gisco Posted June 30, 2012 Share Posted June 30, 2012 (edited) Went to media day for Superman: Ultimate Flight at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom. It is a great ride and a good addition to the park. Too bad they couldn’t have pulled out Boomerang instead of Pandemonium. The opening ceremony started a little late but was short and sweet. Who after all wants to listen to a long speech when there is the ride just waiting for us. They had only two speakers, Dale Kaetzel, president of SFDK and Jim Harbaugh. head coach of the 49ers. He made a little bit of a gaffe when he mentioned Cedar Point in his little speech, wrong park chain there Jim. I thought it was interesting that Superman didn’t make an appearance. I guess when you are in the bay area, Jim Harbaugh is the hero. Talked to a few operators about capacity and they don’t expect it to be much different then Pandemonium. They were launching Superman fairly quickly and it is not a long ride. I can see where Pandemonium loading and unloading 4 at a time and having a limited number of cars on the course at any one time could make this a fair comparison. The ride is awesome. It was pretty much a walk on for the whole day. I was jumping seats in the morning until my 6th ride. We didn’t pick up enough speed coming forward through the station the second time and didn’t make it far enough into the in-line roll and we rolled backwards into the station. Awesome to get a roll back! We were stuck in the launch tube for a few minutes until they got everything reset. When we got back to the load area we had to exit while they cycled it a few times. I took the opportunity to get something to eat and drink. I had a chance to ride in every row. In my opinion any seat in the front car is good with the very front being obviously the best. You get a lot of negative Gs in the front when you hit the top. All seats provide a pretty good view. The very last row for me was a little uncomfortable on my shins. Shorter people with smaller feet would have no problem. The restraints press down on your thighs and against your shins. The problem in the last row is the wheel well cuts down the space for your feet not allowing them to move backwards and the restraints across the shins really pressed in hard. There was plenty to eat and drink throughout the day including free beer! The staff was very friendly and helpful, the weather was beautiful and was just a fun day all around. A big thanks to Discovery Kingdom for a great ride and a great day. Something new has appeared in the sky line! No, we are not in New England or Valencia, besides it isn’t even open yet! This is where we are at. and this is what we are here for! Ok, maybe this! No, it’s for this! Glad to be one of the invited guests, hate to see what the crowds will be like tomorrow! Ice sculpture with Superman’s logo out of cupcakes I don’t think Superman Drives this. You can also read about the opening here Waiting for the opening. Somebody famous is supposed to be riding this right now. It was just these two guys. I think the guy on the left is in maintenance and the guy on the right is a janitor. Nice day for pictures! Red kryptonite causes weird erratic behavior! No kidding! This ride is so intense, Rick lost all his hair! Nancy! Put your hands up! My final picture when I was leaving. Would have been a better with a coaster in it Edited July 2, 2012 by gisco Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerrykoala2112 Posted June 30, 2012 Share Posted June 30, 2012 Awesome photos! Superman is such a photogenic ride, what a great addition to SFDK. I know everyone is complaining about capacity, and if that's an issue, don't wait in line! I have no problem waiting in lines (as long as I have something to drink) and this ride looks worth a wait, which I'm sure it will get. If there is a Bay Area Bash next year, count me in! Haven't been to SFDK since 2002 *when it was still Marine World* and would love to go back. Front row definitely looks best for the pop of air after the big launch! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sspaz1000 Posted July 1, 2012 Share Posted July 1, 2012 Looks awesome! Thanks for sharing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ernierocker Posted July 1, 2012 Share Posted July 1, 2012 Great report, Bob! POV video really makes this ride look like a lot of fun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scbt Posted July 1, 2012 Share Posted July 1, 2012 I don't think it removed all of Rick's hair, I just think it transferred it to the person directly behind him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chadster Posted July 1, 2012 Share Posted July 1, 2012 (edited) Another great looking Premier coaster, hope to start seeing more of them in parks. Awesome day for photos, thanks for the coverage! Edited July 1, 2012 by chadster Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cal1br3tto Posted July 1, 2012 Share Posted July 1, 2012 ^^Knew I wouldn't be the only one to think that. I am nothing but stoked about this ride. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thrillerman1 Posted July 1, 2012 Share Posted July 1, 2012 Wow, this ride looks awesome and the next best thing to an Anton shuttle loop. Thanks for the report, Bob, and I hope we see a lot more of these pop up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grimby Posted July 1, 2012 Share Posted July 1, 2012 Am i the only one who thinks the cars look absolutley ridiculous and out of place on this ride? Let down by SFDK. Big time Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chickenbowl Posted July 1, 2012 Share Posted July 1, 2012 ^ If you are let down "big time" by some roller coaster train that is honestly nothing to complain about, your priorities are WAY off. Consider yourself lucky that they decided to stick with just lap bars on this one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gisco Posted July 1, 2012 Author Share Posted July 1, 2012 Am i the only one who thinks the cars look absolutley ridiculous and out of place on this ride? Let down by SFDK. Big time I don't think they look rediculous but I'm curious to see how they will hold up over time. They have these black plastic little wings that stick out on the side of each seat row. They are not solid and they bend a little when you lean on them or catch your cloths on them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dragonskeep Posted July 1, 2012 Share Posted July 1, 2012 That is a cool ride for such a small footprint. A very fun looking night ride, that tunnel to straight up would be fun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brneff99 Posted July 1, 2012 Share Posted July 1, 2012 This looks about 1,000x more fun than the Green Lantern joy ride we got down at SFMM...and will still probably load faster. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delgato Posted July 1, 2012 Share Posted July 1, 2012 Am i the only one who thinks the cars look absolutley ridiculous and out of place on this ride? Let down by SFDK. Big time I'll trade you your problems for mine. But seriously this ride looks awesome. I hope I can make it up to ride it next time I'm in Cali. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cfc Posted July 1, 2012 Share Posted July 1, 2012 Am i the only one who thinks the cars look absolutley ridiculous and out of place on this ride? Let down by SFDK. Big time Yeah, you're probably the only one--sorry. That being said, the ride looks good--even the trains. Premier makes good launched shuttle coasters, and I hope this one holds up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imawesome1124 Posted July 1, 2012 Share Posted July 1, 2012 Where's the POV? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gisco Posted July 1, 2012 Author Share Posted July 1, 2012 Where's the POV? It's back for the moment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hang And Bang Posted July 1, 2012 Share Posted July 1, 2012 This looks like a fun ride! Good job covering the event, Gisco! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coasterkid21 Posted July 1, 2012 Share Posted July 1, 2012 I hope those trains hold up. Skyrocket's trains had the rubber seats ripping by the end of its first season and had to be replaced by thicker rubber. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coast4airtime Posted July 1, 2012 Share Posted July 1, 2012 I don't believe this ride has footers, just some steel beams like carny rides. It would be nice to see this at a carnival. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kenshinmac Posted July 1, 2012 Share Posted July 1, 2012 It does seem a little weird that those little guards were added to the outside. I mean even the decals are applied underneath them. Must have been a last minute thing. I can't help but wonder what the issue was as it looks like it would be hard to get your arms anywhere near anything. I will admit after seeing it running it would probably be hard to have dual train ops on the ride. I hope that it will have decent capacity although I have to say it still looks like it would be a better fit for a smaller park. Overall though it does look like a fun ride and that is what really matters. I do hope this will last longer than Pandemonium which I didn't get to the park to try. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EastCoastn07 Posted July 1, 2012 Share Posted July 1, 2012 It does seem a little weird that those little guards were added to the outside. I mean even the decals are applied underneath them. Must have been a last minute thing. I can't help but wonder what the issue was as it looks like it would be hard to get your arms anywhere near anything. The arm guards are there for a very good reason. But in all honesty, why do people care so much about what the trains look like? I didn't know that affected people's ride experience so highly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angry_Gumball Posted July 1, 2012 Share Posted July 1, 2012 My only concern with those little 'wings' if you want to say is getting your clothes caught on the corner of it or bumping your arm into it. I know there are clumsy people out there and sometimes myself, I have my rare moments where I'm walking with 2 left feet...let's not count how many times I've accidentally bumped into the railing where a bolt was sticking out (from the eyehooks they hook chains up to for extending switchbacks/rerouting queues). Other concern would be GP doing stupid things and breaking them if they are a little more delicate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kenshinmac Posted July 1, 2012 Share Posted July 1, 2012 It does seem a little weird that those little guards were added to the outside. I mean even the decals are applied underneath them. Must have been a last minute thing. I can't help but wonder what the issue was as it looks like it would be hard to get your arms anywhere near anything. The arm guards are there for a very good reason. But in all honesty, why do people care so much about what the trains look like? I didn't know that affected people's ride experience so highly. My comment was more targeted towards it being strange that they were clearly added fairly late in the game. Clearly the train was not designed with them so I am honestly curious what is the reason they are there. I obviously haven't ridden the ride however looking at it I don't see any obvious close clearances. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tmcdllr Posted July 1, 2012 Share Posted July 1, 2012 Am i the only one who thinks the cars look absolutley ridiculous and out of place on this ride? Let down by SFDK. Big time Trolling in another thread I see.... whatever. If you are let down by the cars then that is just sad. Also, I reject your reality and insert my own... Let down by my own inability to appreciate awesome things. Big time Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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