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When I arrived, I met the day's first and biggest disappointment--X Flight was closed for the day. I was tempted to turn around at the gate and return another day, but I decided another day may not come until next year, thus, I continued my journey.
The enterace area had not changed much, still very pleasant with a little fountain at the center and a number of giftshops all around. With X Flight off the list of things to ride, I went to the next biggest coaster in the park, Batman: Knight Flight. The wait wasn't bad considering the park had just opened. This was my first floorless coaster, and I was quite pleased (pleased enough that a large picture of the ride now dominates my desktop).
As I said, the closing of X Flight was the first disappointment of the day...first implying that there were other disappointments to follow. As luck would have it, we got on Batman just in time, for as we pulled into the station, the operators proclaimed that the ride would be closed due to lightning in the area. Henceforth, all major rides were shut down. This did give me time for wandering about the park, eating, and taking a peek at the new Boomtown section of the park. Strangely, although all coasters and outdoor rides were closed, Boomtowns numerous water attractions remained open. After eating and wandering, I then proceeded to The Villain, hoping that the storm would soon subside (it had been raining for about an hour...not excrutiating rain, just enough to make everyone miserable).
I arrived at the enterance to The Villain and placed myself upon a rock just outside the que line...a rock upon which I remained for another hour, as the small group of guests infront dwindled down to...no one...I was first in line...hurrah! There was a notable crowd behind, but I was at the head, so I sat there discontented, yet pleased at my fortunate front-of-the-line-ness. After a tedious hour of waiting and endless announcements of, "Attention in the park, attention in the park. Due to lightning in the area, all major rides will be shut down," the operator finally released us into the que area, through which we swiftly gaited. Arriving at the loading station, I placed myself in the front spot for the front seat...the wait would finally pay off. After waiting for about another ten minutes (due to ride testing), I boarded in exhuberance and departed on my excursion. While I found The Villain to be a bit rough, it was a very enjoyable ride (definately worth the wait). Now it came time to ride three of the other coasters within the park which I had not ridden in the Geauga Lake days.
The first was Serial Thriller, which to my surprise was a clone of The Great Nor Easter at Morey's Piers (I later learned that clones of SLCs are very common). On a side note, this was my 70th coaster, which was quite a proud moment for me. This was a very good ride, and I was surprised to find that it was much smoother than The Great Nor Easter, perhaps due to the extra padding on the shoulder harnesses, or perhaps simply because it's a newer ride.
Superman Ultimate Escape was next. This was another first for me, being my first Intamin Shuttle coaster. I only waited about a half an hour for this one, which isn't bad considering I had waited for the front seat. I must say, this one was a real treat, and the ride operator added a bit of humor before the launch by couting down, slowly at first, and then blurting out, "3-2-1," real fast and launched the ride when no one expected it.
Next up was the Mind Eraser, which I had feared during my visit to Geauga Lake about 6 years earlier (I was only about 10 years old though, so such fears are excusable). By this time, I had already ridden a few other boomerang coasters, so this one was no problem. I was pleasantly surprised to find that this was the smoothest boomerang coaster I had ever ridden (a big improvement from the Morey's Piers' Sea Serpent and a bit better than the Hersheypark Sidewinder). Now came time for more food.
After dinner, I went out and rode a few of the older rides in the park (Raging Wolfbobs and such). I eventually got on Roadrunner Express, which boasted the longest train I have ever seen on a kiddie coaster...20 cars. It actually looked rather absurd, but this coaster was surprisingly enjoyable. Then I took a few more rides on the two superhero coasters before the park closed.
Overall, the park was very nice. The prices were reasonable (food was rather high, but admission and souvenirs were priced well). It was also a very clean park, and although it's basically a Geauga Lake with a couple extra coasters, it's still a very enjoyable park (didn't get to see Bugs Bunny though, which was a bit of a let down). This was my first Six Flags park ever, and I was quite satisfied.
Ratings
Coasters: 10
Other Rides: 6
Aesthetics/Theming: 8
Prices: 8
Service: 6
Overall: 7.6
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