Photo TR: Our 2017 Extravaganza!

[DoinItForTheFame]

So, as many of you know my partner and I LOVE theme parks (obviously) and this year we have a LOT of parks that we are going to be visiting, well at least a lot of parks for us. So instead of making 135,156,487.6 different threads, I figured I'd go ahead and start one thread that I can update throughout the season as we visit new parks. With that being said, here is a look (mostly in order) of the parks we will be visiting!

 

Trip 1:

- Six Flags Over Texas (Part 1)

- Six Flags Over Texas (Part 2)

 

Trip 2:

- Six Flags Great Adventure (Part 1)

- Six Flags Great Adventure (Part 2)

- Six Flags America

- Busch Gardens Williamsburg

 

Trip 3:

- Dollywood

- Splash Country

 

Trip 4:

- Six Flags Over Texas (Fright Fest)

 

----------------------------------------------------

 

For planning the trips, I will ask questions as I think of them. . . And after each trip there will be a photo trip report updated in this thread!! So, with that being said, on to the first trip planning question!

 

Trip 1 Planning:

 

With that being said, our first trip to Dallas is coming up this weekend. We are doing two days at SFOT, and I was thinking of hitting up Zero Gravity in Dallas on our drive in. Anyone have any advice about this "park?" Is it a MUST DO, or a meh - who cares?? The main thing we are interested in doing is the SCAD tower. We have been on all of the other types of rides they have, and don't really care to spend the time, or money on any of the other attractions. However, a SCAD tower has always been a "bucket list" experience for me, and now my partner is interested in it as well. From what I've seen online it kind of looks like a sketchy place?? Advice? Tips? Any feedback for this "park," and/or a SCAD tower is greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance!

Edited September 15, 2017 by DoinItForTheFame

[Satans Hockey]

You could easily do Kings Dominion / Six Flags America on the same day if you wanted to.

[Nrthwnd]

I have nothing to add to your trips, except I look forward to reading all about them.

But yes, DO THE SCAD TOWER! I did it twice (over in Denmark) and it's really something to experience.

Wheeeeeeeeee! TPR 2014 Scandi Tour ~ Tivoli Friheden Park, Denmark.

Edited April 17, 2017 by Nrthwnd

[Rollercoaster Rider]

SFOT Must Do's

 

- New Texas Giant

- El Asseradero

- Yosemite Sam

- Justice League

- Texas Sky Screamer

- Runaway Mine Train

* Also at SFOT, Try to find "Pink Thing"

** While they were closed/not built yet, I imagine Shock Wave, Riddler Revenge, and Catwoman Whip are also fun rides.

 

PS, Sandy Lake and Go Karts Plus are near Six Flags Over Texas/ Busch Gardens Williamsburg and are easy PPR credit stops with 1-2 coasters each.

[DoinItForTheFame]

Trip 1:

 

Zero Gravity ended up not happening because the day before we left for the park I went out and bought a Hummer, and my partner was still mad at me for spending the money on it, so I wasn't about to be all like "Hey, let's go spend even MORE money on this random ride in Dallas that might kill us!"

 

Day 1 at SFOT

 

So to kick the season off (and to get our Six Flags Season Passes processed) we headed down to SFOT! The goal was to do the park for a few hours the first night, then do a nice dinner, and relax. . . Then spend the morning at the park the next day, and then head home! No need for a Flash Pass given we have been on everything in the park more times than we can count, and we just wanted a relaxing few days at the park!! So... On with the trip Report!!

 

First ride of the season?! Pandemonium!! I usually hate spinning coasters, but 99% of the time I can handle this one!! Not to mention you get some nice pops of air on some of the hills!! After Pandemonium we headed over to Mr. Freeze!! Where what looked to be a short wait ended up being a lot longer due to a kid throwing up in the que line, and the ride operators spending 15 minutes fighting over who was going to clean it up. . . Meanwhile the lovely sent of vomit filled the que line. *gags*

 

After our front row ride on Mr. Freeze we headed over to the dreaded Superman Tower Of Power. Now if you know anything about me you know that I hate... HATE... HATE drop towers. I love roller coasters, but I don't know why... I just hate drop towers. But given that I was going to be riding Zumanjaro: Drop Of Doom in a few weeks, I figured... Eh, what the hell, I'll give Superman a go as a way to "warm" up to the drop towers for the season. Yeah. That was a horrible idea. I ended up riding next to this lady who was FREAKING out. . . and I'm pretty sure passed out at some point during the ride. Because she had been silent the entire ride, and I look over at her after the main drop, and she was hunched over in her seat, and non-responsive. However, after the ride came to a stop she came back to life, said she was glad the ride was over, and she had no idea what happened.

 

After Superman we headed back to Shockwave VR crap. . . To see that the line was spilling out of the que and knowing how bad operations are with VR we decided to skip it for the night, and headed over to New Texas Giant instead! New Texas Giant was running as amazing as always!! Every time I ride the coaster I forget about how much I love the ride!! It's everything you could want in a coaster. Fast, great airtime, awesome elements, and a nice ride length! That being said, as much as I LOVE New Texas Giant I really can't wait to see what they do with New Mean Streak. It is already shaping up to be a top ten coaster! I have a feeling New Mean Streak will be everything that we thought New Texas Giant was lacking!!

 

After New Texas Giant we called it an evening and headed out to get dinner!! (Oh, and at some point in the day we swung by Joker's construction site to see how things were going there)

 

Anywho, enjoy the photos, and Part 2 of SFOT will be up within the next few days!! (I hope!)

It really is a fun coaster!!

The colors really have grown on me.

A closer look at the station area.

No. No. NO!! Stop tempting me. I will not ride you!

Snowy's Milk??

Am I the only one who feels a little dirty walking through this gaping mouth on my way to find "Snowy's Milk?"

WHY?!?! Why must everything be about Snowy and his milk!?

"In case of overflow" -- Got it.

Uh-Oh... This can't be good.

Looks like we found our "overflow." Snowy's Milk is that you??

Ahhhh!! Finally!!

It usually has the perfect about of spinning. Not too much, and not too little!

For those of you into the fin's.

And away they go!

I just love me some sunset(ish) photos!

Forwards, or backwards?? . . . The world may never know.

I really do wish more of these would have caught on. They are fun coasters.

You've got to give the park credit. They do try with the theming! (and it looks good)

Not to mention it is a pretty photogenic coaster!

The hair says it all.

I was told by the Dip-N-Dots guy that the park had to add this arch to Superman for extra support because Superman is so tall and all.

I really do feel bad for Charlie and his dry hole. Maybe we should donate some money, and get him a bottle of lube?

What is this I see through the trees!?

Brought to you by Subway!!

It's a Bird... It's a Plane!!! ... It's... people who over paid for a giant adult swing-set.

Because no one has ever taken this photo before.

I guess Superman is into double fisting.

Ugh. That's a LONG freaking way up.

After all these years, I've still never been to the top of this thing.

Maybe tomorrow.

<3

Such a beautiful coaster.

That drop is pretty freaking steep!

Zoom-Zoom!

Dollywood is that you??

A nice area in the park. (Brownie points if you know where this is at!)

Goodbye for tonight Six Flags!! See you in the morning!

[jynx242]

Thanks for the report.......perv

 

I kid, I kid, I was thinking the same thing as your captions when I was looking at the pictures. I'm looking forward to the rest

[boldikus]

Off to a good start! Keep em coming...

[coasterbill]

Trip 2:

- Six Flags Great Adventure

- Six Flags America

- Busch Gardens Williamsburg

 

Why would anyone go to SFA instead of KD? lol

[DoinItForTheFame]

Thanks for the report.......perv

 

I kid, I kid, I was thinking the same thing as your captions when I was looking at the pictures. I'm looking forward to the rest

 

Snowy's Milk

 

Off to a good start! Keep em coming...

 

Thanks!

 

Why would anyone go to SFA instead of KD? lol

 

Honestly, time. The little bit of time I had free to squeeze in SFA, I wouldn't even have had time to drive to KD and still have time in the park before it closed. Plus, I did KD last year, so this year I hit up SFA as a credit run!

[boldikus]

 

Why would anyone go to SFA instead of KD? lol

 

Honestly, time. The little bit of time I had free to squeeze in SFA, I wouldn't even have had time to drive to KD and still have time in the park before it closed. Plus, I did KD last year, so this year I hit up SFA as a credit run!

 

Don't mind Bill, that's a perfectly respectable reason for visiting SFA. If you had said "I always wanted to visit such a world renowned park" I'd ask where can I get some of that good-good.

[coasterbill]

Yeah, as long as you know you're settling for it and it's not your first choice then that's a valid excuse.

[bert425]

Thanks for the report.......perv

 

I kid, I kid, I was thinking the same thing as your captions when I was looking at the pictures. I'm looking forward to the rest

 

 

me three!

 

(and the top of the Oil Derrick is beautiful. . you should go up once for some great views of the park).

[CaptainUnknown]

So with your opinions of Drop Towers, I take it Falcon's Fury is out of the question?

 

I used to hate drop towers too, and then I spent 2 years operating one.

[cfc]

Thanks for the report. New Texas Giant blew me away a few years back, and Mr. Freeze isn't too shabby, either.

[DoinItForTheFame]

Still Trip 1:

 

Day 2 at SFOT

 

Well, sorry for the delay!!! Life has just been so busy!! That being said, on with the TR!!

 

Day 2 at SFOT was just a quick stop by the park. Wanted to spend a few hours before heading out. We really wanted to try the new VR thing to see how it compared to other VR's we have done so far.

 

Needless to say we were NOT impressed by this VR experience. Iron Dragon VR still holds the title as our favorite VR experience. I don't know what it was about the whole "augmented reality" thing, but it made both of us super sick. I can't explain what it was about the looking through the camera during the first half of the ride, and the brake run that made us super nauseous. But we were NOT a fan.

 

At rope drop we went straight back to Shockwave VR thing.... We were on the second train out, and we have no desire to ride it again! Love Shockwave as it is, but it surely doesn't need the VR!!

 

After VR Shockwave we went over and rode Superman, then headed over to NTG... After two rides on NTG we called it a day, and headed home. I know this wasn't a super detailed TR... but there wasn't much to say about the park. However, the next trip reports will be much more detailed!! Enjoy the photos.

A nice breakfast to start out our day!!

Is this suppose to be a permanent thing???

This is where SFOT turtles go to make baby turtles...

They really need to clean that water.

<3

OMG. It's such a long way up.

No thanks. I have no desire to get drenched today!

What are they going to do when this tree gets bigger??

SDC is that you??

Probably my second favorite wood that I enjoy riding!

This is a nice quite area of the park.

Who leaves their sunroof open, and windows down in a Maserati, when it looks like it's about to storm outside?!

How have I never noticed this little baby train before??

Eh, didn't feel like making the walk over to Titan.

Still one of my favorite lead cars! <3

The ducks say bye!

Oh La Vibrator how I love to hate you. You're so rough, but so fun!!

Why is the water blue??

Whats this??

I still prefer it without the VR.

Shockwave trying to show us it's naughty bits.

Not sure why I love this photo so much.

This ride actually fits in really well here.

[TBpony414]

I love your idea to keep your 2017 trips in one spot! Looking forward to reading about the rest of your trips. I've never been to SFOT so excuse my ignorance, but is Superman Tower of Power like Power Tower at Cedar Point?

[DoinItForTheFame]

. . .I've never been to SFOT so excuse my ignorance, but is Superman Tower of Power like Power Tower at Cedar Point?

 

Superman Tower Of Power is like you combined shot side, and drop side from Power Tower at Cedar Point.

 

On the first launch it launches you nearly to the top, and does a slow bounce at the top half of the tower... Then slowly rises and locks into place. After a short period of time it launches you back down, and finishes with some bounces at the bottom of the tower. It's a great tower because you get the best of both worlds. You get the awesome launch up, and then the suspense as you slowly rise the rest of the way, and get held for a few seconds.

 

That being said, I have heard that on certain days they don't always run combo mode. Sometimes they only run "shot mode" Which would be like Power Tower's red towers. Again, just something I've heard, and never actually seen in practice so it could be false!

[bert425]

and it replaced my all time favorite SFoT ride, Air Race

 

it was so awesome, and it looked so lame.. but when you got up to the top of the tower, the open air planes were scary as hell.

 

I still mourn it's loss.

 

 

 

 

[bigboy]

That being said, I have heard that on certain days they don't always run combo mode. Sometimes they only run "shot mode" Which would be like Power Tower's red towers. Again, just something I've heard, and never actually seen in practice so it could be false!

 

I've always been told it was due to extreme heat and they typically only had to do it in the later part of the summer.

 

Air Racer was a fun ride, but it was a maintenance nightmare for the park. It was very wind sensitive and that kept it down a lot in the spring. The pulleys, cables, and motors that lifted the individual planes and the hub up in the air had to work together perfectly and, quite often, they didn't.

[DoinItForTheFame]

Trip 2 - Part 1: Six Flags Great Adventure

 

This was my first trip to Great Adventure since 2007(ish). I was beyond excited to make it back to the park given that so much had changed since last time I was there. I was looking forward to getting new rides in on Nitro, El Toro, and Kingda Ka hoping that maybe my impression of these coasters would have changed over the years, and hopefully I would end up liking them more than I did last time I rode them. Not to mention I really wanted to ride Zumanjaro: Drop Of Doom!! Mind you I HATE HATE HATE drop towers. Like I seriously could not put into words how much I hated drop towers. Yet, with this one being the tallest... and fastest... and blah blah blah, I really wanted to give it a go! ... But 415ft is a LOT taller in person than it looks on a computer screen. . . Anyway, on with the Trip Report!

 

The entire flight in all I could think of was the impending doom that I would be facing on Zumanjaro the following day... Speaking of flights, our flight in to DCA provided this awesome view of the Pentagon:

 

Anyway, back to Zumanjaro: Drop Of ImGoingToCrapMyself... Like I said, all I could think of was the impending doom that I would be facing on Zumanjaro the following day. I don't know why I have always had such a fear of drop towers, but my entire life I have hated them, and never wanted to so much as step foot near the entrance of one, let alone ride it.

 

The next day as I pulled into the parking lot I tried REALLY hard not to look at Zumanjaro. . . I figured, "Maybe if I don't look at it... it wont seem as big... so I will be able to ride it!!" So instead I found this pretty (ugly) water tower to focus on...

 

The water tower was a nice distraction until I turned my head and saw this MASSIVE tower. . .

 

I thought to myself "MY GOD!!! I haven't seem something that big since I left my ex!!!" My next thought was: "There is no way in hell I am riding that thing!!" (Also like my ex.) So at that point I had sworn of Zumanjaro for the rest of the day! A few minutes later this really scary looking Bugs Bunny:

 

Tried to change my mind on how I felt about Zumanjaro, but it wasn't working! I never wanted to hear the word "Zumanjaro" again!!! So instead, I wondered around the park trying to figure out where to start. . . That's when I came across this sign:

 

I thought "Hmmm, Nitro? That sounds like a nice relaxing, Boring&Mediocre way to start the day off." Last time I rode Nitro I got off of the ride thinking... "That was it? Why does everyone rave about this coaster so much?" So needless to say I had very low expectations going in. The entrance looks nice and all...

 

But the entrance is not where I would be going. For some reason the FlashPass entrance seems to be in some sort of maintenance workshop area, weird.

 

So how was Nitro?? JESUS H. COASTERO!!! Holy f**k... How did I EVER think this coaster was Boring & Mediocre before?? Like, OMG! That was the first time I have EVER gotten light headed during the drop on a roller coaster. I have no idea what was going on, or if I just needed to eat, but I almost felt like I was going to black out... On the drop. IDK... Don't ask. But it was weird and amazing all at the same time. After the drop that tried to kill me, the rest of the ride was AMAZING!!! It finally replaced Diamondback as my favorite B&M Hyper coaster. This thing is relentless!! Omg! I had to ride it 3 times to figure out WTF was going on!!

 

The coaster starts off all nice and calm with this little "Oh look at me, I'm so cute and innocent" turn around:

 

After that cute little turn you spend 45 minutes climbing towards the heavens... Which gives you all this time to think about what you have done wrong in your life. Like, did I forget to turn the stove off?? OMG JESUS I'M SORRY I'M GAY, please don't kill me because of it!! Is my car key in my zipper pocket? Oh that's right this is a B&M why am I worried about something flying out of my pocket?? It's just going to be "Boring and forceless." --- Well, after you crest that hill, you begin to plummet toward the earth and you realize "THOSE MOTHER F**KERS ON TPR LIED!!! THIS ISN'T BORING AND FORCELESS!!! OMFG I'M GOING TO DIE!!!"

 

Another train full of riders barely survived the murderous first drop!

 

After Nitro several rides on Nitro I took some time to recover, and thought... I'll do something more relaxing for now! So I headed over to this big, magical, metal box of surprises. Also known as:

 

The Dark Knight Coaster.

 

Mind you I knew nothing about this coaster. I wasn't sure what to expect, but I wasn't expecting much. -- I was surprised that the coaster had that nice little pre-show kind of thing going on. Made me feel like I was in a cheaper, dilapidated Walt Disney World. After the pre-show we made our way through a mouse maze to the station. Boarded the car, and thankfully was paired up with a family of 3 who had never been on the coaster either, which made it that much more fun! There were nice surprising drops, and lots of laterals on the coaster. Had the coaster been outside, I wouldn't have wasted the time riding it... But I'm sure glad I did take the time to ride it because it was a blast!!

 

After the Dark Box Coaster I wanted something a little more... Fast paced... So I headed over to Batman!

 

Nothing is "Boring & Forceless" about this coaster. It was just as awesome as all the other Batman clones I've been on. There is something about these coasters. They are so fast paced, and so intense. It seriously seems like they are nothing but positive g's! From the moment you left the lift hill, till you hit the brake run you are glued to your seat! Even moments like this awesome inversion:

 

Some how still provides nice positive g's! -- Six Flags was a genius to place this crazy, extreme, positive g-force coaster next to this crazy airtime machine:

 

It's like two giant metal Sour Patch Kids side by side.

 

After Batman I wanted to try out Joker. I have been really interested in how these coasters ride, and what the experience is like. So I left my beloved Batman, and Nitro duo behind and ventured out to find the evil Joker:

 

 

Okay, not going to lie. . . I was pretty freaking excited about getting to try this out. I've followed the progress of this design every since KidTums took a ride on the prototype. I never made it down to SFFT to ride Batman, and the one at SFOT wasn't open during our visit a few weeks prior. So finally!! I was going to get my first ride in on one of these crazy flipping machines!

 

 

Well damn. All those years of excitement were about to get flushed down the drain. The lift hill is, to me, the best part of the ride. You're not sure when you will get to the top, and it sure feels like the coaster is a LOT taller than it really is once you're climbing up, up, and away!! Once you leave the lift hill... It feels like you have been put into a metal barrel, and pushed down a gravel hill. I guess I am spoiled with nice fluid movements, but the rocking back and forth of the seats was, really a bit jarring. It was "fling your head forward.... NOW SLAM IT BACK INTO THE SEAT... Now fling your head forward... NOW SLAM IT BACK INTO THE SEAT." --- Wash, rinse, repeat. Try as I may I could NOT keep my head firmly against the headrest, and it was brutal!!

 

I know these coasters are a big hit, and I don't blame anyone for liking them. I mean... Some people like abuse, some people don't... But during my ride it sure felt like I was Rihanna, and Joker was Chris Brown. --- Anyway, to each their own! I will never tell someone they are "wrong" for liking these coasters, and I am sure people get smoother rides, and actually enjoy the coasters. I just wasn't a fan. I mean... Some people like abusive rides, some people don't... But during my ride it sure felt like I was Rihanna, and Joker was Chris Brown.

 

One thing I can say about the coaster, is that it did have a nice location:

 

 

Next up, I had decided I would face my fears... and take on Zumanjaro: Drop Of Doom!!

 

--- Or so I thought!

 

(Part 2 of Six Flags Great Adventure coming soon! (And soon as in tonight, or tomorrow) Not soon, as in within the next few months!)

[ytterbiumanalyst]

Excellent report! Great Adventure looks like a very fun place. You went to a few of the places I'll be going to in a month, so I'm excited to see how this turned out for you.

[boldikus]

Nice update! Glad you tackled Zumanjaro, looking forward to hearing more. Like everyone here, I love reading reviews of the ol' home park. It's far from perfect but we're spoiled with some amazing rides. Nitro and Batman are amazing and that power duo is what gets us through the off season.

 

Bummer to hear about your bad experience on Joker. I kinda hated my first lap because I got thrown around so much but my second time I made sure the restraint was super tight to avoid so much jostling, and I have fallen in love with that ride (I sometimes ask the op to make it super dooper tight). Loved the one in SFNE too. The thing with them is you have to just prepare yourself to be totally disoriented for 30 seconds. No two rides are alike, and even if we don't get much flipping I still have a blast.

 

On my birthday @ HITP last year we basically got drunk @ Skybar and re-rode a walk-on Joker all day. Even my fiancee, who isn't a big thrill seeker, loved it and rode it all day with us.

[DoinItForTheFame]

As promised...

 

Trip 2 - Part 2: Six Flags Great Adventure

 

Where did I leave off??

 

Ohhh, yeah it was finally my turn to ride Zumanjaro: Drop of ImGoingToCrapMyself. I started walking over to Zumanjaro, and I swear from the entrance to the Golden Kingdom:

 

All the way back to Zumanjaro was the LONGEST walk of my life. And with every step closer Zumanjaro seemed to get taller, and taller, and taller. I felt like a prisoner on death row, walking back to my execution. I had so much time to think about all of these things I had done "wrong" in life. I just knew that something was going to go wrong on Zumanjaro and I was going to plummet 415ft to my sudden death. Well I finally, after what felt like a 5 hour walk, made it back to the entrance to Zumanjaro:

 

After thinking about it, I thought... You know on second thought, I'm going to go ride Kingda Ka, and then I'll come back to Zumanjaro. Well, I made it over to Kingda Ka:

 

Sadly Kingda Ka was "Temporarily" closed. -- At this point my stomach was in knots, and I figured... Maybe I should eat before I ride Zumanjaro, maybe that will settle my stomach some! So I ended up getting a pretzel some where near Kingda Ka. . . (I was partly hoping Ka would re-open by the time I finished eating.)

 

Well as time went by, Ka stayed down, Zumanjaro kept running, and I kept eating, and dreading my fate on that massive tower. . . Well, the time had come. I finally finished my food... and it was time to bite the bullet, and finally ride Zumanjaro.

 

Yeah, F**K THAT SH!T!!! There is NO WAY IN HELL I am riding that tower!! Let's go find something else. Because that massive thing is not happening!!

 

This seemed like a MUCH better fit. Now having been on El Toro MANY years ago, and being rather disappointed by the coaster. I had rather low expectations going in. I thought "Oh joy, here we go. A 'MUST RIDE' overrated coaster."

 

Well, HOLY F**KING SH!T!!! What was I thinking last time I rode it?? "Overrated?" "Boring?" OMG! Was I an idiot before?? Did I even ride the same coaster last time? -- This thing is INSANE!!! It seemed a bit rough in spots on my first ride. But the coaster was overall so amazing that I forgave it's slight roughness. The airtime on that thing is INSANE!!! It's not airtime... It's not ejector time... It's some weird, amazing form of "OMG INTAMIN IS TRYING TO KILL ME" time. It was AMAZING. Thankfully it was a walk on, so I ended up getting 11 rides on it before deciding to move on to something else. El Toro has moved up to my Number 2 wooden coaster!! (Sorry. Outlaw Run is just really really good... and really hard for a coaster to replace!) But El Toro sure came close!!! After El Toro I moved on to some more of the parks B&M coasters. First stop?

 

Green Lantern!! It looked like it was going to be a great ride!!!

 

Complete with it's "Oh look at me, I want to be like Dominator with my massive yellow loop while the rest of me is a different color!" I mean, if Dominator has a massive yellow loop, and it's an amazing ride... Maybe Green Lantern is protected by the massive yellow loop syndrome, and it's going to be a great coaster too!!

 

Mother of god was I wrong!! How can a coaster that looks so good, hurt so bad??

 

Every single part of my body hated me after this ride.

 

If you find yourself at Six Flags Great Adventure trust me, and DON'T waste your time with this ride!!

 

It's looks fun. It looks innocent. But it will murder you!!

 

Take a good look at it... And NEVER set foot on the ride!! Run far, and run fast!! But whatever you do... Save yourself, and DON'T RIDE THIS COASTER!! Unless you are one of those that like abusive coasters, then go right ahead!! Step right up!! Take a stand! And lose your ability to reproduce... and hear! (Ouch, my ears!)

 

After by beating on Green Lantern... I decided I wanted something more relaxing, and that's when I found this:

 

Last time I was in the park it was closed my entire visit... and the last time I had been on one of these was at SFOT when I was still in high school... So you know, over a decade ago. My god I'm old. Anyway, back to the ride...

 

Is this thing even open??

 

It has a sign!!! But still no sign of life. Maybe it's going to be another missed experience.

 

What's this?? Holy sh!t it's actually running?? Needless to say I jumped on as soon as I saw it up and running. Sadly I ended up facing Zumanjaro the entire ride... Which caused me to think the entire time about my decision to leave Zumanjaro behind. I mean, I'm surviving the parachute tower, and it's kind of like no where near the size of Zumanjaro... But I'm trying to reason with myself as to why I SHOULD ride Zumanjaro.

 

Well the parachute ride was fun, and a nice "credit" that I hadn't been able to get before. . . But time to move on.

 

I mean look at that tower. There is nothing about it that seems "fun!" It's massive, it's terrifying, I'm gay... God will punish me, and I'll die on the ride. So no, I'm not chancing it! I've got to good of a life to waste by dying on some park ride!! SKIP!!! NEXT PLEASE!!

 

This looks much more relaxing, and enjoyable than that massive tower of death on the other side of the park.

 

What can be said about Superman?? It's a B&M flying coaster. It's a pretty "meh" coaster.

 

This is a good part of the ride.

 

This is by far the BEST part of the ride. OMG! The positive forces are INSANE!!!

 

The rest of the ride is pretty forgettable.

 

You go around some turns...

 

And it ends with this weird "I'm an inversion, but I'm not an inversion" thing.

 

You can go to hell you POS sh!t, sorry excuse for a coaster.

 

Two trains, one shot?? Not really that hard to do in this park.

 

After leaving Superman I thought... "Hmmmm, what should I do now??" What's that over there??

 

Kingda Ka?? Don't mind if I do!! Let's go give it a shot!!

 

Oh. Kingda Ka is still down??

 

Turns out Kingda Ka wouldn't re-open during my visit, so I would miss out on the ride. Not that I felt like I was really missing out on anything. Last time I rode the coaster I wasn't a really big fan. Keep in mind that Top Thrill Dragster is my number 1 coaster, and has been for over a decade. -- But Kingda Ka just... fails in comparison. The launch is strangely rough. . . The restraints really make the ride less enjoyable than TTD... and the brake at the top of the tower really kills the drop for me... And then there is the airtimeless airtime hill. Given that I didn't get to re-experience Kingda Ka this visit my view of the ride has changed.

 

After NOT getting to ride Kingda Ka, I found a table near by and sat down, and thought about Zumanjaro.

 

Zumanjaro was one of the main reasons for me making the trip to the park. I knew that if I didn't end up forcing myself to ride it, I would regret it for the next year till I had a chance to make it back to the park. Sooo, here goes nothing!! I re-reserved Zumanjaro on my FlashPass, and sadly it instantly vibrated and said "You can now ride Zumanjaro!" I thought SH!T!!! I'm not ready for this yet!! So I canceled the reservation. . . I sat there and thought about it some more... and I decided, "Yeah, I can do this!" So I re-reserved it!! And again, it instantly vibrated and told me "You can now ride Zumanjaro!" -- F**K NO!! I can't do this!! *cancel the reservation* ... So this went on for about 23 reservations. I would make it, and then cancel it... Make it, then cancel it... Make it, then cancel it... Make it... Yeah, you get the point. I really wanted to ride it... But then I changed my mind.

 

Finally I made the reservation, and I thought "F**K it. I'm doing this. If I don't I'm going to regret it for the next year. What's the worse that could happen?? I die of a heart attack?? Oh well. Guess I won't have to worry about the ride if I'm dead!" So here we go, let's go ride!!

 

Just Kidding... Apparently I MUST go get a lock.er first. . . My zipper pocket just isn't good enough for this ride.

 

Here goes nothing!! (Thankfully I still had my watch to take photos with, so I could document my journey back to the ride.)

 

I mean, look at that thing. Why?? Why would a park build such a massive, terrifying ride?? More importantly... Why in the gay hell am I going to ride this thing??

 

My first ride?? Turns out there was NO wait for this ride. Most of the time they only had a few people on each gondola. . . So my first ride I made it in right as they were finishing up loading people in. I ended up sitting on (what I'm assuming is gondola 3) the one of the far right, if you are facing the ride... The one that for some reasons drops a split second later than the rest. Where did I end up sitting on said gondola?? The very far, left side. (Left side if you're sitting on the ride.) They had me move all the way down, so they could fill in the rest of the empty seats. I guess they fill from left to right. . . Well, the gates shut, and the started checking harness. . . And I was the only f**king person on my gondola. ARE YOU KIDDING ME??? Not only am riding this damn thing, and I'm stuck sitting on the edge, but to top it off there is no one else on this ride with me?? (Or at least not on my gondola... Which might as well have been no on else on the ride!)

 

Time to relive my first ride. --- The ride slowly started to climb... And I quickly started to freak out. . . Slowly we climbed... Then FASTER we climbed... and even FASTER I freaked out!! All those irrational fears started to kick in. "OMG!! My shoes are going to fall off." - "Omg. My restraint is going to fail." - "OMG. God really is going to punish me for being gay. This is how I die. This ride is going to kill me." - "OMG!! My car key that is safely locked away in the lock.er is some how going to fall out of my pocket." --- Oh thank god we are slowing down. This isn't nearly as high as I thought it would be. Wait, WTF... Why are we speeding back up?? *looks up* OMFG. We are only half way there??? Are you sh!tting me right now??!! I can't do this. OMG.. I want off. OMFG. Please. Something go wrong where they have to lower us back down nice and slow. OH SHIT... Why have we stopped?? OMFG. Why... WHY ARE WE SITTING UP HERE SO LONG? OMFG... OMFG... OMFG... OMMMMMMMMMMMFFFFFFFFFFFFFGGGGGGGGGGGGGG.... LORD JESUS MAKE IT STOP!!!!.... OMFGGGGGGG WHY ARE WE STILL FALLING??? OMMMMMMMGGGGGGGGGG!!!

 

Holy shit!! What just happened?? OMG. That was AMAZING!! I must do it again!!!

 

All in all I ended up getting in 16 rides on Zumanjaro before I ended up having to leave to make it back to DC on time. -- I am so glad that I broke down and rode the ride. It scared the shit out of me every single time. . . I have never been so scared in my life, and it was so amazing. That drop goes on for days!! I have this weird new addiction to drop towers. I know why I hated them before... But given that I have now been on the tallest one in the world, I know the rest of them will be a walk in the park!! I can NOT wait for next year when I make it back to the park so I can ride Zumanjaro again!! It might just be the only thing I ride during my visit!!

 

Well, time to head out!!

 

No. I'm sorry joker. You're not going to abuse me anymore. . .

 

I told you already Joker... I am not Rihanna... I don't love the way you lie. You sit there acting all innocent, like you're going to be fun and enjoyable... Then out of no where BAM!!! You abuse the hell out of me! No! No! No! NO more!! Good bye Chris Brown... err... "Joker."

 

When did Goliath from SFOG get an inversion??

 

Good bye Six Flags Great Adventure!!

 

I really did enjoy my time at the park, and I am BEYOND glad I took everyone's advice from here, and actually forced myself to ride Zumanjaro. It was beyond amazing. . . and I can't wait till next year when I can ride it again!!

 

Part 3: Six Flags America Coming soon!

[theredskull84]

"My car key that is safely locked away in the locker is somehow going to fall out of my pocket"

 

I laughed so hard at this. Fantastic report so far!

[michaellynn4]

All in all I ended up getting in 16 rides on Zumanjaro before I ended up having to leave to make it back to DC on time. -- I am so glad that I broke down and rode the ride. It scared the shit out of me every single time. . . I have never been so scared in my life, and it was so amazing. That drop goes on for days!! I have this weird new addiction to drop towers. I know why I hated them before... But given that I have now been on the tallest one in the world, I know the rest of them will be a walk in the park!! I can NOT wait for next year when I make it back to the park so I can ride Zumanjaro again!! It might just be the only thing I ride during my visit!!