Six Flags Over Georgia (SFOG) Discussion Thread

[SharkTums]

Let us know how it is please!

[The username]

2 hours ago, SharkTums said:

Let us know how it is please!

I'll definitely be making a trip report.

[coasterbill]

Some eagle-eyed people have noticed that the Sky Buckets have been removed from the website. Assuming it’s not just an incredibly-unlikely site error and the ride is being removed, I can’t say I’m surprised but it’s a bummer. Aside from it being a nice ride, it’s also a bummer because they’ll probably leave the towers there forever like New England and it’s a straight budget cut since it’s not opening up any real space.

[The username]

13 minutes ago, coasterbill said:

 

Say it ain't so!!

They still exist on the app for now, but are labeled "Closed for the Season"

[bert425]

don't panic just yet. . look up thread. . Mindbender/Ridder Mindbender, and Pandemonium are missing too.

it's just the website, I'd think. . . "Six Flags". . LOL


(tho there supposedly were rides being removed from some parks, right?)

 

 

EDIT:  looks like Pandemonium is back on the rides list.   Still no Mindbender/Riddler Mindbender tho.

[bill_s]

Back in December, Firebird was missing from the newly upgraded SFA website. They eventually caught the problem.

[The username]

Park is becoming very crowded. Heads up to anyone planning on comming today!

[coasterbill]

Wow, they should be open year-round  

[wiyoh1984]

4 hours ago, The username said:

Park is becoming very crowded. Heads up to anyone planning on comming today!

It did get busy later in the afternoon. Glad I got a flash pass.

[CoasterGuy06]

FWIW, on the SFOG History Facebook group someone posted that a member of management confirmed to them yesterday that Sky Buckets are indeed permanently closed.

[thrillseeker4552]

That's a bummer. It was closed when I went in 2019, but for some reason that didn't surprise me. Hopefully the one at Great Adventure sticks around for a while.

[The username]

Another year, another opening day trip report!  We've got some good, and some bad(prepare to cry) and everything in between.

We got to the park a little before opening and the lines were very long (theme of the day) though we got through and found parking pretty quickly.

Mind Bender is looking very GREEN, minus the section on the "second" loop. It's looking very good, but is nowhere near opening, let alone testing.  From what I saw, the ride has no chain and no sign of any new trains either.

Looking towards the bottom right, it looks like they are adding on the station a little. The primer grey track is still visible too.

After the headache inducing process of picking up our season pass, we made a B-line to Goliath.  It's becoming more and more shaky as the years drag on, I'm hoping there's a solution in the future for this as its only going to get worse.

 

 

[The username]

For some reason the website is flipping my pictures no matter how I save them, so some of them are upside down now is upside down!

After the headache inducing process of picking up our season pass, we made a B-line to Goliath.  It's becoming more and more shaky as the years drag on, I'm hoping there's a solution in the future for this as its only going to get worse.

Here's the new sign for Gotham City, I don't strongly dislike it, but I do miss the old 90s Time warner Gotham. 

Work continues on Mind Bender (you can see some welding going on in the bottom left)

The LED light package on "DC Super Villains Swing" is VERY bright.

Truly the low point of the day, everyone already knows but it breaks my heart.  Walking down to what's left of LickSkillet, my greatest fears were realized.

The Sky Buckets are no more, I believe my last ride was in summer of 2019.  I always made an effort to ride it every time I visited. Both stations are still intact along with all the towers, but its obvious that this classic is done.

 

 Maybe they'll end up using the old station as a que house for a new attraction, though it will probably just get leveled eventually.

 

All right enough grieving, time for some really good news!! I am happy to say that GASM is rideable again!!! Track work has been done all the way through the second drop, and while the rest of the ride is still a little bumpy, I experienced no jack hammering!  The trim after the final turn around also seemed to be off or toned way down on both of our rides.  

 

Nothing new to see here...

Tried to ride Pandemonium but it kept on going down due to that one guy who always pulls down on the OSTRs. (Can they ban him???)

Twisted Cyclone was as good and forceful as ever! Also these new signs have popped up all over alerting guests of the changing elevations.

 

Something not good happened in the parking lot...

Overall take-aways:

It's more or less the same Six Flags, operations were about the same (for better or for worse) when we hit Super Man, they were actually keeping trains from stacking!  Food service on the other hand was as awful, we tried to use the online ordering system and ended up waiting for an hour and a half for food. (longest that day)

I'll be back when the weather is warmer and Mind Bender is open.

Goliath x 4

Batman x 1

DDD x 1

Blue Hawk x 1

GASM x 2

SUF x 1

Mine Train x 1

TC x 2 

 

 

[coasterbill]

Nice report.

That’s cool that they’re alerting guests of changing elevations. If only there were some kind of ride that could magically take guests up or down that steep hill near Lickskillet on like a cable or something... that would be some crazy sh*t, right?

[SharkTums]

Bummer about the sky ride, worse about the poor operations. Hopefully they get in a groove quickly and improve. 

[bert425]

the way around the photo flip, is you need to open the photos to "edit" - then do a reverse image, save, then reverse image (back to the original) and save.   it will save them in the correct orientation, and when you upload them to TPR then orientation isn't basing off your phone.

there's a discussion about this issue from when I was having the same problem  after the site upgraded (in the thread about TPRs new look). .    but that's the workaround fix I found.

 

it doesn't happen on EVERY picture, but it has something to do with the way the iPhone is saving the orientation, and that messes up when uploading to the site here.

 

just FYI

[crash1984]

Not surprised that the Skybuckets are done. These type rides have been on decline for years and it was only a matter of time before SFoG closed theirs. The only real surprise is that they lasted as long as they did. I suspect their age and also insurance costs played a role but I suspect the final nail in the coffin was Covid.

I know it is not very Six Flags like and also unlikely to happen but I would love for SFoG to replace these with either a modern day chairlift or gondola.

[TEDodd]

Nice report.
That’s cool that they’re alerting guests of changing elevations.

Imagine signs like that at Dollywood…

Honestly I think they are Inglewood and a east of space. Did the paths change or did they suddenly decide after decades that people need such warnings?

[thrillseeker4552]

I remember SFOG being much more hilly than I expected during my first visit, but not to the point where signs are necessary. I am curious to know their reasoning for that as well.

Maybe they should put one at SFMM. The path from Jet Stream up to Ninja, which passes by the Full Throttle tunnel, is still the steepest walkway I have every experienced at a park.

[tndank]

I'm fairly certain there has been a sign there for years saying the left side going to Acrophobia is a steeper incline.  (maybe I'm just thinking about Dollywood between Thunderhead nad the front gate)

[JG-77]

I suspect it's for ADA reasons. I know that ramps can't be steeper than a certain amount to meet ADA standards, and I suspect the signs are there to let people know when the walkways exceed that amount.

I don't know why these signs were only put in now. Perhaps it's a change in park policy or local regulations, who knows.

[coasternut]

^ Maybe a law suit.

[Kyndmusic]

I spent less than 2 hours at the park today(Sun).

I was able to get 2 rides on TS and 3 on Goliath.

My last ride was on GASM, I was curious to see if they did any work to it during the off season.

On my way out at about 12:15 I saw park president Dale K out front. I asked him if they were still on schedule for the re-tracking of GASM for it's 50th anniversary in 2023. This time the story seemed completely different from the last. He of course blamed Covid for them being behind but he also seemed he backed away from the words I used re-tracking.

I may be wrong but i'm betting the fantasy of a refurbished GASM seems unlikely now. I think they may do some patch work but I remember being told specifically the track was being replaced almost entirely.

On another subject he did give me some details about Mindbender. Instead of (2) 7 car trains there will now be (3) 5 car trains.  I'm sure that means they have to modify the braking/staging system to accommodate the extra train. He didn't tell me a time frame for it's opening, but I would think Memorial day would be a good guess. The track looked complete from the angle I was looking but it still needs to be painted and tested.

I imagine the park will be packed by mid day today, it was getting pretty crowded and there was still a long line of cars waiting to get in.

Everyone really wants to get out of the house, please be safe!!!

[AmyUD06]

12 minutes ago, Kyndmusic said:

On another subject he did give me some details about Mindbender. Instead of (2) 7 car trains there will now be (3) 5 car trains.  I'm sure that means they have to modify the braking/staging system to accommodate the extra train.

Possibly not.  It was originally designed with 3 trains in mind, so if there's already enough blocks built into the system (and they haven't substantially modified since), it won't need a complete rework.

 

[Lotologist492]

I was at the park yesterday and today (13th/14th) and I have to admit I have not seen crowds this large since 2019.  I am wondering if the reservation requirement is just window dressing at this point (to comply with state guidelines) and, judging by the crowded state of the park, if capacity limits are even being enforced.  But the crowds were not unexpected: the weather was perfect and very warm for this time of the year, and many folks have pent up demand to finally get out after the winter as well as limitations related to COVID.  

A few observations:

All major food and beverage locations have added at least one new distinctive option to their menu.  (Miner's Cookhouse now offers a "Western Burger"; Prominade Pizzeria now has garlic knots and a caesar salad as side options - and the additional option to add a second side for an upcharge) just to name a couple.  Unfortunately, this park still has no Asian or healthy eateries (think "Chop Six or Go Fresh).

The large crowds really showed how understaffed the park is.  Wait times for Flash Pass or Guest Relations were an hour each!  Food lines were terrible too but the mobile app partially solved that.  If they cannot figure out how to staff up the park, this summer will be dreadful.

And speaking of the mobile app - it too was pushed to the limit.  It was challenging to order food on the app as there were only a couple of eateries showing on the list and available time slots were as much as an hour later.  I kept refreshing the app on my device and earlier time slots sometimes popped up.  And the app would not allow me to 'check in' to rides to earn points.

At the Freestyle location, it seems they are having a tough time deciding whether to allow self service or have attendants there to dispense beverages (like all of last season).  Yesterday it was self service.  Today they were dispensing drinks for the guests.  This might simply be due to understaffing.

The new Diamond Elite VIP upgrade sure came in handy with the four STL passes.  The upgrade was automatic; getting the fancy new card at member services was easy.

Nearly all rides were operating.  Thunder River was closed.  Mindbender is coming soon.  Skybuckets are RIP.

Rides like Justice League were now allowing more than one party per vehicle (but not per row).  More rows on the train are now available.

Many of the walkways were resurfaced in the short off season, most notably in the Piedmont/French section.

Face Masks were being enforced but social distancing definitely not!

Overall the park looked great.  Everything looked clean.  I plan on returning next weekend!