April 1 SFOG trip

[kingdanny]

I'm going to SFOG on April 1 with alot of family members. Most of them have never been to SFOG before. So, I have a couple of questions:

1. Will Ninja be open?

2. My relatives want to do MindBender. But, some of them are huge. Will the lapbars fit? Also, if you weigh(sp?) alot, will the force on the ride cause you to black-out?

3. What's the maximum weight for Superman and Goliath?

THANKS!!

[dougstanton]

It will be easier to ride Goliath than Superman. Keep in mind the expected wait on opening day is 4-5 hours though. Superman's seats are definitely smaller and I don't think there is a maximum weight. As long as you sit in the seat with the lap bar securely holding you in, you would be allowed on. Mindbender is very hard for large guests to ride but keep in mind, I don't know how big, "big" is. Ninja will not be open on April 1st.

[kingdanny]

By big, I meen 250- 377 pounds. It's a that Ninja won't be open. But, how do you know Ninja won't be open? I've been looking forward to riding it. I don't care if Deja Vu is closed. I'm terrified of it. Once I was waiting in line, it got stuck. My mom won't even let me go on it. After the test dummy situation, I don't think I will go on it for a while. I'll post a trip report after I go.

[dougstanton]

Ninja wont be open until May 1st. I have friends in high places I don't think that any of them would be able to ride superman. The lighter heavy members may be able to ride Goliath though lol.

[Erik Johnson]

Any idea if Deja Vu will be open?

[kingdanny]

Ninja wont be open until May 1st. I have friends in high places

 

Lucky dog. So basically, people 250-300 will be able to ride Mind Bender? If you are heavy, wiil the force cause you to black-out? Sorry if I sound annoying. My relatives want to be cautious. The roller coasters on their list are:

1. Mine Train

2. Canyon Blaster

3. MindBender

4. Scream Machine

5. Cyclone

6.Ninja

7.Batman

8.Goliath

9.Superman

I also have friends n high places. I was told that ninja will open in April. Oh well...

[dougstanton]

I think that any overweight person is completely ruled out of Mindbender. Also Mine Train and Canyon Blaster. I saw someone that wasn't even big at all unable to ride Canyon Blaster. They wouldn't be able to ride Mine Train because their isn't much room in the first place, but since the lap bar is the same for the entire car, it would affect the guests behind them, probably making it unsafe for small kids. It seems like Goliath will be the only hope for any large guest. Dejavu is supposed to open after Ninja. I have heard they have been having a lot of problems with it. If you want to know who I consider my friend in high places, it is the operations manager haha....who obviously has a huge impact on anything ride related.

[GeorgiaDawg278]

Any idea if Deja Vu will be open?

 

Deja Vu (word from the PR guy) is not suposed to be open until probably May.

[kingdanny]

That stinks Deja Vu won't open until May. I thought that Ninja and Deja Vu will open sometime in April. Do you think that Mind Bender will be open? I heard that the ride lost power over the past weekend(3/25-3/26). How long does it take to get the power back? i also heard that Free Fall lost its power also. how is that possible? I'm overweight and i fit perfectly into Canyon Blaster. You can fit in Mine train if you cross your legs. I also fit into Mind Bender perfeclty. If you are heavy, does the force in the loops cause you to black-out? It's around 5.8 G's in the loops. I'll also try to post pictures in my trip report after April 1.

[TheStig]

NOOOOO!!! I want DJV to be open this coming weekend!!! Oh well, my only ride was 2 hours long on that DJV...thank you E-Stop AND miscatch! Wait, Erik, are you going to be at SFOG the weekend of the 1st? Let me know, me and CoasterCrazy are gonna be there...

 

Colin C

[willski]

That stinks Deja Vu won't open until May. I thought that Ninja and Deja Vu will open sometime in April. Do you think that Mind Bender will be open? I heard that the ride lost power over the past weekend(3/25-3/26). How long does it take to get the power back? i also heard that Free Fall lost its power also. how is that possible? I'm overweight and i fit perfectly into Canyon Blaster. You can fit in Mine train if you cross your legs. I also fit into Mind Bender perfeclty. If you are heavy, does the force in the loops cause you to black-out? It's around 5.8 G's in the loops. I'll also try to post pictures in my trip report after April 1.

 

 

Ninja will jnot open till May, as already stated. They have a long way to go with the painting (the supports aren't even close to halfway).

 

 

Mindbender is more around 4 Gs, but much more sustained than your average coaster. I would say that your largest relatives would not be able to fit on Mindbender anyway, but they shouldn't worry about blacking out; it's not a big deal at all and I personally have never experienced it on Mindbender.

 

 

They might be able to fit into:

 

Goliath

GASM (depends b/c of the seat divider)

Cyclone (depends for the same reason as ^)

Splashwater Falls

Thunder River

Log Jamboree

 

And that really is about it. Even with the large rider seats on the B&Ms (I know B:TR has them, but what about Scorcher?), they probably won't fit. They won't fit on Mindbender, as the restraint wouldn't hold them in properly. Mine train also won't work, and neither will Canyon Blaster, as I have trouble fitting in the trains (6'1" and only 135 lbs.). Superman will probably not work either, nor will Acrophobia.

 

 

It all depends on the way their weight is distributed. You can try on all of the rides, but I have a feeling that your relatives will not fit on most of them.

 

Also, the power did not go out last weekend, as I went on Sunday and had friends there on Saturday. If the power does go out, the generators (assuming they have them) for each rides would give the rides enough power to get all riders off. Since power failures aren't a regular occurance (I don't even think the park has had one for a few years-I remember the one when Acro got stuck), I wouldn't worry too much about one.

 

 

Oh, and for opening day, I'm predicting 2+ hr. lines for Goliath, but none of this 4-5 hours garbage; that's almost as long as TTD's line was for the first day! Goliath isn't that popular. Just get a Q-bot and you'll be fine. Plus, with most of the guests riding Goliath, the lines for other rides should be pretty short.

[kingdanny]

Strange, i'm more than 150 and I fit into MindBender, Cyclone, Batman, and Canyon Blaster just fine. The loops feel more than 4 G's. On www.coaster-net.com, they claim that the loops pull 5.8 G's. How much does Ninja's loops pull? My relatives are happy that they can fit into Goliath. They tried S:ROS last year, and the ride op was rude. He said,"y'all know you won't be able to ride. You're just holding up the line. Now PLEASE MOVE!!"

[dougstanton]

That 4-5 hour thing I got straight from management. As that is true that TTD had a line that long, a coaster like this is something new to most people. The south hasn't seen anything like this. Superman had over a 3 hour line on opening day and that was nothing great. I won't be waiting in that line since I will go to Media Day and possibly the 9AM thing, but I definitely see the line getting to be about 4 hours. Hell, even Thunder River has gotten a 4 hour line in the middle of the summer on a Saturday with poor capacity.

[willski]

^^ Over 150 isn't overweight, I'm just insanely skinny. You shouldn't have troubey on any of those rides that I named. However, someone who is 300 pounds will have trouble boarding those rides, but once again, it is all about body proportions.

 

If you have massive legs but a relatively small upper body, you can probably ride B:TR and Scorcher, but Goliath will be ruled out and vice versa.

 

 

And Doug, I still doubt a 4 hour wait. TTD was 6-7 hours the first day, my friend waited in line from noon to 6:30 for one ride. If the line does stretch to 4 hours, it will be a testament to SFoG's terribly slow operations, and nothing more. All the ride-ops have to do is check one restraint, there are no seatbelts or anything. Boarding should be ultra-fast and the line should move pretty quickly.

[kingdanny]

If someone is 260 pounds, will they be able to ride Mind Bender? I'm EXTREMLY SORRY if I sound annoying. As i stated earlier, this is my relatives first time to SFOG. This is the second time in there life that they have been to a Six Flags. The first time they went was to SFA when S:ROS opened.

[Erik Johnson]

Nope, we are going the weekend after.

[colinmom71]

If someone is 260 pounds, will they be able to ride Mind Bender? I'm EXTREMLY SORRY if I sound annoying. As i stated earlier, this is my relatives first time to SFOG. This is the second time in there life that they have been to a Six Flags. The first time they went was to SFA when S:ROS opened.

 

That can be a pretty hard question to accurately answer... Various restraints fit different body shapes in different manners. For instance, many coaster enthusiasts really prefer PTC trains on wood coasters, but those trains' restraints fit me in just the wrong way so that I don't usually find them entirely confortable enough to fully enjoy (I'm a 5'3", long torsoed, somewhat overweight female, BTW).

 

However, Mindbender has very simple U-shaped lapbar restraints and these seem to fit a great number of people quite well. The lack of seat dividers also gives more room at the hips for many riders. I've never seen anyone turned away for not fitting in the lapbars on Mindbender's trains. The only caveat I would mention is that the seat backs are *very* straight (complete 90 degrees to the hip axis), so if anyone in your party has pronouced spinal curvature or has had previous spinal fusions/problems, they may be uncomfortable in these trains. Odds are, if your family members can fit other ride restraints, they'll have no problems fitting in Mindbender's simpler restraint design...

 

Good luck, and hope you all have a fun and safe trip!

[kingdanny]

However, Mindbender has very simple U-shaped lapbar restraints and these seem to fit a great number of people quite well. The lack of seat dividers also gives more room at the hips for many riders. I've never seen anyone turned away for not fitting in the lapbars on Mindbender's trains. The only caveat I would mention is that the seat backs are *very* straight (complete 90 degrees to the hip axis), so if anyone in your party has pronouced spinal curvature or has had previous spinal fusions/problems, they may be uncomfortable in these trains. Odds are, if your family members can fit other ride restraints, they'll have no problems fitting in Mindbender's simpler restraint design...

 

Good luck, and hope you all have a fun and safe trip!

 

Thanks for the info. My relatives are finally convinced that they will fit into MindBender. As for CYclone, I told them to forget about it. The individual lap bars and seat dividers on an already small train will be difficult for them. I'm not sure about GASM. Again, THANKS ALOT!! for the info. P.S. What causes black-outs on roller coasters?

[willski]

^Lack of blood flow to the brain/optical nerve.

 

At first, your vision narrows (sometimes called tube or tunnel vision). then, you begin to grey out (your vision flashes, like it does sometimes when you stand up too quickly). Then, you black out, which means you are recieving no or very little blood flow in your brain/optical nerve. It's not a problem for short periods of time at relatively low g-forces (as in Goliath at SFMMs helix), but if it is prolonged at high g forces, the effects can be dangerous and even deadly (say, a fighter jet pulling 8 Gs for 20 seconds during a pullout). However, fighter pilots wear G-suits, which pump air into special bladders when high g-forces are encountered. This helps prevent the blood from pooling in the lower body and therefore helps to continue blood flow to the brain/optical nerve. Also, tightening your leg muscles is supposed to help, though I'm not sure on that one (I do use it on B:TRs helix after the second loop when riding in the back, it helps to keep me from greying out.

 

The opposite of all this is excessive negative Gs, which is called a red-out. I'm not sure, but I would guess that it is called a red-out due to an excess of blood in the upper body caused by the negative forces. This would flood the capillaries in the brain and especially the optical nerve, causing red vision. That is just a guess though.

[TheStig]

^^Wait, your not my mom!

 

First off I have to say that Goliath was AWSOME!!! You guys are gonna love it, although its a tad rough. Alright have fun everybody!

 

Colin C

[kingdanny]

I know it's a little old but i'm going to SFOG again with some friends that are huge. Instead of staring a new topic, I decided to use this one. I have a couple questions about the rides. Any help will be useful.

 

1. What rides can someone who is 264 pounds ride?

2. What is the maximum height restriction for Cyclone?

3. Where do you sit on Ninja for a smooth ride?

4. Where do you sit on Cyclone for a smmoth ride?

5. Will someone who is 264 black-out on MindBender?

[map2]

Honestly, I wish I could answer all of your questions, but I really can't. I'll try with 2,3, and 4.

 

2. I'm really not sure if there is a maximum height restrction. I've seen people 6 ft plus get on it so I'm just assuming that there is no maximum height restriction.

 

3. Really the Ninja has gotten so rough over the years that no seat is noticable smoother than another. The front is the smoothest, if you can say that. Really the way to escape the head banging is to press your head against the headrest as hard as you can.

 

4. Like Ninja there is no smooth ride on here. Your best chance is like Ninja, front row with your head pushed very hard on the head rest.

 

I wish I could answer questions 1 and 5, but I have no answers or even possible soulutions for #5. As for 1, I'm, guessing pretty much all of the rides, except for the smaller ones

[kingdanny]

I always thought that Ninja was smooth in the first row of the last car or the first row of the fourth car. I also thought Cyclone was smooth in the first row of the second car. I might do Batman as my first invert. Are you weightless while upside down on Batman's Zero-G roll? I'm trying to pursuaid my sister to ride it.

[shesaidboom]

With the weight question I think it really depends on how you carry your weight, so it's hard for anyone to actually tell you if you can fit in a ride or not. I've seen several people who weren't overweight at all, but who were turned away from rides because the restraints couldn't close over their long legs. At the same time I've seen very overweight people get on the same ride because they carried their weight differently. So it's more build than weight in most cases.

 

With the blacking out question it's also hard to answer. It depends on you personally, not necessarily on your weight. You might not black out on a ride, but someone of your same height + weight might. It's one of those things you'll have to find out for yourself.