Six Flags New England TR 4/25/08

[Canobie Coaster]

Earlier this week two friends asked if I was interested in going to Six Flags New England with them and how could I say no. After a 2 hour ride to the park, I arrived and reluctantly forked over $15 to park. Anyway, after walking to the main gate I went right in and headed towards the Cyclone with one of my friends (the other one was processing his season pass and is scared to death by the Cyclone).

 

Surprisingly it was a walk-on and my friend and I took the back seat. The air wasn't as strong as I remember last year, but it still was quite strong on the large drops. Afterwards we went on again, this time in the 2nd car, 1st row. The ride wasn't as thrilling, but it still was pretty smooth and there was decent air during the ride. After Superman and Batman this is my favorite coaster in the park. 8 out of 10

 

Then we all went on Time Warp. It too was a walk-on and I luckily got a front seat. Loading took quite a bit, but once the ride began I remembered why it is my second favorite flat in the park. The swinging gave more sensations this year in my opinion and the hang-time during the inversions was incredible. 9 out of 10

 

Next we all went on Pandemonium. The regular line was near the 1 hour mark so we all did the single rider line and got on in about 5-10 minutes. My ride had tons of spinning thanks to my car being unbalanced with me sitting on the side with a mother and then two 5 year olds on the other. Still a very fun ride despite its size that is way better than many coasters that are much larger than it. 8 out of 10

 

Afterwards we went on Flashback, which was a walk-on. I got a seat towards the back (don't remember exactly where) and got a ride that was rougher than I remember it being. The first drop was excellent as usual, but after that was some painful headbanging mixed in with strong Gs. 5 out of 10

 

Next we all got in the single riders line for Scream, whose regular wait was about 40 minutes long. It was running combo mode so we were psyched. Unfortunately, one of the towers broke down so we left and headed towards Superman. The car had successfully performed the space shot half, but when it tried to ascend for the turbo drop half, the ride just paused in the middle of the tower and didn't move. Eventually the ride slowly descended to the bottom and it reopened later. On the way to Superman, I noticed that all of the Dark Knight's facework has been torn down.

 

Superman had about a 30 minute wait, most likely due to an earlier break down (I witnessed 4 separate break downs on Superman alone yesterday). One of my friends had never been on Superman before and was getting freaked out, but we calmed him down and talked him into riding. He rode in the second to back and my other friend and I rode in the very back. It reminded me why it is my second favorite coaster behind Apollo's Chariot. The air during the ride was very good and the Gs were stronger this year than I remember last year. All of us ended up liking it and it's our favorite ride in the park. Afterwards we rode again in the same seats after a 10-15 minute wait and then we rode in the second to back car after a 5-10 minute breakdown. Two side notes, a young adult watching the ride after it began testing with nobody in it from off the ride didn't realize that it was supposed to be completely empty. Everyone in line heard him yell, "Holy (expletive)! Everyone fell of Superman! Call an ambulance!" My friends and I started cracking up from it. Also, a teenager snuck a hat by the employees at the mandatory lockers and was forced to ride with the hat stuffed down his shirt. 10 out of 10

 

Then we had lunch from Johnny Rocket's. I had a burger and it was decent and the fries were good as well, but it still wasn't worth the $11 price.

 

Now that Scream was back up and running, we got in the single riders line again (the normal wait was about a half hour long). We had no wait because the employee let all three of us ride together right away, which was an absolute shock. Well, Scream reminded me why it's my favorite drop tower. The space shot mode gave good floater air at the top and the turbo drop mode had an excellent drop with a great stomach dropping sensation mixed in with good air. 10 out of 10

 

Next came Twister. It too was a walk-on and I can say that the program this year is better than the one being run last year. The program began with one huge slow loop, and then 5 consecutive flips. Following that were some teases and then one final hang at the end. I know that these rides can be run better, but it's the best cycle I've ever experienced. 9 out of 10

 

Afterwards we rode Buzzsaw, which was a one cycle wait. We got the second row to the end and had a thrilling ride. Unlike last year, the ride made full rotations and therefore was much better. The positive Gs were incredibly strong and the negative Gs were pretty good as well. The cycle was still short, but the ride was certainly intense. 7 out of 10

 

Then we went on the Mind Eraser, the park's SLC. I actually remember liking the ride a lot last year, even giving it a 9 after my first ride, but each of my following rides got worse and worse. That stayed true yesterday. It was a walk-on and I rode in the front. Unfortunately, the trend stayed true as it was even rougher than before, especially during the double inline twist and the first two inversions. One ride was enough for all of us. 5 out of 10

 

Next we got in line for Batman, which was broken down. After 10 minutes, they got it back up and running and then we waited about 10 more minutes to get on. We got the second to back row. While not as good as Hydra, it still is a very good coaster and my second favorite in the park after Superman. As usual the inversions were quite intense and the zero-G roll was the highlight as usual, as its hang-time was incredible. The line was pretty far back now thanks to the ride's slow loading and the previous breakdown, so we decided to go ride other things. 9 out of 10

 

Then we decided to go on Scream again. This time we waited in the regular line since it was only about 20 minutes long. Unfortunately, the same tower that broke down earlier broke down yet again in the same way, leading to Scream only running Space Shot mode for the rest of the day. Eventually we got on and while it was fun, it wasn't nearly as good as combo mode. 7 out of 10

 

Afterwards we went on Superman two more times, with a 15 minute wait both times. The first time I rode in the 2nd to back car and for my final ride of the day I rode in the very back.

 

Next, we went over to Crackaxle Canyon to ride Tomahawk. It had about a 15-20 minute wait thanks to very slow loading. Anyway, the ride was very fun as usual with great spinning and decent swinging. It's better than Canobie's Xtreme Frisbee thanks to its intensity. 8 out of 10

 

Afterwards my friends wanted to ride Time Warp again, and while they did that I rode Blizzard River since I've never been on it. The wait was probably around 15 minutes or so, but since I was riding alone I got on right away when there was an extra seat. For what it was it was decent. The waterfalls were potential soakers (it almost completely soaked me, but missed by a few inches and only skimmed my back), the geyser got everyone wet, and the tunnel at the end was cool, but the rapids themselves were weak. 5 out of 10

 

We only had about a half hour left before the 7 P.M. closing so we had enough time for about 2 more rides. They wanted to go on Flashback so I went on with them. They took the back, so I chose the front. However, two girls asked if I would switch with them and eventually I just said yes because it's a boomerang and it's a pretty mediocre ride unless towards the back. It was just as rough again and it's probably my least favorite of the 3 boomerangs I've been on.

 

With only time for one ride left, we booked it over to the Thunderbolt to finish the day with a classic. After about a 15 minute wait, we got on. I ended up getting the front. While not nearly as big as many of their other coasters, Thunderbolt is still a fun, old classic. Quite a bit of the hills gave decent air and the final bunny hill gave incredible ejector air as usual. It is in need of some TLC soon though. 6 out of 10

 

Well then it was closing, and overall I would say that it was a great day. Lines were pretty short for the most part and the only real negatives were the many breakdowns and then Catapult and Nightwing, two of their best flats, being closed for the day. As a side note, I stopped at Nicky's Pizzaria down the road on the way home and their pizza was incredible. I highly recommend them.