Six Flags Over Georgia (SFOG) Discussion Thread

[bert425]

I kinda like the look of the new trains. . . but they are kinda blocky.

[tndank]

Still seems to be missing side panels or something like that. And the headrests are a bit crazy.  Strange looking wheel area. 

Front car with logo looks nice. 

[The username]

14 hours ago, tndank said:

Mindbender is a shell of it's former self.  Got on it Saturday and it's just as bad as I expected.  Trains look horrible.  The two trims are awful.  Intensity has been dropped to near zero.  

The only thing  good about the update is the new operator building in the station.  I bet they appreciate that. 

 

The way the trains need to be loaded sucks too, I feel like if they cut down the trims it will definitely be more intense. Time to petition management.

[bert425]

30 minutes ago, tndank said:

Still seems to be missing side panels or something like that. And the headrests are a bit crazy.  Strange looking wheel area. 

Front car with logo looks nice. 

they painted the purple too dark.

if you look closely, there are black question marks on the purple sides.    I think they might want to go back and make those Yellow against the purple to make them pop. (or neon green).

I, personally, like the big/blocky wheel areas tho.

[CP_RULES]

On 10/10/2021 at 8:42 PM, tndank said:

Mindbender is a shell of it's former self.  Got on it Saturday and it's just as bad as I expected.  Trains look horrible.  The two trims are awful.  Intensity has been dropped to near zero.  

The only thing  good about the update is the new operator building in the station.  I bet they appreciate that. 

 

Oof! I never fully understood the love for Mindbender and Shockwave, but I did think Mindbender was better. If it is only as good as Shockwave or worse now... Sad day.

[southpuddle]

I'm sure Six Flags didn't spend all of that money to get new trains and upgrade everything else if it wasn't necessary. Of course in a perfect world the original trains would last forever and the ride would run just like it did in 1978. If the ride has lost some of its bite and it's now a somewhat neutered experience, that is sad, but given the choice between what we have now and the ride being removed, I'll gladly take the former.

[The username]

I feel like they could at least turn the trim down in the second loop, I could feel it lagging and losing all it's momentum when sitting in the front.

[thrillseeker4552]

On 10/11/2021 at 8:43 AM, grsupercity said:

So I have heard the new trains are B&M. Seems like Premier would have been there go to on this one 

Hmm, what? That would really surprise me. Where did you hear this?

Like others have said, this "upgrade" probably isn't ideal but it's better than removing the ride all together. I am most surprised they didn't maintain the 7-car trains. The shorter trains is probably a big reason it isn't running as fast or intense.

Now that we have seen Revolution and Mindbender make this upgrade, I bet Shockwave's turn isn't far off. Enjoy it in its raw form while you can!

[The username]

2 hours ago, thrillseeker4552 said:

The shorter trains is probably a big reason it isn't running as fast or intense.

I think the main reason they did it was to be able to "safely" run 3 trains. The trims are the main problem here, while they were negligible in the past, now both trims significantly slow down the ride. It was so bad on the second one, that the final loop felt sluggish.

[Lotologist492]

Holiday in the Park opening weekend is now done and I have to say it looks like the park really upped the ante this year!  A few notables: 

The North Pole and Rejoice! sections have swapped places, which appears to be a really nice move.  Santa's workshop (where you get photos with Santa and 'mail' your letters to him) is now located at the top of Peachtree Hill, in the former Sky Buckets location.  Incidentally, this was the location for the "Holiday Haunt" during Fright Fest, so excellent planning on their part!  This area has a lot more space than the Rabun Gap train station did, and also has an arts & crafts area for the kids.  The theming was great and the cast members did a fantastic job.  Meanwhile, Rejoice! new location makes use of the area in front of the Rabun Gap, and really fits the area well.  

There is no indoor Christmas show this year, but there are four outdoor stage shows, at the Dare Devil Stage as well as a stage setup outside the Crystal Pistol.  From what I heard, there is some renovations taking place inside the theater.  The outdoor shows are very entertaining.

The entrance plaza tree has been replaced with another tree which is part of a light and music show which runs continuously and is quite visually stunning.  Speaking of light shows, the light tunnel between the Georgia (Peppermint Plaza) and USA (Retro Christmas USA) sections has returned!

The Strutters Restaurant is open and is now Mrs. Claus' Kitchen and features bread bowls and pasta.  All the old Strutters signage appears to have been permanently removed which would indicate a new restaurant is on the way for next season.

Nearly all rides were open, including the children's section.  The only closed major rides were Scream Machine (which is undergoing a re-tracking now), Blue Hawk, and Sky Screamer.  These were the same rides closed in 2019.

The east parking lot is being completely re-surfaced.  This may sound like a mundane project but it was badly needed.  At least now I won't feel like I am driving up to a dead mall.

The train ride "North Pole Express" has been replaced with a new experience, "Christmas Around the World".

On our visit, Mindbender was running great, with minimal brake runs, not quite like the old trains but not a dead stop either.

I am looking forward to returning sometime during this week and many more times.  Cheers

Peachtree Hill makes for a good North Pole

Rejoice! in its new location.  

This was the former location of the North Pole section last year.  Now all the white has turned purple!

The former Sky Buckets location at the top of the hill is now Santa's workshop!

The former Strutters restaurant now serves comfort food under the watchful eye of Mrs. Claus!

Scenery along the railroad tracks

Screampunk Christmas is back!

 

[The username]

Glad to hear they're not braking as on MindBender. I'm going there this Friday so I'll have to see how it compares

[shoesfather]

Are we thinking it will be pretty crowded on Black Friday? 

[The username]

On 11/25/2021 at 10:27 AM, shoesfather said:

Are we thinking it will be pretty crowded on Black Friday? 

Can confirm is was NOT packed at all. Everything was a walk on except Mind Bender which had horribly slow operations. My experience on the ride this time around was much better than last time. The trims before the second loop were greatly reduced and there was no hang time like earlier this year. On the contrary, the first set of trims were shaving a lot of speed, so much that it looked like the ride would almost valley coming out of the helix. It looks like they're still working out the kinks in getting it to run just right. Other than that, fantastic day! Best I've had in a long time!

[tndank]

I can agree with the last comments on Mindbender.  Trims were scaled back a good amount today versus a month ago and it was running better.

Park was fairly dead today.  Beautiful day, low 70s. Took some extended family that's never been before and we all had a good time.  

Front row of one of TC's trains is broken and it's locked down.  I'd say given their track record, it stays broken until the off season.

 

[ytterbiumanalyst]

When does SFOG usually open for the year? Is it usually open by St. Patrick's Day?

[bert425]

there were whispers about this park maybe going year round. . . but who knows what the state of that is with the giant Corporate restructuring.

that said, it USUALLY opens in early March. . and I believe this year, it opened up March 6th?

[SteamedHams]

43 minutes ago, bert425 said:

there were whispers about this park maybe going year round. . . but who knows what the state of that is with the giant Corporate restructuring.

that said, it USUALLY opens in early March. . and I believe this year, it opened up March 6th?

Correct, was a very good opening day might I add to that

[ytterbiumanalyst]

Yeah, not putting down anything until I know for sure, but that's great news. Thanks, that really helps.

[ytterbiumanalyst]

Are the water rides usually open at the beginning of the year?

[Lotologist492]

3 hours ago, ytterbiumanalyst said:

Are the water rides usually open at the beginning of the year?

It really depends on the weather.  I have seen Thunder River open on opening weekend but only once.  Most years they wait until spring break week.

[ytterbiumanalyst]

Thank you!

[jynx242]

Went to the park yesterday.  As it was super cold (for Georgia) this weekend, the water rides were all closed. 

Got my little guy on Twisted Cyclone and Ninja / Blue Hawk for the first time.  I didn't know he knew that many cuss words   He really liked  them.  Park looked good, most rides were open, but with one train operations which slowed things down.  Food service was very very slow as usual, so that was the only real downside to the day.  We managed to ride Twisted Cyclone, Blue Hawk, Justice League and the Sky Screamer as well as getting food.  We would have done more, but the 6 year old has the attention span of a gnat so we spent a lot of time wandering around and looking at the geese (he's kind of obsessed.)  

I still don't understand how we can be somewhere with roller coasters and rides, and my kid will want to play on the playground   It is a mystery

[jynx242]

Hi - it's me again.  Took the little guy yesterday.  Park was EMPTY which was nice.  Actually had 2 walk-on rides on Daredevil Dive.  I'd forgotten how much fun that ride is, as the line is usually miserable so I skip it.  

I finally got to ride Catwoman Whip, which was okay.  Not as good as the Wheelie was, but maybe that's because I'm old.  I'm really grateful that my kid is a daredevil, and will ride anything he can....but he decided Blue Hawk / Ninja is his favorite ride there.  The new trains and track work make it tolerable and okay for a ride every once in a while.....but a mini-marathon on it almost killed me.  I remember being a kid and being able to ride the roughest rides around with no problem.  I sometimes feel like a kid on the inside, but my body is reminding me today that I am certainly one no longer. 

 

[The username]

I'm planning to get out there this summer if they end up opening GASM, anyone got an idea on that timeline?

[jynx242]

Went again on Sunday.  Absolutely nothing going on at Scream Machine - ghost town over there.  

 

Lines weren't bad at all, but operations were pretty slow.  That isn't to say that the staff wasn't pleasant; because everyone I dealt with was great as far as attitude.  I think dispatches were slow because the crowd was being "special."  In line for the Log Ride, I watched a couple 8 minute dispatches on Scorcher which were painful to watch (thank god I wasn't waiting on it.)  It looked (from a distance) like people were being idiots about standing up and train had to be unlocked and locked repeatedly. 

Ninja/Blue Hawk is actually fun in the front seat and the Super Loop is more intense that I remembered.  Oh the joys of going with a 6 year old.  He's currently 49" so we are limited on what he can ride, but we make due. 

 

David