Lotologist492

Over Georgia is removing their Shoot the Chutes. It was confirmed at ACE Winter Warm-Up that it “would not be returning this season.” At least SFoG has an attached (included) Hurricane Harbor water park. It is a very small water park but anyone can get drenched (in street clothes if desired) without waiting. One feature Over Texas does have though to deal with triple digit heat are water sprinklers around the park, most notably the huge one next to Mr. Freeze. Stand there for 30 seconds and you will be absolutely drenched... One caveat for Aquaman is that it creates issues for Justice League riders in that you will not be allowed to ride if you are wet. And since it is across the walkway, Aquaman riders get turned away quickly. Oddly enough, Over Georgia does not enforce such a rule even though their JL ride is steps away from the Hurricane Harbor exit.

I give it until about July 1st before those refill stations are where every single fruit fly in a 25-mile radius congregate. Outside without a constant eye on being clean, probably being used non-stop. The refill stations that were located outside were adjunct to a snack stand and had an attendant. (Someone has to keep away the freeloaders...and keep it clean also.) I do not share your 'fruit fly' prediction. This may be Six Flags but give them a break for once...let's not attempt to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

Its worth noting that last summer the Locomotive "The General" was damaged in a fire, leaving "The Texas" to do full duty for the remainder of the season, up through Holiday in the Park. I did not get any official word but I have the feeling "The Texas" is simply undergoing maintenance while the "General" is still out of commission. A few other tidbits from my Sunday visit: I had the pleasure of a short conversation with park President Kaetzel (Kudos to him for walking the park regularly and engaging with guests!) -He informed me of the new colors for the Georgia Scorcher: charcoal grey supports with red track. This should really look good and give a pop of color, particularly with the Goliath supports comingled in that space. -The new mobile dining app is expected to be functional by June. Many of the restaurants in the park are still in the process of modification to accommodate this service. -The Joker Chaos Larson Loop was up and running. -Many external areas around stores and restrooms have had some ADA enhancements, mainly the addition of ramps. It does appear the park is taking on lots of housekeeping details which are long overdue. It is nice to see attention to quality.

Six Flags tried to cash in on the Pokémon GO! craze a few years ago. The park participated by sponsoring Poke-Stops and other elements; and the topic of this game was even in guest surveys. Nowadays it is hard to remember this was even a thing. Talk about a flame out. Same thing would happen with this current game obsession.

It does look like the chain is trying to address the food service problems on multiple fronts. Here at SFoG (opening day) I was pleasantly surprised to find new "refill stations" at numerous locations around the park. These are not Freestyle but simply a bank of fountains. This will most certainly limit frustration from guests that simply want to refill their souvenir bottle without having to wait in a food line. Hopefully this is chain-wide. Also, our park decided to replace Panda Express with not Chop Six, but a new chicken wing place; Strutters Famous Chicken Wings & Brews. Are any other SF parks getting a "Strutters?" I had not heard of this before. We did use our dining passes there and it was actually pretty good. Anyway - I posted numerous photos on the SFoG page but I will drop these here too.... New at SFoG: Strutters Famous Chicken Wings & Brews (Formerly a Panda Express location) Close-up of the new logo. Conveniently fits in the frame of the old Panda Express sign These "refill stations" are a nice addition! Go ahead SF...put 'em EVERYWHERE!!!

Just enjoyed a full day and I have to say I am impressed on the many different things the park is working on now. I will submit my own TR but I will focus on the stuff not yet covered here. Since the Scorcher re-paint and the progress on Pandemonium have already been well covered, I will not post additional photos. Weather was the first pleasant surprise - sun was out for several hours, otherwise overcast and no rain! New this year: Membership Lounge (former Miss Dixie Depot / recruitment center building) - not open yet; Numerous soft drink refill stations added - not Freestyle but fountain; Panda Express replaced with Strutters Chicken Wings & Brews - we had our dinner there - it was actually good and our dining pass works there too! This may have been the first time I have ever sat down for a meal in that building... Diamond Elite special park entrance - in the location of season pass processing (sign says Diamond Elite so I presume any lower membership tier has to use the member entrance or the main gate) - complete with metal detector and scanner. Yeah I know...weird... Splashwater Falls sign has been removed, so it appears there is zero chance of this ride ever opening again; Giant LICKSKILLET sign now removed ahead of forthcoming ScreamPunk theming - was deteriorated and needed to go anyway! Rhythm & Grooves show sign up "coming soon" - so we know what the summer Crystal Pistol show will be Railroad still closed since Holiday in the Park; locomotive nowhere in sight (anyone know more?) Mobile food (APP) ordering not yet operational; coming soon Goliath Games area removed - employee said they were rebuilding a new games pavilion to replace the old one. Many of these improvements are minor but they do add up. I will likely be back tomorrow and look around some more. Enjoy the photo TR.... Souvenir cup 2019 colors! We already knew season cups are yellow; daily cups are transparent aqua New refill station in Promenade Pizza! Celebrating a new season at the front gate! New membership lounge (and event space) Out with Panda; here comes Strutters Famous Wings & Brews! Here's what is playing this summer at the Crystal Pistol Another refill station!! Location: Dahlonega Mine Train exit Removed sign confirms what we already know...Splashwater Falls RIP... Not for much longer... I have no idea how they will re-theme this mill into ScreamPunk... First eatery in the old part of Lickskillet to receive the new ScreamPunk theme Old pic from January...this large LICKSKILLET sign is now GONE

In looking at the new 2019 map (pdf); I noticed a few more new things: -Membership lounge (looks like it is in the former Miss Dixie Depot) -new on-ride photos for Mindbender -new 'refill stations' scattered around the park I will be there this weekend - weather permitting!

I will be heading to the park this weekend so hopefully I will get a few pics. Also it will be interesting to see the progress on the new "ScreamPunk District" themed area and all the other enhancements they have planned. Stay tuned....

Six Flags Over Georgia removed their Southern Star Ampitheater in 2014 and built a water park in that spot. They still have a few concerts but on a much smaller scale and on temporary structures.

Is it "Chop Six" (which makes sense seeing it written) or "Chop Sticks"? The guy for Fiesta Texas seemed to say "Six" the first time but "Sticks" the second time. See image below - it is a (marginally) clever play on words. I was able to try Chop Six for myself last summer at SFA; it was not bad nor was it great, but it was another option. Freestyle machines are dining establishment nightmares. They take a lot of maintenance and up-keep. Guests love them, though, so many places suffer through them. Agreed - Freestyle machines have been an on again off again nightmare -but- the technology is improving - and getting less expensive. I am seeing these machines in more and more places and for the most part they operate problem free. However, a fast food establishment environment is much different than a theme park with the sheer volume of guests using them. That is where durability and ease of use are a must. Hopefully the employees will be fully trained on reloading and maintaining them. Coca Cola likes having these machines in a busy location like SF because of the data they collect. The Freestyles do more than just dispense your beverage. They gather data on what drinks / combinations guests are selecting and make marketing decisions based on that info. In fact, Coke is expected to debut a Coke Orange flavor during the Final Four next month, a direct result of the choices made at all Freestyle machines, including the ones inside Six Flags. At any rate, the more of these machines that are installed in the park, the more spread out users will be and the less overburdened any one machine will be. Chop Six logo in use at other SF parks.

While it is not surprising Panda Express is going away, they are making an interesting replacement: Strutters (will feature bone-in chicken wings - I am all for that!) while most other Panda replacements in the SF chain are "Chop Six". One must wonder if JD's Sports will change their menu a bit since seemingly two out of three food locations serve chicken. Also - excited to hear DeeJay's will be getting self-service soft drinks (Freestyle machines I assume). At any rate, we can all hope the food/bev experience is upgraded park wide. Kudos to the park for their planned upgrades to three of their establishments! It sounds like a lot of good things are in the works, far beyond a new Giant Discovery. On March 9th we will discover...

Once the school year ends, weekends in summer are fairly crowded - Sundays less so than Saturdays, but still busy. The October Monday date you mention is Columbus Day and since area schools are off, the park adds that day to the calendar. Be aware though that on this day the park may operate the rides only and not the usual Fright Fest activities. Still, with low attendance it is a great day to get your coaster credits!

The park is still filling out the schedule. There will be June/July hours added as well as other deletions or corrections. Interestingly it appears Fright Fest will go through November 3rd this year with the park being OPEN the full week of Halloween. Hope this holds true. Meanwhile over at White Water the schedule remains blank.

That creepy hand is located in Prominade Pizza. It is definitely one of the most bizarre fixtures I have seen.

1. Where's Macho Nacho supposed to be located? 2. About time 3. In the place of Last Stand Tacos. If I remember correctly, Last Stand Tacos did NOT honor the dining pass either, so that plus Johnny Rockets adding the plan is a double win!

Made my final visit on the final day of the season yesterday. This was the first nice weather weekend in nearly a month and the crowds reflected it. Anyway...now that January 7th is here, it is Six Flags' New Year's Day! The 2019 season officially begins today, which may matter little here in GA but counts in the few SF parks that are year round, most notably the purple cups are now dead. Anyway...looking forward to the new themed area - ScreamPunk District, as well as the new Giant Discovery. It will be interesting to see the progress made when the park reopens. Only 8 closed weekends between now and opening day! Could this be the last time we see this sign? It is in rough shape, and the area might become Screampunk District.... Anyone care to guess where in the park this creepy light fixture is located? One last look...it was a great Holiday in the Park season!

Once opening weekend occurs they will be open all weekends after that. I have never known the park to open for the season and then skip weekend(s) after that unless, of course the weather man decides to interfere. The park will release the 2019 schedule soon. Since today was the last operating day of the 2018 season, it will generally take a few weeks to reset everything for the upcoming season. If you visit in March, let me know and maybe we can meet up!

Hopefully I don’t offend anyone but they are certainly welcome to remove it This is almost certainly a rehab job. Hopefully they will replace the LED lighting package - it looks really bad now. It is doubtful this ride will be removed anytime soon. The space it occupies does not lend itself well to anything much larger. The only possibility would be if the Axis Arena were to be removed for a new attraction but that too is highly unlikely. In other news, in the email newsletter they send, they reference opening day for the 2019 season in early March, which is the norm. I am actually surprised the park does not consider opening for a couple weekends before the Super Bowl, when nearly a million visitors will be in town, only 12 miles away.

Finally found a weekend with no rain so we spent a full day at Holiday! Park was well attended; ride lines were very short except for Justice League with about a 45 minute wait. Curiously, the Joker (Larson Loop) was closed with the ride vehicle removed. This ride had been getting very loud so it was probably due for a rehab. Also - the railroad was not operating. The coaches were in Marthasville station but the locomotive was nowhere to be seen. I doubt this is rehab though as the Ride to the North Pole is a HitP staple attraction. With the General still damaged to a fire early in the season, the Texas has been doing all the heavy lifting most of this year. Hopefully it will be back in service for my final visits of the year the next couple weeks. All in all it was a great day to visit! FINALLY some nice weather! It was a chilly but sunny day - perfect! Ummm....something is missing

The cost of water is nominal since it is continually recycled although some does has to be continually added. Another reason I see as to the decline or stagnation of dry park water attractions is many dry parks have added small water parks which are included with admission. SFoG added a (really) small Hurricane Harbor in 2014 and it has proven to be very popular. If anything this section has dramatically reduced ridership on traditional water rides since those guests wishing to cool off no longer have to wait in a queue just to accomplish that, but rather they can just stroll into the wave pool or stand under the giant bucket - street clothes and all. Meanwhile the 'chute-the-chutes "Splashwater Falls" ride, which has existed since 1987, has stood SBNO all season and no one seemed to notice. On the other hand, Thunder River remains very popular since it is a thrill ride in addition to a water ride. And the Georgia park has a really nice scenic version. The Mack Power Splash does look intriguing though.

In all likelihood SF Corporate will wait until January 7th - the first official day of the 2019 season - to make the branding switch . There's probably a contractural agreement at the corporate level somewhere that prevents the changeover from occurring during the 2018 season (even though the park itself is closed for the year).

Glad we both got to enjoy what may have been one of the best days to visit this season! I will most certainly be back; tomorrow and several more times before the end of the season! I also did notice last weekend Monster Mansion with a few effects not working although "Billy Bob's warning and that annoying (sorry!) air horn at the end were working OK. In years' past, MM would get some seasonal overlay for Halloween and then for Christmas. This year and last the park has not added any of those extra elements to this ride. Anyway - Hope to see some fellow TPR folks at the park!

Here are a few photos from December 2017 at Six Flags over Georgia. Snow events are always a big deal in the deep south and I was lucky to be able to get photos I never thought I could ever get in the Peach State! Of note I remember there was supposed to be a world record attempt at the largest snowball fight ever - using fake poly snowballs. How ironic it was canceled due to the real stuff being on the ground! Only in Georgia I suppose.... It was rescheduled for the following weekend. The 9-inches of snow really added a festive look to the entire park! Snow in the "Georgia Christmas" area Gotta love it when real snow covers up the fake stuff... If this grand entry did not put someone into the Holiday mood, they probably did not have a pulse!

I was there from the minute the gates opened. I wish I had seen your post beforehand - we had a blast! A few observations from my visit to this opening day of HitP: The stage show "Because it's Christmas" - huge improvement over last year in terms of casting. Lots of new and returning talent. Twisted Cyclone - got in 3x rides (could have gotten many more as there was only station waits all evening but we had other fun stuff to do!) Today being my birthday - and the first time I have ever been able to celebrate it at a theme park - I got the festivities started with a ride on Twisted Cyclone! Metropolis Park (including Justice League; Superman): Flash pass staff told it was closed for the season and no Skip passes were available. A little later on we bumped into park President Dale Kaetzel who was roaming the park. We asked him about that area and he assured us it was open. Sure enough - We got in rides on Justice League and Superman. Lines were non existent so skip passes were unnecessary. All was good. Hot Chocolate cups are YELLOW this year. Park seemed busy with lots of guests but the major ride lines were all very short or non-existent. It was a great day to visit! I will be back on Monday, including a member event and early ride time. If anyone else in TPR land will be there, message me! This is a great addition to the Holiday in the Park lineup! The Georgia Christmas section continues to be my favorite every year. Much improved "Because it's Christmas" show in action!

I have no doubt SFoG can do whatever is needed to upgrade their power capacity to support a launch coaster. We are talking metro Atlanta after all. The only real restriction on ride construction is the height limit due to nearby Brown Field Airport. If SFoG is actually considering a "West Coast Racers" or Maxx Force" clone, those rides stay below that height limit. Speaking of expansion plans, I asked some employees about the new "ScreamPunk District" and the space where it would actually occupy. It seems the plan is to convert part of the existing Lickskillet area, including the Sky Buckets, Thunder River entrance, go-carts, two eateries and the walkways leading up to the 'Piedmont' (former French) section to the new theme. This area would of course include the new Pandemonium ride along with the repurposed former Whistlestop/Thomas Town area. Miner's Cookhouse, the ShenaniGuns show stage and areas beyond that would retain the Lickskillet theme. The employee in the gift shop across from Cookhouse said that location would feature merchandise themed to both areas. Having visited the only other Six Flags park with a ScreamPunk District (SFMM), I admit I am excited about this cool theming coming to our park!