jedimaster1227

That's pretty sad to see that the park is basically dead. I figure they could still make some money off of the Zippin' Pippin (if it is still in operating condition) by using the pay-per ride methodology... Shame to see the coaster sit there, but maybe Cypress Gardens' owner will buy this dead woodie's remains too...

^So I guess that means you won't be doing the East Coast Trip this year huh? I would have loved to meet you in person (probably sporting the magical hoodie), but anyways, I am glad to hear that you are working on a sequel (and I'm sure it will be greatly anticipated). Teaser trailers anyone? Thank you for giving us one of the best TPR movies on the forums here and keep up the great work!

I just sent in my deposit for the East Coast US trip, so I should be set! Glad to finally have some notion from my parents that I will get to do a TPR trip!

My parents have said they're going to let me send in my deposit for the East Coast USA Tour! It is still not a definite that I can go, but at least I have a chance for a spot on the trip now!

Still my favorite of the TPR "life-based" movies! And I still wear my magic hoodie in honor of this film!

Well, since my pleading for the Mainland Europe trip failed with my parents, I am going to try for something closer to home (and more in my parent's price range). I am trying to convince them to either let me go on the East Coast or Texas trip. I'm pretty confident that I will at least get one of the two. Personally, I'm drooling (already) at the thought of ERT on Kingda Ka, El Toro, Griffon or any of the other rides at the parks we would visit. I've never had ERT before (the closest thing for me was the time when Seaworld was empty due to a local forest fire causing it to rain ash, so the ride ops allowed my brother to not have to get off of the ride- we rode over 20 times that day), so the prospect of that is exciting in itself! Plus, the few TPR members that I have met can already tell you how happy I am to meet other members, so thats another plus. This is the third year that I have asked to go on a TPR trip, and I'm hoping that this year I will finally get a solid, "yes."

I just tried the same approach... Didn't work out too well. As of right now, I can't go. I'm desperately going to try to keep working at it, but I doubt this is my year...

Edit: I emailed you upon your request. Rather than bulk up the thread with my long post, I will keep the information in the email.

With or without the loop? My answer for the original poster's question would probably be Geo Panic. I was so confused as to what was going on with the ride and with my head banging around in those cage-like restraints. Still a fun ride though.

I posted a couple of photos of the evac procedures in process at Sheikra last month during my visit at Busch Gardens. They can be found here. Watching them evacuate the ride was interesting. The panels for evac are laying up agains the walls of the pre-station brakes' catwalks. The catwalk is long enough to hold another two-three cars in standby with both cars in the station. One by one, they manually place the panels over the track, across the catwalk and manually unlock the restraints on the ride, removing the riders from their seats, normally sent towards the right side of the station. As for the evacuation on the lift, this was a little scary to watch. A cable car to the left of the track which seats 6 (I believe) moves to the top of the lift where the train is frozen. The car is adjacent to the rows on the cars and each row of seats on the train has a matching row on the cable car. I only saw this happen once, but I have seen Sheikra evacuated near the station twice since the floorless conversion. My guess, they will close the attraction for a two-three day period to test and reset the system to prevent these evacuations from happening again (if not so often).

You really have done a great job with this coaster. I would personally be afraid to ride it, but it looks really cool. Keep up the great work!

^I would also recommend the Waffle House at the Crossroads at Lake Buena Vista. In fact, thats the only Waffle House nearby that I can think of.

I've never been to Mythos in all of my years of being an annual pass holder for Universal/IOA! I stayed away from it for years because I thought it was too expensive (though I pay the same if not more to eat at Bubba Gumps or Le Cellier). I plan on eating there on my next visit if the person who goes with me is willing to spend a few extra dollars on a good meal. I really do pray that they don't get rid of Mythos when Harry Potter invades the Lost Continent. Anyways, thanks for the photos- as always, another great TR. Keep up the great work Barry!

^I believe the Oriental Land Company owns some kind of rights prohibiting Disney's use of the Test Track rides system (also used in Journey) with any theme related to the center of the earth. To be able to reproduce Japan's amazing attraction, Disney would have to pay a large sum of money to "rent" it off of the OLC, much like what they did with Cinderellabration. That is how it has been explained to me.

Yes, we are getting the story upgrades that Disneyland recieved during their refurbishment, but we are also getting a unique scene made specifically for the Florida version. It won't be any more of a clone than it was before both versions had their refurbs- mind you, they are based off of the same ride concept, so you could always argue that they are clones.

I'm more interested in seeing the new staircase scene as my only problem with the Haunted Mansion was the pointless waste of space that the spiderwebs were. Now, we have something unique (for now) on the way. I plan on going to the previews in September to check it out.

^We did get a souvenir poster map though with the parking. They were selling the same map (and Magic Mountain's map) in the gift shops for $5, so I guess we really only paid $10 for the parking and $5 for the map. Goliath isn't my favorite coaster, but it was still great. I didn't encounter the bag nazis firsthand because I was cautious. I made sure that I didn't give myself the chance to deal with them. If there was any doubt of what I could or couldn't do this time around, I asked a cast member and got the answer. I think this is the first time I have ever been to a park where no POVs were allowed. I was so confused about what Monster Plantation was, but the ride had broken down when I was there, so I ended up not being able to ride it. Did I miss something really important? If so, I'll make it a point to try it when I go back! Overall, my experience was great, especially thanks to my Gold Qbot. Thanks again for the advice Barry!

^I plan on going back since I have 5 more days on my pass (though I most likely won't use them all). I do think I will ride it again, in hope that the time (and seat) in which I rode the coaster were just not right. Trying it again somewhere else seems to be the best option, so if I make my way back, I will try it again, and see what I can find.

Actually, the Georgia Cyclone is an old wooden rollercoaster at the park. The Georgia Scorcher is the stand up coaster, but it wasn't too bad. Robb has put out some POVs that you can find here. Smart Watermelon is quite different when compared to Melon Fanta. Smart Watermelon has more of a fizzy, light flavor while Melon Fanta is a thicker-tasting, syrup based flavor. Also, Smart Watermelon is based on watermelon while Melon Fanta is based on Honeydew (I believe). For those of you that are curious about the taste, you can try something similar at Epcot's Japan pavilion. Their snow-cone station offers a honeydew flavor (dark green), and after having my cousin convince me to try it (I eat my snow cones plain- as in no flavor, just ice), I found it to taste near identical to my favorite soda.

Sounds like you had a great time! I'm still a little sad that I didn't get to ride Thunder Dolphin or Linear Gale, but at least you got to ride it (without any rain)! Hope your trip was fun! Did you by any chance have some Melon Fanta?

^^^ Thanks for catching that for me! I guess thats what happens when you are on the road so long... ^^Because of my disliking the Georgia Cyclone or something else? ^ I guess it just depends on what you enjoy the most. I sat in the back row, and I got the crap beat out of me. I looked back at a video Robb filmed back in 2005, and on the thread he released it, he and a bunch of others talked about a love/hate situation going with it. I did the ride thinking it would be fun, but I came off bent over like an old man with a cracked spine. Maybe it was just where I was sitting, but I enjoy being able to ride coasters (and I will try anything at least once before I say I won't do it again). I'd probably do it again if I were to sit in another seat (probably as close to the front as possible) in hope that I just had a bad ride and the second time around I could enjoy it much more. I'd have to see (especially since I still have 5 days left on my pass before December 31st).

^Thanks! For the most part, they had a good lineup of attractions for every type of guest. The only thing I wouldn't recommend to anyone is the Georgia Cyclone. Well, my first visit to the new World of Coke was an interesting one. When I was younger, we used to go to Atlanta all the time just to visit one of our favorite attractions, the World of Coke. I have fond memories of the original Soda Jerk, the Jumping Soda Fountains and much of the original complex. After hearing that the new facility was open, my brother and I made it a staple in our schedule to visit the new World of Coke. Some of our favorite things about the old museum returned (in some form), while others didn't make the cut. Oh, and the floors in the tasting room were sticky, just like at Club Cool! That's all for my visit to the new World of Coke! The entire complex is simply beautiful! The building actually features a giant frozen Coke bottle for all to see. There were at least another 10 walls that looked like this- filled up with anything people could consider buying with a Coke logo on it. The Coca Cola Store at the exit is huge and full of expensive merchandise for people to spend money on! These bottles even have the World of Coke text on them! This was a pleasant surprise! I take one final cup of Melon Fanta before I leave. They even had the dreaded Beverly. I heard at least 10 different people complaining about its horrible taste. There is a section at the back of the room dedicated to all of the different flavors of Coca Cola. Each dispenser column represents one of the different continents to which Coca Cola distributes its sodas. They didn't have Smart Watermelon, but they did have Smart Apple. I didn't like it nearly as much, but it was still pretty tasty! I was so happy to see that they had my favorite soda ever here! This is what I've been waiting for! The dreaded story of "New Coke." This small exhibit is Coca Cola Co.'s only remaining nod towards one of their biggest foul-ups in history. 3-D glasses are complementary and so is admission to the show. Mind you, the glasses are covered in Diet Coke advertisements... They now have a 4-D theater showing "The Search for the Secret Formula," a long, corny film about what makes a Coke, a Coke. It was probably the longest 4-D film I have ever seen. The rest of the museum is split up into different rooms with different topics such as production, pop culture and more. This is the original soda jerk (and bar) from the former World of Coke. I took a photo like this nearly 7 years ago at the old location! The Coca Cola polar bear is inside of the main lobby taking photos with guests of all ages! You walk on through and your free-roaming journey begins. After the movie, the screen rises in a very Poseidon's Fury-esque style, revealing the path into the museum's main lobby. In the theater, you watch a mock-u-mentary based on Coke's latest marketing campaign, "On the Coke Side of Life." The gallery features some audio clips and facts on the television screens (and a spiel by a cast member) before you move into the next theater. The majority of this stuff was in storage in several of Coca Cola's facilities around the world while the old World of Coke was still open. They didn't have enough room for it all over there. Now they do. Then you move into the primary gallery... You wait inside of this pre-show lobby before your show starts. A nice, new logo for this brand new attraction! This attraction actually has a queue line set up outside with wait times and all. Its time for the new World of Coke!

While this wasn't my first trip to Georgia (or Atlanta), this was my first time going a theme park in the state, let alone a real Six Flags park! My brother and I decided to drive up to Atlanta and check out Six Flags and the new World of Coke (though we didn't have time for Wild Adventures). Six Flags over Georgia has some interesting policies that I found out about quite fast when I went to the park. First of all, the cost of parking is an outrageous $15 (though we did get a souvenir poster/hard copy map with parking). The park enforces the "no loose articles/no cameras" rule with care, and so the park became the "land of no POVs." Really, I was fine with that, since the ride ops were much nicer about everything than I expected-though at times, they were slow workers. Moving around I did every coaster that the park had to offer (and two extra rides). (On a scale of 1-10, ten being the highest. I'm only rating the major experiences I had that day) Acrophobia: 8 The ride was fast thanks to the ride ops being properly involved in the attraction. Though the seats are a little uncomfortable (specifically for men), the brakes at the end didn't hurt too bad. The ride ops helped to make this attraction better. Sky Ride: 6 The ride ops were somewhat slow in loading the cabs, doing more chatting than work, but once on the ride, it moved quickly. If we hadn't of waited so long for the ride, it would have scored better in my book. Deja Vu: 7 My first coaster to ever go backwards through an inversion was definitely memorable. Thanks to my flashpass, I moved to the front of the line in less than two minutes, with first dibs on where to sit on the ride. Being a backseat-monger, I took to the back row. The ride itself moved extremely fast, and though I didn't find it painful, I got off the ride wondering why I did it in the first place. I was somewhat confused about whether or not I truly enjoyed the experience, but looking back on it, the ride was definitely worth doing at least once. Ninja: 7 For me, the ride was reminiscent of Python only with a stronger layout. Much like PKI's Vortex, the ride had its headbanging moments, but wasn't too bad. I liked it enough to say that I would do it again. Great American Scream Machine: 8 This wooden coaster has some good moments of airtime with a nice layout. It was fairly smooth and provided a great view of that side of the park. The ride ops here were some of the more friendly onese I met all day. Superman: Ultimate Flight: 9 My first flying coaster really did impress me. I love the design of the cars (and their loading procedure). The loop was the most intense moment for me (probably because I looked up while I was upside down, and I felt some major forces pushing back against me). I wanted to ride again, but I was in a hurry, so I moved on. Mindbender: 10 The coaster really surprised me as a unique ride. With half of its layout hidden behind the trees and Batman: The Ride, I didn't know what I was in for. With a simple lap bar, the ride leaves you to hold on. The lift was a little slow, but that gave me time to look at the first drop. Going down the drop, I was given a huge burst of airtime, in which I felt like I was out of my car completely. The loop was great and from that point in, I was smiling through and through. The behind-the-trees portion of the ride features the second loop after a more-than-interesting dive followed by another upwards movement into a sideways brake, ending with the long brake run in front of the station. A completely memorable ride! Batman: The Ride: 9 The ride was really a great inverted coaster with its only downfall being its slow ride ops. I sat in the brake station/maintenance-switch bay for over 5 minutes before we were pulled into the station to exit. The ride was great, the ops were slow. Not much more to be said. Georgia Scorcher: An interesting stand up coaster (my second ever) that wasn't as bad as I remembered the Cobra (from La Ronde) to be. It was a pretty fun ride! Goliath: 10 A silky-smooth hyper with more than enough great moments of airtime. Another unique feature is its helix which really is beautiful to look at from the outside of the park. Overall, the ride moved quickly and looked great in action. It was a perfect experience for me! Georgia Cyclone: 2 Fast ride ops. Horrible overall experience. Beyond belief painful. There isn't much more I could say. I will start with Six Flags first, and then I'll add the new World of Coke photos. Also, I just wanted to thank everyone for their suggestions on the Gold Flashpass, as it really was worth the money! The last piece of Six Flags over Georgia that I would see on this trip! I liked Six Flags over Georgia because of some of its most unique rides and the fact that most of the park can be done quickly thanks to the Qbot. I didn't get a photo of it, but the Georgia Cyclone is officially the worst coaster I have ever ridden. I was in so much pain after riding it and, for the first time, I actually felt unsafe in a coaster (probably because at one point, my knees ended up above my lap bar). It is the only ride I have ever regretted doing in my life. The ride had some great airtime (especially on the first drop) and a truly fun (non-blackout-inducing) helix! I save Goliath to be one of my last coasters of the day! An unexpectedly unique ride! I'm sure this has been done before, but I really like the shot! Batman: The Ride was a great inverted coaster that (I guess) because of its tight layout, seemed to be much faster than any other inverted coaster I have ridden. It was a really good ride! Mindbender ended up being one of my favorite rides in the park. It had a bizarre layout with several great airtime moments and some fun dives. The sideways brakes really surprised me too! My first ever flying coaster was really memorable. Not too intense for the most part, so I enjoyed the ride in its entirety. The inline twist before the brake run was quite unexpected though. I didn't want to get wet, so I passed on this attraction. The ride had a fun layout with a few good pops of airtime in its latter portion. I expected the Great American Scream Machine to be like its steel counterparts but I was wrong. It reminded me of the Python, only longer. The ride has a much more tight layout, with some nice head-banging inversions. Next, I moved towards Ninja! I am the person in the back row on the left side. Deja Vu wasn't really painful, but for some reason, I didn't love it. Its Deja Vu! Goliath can be seen from all areas of the park. We took the Sky Ride over to the back of the park so we could move from the back to the front. Been there. Done that. My first ride in the park was on Acrophobia. I literally waited one minute to get on the ride thanks to my Gold Qbot! Taking advantage of one of the park's latest deals- you get 6 days for the price of one. So, I ended up getting what the park considers the Big Six pass (and discounts come with it). I could tell that I would like this place, just by walking towards the entrance! Beautiful! Yes! Nine credits I won't get during this trip...

^^Well, you were right about it hurting more than a standup coaster, but that is only because the Georgia Scorcher didn't hurt too bad. Acrophobia was pretty fun (a bit uncomfortable, but not too bad). The ride op made it even more interesting because he messed with you while you were at the top singing songs about your doom and doing fake countdowns. ^The Gold Flashpass was probably the best investment I made during my trip this week! I got to ride everything I wanted to, getting every credit the park had available (including Deja Vu). The Qbot really did decrease my wait times, making me wait only 2 minutes for each attraction (other than Goliath). I will describe the trip in my upcoming trip report, but that basically sums up my flashpass experience!

I met a local TPR member because I was wearing my Son of Beast shirt. I haven't been recognized for my hoodie yet, but I only got to wear it during the Winter...