coasterbear30

Erik, no we didn't get a chance to ride the slide. We weren't really looking to spend a lot of time there. We popped in, got our credits and then left. We missed our Gold Rush and Fiesta Express credits which sucked because I would have actually gotten my 50th credit that trip. The Florida pics are under the same heading (GA/FL Trip May 18-20, Day Two and Day Three.) You can look them up by my screen name. Thanks!

We did go to Wild Adventures. Look for the trip report, Day One. You can look it up by my posts. Thanks!

I love how we put up this trip report and no one even commented on it at all. Thanks guys. Makes us feel loved for all our hard work!

I heard that Carowinds is getting a B&M Mega next year. Someone said they saw footings. Any truth to this that anyone knows of?

Where did you sit when you rode the Cyclone Coasterbear? -Erik J I sat towards the front actually, but it wasn't just this year. The last couple of years that I have ridden it, it is very jerky and makes my back hurt every time. GASM isn't half as bad(unless you sit in the last car) and it is way older than Cyclone. I think the fact that it is all compacted into a small place combined with the fact that it is wooden makes it the roughest ride ever. If they would retrack it, I am sure it may be a great ride again. If not, then tear it down and give us something good!

I have only ridden 2: Vortex at Carowinds and GA Scorcher at SFOG. Scorcher is definitely the best, especially with the new paint job. It is really smooth. The loop has some great hang time and the hill still gives my heart a little bit of a thump. Good times!

I would definitely go to SFOG on Monday if you can. Saturdays during the summer are BRUTAL! The heat as well as the crowds are awful. I don't know what these other guys are talking about, but maybe they haven't ridden The Cyclone this year. SFOG is my home park and I only had to ride Cyclone one time this year and that will probably be the last time I EVER ride it. It was one of the, if not The roughest coaster I have ever been on. My back hurt after that ride. The only reason I would suggest that coaster is if you haven't gotten the credit yet. Otherwise I think that it should meet the same fate as Psyclone at Magic Mountain. As far as Goliath goes, you definitely want to get as many rides in as possible. IMO, it is the best coaster overall that I have ridden. The Canyon Blaster is a kinda fun mine ride that the line should be very short for. I don't think you will have a problem getting those two credits. Hope you have fun!

Just to let you guys know, we posted the last two days of our trip today. Feel free to check that out. Thanks!

We started the last day of our trip at Universal Studios Florida around 10 am Sunday morning. We decided to hit this park first as it only had two credits. We made a B-line to Mummy and received our first credit of the day. Universal has a winner on their hands, we felt. This ride can only be described as "SICK"! The theming of the queue was amazing. The sudden launches, turns and drops were astounding and unexpected. Add to that the special effects of water, fire, animatronics and video, this was by far the best ride at this park. We quickly traversed over to Woody Woodpecker's Nuthouse kiddie coaster to finalize our credits at this park. We then headed next door to Islands of Adventure and immediately got in line for Hulk. As the day before at BGT, the lines were very short here. The line for the front row proved to only be a 20 minute wait. Proving that this is his favorite coaster, the Hulk's launch system still pleases Scott everytime. It definitely went into Rob's top 5 ranking too. Next we grabbed a nice (but over-priced) frozen alcoholic beverage in Jurassic Park. You've gotta LOVE Florida parks!!! Again, the lines being extremely short, we hit Dueling Dragons. We started with Fire in the second row and then moved over to the front row on Ice. Ice proved to be the favorite of the two. The kiddie coaster, Flying Unicorn, was the longest line of the day at 40 minutes. We unfortunately missed a credit on Pteranodon Flyers as the line was 60 minutes in the blistering hot sun. Uh, no thanks. We intended to eat at the famous Mythos but apparently new hours prevented us from enjoying the cuisine. We missed closing by 30 minutes! Instead we settled for Enchanted Oak. We stood in line for Posiedon's Fury for 45 minutes before deciding it was a waste of time and left. We headed back to Superhero Island and went quickly through the line for Spiderman. Absolutely one of the best motion-simulated flat rides ever created! We also grabbed a ride on Storm Force and spun ourselves into a dizzying stupor. We hit one more ride on Hulk before heading back to Universal. We ended the day with a disappointing ride on Twister and Earthquake. Rob says "Other than Mummy, Universal Studios sucked a**!" (See picture below.)

Saturday, May 19th, we awoke to a beautiful Tampa day. We started our day with a PB&J smoothie from Smoothie King, a tradition for each coastering trip. We arrived at Busch Gardens around 11 am and headed straight to the back of the park for Kumba. The lines were surprisingly short all day and Kumba was an immediate walk-on. Rob's first ride on this classic late-90's scream machine made a great first impression for B&M sit-down coasters and ranked in his top 5. We headed next to Cheetah Chase, a first-time credit for both of us. Surprisingly smooth, it was the best Wild Mouse we had been on to date. We hit the nearby Phoenix swinging inverter ship and again later that evening. It was Rob's first experience on an inverted ship and he loved it. Again, close by, was the Scorpion...a pretty boring coaster but a credit nonetheless. We made our way back to the front of the park and hung a left towards Egypt to ride Scott's favorite inverted coaster ever, Montu. After a ride in the front row, it quickly became Rob's favorite as well. The lines were so short, we decided to hit it a couple more times that day. After a quick lunch at Zagora Cafe, we headed to the nearby Gwazi twin coaster. As usual, the ride ops refused to run the trains together, spoiling the whole racing/fly-by effect. We hit Tiger first, knowing from past experience, it was the roughest of the two. After a brief wait, we did the Lion side. The ride was fun but rough. We passed through the Hospitality House to take advantage of the free beer (since Scott loathes beer, Rob double-fisted a light and dark sample) and headed to Sheikra. The park was offering several displays of the impending floorless train conversion, including an actual train on display and a count-down reader board above the entrance. After waiting through the longest line of the park that day, Scott got two rides in a row on Sheikra, thanks to a wonderful Platinum Pass offering Ride Again privileges. We ended the day with a walk through of the Edge of Africa exhibit. With the intense thrill rides and animal exhibit combinations, Busch Gardens Tampa turned out to be Rob's favorite theme park ever. It has always been Scott's "home park". (See pictures below.)

I, Rob, and my buddy Scott (coasterfreak80) left Atlanta on May 18 at 6 am and drove to Wild Adventures in Valdosta, GA. When we arrived at the park at 10 am, it was pretty dead and we got "Rock Star parking". Upon arriving in the park, we got our first credit of the day on Ant Farm Express. We headed right next door to Bug Out which was good considering that the only Wild Mouse we have previously been on was Wild Lighting at Lake Winnie. Next was Swamp Thing, the most boring suspended coaster ever! Tiger Terror was a walk-on. All kiddie coasters featured two circuits: a good thing. Boomerang was next on the list with only a brief wait. Next up, we headed to Cheetah. This woodie had plenty of airtime, even in the front row, however the figure-eight finale was brutal on your back and butt. We did, however, give it a second chance and rode closer to the back. Hangman was next, which was the longest wait of the day, considering the park ops only ran one train. We missed two credits due to Fiesta Express and Gold Rush being temporarily out of service. After obtaining as many credits as possible, we decided to hit any open flat rides, which were limited due to most rides being out-of-service. Double Shot, a small air-lauched tower ride was okay. The Aviator was wicked high and freaky as h*ll. The best ride in the park (according to Scott) was Power Surge, a Zamperla out-of-control spinning flat ride. Overall this park wasn't the greatest but it was on the way to Florida and was not far off the interstate. (See photos below).

Ok, so you said that you don't like drop rides and neither do I, but how does TTD hill feel when coming down? I would think it would feel like a free fall and I don't know if I could handle it from that height. I have heard that it pushes you back in your seat because it is falling so fast, but I can't imagine it. This weekend I am about to experience Sheikra for the first time, so I will see how that is.

I can't believe me and my buddy Scott didn't run into you guys. We were there from about 12-4. It was our first time there and we had to get credits. I made him ride the Whacky Worm even though he didn't want to. I was like, Dude, it counts as a credit. He was so embarrased on the ride, but he did it anyway. Wish we would have known other TPR's were there. I was going to take my camera and do a PTR, but I forgot my camera and I guess you guys beat me to it!

Well I am christian too and in no way racist, so don't get offended.

I knew someone would ask about the avatar. If you look close it says, SF over South Georgia. You know, lots of racists there. Its a joke.

Yes, you could do them both in a weekend, but it would be very tiring. Carowinds is about 3 and a half hours away.

It is 50 dollars for a regular day pass and 70 for a season pass. How far is it from Dallas, Ga? About 10 minutes.

So last Saturday March the 10th, me and 3 friends decided to go to SFOG since it was opening day and their 40th anniversary. My friend and I have been waiting on coaster season to start all winter. We kept checking the weather and it was threatening to rain, but I figured "what kind of coaster nerd would I be if I didn't go on opening day and ride in the rain." As we left my place it was overcast and drizzling a little. We arrived in about 15 minutes and I waited on our friends as Scott got his season pass processed. My friends showed up shortly after and one of them also had to get his pass processed, which didn't take long at all. The rain had stopped, but it was pretty chilly. We went and jumped in line and were in the park by 10:05. By the looks, there weren't too many people here. We automatically went to Georgia Scorcher as it is the first ride you come to on the left side. When we entered the park we had seen that Scorcher got an all new paint job this year, BRIGHT yellow and purple, which were the colors before, but they are super bright now. It almost hurts your eyes. Anyway, I don't know if it got a new chain or what, but the trains go up much faster than they used too. It was a fun ride and it seemed smoother than normal, maybe because of the new paint job. Next we headed over to gotham city and got a ride on Batman and Mindbender. Then went back to Batman for a second ride in the front row. They were the same ole coasters, fun, but not the best. All the lines thus far were really short.Some were walk ons. Then we headed over for our first Goliath ride of the day. Line was all of 10 minutes. Still smooth as last year and the best coaster I've ridden. We then decided to get something to eat. Stopped at Panda express and dealt with extremely slow service. After lunch, we decided to hit Dahlonega Mine Train and Canyon Blaster so my friend Scott could get his credits. I am trying to turn him into a credit whore, but I don't think he's real into it yet. On the way over to the Cotton States part of the park, I wanted to ride the rockin tugboat for the heck of it since there was no one in the park. It was a fun little ride. I like rides that spin. Then we head over for a ride on Superman, but after getting in line, it broke down. We left and went to ride the GASM. The one thing I noticed about GASM is that they weren't slamming on the brakes at the end like usual. The brakes were heavy, but not slamming to a dead stop. We then went for a ride on Ninja(AKA-the death machine.) It looked to have gotten new wheels which made it a little smoother of a ride, but not much. After this was a spin on the wheelie. Deja Vu was of course closed, so no rides on that. When are they going to tear that thing down and give us something that works? I have ridden it 1 time in the 4 or 5 years its been there. My friends wanted to do the bumper cars, so they did that while I used the bathroom. Then we hit up Superman, as it was running again. Longest wait of the day, which was about 20 minutes. We sat in the back seat this time, which I had never done before. Loved it. I never want to ride anywhere else on the train. We then headed back to the middle of the park because my friends wanted to ride Acrophobia, which is actually working this year, after two years of "getting struck by lightening." I noticed that it is not rotating up the tower this year. Strange. After that, we headed to Georgia Cyclone for a ride. I figured even though it is the roughest coaster ever, it looked as if they had gotten new trains. Wrong, they had just been painted. It is still the roughest ride ever. Put that one on my list not to ride for the rest of the season. We went back to Goliath for a few more rides. It was almost a walk on every time. We rode it several times. Gosh, I love that coaster. My two friends left and Scott and I decided to Goliath once more in the very front car. I had never ridden in the front car because the line was always too long. WOW, what a rush. I never thought a front car ride could be so fast and seem to have more airtime than the back, but Goliath delivers. I almost couldn't hold my hands up, cause it kind of freaked me out. The wind in the front is crazy too. I had tears streaming down my face when we got back to the station. After that, we decided to get another ride on Scorcher as it was a walkon. Then we left the park around 5. The one thing I forgot to mention is that all the clouds cleared around 12 and it made to be a beautiful day. it ended up being around 75 degrees and actually got hot for a little while! Since the park was virtually empty(I would venture to say only about 500-1000 people in the park all day,) we had a blast. Rode everything we wanted several times. Glad that we decided to go despite the nastiness of the morning. Sorry there are no pics. I don't have a digital camera yet, but plan on getting one soon! Our ride brakedown for the day was: Georgia Scorcher-2 rides Mindbender-1 Batman-2 Goliath-6 Superman-1 GASM-1 Ninja-1 Wheelie-1 Rockin Tug-1 Canyon Blaster-1 Mine Train-1 Acrophobia-1 Georgia Cyclone-1

The roughest wood is definitely GA Cyclone at SFOG. I rode it a couple of weeks ago and I didn't remember it being that rough last year. My neck hurt for a while and I got slammed around a lot. The roughest steel is hands down Ninja at SFOG. I rode it again this year just to make sure I wasn't crazy and I wasn't. Terribly rough. Last year at the end, where it slams on breaks and the whole ride shakes (you think it might just collapse,) I slammed my knee into the back of the seat. I had a huge bruise from that ride.

The last one I rode is Goliath at SFOG. The best coaster I've ridden thus far, but I also haven't ridden that many. I think we have all seen enough pics of it, so I won't bother posting a pic!