SFOG1991

Of the parks I have visited (SFOG, SFKK, SFOT, SFDK, SFGAdv, SFA, SFStL) 1. SFOG - I didn't realize how glad I am to have this as a home park until I visited the other properties. Not a bad ride in the park and definitely the nicest looking park. Goliath and Mind Bender may both be the best of their kind. GASM is great too. Overall they don't have any bad coaster and Monster Mansion is a gem. Operations are unreliable, sometimes good sometimes bad, and the patrons used to be terrible but have improved to being average. Some days operations and crowds are just both a mess though. 2. SFGAdv - The standout coasters really help this park ranking, but the safari is also amazing. I was genuinely surprised by it's size and quality. Overall, the coaster lineup is good with a few that really stand out. The park's look is decent, but I'm not a fan of the layout. Crowds can be really bad but it is what it is. 3. SFOT - Almost made my #2 spot, and I may change my mind. I thought this park would be on par with SFOG as I love the vintage Six Flags charm that remains but only the older sections of the park were nice. It was still a very attractive park overall, just not nearly as nice as SFOG. The coaster lineup is solid but I expected a bit more from Shockwave after riding Mind Bender. Titan is intense and New Texas Giant is amazing. Overall very well rounded park. 4. SFDK - I was pleasantly surprised by this park. It may not be huge in the rides department but it looked so nice I didn't think I was at a Six Flags and the crowds were much more appealing than other parks I have been to. Medusa and Superman were both great! It still just can't compare to the top 3 spots due to size, overall appeal, and ride collection. 5. SFStL - I expected more from this park in pretty much every way, but it has a decent coaster line up and some classic Six Flags charm. I just left feeling like this park could use a lot of love and it was smaller and more awkward than I expected. 6. SFA - This park actually exceeded my expectations, but my expectations were low. It and St. Louis rank very closely but the patrons here are worse and the overall ride line up isn't as good. Superman is great. The park is actually really pretty until you get past Wild One where things are just awkwardly scattered among a field. There is a ton of potential though. 7. SFKK - I went back during the Six Flags days, and it actually wasn't a bad park. It just didn't have a lot of things the other parks had. Chang was really good as well as their shuttle loop. The water park was decent and Deluge was awesome. I can't wait to get back as I feel like the new KK will be far superior even with the loss of attractions (RIP Schwarzkopf gem).

I feel like the Breakdance would look really cool over by Coasters and Hurler if there is any space over there. Honestly the park could use some flats between coasters so anywhere they have space will be perfect. All of these are great flats and I will definitely be back to the park when they open! Seriously probably my favorite 5 flats they could have chosen. Top Scans are ridiculously intense and possibly my favorite flat. Can't wait!

^For the 2 users above visiting the park this summer, the lines aren't bad and you really only need one day at the park. If you are traveling by car I would suggest adding a second park that lines up with whatever direction you are traveling (KD, SFOG, Dollywood) unless one of those is a park you are already going to or have been to enough to be satisfied. Have fun at Carowinds! There are rarely any lines during weekdays other than Nighthawk and since most of the park's line up is very average you will have plenty of time for Fury. Be warned Intimidator is good but not great and if you ride Fury first you may be underwhelmed. Afterburn is awesome. The rest of the coasters are meh but if you like classic Arrows that will help! I am a fan as well. Don't miss the flyers! The operators encourage snapping and that is a classic model from the 1940s(?).

It's great that ticket revenue is up (as long as that is translating well in terms of overall profits. Revenue is not profit) and that attendance is up, but both those can be bad things long term. If Six Flags is going to aggressively push for higher attendance as they have been, they need to have the ride capacity and service capacity to manage it. I spent many days last season at PACKED Six Flags parks with 3 hour lines and I also had to wait 1 hour and 15 minutes for chicken strips.............. The article mentions that season pass and memberships account for 56% of attendance. I think that may be more a problem than a good thing. Six Flags has made season passes and memberships painfully cheap while raising ticket prices. What do we get from that? Overcrowding of parks that can't manage the crowd they are dealing with. I know it isn't this simple, but if Six Flags found a way to operate where season passes were $100 instead of $50, I would happily pay. Cedar Fair holds strong pricing and introduces rides that for the most part have a large capacity. Their new food court concept also manages crowds well. I am not a fan of Cedar Fair overall but they seem to have a much stronger long term plan while Six Flags seems interested in just growing revenue and attendance at any cost. I am not an expert on the topic so if I am wrong I won't be offended, that is just how I see it. I would love to hear what other people here think. I'm glad the company is doing well though.

I hope HITP is a success for them! If the park can really bring a quality experience and manage to not just draw in a large crowd first season, but also impress them, it may work. I just feel like competition with places like Busch Gardens Williamsburg is stronger during the holiday season. I know SFA is more local for DC residents but there is still competition. I honestly feel like HITP would work for just about every Six Flags property except maybe those that are so far north that coaster operations would be near impossible most days. I have a feeling the back of the park will not be open, which would be a bummer since SROS is easily the star of the park. I would go regardless if I was a local. HITP has worked wonderfully down here at SFOG (they even expanded it this past holiday season, so now almost the entire park is included and the hours are 2pm-10pm every day of operation, as opposed to the former 4pm-10pm pre-xmas and 2pm-8pm after), and the "Six Flags" experience really transforms into more than you would expect from Six Flags, so I only see it as a good thing if SFA executes the event even half as well. Extended coaster season at the very least!

This is true!! Awesome rapids ride.. I have gotten bloody fingers and scrapes on it several times from being knocked around.. But it's a fun knocked around. I love it ha-ha.. I too have experienced some bruising to the legs and hips from being ricocheted when the boat hits a rock. It's great though! I've also embarrassingly choked after taking a water cannon directly in the mouth and nose.

Thunder River is definitely worth it just because it is so realistic visually and also very intense for a rapids ride. You get thrown around a good bit, pick up speed in the tunnel which causes the boat to feel like it will capsize when you hit the rapids at the end (it literally covers half the boat entirely), and between the waterfalls, the more intense rapids, and the high power water cannons, you will get either wet or completely drenched. The water cannons are tons of fun to operate. Log Jamboree is fun, but short. If the line isn't long and you don't feel tight on time it's a fun ride, but it isn't a must ride at all. Splashwater Falls is a standard boat chute ride that is not worth riding. Even if you have time, there are too many better rides to go on. All of the water rides used to open on opening day, but that isn't the case anymore. However, I believe they are always open by spring break so you should be fine. I have seen them not operate Thunder River on oddly colder days in April, but that's rare. Don't miss Canyon Blaster (soon to become Joker Funhouse Coaster). It may seem like a kiddie coaster, and it is short, but in the back row you actually get some decent ejector air on the first drop, and the ride goes pretty fast. The funhouse theming should add to it as well. Dahlonega Mine Train is also a fun one, but it will beat you up a bit with its hard seats. If you ride near the back the rows don't line up in the queue so there is always a ton of confusion. People try to take my row all the time because it looks like their row. Acrophobia is rather terrifying with its stand up seats and 15 degree tilting of the seats at the top. It makes it much scarier than the rest of the third gen Intamin drop towers. The bacon cheddar ranch waffle fries to the left once you enter the park are ridiculously tasty. They have them with chicken as well. Really good quality. Miner's Cookhouse in Lickskillet is pretty good quality and one of the nicer indoor dining options. The wild west comedy gunfight show is just outside and is an SFOG staple. It's a great way to spend your time eating so if you line up your lunch with the show that's a great way to do it. Daddy'Os BBQ is also pretty good. The front of the park has a deli which has some healthier options and I know Big Mo's on The Square has turkey burgers and black bean burgers. Food lines get ridiculous and are very slow so you might want to avoid prime meal times if the park is crowded. I waited for over an hour at Big Mo's on a busy day. That's it for today's segment of tips and rambling!

Peach Mello Yello is

I believe it was 1 train during HITP, but so was Mind Bender and it wasn't restricted. I think they did the restriction just because Gotham City was new to HITP and the new rides are in that area (Our park has a really impressive Gotham City at this point). Also, the very back of the park wasn't included in HITP so maybe they were just trying to limit the amount of Flash Passers at Batman. Flash Pass enters through the exit and it gets very congested and hard to get through so they are probably just trying to prevent that traffic jam which can get pretty bad. Batman has always been one of the most popular but its popularity has increased with the expansions to Gotham City and with having Batman Backwards last year. Hopefully they will update the Flash Pass page, but I am assuming that rule will go away. Our park hasn't added a lot in terms of thrills (other than the standard Super Loop and Star Flyer), but what they have added is well above the usual Six Flags standard (The Gotham City additions are both impressive looking). Also, the park has invested a lot into the infrastructure of the park, so it definitely meets the expectation of being one of the nicest looking parks in the chain. I highly suggest you ride Thunder River during your visit. It is the most realistic looking rapids ride I have ever seen, and the rapids after the second tunnel are insane. You hit them so hard the entire side of the raft that hits them gets covered above the riders heads. If you don't mind being soaked. There is a building with a balcony that overlooks the ride just down to the right of the Rabun Gap Train Station with a great view and really good water cannons that blast riders hard. If you continue to the right of that building, that pathway will cut through to Lickskillet and the back of the park without having to go through the traffic jam around the entrance to Monster Mansion. It's a great little cut through if you are heading from the USA section to the back of the park.

This. If Six Flags needs to market a ride as new to justify restoring it, I am fine with it! They did the same to Monster Plantation at SFOG. I wasn't a fan of the rename to Monster Mansion (less creative/fitting) but whatever it takes to justify the restoration of a classic that should essentially live on forever, I am for. Oh and they did a very good job restoring it!

The fact that is recycled is why this doesn't make much sense. I doubt the park is doing this to save water, since it barely uses water. As for PR, I doubt a park full of water rides and a full size water park is going to get bad PR for having a fountain, or good PR for removing it. The general cost of running and maintaining an existing water feature probably doesn't cost much, but replacing the system might be. Chances are the pumps were extremely old and everything needed replaced and just dumping dirty and flowers in it is cheaper. My parents received a quote for 12k to re-do just their front lawn. Landscaping isn't cheap. Again, if you lived in CA, you would see how pretty much every where you go there is a sign about water conservation, a press release about "going green," or some way to let the world know "we're doing our part." It obviously won't be the selling point of the new ride, but I guarantee the PR team will know to have it ready as a talking point. "Our new landscaping is going to reduce the water amount needed for plants...blah blah blah...." Complaining about landscaping is complaining for the sake of complaining. If you want to complain about cost cutting, you should be complaining that they are marketing a long overdue ride refurbishment as their big new addition for 2016. But because everyone is excited to have the OTSR's removed and that doesn't fit the narrative that Six Flags sucks, we have to resort to nitpicking about landscaping... My comments about replacing a water feature with landscaping has nothing to do with my other feelings about the attraction. I am actually in marketing and what they are doing in terms of marketing makes perfect sense. I am also a huge Schwarzkopf fan and fan of maintaining classics in general, so if the park wants to restore their classic, I am beyond excited. I may not live in CA, but here in Atlanta we had a huge drought problem a few years back with bans on all outdoor use of water and concerns about running out of drinking water supply, all while our lake was down some 30 feet and basically half dried up (it took years to recover). Again, Magic Mountain is not removing the water feature because of this (in fact, watering the new landscaping will probably use a similar amount of water to recycling the same water, and just replacing what evaporates), they are probably removing it because they likely would have to spend much more to replace all the pumps and pipes for the feature. Also, it is generally one less thing for them to worry about. It makes plenty of sense to remove it, but I wish they were keeping it and I am allowed to share that opinion. Just because it isn't directly related to the coaster itself on a forum full of coaster enthusiasts doesn't make it nitpicking. There are landscape enthusiasts in the world too. Fountain enthusiasts as well (I am actually good friends with one who is extremely bummed that SFOG is removing the fountain in their children's area lol). Complaining about landscaping is NOT complaining for the sake of complaining.

At WCB last year they said the trims were staying. It was met by a loud, collective groan from everyone in attendance. Thanks! I figured this had come up by now. While I can see that some of them, if not all, would need to remain, the level at which they are used really needs to be cut back. The train looks like it is barely making it through the course after some of them. Well at least it will look nice and there will be no more head bashing.

I'll try to answer at least some of these questions! First, I still suggest you use Uber or a taxi service, because if you have any chance of arriving approximately 45 minutes before opening, it can really affect your day. You could probably get enough done before the crowds build up to prevent needing a Flash Pass at all (although you would potentially have long waits for whatever rides you have left or want to re-ride later in the day). Also, even with Flash Pass, if you arrived before opening, you could ride in your preferred seat on the rides that you otherwise would be forced to sit in a particular row, or in some cases a particularly bad row (GASM). If you do ride MARTA, keep in mind, the Red Line and the Yellow Line are the same thing up to Lindbergh, where they split. You will be transferring at Five Points, so you can ride Red or Yellow northbound to that point. Basically any train departing the airport is a train that you can ride (North Springs or Doraville). You will need to transfer onto the Blue line west though, and not the Green line west. They alternate every 6 minutes or so at the transfer point. Pay attention to signage as MARTA is fairly notorious for incorrectly marking the electronic signs on the physical train (I saved a tour group trying to get to the airport from boarding a train that said "Airport" on it but was actually traveling on the north track to the far north end of the Red line). Also, I ride MARTA 4 times a week and experience a significant delay approximately once or twice a month. Being stuck on a train for 30+ minutes not moving isn't fun. As of Holiday In The Park, you need Flash Pass Gold or Platinum to ride Dare Devil Dive and The Joker Chaos Coaster, and to ride Batman more than once. Platinum should still get you a double ride wristband but you may not know for sure until the day of your visit). I don't think that Batman rule applies to the normal season and Joker may no longer be restricted since it isn't in its debut year anymore. DDD will likely still be restricted in some way. This is the SFOG Flash Pass page, but like I said it hasn't been updated since HITP: https://www.sixflags.com/overgeorgia/store/flash-pass Honestly, your new date (the Saturday after spring break right?) will probably not be any busier than the Friday of spring break. I have experienced weekday (even Tuesday) crowds during spring break that are much worse than the average Spring Saturday. It still could potentially be very busy though. Sorry my answers are always so long.. I like to help There is a better chance I could swing by since you are planning on Saturday.

Yes. The theming was really good as it was, so it seems wasteful to me, but hopefully they will do something with the unthemed empty garage looking tunnel the coaster runs through. That was the only hole in the existing theming.

The fact that is recycled is why this doesn't make much sense. I doubt the park is doing this to save water, since it barely uses water. As for PR, I doubt a park full of water rides and a full size water park is going to get bad PR for having a fountain, or good PR for removing it. The general cost of running and maintaining an existing water feature probably doesn't cost much, but replacing the system might be. Chances are the pumps were extremely old and everything needed replaced and just dumping dirty and flowers in it is cheaper.

^I always thought the setting and queue for this ride were some of the best things about it, and I haven't even been to the park. Did they make any mention of cutting back on the trim brakes at all? There are sooo many trim brakes, and sadly I know they are necessary to some extent, but they seem like they are way too severe. What is the history of this coaster and the use of trim brakes? Were they all there since the first year? Were they run at a lower strength in the past? They just seem to really hold the ride back a bit too much in places.

They are getting rid of all the water features because of the drought in California. They will be replacing these areas with new landscaping. Yes, and replacing the water features with plants is a downgrade. It has nothing to do with the drought, unless they plan on removing their water rides as well. Both run on recycled water, except the water feature doesn't take nearly as much water or need to be kept nearly as clean. If that is what the park is claiming, they are basically flat out lying. Other than the loss of the water, everything about this entire project is amazing though!

A few thoughts... 1) I am really digging the new color scheme as it gives the ride more POP. I was not a fan of the blue in the loop but I'm starting to like it. 2) Helpful Honda Express is a ridiculous name, but I am sure the wraps on the ride itself will be even more ridiculous. 3) Why are they getting rid of the water feature in the queue? I am not completely aware of how it looked before, but it seems like that is a downgrade. Then again, if Six Flags can't be trusted to maintain it, maybe removing it is best.

^That seems to be it, but it says these are 44 feet tall (and 59 feet tall with a particular decorative top), while Superman Tower of Power is said to be 65 feet tall. I assume that is just including a custom top or they are getting a custom sized tower, but still it's something I noticed. I am really excited the new kid's area will come with both this drop tower and the Larson flyers, which are both adult friendly.

Vortex is one of my all time favorites. I love that coaster.

Arrow trains run better on Ninja than most Arrow coasters from my experience (not including Tennessee Tornado of course!).

You know...I never even bothered to ride it! lol That's how little interest I had in it... I never rode it either and initially when I hear it was going away, I regretted not riding it. Now, after hearing peoples feelings on it, I really can live without having gone on it. I hope whatever it is replaced by is awesome!

Yes. It rode more like Mantis when it was at KK, and now it runs way worse than Mantis did IMO. I loved it as Chang, and I was really excited to ride it again but it just is hard to enjoy now. I wish it could be converted to a classic sit down and maybe even get some kind of vest restraint. It's layout screams B&M sit down but I know that can't be marketed well.

^That sounds absolutely wonderful! I still think 3 days would be plenty for Hershey, and Dorney could easily be added in, but I know with family it is hard to add too much to an itinerary and it really is a personal preference kind of thing. If you ever do a western PA trip, Kennywood, Conneaut Lake Park, and Waldameer are a great trifecta as well. Blue Streak has ejector air in the back that compares to Skyrush (in a much different way of course)! Make sure you do EVERYTHING at Knoebels because EVERYTHING is perfect. Their only ride that isn't basically the best of its kind is their Whip. If anyone can provide food suggestions, they have the best amusement park type food anywhere, but you have to know at which place to get what. Hershey has a vegetarian, vegan, gluten free, etc place if you are looking to have a healthy meal in there or if anyone in your family is sensitive or particular with food.

^Honestly I never thought Intimidator was that great to begin with. It rides so mediocrely compared to other B&M hypers. The first drop might be one of the best on any B&M hyper though. After that, it's Intrimidator with minimal airtime followed by a mid course brake run that might as well end the ride. Still a quality coaster that is a definite crowd pleaser, I just think it was really easy to outshine!