johnjniehaus

My partner and I flew into DC and decided to spend a few hours at SFA before heading down to the ACE Spring Conference in Virginia. Six Flags America was a park I had only visited once previously and I personally never felt the need to go back except that my partner had never ridden a Vekoma flying Dutchman so he needed that credit before it becomes extinct. So takeaways from the experience is that the ops were much more friendly and active. The food and beverage service was still pretty abysmal. The rides still had a fair amount of downtime. We were able to get all the coaster credits except Superman which was down the entire day. Overall it was a better experience than the previous visit but still just an alright park. BGW spring con was such a wonderful time. We arrived at Busch a little after 6pm and rode a few rides before the evening ERT event on Pantheon, Apollo, Tempesto, Turkish Delight, and Trade Winds. My friends and I lapped Apollos Chariot and got one ride on all the others. The next morning we had ERT on Darkoaster, the wave Swinger, dogem, and Big Bad Wolf: The Revenge. After waiting nearly an hour for BBW, we finally got to ride. Overall it was a nice homage to the original although I'd take an arrow suspended coaster over a B&M family invert any day. The theming around the ride was fun and the Bavarian village section was what really got me excited. This ride will look much better once the trees have grown in around it. Overall not the most thrilling coaster but still fun. During the day we got the remaining coasters and also did escape from pompii. We ride the Rhine River Cruise and then headed over to Kings Dominion that afternoon. My partner and I returned to Busch on Monday to reride some coasters and hit up the remaining flats. We arrived at Kings Dominion and focused on riding the rides in Old Virginia before the evening ERT. We got rides on the flying eagles, the antique Cars, the log Flume, and grizzly. Grizzly was running FANTASTIC. The evening ERT was in jungle expedition on Tumbili, Rapterra, Reptilian, Arachanidia, and Backlot Stunt Coaster. We got 4 laps on Rapterra. I thought while it did have a slight bounce/rattle, it has a wonderful layout and is arguably the second best coaster in the park. Morning ERT was on Twisted Timbers, Apple Zapple, Carousel, troika, and Delirium. We also had lunch at the picnic pavilions and I won a vintage KD park map and a park map from SFOG from the ACE auction. We took a group photo at the Eiffel Tower and also were excited to go up in it after it has been down for a few seasons now. I think that KD has some great 50th anniversary merch but the overall decoration was definitely less than Kings Island. BGW looked fantastic as usual and the ACE event included a food and wine tasting card which we thoroughly enjoyed. Of course pantherian, verboten, and le scoot were closed during the trip. Pantherian looked like there was no activity going on so I have no clue what they are doing or when they plan to open it. Le scoot was testing over the weekend and is probably gearing up for a memorial Day weekend opening. The representative from BGW told us that they plan to have verboten up sometime in June. Hopefully both parks get those rides back up before the main season really kicks in.

I was at SFA this past Friday before driving down to the ACE Spring Conference. I thought the park was actually better than my previous visit in 2023 however, there's definitely a reason this place is getting shut down. I will post more thoughts in the trip reports topic

Yeah it's been a real bummer that it's going to be closed during spring con. And everyone knows that it's arguably their best coaster so anything they replaced it with wasn't going to be good enough. Now why they replaced it with backlot I have no idea when they could have done lights on ERT session on FoF

I 100% agree that Runaway Mine Train is one of the best! Probably my #5 in the park! I also love rodeo and the sombrero and the other western themed flats.

I went to the Lonestar Coasterthon at SFOT a few weeks ago and here is my report on the park and in the event. The event cost about $65 to attend plus travel and hotel obviously but the price of the event was minimal. They provided two meals both days and allowed us to use our ACE badges as fastlane all day both days. The event was very well run and the park employees were extremely kinda and accommodating with the exception of closing New TX Giant during ERT to remove a train because the crowd level was low. During the conference we presented shockwave with the rollercoaster landmark plaque which was something I've been advocating for years. It's a great ride and I hope the park invests some money into it now that it has been deemed to have historical value. I will say it needs a fresh coat of paint and probably some other things done to it. Still runs great but it was definitely making a lot of strange sounds as compared to my visit 3 years ago. I was able to snag the missing coaster credits I needed considering some rides were closed during my visit 3 years ago. I got judge Roy, mini Mine Train, and the children's coaster. It is also worth noting that I got my first ride on the original arrow log flume as well and it was very enjoyable. Overall great event and if anyone has any questions. Let's talk about it more

That's actually true... I mean CP probably has more flats and coasters than valleyfair and Dorney Park combined

CP could definitely use it although the age old argument is they get investments constantly it seems so maybe someone else needs it more. Can they give a nebulaZ to a smaller park and then funnel more coaster money at CP?

They are really consolidating and pumping up that area in the back by thunder run/storm chaser. I think it's worth noting they have two largish areas to work with - the front near lightning run and the back in the former T3 and river rapids area. I'm interested to see what the future holds for this park because this is a really big renovation

Sometimes I don't even want to suggest something on here out of fear the park would think it's a good idea...all I'm going to say is that nebulaZ better not replace my favorite flat ride along Coney Mall... I'm all for it going anywhere else in the park. I think it could look cool in rivertown especially considering rivertown doesn't have any flats

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.dailynews.com/2025/05/02/montezooma-coaster-track-arrives-at-knotts-berry-farm/amp/ https://www.ocregister.com/2025/05/02/montezooma-coaster-track-arrives-at-knotts-berry-farm/amp/ Two sources now claim there is new track on site for Montezuma's Revenge. I'm glad the project actuyahows some signs of life again however with replacing lots of track, removing the flywheel launch, and the classic Schwarzkopf trains - is it technically even the same ride anymore?

Is this a question or a statement? Would be great to see it go to the state Fair

I was thinking about the rides still at the park and what is most likely not going to get scrapped - Rajun Cajun: is a portable coaster so maybe it's does get a new home at a smaller park. The SLC: just got some upgrades recently and SLCs seem to be relocated rather often so maybe it also finds a new home Firebird: I would say yes but it's so rough and never seems to have a line as it is. They just scrapped green Lantern so B&M coasters are not exempt from the wreaking ball. I personally think this one is done Joker's Jinx: Could be relocated but it's aging and it could be used for parts on various other aging premier Launch coasters in the chain Batwing: immediately scrapped Roar: ditto Superman: I think it's too large to relocate. Whatever park would take it would need alot of property and I don't think they are looking to keep an Intamin around if they don't have to. Wild One: This one is the one I hope gets relocated somewhere considering its history and the fact it's a great woodie and still runs great! Even if the state fair took it or some park outside the chain I'd be happy. I'm sure ACE will probably do whatever they can to facilitate the ride being relocated rather than scrapped if possible Maybe some of the flats get relocated?

To be honest I didn't think they would keep all the parks. This has happened before. Gauga Lake closed after CF acquires KI. We've seen it before. Underperforming park is retired and the property is sold. Rides are relocated or scrapped. I personally think six flags America had some good coasters but overall that park was easily the worst park I've ever been to considering operations, cleanliness, and food.

Thank you for the update! I also reached out to the park and they confirmed that while there is no opening day scheduled for Alpen Fury, the other coaster should all be operational for opening day and after.

Any updates on Alpen Fury these days? I'm thinking about a mid May trip to wonderland and was wondering if it's not completed, will it impact the other rides such as Vortex and thunder run that also go through the mountain? Will they be closed during the final stages of construction?

This looks great. Gonna have to try and get a ride this weekend

Well I rode it last night and the billboards and signage look great however none of the effects with the helicopter or fire were working so if they have decided not to do that anymore it will be a crying shame considering that our stunt cars was the only one that had those effects working previously

I'm actually interested in riding the junkyard coaster tomorrow to see the new enhancements

To be fair the monster has disappeared I believe twice in park history. Once in the mid 1980s it was gone for a season and then returned and then around 2015/16ish it was not assembled for awhile too because of a refurbishment. That was nearly 10 years ago and with possible maintenance cuts maybe the park is behind on getting it ready. Regardless I do hope that they realize that the monster has its fan base and a park original ride deserves to have at a minimum two weeks notice for final rides.

Please say this isn't true.

I think it's what you enjoy in a coaster. I-305 is my favorite coaster period and I have ridden everything at BGW. ACERs I feel are understanding and professional with their complaints but I hear more and more rumbles amongst them about the lack of transparency from parks about retiring rides or having unannounced extended closures. What is very unfortunate is this year Spring Conference in Virginia has a rather sparse schedule of events as compared to Kings Island Spring Con and other ACE events from last year like Preservation Con. It also cost quite a bit more than those other cons that offered more. So having the top ride at KD possibly down and KD making the announcement literally less than a week after the registration for an ACE conference opened up is very frustrating. Yes ACERs won't be screaming about it but I know that I am not the only one that will file a polite complaint at Kings Dominion guest services during my visit if the ride is still down. We all understand that things break or projects get behind schedule but when you don't communicate that in a timely fashion and people invest hundreds to thousands of dollars in a trip, I think the park should know how individuals feel about that. I actually lodged a complaint at Cedar Point last fall after going on a Friday morning before haunt and realizing that 1/4 of the coasters were not operating. The guest services guy was super polite and said he agreed that it should have been communicated on the website that CP doesn't run all their rides during the weekdays in Oct. Obviously the lack of communication comes from someone much higher up than the guest services guy but my point is that guests and even lower level employees all understand the fact that when parks do not communicate in a timely fashion, people get burnt. To be fair, I have already bought flights and hotels for the ACE Spring Conference but had they announced this closure a week ago, I might not have paid for an ACE conference

I'm going to the ACE conference and trust me there's going to be some pretty upset people if this is down during the conference

Glad to see Zulu repainted... maybe they don't plan on removing it as was rumored?

No not really