Lotologist492

After seeing that teaser video and mulling this over for a moment, the name that jumps out now is "HURRICANE: FORCE 5". It is a good bet that project 2018 will have some sort of a storm theme. Besides, the name HF5 is already in use at SFFT for their 'disk'o' spinning ride which debuted last season. I still doubt they will use the 'Wicked" name as that is a New Englander's term for something cool. Hopefully all our RMC dreams will come true and we can 'ride the storm' in 2018!

SFoG has been utilizing their Thunder River as a haunt for the past 3 seasons. The maze uses the outdoor queue plus the loading station (but not the trough where the boats go). They have kept Thunder River open until after Labor day here. A refurbishment seems like a more likely possibility but this being SF anything is on the table....

I was going to get some photos of the survey markings around the parkway road (behind Cyclone) but some really bad weather moved in and I got this photo before the sky opened up and I retreated to my vehicle! incoming storm makes for an amazing photo-op!

I had the pleasure of a short visit at SFA July 30th and I have to say the short time I was there I had a great time. The park was immaculately clean and the ride ops were efficient. This being a Sunday with great weather I was expecting long waits on some of the big rides. Superman and Joker's Jinx were virtual walk-ons. Roar was not operating (was not on my previous visit last year either). Batwing was also down; not sure why. Wonder Woman had a sizeable line but I skipped it since I have a Sky Screamer at my home park. Entrance theming for it was well done. Food service was fast - used my dining pass and had my food in 5 minutes. This is an underrated hidden gem of a park. I plan on spending a full day here next summer along with a visit to SFGadv.

As I was leaving the park yesterday, I noticed what appear to be survey markings outside the park on that closed parkway road behind the Cyclone. I saw some white and green spray paint markings on the ground as well as a couple wooden stakes with numbers on them. This has me wondering if the park plans on expanding their footprint a little in the area surrounding the 2018 project. With all signs pointing to a new blockbuster ride, the "British" section could use more space, including another dining location to supplement the (what is likely to be) overwhelmed Johnny Rockets. This being year #5 of the 5-year expansion plan, adding on to the park would fit the bill. I also have to wonder if the "British" theme will change, perhaps to "Screampunk", similar to SFMM. It is pretty certain that whatever is built here will NOT have any kind of a DC theme.

The Ninja was transformed into Blue Hawk and is a vast improvement. New trains were installed along with re-theming. No more head-banging on the restraints! I don't know if SFMM would try this on Viper but it is certainly doable.

Nothing wrong with expressing disappointment. I believe many of us were spoiled 15 years ago when prior Six Flags management was spending money hand over fist adding amazing new coasters and rides to every park. Unfortunately that was reckless and nearly sank the chain. Fast forward 15 years we are slowly (emphasis on s-l-o-w) seeing the SF chain pick up some steam again after many lackluster years. SFoT actually added some good rides during the reconstruction years; SFoG actually lost a coaster (Deja Vu) added Thomas Town, and remodeled Monster Mansion dark ride. With Goliath stealing the spotlight, OG took several years off from adding anything major. Other than Dare Devil Dive, our last new coaster was 2006! That is why the buzz over a possible RMC has everyone excited. But - I will still visit OT every year because it is a really nice park, rich in history and perhaps doing the best job in the chain keeping Angus Wynne's vision alive.

SFoG may be getting their first major coaster project in 7 years! As good as this news is, the fact still remains SFoG has been skipped over all these years for a coaster project; hence the nickname "The Roller Coaster Museum of the South". There are only 11 coasters here, not to mention a height restriction due to a nearby airport, something SFoT does not have to deal with. As much as I like my home park OG, I have always told others that SFoT is much better, plus it is the original SF park. It is certainly worth the 12-hour trip from Atlanta - we do it every year! The Titan and NTAG will always be favorites in my book.

I really do not think there will be another 5-year coaster hiatus. The S&S Free Spins are actually inexpensive coasters with a small footprint. The Justice League was much, much more expensive. I agree with the lack of upkeep as I noticed a few elements of the JL missing and/or broken on my last visit. Maintenance seems to be a chain-wide problem but something they are trying to catch up on doing. I have to admit though the flat rides the park has added recently are quite impressive and are a far cry from 'carnival rides'. The Riddler's Revenge is way more extreme than many coasters and I sure hope OG gets one someday.

An RMC also fits in that SFOG is one of only 5 parks in the chain without an RMC. Also, will be interesting to see if they utilize any of the land behind the ride (the never-used parkway road) to expand the area a bit. With such a large project on the way, the area would really benefit from additional space, not to mention food/bev locations given the constant crowded state of the Johnny Rockets. Although this project is for 2018, it is cool they will announce it during their 50th season. Not bad for a golden anniversary gift!

On another subject, on my Sunday visit I noticed (on a ride that is not often discussed much these days) Splashwater Falls once again has passing boats splashing the observation bridge! I do not know how long this has been going on but this was always a feature I really enjoyed on SWF prior to 2004 when the boats were then modified to splash away from the bridge. Add to this the available water blasters and this is once again the wettest ride in the park (not counting Hurricane Harbor of course!) Which has me thinking a bit about the future of SWF. I do not think it is going away anytime soon as the land it occupies is not large enough for a major attraction. Having said that, I have often wondered why our park does not refurbish and re-theme this ride to Aquaman - like they did at the Over Texas park. The ride and observation bridge are looking like they need a little love. I was told back in 2004 the reason the boats were modified was to prevent further deterioration to the wooden bridge with all that water splashing against it again and again. Maybe a replacement with more durable materials is in order, like they have at the Texas SF. A couple more points to this idea: theming this ride to a DC superhero would link the Justice League/Metropolis area with the DC Super Friends children's area with a continuous DC theme. Additionally, (for creative reasons), Aquaman was not included in the Justice League: BFM ride, so why not give this character his own ride? Of course this would not (or should not) be the star new attraction of a given operating season but with Six Flags opting to refurbish older rides lately, like Blue Hawk, maybe this is something to consider. Can't wait to see what that 'big announcement' on GMA will be!

Having been on both the Texas and Georgia versions, I agree with the Texas version not seeming to be as good. That may be due to the fact the Texas version (along with St Louis) were first generation versions, using existing structures to house the attraction. (The Texas building used to be "The Right Stuff" 4D motion simulator and St Louis was previously Scooby Doo Ghost Blasters.) The design team had to do lots of improvising to shoehorn the JL ride into those buildings. All JL clones built after that used brand new purpose-built structures. I see a huge difference between TX and the new GA version that opened earlier this year, especially in the queue / pre-show. I can only imagine how much better the SFMM edition will be, with the extra scenes and all. I was at SFMM two weeks ago and had a blast! Lines were short for most rides but I was bummed the JL was not completed.

I have to admit though the Cyclone is really cool looking during Holiday in the park....

You cited it, and what? Georgia Cyclone and Riverside Cyclone are / were nothing alike. Any wood coaster could technically be converted into an RMC but the name (which you brought up) is not a deciding factor and the Riverside Cyclone was not a "cyclone model", it was a (typical) Bill Cobb clusterf*ck. Wits notwithstanding, I was referring to the Cyclone at SF New England, which became wicked cyclone, NOT Riverside. Ours has a different layout than SFNE had and may or may not get the RMC treatment. But when rumors and survey markings start showing up, we are going to talk about it. Same is true for SF America. You can laugh about a rumor all you want (it is not my conjecture after all) but constructive posts are far more meaningful (but OK less entertaining) than ^^ this ^^.

So because another ride that happens to have the same name was RMC'd that somehow means this ride has a better chance of being RMC'd? What? Uh...no. This ride would be a candidate for an RMC transformation, but not for the naming reason you cite. It is not uncommon though for the chain to physically repeat something in a second park. SF does like cloning ideas - if it has worked once before.... Rumors are in the air of a possible RMC on SF America's "Roar" wooden coaster. The chain did this once already, transforming the almost identical "Roar" at SF Discovery Kingdom into "The Joker". This may or may not happen, but rumors run rampant.

Oh and speaking of speculation (and this is PURE speculation on my part!) With the new Justice League BFM (and new Metropolis-themed area) getting the spotlight now, and the DC Super Friends which was last year's new area, the only attraction separating these two areas is Splashwater Falls. While this ride seems safe and not likely to go away any time soon, they could follow in the footsteps of SFoT and re-theme this ride to Aquaman. In addition to a fresh new DC theme providing continuity and connecting the aforementioned Metropolis and DC Super Friends areas, they could remove and replace the exit bridge with a new one which would be durable and stand up to the repeated splashes. Back in 2003, this ride lost something - the splash action on the exit bridge. While the park did add new water cannons to this ride (another sign it's here to stay), it would be nice to make this ride a soaker again. This would be a great additional 'new' attraction, much like refreshing Ninja into Blue Hawk last year. Besides, the name 'Splashwater Falls' is so annoyingly generic. With an Aquaman feature movie in development, this seems like a no-brainer.

To further speculate on the Cyclone, there were plans originally to re-track the entire ride, not just the first drop. The work was inexplicably halted and has never resumed - which leads to speculation of future plans for this coaster. Could it be that the powers-to-be have plans to RMC this ride after all - and the original topper track work was halted to save further labor/material costs once these plans were known? This would not be the first 'Cyclone' model in the SF chain to get the RMC treatment. SF New England had a Cyclone and it was transformed into "Wicked Cyclone" for the 2015 season. Whatever announcement the park has planned will probably be referred to as a '50th Anniversary Gift', so it will likely be something major, considering the park has not added a coaster since 2011.

Like a prior poster stated, I too will be visiting MM on Monday the 26th. My home park is SFoG and my last MM visit was in 1999! Needless to say I am looking forward to riding as many unique coasters and rides as I can get in. Hopefully the park will not be overcrowded on a Monday! Our JL:BFM in Georgia has been open since May 26th. This ride will not disappoint!

Justice League BFM season pass preview day was amazing! I have to admit there were no real surprises for me as I have been riding the SFoT version since 2015, but Georgia's version was fresh, and the queue was more immersive. The ride actually malfunctioned on our first ride - got stuck near the second to last 3D screen for about 10 minutes. The interior lights came on during this time and gave us an unusual look at the ride's interior, including the ravaged office scene. All in a day's work though - ride ops gave us a re-do. Line was not terribly long but it was long enough to take in the video backstory on the myriad of monitors. Actually - waiting in this line is part of the attraction! Thinking in another direction - I have noticed there is no longer any live stage entertainment during the summer, particularly in the Crystal Pistol. That building will remain unused until Fright Fest. With all the hype over this fantastic new indoor (air conditioned) dark ride, what about musical shows? They were once a staple at SF but I guess that harkens back to Warner Bros' ownership days. The POP-40 ('14) and Mixtape ('15) shows were really good. No summer shows in 2016 though. Anyway - I LOVE IT when the weather man is wrong. Sunday was a great day at the park with nice weather and no lines, not even in the food establishments. Can't wait to ride JL:BFM again.....