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Six Flags New England (SFNE) Discussion Thread


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Superman will definitely be open opening day, considering all they did was paint the ride and its a staple attraction that they can't afford to close (that would leave the park with only 2 thrilling coasters that aren't awful). Fireball won't open until mid to late April at the earliest.

I'm curious if they're trying to get this one open for the start of the season because Superman's going to be ready. Staggering the openings is a little weird - I doubt the parks getting multiple flats will have staggered openings, even if one ride is ready before the others.

Six Flags Over Georgia is opening Bung Bunny Boomtown on March 12th, but not opening the connected DC Super Friends until Memorial Day Weekend. Considering in SFNE's case, one thing is a renovation (similar to Bugs Bunny Boomtown) and one is a new attraction (similar to DC Super Friends area), I could easily see SFNE having Superman ready opening day and Fireball on Memorial Day Weekend, or at least sometime after opening day.

 

I know the attractions are very different but the situation is similar. SFOG also did Batman Backwards beginning opening day, with their Larson Super Loop and Tilt-a-Whirl opening later in the season.

 

I think staggering openings provides hype for the slower spring season, and additional hype for the summer season, which is the most vital season for most parks.

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So, some information was just revealed about the Superman transformation. Silver trains with 3D Superman logo, rethemed cutouts, broken concrete/lightpost by 2nd tunnel to mimic Superman bursting out of ground, and no more on-board audio. They did not release any info about whether headrests would be removed or restraints remodeled, but did say they had more surprises up their sleeves for the upcoming weeks leading to opening day. Below is two photos from the presentation (courtesy of SFNE Online).

 

Edit- Someone on SFNE Online said during the presentation they mentioned the restraints would be exactly the same

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Edited by Nitro1118
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Nitro, if you watched the video, you would know that they said the speakers have been removed from the train and they confirmed that the restraints will be staying the same.

 

...which I acknowledged in my post. I said in the first paragraph they removed the audio (they did NOT mention the headrests, though) and then in the edit I mentioned the restraints will be the same.

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Nitro, if you watched the video, you would know that they said the speakers have been removed from the train and they confirmed that the restraints will be staying the same.

 

...which I acknowledged in my post. I said in the first paragraph they removed the audio (they did NOT mention the headrests, though) and then in the edit I mentioned the restraints will be the same.

Kyle specifically said the speakers had been removed from the trains.

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Nitro, if you watched the video, you would know that they said the speakers have been removed from the train and they confirmed that the restraints will be staying the same.

 

...which I acknowledged in my post. I said in the first paragraph they removed the audio (they did NOT mention the headrests, though) and then in the edit I mentioned the restraints will be the same.

Kyle specifically said the speakers had been removed from the trains.

 

Speakers don't necessarily equal headrests...they could easily still keep the headrests on, whether simply removing the speakers or adding completely new headrests. I am inclined to believe they will be removed, but they were very vague, leaving room for interpretation.

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It's only my opinion and nothing else, but I disagree with the decision to remove the onboard speakers. I know that the ride itself is the reason why we ride it, but music should not be thought of as a distraction, but rather an enhancement to the experience. Kid Rock saying "Are you scared?" at the crest of the lift hill was a really cool when I rode Bizarro... so if they are considering keeping those wrap-around headrests, I would say at least keep the audio intact! Even the classic Superman theme would sound neat at least going up the lift hill in the years to come

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When the audio worked, I enjoyed it and thought it was cool. The only problem is... It doesn't work. SFNE is not the kind of park that is able to constantly maintain it and they clearly didn't care too much about it. If they got it working 100% all the time, it would be a no-brainier to keep. But the system was a complete nightmare and failure. The speakers were either crackly, one was louder than the other, or they vibrated throughout the ride. There were even times where the wrong tracks would play like the station music throughout the ride or the ride music on the lift. I even got a ride where the test track was playing where it would say left and right multiple times. It was a complete disaster. If they maintained it then it would be great for it to stay, but at this point it is a no-brainier to remove it.

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There were even times where the wrong tracks would play like the station music throughout the ride or the ride music on the lift. I even got a ride where the test track was playing where it would say left and right multiple times.

 

That is amazing and hilarious.

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Yeah I thought that was pretty funny, it only happened to me once. It was just some random lady saying left and right every once in a while lol. Really enhanced the ride experience. But I have had the wrong track play multiple times. There were even times where it would play the Led Zeppelin whole lotta love woah coming into the station at full blast and the rest of the track. It was pretty funny.

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...they confirmed that the restraints will be staying the same.

 

 

Seriously though, was anybody really expecting otherwise? This type of train only has one other kind of restraint, right? The restraints it used to have? The ones it had when someone got flung from the train? Why did anyone think they'd be going back to those?

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It really all depends on the way the metal bar part of the restraint is shaped. If it's just a regular old U-shape bar they might be able to make a new foam mold for the part that sits on your lap.

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...they confirmed that the restraints will be staying the same.

 

 

Seriously though, was anybody really expecting otherwise? This type of train only has one other kind of restraint, right? The restraints it used to have? The ones it had when someone got flung from the train? Why did anyone think they'd be going back to those?

 

After the accident, it used the same lap bar for 5 years (until the Bizarro transformation), they just added the side bars and weird ankle restraints. All we want is a smaller lap bar that hits closer to the lap, so it's less bulky and more comfortable.

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I'm just glad Millennium Force and Dragster still run with the original style restraints, they're so much better it's not even funny. I'd even prefer the SFA style retrofitted restraints they used to have. That being said even with these crappy restraints it could be worse. It's still a great coaster.

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...they confirmed that the restraints will be staying the same.

 

 

Seriously though, was anybody really expecting otherwise? This type of train only has one other kind of restraint, right? The restraints it used to have? The ones it had when someone got flung from the train? Why did anyone think they'd be going back to those?

 

After the accident, it used the same lap bar for 5 years (until the Bizarro transformation), they just added the side bars and weird ankle restraints. All we want is a smaller lap bar that hits closer to the lap, so it's less bulky and more comfortable.

 

Ooh gotcha, I didn't know that (or if I did I forgot). Personally I wasn't expecting them to change, though they are ditching the audio apparently which I didn't think would happen.

 

I know I've said it before but IMO the worst thing about those trains wasn't the restraints, it's whatever made them rattle like a shopping cart down the track. Hopefully with a full rehab and no top-heavy speakers this will be addressed.

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The thing is,as a communications manager, Jen might might know a lot about the concepts of the transformation, but not necessarily something so detailed and technical as minor modifications to the restraints. This is not a selling point of the transformation to the average guest. Maybe the restraint alterations are something decided by the ride technicians and maintenance crews.. And for all she knows, the restraints aren't changing to t-bars, or over shoulder restraints, and therefore aren't "changing" per-se? Who knows!

 

I still have my fingers crossed that the restraint padding will receive some changes. I'm still excited about the headrests being removed, but those restraints will look super bulky without the proportion to the tall seats..

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The removal of the speakers should help make it ride faster, too, from an aero dynamic perspective. Those speaker headrests looked like they caused a TON of extra drag, slowing the train down a little. The removal of the speakers should also mean the removal of the speaker box and the return of an extra row of seats.

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