xVicesAndVirtues

Nice trip report. I agree completely about Renegade, totally out-of-control coaster and they're keeping it in great shape. The slightly-smaller Intamin impulse coasters like Steel Venom surely pack more of a punch than Wicked Twister, and the freaky holding brakes make the thrill that much more. You didn't miss anything with Excalibur. I was excited, thinking it'd be a hidden Gemini, but instead it was just a whole lot of getting f*cked sideways by the Arrow coat hanger. Which hurts.

To quote Will Ferrell in Talladega Nights, "Why do you want to listen to the TV with the stereo on?!" In June, I went to Six Flags Fiesta Texas on a weekday and crowds were very light. 5 minute wait for Iron Rattler, walk-ons for Goliath and Poltergeist, 10-15 minute max for the 4D Free Fly. I go to Superman Krypton Coaster to find an hour and 15 minute wait. Totally floored, I asked the attendant if this was a mistake, if they'd recently gone down and just re-opened, etc. She tells me that they're doing VR right now, which is the cause of the long line. I go back two hours later and found that they weren't doing VR anymore at that time and that the wait was 5 minutes. There was some kind of complicated on-again, off-again VR schedule that even the line attendant didn't seem to get. SeaWorld, please do not let this be the case here. I agree with others that I shouldn't have to stand in an unnecessarily long line to ride an otherwise high-capacity ride for an experience I don't wish to participate in. I honestly have my doubts because just about every time I've visited the park in the past year or two, Kraken has run one train with four slow ride operators, waiting until everyone leaves then slowly meandering to open each closed restraint before opening the air gates. When I went a few months ago to ride Mako, operations were good at that attraction but I didn't even bother going to Kraken that day, expecting business as usual.

^I feel like "floatjector" actually sort of describes the airtime you get in a few spots on Fury 325. It's much more than B&M floater, but much less than Intamin ejector. You're going like 1,000mph so you're getting ejected(ish), but you don't have as much of a violent kick as El Toro or some of the RMCs. Only coaster I can really describe as having it.

While some of the mentioned conversions/replacements have been a net positive, there's a fine line between preserving some of the contrast and replacing rides that are truly too rough. Hulk is sort of a bad example for me to use, since it reportedly needed the replacement, but the last time I rode replacement Hulk, it seemed much tamer and new-school B&M in feel. Even my non-enthusiast friend who was with me said "well that seemed lame" at the end. Not sure if maybe the launch ends a few feet sooner, some dimensions and/or angles were tweaked ever so slightly, or if it just needs time to run longer, but it was apparent. I also was kind of bummed when I heard that Roar East was being RMC'd. I liked it a few years back and thought that SFDK could have really benefitted from having both a GCI and an RMC (ie Dollywood). I haven't been on Joker and I'm sure it's better, but Roar was still lost. On the other hand, there are some cases that needed it. Ninja/Blue Hawk totally sucked before the new trains. Vortex at CGA did, too. I guess it's just a be-careful-what-you-wish-for. Personally I love the character of some of the older Arrow loopers and I'd be bummed if all the B&M stand-ups were converted to floorless because a few people think they're too much.

Now for the third and final set of Dollywood photos. Thanks again for all the comments, guys! I so badly want to re-ride Lightning Rod that I'm trying to find time to go back again, perhaps before the end of the year or in the spring time. From where I was eating my aforementioned pork sandwich and baked beans, I had a bird's eye view of the back of the Chicken Lady! She's a huge hit with the kids and another big win for the family-friendly atmosphere here. That dad is like "uhh I hope I don't have to stand up too soon...I'll just take a video for later" At some point, I took another stroll down toward Lightning Rod, which was when I was told it would be closed the rest of the day. Proof that Dollywood reads TPR. They painted this after reading the Dollywood-Or-Bust guy's thread! Twelve pound pie for those who need a scooter to haul their fat a$$es around the park! I'm pleased to report that Thunderhead still hadn't developed unnecessary roughness by the end of that afternoon. Some funky Mystery Mine theming. It's a great overall experience with the mine theming, indoor/outdoor parts, and effects. But the coaster part stops a little too frequently for me. Also, some defensive riding is required due to the OTSRs. I'd really like to see some of the Gerstlauer Eurofighters get lap bar conversions. Since removing the ropes course, Dollywood has apparently added this awesome looking zip line experience. This is on top of my list of things to do next time I'm here with a friend or a group. This trip was a solo one due to it being planned last-minute. "Wild Eagle, Wild Eagle, Wild Eagle" theme song will drive you mad. Firechaser with just a few people in the back of the train. This was the sight all day, it was perfect. Wild Eagle ready to peck the sh*t out of you if you break the rules here. It's kind of odd how the Wing Coaster track just "sits on the floor" in the station, since we're used to the track being recessed on non-wing coasters. I was thinking about it at this very moment, so I took a picture. Now you'll think about it every time you see it, too. You're welcome. The first time you go to Dollywood, the entrance for Tennessee Tornado can be a little tricky to find. After that, you'll never have trouble finding it again due to the fact that it's one of the most re-rideable Arrow coasters out there. I must have rode it 10-15 times that day. I asked the line attendant what level of wetness this flume ride causes and received an answer of "sometimes not at all, sometimes soaked". "Sometimes soaked" is enough for me to walk away, as I dislike being wet. Excellent theming executed so simply, but so well. Who needs this to be the Joker's B*tch Poison Ivy Superman Threesome Coaster Swing when you can just stick half a barn on each side and call it a day? 100% better than stupid cardboard cut outs. And I'll leave you all with your obsession to drool over. Have a nice day!

Now, for partie deux of Dollywood. I continued making my way from Wilderness Pass to Craftsman's Valley, where as you can see, the place was still totally slammed. This section of the TR will be food-sign heavy, so brace yourselves. "Country Cookin' At It's Best" pretty much sums up Dollywood. Some of you guys would send a left nut to Dollywood in order to receive a loaf of cinnamon bread in return. I've had it before and it's GREAT, but it was extremely hot that day and eating heavy sweet, sugary foods tends to make me feel slowed-down a bit, so sadly I skipped on it. The grist mill with it's water wheel. The theming touches at Dollywood are all gorgeous. Pack-on-the-pounds buffet! Because the South! ...then, all of the sudden, I heard that they were looking for volunteers to participate in speed trials of their new prototype hot rod racer, Lightning Rod. Needless to say, I immediately obliged. The chalkboard summing up what it takes to run a totally bada$$ hot rod. Being a pretty big car enthusiast myself, this pretty much put two of my favorite things together. There are even exhaust headers as a prop in the queue! The view out the back windows of the station. I know that I'm the type of person that likes to hear a good review, especially of a new coaster that's proven to be evasive for some. Lightning Rod totally rocks. It's an extremely fast-paced ride. The only other time I can think of a "launched lift hill" being done is with Hulk, but this is totally different. Whereas Hulk kind of launches, coasts up the rest of the hill, then inverts, Lightning Rod hauls the entire way up, which is really invigorating and intense. Then you get airtime. Followed by a very strong first drop, especially in back row. The over-banked turns are funky like on Outlaw Run, then as everyone speculated since the layout was announced, the quadruple-down totally rules. You take the last over-banked turn at speed then hit the brakes going extremely fast, too. I'd say the only way it could be better would be if there was an extra hill or two to make it longer, but it's an amazing ride and you should seriously go ride it. How would I rank it? This is a really, really tough one for me, because I only got to ride it once. I'd say it's either almost as good, as good, or slightly better than El Toro, which is my favorite wood coaster out there. For now, I'd call it a tie. Which means that El Toro, Lightning Rod, and Expedition GeForce are all in a #1 tie orgy for my favorite coaster. Not bad company at all. A look at the station and the nicely-painted trains. I personally like the Gerstlauer trains on Iron Rattler more than the other RMC trains, since with the RMC trains you get a little bit of that Morgan hyper tub effect of sitting really low in them. But honestly, when you're riding an RMC, you don't give a crap about that. Why did I only ride once, you ask? Well, sadly, after I got one ride in back row, I went around and *just* as I was about to get on again, they called maintenance in for an issue. About 3 minutes later, they cleared the station, then about 2 hours later, announced that it would not open again for the rest of the day. However, I'm a glass-half-full kind of guy and I consider myself VERY lucky for getting my one ride in. Dollywood has been working hard all year to get this coaster open and it was apparent that they worked hard that day to get it to open in the first place, then to re-open again. Just gives me another great reason to get back to Dollywood ASAP. Oh f*ck it's the Intamin cable! That thing looks ready to shard my face or cut off my legs any second. Just nice scenery all around at Dollywood. Not a cloud in the sky that day meant that the sun was pretty harsh, but at least it was beautiful out. Yassss look at those wieners. Sadly, the train was also not running that day. I got to ride it on my last visit and it's a legit coal-burning steam engine, plus you get really nice views of the mountains and forest on it. Silver Dollar...am I back in Missouri again? Bar-B-Q corner and the nice lady that made me promise that I'd come back. Extremely friendly, genuine people work here. In case you need to confess your sins of rollercoaster fornication, there's a place to do that at Dollywood. ...but they even say "Fire In the Hole!" at the end. I went back to the nice lady, who happily made me this nice pulled pork sandwich with baked beans and fried potatoes. I promise I eat WAY more than pulled pork, but you wouldn't know it from my trip reports. One final look at Dollywood coming soon.

^Yeah, I heard people saying things like that all day. I knew it had to be a "polite" way of insulting people.

Alright, now the next part of the trip report was the whole purpose of planning this trip. Dollywood is pretty much perfect as far as theme parks go. They have a gorgeous setting, all of their coasters are good, they put time and effort into small things like landscaping and theming, and best of all is the food and their service. Sometimes I have moments where I feel like I'm getting sick of theme parks to some extent. I know that this sentence is akin to blasphemy on here, but sometimes it's just such a hassle. Waiting in never-ending lines at Six Flags even though I have a gold QBot, having to pass through better security than the President gets just to get into Universal, then having the metal detector wand shoved up my a$$ just to ride Dragons because I have a belt on, having to pay for lockers or face a stampede to get a free one, the list goes on. In case you're ever feeling this way, you're in need of a good ol' trip to Dollywood to walk yourself back from the edge. The employees at Dollywood say hi to you. They ask you how your day is going. They take your bags for you as you're getting on rides and place them on the side. They hustle. They'll hold a train for you if they just cleared the station and you're walking into it. None of these things by themselves are that big of a deal. But the sum of all the parts is a great experience, and therefore one of the best places to visit. Just from this trip alone, it'll be a long time before I go back to Six Flags over Georgia. I'll probably go back to Carowinds again in a few years, when their next big whatever is built. But if someone asked me if I wanted to go to Dollywood on my next free weekend, I'd be more than happy to go and keep going. I know that there are some industry folks on here from time to time. Please, send your people on a field trip to Dollywood. I'm sure you can find a way to write it off as "Research and Development". Can you old people get out of the way? I'm trying to get a picture of the Dollywood sign. Well, good to know that nothing has changed in this corner of the park since my last visit. Dolly's tour bus is still parked there, what a relief. Oh, something was added to this corner of the park after all. Something that was making me practically jizz my pants at this point...the top of this dude's head! Unfortunately at that exact moment at about 11:15 AM, Lightning Rod was having some issues and cycling empty. Dreams crushed, I waited a few minutes before deciding to come back shortly thereafter. It was so busy that day. The first Monday in September that wasn't Labor Day. Cha-ching. I like doing this thing where I say "Let's talk about ___"... ...so, let's talk about Thunderhead. Some of you b*tchers and moaners had me very, very concerned that one of my favorite wooden coasters had somehow become god-awfully Gwazi rough. Hand it to the wrecking ball, RMC it, barbecue it with that guy's TPR shirt. So, I faithfully boarded back row, bracing myself for Hades 360, back-row Voyage on a bad day, or budget-cut classic Six Flags woodie with it's balls cut off with trims and not one board replaced since Six Flags bought the place. Nice scenery they have here. Oh wait, I was telling you something. THUNDERHEAD IS NOT ROUGH. WTF IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE?!? There are a few slightly-jarring turns at the very end of the ride, but it's literally still my favorite GCI woodie. Fun drop, good floater air, cool twisty turns everywhere, a station fly-through, and a really nice, long layout. Honestly, Prowler and Renegade are both "rougher" than Thunderhead and they are both younger than it by 5 and 3 years, respectively. If you can't handle Thunderhead, you can't handle the majority of coasters, even steel ones that aren't Silver Bullet smooth. Want Silver Bullet smooth? Enjoy your boring coasters. Got a nice shot of Mystery Mine's dive loop and still-smooth-since-2004 Thunderhead from MM's exit ramp. Wild Eagle still being wild at the top of it's mountain. Bless it. (as the southerners would say...but I don't really get what it means, I feel like it's secretly an insult. Like "oh, you didn't wear pink on Wednesday, bless you") ...you're not the ropes course. Again, massive crowds today. So, since the last time I visited (during Wild Eagle's first year), the ropes course area was replaced by one of the best true family coasters out there, Firechaser Express! This is the perfect kind of "first coaster" for kids or those who are nervous about coasters. No scary drops, just some cool light launches, turns, and up-high views. I totally loved the "fireworks room" effect before the backwards blast. Not a very thrilling coaster, but really fun for everybody. Tennessee Tornado makes me really wish Arrow was still around. This coaster totally kicks a$$ and the drop is nuts, especially if you sit in the back and get whipped around the turn before really flying down that drop. Perfectly smooth, too! But I don't know, ask the Thunderhead-is-rough people! They'll probably prescribe a removal, RMC conversion, or Silver Bullet replacement because it's just too rough for their ointment-smeared a$$es. I'll leave this first bit with a view of one of the food menus, in case you were hungry. More Dollywood coming up.

^^I was kind of thinking maybe they'd store it for a year then send it somewhere like Great Escape. But I suppose maybe it's seen it's day.

This, in addition to the hopefully-open-by-2017 Gale Force make for a really great reason to go back to the Jersey Shore next year. And here I was only planning on going for the re-vamped SLC. The Infinity coasters are totally nuts in the best possible way, having been on both Karacho and Monster. Scary hangtime inversions with lapbars, I've literally never purposely tightened my lapbar as much as possible on any other coasters before except these.

^Totally worth it. Plus, if you're located in Cincinatti as your profile says, you can easily hit Dollywood and then cross over. The next set of photos: Oh crap. Banner announcing the upcoming "County Fair" section for 2017 You could walk through some of the (I think) soon-to-be scare zones, such as this grave yard, which is located on top of the hill before the entrance area to Afterburn Woah, woah. Carowinds employees, you may not approve of your CEO, but do you really need to resort to death threats? Station area shot of Top Gu...err Afterburn Afterburn is one of those B&M Inverts that nobody really ever mentions, but it's an extremely good one. It packs that "old-school B&M invert" punch that the more modern ones tend to be missing. Going through the vertical loop And out of the immelman. The first half of Afterburn is very similar to that of Montu, with the drop, loop, immelman, zero-g, batwing elements, only taken in slightly different directions. This corkscrew is NUTS. It snaps so hard in the middle that on my first ride, I slammed my ear into the restraint hard. I was more careful on subsequent rides to pull the other direction. Really great forces on here. It is a little short, though. Yeah, we see you Intimidator. The crowds at Carowinds were pretty much the same as they were at Six Flags the day before, but due to quick operations, the lines at Carowinds all looked like this. They were running everything at full capacity with 2-3 trains. Throwback to the time B&M did a few hypers with the funky staggered seating. It doesn't really add much to the forces, but the isolated feeling and openness on the outside seats is cool. I don't really get why Intimidator even needed an MCBR. As you can see, it just does a (slow) helix afterwards then hits the brakes. More cool Haunt stuff up, this area looked nicely themed. Had to give Vortex some love, but came away thinking it might benefit from a floorless conversion. The head-banging was definitely there on this one. One of the nice, new buildings in the new entrance plaza. The entire area really gives off a pleasant first/last impression. Carowinds - Now with more ways to split your body parts across the Carolinas! ...and where the Carolinas come together! One last view of "The Element" on the way out. As you can see, people really love watching it zoom by. Through the glass as the train goes by at 1,000mph again. Artsy-ish shot of "The Element" and the awesome sideways airtime moment. Being someone who appreciates good food, especially good southern BBQ, I did some searches the night before and decided that the best place to try out was Mac's Speed Shop. It's located about 3 miles from Carowinds, about a 7-9 minute drive depending on if you're stuck behind the North Carolinian going 20 under the speed limit or the one just doing 10 under. It did not disappoint! Great pulled pork, smoked mac 'n' cheese, and sweet-flavored cole slaw. They also had a great selection of beers and complimentary hush puppies before your food comes out! I'd highly recommend! Next up, Dollywood!

Thanks for all the comments, guys! Carowinds was up next. Everything I said about Six Flags from the day before was the opposite at Carowinds. This was also my first visit in several years, and where I found it to be sort of bland and soul-less on my last visit, I was impressed by the changes that have been made now. The last time I went was in 2010, Intimidator's inaugural year. Since then, they've seen a brand-new entrance plaza, the addition of Fury 325, the removal of Thunder Road, and the expansion of their waterpark. But they've also added all sorts of nice little touches like flower beds here and there, landscaping, etc, that really make the park shine. This park was 100% Cedar Fair on their A-game. Employees were friendly and operations were mostly strong, especially at the more popular attractions. The Fury 325 crew was really busting their butts getting trains out, with a digital board at the back of the station listing dispatches per hour, which the operator would use to shout-out their efficiency and keep the crew moving. Fury 325 was the only attraction I saw that has the mandatory-lockers policy, but it was enforced evenly and fairly, with the entrance greeter stopping everyone and informing them. Re-ride policy of walking back through the queue was enforced by the operators. In a nutshell, this was a complete 180 from the also-corporate park I visited the day prior. What a difference 250 miles can make. Now, pictures. Upon arrival, you'll see that the parking lot at Carowinds is still Intimidating... ...did you think I meant because of Intimidator? No! There are trucks with confederate flags, bumper stickers saying Trump is going to "Make America Great Again" everywhere, and people 100% decked out in camo. I wore the only pair of camo shorts I own here so I could blend in with the locals. I hear they have big guns, and I wasn't in the mood to be shot today. Oooh what do we have here? Cool sideways airtime, as I'd find out shortly. Fury interacting with the entrance area was great! People stopping to take photos with passing trains, etc. This coaster goes like 1,000mph! New sign, new coaster. I really love the new entrance plaza here. Finally getting to ride this one after opting not to wait in a 2-hour line on my last visit, which was on an Easter Sunday in 2008 or 2009. Carowinds was in full-swing of getting their haunt attractions up. They're scattered nicely throughout the park and a lot of them looked pretty neat. First up and close to the entrance, Intimidator! I'll be honest and say that if you put a blindfold on me and had me tell you which B&M hyper I was on, I wouldn't be able to guess. They're one of few coaster types that are "if you've ridden one, you've ridden them all", but they're still fun and full of some nice speed. Just don't go into it expecting the power of an Intamin hyper here. Ghost of Dale Earnhardt says to start your f*cking engine right now or you'll go to the NASCAR circle of hell. A nice tribute to the man outside the Intimidator entrance/exit, complete with a #3 stock car. You know Cedar Fair is starting to take it seriously when they add a Starbucks. A nice shaded area, now complete with ghoul-y thingys on top to haunt your children's nightmares. Let's talk about Fury for just a second. As a whole, I was totally impressed by it because I went in expecting just another B&M hyper. It has a seriously good drop in the back seat, some nutso sideways airtime coming off the turnaround element, and some really speedy turns. If you sit in front, you sometimes catch some actual ejector airtime on the first bunny hill on the return trip. But it also has some kind of ho-hum moments, such as the big, swooping helix. But as a whole, I think it's a huge step in the right direction for B&M in adding some intensity into their coasters, and easily the best project they've built in years. I never paid much attention when it was being built, so I never realized that Fury is themed to a pissed off wasp. I was never too afraid of bees growing up in New York, but in Florida a couple of these can easily make you their b*tch and leave you running for your life. Some sky, some Drop Tower, and Hurler sign. Hurler was ok. Some kids went and took the front, so I decided to subject myself to back row and prepared for the worst. It seems they've done a good job of keeping it mostly smooth, without some of the deadly jackhammering I found in the turns on the one at KD a few years back. Corkscrews over the path. I really disliked the random color scheme of this coaster, it was really ugly. Other than that, it was your run-of-the-mill Arrow looper. The trains had almost zero padding compared to what most of them include nowadays, but luckily this one was pretty smooth. Horrible color choices here. Leaving the orange track, into the loop. The wild mouse had no line so I went on it. The trims were on very lightly, so it really flew around some of the hairpins. I know I said in the coaster credits thread that I ride Boomerangs, but I didn't go on this one. I had a headache, probably from dehydration of it being 95 and humid, so I chose not to risk making it any worse. More Carowinds to come.

I'm sitting at 327. I usually ride things like boomerangs because some of them are actually kind of fun, then I subsequently count them in an Excel spreadsheet. I don't count things like powered coasters, re-locations (ie riding Invertigo at CGA then again at Dorney), or random events like Hulk being re-built. I guess it's partly for hobbyist purposes, partly so that if I'm filling out the Mitch Hawker poll I can remember if I rode one of the more insignificant credits like Comet at Waldameer, where I'd be like "did I ride that back in 2008?" I've never been on a Wacky Worm and I won't steal anyone's child to get one of the mini-coasters, and I think it's kind of creepy to ride some of the kiddie coasters, since people just look at you funny. I rode Woodstock Express on my trip to Carowinds (PTR updated soon) because I'd never been on any of the painted Cedar Fair woodies and wanted to see how it rode. I also would never plan a trip for dumb credits, and I agree with what's been said before, I'm not going to leave a major park where I'm having a good time, just to get some random credit. Now, if the major park closes at 6, the credit closes at 9, and it's on my way to where I'm going next, then maybe we'll stop by.

The rest of the Six Flags photos. Holy crap they managed to send out a train on Daredevil Dive! Call NBC!!! Perfectly clear, blue skies that day. I could have been outside enjoying myself but I was stuck at Six Flags. Such is adult life. Monster Mansion is still a pretty popular attraction. I asked the attendant permission to take photos inside and he green-lit me. Hopefully he knew what he was doing in allowing this. "Oh, I'm so glad you've came! I clogged my toilet and now the entire first floor is flooded!" Some chairs "Dear, can we take your boat to Disney World so I can be in a dark ride there? I was born to be more than a Six Flags dark ride girl" Typical acid-trippy dark ride stuff. The kiddie coaster in Superfriends got re-themed and re-painted since my last visit. It has nice theming and goes around the entire area. Some of the aforementioned beauty of Six Flags over Georgia. Nice waterfall feature and a scenic car ride along this hill. Why can't Six Flags care about their park? The all-new Hurricane Harbor looked nice and fresh. Maybe it's the alcohol talking, but dare I say that Blue Hawk was the highlight of this trip to SFoG? The new trains made for a very pleasant experience, despite some still-jarring directional change moments. It felt kind of "Rock 'N' Rollercoaster" with the new trains, sans launch. Sun is setting and the park is getting lit up. I remember someone mentioned in the RMC thread somewhere that Georgia Cyclone is beyond repair and should just be RMC'd. I don't think this person has ever ridden a good "Cyclone Clone", such as Viper at Six Flags Great America. Not to call you out or anything. The nice structure at the end of the Main Street area with fountains, all lit up at night. This is honestly such a beautiful Six Flags park. More of the Main Street area as everyone heads through the flood gates at the end of the night. And a pass by Frank Underwood's hometown to end the TR on a positive note. #Underwood2016

Like many of you, I've been wanting to go to Dollywood all summer to ride Lightning Rod. The first thing I'll say about this preceding sentence is that Dollywood doesn't need Lightning Rod. It's kind of like winning the lottery on your birthday. Winning the lottery is a great plus, but you would have had a great birthday without it anyway. Get it? No, I'm rambling for no reason. Well, since Dollywood announced that Lightning Rod was out of technical rehearsal the weekend prior, I switched my schedule around and managed to free up Saturday through Tuesday afternoon, in order to visit Six Flags over Georgia, Carowinds, and Dollywood. And they had to be in that order, because Six Flags and Carowinds were both open Sat/Sun and Dollywood was open Fri/Mon as well. Plus the idea of visiting Dollywood on a Monday in early September sounded like a great idea, and boy did that idea pay dividends. However, unfortunately I'm going to have to start off on a sort of negative note. I'm actually against doing this, being more of an optimistic guy myself who can overlook most situations that cause some people to grumble. But this experience was grumble-worthy. Six Flags over Georgia is a very nice park. Really, it is. It's got some nice hills, some pretty wooded areas, and a list of coasters and rides to boast about. I last visited here during the Mark Shapiro "let's fix Six Flags" era and walked away thinking that this is one of the best Six Flags parks. Oh boy, have things gone downhill here. I got to the park at about 4 PM on Saturday and immediately got a gold Flash Pass. I reserved Georgia Cyclone first as it was nearby, and immediately got buzzed in to go ride. As I walked up the Flash Pass entrance, I noticed that some people going through the Flash Pass entrance did not have Flash Passes at all, but proceeded into the station laughing about it. I also noticed that the employee stationed at the line-split in the station was standing with her back turned to both lines, looking down over the edge of the station, on her cell phone. I waited over a minute, then when she finally turned around, waved to her, and she scanned my flash pass. Next, as I waited for front row, I couldn't help but notice that there were no bags on the other side of the platform, so I was concerned that I missed a sign somewhere telling me to put my bag into a locker. I waited until the front platform attendant wasn't doing anything safety-related and I asked him, "Can I leave my bag on the side or do I need a locker?", and his reply was, "I don't care, leave it on the side or just bring it with you". Fast forward to a few stacking trains later, I put my bag on the other side of the platform, only to have the other-side platform attendant come tell me, very rudely, that I had to get a locker and would have to wait in line again. Now, I totally get it that the park has this policy, but there were no signs near or in the Flash Pass entrance about this and I was able to pass by two employees who didn't inform me of this policy. Well, this was unfortunate and had to be a fluke of the Georgia Cyclone crew, maybe that's where they send the newbies. Right? Next, I go to Georgia Scorcher, where I visibly can see the lockers, so I put my bag in one. I go through the Flash Pass entrance to find that the line-splitter at the station here is having a conversation with what appears to be some of his friends, and not only does he totally ignore me, but an entire train goes out with multiple empty rows because he didn't bother sending anyone to them. The crew in the station didn't care, either. They were too busy having their own conversations, with the restraint-checkers standing by the operating booth talking to the operating attendants, meanwhile the gates have been left open for over a minute. Same story when I go to Goliath next. Word has gotten out that Flash Pass entrances are a free-for-all, so more people are going up the stairs without them, without an attendant in sight. Again, the employees in the station are way more interested in having conversations with each other and taking their sweet time between emptying a train, opening gates, and checking restraints. I could go on and on, but this was all I saw all day. Line jumping in the stand-by lines, people going through Flash Pass entrances without consequence, etc. The operations here totally suck. There is a glaring failure of management here, because these employees do whatever they want without fear of consequence. To see such consistent behaviors across the entire park at nearly all attractions means that this has got to have been going on for a long time. I left thinking that I wish I had just made this a Carowinds and Dollywood weekend and not gone to Six Flags at all. I know that they are better than this. Six Flags over Georgia is a very nice park. There's a good mix of family and thrill rides, there's some real theming, and it's a little more unique in terms of attractions and layout. As I said, a couple years back this was one of the best Six Flags parks to me. A change in management is due. Anyway, the photos come now. Driving up I-285, you get some really cool views of planes departing and landing at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta airport, which is massive. The highway also has an underpass that goes under one of the runways, which is awesome to see. Unfortunately, there were no planes on it when I went under. Remember where you parked, The Flash is taking none of your sh*t today. Really nice entrance plaza with Goliath soaring by every 15 minutes or so when they decide to send a train. In case you got amnesia, this is Six Flags over Georgia. Six Flags went very "Cedar Fair" with Goliath's station and it looks really nice with the high-arching ceiling. Goliath going up it's lift View from the other side of Goliath. It's decent as far as B&M hypers go, with a few small pops of floater air on the return trip hills I waited about 2-3 minutes to try to get a train, then I gave up. Six Flags over Georgia probably has the nicest "Gotham City" area of any of the Six Flags parks. Other than Six Flags America, of course The Joker, best record-breaking looping coaster ever. Cool Gotham buildings and steel theming. I'm not sure if the "old steel" look is intentional or because they don't care enough to paint it, but it works. Mindbender and it's class of coasters is kind of like nice wine. You could easily load up on the Oak Leaf and get white girl wasted, but sometimes it's nice to sip and enjoy. Some nice loops pulling even nicer G-forces. Mindbender is like "Hey creek, remember the last time you left me under 20 feet of water?" Oh, I found where Six Flags over Georgia's operations went. Down drain #5. Batman the Ride twistyness. Mindbender swooping turn with some Gotham City columns. I'm going to go "glass-half-full" here and say it's theming and not paint budget cuts. More to come from SFoG.

I've only been on the following, but I'd rank them as such: 1. Outlaw Run 2. Wicked Cyclone 3. Iron Rattler 4. New Texas Giant But it's also kind of like saying "I'd rank El Toro first and Colossos last" on an Intamin woodies comparo. Also, it seems like all of them run the "tickler" wheels (they cause high friction and the entire train vibrates like someone's calling it the whole ride) for a short period some time close to opening. If you ride any of them and get this experience, ride it again at a later date. I rode Wicked Cyclone last year like this and was underwhelmed because it must have an impact on the lap time. I rode it this year and it was awesome.

I wonder what they mean by "complement...Alpine Freefalls", as if this is somehow going to use the same base structure with some modifications made. I know that space right there is pretty tight between the existing structure, the path, and the wave pool on one side, then the structure and the Comet on the other side. Or maybe they just mean it's also going into lower Splashwater and they'll install it over by the Bucket Brigade. Either way, despite the fact that everyone probably wishes Great Escape would get a new coaster, the water park is where they make money here. Splashwater Kingdom is also a uniquely good water park considering the caliber and size of the attractions in their dry park. I wish more admission-included water parks had as many attractions.

^I'm glad they are fixing the issue with seat choices on Superman. In July, I encountered an incredibly rude operator who made a huge deal out of it when I went directly to the front row after not being told to go to any specific row, and having visited in the past and been used to the old open-seating system. He made such a big deal out of it that someone took the place of the row he apparently wanted me to go to and I ended up getting a front row ride anyway.

^Thanks, man! I'll definitely be back in Missouri, hopefully next year. The exposed rocks, steep hills, and mountain views really made the drive down and back between Springfield and Branson gorgeous. I took quite a few pictures on my phone of all the scenery.

Alright, now finally time for the final part, Marvel Cave! Not only was the Marvel Cave tour a totally unique one for any other theme park, but the guide really added a lot to the experience. He was familiar with the animals that live in the cave, specific statistics of heights/widths/depths of the individual rooms, and sprinkled the group with little facts in some rooms and even give a great Branson history recap in another. Onto the photos. Nearly there now The guide explained to us that the entrance we took, the exit hole, and this opening are the only known openings of Marvel Cave. This is taken from just inside the top bit of the descent stairs. The initial descent stairs bring you to the bottom of the "Cathedral Room". This is the view up of the same opening from the bottom of the Cathedral Room. Photos just can't do it justice. One of the many dramatically beautiful passageways that you squeeze your way through. Marvel Cave will randomly leak it's cave goo down onto you when it feels the need to This is taken from the ascent back up at the end of the tour. The guide asked us to kindly look over the ledge to see how far up we've just climbed. We were at the bottom of the depths of this photo, about 500 feet down. Luckily there are these somewhat awkward hill-climbing trains to get us back up to the park. Reminded me a lot of a similar railway at Six Flags Magic Mountain Passing the other rail car going down the mountain to take our place The park closed a little early that Sunday, at 6PM. Got the last ride of the day on Outlaw Run, front row! What an outstanding coaster. Driving back up to Kansas City from Branson, you get nice views of mountains, clear skies, and nice clear air. Living in Orlando, you miss this kind of stuff. The highway through the Ozarks has a lot of exposed rock like this, just stunning! Back up in Kansas City the following day, the final stop was Arthur Bryant's Barbecue. This place has been voted "Best Barbecue In the World" and has been visited by several US Presidents A little bit of the Arthur Bryant's menu from inside the restaurant. Food porn alert. This is the Pulled Pork Sandwich with Fries. Kind of neat how they take a hunk of pulled pork, slap it down, throw a huge handful of fries on top, fold it over, then put your bread on the next sheet of wax paper. You have to do the sandwiching part yourself. Final view of downtown Kansas City before heading to the airport to fly back to Orlando. Thanks for reading, I appreciate all the comments! After a very detailed "you've been warned" inside the Hospitality House, you head out the back door and begin the descent.

Next part of SDC photos. After leaving the Outlaw Run area of the park, I couldn't help but notice a sign saying "Fried Oreos on a Stick", so here you have it, fried Oreos on a stick. They also top it with confectioner sugar and your choice of glaze, which I chose a maple glaze that was similar to doughnut glaze. I have a small stomach so I could only finish about half of this. I took some pictures to remind myself of the food options when deciding for dinner. This was one of the restaurants with great selections. Heading toward the other side of the park, you find this pretty lake to walk halfway around. Again, the scenery here is just great. Next up was the really cool themed area more oriented to kids, but brilliantly themed to firefighting. Who needs Looney Tunes or Snoopy when you can have a simple concept and do so much with it? The area incorporated a small S&S double-shot tower that included some crazy intense airtime. The ride ops were themed to firefighters. Stagecoach-themed flavored popcorn stand. More nice buildings and atmosphere Another thing I appreciated was how some (maybe all, I might have missed some) of SDC's areas include a micro-section map sign, which makes finding individual attractions easier to find than trying to scan a huge map of an entire park. The Grand Exposition Coaster, a small Zamperla coaster for the kids. I don't know how new these rides are, but the paint and maintenance made them all look brand new. Basic half-pipe model Disk'o The centerpiece to The Grand Exposition was "flying carousel" wave swinger ride. You can slowly spin this giant, heavy marble. One of the many skillet locations everyone raves about when they discuss SDC. Sorry for the lack of food porn here, again I was taking sign pictures for myself later. ThuNderaTion, one of the better Arrow Mine Train coasters. Bit of mine scenery inside TNT's queue. One of the only pictures you can get of Thunderation, since it goes out into the woods. Christmas in August! Kind of like Islands of Adventure, they have a year-round Christmas shop for those who can't get enough of it. The Hospitality House, where cave things happen, or at least where they begin. I was 99% sure that this was exaggerated for liability purposes. Nope! There are many spots in Marvel Cave where you need to do interesting acrobatics to avoid hitting your head on very real earth rock. Not the fake plaster kind you see at other parks. +1 SDC. Next up, Marvel Cave.

Day Four: Silver Dollar City What you've heard is true. This is easily one of the best theme parks in the US. This is one of those parks I had wanted to visit for a very long time and it did not disappoint at all. The *only* thing I could complain a little about was the fact that the park was running just one train on all coasters that day, a Sunday. Crowds were mild, but some of the coasters got 15-20 minute waits that would have minimal or no waits with 2 trains running. The western/southern theme is very immersive. It's location in the wooded, mountainous Ozarks gives it a natural landscape that other parks wish they had. Branson is geographically located not far from Arkansas, so the southern accents aren't theatre. This place is as legit as it gets. The only mistake I made here was doing this park in one day. You could easily spend two or three days here between re-riding the excellent coasters, eating incredible food, watching live craftsmen work their uh...craft, shows, or just admiring the scenery. Oh yeah, and they have a natural cave that's the reason for the location existing at all. I could write a 100-page book here complimenting the place, so here are the photos. I need to break this up into three posts because I just couldn't do it justice with one. Silver Dollar City has a really nice, beautifully landscaped entrance area. Given the namesake, see that gold dollar behind the axe? That's the sil...oh wait nvm. You actually can get a little confused by where the entrance gates are in the pre-entrance plaza, since it's so large and so beautiful. Luckily, this sign tells you where to go. Good to know. More on this later. More beautiful theming for the log flume. I was totally surprised to see this Hulk-style fixture in Wildfire's station. Wildfire, painted in camouflage and hidden among the trees. Lift hill shot. The drop really took me by surprise with it's kick in the back row. The only straight B&M drop I've ever experienced that with. As soon as that happened, I knew this was going to be a good coaster. B&M sitdown with Cobra Roll. Check. Look at the scenery here. Wildfire is against a very steep-grade hill and the view from the top of the lift is breathtaking. Right before that drop takes your breath away again. Really good coaster here with an atypical layout in comparison from the usual B&Ms. Not quite as good as Kumba or Hulk because it's significantly shorter, but it packs the punch that both offer. Just in about 2/3 the track length. This plant slightly obscuring the sign for Powder Keg, Blast in the Wilderness! Where the blasting takes place. Well-themed Powder Keg station. Make sure you keep your stuff as far away as possible from that box of TNT. That crap might blow any second! When Powder keg rolls back, you go back onto this hill, fly off the end.... ...and land here. "16 people died in an accident on Powder Keg" - RCT A little blurry, but one of the multiple craftsmen shops here at SDC. Volunteers Needed at Fire in the Hole. More beauty of this park. Here the path goes under SDC's railroad. Wilson Farms Giant Barn Swing. I really love the barn theme SDC and Dollywood both have for their S&S Screamin' Swings "Your stagecoach heads west in 15 minutes" Don't keep the stage waiting! Me wetting myself with excitement as the train returns to the station. This was about to be my first wooden RMC. The lift hill, followed by the madness. It's hard to get good pictures of Outlaw Run, since it's mostly outside the existing park boundaries. Outlaw Run is an insanely good coaster. It's my number two woodie overall after El Toro, and I was surprised by how much it "rides" like the Intamin woodies. The airtime is insane, great speed, and it never lets up until the end. It's developed a few "bumps" kind of like the Intamin woodies have, especially after the first drop, going into the stall turn, and right after it. Even so, it's still very re-rideable and just excellent overall. Neat little DIY rides for families next to the Giant Barn Swing. Scenic view of their river rapids ride walking along the path to/from Giant Barn Swing and Outlaw Run. More to come!

^Valleyfair is actually totally worth it, I liked the park way more than I thought I ever would...and honestly they probably won't be getting a major new coaster any time soon. As far as airtime on Wild Thing's second hill, it's kind of like the smaller of Millennium Force's speed hills, where you don't get much airtime but you just fly over it quickly and it's a cool effect.

Day Three: Worlds of Fun I was at this park on a Saturday and it was pretty darn busy, but luckily the Fast Lane system was both affordable at $50 per person for an all day, unlimited wristband, and easy to use, as you just walk up, show your wristband, and enter through the Fast Lane entrance. I used to think QBots were my favorite system of skipping lines in all their technological glory, but I think I like this system best, since it's so simple. No waiting, no reserving, just show up and ride. I was slightly underwhelmed by Worlds of Fun. Not disappointed, I just thought that the park would be bigger for some reason and I went away thinking that they need a stand-out attraction. I also went into it way too excited for Prowler, and while it was a really good coaster, there are several spots on the ride that need re-tracking quite badly. But the ending hills are about as good as GCI gets in the airtime department. As a whole though, I prefer Renegade. Oh say, can you see Artsy Patriot shot is about at artsy as I get. A good coaster that any park lacking a B&M Invert would be lucky to have, but Patriot is in the Silver Bullet/Great Bear camp of tier-two inverts. Don't expect that punch that you get from Raptor, Dragons, or Montu here. Patriot was the last "custom" B&M Inverted coaster I had left in North America to ride. Now I'm just missing two BTR clones to complete the collection. That's a milestone, right? Again, some nice Cedar Fair landscaping adding a little charm to the park Timber Wolf is as forgettable as they come, but it has a really nice long layout. If this ever gets looked at for RMCification, they'll have a lot of coaster to work with. Something's off about these towers. The ride itself only goes up to about 75% of the tower itself, then above it is hollow structure. But why? I'm pretty sure this is the only instance where S&S has done this. Mamba. Almost identical to Steel Force, see my aforementioned comments about Morgan hypers. Maybe I got it on a good day, but it seemed slightly smoother than the rest. Fast Lane is as simple as this. The best way to get two laps around Worlds of Fun in under 3 hours on a busy Saturday. I love the rotating platform river rapids rides. I had a nostalgia moment back to being a kid at The Great Escape, standing on the moving platform and looking down, psyching myself out as to whether the platform was moving or if the center was moving. No, Worlds of Fun does not feature a simulated effects experience narrated by Bill Paxton and Helen Hunt. They've got the real deal. A boomerang. This was one of the smoother ones. I always ride in the back of the front car, put my hands out and push myself into my seat to force my center of gravity into my lap. Headbanging eliminated. D-I-N-O-S-A-U-R a Dino Store! Wooden coasters themed to cats get a big thumbs-up in my book. Really great coaster, just needs some TLC in the re-tracking department. Some of those turns are nearing Gwazi brutal. On my second lap, I noticed what I didn't notice on my first, this nice log flume going through the wooded area near the front of the park. Worlds of Fun also features the same standard Gerstlauer spinning coaster found at Nick Universe and the Big Spin coasters in the Six Flags chain. These are decent fun and the small airtime hill near the end can really get you if you're facing backward or sideways. Some nice landscaping and Patriot's nicely-designed station. I wish Six Flags parks could spend just a little less on the superhero names once in a while and take a page out of Cedar Fair's landscaping book. Even though the "theme" is always bland, they really do a nice presentation. Patriot corkscrew you. Some people flying off the Windseeker Caribou Coffee is all the rage in this area of the Midwest. At the parks, in plazas, at the airport, it was everywhere. Yet I failed to try it. After leaving Worlds of Fun, I was headed down to Branson for the night when this happened. I'll admit that I have a lead foot, so I usually use my cruise control on longer drives to avoid speeding. However, my red Hyundai Accent tragically lacked cruise control, and going down one of the huge hills getting into the Ozarks, a nice Missouri State Trooper couldn't help but notice I was doing 83 in a 65. Sorry 'bout it.

Day Two: A Morning at Valleyfair and an evening at Mall of America. One thing I just want to say about Valleyfair is that I really liked the park quite a lot. People seem to trash talk it, and it’s not Cedar Point in terms of coasters or Dollywood in terms of quality, but it’s a decent mid-sized park with some above-average attractions, plus Renegade, which I thought was excellent. I was also really surprised by how far back it goes when you take the path to Renegade and Excalibur. It seems they really could do a lot with that back half space. Good morning, Valleyfair! I thought the Wild Thing parking lot interaction was a really great way to enter the park. The very 90s/2000s Cedar Fair entrance. I was really surprised by how small the entrance and turnstile area was, but I guess this park might not need it. Good news! The RCT lawn mower guy got a nice pay increase to come mow his straight lines at Valleyfair! The front end corner with Steel Venom, an always-good Intamin Impulse coaster with holding brake. If you're fond of Cedar Point, there are some nice parallels between that park and Valleyfair. They have exactly the same (I think) loop and corkscrew coaster. This one has been maintained pretty well, I rode in the back row with no headbanging whatsoever. For you lift hill people, the stairway to Wild Thing heaven. I found that Wild Thing kind of fits in with the rest of the standard Morgan hypers. They're kind of all the same in terms of ride experience. They're okay, but really not all that memorable. The only thing I found to be a good surprise on Wild Thing was the small second hill, which it flew over pretty quickly. High Roller entrance. It almost rolls back on it's second hill. It reminds me of the hilariously slow turn-around on Grizzly at CGA. Valleyfair won a Trabant on Wheel of Fortune. And here everyone else gets kitchen sets, the world's most boring convertible, or a trip to a cruise company-owned island where Americans can hang out with each other. Another Cedar Point parallel, or so I thought. I kept forgetting that Excalibur exists, so I was slightly surprised to see it back there. "Neat, half of Gemini", I thought. It had some cool Gemini-like drops, but the rest was pure Arrow Coat Hanger: The Ride. Hi, Renegade! You're hard to get pictures of from inside the park. Let's talk about Renegade. I went into this trip thinking "Yes, I finally will ride Prowler!", but my biggest take-away from this trip is that Renegade is one of the most under-rated GCI coasters out there. The S-drop was nuts in the back seat, tons of leapy downward turns, and a ride that didn't let up until the end. Standing since 2007, I have no idea if this has been re-tracked but I was shocked by how smooth it was for the types of elements it had. Really, really awesome. Maybe the best GCI I've been on, I have to re-ride Thunderhead to decide. You thought you weren't going to have to look at another picture of Wild Thing doing it's big parking lot turn? Wild Thing is a hypercoaster. So it does one of these 200 foot drops. Neat-looking train tunnel that the path crosses close to. Valleyfair also has some nicely landscaped and lightly-themed areas such as this. One last look at Valleyfair's S&S Corner with their Screamin Swing and tower complex. I don't understand why some Cedar Fair parks have a free large-scale Screamin Swing and why others have an upcharge small-scale model. Nick Universe and Mall of America itself are both cool places. I expected to have to enter through a hallway somewhere to a separate building holding the park, but it's literally just in the center of the mall, open to everything. The way everything is put together here to fill the space is awesome. There are also multiple restaurants and spaces to just hang out and view the park. If you forgot what park you were looking at photos of. When you crest this lift, you feel as though you're about to crack your head on the roof of the mall. Rock Bottom Plunge is the smoothest OTSR-included Eurofighter I've done. As I've gotten into my later 20s, I've had a decrease in tolerance for "spin and puke" type of rides. I was concerned going into this one, but it was actually awesome. I wish I had taken a picture of the ride itself, but you all know what it looks like. You get some serious spin and sideways airtime on these Intamin half-pipes. As I frantically opened my camera app to get the splash photo, I had a momentary lapse of memory on how to hold a camera still. This was one of the best log flumes I've been on and you don't really get wet at all. People were taking expensive shopping bags on, so the lack of wetness seemed to be general knowledge. The dark ride parts of this log flume really made it, plus a surprise drop or two and really great views of the park from the higher parts. This flume was way longer than I expected it to be. I never visited this park before it's Nick Universe days, but as you can see, the detail level and theming of this park was great. The Nickelodeon characters and themes were integrated into the rides, signage, and colors so well that it seems as if it's never been anything but Nick Universe. I didn't visit SeaLife but they do a Nick Universe/SeaLife combo ticket that was a good deal. "Where did you get your clothes?" "Oh, I found them in the garage" "It's not the food court...it's Culinary...on North"