3rd visit to SFOG, and 2nd time riding the Cyclone. The coaster opened about 15 minutes before the rest of the park, and since hardly anyone was there, we walked on to the second-to-last row of the train (my favorite place to sit on most coasters)...It was really good! While the coaster was fairly rough, and the trains shuffled like crazy through the turns, the airtime was consistently strong, and the layout was very long and unpredictable. I was shocked at the amount of time I spent out of my seat. There is one trim about midway through the ride, but it didn't effect the speed much. I was really impressed with the ride, especially after remembering hating it back in 2002. 7.5/10

Georgia Scorcher- I have always loved stand-up coasters, and this is definitely one my favorites (along with the TOGO stand-up at CW). We rode this right at park opening, and barely missed a walk-on to the last row. The trains were barely stacking all day. Airtime is really fun to experience while standing up, and the Scorcher provides plenty of it. I prefer it's first drop to Chang's and Mantis', even though it is quite a bit shorter. The layout is short but sweet---very fun and quite forceful, for a B&M. I really wish more of these would be made! 8.5/10

Goliath- Goliath was my second B&M hyper, the first being Diamondback, and I'm having a hard time desiding which one I liked more. I feel that Diamondback has a bit more and stronger airtime, but Goliath is more forceful and action-packed (especially that crazy helix!). Nevertheless, both are amazing coasters, and their trains/restraints are some of the best ever designed. There was never more than a station wait for our 3 rides. 10/10

Mind Bender- Though there are many great coasters at SFOG, this was definitely the one I was looking forward to the most. I fell in love with this coaster back in 1998, and it has been one of my favorites ever since. Sadly, they have plastered advertisements all over the ride, but that doesn't take away from it too much. We walked on to the back seat, pulled down our lap bars (the minimal restraints are great), and were off.

The train made a loud, strange sound as it engaged the lift, and then continued VERY SLOWLY to the top, where we came to a near-complete stop. Soon enough though, the train crest the top, soared down around a swift turn, and then dropped into the first loop. There were lots of things that I noticed on the ride that I never had before. First of all, most of the drops offer a quick snap of ejector airtime, and then end in a long, drawn-out valley. It feels really strange going from such elongated pull-outs, straight into the quick, circular loops. Also, after the first loop, the track shifts to the left a bit, making for a very weird-feeling transition up into the second turnaround. The coaster seemed a bit rough in the back seat, too, but was much smoother on our second ride in the next-to-last row. Overall, we really enjoyed our rides, and it remains one of my Top Ten steel coasters. 9/10

Batman: The Ride- Though it is cloned at many parks, and I have ridden multiple versions of it, this one is my favorite of them, for some reason. The theming in the queue line/station is really cool, and Six Flags seems to be doing a fairly good job of maintaining it. Easton and I grabbed a seat in the front, after a one train wait, and quickly took off up the lift. I had forgotten how intense this thing was! The whole ride is so tightly packed and quickly paced, at times we couldn't see the track in front of us! My feet were actually tingling when we hit the brake-run, and Easton made the comment to me that he thought he had blacked out. (Luckily, it was just the darkness of the Batcave...;)) 8/10

Monster Mansion- After that non-stop string of coaster riding, both of us needed a bit of a break. I wasn't a big fan of the Monster Plantation back in 2002, but I had heard the remodeling was worth checking out, so we hopped in the 5 minute line. I ended up being completely blown away.

*SPOILER ALERT:* This instantly became my favorite dark ride of all time. I'm usually not a fan of these cheesy types of things, but this was excellent. The theming was great throughout, and the whole "Stay out of the Marsh!" storyline was really entertaining. There was a great combination of mist, lights, darkness, sound, and even bubbles that really made the ride a lot of fun.

No matter how old you are or who you are with, this is an instant classic that is not to be missed! 9/10

Acrophobia- That break didn't last long. After Monster Mansion, we headed to Acrophobia--one of my favorite drop towers. At only (yes, only) 200ft, this ride may not seem like much. However, there are a couple surprises in store for you that aren't evident from off the ride. I hate to spoil the fun for any of you who haven't ridden it, but I assure you, there is no way to imagine how scary this ride is until you actually ride and reach the top. At the highest point on the tower, your seat tips forward about 15*, which is a LOT steeper than it sounds. Now you are facing the ground, with literally nothing keeping you from plummeting into the concrete hundreds of feet below except for a shoulder harness and a thin seatbelt. I've never been so delightfully terrified in my entire life...and it was great! Oh yeah, and the drop was pretty scary, too. 9/10

Dahlonega Mine Train- I've ridden many mine trains, and compared to the others, this is a pretty decent one. It is no where near as intense as ThundeRation or Adventure Express, but it's still fun and mildly interesting. The ride's finale is good, sitting near the back of the train. 6/10

Superman: Ultimate Flight- This ended up being one of our favorite coasters of the trip! I rode this back when it first opened in the spring of 2002, but had completely forgotten how awesome of a ride it was. The first drop is great, the pretzel loop is very intense, and the whole Metropolis area is set up so that you have no idea the inline roll exists until you experience it. We rode this twice, waiting about 20 minutes both times (longest wait of the day). The ride truly is massive and towers over the surrounding area, and riding in the front row makes you feel like you are really flying. Great ride! 10/10

Great American Scream Machine- GASM used to be my #1 coaster, and I was reminded of why on Sunday. The buzzbars are great, and I spent much more time out of my seat than in it. There were even a couple instances of near-ejector air, which was really unexpected! Too bad the ride is so rough...it truly is a fun classic. 7.5/10

Ninja- The Ninja is my last coaster to review (sadly, Canyon Blaster was closed for our visit :(). Now that I'm am tall enough so that my head rises far above the OTSR, I have a very high tolerance for Arrows and Vekomas. Riding in the back car of the train, the coaster wasn't too rough, the layout seemed pretty decent, and the headchoppers were INSANE! I had never felt so much fear of losing a limb on a coaster before. Overall, it really wasn't that bad---in fact, we ended up riding twice in a row. I just wish he would stop trying to dump me out of the train when entering the last three inversions... 6/10

Food
We only ate one meal while at the park. I paid a little over $14 for a large plate full of food and a regular Diet Coke at Panda Express. This Chinese restaurant is definitely becoming one of my favorites at amusement parks, because of the great amount and quality of the food you receive. Yes, it's expensive, but well worth it compared to anything else Six Flags has to offer. It does bother me that I could get the same thing at a Cedar Fair park for $2 less.

I also paid over $6 for a regular sized vanilla cone at Ben & Jerry's, which was really a rip-off. Luckily, it tasted really good, and I had saved quite a bit of money by drinking free ice water all day.

Overall Experience
Around 3:30, I got a really bad migraine headache that forced us to leave the park early. We got our hands stamped in hopes that I would get to feeling better, and be able come back that night to truly experience Frightfest. Sadly, that didn't happen, as I continued to get more and more sick as the night went on. I felt really bad about dragging Easton all the way down there for just 5 hours of riding, but we still had a great time, and he, Dad, and Chris went to see The Invention of Lying while I rested in the hotel room.

Besides that, I really enjoyed my visit to the park. GASM was the only coaster in the park that wasn't running multiple trains, and it never had more than a 10 minute wait, anyway. The park was completely decked-out in Frightfest scenery, and it looked to be a really good event. The pathways seemed really clean, and the entire park had a beautiful setting with great scenery and landscaping. For the most part, the employees were working swiftly and seemed to be focused on their jobs.

While the park could use more in the way of flat rides, the quality of attractions it does offer is very good. While there are things that could probably be improved, I didn't pick up on many of them. This visit reassured my feelings of SFOG being my favorite Six Flags park, and I will definitely be back next fall to give Frightfest another try.

Thanks for reading!

Good trip report.

I agree that SFOG is definitely the Six Flags park that I feel most comfortable being in. I think SFGAdv and SFMM have better rides overall, but I get more out of a day at SFOG because of the atmosphere and the variety of rides they have. Goliath grows on me each time I ride. The only complaint I have with the older generation B&M hypers (pre-Behemoth and Diamondback) is that there's not much airtime in the front, but Goliath in the back more than delivers, especially when that trim is off.

It's nice to know that SFOG managed to reopen without too much trouble after the floods.

Great trip report. I, too, enjoy SFOG. It is a nice park with some fun rides!