CP_RULES

Wait a second, which is it? It's bad when they downgrade or its bad when they upgrade? You say "OH NOES they made it shorter than MF it's going to suckkkkkk!!!!!1111!!" but then you say Kingda Ka, which is longer, taller, and faster, is worse than TTD. Your argument just doesn't make sense. I guess both Goliaths, Hollywood Dream: The Ride, Behemoth, and Diamondback are all worse than Silver Star because they are shorter and were built after it...?

I305 > Driving on the interstate at 90 mph > Sitting in your car parked > The aforementioned in the 100 degree heat > The aforementioned without the AC running > MF The OTSR's don't bother me at all, I didn't get neck chopped on Maverick one bit and that seems to be the ride that's most complained about for neck chopping. Oh yea, and pause the POV at the very beginning. Just wanted to say I was right. WIN!

I have a feeling I'm going to be the only entry... OH HAI THAR Tunnel test approved

They're not. Look for a drop angle of about 80 degrees. I was poking fun of how everything has to be speculated in these threads. The fact is that it's simply not a fact. -Justin "Anyone remember Behemoth?" Seabaugh

Wow I completely stopped coming to this section of the forums and I completely forgot about this contest. Ill see If I can finish my ride in time, luckily I was fairly far into it when I stopped working on it.

Aktually its fersher and reeeely clear that with the addition of a giga and a floorless and more stuff that more people are gonna come and they're gonna make top 5 attendance for people numbers in the park and stuff. Becuz that's just how it works, OKAYS? Just because the basketball team gets new jerseys doesn't mean that everyone in school is going to go watch. It takes a full season and a winning record to get the whole school cheering at the district game. The same concept goes for a theme park but on a much larger scale, and it takes a lot longer than one season.

They look to be quite horizontal to me.

I think some people don't quite understand tilt-shift. The point is to make the photo look like its a model of the actual thing, and models don't have a sky and you cant stand in them and look up. Tilt shift photos should be angled downward as if you were looking down on the miniature, otherwise the effect doesn't really work.

^^One of the best tilt shifts I've seen, very nice!

Table of Contents- Part One: SFoG - Scroll Down Part Two: BGA - Update 1 Part Three: BGA - Final Update Our family vacation this year included a trip to Tampa, FL with stops at SFoG and BGA mixed in and let me just start by saying that southern hospitality is alive and well in the southern states, and that Missouri is definitely NOT a southern state. The people at every stop as we got closer to SFoG were more and more friendly, and this would continue for our entire vacation with the only exception being the Atlanta area. SFoG would become my first Six Flags park other than SFStL and I left feeling like the overall "Six Flags-ness" was the same even though the park was very different. I have very mixed feelings about the park. The rides weren't as good as I was expecting, and the staff was the only exception to the southern hospitality that we would become accustomed to on the trip; though I partly blame the Atlanta location for that. Anyways I'll start this off Chuck style and review the coasters in order of rank, letting the pictures tell the story. Goliath- 10/10 Having read so many mixed reviews on B&M hypers, with the main complaint being their lack of force and airtime, I was VERY surprised at how much air Goliath had. A front row ride provided me with ample air and enough fun to push Goliath into my number two spot overall. Superman: Ultimate Flight- 9/10 Another B&M first for me, this time in the form of a flying coaster. Most of the reviews on these rank the S:UF clones at the bottom of the chain, but if that's the case then I can't wait to see what the others have to offer! The pretzel loop alone was enough to give Superman a spot in my top ten, such an amazing and unexpected sensation that blew me away. Georgia Scorcher- 8/10 This little coaster was a blast! After my "sitting" mishap on Mantis a few years back where my leg went numb and my jewels got smashed I've learned the proper way to ride these coasters, and Scorcher was a very pleasant ride. Batman: The Ride- 8/10 Finally I have ridden a "proper" Batman clone. While I put the one in St. Louis slightly ahead of this one, it was still a great ride. These will never get old. Mindbender- 7/10 I was slightly underwhelmed by this ride, most likely because I was under the impression that it would be riddled with forces which I did not find to be the case. It was fun, but it didn't really stand out as much as I was expecting it to. Ninja- 7/10 Maybe I've just learned to brace myself for these rides, because I never find them to be all that rough. I'd say this Ninja, while farther from Japan, was a bit better than his brother in St. Louis. While I wouldn't call it smooth, it was a decent ride, albeit short. Great American Scream Machine- 6/10 Someone call GCI, this thing needs a retrack ASAP! Airtime was ample, but so was the pain. I've never experienced quite as much jackhammering on a ride as I did on GASM. I walked off with pain downstairs that got me thinking this "GASM" is definitely not one of the "OR" variety. It's sad too cause it would be a great ride if only it were smooth. Georgia Cylcone- 6/10 Judging by my ride, Cyclones in GA must be pretty nasty. The train shuffled along the entire course at less than enjoyable rates of speed. SFoG needs to invest in their woodies A LOT, because they really could be fun airtime filled rides if they weren't so dang rough. Dahlonega Mine Train- 5/10 It was fun, but it's still a mine train. Not much else to say, a very typical and expected ride on this one. Bad staffing was evident on GA Cyclone too. This time the problem was even more dangerous. Three girls were operating the ride; one was laying on the ground laughing, the other was "checking restraints," and the other was laughing at the girl on the ground. When it was time to dispatch the girl on the ground yelled at the other to "press the button" to which the other responded "naw go ahead I don't want to." It was very unprofessional and dangerous, I saw at least 4 kids get on in the short time I was in the station that were clearly not tall enough to ride. On a positive note, I had fun at the park and thought it was really nice despite the poor staffing and mediocre rides lineup. Oh, and this is my favorite picture of the day too. Part two Busch Gardens Africa will be up soon! Best ride of the trip. The crew here was very hit and miss on their intervals. The poor staffing was also evident here when a new op came to take the spot of a girl who was scheduled to be off soon. The boy had clearly never operated the ride, and the girl's on-the-job training consisted of "just watch what I do for a bit I'm leaving soon" to which the boy stared back at dumbfounded. Five minutes later she was gone and he was walking around stapling people into their seats. I'm sure he had some sort of prior training but it was clear he did not know what he was doing even after being "shown how." Male support. I love the design of Goliath's station. This signature shot is credit to TPR's resident pickle loving gal, I can't recall her username or actual name (Julie maybe?), but here's to her! Taller than Godzilla, but probably not as scary. I MUCH prefer S:TOP at SFStL to this ride. I found the seats to be uncomfortable, the "surprise" to add nothing, and the drop to be not all that intense. Moving on! This picture follows along with the "I don't have time to wait for a train" trend. I was expecting a lot more from these loops, at least they sound cool. Its a funny coincidence that these ads are on a Schwarzkopf ride, or maybe it's not a coincidence at all?! Nah, Six Flags doesn't have that much depth. Its a shame that these ads were plastered all over the ride and its queue. At least the were semi-relevant. Mindbender is in a very nice area with lots of shade. This TR will be null and void of all "through the trees" comments, excluding the aforementioned. They're both a beautiful pain in the a**... unless of course you have an ugly girlfriend. How are GASM and a girlfriend alike? My mom and I on Superman, my dad has a very low nausea tolerance so he didn't ride. Signage update? They sure can keep their ads shiny and new, why not their theming? Superman would come next, as advised by members here to get to Superman early. No train in this one, I didn't have time to wait every time I wanted a picture. Nonetheless, I love this element. Our ride on Ninja would begin the hot and cold personality of SFoG. The crew on Ninja was very poor, the ride op wasn't stopping the ride in the right place which left many people confused and caused people to steal others seats. When a couple finally asked an op which seat they were supposed to board, she counted the gates multiple times and pointed to the sixth pair of seats... the couple was in the fifth gate. Not only was the station a mess of confusion with ill-knowledgeable ride ops, but the ops were also "having fun" with the train as it exited the station, stopping it every couple seconds and laughing. Not a good first impression of the staff. Back on track, SFoG has some very scenic areas. Ah, but alas, as would be standard for much of the trip, things don't get done as fast as one would like. My mom needed a second bathroom break already. A quaint entrance plaza, but we don't have time to stop and stare, to the back of the park! I loved how Goliath could be seen so easily from outside (and inside) the park. Because of my season pass, we only had to pay $50 to get me and both of my parents into the park! Yay for Six Flags being the Wal Mart of theme parks! Only a mile farther to walk... we should have taken the tram. Parking location noted. Even the ending bunny hops of Goliath tower over Scorcher. Bonus credit for getting two trains whilst driving by. The grandiose entry to the park had my parents ooing and aahing (it seems that phrase is much easier said than typed). A good sign that we didn't get too lost on our 10 hour overnight drive.

Let's see... KBF got a new coaster the past two years in a row, Sierra Sidewinder in 2007, and Pony Express in 2008; Worlds of Fun just got Prowler in 2009; and Valleyfair! got Renegade in 2007. I think CF is doing a fairly decent job of spreading out their investments. You need to keep reading what HCLcoasters said, he said MiA isn't very profitable compared to parks like KD, not that it isn't profitable at all.

My family is planning on making a Florida trip next week, and the plan is to stop in Atlanta on the way there to make a stop at Six Flags Over Georgia. We're most likely staying in Tampa and will also make a stop at Busch Gardens Africa. We will be leaving Tuesday night (August 4th) and arriving in Atlanta on Wednesday morning (August 5th) We have quite a few coaster (and non-coaster) related questions. 1. Will SFoG be crowded on a Wednesday? I've never been to the park and I'm just looking to get everything in, will this be possible without a flash pass? 2. I have a SFStL season pass and it comes with a half off coupon for another SF park, but we'll still need one more ticket. Any places (grocery stores?) that sell discounted tickets? 3. What general order should I follow to get all the coasters in? Are there any other rides that I shouldn't miss? 4. Where are the best places to stay in Tampa that will be close to the beaches yet fairly inexpensive as well? 5. Discount tickets for BGA, where can we get them? 6. What is the best day to go to BGA for the least amount of crowds? 7. General tips for BGA? I'm under the assumption that I'll be able to ride all the coasters without too much of a hassle, so what else is there to do? 8. How are the waves in the Tampa area? What beach is the most fun for someone who likes to ride waves and play in the sea? Any help at all would be greatly appreciated. Keep in mind that this is a family vacation and not a "theme park tour," though. Thanks!

Oh nice, but vertical lift was never written on the list of possibilities, so there's no need to scratch it off.

Thanks for that, looks more like about 60° then 90° to me I agree, possibly even less than 60. Definitely not vertical, as the teaser video has now confirmed.

Why have I never read this thread? It's hilarious!

Great video and GREAT song choice, All Time Low completes me.

Not necessarily, if they use multiple block sections. He's saying that a vertical lift means a tighter pull-out which would cause extreme forces in the back seat of a long train. Just another reason why this wont be a vertical lift. I don't see how it's still even thought to be possible. -Justin "Why does every new coaster have to have something else? You're getting a giga, it doesn't need to have a gimmick." Seabaugh

There were FOUR coasters submitted actually, two were late, which is why only 2 show up on the poll.

My nameless, crappy, didn't-have-enough-time-in-my-busy-schedule-to-work-on-it, track has arrived late and unfinished. I used a ton of pre-fab supports just to get it "done" and I still didnt finish on time. Sorry, I'm putting up the upload for anyone who may want to ride anyways. LIM1.2.nltrack

It seems pretty clear to me that the "obvious" vertical track piece is obviously not, and here's why: I think it's safe to say that most coasters start in a station that is at least 10 feet off the ground (usually more). As andyuk200523 pointed out, the truss system has to connect to the ground at an angle that is the same as the lift's angle. The piece of track that has those odd track connectors is simply the piece where the track coming from the station and the truss system meet (see attatched photo). The track connectors line up nicely for a horizontal to angled lift. The track also has places to connect the catwalk. No other vertical lift coaster has a catwalk, why would this one? EDIT- Yea I'm late on this one, I was having trouble with the uploader for the pic.

^Either way, the lift track on Tornado at Bakken looks nothing like the track from KD. In fact, it seems to look much more like Millenium Force's track (as previously mentioned. And of course there's always the direct text from the Intamin website that states that a giga coaster's "vehicles are pulled up the lift by means of a catch car, which is connected to a steel cable system. The cable guiding and hoisting unit uses well proven technology from the Swiss Cable Car Industry. Intamin has developed an innovative and unique system in order to pick up the train while still located in the horizontal load position, without the use of a secondary drive system. This guarantees a smooth acceleration and transition into the 45 degree steep lift." So once again, it's clearly a coaster with a cable lift, there's really no discussing that farther unless something else shows up on site to prove otherwise.

Yes but as mentioned there are no brake fin slots making a launching coaster out of the question. What about a hydraulic lift like Bakken's Tornado...or does that require brake fins? Why would they build a hydraulic lift when they are already good at cable lifts? There's no reason to re-invent the wheel here. It's clearly a coaster with a cable lift, there's really no discussing that farther unless something else shows up on site to prove otherwise.

I'm aware that those turns are right after dispatch but there is a slight drop before them. Anyone who's ridden a mouse knows it doesn't take much speed to produce heavy laterals on an unbanked turn. And anyone who's ridden a coaster with a pre-lift that has an unbanked turn knows that they don't really produce many laterals. Turns on a wild mouse are taken much faster and have much tighter radii. I can't wait to see a video of this thing launching, sounds like it should be incredibly intense.

I recall seeing on one of the recent coaster shows that the shorter trains had more to do with clearing the tight radius of the vertical lift & sections of maverick's layout....a smaller train = a shorter wheelbase,which allows for a tighter turning radius when going up or down hills. Once you've got the short wheelbase that's needed on the cars it doesn't matter how long the train is... The trains on Maverick and Fahrenheit are short because of the drop and the forces involved there.

I highly doubt the supports will look anything like MF's, considering they're using stronger track to reduce the amount of supports needed. The lift should look dangerously undersupported with the trussed track to compensate, as opposed to MF's oversupported look.