Electerik Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 Let's cut to the chase: Today I went to SFOG (for the first time in over five years) and encountered the most consistently friendly employees of any park I've ever been to. I know, right? No, seriously. Nearly every employee in every department went out of their way to greet as we entered their area, and were helpful and good-natured at every turn. It was like I'd somehow slipped into the mirror universe, except without the short skirts. I have no idea how Six Flags Over Georgia managed to get all these folks to buy into this bizarre new concept--but whatever they're doing, it's working. [Edit: The next day, we went to the Georgia Aquarium. Those photos can be found on page 4.] Goodbye Six Flags Over Georgia...I might even come back this year! Scorcher is pretty good for a stand-up, I guess. I, on the other hand, am a serious documentarian. Misty taking a picture of the Wheelie. (What a nerd!) Whereas the back is awesome and unridable. The front is rough, but great. Georgia Cyclone is the same as I remember it: awesome and horrifying. A floorless drop tower? Um...pass. I do have an operational complaint, though: Superman and Ninja were down all day, and GASM only ran one train--making the wait prohibitive, and turning the whole area into one big old-school Six Flags of suck. Misty has still never been on a Flyer. (I like how Brandon Routh gets to be Captain Buzzkill here, though.) Misty had never been on a Flyer. There are boobs on this thing--but I don't wish to offend, so let's keep our distance. Cool, now let's have some ice cream! And I finally got to ride it! Hooray! On every one of my previous visits (and they were several), the Sky Buckets were closed. Maybe Six Flags really is improving. Yes, a whole little Toro display! Because 'Bully For Bugs' is the best cartoon ever! It's hard to explain, but they really went ALMOST all out. A weird kiddie coaster in a weird area. But I love Looney Tunes, so it's all good. Now here's a real hero! (Coincidentally enough, I actually share Aquaman's ability to speak to fish.) You know, really, Batman just has a bunch of bat-shaped crap. My mom collects turtle figurines, but that doesn't make her a superhero. And Mindbender's second loop is in this picture (even according to SFOG). Mindbender's first loop. Gotham changed a bit since last time I was here. I like it. Goliath is clearly the best ride in the park. However, I don't think it's better than, say, Apollo's Chariot. The helix looks somewhat awesomer than it really is. Kind of a funky picture, but I like it anyway. To get to Goliath, you have to run a gauntlet of games. I thought this whole "more characters out in the park" thing sounded pretty lame, but it was actually really cool. The main thing that brought this Six Flags hater back? Goliath. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
packfanlv Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 I'm glad to hear that SFOG employees are friendly. My only visit a couple of years ago was just before kids got out of school and they seemed to be understaffed but the staff they had was great. I really LOVED Goliath but that was a few years ago. Maybe something has changed. Thanks for the great TR! (Oh and the drop tower is awesome and Ninja is perhaps the single most painful coaster I have ever been on!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larrygator Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 Erik - Did you notice a higher percentage of employees being older than high school/college age? I know you are used to this at Dollywood, but I have a feeling that the economy will bring more older employees into the parks this year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erik Johnson Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 Wow, it looks like they drained the Ninja lake. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thrillerman1 Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 I want the ice cream coaster! Good to hear about the employee friendliness. Thanks for sharing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pkdcoaster Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 Thanks for the TR, how were the lines for Goliath? it looked dead. JEFF Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dresdenoberst Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 I was there this weekend as well. I agree that the staff was pretty good. I was pleasantly surprised at their level of attentiveness and and willingness to do better. On Saturday I was waiting for the Georgia Cyclone and I overheard one of the staff complaining that she was bored. I suggested to her that they should act more like Cedar Point ride ops and sing and dance while they did their job. I boarded the train a few seconds after this. The rest of my group were still on the platform and they reported that the ops started doing exactly as I suggested, Singing and Dancing. The train conductor was doing her spiel in a hurried monotone level on Saturday as we left the Rabun Gap station and I was found hoping she would just be quiet. I was quite amused when we stopped at the Marthasville station, the engineer walked back and conducted the station spiel in a falsetto then baritone voice. He then spent the next few minutes doing a decent standup act before heading back to the poor neutered Texas (diesel convert) engine to pull us back round. Maintenance issues aside, we had a great time at SFOG. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
U2Rox Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 WOW!! Great TR!!! I went to SFOG in Sept. 05, and had a great time! Superman also had problems the day we were there, but we managed a ride. Sorry to hear Great American closed, next to Deja Vu it was one of my favorite rides. Thanks for posting these photos, brought back memories of my Atalnta weekend!! Which was really a good time!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebl Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 This is one Six Flags park that I'd like to visit someday. Thanks for the TR and pictures. Eric Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
themeparkman25 Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 That has to be the coolest ice cream holder ever! Its so novel its almost cool! But I have never been to this park, this TR kind of made me really want to check it out! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Electerik Posted March 9, 2009 Author Share Posted March 9, 2009 Erik - Did you notice a higher percentage of employees being older than high school/college age? Actually, no. There were one or two, but mostly it was kids--they were just really friendly kids. I should also have mentioned that the park was spotlessly clean (in terms of trash). Thanks for the TR, how were the lines for Goliath? it looked dead. Never out of the station. Goliath ran two trains all day, which was nice. (The only other coaster that was running two trains was the Dahlonega Mine Train.) Sorry to hear Great American closed, next to Deja Vu it was one of my favorite rides. Sorry. Great American Scream Machine was open. It was just the only thing open in the area, and it was only running one train. So the line was ridiculous. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coasterbear30 Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 Me and my buddy went on Saturday for opening day and it was more crowded than last year for sure. The longest wait was only about 15 minutes all day though. Ninja and Superman were closed that day too. I still thought that the employees and such didn't have it together. The only crew that was fun was the Goliath crew. They were shouting and having fun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CreditCrazy Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 I've only heard good things about SFOG, plus IMO the park looks great. Did it really used to be that bad? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Speeddeamon128 Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 Awesome TR! I wish I could have gone somewhere this weekend but I have to wait for GADV to open in 26 days. Nice Goliath & Mind bender pics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SFOGdude25 Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 Nice TR and pics. Quick story: The last time I was at SFOG last July, my friend and I decided to be crazy and marathon on the Cyclone (yes I'm a cyclone lover). We got maybe 5 to 8 rides in a row without getting off. By the end of it my body felt rather distorted, but it was really fun nonetheless. I'll be headed to SFOG next weekend to start off my coaster season. Hopefully all the coasters will be up and running when I go. I'll bring some photos back, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willski Posted March 11, 2009 Share Posted March 11, 2009 Me and my buddy went on Saturday for opening day and it was more crowded than last year for sure. The longest wait was only about 15 minutes all day though. Ninja and Superman were closed that day too. I still thought that the employees and such didn't have it together. The only crew that was fun was the Goliath crew. They were shouting and having fun. I went Saturday and was seriously surprised by the lines. Normally on opening day they are non-existant, but there were some serious lines. Cyclone was in the switchbacks beneath the station, Acro was closed, Goliath was backed-up down the stairs and in front of the station. I headed over to Gotham, where Batman's line was backed up all the way to the sewer entrance (!). Mindbender was a one train wait, so I rode that. Then Scorcher was out of the station with only one train, so I just left. Sounds like Sunday was a better day as far as crowds. Nice TR and pics.Quick story: The last time I was at SFOG last July, my friend and I decided to be crazy and marathon on the Cyclone (yes I'm a cyclone lover). We got maybe 5 to 8 rides in a row without getting off. I did 32 in a row on opening day back in 2005. They had the trims off. I totaled 40 on Cyclone that day, and had huge lapbar-shaped bruises the next day on my thighs. Great ride though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
generaleclectic Posted March 12, 2009 Share Posted March 12, 2009 Great TR for SURE!!! SFOG has a rep for starting the season off well as far as friendly staff then slipping as the summer moves along. Being a life long resident of Georgia, I can safely say that it's the heat. LOL Who in the name of hell wants to be working in a theme park when it's 115 degrees out? They try. Personally, I've never been disappointed at SFOG. Ninja being closed is never a biggie for me. It's probably one of the better riding Vekomas that I've been on, but it's still nothing so much like three blind monkeys f___ing a football. SOMETIMES, you can get a good ride out of it if you get a non-wheel seat. David can tell ya where the sweet seats are on that thing. Personally, I wish they had just kept Z-Force. GASM in the first part of the season rarely runs more than one train. I've never understood this mentality. It remains this way until about the first weekend in May. Superman DESPERATELY needs B&M to come in and make adjustments to the restraint system and the sensors on the lift hill. That is THE ONLY REASON this ride is ever closed. The around the ankle restraints are too venerable to kids AND adults who go to Denny's and eat the Grand Dumbass breakfast before going to the park. I've seen skinny kids legs slip through the space and force the ride to stop. The sensors on the lift hill also fail with great regularity. OPS are usually pretty decent on this ride though and engineers are quick to respond when it's not working. My love in that park though is still Georgia Cyclone. Yah it's a crap ride when you put it up against the El Toros, the Phoenixes, and the Boulder Dashes of the world, but it still scares the hell out of me exactly the same as it did when I rode it 20 years ago. David and I go every year to SFOG on Easter Sunday. We're going this year with a small TPR gathering. Then we're going again on the Deep South trip. One thing that I think I'll be doing is a comparison TR from Easter to July and see what happens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the ghost Posted March 12, 2009 Share Posted March 12, 2009 Just put of pure curiosity, why does Mindbenders track look like an Intamin hyper coaster. It's a Schwarzkopf and I've never seen non intamin track like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
astroworldfan1 Posted March 12, 2009 Share Posted March 12, 2009 ^ I think it's because both Schwarzkopf and Intamin share the same designer, Werner Stengel. He too is a god of coasters, along with Anton. -Tatum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Alex Posted March 13, 2009 Share Posted March 13, 2009 The sharing of Stengel's designing skill is only one possible reason. Schwarzkopf also created this track type due to it's strength (compared to the sandard bi-rail track type). Only two Schwarzkopfs use this: Mindbender @ SFOG and Shockwave @ SFOT. They were designed as PERMANENT installations. The stronger track allowed for fewer supports spread out over greater distances, which is exactly what Intamin does with Kingda Ka, TTD, or any other launch with a tophat. Basically, it's because he wanted it that way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoasterNERD502 Posted March 13, 2009 Share Posted March 13, 2009 SFoG looks soooo cool! I really want to go make it out there next time I'm down south. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Six Flags Enthuseast Posted March 14, 2009 Share Posted March 14, 2009 Yeah, I hope I can go there someday! Looks like a pretty fun park to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chauncey Posted March 14, 2009 Share Posted March 14, 2009 you've got some nice pictures there, Electerik — i keep feeling like i should go to Six Flags Over Georgia since it's probably the closest “major” park that i haven't been to, but then i realize that “closest” means an 8-hour drive, and start to think “maybe next year…” but, i don't know… maybe i will get down (up?) there this year… or, not… Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheRapidsNerd Posted March 14, 2009 Share Posted March 14, 2009 FAIL! Not a single rapids shot. Some great shots in there and glad you both had fun. If you're headed back there this summer and would like to meet up, I'd happily make the drive. Good report and I did enjoy several of the Goliath shots. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BJS1981 Posted March 14, 2009 Share Posted March 14, 2009 SFoG is a pretty good park when everything is running. I do say they could add another coaster or 2 and a few more flat rides (I.E. Huss Giant Frisbee, Mondial Inferno, Tivoli Re-Mix, KMG XXL, Kamikaze, Fabbri Evolution) also, to really enjoy the park, you have to be there on the right days. some days you just really get all the riff-raff, some others you get super extreme crowds, and the rest of the days where the crowds are light are the best days to go. that's when you get to ride pretty much whatever is running and just really enjoy the scenerey and not have to worry about fighting lines and people. and yes, what is up with Ninja's lake being drained? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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