Six Flags New England (SFNE) Discussion Thread

[JJLehto]

I will be wearing either a New York Yankees or New York Giants shirt...I always do this whenever I enter the New England region, and especially Mass.

[VinTheAttendant]

^ RIP

 

I'll be wearing a black SFNE shirt, a Canobie Lake hat, and cargo pants. Please feel free to say "hi" if you run by me.

[gecomet92]

Happy Cyclone's last day of operation as a wood coaster day!!

[El Toro_Ryan]

...the train seemed like it was shuffling left and right during the helixes normal(which wasn't uncomfortable but weird). The audio wasn't working either normal. We hopped back in line after the first ride and got on the third row following a short breakdown LOL, also normal. The ride up front was much better in my opinion since the airtime was way stronger and the helixes were smoother too get ready for a mob to come after you.... After my ride towards the front, I decided Bizarro was better than I305 and it's now my favorite steel coaster. It's very well rounded and the ride felt very long. I'd give it a 9.75873/10. If the airtime was just a little stronger, it would have been a 10/10. I guess I'm a little spoiled by El Toro. Plus the lap bars on Bizarro were a little uncomfortable normal. They weren't painful but the huge block for a lap bar was weird.

 

What?

[Vtafro]

...the train seemed like it was shuffling left and right during the helixes normal(which wasn't uncomfortable but weird). The audio wasn't working either normal. We hopped back in line after the first ride and got on the third row following a short breakdown LOL, also normal. The ride up front was much better in my opinion since the airtime was way stronger and the helixes were smoother too get ready for a mob to come after you.... After my ride towards the front, I decided Bizarro was better than I305 and it's now my favorite steel coaster. It's very well rounded and the ride felt very long. I'd give it a 9.75873/10. If the airtime was just a little stronger, it would have been a 10/10. I guess I'm a little spoiled by El Toro. Plus the lap bars on Bizarro were a little uncomfortable normal. They weren't painful but the huge block for a lap bar was weird.

 

What?

 

 

Ryan i think alwaysairtime13 was stating that a lot of what you experience is the norm for bizarro, such as the music not working. I think only once out of 7-10 rides has the audio worked for me.

[Blind Idiot God]

I will be wearing either a New York Yankees or New York Giants shirt...I always do this whenever I enter the New England region, and especially Mass.

 

I would strongly suggest NOT doing that in Greater Boston, ESPECIALLY not in Southie unless you feel that the possibility of getting smashed over the head with a bottle is an acceptable risk. Western Mass, on the other hand, cares far less.

[JJLehto]

I will be wearing either a New York Yankees or New York Giants shirt...I always do this whenever I enter the New England region, and especially Mass.

 

I would strongly suggest NOT doing that in Greater Boston, ESPECIALLY not in Southie unless you feel that the possibility of getting smashed over the head with a bottle is an acceptable risk. Western Mass, on the other hand, cares far less.

 

To be fair, I have already done it before...including taking the Fenway Park tour in a Yankees hat, and wearing a Giants jersey around Boston.

 

 

Anywho, first trip to SF:NE and what can I say?

Bizarro is awesome, still torn whether it tops MForce, but yeah, epic coaster.

Rest of the park, well it was kind of horrible lol

 

For the last day ever of Cyclone, it ran slower than a snail. Technically, a small line, but took I believe 30-45 minutes. The amount of time trains sat there, and the gaps between them entering and leaving...my god! And yes, it was a two train operation.

Was a let down, I didn't expect much but really was not worth it. Was like a small version of Mean Streak: dull, tamed, and the fact they've removed the roughness takes away any feeling it gave. I wish it was rough LOL!

 

Thunderbolt was a fun lil ride though, as was Batman, and Goliath was actually pretty cool, just it broke down twice and had the worst ride operations I've seen personally. Painfully slow and unorganized. Shame is this kind of kills your mood, (I am a ok with waits, but when it's largely human laziness that is no good) and it did eat up a total of 2.5 hours, plus the wait for Cyclone and didn't get to do much as I liked.

Least we whored Bizarro at the end, 3 or 4 rides and it was awesome at night.

 

I'd say it's a nice lil park, I'd go again but mainly whore Bizarro, Batman and hit up a lot of the flats...oh and avoid Goliath like the plague ha Hopefully Cyclone gets some type of RMC treatment.

Edit: Just so it's clear, it was a fine day and park in terms of rides, nice lil place...just the operations were nightmarish. Of course I know it's Six Flags sooo I really am not let down that badly. I also understand most of this is normal, so what can ya do?

[ejot]

Braved the crowds sans flash pass and hit up SFNE with two friends for Cyclone's final weekend. We'd intended to stay just for Saturday but realized we could use the second day so stayed the night.

 

Having got on the road a bit late, thus through the gates around 11am, we pointed our noses toward Cyclone where we had a perhaps 35-40min wait for a ride in the back seat. I'd gotten three rides (front, middle, back) in on Cyclone the week before during my brief first look at the park. Enough experience to heartily recommend a ride in the back, so that we did. The first drop from the back seat on this ride was a unique and intense experience as recently described here; we all loved it. From the front seat the ride is pretty tame so we didn't have particular reride ambitions. Wish I could have experienced Mr. Cobb's original design before the corporate neuter job.

 

Taking a peek at the adjacent SkyScreamer line, it was running well over an hour, probably pushing 90min to actual airtime. I'd already had a go, and one friend was leary, so we passed. Pandemonium looked fun, but the wait ... yikes! ... and we all really just wanted to get to Bizarro anyway!

 

So over we headed. Expecting well over an hour wait based on the signage, we were pleasantly surprised to be on the platform in under 40min. We waited for front row and within another 20 minutes the sweet, sweet feel of ratcheting restraints flooded our hands. This line was cruising, no breakdowns of any sort. Quite remarkable, frankly. This was my first dash on Bizarro, and yes, I was expecting the world. Was a bit let down with my conclusion "just a fun lil ride", with a delicious second tunnel and cool effects, but actually a touch lacking on airtime intensity and pacing, and probably not a top-10. (BTW - we later rerode x2 and the story changes ; )

 

By this point it was well into the afternoon, and thoughtlessly breakfastless, we were starving. Headed back to the car and dug into the cooler for a seriously delightful lunch. No part of the park food scene do we enjoy, sorry. Actually - lie - typically I do genuinely enjoy a $7-10 "premium" brewski as the sun gets deep. Unfortunately, SFNE managed complete ruin of a finely crafted SamAdams seasonal by mixing it with warmness and flatness. Oh well, it is SF after all, you're gonna win some and lose some. Next ride!

 

Batman Dark Knight was exactly as one might anticipate. Fun of course, but I do prefer both Dominator and Scream/SFGAd Bizarro in the floorless realm. A discourteous bending-of-the-rules by ride op for a highly self-indulgent platinum pass-hole put a sour taste in my mouth, so I may be biased. The wait was probably at or under 1/2hr to front row. Moving next door to Mind Eraser, we were locked into place in the front row within 25min of joining the line. I'm sorry - enthusiast consensus be-darned - I just can't get off the front of an inverted Vekoma without a big freakin' grin slapped across face. B&M standups hurt me way more. This one rolled smooth and quiet, way nicer than SFA's steaming pile of Eraser.

 

I like Wild Mice so we did the Gauntlet. Weee! Yay! Catwoman's Whip? Let's do it! If you been ignoring this little coaster, you should give it shot. It is just a ton of fun. Has the longest train I've ever seen. And let me tell ya, it is not without some thrill. I started sliding across the seat something fierce and it most definitely did not feel like the little chrome lap bar was going to keep me in. Ill get on I305 or KForce or Ka or Zumanjaro without so much as a knot in the belly these days, but this, THIS, there was some genuine, if brief, terror. Fun and smiles. It's why we're here right?

 

Next we headed back toward Goliath. The second train we saw run after hitting the line came back down the second tower slow, so we knew something was up. They got on the horn announcing tech issues, and sensing it could be awhile, we moved on. On a whim, we headed into Houdini's Great Escape. I knew absolutely nothing about this ride, and it was a total trip! If you like flat rides whatsoever and haven't done this, you have to check it out. I seriously recommend NOT learning anything about it beforehand because that really made the experience. Also, there was no wait other than letting the group before you finish up the 5-10 min cycle. Heck yes!

 

Is Goliath up? Nah. A suggestion is voiced to chill on the Blizzard River. I reluctantly agree to go through the "wet-sneaker extravaganza". Actually, compared to SFA and Lake Compounce's versions of these Hopkins raft rides, this was unexpectedly tons better thanks to the mists obscuring what was coming, and the drenching waterfalls from the side. I got lucky (IMO) and stayed pretty dry. Was not a terribly warm day.

 

Next, after the aforementioned beer homicide, we finally got our ride on Goliath by twilight, then a nighttime pass on the Thunderbolt, and finally a glorious, backseat Bizarro reride to cap off the night. Tis late and those experiences/opinion reversal will have to wait for another post if anyone is interested. I will say, I do have a new #4 behind Skyrush, X2, and Tatsu.

 

Sunday was waterpark (Bonsai pipelines! wooohooo!!) and get our itch for more Bizarro scratched. Finally, I've sugarcoated my experiences here. It was a day riddled with your typical Six Flags operations disasters. I try to expect them, look past them, forget them, and just have a blast. Cheers.

[Blind Idiot God]

Six Flags is definitely not the place to go if you want good beer. Good thing that there are plenty of packies with good selections in Agawam alone; once you get into Northampton, you can probably find whatever you want.

[coasterbill]

I will be wearing either a New York Yankees or New York Giants shirt...I always do this whenever I enter the New England region, and especially Mass.

 

I would strongly suggest NOT doing that in Greater Boston, ESPECIALLY not in Southie unless you feel that the possibility of getting smashed over the head with a bottle is an acceptable risk. Western Mass, on the other hand, cares far less.

 

To be fair, I have already done it before...including taking the Fenway Park tour in a Yankees hat, and wearing a Giants jersey around Boston.

 

 

Anywho, first trip to SF:NE and what can I say?

Bizarro is awesome, still torn whether it tops MForce, but yeah, epic coaster.

Rest of the park, well it was kind of horrible lol

 

Glad you finally made it up to SFNE. It was fun hanging out all day.

 

Basically I echo everything in your post. This park is infuriating but Bizarro mostly makes up for it. Bizarro was running better yesterday than it's run in years.

 

After you left to get your car on our way back to the main lot we did see an empty tram going at least 30-40 MPH almost run down a ton of people in a crosswalk leaving the park. The woman driving it slammed on the brakes and honked at everyone leaving. And by "honked" I mean leaning on the horn for a good 5-10 seconds. It's not like anyone stepped right in front of it though, it was a pretty steady stream of people. It was a nice final reminder on the way out that we had just experienced a day at "One of the Friendliest Parks on the Planet".

[gecomet92]

“On August 28th, we’ll be making the biggest announcement six flags has seen in two decades. It’s going to be mega,” McGrath said. She added that whats coming this year is bigger and better than anyone at the park has ever seen.

So apparently the park thinks that what ever is coming to the park next year is going to be bigger than SROS was?

She also said it would be better than all of the things the park added the last few years combined

[EastKoaster]

“On August 28th, we’ll be making the biggest announcement six flags has seen in two decades. It’s going to be mega,” McGrath said. She added that whats coming this year is bigger and better than anyone at the park has ever seen.

So apparently the park thinks that what ever is coming to the park next year is going to be bigger than SROS was?

She also said it would be better than all of the things the park added the last few years combined

I'm telling you, I called it from early Junes video chat with the park that in addition to whatever is coming to cyclones spot the park will also be doing a capital expansion including a couple other rides

[Atter]

“On August 28th, we’ll be making the biggest announcement six flags has seen in two decades. It’s going to be mega,” McGrath said. She added that whats coming this year is bigger and better than anyone at the park has ever seen.

So apparently the park thinks that what ever is coming to the park next year is going to be bigger than SROS was?

She also said it would be better than all of the things the park added the last few years combined

 

Is a new ride replacing Cyclone or will it be a hybrid wooden coaster? Maybe it'll be a new RMC coaster build from scratch,like Goliath. But bigger

[PaTim]

“On August 28th, we’ll be making the biggest announcement six flags has seen in two decades. It’s going to be mega,” McGrath said. She added that whats coming this year is bigger and better than anyone at the park has ever seen.

So apparently the park thinks that what ever is coming to the park next year is going to be bigger than SROS was?

She also said it would be better than all of the things the park added the last few years combined

 

Is a new ride replacing Cyclone or will it be a hybrid wooden coaster? Maybe it'll be a new RMC coaster build from scratch,like Goliath. But bigger

 

I would think it's almost guaranteed to be a rehab on the same level as NTAG, Iron Rattler, and Medusa Steel Coaster. There's just too many signs pointing to this happening, and it seemingly makes great sense as an investment. You have a lower cost than building a new coaster from scratch and the guarantee of a world-class thrill ride. Those two factors combined with the fact that this particular coaster was so well known among the park's visitors for several decades makes this type of project low-risk, high reward.

 

Honestly, while this ride was ahead of its time when it was built in 1983, I was never a huge fan of it. It was one of the most erratically-paced wooden coasters in existence with far too many high, slow points. That was common with Cobb's designs, he loved incorporating pauses into his rides at a time when consistent speed wasn't a huge factor when parks were looking to build new coasters. The experience this ride provided will somewhat live on, as its bigger, younger brother still will operate at LaRonde.

[camthedominator]

You know what, I didn't find bonzai was terribly thrilling. It was fun, but certainly not as scary as I first thought. To be honest the drop looks huge at first but when you actually experience it its a bit of a let down. Also I am confident that Cyclone will be given the iron horse treatment for all the reasons listed above and more.

[Mega_Coaster_77]

If anyone has been to the park in the past few days or will be going there in a few days, was there any construction in the cyclone area?

[gecomet92]

The trains have been removed. the track immediately following the station has been removed. And all the air gates have been removed and are sitting on the exit ramp.

Check out Sfne online for pics, I can't post the link it gets x'd out

[VinTheAttendant]

I went to the park last Wednesday and this morning to take a few pics of Cyclone and hang out at the park. I didn't post any pictures last week because there really was nothing significant to report. But as was mentioned in the last post, some track removal is underway, and there are a few other interesting things to note.

 

This picture was taken last Wednesday, but it's still the same today. No track work has been done on anything past the lift hill.

"An American Classic" has been removed from the bottom of the sign.

The old entrance.

Some orange things are in the area that was cleared out. I can't quite tell what they are, but they look like barriers.

The entrance and exit queues looked untouched.

The air gates are hanging over the exit rails.

Now onto today's photos. Track has been removed from the station leading up to the bottom of the lift hill.

Trains are gone, and it appeared that track had been lifted from the station.

Pieces of track were laying about nearby.

Loose article bins have been removed and look like they've been wrapped up.

Now for the interesting part. This Bobcat was parked by the ride and was holding onto some track pieces; if we take a closer look...

RMC! Now, SFNEOnline raised a good point; it is possible that RMC has just been contracted to remove the ride. Still, it's exciting thinking of the rumored ride to come.

The orange things were removed, but there is still equipment in the cleared area.

And a lift was parked out by the brake run.

 

So nothing is definite at this point, but it is cool to see that work is well under way.

[DJeXeL]

Well that's awkward.....

 

[RMC_Hoodie]

The fact that Cyclone hasn't received the Rolling Thunder treatment may mean that Cyclone could be relocated to another park.

[DJeXeL]

OR, it could be getting a makeover by RMC...............

[Swede]

Well, what ever it is it better be up and running by late May early June when I'm going to SFNE.

[HARLEYGUYJB]

I doubt that RMC was contracted just to remove the ride.. It's either gonna be a re-makeover of cyclone or a complete new RMC roller coaster.

[thesman]

Well from the looks that pretty much sums up RMC is doing something to the coaster However they could just be removing as they do a lot of coaster work. But most likely be coming an iron cyclone,But from way they are advertising it may be something different from the other Parks getting the iron horse or what ever its is called.

Edited July 30, 2014 by thesman

[CPSFMMCW]

I don't get why this is still a topic of discussion. Look, its a steel hybrid. These are the same signs we saw with the other 3 coasters that got the treatment. If I'm wrong, then I'll give everyone on TPR $20. The point is that its getting Iron Horsed.