Six Flags New England (SFNE) Discussion Thread

[molemaster43]

^I agree with the Flashback replacement. A ZacSpin would be nice, but it probably won't happen. SFNE looks like it needs to get some more "fresh" coasters. I mean, right now the park has a standard Boomerang, GIB, SLC, Wild Mouse, and a Pandemonium clone. Not including Catwoman's Whip and Great Chase, I believe, they have four original designs in Batman, Bizarro, Cyclone, and Thunderbolt. I'd like to see something new, something fresh, a brand new design that wows. Not just another clone or relocated coaster. (3 of the 5 I mentioned were relocated)

[Philrad71]

^Zac Spin sounds about right...seems like SFNE has installed several low capacity rides recently (minus Bizarro) despite insanely busy times during the summer. This park needs something like a Leviathan to chew up crowds (although I'm not sure if they have the room).

 

Even though I was on the page of "What was Canada's Wonderland thinking" when they originally announced Leviathan, it now makes perfect sense. Balance out both sides of the park with a great coaster capable of handling heavy summer crowds efficiently.

 

SFNE really needs to do something like this...

[KoasterDan]

I would cry if SFNE ever got a coaster like Leviathan, but there's not enough space. The park has very little space left to expand.

[SoCalCoasters]

I would cry if SFNE ever got a coaster like Leviathan, but there's not enough space. The park has very little space left to expand.

 

The park has very little space left to expand

 

very little space left to expand

 

ORLY?

 

 

I think you should call up Grona Lund and tell them they can't expand anymore!

 

Nah, I'm just kidding with you. Parks will always have room to expand, and this is the perfect example.

[rollin_n_coastin]

The park added leg guards to Bizarro to keep people from sticking their legs out of the restraint. They didn't effect me much, but the thing that attaches the guard to the restraint kept rubbing against my leg.

 

Ug. I thought these new uncomfortable trains were supposed prevent the need for adding more parts that would make Jigsaw proud... What else can they do to make it even worse?

 

This new Star Flyer sounds cool though. If done right, they can be an awesome landmark, like at Tivoli and surprisingly, a challenge to ride for many. It is kinda high though. Six Flags will probably add a cage around each seat for its second season.

[jzoole]

^SFNE can certainly find room for new coasters if they get creative, but it would be a huge challenge if not impossible to fit anything Leviathan sized. My fantasy for SFNE would be to see Mind Eraser removed and replaced with a WB Movie World Superman-esque Intamin launcher.

[coast4airtime]

Building over other rides would be difficult because of how compact every ride is. People often suggest SFNE goes the Hershey method and build over other rides, but everying is too compact. My dream for SFNE is they sell Flashback, get a log flume to put in Kidzopilis, get rid of Kidzopilis and bring back the wooded themed area, and bring Superman back.

[BaMiTsPaT]

^My dream for SFNE would be to revert back to Cyclone's old drop, get rid of the trims that kill the second half, and add either a GCI woody or Premier launcher, but I doubt any of those will actually happen.

[xmichellex]

^ I agree with getting a better wooden coaster out of Cyclone, but I would just tear Cyclone down instead of trying to alter it any further... Put in something awesome in it's footprint, even if it has to extend over (or get rid of) any of the surrounding rides. I wouldn't miss Catapult or the river rapids ride... or for that matter, Flashback is right in front of Cyclone too... they can all go. Losing 3 really sub-par rides is worth 1 awesome one... especially since SFNE is kind of a "meh" park at this point anyway (except for Bizarro, obviously).

[molemaster43]

^I thought Cyclone and Blizzard River were pretty good. I also liked how Blizzard River didn't have one huge waterfall but instead had a lot of different stuff.

[xmichellex]

^ I think maybe I'm just jaded when it comes to this park. I've been going there since I was really small (I'm 30 now) and it was Riverside... back when it had the Black Widow, and a pretty cool log flume, and the Cyclone wasn't half a pile of crap.

 

I feel myself less and less interested in going to SFNE every year. I don't feel like the park has really improved much at all over the years, of course with the exception of Bizarro and even Batman. They did a great job updating Thunderbolt, which I would ride a million times over the Cyclone at this point. When I think of SFNE, all I see are a few worth-it coasters, and the rest of the park full with awful head-bangers that aren't even worth riding (at least more than once). Every time someone asks if I want to go there (since technically it's one of my home parks), I just suggest driving the extra couple hours and hitting Great Adventure instead (and then of course, you're so close to Hershey, might as well stop there too )

 

I don't think Six Flags really kept up the park as it should have been after they bought it, and they definitely haven't added too many quality coasters/rides. I know they have a height restriction, and land restrictions, but it just seems they've half-a$$ed it for years.

 

Last time I went to SFNE, I grabbed a Gold FP so we could ride everything we wanted all day with minimum waits, but honestly, I felt like it was a waste of money, because after a while there was almost nothing we cared about riding anymore... my SFNE trips just turn into Bizarro trips (which I guess isn't SO bad), but still... I don't know, it's just missing the quality that would make me want to be there more. I choose to spend my time now mostly at Canobie, or even trek to Great Adventure.

 

This is just my opinion though--watching and experiencing the park through the years. I know there's a lot of TPR members on here (and in this thread) that are perfectly fine with SFNE.

[ECZenith]

Pat, a recent guest survey at SFNE asked parkgoers which they prefer... a B&M style coaster or a LIM launched coaster, so you never know.

[BaMiTsPaT]

^^That's exactly how I feel too I went to SFNE once this year to process my season pass and ride Bizarro, but I just go to SFGAdv instead. There is nothing other than Bizarro that makes me want to go to SFNE.

 

^I'd love that, but I really don't want a clone of Superman from SFDK. There are too many clones at the park already!

[David H]

I haven't been to SFNE in years, mainly because I live in Boston and don't have a car, and it's not worth renting one for SFNE.

 

That said, they have a REALLY good water park. So, going in the summer is worth it, if you like water parks.

[Rosso]

http://www.peterpanbus.com/bus_travel_destinations/six-flags/

something to consider.

[Blind Idiot God]

The park added leg guards to Bizarro to keep people from sticking their legs out of the restraint. They didn't effect me much, but the thing that attaches the guard to the restraint kept rubbing against my leg.

 

Ug. I thought these new uncomfortable trains were supposed prevent the need for adding more parts that would make Jigsaw proud... What else can they do to make it even worse?

 

This new Star Flyer sounds cool though. If done right, they can be an awesome landmark, like at Tivoli and surprisingly, a challenge to ride for many. It is kinda high though. Six Flags will probably add a cage around each seat for its second season.

 

The leg guard alteration was probably for insurance reasons, as is so often the case with unpleasant modifications to rides. It just takes one moron to ruin it for everyone.

[Sir Clinksalot]

I really enjoyed the Sky Screamer at SFGADv, much more than the two WindSeekers I've ridden.

[VinTheAttendant]

Here's a picture of the single rider line that I took when I was there yesterday. I'm so glad they added this. Great job SFNE! (P.S. Sorry my finger is in the corner.)

 

You know the phrase "too good to be true"? The sign was gone during my visit, and security continued to direct single riders through the regular queue. It seems that the external single riders queue has been reverted back to a station-only queue.

[BaMiTsPaT]

Really? That sucks! I'm sure people took advantage of it and just had their entire party go up the single rider line, then when the attendant turns his or her back, they hop in with the regular crowd.

[Blind Idiot God]

A friend of mine got transferred from Catwoman's Whip to the Bizarro single-rider queue and quit about three weeks later after he tried to kick an obvious group out of it only to have some roided-out guido douchebag in the group take a swing at him. He said it was probably THE single worst job in the park, even worse than cleaning out bathrooms. It was there when I went a few weeks back, but the sheer amount of groups trying to abuse it probably did get it removed sometime after.

[acq10uaz]

I think the sign is just there on slow days. What day was your recent visit? I've gone on a weekend and the sign wasn't there, but I was still allowed to go through the Flash Pass line as a single rider.

 

Sometimes you do have the misfortune of not being allowed to do it though. I remember that I went earlier in the day and the person working obviously wasn't familiar with the new policy and he tried to tell me that I couldn't go through it. I didn't really have a choice but to listen to him. I tried it again later in the day, when I knew there would be a new employee there, and that one let me go through.

[VinTheAttendant]

^^That's horrible!! I figured that it was probably something along the lines of privilege abuse that took it out, but its a shame that terrible people like that group ruin it for those who do want to fill in the empty seats. Oh well, the Bizarro crew has been pretty efficient all season so waiting in the regular queue is never too painful.

 

^I was there yesterday. The line was maybe about 40 minutes. I don't remember how long it was when I first saw the sign. I only rode towards the end of the day and I was told I had to go through the regular queue. But all is well and good. When I got to the single rider queue in the station, the next guy waiting for the front happened to be by himself

[Blind Idiot God]

I think the sign is just there on slow days. What day was your recent visit? I've gone on a weekend and the sign wasn't there, but I was still allowed to go through the Flash Pass line as a single rider.

 

Sometimes you do have the misfortune of not being allowed to do it though. I remember that I went earlier in the day and the person working obviously wasn't familiar with the new policy and he tried to tell me that I couldn't go through it. I didn't really have a choice but to listen to him. I tried it again later in the day, when I knew there would be a new employee there, and that one let me go through.

 

It was on a Wednesday. Might've been the 25th. Hot as balls, too, and absolutely slammed to the point where the overflow lot was almost 60% full.

[KoasterDan]

A friend of mine got transferred from Catwoman's Whip to the Bizarro single-rider queue and quit about three weeks later after he tried to kick an obvious group out of it only to have some roided-out guido douchebag in the group take a swing at him. He said it was probably THE single worst job in the park, even worse than cleaning out bathrooms. It was there when I went a few weeks back, but the sheer amount of groups trying to abuse it probably did get it removed sometime after.

 

Wow, I can't believe some of the people in this world. Throwing a punch because you can't use the single rider line... pathetic. I think that the single rider line could be great for Bizarro, because I often see empty seats, but they need to decide if they are going to use it full time, or make people wait until the station. If you have to wait through the regular queue, you might as well pick your favorite seat, at least that's my opinion on it.

 

One ride I think would definitely benefit from a single rider queue would be batman. They have a two sided exit staircase for some reason, so why not use one side for single riders. A lot of groups aren't filling the entire row, either because they are a group of 3 or they are more than 4, so they break up into two rows.

[kunpc1]

I LOVED Bizarro's layout when I rode it last summer on the TPR Northeast trip HOWEVER, the trains were/are horrible (and appear to have gotten worse). I just don't understand why a better restraint design can't be rigged up on those trains. I rode El Toro the other day thinking, even with the EJECTOR airtime on it, the restraints were MUCH more comfortable than Bizarro's. It seems as though Bizarro's restrains have an edge/corner on them that dig in to your thighs. I had 2 or 3 amazing rides where I was positioned where the lapbar was in a somewhat comfortable spot. It's a shame that most of my rides were very uncomfortable, especially on the airtime hills.

 

I know there have been "issues" with this ride, but there has to be a better restraint that is safe and comfortable. I really wish I could have had the chance to ride this back when it first opened...