Jccoasterfan Posted March 13, 2016 Share Posted March 13, 2016 Can someone please take a picture of Ninja in its current state? We were at the park today. Here are some pictures I snapped earlier of Ninja. As mentioned already, there appeared to be some welding that was taking place on one section of the track. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dstephe9 Posted March 13, 2016 Share Posted March 13, 2016 Glad I didn't make it this weekend! I was really considering coming out for opening weekend but doesn't sound like they planned for the crowds ha-ha.. Maybe in a few weeks I'll be able to make the three hour drive Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Geek Mojo Posted March 13, 2016 Share Posted March 13, 2016 Yeah, I went to SFOG last year on opening day and learned my lesson. It was the same story in 2015. DO NOT GO TO SFOG ON OPENING DAY EVER! Unless of course you enjoy waiting hours for everything...Then by all means enjoy yourself. I'll be visiting Easter Sunday, and I'm sure it'll be crazy then too, but what they hell...Gotta see the park and get a few rides in. I'm hoping operations are doing a little better by then having a few weeks practice and all. But for the life of me, I still can't understand why SFOG would not have more things ready. They know they're going to have huge crowds. I understand they just closed after Christmas and only had about two months to prepare for the 2016 season...But seriously, hire more people SFOG. More maintenance...Do what you gotta do whatever it is. I don't know what's all involved. I've never worked at a theme park before. But still, it seems like they'd want to put more into it. I can only see them getting hammered online by negative reviews and that's not good. SFOG is actually a great park...When operations are healthy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DBru Posted March 13, 2016 Share Posted March 13, 2016 They know they're going to have huge crowds. I understand they just closed after Christmas and only had about two months to prepare for the 2016 season...But seriously, hire more people SFOG. More maintenance...Do what you gotta do whatever it is. The thing is that they can only hire as many people who apply. A lot of parks struggle to find enough employees to fill positions in the early parts of the season...even if they have the budget and desire to hire more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philrad71 Posted March 13, 2016 Share Posted March 13, 2016 ^ Exactly...well said, Daniel! Every spring I read complaints in these threads about park operations being horrible on opening day at SFOG, SFGA, CP, etc... If enthusiasts can't understand that operations are going to be (more than likely) slow on opening day and that there are most assuredly going to be higher than normal coaster and ride down-time, then they really don't follow TPR park forums/threads very much. Just based on reading reviews on this site is one of the main reasons why I have never visited a park on opening day. I prefer to give a park at least a few weeks to work out all of the "kinks" as well as give the the park time to get fully staffed for the season. I can understand being excited about wanting to ride a new attraction and to just get your coaster fix after winter, but people really need to show a lot of patience and tolerance if they want to get that opening day "credit". If I were to ever go for an opening day, I would buy a Fast Pass and then still expect a lot of rides to not be open or have some type of issue at least some point during the day. If you go in with lower than average expectations, your chances of being disappointed or angry about operations will be much less, which should lead to a more fun overall experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dstephe9 Posted March 13, 2016 Share Posted March 13, 2016 They know they're going to have huge crowds. I understand they just closed after Christmas and only had about two months to prepare for the 2016 season...But seriously, hire more people SFOG. More maintenance...Do what you gotta do whatever it is. The thing is that they can only hire as many people who apply. A lot of parks struggle to find enough employees to fill positions in the early parts of the season...even if they have the budget and desire to hire more. Exactly.. Dollywood was understaffed last year pretty much all season.. They where hiring pretty much anyone who would apply.. The area around here was just so saturated with part time jobs, there weren't enough people to fill them all.. I'm sure Six Flags has the same issues and even worse because they don't have the camper workers Dollywood gets Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Comeagain? Posted March 13, 2016 Share Posted March 13, 2016 Not to mention that it takes a while for people to get used to how to run their rides and work with people. Training with empty trains is one thing, but dealing with actual people is a whole 'nother game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Comeagain? Posted March 13, 2016 Share Posted March 13, 2016 Not to mention that it takes a while for people to get used to how to run their rides and work with people. Training with empty trains is one thing, but dealing with actual people is a whole 'nother game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoasterGuy06 Posted March 13, 2016 Share Posted March 13, 2016 ^Exactly. The first season I was a rides supervisor I we had to keep a downtime log. The day with the most downtime by far was opening day, and a lot of it was because new employees would call rides down because of a noise they heard that was actually a normal noise, they just were still getting use to the ride. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SFOG1991 Posted March 13, 2016 Share Posted March 13, 2016 ^SFOG does not have a hiring issue. They can't even manage to interview everyone who wants to work there. They get overrun with applicants every January and February. Additionally, historically opening day was not ever busy and many opening days Goliath was a walk on. The park obviously hasn't expanded their maintenance staff but have cut the off season in half. There really isn't an excuse for their operations right now. At least the staff was super pleasant! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carolinaman Posted March 14, 2016 Share Posted March 14, 2016 We (my family) went Sat. and Sun. Saturday was a nightmare. The crowds were there and most coasters was running one train operations. I waited 2 and a half hours for Great American Scream Machine and 2 Hours for Superman. I didn't even try to do DDD. There also seemed to be some problems with stuff like people paying for dinning passes and then it not showing up on their cards, so they would have to back to guest service and stand in line for about 45 min to an hour to get it straight. Sunday was not bad at all. Still one train operations but light crowds. everything seemed to be going a lot smooter. Here are some pics from Bugs Bunny Boomtown and some from the construction still going on for DC area. Boomtown seemed kinda like it is missing something. Very open with no shade and A LOT of space between rides with a lot of hot concrete everywhere. (May be room for future stuff, I don't know). The Bucket Blasters seemed to be a BIG hit. The water shoots along ways from the ride and the bucket in the middle shoots out water getting the people in line wet. I was sitting on a bench outside of the line and still getting hit with water a little from the cannons on the buckets. But it felt pretty good. The Entrance The new Playgroung The Exit Very open The new Playground Tweety's Twee House Daffy's Bucket Blasters Bug Bunny High Sea Adventure Sign for the new Playground The Wacky Wagons was not running The new DC area construction Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SixFlagsAstroworld Posted March 14, 2016 Share Posted March 14, 2016 The Bugs Bunny Boomtown section looks nice. Daffy's Bucket Blasters is smaller than I expected Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scubaski Posted March 14, 2016 Share Posted March 14, 2016 I'm just concerned at how this will affect the already long wait times in line. Dispatch already takes long especially on the bigger coaster and now we'll have to wait for ride ops to check headsets too. I'm also concerned with people who get motion sickness easily. This just maybe be a messy year for the janitorial staff lol From what I understand, these will be secured and instructions given before u r able to get in line. Went to SFOG on Saturday and was the first one in the park. Wife and I went straight for DDD since we had season passes and this was the only reason we went on opening day. They advertised season pass holders only for DDD and they checked you twice before you actually got to the headset staging area which was actually the normal gate area. We were in the first 20 to ride and it was about an hour from the time we actually entered the que. You have a choice to use the VR or not and children under 13 cannot and if they are with parents who are they will ride on a different train. You do not get your headsets to put on and adjust nor any instruction until you get in the final que for the next train to be loaded. The process is very slow and from what I saw from the obvious non enthusiasts vs the experienced coaster riders is that they just don't have a clue. They don't listen nor do they really want to follow the direction of the employees. Of course I have seen many true enthusiasts do the same thing. This does nothing but add to the already slow operation. As for the ride, let's say it was fun and different. I enjoyed the ride but next time we go back I will opt out of the VR. My wife didn't lie it at all. I spoke with several enthusiasts who agreed that all though it was fun they would rather ride without. We personally love DDD and feel the VR detracts from what makes this ride great. I will end up riding most if not all the Six Flags VR Coasters sometime this year at least once. I will reserve my judgement for the VR as a whole until then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SFOGdude25 Posted March 14, 2016 Share Posted March 14, 2016 Isn't the playground in BoomTown relocated from WhistleStop Park? If so, does that area not exist anymore? That area could be a great location for a new attraction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SFOG1991 Posted March 15, 2016 Share Posted March 15, 2016 (edited) Isn't the playground in BoomTown relocated from WhistleStop Park? If so, does that area not exist anymore? That area could be a great location for a new attraction. It is relocated (they didn't even repaint the roof on it which looks really worn down). WhistleStop Park looks like a wasteland now. Everything is still there including the entry sign with the signage itself ripped off. It honestly looks really bad but I am thinking that area will be next year's expansion (hopefully a coaster). Also, I spoke with Dale last season and he said Whistlestop Park was still around with just the playground because it was a necessary haven for parents with small children. Shortly after, the kid's areas were announced and now Whistlestop is gone. He said that area would not be developed until they no longer needed the playground there, and that there is a plan to utilize that space. Edited March 15, 2016 by SFOG1991 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SFOG1991 Posted March 15, 2016 Share Posted March 15, 2016 Park Journey reports that they spoke directly with Dale, Park President and that Dale confirmed that Vekoma is doing the track work on Ninja, Ninja will receive Vekoma brand vest restraints (no word on if it will be new trains or retrofitted onto the existing Arrow trains that came from SFGAdv but I would assume new trains). He also confirmed the color change and hinted that the name Ninja may change, but that's still being decided. Additionally, he recognized that next year is the 50th anniversary for the park and that big anniversaries mean but things and that "you" (referring to the Park Journey person) would be particularly pleased, so that hints at a new coaster. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
josephcissell Posted March 16, 2016 Share Posted March 16, 2016 ^Good lord, 4 hours for Goliath??? I mean it's a great ride, but no way would I wait that long for it.Did you ever get on GA Cyclone? Any track work done for it? I'm honestly fully expecting Six Flags to announce its closure later this year with the amount of woodies in the chain being converted to RMC recently. I got a ride on Cyclone in a middle row. It was assigned seating or I would have gone for the penultimate row, but it was a surprisingly great ride! I noted some fresh wood in various places throughout the ride but didn’t see signs of any real track work beyond annual maintenance. The ride ran well though, certainly a lot better than it did the second half of last season, which I thought was horrendous. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rollercoaster Rider Posted March 16, 2016 Share Posted March 16, 2016 Park Journey reports that they spoke directly with Dale, Park President and that Dale confirmed that Vekoma is doing the track work on Ninja, Ninja will receive Vekoma brand vest restraints (no word on if it will be new trains or retrofitted onto the existing Arrow trains that came from SFGAdv but I would assume new trains). He also confirmed the color change and hinted that the name Ninja may change, but that's still being decided. Additionally, he recognized that next year is the 50th anniversary for the park and that big anniversaries mean but things and that "you" (referring to the Park Journey person) would be particularly pleased, so that hints at a new coaster. Why not, Let's play the game: Ninja Rename: Titan 2017 Attraction: RMC Georgia Cyclone OR S&S Free Spin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SFOG1991 Posted March 16, 2016 Share Posted March 16, 2016 Park Journey reports that they spoke directly with Dale, Park President and that Dale confirmed that Vekoma is doing the track work on Ninja, Ninja will receive Vekoma brand vest restraints (no word on if it will be new trains or retrofitted onto the existing Arrow trains that came from SFGAdv but I would assume new trains). He also confirmed the color change and hinted that the name Ninja may change, but that's still being decided. Additionally, he recognized that next year is the 50th anniversary for the park and that big anniversaries mean but things and that "you" (referring to the Park Journey person) would be particularly pleased, so that hints at a new coaster. Why not, Let's play the game: Ninja Rename: Titan 2017 Attraction: RMC Georgia Cyclone OR S&S Free Spin I wish they could keep the Ninja name/theme as I assume the elements of theming like the ninja statues would go to waste and we would doubtfully see a new theme added. Whatever it takes to keep the ride around and justify the new restraint expense is fine with me though. As for the new coaster possibility, I hope it will be something custom and not come at the expense of an existing coaster, but based on my conversation with Dale, the next major attraction/coaster is likely to go in the old spot of Whistlestop Park (which expands infinitely into the parking lot). I would love to see Cyclone stay as is, but since they stopped the full RMC topper retrack after phase one, I assume it is on the "to be RMC reprofiled" list. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Alex Posted March 16, 2016 Share Posted March 16, 2016 I was really hoping SFOG would complete the Topper Track conversion with Cyclone and add a barrel roll on that third hill that hugs the lift without making it a huge, flashy reprofile. I guess it's either not worth the rest of the conversion or slated to become an Iron Horse. Don't really care how they rebrand Ninja as long as they don't use those giant-themed Titan/Goliath/Colossus trademarks. Hurricane would be cool since it'll be blue and over water. And please please let there be a huge custom ridiculous out-and-back piece of trash next year. For fun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoasterGuy06 Posted March 17, 2016 Share Posted March 17, 2016 I guess it's either not worth the rest of the conversion or slated to become an Iron Horse. I saw an interview with Fred Grubb recently where he said that as of now they are no longer offering Topper Track repairs to existing wooden coasters because of how busy they are with new builds/ full layout conversions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carolinaman Posted March 19, 2016 Share Posted March 19, 2016 How busy is the park and are they running more than one train on the coasters? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B&MBoy1982 Posted March 19, 2016 Share Posted March 19, 2016 Not sure if this has been asked, but how are they addressing the sanitization issue for these goggles. Not sure I feel comfortable sharing head sweat with all of West Atlanta. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thrillseeker4552 Posted March 20, 2016 Share Posted March 20, 2016 Not sure if this has been asked, but how are they addressing the sanitization issue for these goggles. Not sure I feel comfortable sharing head sweat with all of West Atlanta. Six Flags has stated several times that they wipe down each set with a medically-approved sanitation wipe after each use. How well it works--it's probably too early to tell. But they claim to have it under control. I believe the part that touches your face is also made with some special anti-bacterial leather or something along those lines. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SFOG1991 Posted March 20, 2016 Share Posted March 20, 2016 Heading to the park. Going to be there really early but after the chaos of opening day I'm hoping today will be better! Bringing my dad who hasn't been to a theme park in a few years. I love going with non enthusiasts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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