Cyrbuzz Posted May 21, 2013 Share Posted May 21, 2013 I like the look of the front of those trains, very unique compared to other GCI trains. My son is a big fan of trains and railroads and hopefully before long will be tall enough to ride this. What are the height restrictions for this coaster? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djcoastermark Posted May 22, 2013 Share Posted May 22, 2013 (edited) Yeah! for White Lightning! Love the look of the front of the train. Had a great time yesterday thanks to Robb and crew and to Fun Spot. I must say I really am impressed with what Fun Spot has done. I know others have commented on how fast and fun White Lightning is, and how good Freedom Flyer is, but I feel I need to give a little love to some of the other rides there too. Sort of a mini trip report. Sorry no pics tho. We returned later in the day hoping to catch a few rides on White Lightning but Mother Nature was being very stormy and cranky and it was not to be. Some of the other rides. Rip Curl - wow, fast and with wicked Air Time! Going both forwards And backwards. There's also a very spinny Tilt a Whirl, a zippy Scrambler with a very nice long cycle, and a paratrooper that, in an overheard quote, "I didnt know a Paratrooper could go that fast". It also runs forwards and backwards. We did the Bumper Boats and turned it into "an unacceptable amount of wetness" for some, Did the different Go Cart tracks. A whole bunch 'o' fun especially doing the Quad Helix in the rain. Insane ! Sliding all over the place. Also did the giant wheel, good view that you can see how close you are to "another" park just literally across the freeway. No food pics either, but the Fries are great and only $3. Good and thick, crispy outside and, "Its Huge !!" LOL. Also the ride attendents were attentive and seemed to be enjoying their jobs. Kudos to the Lady? at Freedom Flyer. Beware, that ride is a pickpocket. As we boarded , we found a cell phone in the seat, chuckled and turned it in to her. After our multiple rides we headed to the other end of the park . it was about a half hour later we realized my partner lost his keys. We retraced our steps and as we neared the Flyer the attendent was flagging us down asking if we lost our keys. Yup, sure enough we another victim of the seat that eats! Thanks. I didn't catch her name but I believe she's the attendent in the station of WL in the last pic posted. All in all a very fun time. So much that we plan on going back many times especially opening day in june. Hope to get rides in on the Enterprise and Sky Coaster too. Edited May 22, 2013 by robbalvey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick210 Posted May 22, 2013 Share Posted May 22, 2013 Yes, White Lightning is officially open. We're getting great feedback from the riders, lots of multiple trips and plenty of screams. I've heard the word "awesome" used a number of times. Height requirement for WL is 48" tall. Foam seats are just for a cleaner, more streamlined look. Plus they allow for the embossed logos. We don't have any information on how well they will hold up over time compared to upholstery. The current theming of the trains are a temporary graphical representation of the actual dimensional fronts which are being fabricated. You may occasionally see this version if we have issues or need to do work on the trains. Side panel graphics are not installed yet, either. Also look for lots of new railroad theming at the station area in the near future. SkyCoaster and Enterprise are also on line now. Freedom Flyer is having its station cover installed today. When you fly over the station you will see a huge FF logo on top of the cover. Hope to see you out there! It's HUGE! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erik Johnson Posted May 22, 2013 Share Posted May 22, 2013 Looks fantastic! I will have to be heading down there in a few weeks to check it all out. Good luck this weekend! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gatorchomp83 Posted May 22, 2013 Share Posted May 22, 2013 Picked up an annual pass last night and headed back to the park with some friends. The ride is already picking up speed! It was noticeably faster from the commercial shoot the day before. The crowds there are practically non-existent right now so we were able to basically just sit on the ride as long as there wasn't someone waiting for our row. The price of the annual pass was offset just last night, as the amount of times we rode everything in the park more than paid for it on a per ride basis! Fun Spot has a winner here, and I'm happy it's only 10 minutes from our house. I see many trips over the next year! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SharkTums Posted May 22, 2013 Share Posted May 22, 2013 Height requirement for WL is 48" tall. Is this true? On the news and when we were there John Jr. and others told us it was 46". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jray21 Posted May 22, 2013 Share Posted May 22, 2013 Looks like a really fun ride and a great addition to the park! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyrbuzz Posted May 23, 2013 Share Posted May 23, 2013 I hope it's 46 inch height requirement, my son wants to ride this new coaster so bad. He's also chomping at the bit to try Cheetah Hunt at Busch Gardens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick210 Posted May 23, 2013 Share Posted May 23, 2013 Sorry, It's 48" minimum height required. I double checked in the GCI manual. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
railsrust Posted May 24, 2013 Share Posted May 24, 2013 What I find interesting is that they chose a theme based on the Santa Fe Warbonnet paint scheme, rather than something from Florida; like the Orange Blossom Special. I guess it's just that the Warbonnet pain scheme is more easily recognizable among the various railroad paint schemes. Note I'm just linking to images to what I found on Google; these aren't my images... Compare 1st, The Warbonnet with 2, The Orange Blossom Special: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robbalvey Posted May 24, 2013 Share Posted May 24, 2013 I guess it's just that the Warbonnet pain scheme is more easily recognizable I'm 100% sure that's it. I mean, I would have had zero clue about any of the other stuff you mentioned. I'm sure they were simply for what looked more like a "train." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
notudon Posted May 25, 2013 Share Posted May 25, 2013 Great ride tonight. What a fun coaster. Fast and had me smiling the whol way. Fun Spot have got themselves a hit. The ride attendants were great as well. They were letting me know which seats they thought were the best to ride. Got to ride it six times in a row, no wait. Freedom Fighter was not my favorite. Rode it once and felt it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjune4991 Posted May 25, 2013 Share Posted May 25, 2013 ^Have you ridden Flying School/Swamp Thing at LegoLand Florida/Cyprus Gardens? FF is a larger layout by the same company, so I'm curious if it is a rough and head-banging as FS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Invertalon Posted May 25, 2013 Share Posted May 25, 2013 Hopefully going to stop by and ride it tonight! Looking forward to it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SharkTums Posted May 25, 2013 Share Posted May 25, 2013 ^Have you ridden Flying School/Swamp Thing at LegoLand Florida/Cyprus Gardens? FF is a larger layout by the same company, so I'm curious if it is a rough and head-banging as FS. Freedom Flyer is lap bar only and super smooth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
notudon Posted May 25, 2013 Share Posted May 25, 2013 ^Have you ridden Flying School/Swamp Thing at LegoLand Florida/Cyprus Gardens? FF is a larger layout by the same company, so I'm curious if it is a rough and head-banging as FS. Freedom Flyer is lap bar only and super smooth. Agreed. The seats were comfy and no head banging like at Cypress Gardens. Still came off a bit dizzy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pianojohn Posted May 25, 2013 Share Posted May 25, 2013 I really like this park a lot! It's great to just pop in for a few laps on a GREAT little wooden coaster and know that 1) Parking will take 2 seconds 2) There will most likely be no wait to get on the coasters 3) The employees seem genuinely glad that you spend time there. And I am really glad I bought my season pass back in November for 1/2 price! It has paid for itself many times over already! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gatorchomp83 Posted May 25, 2013 Share Posted May 25, 2013 Got 53 rides on White Lightning yesterday....Almost to 100 already....... It's REALLY starting to break in! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Invertalon Posted May 26, 2013 Share Posted May 26, 2013 Just rode it three times tonight... Such a great little ride! It surprised me how fun it was... Smooth with great, quick elements. Very rerideable. Hope to make it back again before we leave to ride it more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PKI Jizzman Posted May 26, 2013 Share Posted May 26, 2013 Looks like a fun cute mini Prowler. Florida needs a wooden coaster. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skycoastin Steve Posted May 26, 2013 Share Posted May 26, 2013 Yeah they oiled the track late in the day on Thursday, and it's been hauling major ass ever since. I think they should stick with oiling the track every now and then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Invertalon Posted May 27, 2013 Share Posted May 27, 2013 Got another 18 laps or so tonight... The ride is flying through the course! Running much faster compared to the POVs from media day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TXman308 Posted May 27, 2013 Share Posted May 27, 2013 So for those who have been on it how would you rank it compared to the other GCI's? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gatorchomp83 Posted May 27, 2013 Share Posted May 27, 2013 (edited) Personally, I rank the GCIs I've ridden like this... Thunderhead Prowler Renegade White Lightning Apocalypse Evel Knieval Kentucky Rumbler Gwazi *Edit: Forgot about Apocalypse. Adjusted my ranking. Edited May 27, 2013 by gatorchomp83 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skycoastin Steve Posted May 27, 2013 Share Posted May 27, 2013 For my GCI rankings: Thunderhead American Thunder (Evel Knievel) Prowler Lightning Racer Kentucky Rumbler White Lightning Apocalypse (Terminator) Wildcat Roar Gwazi While it looks like White Lightning is low on my list, I have it at #16 on my overall woodie list (which includes over 70). Definitely a great ride. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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