Six Flags New England (SFNE) Discussion Thread

[vacoaster09]

They were partially testing Goliath over the weekend according this recent in park video. Just pulled the train slowly up the tower and then brought it down again. Full testing will probably start this week.

 

[vacoaster09]

Sorry for the double post but does anyone know how the catch car attaches to the train. Im watching the above video of the partial test and wondering how it holds such much weight.

[DJeXeL]

The catch car uses hydraulic pressure and "clamps" onto one of the brake fins on the train. I've seen it in action numerous times while Deja was at SFMM but it's hard to explain as it's A LOT more complex than the traditional Boomerangs. The catch car design used on the Giant Inverted Boomerangs is what caused most of the downtime.

[vacoaster09]

^ So in this video... the catch car is squeezing a brake fin... That doesn't sound too secure compared to to the other boomerangs... I wonder what modification was done to Aftershock.

[DJeXeL]

It's always squeezed the brake fin. It uses a tremendous amount of pressure thus why the catch cars are Hydraulic.

[vacoaster09]

I can imagine

[djcyberlegend]

I shot that video - you can hear my wife and me talking to a few members of the GP in the background!

[vacoaster09]

^ I was listening to the comments people were saying in the video. I can only imagine that quite a few people stopped in their tracks and starred in awe at New England. Thank you for taking that video.

[vacoaster09]

GOLIATH IS TESTING! It's alive! I swear its DEJAVu

 

 

Also SFNE released a timelapse video

[djcyberlegend]

^ I was listening to the comments people were saying in the video. I can only imagine that quite a few people stopped in their tracks and starred in awe at New England. Thank you for taking that video.

My pleasure! My wife and I were taking a rest at JB's and she happened to spot the train moving, so I "quick" grabbed my phone and started filming!

[VinTheAttendant]

In case you missed it (like I did), Goliath's name was hoisted onto the first tower. I was skeptical about Goliath's colors blending into Crack Axle Canyon, but from what I saw of it today, it looks really good. I find it's setting here to be far more appealing than it was at Magic Mountain. I don't care that it's right next to Flashback, I think it looks fantastic.

[cal1br3tto]

^It took me a moment to find it, but I like the way the name looks on the tower, and how the blue matches the sky in the photo. I always liked the "Deja Vu" color scheme, but I'm still relieved to hear the ride looks fine in its new home.

[ECZenith]

Any chance Goliath may be open on Saturday? I will be there regardless, hopefully it won't be super crowded.

[djcyberlegend]

^ They're actually doIng a Sneak Preview this weekend for season pass holders only. It will be opening to the public on Friday, May 25.

[DJeXeL]

So um.........what about that new train from Premier? Are they installing that later.......did I miss something?

[IronWolfman]

^they couldn't get it finished for the Summer but it Apperantly will be ready by Fright Fest.

[DJeXeL]

^Figured as much. Hopefully Premier didn't bite off more than they can chew with this train design.

[BaMiTsPaT]

So I went to SFNE to get my season pass processed and the place was swarming with band kids. Anyway, I went up the fast pass lane of Bizarro to get to the single rider line and avoid the 2-hour wait. The second time I tried, another ride attendant was there to help with regular line guests, and she told the flash pass attendant who had let me in the first time that this was unacceptable and I would have to wait in the queue even though I'm a single rider, so I left. What is the official policy on single riders for Bizarro guys?

[redsd2121]

You have to wait in the entire queue before entering the single rider line. Once you get into the actual station house after queuing for however long it was, you may enter, or just go to any other gate (which sometimes may be faster than actually getting into the single rider line).

[BaMiTsPaT]

That's what I thought. I liked his way more

[VinTheAttendant]

One page ago, I posted a picture where "Goliath" was hoisted onto one of the towers, the other tower now says "Towers" for a combination of "Goliath Towers." I'm not really sure I like this addition, but it hardly matters since aesthetics barely hinder a ride's quality.

 

I went to the season pass sneak peak of the ride today (and was on the first train), and it was running smoothly. Granted, it broke down several times that day, but it still delivered a really fun ride. I am really satisfied with how well it fits into SFNE's atmosphere, and the way people stop on the midway to watch it shows how appreciative the guests are to Goliath. I rode front, back, and middle and had a great time in each spot. I think Goliath will be a welcome addition when it opens officially.

[ECZenith]

I agree with Vin completely. SFNE <3's Goliath. I had ridden Deja Vu at SFMM, but in its new home in such a great location its certainly providing us with some eye candy and a great ride!

 

Went today with my girl for Goliath preview, noticed the ride kept going down for maintenance so we started with

Scream (25 min wait) They were running the old hellevator and one of the newer towers in space shot mode. I was surprised they did not let us choose the older tower, which we prefer, even when we asked nicely we got a rude "no."

 

Bizarro (1 hr 20 min wait for row 1) What is it with this park and line cutting? SFNE is only second to GADV around here for massive groups just outright cutting the line even right in front of the fastpass attendant. There's an empty lifeguard chair to watch the queue, can we use it, please? SFNE was my homepark until I moved to California a while back. Since I am back home in RI, this was my first trip back to my beloved Six Flags New England. It was great to see all my old favorites again, I wasn't aware of many of the changes that happened while I was gone. Disappointed to see Nightwing gone, it was such a unique ride to this area, I believe there were only two in the world(Huss Fly Away). I don't quite get why this park has a deteriorating DC comics area and then puts two Batman themed rides in a random place at the end of the park, THEN builds up a bare-bones themed wild mouse themed to Batman back in the actual DC area. In a theme park... you're supposed to put the themed rides in their themed lands especially when one of these said designated lands already exists... Bizarro looks fantastic in the new colors IMO, I am not a fan of the name change and theme, however. Your average joe is not familiar with the Bizzaro character, he's got to be 99% less popular than Superman so I always thought it was kind of random. That being said, this coaster is a freakin' gem and it was good to get back in the front seat and grab that airtime. Wish I didn't have to deal with an hour and a half of watching groups of scumbags and gangster wannabes display their low class by cutting the entire queue, including the little kids. Shame on these people... really.

 

Does anyone else agree that this DC area has absolutely seen better days? No more Batman show... No more Nightwing, and they seem to be filling in the gaps in this area by putting the joker outside on Nightwing's old spot, putting in the mouse coaster and putting a Batman logo on it... I think it would have been cool to rename SRoS to "Goliath" (Deja Vu should have kept its awesome name!!!) or an original name, put the rest of the DC stuff next to the Batman coaster, and retheme this area completely. That area where the Batman show used to be is prime theme park real estate, if you moved some rides around (mouse, joker to where Batman is) you could have room for a large new attraction that makes use of that nice hillside terrain.

 

After going to the first DC land, we walked to the other side of the park to DC land #2 to ride Batman (45 min wait) I always thought this was a fun little coaster. It's gotten a bit of a rattle to it, it seems, but that zero-g roll is still awesome, and definitely worth what seemed like a long wait for it. We also rode Crime Wave, the wave swinger. I actually really love the way this flat ride is painted with the DC characters, it looks great, but I think if it were with its DC attraction friends it would get noticed and appreciated more.

 

Before hitting Mind Eraser, we stopped at a little drink stand and met this sweet older lady named Barbara who was working there. Out of all the staff I saw that day, she was really outstanding. She offered us free water, gave friendly conversation, I wish they could clone her. One friendly theme park staff to me cancels out 10 lousy ones IMO, so hard to come by, I hope they are taking good care of her. Anyways, Mind Eraser (20 minute wait) actually seemed smoother to me! Speaking of smooth, the crew here was getting those trains out quick, nice job guys.

 

We got our season passes processed and took a little cruise on the park's cute little skyride that takes you over to where Cyclone is. The skyride gives you an absolutely amazing, up-close view of Goliath, really gives another take on Goliath's massive presence. The coaster's new east coast home was a great choice on the midway and as Vin said, it's an eye-catcher and I think it is much more fun than the reeking brown pool of Shipwreck Falls. Rest In Pieces ol' stinky.

 

Goliath is just an ominous sight to behold. At about 7 pm the sun casts its shadows all over the midway and it just begs to be ridden. Today was season passholder preview day, so we rode it today before it is consumed by the masses this summer. We waited close to an hour and a half for our ride. It broke down twice while we waited, smelled like burning tires... Again we were cut by dozens of lovelies even when the ride was broken down. This really sucks on a ride with one train and can make for an agonizing wait. The guests really are confused and hate the seating layout. I felt bad for the crew and the riders as they struggle with this oddly shaped train. It's not their fault the new train isn't ready and I was appreciative that we got to ride in the first place! It feels just like Deja Vu did, but looks incredible in it's new paint. Everyone who rode loved it and it will be a hit for years to come. I kind of think it's time to send Flashback away to a park that will love it. Where Goliath is placed in the park, it basically took any thunder the old girl had left in her. It's a bigger, better version, and it's nextdoor.

 

Overall a fun day at the park, wish they would get that line cutting under a little more control. The park visually looked splendid, well-landscaped, and has a fine collection of coasters to boot. I am looking forward to trying Goliath with the new train, hope the rumors of yet another coaster at this park next year are true.

Goliath is looking good, yeah?

We like the Crime Wave swings

Bizarro still owns the back of the park

Edited May 20, 2012 by robbalvey

[Blind Idiot God]

If you're a big enough guy, confront the linejumpers. I'm 6'0 and 190; whenever I've dealt with them, I've been able to intimidate them into reversing their steps. They always seem to be a bunch of skinny little teenagers, so it's not like it takes much effort.

[Blind Idiot God]

One page ago, I posted a picture where "Goliath" was hoisted onto one of the towers, the other tower now says "Towers" for a combination of "Goliath Towers." I'm not really sure I like this addition, but it hardly matters since aesthetics barely hinder a ride's quality.

 

I went to the season pass sneak peak of the ride today (and was on the first train), and it was running smoothly. Granted, it broke down several times that day, but it still delivered a really fun ride. I am really satisfied with how well it fits into SFNE's atmosphere, and the way people stop on the midway to watch it shows how appreciative the guests are to Goliath. I rode front, back, and middle and had a great time in each spot. I think Goliath will be a welcome addition when it opens officially.

 

It seems like they're very loosely theming it to an oil derrick.

[Philrad71]

Does seem weird to me that a park that seems to be so busy/crowded keeps putting in coasters & rides with horrible capacity. If I ever go back to this park, I will definitely be getting a Fast Pass!

 

If Six Flags would have been smart, they would have moved this coaster to one of the more obscure parks or scrapped it altogether. A B&M hyper would do wonders at chewing up the big crowds here.