sfkk Posted July 29, 2017 Share Posted July 29, 2017 Amtrak service all throughout the southeast, especially in Florida, is beyond terrible. This is because in the northeast the passenger trains have their own designated rails while in the south they usually travel in slow, clunky freight rails and sometimes get delayed by the freight trains themselves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SLCHeadache Posted July 29, 2017 Share Posted July 29, 2017 Amtrak service all throughout the southeast, especially in Florida, is beyond terrible. This is because in the northeast the passenger trains have their own designated rails while in the south they usually travel in slow, clunky freight rails and sometimes get delayed by the freight trains themselves. For what it's worth, the delay seems to have started in the DC station. It has been around four hours late throughout the trip. This is the first time Amtrak has let me down. When I flew out DCA-LAX, I went from the Fredericksburg station to the Alexandria station amd then it was a quick Metro trip into DCA. Much better than driving right to DCA. Back to my trip, there's a glimmer of hope for me and my trip. it looks like my return train has encountered a delay in Mississippi. Maybe I will get 30-60 more minutes at the park. I am still pretty hyped for the park. Honestly, more so than for Carowinds next month. Expecting Goliath and Mindbender to become my top B&M hyper and top Schwarzkopf. Expecting Georgia Scorcher and Blue Hawk to be my second place B&M stand-up and Vekoma. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfkk Posted July 29, 2017 Share Posted July 29, 2017 Completely agree, it is a great park! Enjoy your trip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SFOGdude25 Posted July 29, 2017 Share Posted July 29, 2017 Ugh... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coasterbill Posted July 29, 2017 Share Posted July 29, 2017 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bgtlover Posted July 29, 2017 Share Posted July 29, 2017 Ugh... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Superbatboy Posted July 30, 2017 Share Posted July 30, 2017 Croissant flake realness Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SFOGdude25 Posted July 30, 2017 Share Posted July 30, 2017 Was a good night to ride tonight. Amazing weather, and only a station wait for the last hour of Cyclone. Will be back tomorrow for the final day. Already feeling pretty bittersweet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boldikus Posted July 30, 2017 Share Posted July 30, 2017 Wow that paint is hilariously awful. And people say Nitro is bad... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southpuddle Posted July 30, 2017 Share Posted July 30, 2017 How can SFOG let Scorcher look that bad? That ride looms over the front entrance.. nothing says "welcome to Six Flags" more than a dilapidated roller coaster. What's really hilarious is that the paint underneath the peeling purple looks better than what they used to cover it with now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beenagins87 Posted July 30, 2017 Share Posted July 30, 2017 How can SFOG let Scorcher look that bad? That ride looms over the front entrance.. nothing says "welcome to Six Flags" more than a dilapidated roller coaster. What's really hilarious is that the paint underneath the peeling purple looks better than what they used to cover it with now. They were too busy repainting Blue Hawk and Superman,neither of which really needed it. I understand why they painted both a rename for Blue Hawk and Superman got it because of Justice League going next door, but Scorcher clearly needs it more than any other ride.Golitha is fading, but still looks presentable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vonni Posted July 31, 2017 Share Posted July 31, 2017 Ugh... Oh my! I didn't realize it was that bad! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoasterGuy06 Posted July 31, 2017 Share Posted July 31, 2017 Before the all-but-official RMC conversion of GC, I was thinking 2018 could have been repainting GS and a floorless conversion, a la Mantis/Rougarou at Cedar Point... an opportunity for marketing a "new" ride, and high exposure up front, too. Granted, I'd guess it's not a cheap conversion, but surely they are aware load/unload on our GS is the worst one of all the stand ups. (That's for real.) It doesn't have to be. Several years ago I was there on a day where they were often dispatching one train as the other train was going around the curve between break runs. I was there on Thursday and the crew was stacking trains during test runs after the park shut down due to weather. During one test run they didn't even bring the second train into the station until after the other train had run through the course and had been sitting on the first set of brakes for a couple of minutes. They were too concerned with goofing off with each other. Speaking of Thursday: What's the point of having all of these Freestyle machines for people to refill their drink bottles if you aren't going to keep them stocked throughout the day? And while I do hope they repaint Scorcher soon, I would be ecstatic if they finally got Mindbender the ability to have two working trains consistently. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SFOGdude25 Posted July 31, 2017 Share Posted July 31, 2017 Georgia Cyclone's Last Day Trip Report! My word I am so exhausted. It was pretty crowded all day, but I didn't care. I just rode everything I wanted to once and then headed over to Cyclone for its last 2 hours of operation. The crowds that came to ride Cyclone were pretty average all day, with the queue being about half-full at closing time, including a bunch of ACErs that all piled at the very back of the line and waited until the entrance was closed off to line up behind the rest of the queue so they could get on the last train. Personally I didn't care as I was almost to the stairs when the line was shut off. I got 4 rides today and 8 the day before so I had gotten my fill. After my last ride, I spent the rest of the ride's operation hanging out in the parent swap area on the platform. Everyone was having a blast. It was really fun to just watch the last cycles from the station. Dale Kaetzel was there as well as some PR people that were taking pictures and filming and all that fun stuff. It was a really fun way to send off the ride. So how was the ride? Well, it was very visibly in rough shape. It's obvious that Six Flags is ready to put this ride out to pasture. The structure seemed to flex more than it should have, the track had a ton of potholes in it, and the trains were showing really bad signs of poor maintenance. Hell at one point tonight, as a girl was getting into the train, she somehow tripped on the car's fiberglass side decal panel and straight up BROKE IT, so the piece of fiberglass was barely holding on by one screw, and it flapped and rattled as the train went through the course. However, I still really enjoyed all my rides on it this weekend. Georgia Cyclone is a bit of a special ride for me. It was one of the first big roller coasters I ever rode when I was 7, and I've always been a fan of the ride. It provided some of the most violent airtime anywhere, and I honestly kinda liked how it tossed you around. To quote someone else, it felt like a very "raw and organic" wood coaster experience, not precise and dialed like a GCI or RMC for example, but rather loose and unpredictable. That kind of experience seems to get more and more rare these days, but nonetheless. The fact is that the majority of the general public hated the ride, and it was tearing itself apart in its last years, to the point where I guess Six Flags just didn't want to keep it up anymore, and that's totally fine. I'm REALLY curious to know what RMC could do with this ride. It doesn't seem like they could deviate too much from the original layout since it's so compact, but if any of their current designs are an indicator, the new Georgia Cyclone will probably surprise me. So yes, I'll miss Georgia Cyclone, but it really was time for it to go. Looking forward to next year. I took all these photos on my phone. I have a few videos of the very last ride up on my Instagram as well. Morning crowds trying to get in. Today was the last day of summer for Cobb county metro schools so the park was packed with a ton of families and their kids. Safe to say this view will be VERY different next year. The line didn't get much longer than this most of the day. Lining up for my final front row ride. Note the mismatching lap bars... This was a bittersweet photo to take for me. Ah yes the reason we're all here. Here's the final train just before dispatch. Around 9 pm. Park closed at 8. Finally, a parting selfie. So long old friend. Looking forward to your steel-tracked resurrection. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vonni Posted July 31, 2017 Share Posted July 31, 2017 ^ Awesome report! Thanks for sharing that with us! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boldikus Posted July 31, 2017 Share Posted July 31, 2017 Thanks for the report! So stoked this thing is getting RMC'd. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mayb78910 Posted July 31, 2017 Share Posted July 31, 2017 Georgia Cyclone's Last Day Trip Report! My word I am so exhausted. It was pretty crowded all day, but I didn't care. I just rode everything I wanted to once and then headed over to Cyclone for its last 2 hours of operation. The crowds that came to ride Cyclone were pretty average all day, with the queue being about half-full at closing time, including a bunch of ACErs that all piled at the very back of the line and waited until the entrance was closed off to line up behind the rest of the queue so they could get on the last train. Personally I didn't care as I was almost to the stairs when the line was shut off. I got 4 rides today and 8 the day before so I had gotten my fill. After my last ride, I spent the rest of the ride's operation hanging out in the parent swap area on the platform. Everyone was having a blast. It was really fun to just watch the last cycles from the station. Dale Kaetzel was there as well as some PR people that were taking pictures and filming and all that fun stuff. It was a really fun way to send off the ride. So how was the ride? Well, it was very visibly in rough shape. It's obvious that Six Flags is ready to put this ride out to pasture. The structure seemed to flex more than it should have, the track had a ton of potholes in it, and the trains were showing really bad signs of poor maintenance. Hell at one point tonight, as a girl was getting into the train, she somehow tripped on the car's fiberglass side decal panel and straight up BROKE IT, so the piece of fiberglass was barely holding on by one screw, and it flapped and rattled as the train went through the course. However, I still really enjoyed all my rides on it this weekend. Georgia Cyclone is a bit of a special ride for me. It was one of the first big roller coasters I ever rode when I was 7, and I've always been a fan of the ride. It provided some of the most violent airtime anywhere, and I honestly kinda liked how it tossed you around. To quote someone else, it felt like a very "raw and organic" wood coaster experience, not precise and dialed like a GCI or RMC for example, but rather loose and unpredictable. That kind of experience seems to get more and more rare these days, but nonetheless. The fact is that the majority of the general public hated the ride, and it was tearing itself apart in its last years, to the point where I guess Six Flags just didn't want to keep it up anymore, and that's totally fine. I'm REALLY curious to know what RMC could do with this ride. It doesn't seem like they could deviate too much from the original layout since it's so compact, but if any of their current designs are an indicator, the new Georgia Cyclone will probably surprise me. So yes, I'll miss Georgia Cyclone, but it really was time for it to go. Looking forward to next year. I took all these photos on my phone. I have a few videos of the very last ride up on my Instagram as well. Thanks!! I really enjoyed your post! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coasterbill Posted July 31, 2017 Share Posted July 31, 2017 Great report! with the queue being about half-full at closing time, including a bunch of ACErs that all piled at the very back of the line and waited until the entrance was closed off to line up behind the rest of the queue so they could get on the last train. Sounds about right... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
purplechicken Posted July 31, 2017 Share Posted July 31, 2017 Everything SFOGdude25 said is about the same as what I had to say, other than the fact that I was on the last train! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PKI Jizzman Posted July 31, 2017 Share Posted July 31, 2017 Mismatching lap bars? That's a new one, haha. Pretty obvious they want to take Old Yeller to the barn. I haven't been since 2011 but I really enjoyed my rides on Georgia Cyclone. True that it was a bit rough, but that was part of the reason why it produced better airtime than the other cyclone models I've been on. Like the Racer models being removed, this doesn't really sadden me knowing the future is bright and there are plenty of other Cyclone models still out there to ride. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beenagins87 Posted July 31, 2017 Share Posted July 31, 2017 So, I was thinking with the construction of RMC Cyclone, is there a good chance Georgia Scorcher could get repainted finally since it's pretty much right across the entrance of Cyclone? Before the all-but-official RMC conversion of GC, I was thinking 2018 could have been repainting GS and a floorless conversion, a la Mantis/Rougarou at Cedar Point... an opportunity for marketing a "new" ride, and high exposure up front, too. Granted, I'd guess it's not a cheap conversion, but surely they are aware load/unload on our GS is the worst one of all the stand ups. (That's for real.) The ride is so good! It just needs some attention, just like Ninja/Blue Hawk did. Under-rated, IMO. Fresh paint, two floorless trains, loading station re-do... boom I don't want them to convert it, the ride is probably the best Stand Up coaster out their. All it needs is a reapint, as for dispatchs, we were their on Wednsedsy and they dispatched our train in under two minutes, next train took like 5, it's more of the GP holding the dispatches up than it is anything else, how people don't understand that you have to STAND on a STAND UP coaster is rather perplexing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SFOG1991 Posted July 31, 2017 Share Posted July 31, 2017 The park offered ACE members the final ride and that is why they were being held at the end of the line just before closing, and I appreciated having a way to be on the last public train! Cyclone has always been one of my favorites since I was a small child so it was great to have the final ride. Very bittersweet. I'm embarrassed to say it made me a bit more emotional inside than I anticipated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PatrickFHam Posted July 31, 2017 Share Posted July 31, 2017 (edited) Everything SFOGdude25 said is about the same as what I had to say, other than the fact that I was on the last train! I have an out-side the park video of this, if you're interested. Ha! I arrived to the park at 20-till closing, and was turned away at the gate at 7:42p. So mad. Instead of riding, I stood between west parking and west ticketing and watched the last hour's worth of cycles. I heard a bunch of cheering, saw some flash-photography, assumed it was the last one, and started the video. Next train was empty, done for the night. Mixed emotions with all that. Edited July 31, 2017 by PatrickFHam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PatrickFHam Posted July 31, 2017 Share Posted July 31, 2017 I don't want them to convert it, the ride is probably the best Stand Up coaster out their. All it needs is a reapint, as for dispatchs, we were their on Wednsedsy and they dispatched our train in under two minutes, next train took like 5, it's more of the GP holding the dispatches up than it is anything else, how people don't understand that you have to STAND on a STAND UP coaster is rather perplexing. This is super-bratty thing to say, but I wish I could be in charge of that loading platform for a day and fix their whole system. Seriously, giving an extra 10 seconds to let people settle in properly (after putting their drink bottles in the holder), and THEN locking all rows ONCE, without having to reset half the rows individually would do wonders for that ride's capacity. I know that's really a know-it-all's perspective, but I really think that would help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carolinaman Posted July 31, 2017 Share Posted July 31, 2017 I just seen on Google maps that where Cyclone is it now say The Joker. Would they do this just to mess with people?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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