Six Flags Over Georgia TR

[jmicha]

So my studio friend Marion and I are both interning at the same architecture firm in Bluffton, South Carolina and are living in Savannah, Georgia. Of course first thing I did when I got down here was find how far away any worthwhile parks were...and the answer was far. Carowinds and Six Flags Over Georgia being the two closest big parks meant that when I decided I wanted to make myself a roller coaster trip I needed to decide between these two. According to my GPS there was only a ten minute difference in the amount of time it would take to get to each of these parks from my house (about 3 hours and 45 minutes) so this factor didn't play into my decision. I looked at each of the park's lineups to try to make a decision of which I would enjoy more. Although I very much wanted to try out Intimidator after seeing it from the highway on the way down to Savannah, I decided that SFoG would offer more rides that I would be interested in riding. My credit count is exceptionally low (unfortunately) as I don't really have anyone to go to parks with outside of Cedar Point, Kings Island, and formerly Geauga Lake and SFoG offered several coaster types/models that I had always wanted to try out, such as B:TR, old style B&M megacoaster trains, Schwarzkopf looper, and B&M flyer. Plus all the other rides in the park seemed like fun so I felt it was the better of the two parks to go to. Plus it had a smaller lineup which was actually a good things since I wasn't about to leave my house at 6 in the morning to get there by opening and stay until closing and get home at 2.

 

We left my house at 7:30 in the morning and got to the park at exactly 11:00. it seemed like a decent amount of people were waiting to buy tickets and get in but I stayed optimistic that it wouldn't be too crowded. Due to my work schedule Saturday was really the only option I had if I wanted to go to an amusement park as I work every weekday and would be exhausted Monday if I went on Sunday. But thankfully when we got through the obnoxiously long line to buy tickets (only complaint of the day. Open more windows when there are that many people waiting to buy tickets. More time in the park=more money spent in the park, so why make them wait in line to buy tickets?) we got in and headed to Goliath first. The only other B&M megacoaster I have ridden is Diamondback at Kings Island which I thoroughly enjoyed so I was anticipating a great ride. When we got to the station we headed towards the back of the train and got in line for the second-to-last row. This was Marion's first roller coaster in about 7 years so she was a little nervous. The lift hill offered a great view of the surrounding area and Atlanta was faintly visible through the haze. The first drop was very good as were the second and third hills. Nice sustained airtime, similar to the hills on Diamondback's outrun. The helix on Goliath was awesome as well, much better than either of the helixes on Diamondback. The return hills on Goliath also offered some nice sustained airtime, much more so than Diamondback. That was my biggest complaint with Diamondback. The train seemed to be too long for the size of the return hills which meant that you'd get a pop of airtime then fall back into your seat for the rest of the hill. Goliath didn't have this problem and was a great ride. The last small hill into the brake run was also a nice surprise. Definitely a fun ride.

 

Next up was Batman: The Ride. I have always wanted to ride a B:TR but have never had the chance due to my travels never taking me to a Six Flags Park other than the former SFWoA or any other park with this model. Marion was excited to ride this as B:TR at Six Flags Great America (she's from Chicago) is the ride she remembers loving the most. We moved to the front hoping to get a front row seat but we didn't want to wait the extra few trains to get that row so we opted for the second row. The ride was very intense and great fun in this row. The theming, although not extravagant, fit the feel of Gotham City very well and was a nice touch. Waiting in a building was also nice as the sun had started to poke through the clouds and the air was heating up. The first part of the ride (loop, zero g, loop) was great fun and had me getting tunnel vision pulling out of the second loop but I feel the second half was the more intense part of the ride. The upwards turn after the second loop was crazy fast and both corkscrews offered some nice forces and great footchoppers with the ground. The ride was over quickly, but exceeded my expectations. Of the four B&M inverts I have ridden I think I would place it behind Raptor, on par with Fir Dragon, and ahead of Ice Dragon.

 

We then headed over to Mind Eraser. The only Schwarzkopf coaster I had ridden prior to this ride was Wildcat at Cedar Point, so I was excited to ride one of his normal coasters. First thing I noticed when looking at the ride in line was how ridiculous the Stride train looked. I felt kind of bad for it as the non-Stride train looked nice. The pinks and yellows of the Stride train just clashed way too much with the ride and area of the park for it to make sense, but I'm not going to complain about it as it really isn't a big deal. Just goofy looking. We sat in the second-to-last row of the non-Stride train and headed for the lift. The entrance to the lift isn't exactly what you'd call graceful and made me chuckle when Marion's face because suddenly concerned by the banging and jolting. Good times lol. The top of the lift is a little odd as the ride feels like it just barely makes it over the lift when it disengages and took a few seconds to really get going, but once it did it was great. The first loop was intense and quick and led up into one of the most fun helixes I've been on. The entire section of the ride in the ravine was a lot of fun and offered for some cool views and scenery. The ride was a lot of fun and had some pretty intense moments despite the trim brakes throughout. I'm glad to have this coaster in my credit count.

 

After this we started heading around towards the back of the park and made a stop at Dahlonega Mine Train. Expecting a pretty slow, uneventful mine train I didn't expect much. This ride actually has some kick to it. Not so much in speed or heigh (obviously) but in very sudden transitions. I was thrown about and giggling like a six year old school girl the whole ride. This is one of those rides that's just plain fun to ride if you are with the right people. It doesn't do anything amazing and doesn't even come close to breaking any sort of records, but is still great fun.

 

My idea after this was to head over to Superman, Ninja, and GASM, yet due to my apparent inability to recognize a pathway heading away from me towards these rides, we wound up by Georgia Cyclone. Knowing I definitely missed a path somewhere we decided to ride and just backtrack afterwards. I've heard mixed reviews of this ride so I wasn't sure what to expect. I've never had a problem with roughness on any ride so I figured I'd be fine, and in the end this was exactly how it turned out. The ride wasn't anything amazing, but it was a fun wooden coaster. It's obviously past it's prime but it wasn't really that rough at all and had some fun moments. There was one hill next to the station/exit that offered a great pop of airtime for the back part of the train. Not an amazing run, but just like everything else so far, a lot of fun and had me laughing the whole time.

 

After realizing my navigational mistake we headed back towards the back part of the park and found the path we were looking for and headed to Superman. This was by far the longest line of the day. Had we gotten to the park closer to opening I would have headed to this ride first but since we arrived a little later I figured the line would be as long as any other time of the day. We waited about an hour and fifteen minutes for the ride in the blaring sun and by this time I was in serious need of some food, drink, and rest. But we waited it out and got on the ride in one of the rear cars (can't remember which). I've ridden Vekoma's version of the flying coaster and always enjoyed it so I was interested in comparing the B&M version to it. Although I always enjoy riding X-Flight, it never felt graceful enough to really get the whole flying sensation down. Plus the layout has a lot of laying-on-your-back parts which although fun, don't get that sensation across at all to me. The fact that you start off on the B&M version by getting into the flying position in the station greatly increases this feeling. The ride was also a lot smoother than X-Flight meaning that it felt a lot more like you were soaring through the air gracefully rather than jostling about. I hah heard good things about the pretzel loop and was excited for it, but this didn't prepare me for the intensity of this element. Being pulled down into it was one of the most disorienting things I've ever experienced on a coaster and the entire thing plastered me into the seat. Definitely the most intense part of the ride. From reading a lot of reviews of the S:UF models I've heard that everything after the pretzel loop is generally regarded as pretty weak/boring yet I found this to be nowhere near the truth. Definitely not as intense as the pretzel loop, but it was a ton of fun soaring through the turns and swooping down towards the landscape. Simulated the feeling of flying pretty nicely and the inline twist at the end was a nice finale. I definitely enjoyed the B&M version more than the Vekoma and would have liked to ride it again if it wasn't for the fact that the line had increased in size from the time I got in line to the time I exited the ride.

 

After this we got some food in the Superman area. I got chicken fingers and fries and a large drink. Although expensive (as is it at every park) I didn't feel ripped off as the food was pretty decent. The chicken was a little dry, but nothing ketchup didn't fix. Definitely better than most of the food at other parks I've visited (cough*Cedar Point*cough) so nothing to complain about here. Service was friendly and quick too and that's always a plus. Nothing is more frustrating to me than having to wait in a huge line to get food when all you want to do is sit down and take a relaxing break from riding.

 

After a nice lunch we got in line for Great American Scream Machine. I had watched a bunch of videos of all the rides in the park before visiting and this ride looked like it had potential but looked as if it ran way too slow to meet this potential in the videos. I don't know if I just caught it on a good day or if the maintenance department has done some serious work since those videos were shot, but the ride was flying through the course. The first time I watched the train come down the return run I was amazed at how quickly it went over the hills and how fast it whipped around the last turn. I was definitely more excited about this ride than I had been. We went to the back of the station and got in the second to last row and prepared for our ride. The first drop was decent, nothing amazing, but had a nice pop of airtime. The first turn was a little slow but offered a nice view and set up the second drop nicely. After this drop the pacing of the ride really started to pick up. The two smaller hills between the second drop and the turn around offered fantastic sustained floater air and led up into one of the quickest turnarounds I've ever experienced on a wooden coaster. I was flung into the seat divider and had to put my hands down and hold on to recompose myself. Definitely wasn't expecting that. Again, the small hills between the turnaround and the last turn offered sustained airtime over all of them, only this time a lot more intense, flinging me into the lap bar. Knowing that I should probably prepare myself for the last turn after experiencing the first turnaround I put my hands down and held on and for good reason. This turn was taken at even greater speed and slammed me into the side of the car (in a good fun way ) and I was soon thrown into the lap bar again heading into the final hills. The last few hills were the most intense and each threw me up into the lap bar and had Marion and myself laughing like crazy. Then one of the biggest surprises of the ride caught me completely off guard. I was not expecting the shed over the brake run to be so incredibly low coming over that last small hill into the brakes. I had my hands up and laughing and was honestly shocked by how close this felt. Definitely one of the best headchoppers I've ever experienced. This ride was the best surprise of the day. I wasn't expecting much from it and was very pleasantly surprised by how much fun it was.

 

Next up was another great surprise of the day. Basically every review of Ninja I read said it was extremely uncomfortable and was not at all enjoyable. Either these are greatly exaggerated or I caught it on a good day (I feel its the former) as I really enjoyed this ride. I was amazed by how much twisted track they were able to fit into such a small area and the ride had a good assortment of inversions. The butterfly was a lot of fun and I wish a company like B&M or Intamin or even Vekoma with its new track and trains would look into using this element more. It was a very fun element. The dive loop an corkscrews were also a lot of fun and quite intense, taken at a pretty good speed. This ride was also filled with a ton of headchoppers. There were several times where I was amazed at how the train squeezed through such apparently small openings between track and supports. For a ride I wasn't really expecting anything more than a headache from, I really enjoyed it. Also the Axe Twist train on this ride was actually pretty cool looking. Although it doesn't necessarily fit the theme at all, it was cool looking and was a lot more noticeable from a distance than the normal train.

 

At this point there was only one ride left I was looking to ride and this was Georgia Scorcher so we headed that way. The only other standing coaster I've ridden is Mantis which, although fun, is the only coaster I've ever really felt any discomfort on. Thankfully this discomfort was nowhere to be found on the Georgia Scorcher and it was a very enjoyable ride. The layout was very twisted and offered a lot of really nice turns. The loop/turnaround/helix beginning was great and the quick highly banked turn into the corkscrew was very nice. I enjoyed this coaster a lot more than I do Mantis and was pleasantly surprised by how smooth it was. Also the Georgia Natural Gas wraps on the trains were quite nice looking. The blue contrasted the yellow nicely and was definitely the most fitting of the train wraps at the park.

 

It was about 6:30 at this point and although I would have loved to stay at the park until close I wanted to get a head start on driving home as I didn't want to be putting myself or Marion at risk by driving later at night, so I picked one last ride to finish off an already great day. I wanted this to be Goliath but because Marion was finished for the day I decided to go over to B:TR as I knew it would have a shorter wait than Goliath so she wouldn't have to wait for me as long. This time around I waited for the last row that was open to typical guests (fastpass for the last two rows) but there was nobody in the fastpass line so I sat in the last row. This ride is definitely a backseat ride for me. The opening sequence was a lot more intense as were the final corkscrews and turns. I definitely now understand why these rides are praised by almost everyone. A great ride especially for how small it is. Small, but intense rides like this are great for pretty much any park and are a lot of fun. A great way to end an already awesome day.

 

Overall I really enjoyed Six Flags Over Georgia. A great selection of coasters and a really nice setting made this park a lot of fun to visit. The staff was very friendly and efficient and with the exception of Acrophobia being closed (not that I'd ride it anyway, I don't do drop rides) I didn't notice any other downtime except for Ninja stopping on the lift for all of two minutes when I was in line for Superman. The park was extremely clean, there were no overflowing trash cans, no garbage on the ground, and surprisingly I didn't see a single person smoking in the park. Either visitors follow this rule or the park strictly enforces it (much more likely) which was a nice change from the EXTREMELY loosely regulated smoking policy of Cedar Point. I've watched employees walk by people smoking in line for rides and not do a thing which is frankly quite annoying. I don't care if people smoke, but do it in an open area where it's not going to bother those who don't. A line is not the place to do this and it was nice that I didn't run into this problem at all at SFoG. Having only ever visited one other Six Flags park (former SFWoA) I was excited to compare operations to a Six Flags park that I had generally heard is a lot better run and I was very happy with everything about the park. The landscaping was nice, there were a TON of large mature trees throughout the entire park which was nice, and the general upkeep of everything was obviously an important matter for the park. Theming was in good shape, paths were clean, landscape beds were maintained nicely, etc. The park had a very comfortable/relaxing feel to it and I had a great time visiting. Hopefully when I'm back down here next Fall I will be able to visit this again as well as get to Carowinds to increase my coaster count to a respectable level

 

If you got this far, I hope you enjoyed reading my photoless trip report and thank you for reading.

Edited May 24, 2010 by jmicha

[jynx242]

Hey - thanks for the report. Three of us TPR folks (me, eltoroextreme and generaleclectic) live just down the road from you in Savannah! If you ever want someone to go to a park, give us a yell. I've been going to SFoG since I was about 5 and still call it my home park. Mindbender was my first big coaster and is still one of my top steelies and Goliath absolutely rocks my socks.

 

Glad you had a good time!

 

David

[jmicha]

Absolutely! I'm only down here for a few more weeks so chances are I won't be making it out to any parks from now until the end of the quarter but when I get back down here in September I'm hoping to try to get to SFOG, Carowinds, and possibly Wild Adventures during the quarter. Anything to broaden my coaster riding horizons I will definitely stay in touch though. And if you happen to be going to any parks between now and June 21, send me a message, I may just have to change any (currently nonexistent) plans I have for the few remaining weekends I have left here.

[jynx242]

Heck - even if it isn't coaster related - give me a yell or PM if you decide to come into Savannah and we'll get together for coffee or something.

 

David

[PKI Jizzman]

SFOG is such an amazing park.

-Awesome Schwarz looper

-One of the best woodies I've been on (Cyclone)

-One of the best drop rides out there (Acrophobia)

-Goliath is one of the best rides I've been on.

-Scorcher is the best stand up I've been on.

-Monster Mansion

 

Ninja you can forget about, the mine ride is nice, so is the little Wile coaster. Such a nice park, especially the atmosphere.

[jmicha]

^I actually really enjoyed Ninja. I know I'm in the (very small) minority on that one, but with the exception of the entrance to the dive loop I didn't experience any headbanging and the ride offered some nice elements. Certainly not a top 10 ride, but a fun ride nonetheless.

 

I didn't get the chance to ride the Wile coaster. Surprisingly it had a long line and I was on a (failed) mission to get onto Superman since it was around lunch time and I was hoping to get on the ride while most people were still eating. Obviously that didn't work out too well, but the detour still worked out in the end.

 

I'm not sure I'd be able to do Acrophobia. I'm one of those odd types that can ride any coaster out there and not be bothered by height, but at any other point in time I have a severe fear of heights. Ferris wheels are honestly some of the most terrifying rides I've ever been on. Wussy, I know, but I just don't feel comfortable at all at such heights. I made the mistake of being talked onto Drop Tower at Kings Island last time I was there and regretted it about twenty feet off the ground. I've never felt as terrified as I was during the pause at the top. My friends found it hilarious but I just closed my eyes and attempted to think of happier times lol. I'll be going to Kings Island again in about a month or so when I'm back in Cincy for summer quarter and I am steering clear of that ride. Much more fun to watch than ride

[bgwfreak777]

SFOG has honestly one of the best coaster lineups out there imho, my complaint is the fact that it's always felt so ghetto to me and I've had some scary experiecnes there as well that I won't bore you with.

 

Also, as long as you don't hit Carowinds on a Saturday, you can pretty much be done with all 12 credits (you won't get the kiddie unless you steal a kid) in less than 5 hours.

[jmicha]

^Which is unfortunately my problem. As I don't want to be utterly exhausted at work on Monday I won't really ever be able to go on a Sunday. Maybe I'll stock up on some Monster and just suck it up when I'm down here fall quarter I'm hoping to get up there regardless and get all of the credits there. My current credit count is FAR too low for my liking (63) and I want to increase this in any way possible. I need to start getting out to other parks a little more. I'm going to try to convince some of my friends to go to Holiday World this summer at some point as I REALLY want to ride everything they have to offer. I wish when I was down in Texas two quarters ago I had ridden more than Boardwalk Bullet but I had nobody to go with and being in the easternmost city in Texas meant pretty much everything was incredibly far away. Oh well, nothing I can do now. Maybe when I graduate from my undergrad program I will go on a TPR trip. I've always wanted to, just never really thought about it too seriously.