Six Flags Mexico 8/18
Associated parks:
None
[NOTE - this is just a quick wrap-up of my recent visit to SFM. If anyone would like a more detailed report on either of the two parks in Mexico City or the sights of the city itself -- including travel tips -- please send me an e-mail.]
Sunday, Aug 18th - Six Flags Mexico
This was the last day of summer vacation for kids in Mexico City. With school starting the next day, the park's operating scheduled moved to "off-season" meaning they would be closed for the rest of my visit. With a 4pm landing at the airport and a 1 hour drive I'd have 4 hours to explore the park.
Thankfully the crowds were quite managable and operations were top-notch, with dispatches at a minute or less on multi-train operations. In a nutshell SFM is a clean, gorgeous park with extensively-themed well operated rides, although I'm not sure how much credit Six Flags can take for its beauty as it was only branded last year. Still, having visited other parks recently branded under the Six Flags name this is one that gets it all right.
OK...on to the coasters:
Batman The Ride - Vekoma SLC. Typical of this model, the ride was quite jerky, with both front-to-back and side-to-side shuffling. Not the worst SLC I've ever ridden but not the best. Grade - C.
Boomerang - Vekoma. This is a very early production model of the Boomerang. According to rcdb.com it is either model #1 or #2 and opened in 1982 when the park was called Reino Aventura [Adventure King]. For a model of its age it runs very well. Not quite as good as Lake Compounce's Zoomerang, the best run and best maintained 'Rang I've ridden, but much better than many other newer models I've ridden. Grade - B+.
Tsunami - Zierer family coaster. This is a standard model as seen at SFWoA [Roadrunner] or SFNE [Poison Ivy]. Built around lush landscaping, waterfalls, and rock formations and tunnels this coaster was a joy to ride. Grade - A.
Roller - Vekoma rollerskater. I actually skipped this coaster but not for reasons one might think. With 11 coasters in Mexico City I was scheduled to hit #300 had I been able to ride each of them. Because I wanted to reserve that milestone for when I was with friends, I skipped Roller. Had I known I was only going to pick up 6 of the 11 coasters I would have ridden it...D'oh
Medusa - CCI. This is the only non-clone found at the park...for now. Medusa has a great, twisted layout that is a Boss-Rampage hybrid [first half Boss, second half Rampage]. The coaster is a rather formidable pressence built at the front of the park high up on the side of a hill. Because its built on slope the drops are longer than the structure is tall. The bottom of many of the drops are shrouded by dense trees and vines which makes it a tough coaster to photograph. Unfortunately thats about all the positive things I can say about Medusa.
The ride runs two Gestlauer trains which track terribly. Lots of shuffle and jackhammering. Since the layout is quite twisted there are heavy laterals, which means one's thighs take quite a beating on the lapbars. Despite the long drops I didn't find much more than hints of air in both the very front and very back of the trains, and I was NOT stapled on any of my rides. A fun coaster with a ton of potential if the park would give it some TLC. As it runs now: Grade - C.
Despite having a lot of coaster clones Six Flags Mexico is one of the best Six Flags parks I've ever visited. Its VERY clean, has excellent theming, excellent operatons, friendly ride ops, and has a TON of flat rides - many unique - with very long cycles.
Construction of the park's 2003 coaster, the Morgan hyper Escape de Superman, is underway. There is no track or supports erected yet but a section of the park is walled off and station construction looks to be in progress.
Next up - La Feria de Chapultapec Park
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"I am so smart! I am so smart! S-M-R-T! I mean S-M-A-R-T!" - Homer Simpson
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-Sean
That's really too bad about Medusa. I remember CCI had a video of it up at their website, and I thought the layout and setting looked spectacular. As you know, I was really looking forward to hearing more about it.
Do the G-Trains generally bother you, and if so, do you think someone more tolerant may be a little more forgiving to the ride?
Was there any signage up in the park about the hyper, or is it on the dl?
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"The perfect machine, you seemed to be, when I built you up in my mind..." - Reverend Jon Autry
*** This post was edited by chris on 8/26/2002. ***
chris - I am not a fan of Gerstlauer trains. The only G-trains I've experienced tracking well was the one on Legend. My major beef with them is how painful they are on major laterals. Come on...there is a reason the term "Gerstlauer Thighs" exists!
As I said, Medusa has a TON of potential. It has a great layout but just needs some TLC. The "GP" certainly loved it and I didn't hate my rides. Since I was riding at the end of their "season" I realize it may have very well have been better earlier in the year, and that is when ACE is having thier conference next year: in the Spring.
If anything what ACE should worry about is La Feria's Montana de Rusa. According to a friend of mine who lives and works in Mexico City its been down for at least a year even tho CCI has just completely retracked it in the mid-90's. More on that in my other Trip Report.
As for the Morgan hyper, there has been no official announcement from the park nor it is advertised anywhere inside the park. The walls covering the construction are at the far end of a cul-de-sac where Batman The Ride resides, so I doubt many guests even know there is construction happening.
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"I am so smart! I am so smart! S-M-R-T! I mean S-M-A-R-T!" - Homer Simpson
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