Six Flags New England (SFNE) Discussion Thread

[willh51]

I wonder if the park will tweak the new Premier train? I can't imagine that they're trilled to see the new train riding WORSE, at least judging by the comments here, than the Vekoma original.

[CPSFMMCW]

Hold on couldn't all of these markings and clearings just be a launched coaster that could be put in? Cause if they're removing boomerang, they could put a Mr. freeze/Premier rides style launch there right next to cyclone? What happened to that rumor? Or is that rumor officially dead? Cause I dunno I guess I just feel that Iron Cyclone doesn't seem too likely! That'd mean that Rocky Mountain would be doing two iron horses in one year, and if they added a RMC woodie at another park...I dunno just seems like a little much for one year. Maybe its just me...

Who ever said there will be an RMC wooden coaster at another park?

Wildfire at Kolmarden...but other than that, thats still Two RMC hybrids in one year. But it wouldn't surprise me if a woddie went in somewhere in the US next year. My point is that it seems like it'd be a packed year for RMC.

[Password121]

Hold on couldn't all of these markings and clearings just be a launched coaster that could be put in? Cause if they're removing boomerang, they could put a Mr. freeze/Premier rides style launch there right next to cyclone? What happened to that rumor? Or is that rumor officially dead? Cause I dunno I guess I just feel that Iron Cyclone doesn't seem too likely! That'd mean that Rocky Mountain would be doing two iron horses in one year, and if they added a RMC woodie at another park...I dunno just seems like a little much for one year. Maybe its just me...

Who ever said there will be an RMC wooden coaster at another park?

Wildfire at Kolmarden...but other than that, thats still Two RMC hybrids in one year. But it wouldn't surprise me if a woddie went in somewhere in the US next year. My point is that it seems like it'd be a packed year for RMC.

Wildfire is 2016. Colossus may also be 2016 though.

[CPSFMMCW]

True. But Wildfire will have started in 2015. But you may have a point after all. If Colossus is 2016, then that would leave room for colossus in 2015. Then it'd still be one i-box a year.

[coasterbill]

So we visited the park yesterday and I wanted to give a report.

 

I bash this park a lot for their bad operations and terrible employees but I have to give credit where credit is due, we actually had a great visit yesterday almost to the point where it didn't feel like the same park. Upon entering we noticed a banner over the entrance that says "voted one of the friendliest parks in the country" and proceeded to laugh and try to think of parks that were less friendly than the SFNE staff to kill time while we were waiting to enter. We could only come up with Jolly Roger's and Rye Playland... it was a struggle. lol

 

I feel like whoever voted this one of the friendliest parks based on last year or any previous years had probably never been to the park or were just doing it out of sarcasm but the employees yesterday were not only very friendly across the board but were all very fast and efficient. Bizarro crews were dispatching trains as soon as the train on the course hit the brakes, every coaster was running all of it's available trains and employees were actually smiling... I seriously can't believe how much of an improvement the park has made between last year and this year. I still don't think they're the 5th friendliest park but they're pretty friendly... so kudos to SFNE.

 

I guess before I get into the good things I should mention one really, really bad thing. I can honestly say that Goliath's new train is horrible. Last year I considered Goliath to be the best ride in the park, and now I'd say it's the second worst (you win Mind Eraser!). The spike is still great, but leveling out at the bottom and going through the station results in massive amounts of headbanging. The cobra roll beats the hell out of you too as does the bottom of the drop on the front spike. The only good parts of this ride are the loop and the first backwards ascent... it's a great layout and a great gimmick but it's way too painful to enjoy. I've never seen a ride go from being so great to so terrible so quickly.

 

I don't understand the point of these new trains, they seem to have exactly the same amount of seats as the old ones, so why would Six Flags spend money on a train they don't need that doesn't increase capacity that results in a ton of downtime and makes a great ride terrible? At this point I think Flashback is the far superior boomerang and I hate flashback.

 

I will say this, we rode it in the morning and then rode it again later to see if maybe it was just a bad seat and while I had an awful ride both times, my girlfriend really liked it the first time she rode it but hated it the second time. I'm a pretty tall guy and she's pretty short so height doesn't seem to be a factor, neither does inside or outside seat but I guess it's possible to get an enjoyable ride if you're lucky enough to be assigned a good seat but it's borderline criminal what they did to this ride (and as has been reported on other sites, the line gets much shorter throughout the day which is hopefully a sign that everyone hates these new trains, it's not just enthusiasts).

 

On to better things... it was our first time on New England Sky Screamer and it's a great addition to the park, you can clearly see Hartford and (obviously) Springfield during the day and at night and the twisting seats are really cool. This ride is awesome... my only complaint is that the ride is very short. It doesn't even perform a full rotation at the top, as soon as the carriage reaches the top it starts coming down, it doesn't stop at the top at all.

 

Other than that there was no big news with any of the rides. I'll give a really brief report on them. We were at the park from noon to 11 because it was passholder ERT on Pandemonium and Sky Screamer (we didn't even know what until after we got there) so we got a lot of rides in on both rides at night.

 

Thunderbolt: I love this ride, at this point I've probably ridden it a hundred times in the last 15 years or so and it's been smooth and great every time in every single seat.

 

Batman: See above, I love this ride.

 

Bizarro: We rode it twice, once in the front. Not what it used to be but a great ride as always.

 

Scream: One tower was running in combo mode, the other was running in drop mode (tower A so that's all it can do). No choice of tower obviously but since they both dropped it's not a big deal, we were lucky enough to get combo both times we rode it.

 

Pandemonium: If you ever get the chance to ride a spinner with nobody on the other side you have to do it. We did it more times than I could count during ERT and it was completely insane. I don't give this little ride the credit it deserves because it's a lot of fun. The new lights look great.

 

Cyclone: Suprisingly smooth in the front seat. It's a fun ride now but it doesn't do a whole lot... I enjoy the ride as is but if the rumors are true then it's going to be a million times better.

 

Kontiki: I don't think I've ever ridden this ride before, why do they hide it in the back where nobody will ever find it?

 

Buzzsaw: I'm glad this ride survived SFNE's mass ride removal program. It's great.

 

New England Skyway: Every great manufacturer has made one or two lame rides where it seems like they didn't even try. Intamin has Fahrenheit, B&M has Oziris and Von Roll has the New England Skyway. Still, we rode it twice because we feel bad for it. It just wants to be loved... it's not it's fault it sucks.

 

Houdini: We were the only 2 people on this ride... so naturally we sat on opposite sides. It was a lot of fun, the one at Great Adventure has way more effects both on the ride and in the pre-show but as many times as I ride this the illusion will never stop being awesome.

 

Tomohawk: This is one of our favorite rides in the entire park... is that normal?

 

Overall we had a great day, it's a real shame about Goliath's new train but besides that this park has taken huge steps forward this year.

[rcjp]

^It really is a shame that these new trains are bringing these problems. Does anyone have a number for capacity (before and after)? Because it can't be a massive difference.If it were B&M would stop using their new hyper trains and stick to the older ones (which I actually prefer).

[coasterbill]

The capacity is exactly the same as before... 32 riders. It seems to me that the only thing these new trains did was make the ride unbearably rough... there is one less belt to check, maybe that's why they think it increases capacity? Capacity won't be an issue when nobody rides it anymore though.

 

In any case, this train is terrible.

[rcjp]

^I think the idea is that because all the seats are in a row dispatch times are slightly faster although, as I said, I don't believe it is a big difference.

[El Toro_Ryan]

^It really is a shame that these new trains are bringing these problems. Does anyone have a number for capacity (before and after)? Because it can't be a massive difference.If it were B&M would stop using their new hyper trains and stick to the older ones (which I actually prefer).

 

I think the problem was that one air gate served all 4 seats in a row and having the two outside seats offset was confusing to riders. B&M's trains are a little different where the offset outside seats are actually a separate row with its own set of air gates.

[coasterbill]

They actually have separate airgates for each row, though you do have to walk in front of the first row in the car to access the other seat in the back row. As of now the back airgates still function but they've welded a bar across the front of the queue for the back row of each car so nobody will get in line for those rows as they no longer exist.

[yankeeman311]

I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks Pandemonnium is massively underrated. It's honestly my second favorite coaster in the park after Bizarro. It's also amazing how drastically a train can change an opinion of a coaster. I've heard Bizarro's new trains also really changed the experience in a negative way like Goliath.

 

Also there's really nothing that can replace Flashback. It really got boxed in with space with the additions of Goliath and NESS. That coaster alone takes up too little space for something else to fit which is why I think Cyclone being removed is much more likely. Though I honestly like that coaster more than Thunderbolt.

 

Also imo Fahrenheit is NOT Intamin's mistake. I like it almost as much as Storm Runner tbh. I also prefer it to Millennium Force.

[BugEyed]

Also imo Fahrenheit is NOT Intamin's mistake. I like it almost as much as Storm Runner tbh. I also prefer it to Millennium Force.

Strongly agree. I experienced Fahrenheit for the first time last summer and just could not get my head around the bad reviews. Thought it was amazing.

[coasterbill]

I've heard Bizarro's new trains also really changed the experience in a negative way like Goliath.

 

I thought of this too but it's not as drastic. In my opinion Bizarro's new trains suck big time, but despite that the ride is still really good. It's not what it once was, but it's probably the best coaster in the park (now that Goliath is so rough). Goliath was awesome and it's now just a flat out bad coaster. Like I said I prefer Flashback and Flashback is complete crap.

[CPSFMMCW]

Also imo Fahrenheit is NOT Intamin's mistake. I like it almost as much as Storm Runner tbh. I also prefer it to Millennium Force.

Strongly agree. I experienced Fahrenheit for the first time last summer and just could not get my head around the bad reviews. Thought it was amazing.

+1

[camthedominator]

Wow, that is really disappointing. I was looking forward to riding Goliath again this season, but with all of the bad reviews, I just don't want to ride, but then again, I want to see how bad it is for myself so I can judge. Also, I was thinking the new trains would improve the ride. Since Premier is a pretty prestigious company, I just assumed they would pump out another awesome product, but in this case it looks as if they set the standard for awful.

[camthedominator]

By the way, does anyone have any rumors about the possible Bizarro makeover. To be honest I am quite excited about this particular rumor, due to the fact that it could bring a new life to Bizarro. It just feels like when the revamped Superman Ride of Steel, they sort of did a hap hazard job with the entire thing. All of the special effects with the exception of the "S" shields and the fog machines have all failed and even the paint is fading now. Does anyone share the same opinions as me?

[camthedominator]

By the way, does anyone have any rumors about the possible Bizarro makeover. To be honest I am quite excited about this particular rumor, due to the fact that it could bring a new life to Bizarro. It just feels like when the revamped Superman Ride of Steel, they sort of did a hap hazard job with the entire thing. All of the special effects with the exception of the "S" shields and the fog machines have all failed and even the paint is fading now. Does anyone share the same opinions as me?

[BoulderDash]

I believe a transformation for Bizarro is in the works. Either 2015 or 2016 is my guess.

 

Also all that has been said about Goliath is true. The new trains are awful and I seriously can't think of a ride that I have been on that was rougher. The only enjoyable parts are the spikes, the rest is torture. I would rather ride Mind Eraser, Flashback, and Wildcat without track work than Goliath. It has gone from my second favorite ride there to absolutely atrocious.

[ECZenith]

I was so very dissapointed that I can't ride my #1 coaster since the ridiculous restraints were added. I hope the rumored overhaul means new or refurbished trains with better lap restraints. It seems like every other train a tall or bigger guy was given the walk of shame. The very worst part was when I spoke with a manager they admit the test seat doesn't work and the stupid thing is still in front of the ride to dissapoint those who try the test seat , wait in line an hour only to find out they can't squeeze their legs into the train.

 

I don't blame SFNE for Goliath's rough prototype train and know they had good intentions but it really is quite jarring now.

 

The Sky Screamer area looks great and the park is looking good, but I'd rather go two years without a new ride just to see SRoS revamped and get those high school drama department cutouts away. There are new Superman movies in the pipeline maybe we can get rid of this seldom used, little known villain. It has also bugged me that there are DC rides on the other end of the park when there is a designated area for them.

 

I understand if my longer legs keep me from riding again, I'd rather be able to ride it again but at least adjust the test seat so it serves a purpose. I'll be on Millennium Force next week and will fit just fine and know I will have a good time. I will get a season pass for Six Flags again when I see some positive changes, in the meantime there's always my reliable Cedar Fair parks.

[thenewzolt]

Just rode Goliath for the first time since last year. It is the worst coaster I have ever rode. The mind eraser Is a much better ride then this. Why did they ruin this ride? Words can't even describe how bad it is.

[coasterbill]

Just rode Goliath for the first time since last year. It is the worst coaster I have ever rode. The mind eraser Is a much better ride then this. Why did they ruin this ride? Words can't even describe how bad it is.

 

I'm still trying to figure out why they did this... normally Six Flags lets rides go to crap with lack of maintenance and by cutting corners. Here they spent a lot of time, effort and money making the former best ride in the park so unbelievably terrible that nobody wants to re-ride it. The craziest thing is that the new trains don't even increase capacity. These things are completely pointless.

 

I don't think you're far off with the Mind Eraser comparison by the way... I think Goliath is better but only by a little bit. I just looked and out of steel coasters I ranked it #14 in last year's Mitch Hawker Poll out of 186 steel coasters. As it stands right now I'm planning to put it at #183, actually one worse than the Volare but still not as bad as Mind Eraser.

[thenewzolt]

It was my favorite ride in the park last year. I'm not even going to give it a second ride, it was that painful.

[michaellynn4]

Would someone who can fit on El Toro (with a little extra push) be able to fit onto Bizarro? I'm visiting SFNE for the first time next week and am getting nervous about these reports of walks of shame.

[Noporian]

Six flags parks seem to be making more and more of these gimmick rides.

like TALLEST

FASTEST

[BoulderDash]

Goliath used to be good, and now is is just awful. Literally the worst coaster I have ever been on. Mind Eraser is MUCH better than Goliath. Goliath is by far the worst roller coaster I have been on. It is even worse than Wildcat a few years ago.