TR Spring Fling @ SFOG, or...Rain: The Event

[dare-to-fly]

Trip Report: Spring Fling 2009 @ Six Flags Over Georgia, or Rain: The Event: March 27-29, 2009

Image Shack just doesn't like me. If anyone can tell me which link to use to get a BIG picture on the page without having a link there and not being a little thumbnail, I'd be really happy.

Anyway, you can at least see the pictures. Happy reading.

Before SF:

After picking up my rental from Enterprise Rent-a-Car and getting the wonderful 50% off weekend special, it was time to head south. My first stop was to reminisce at LeSourdsville Lake for a few minutes to take some current pictures of the park. The parking lot to Couch’s Campers was open, so I was able to get right up to the fence of the park to take some really good pictures. Seeing The Whip, Speedway Cars, and the Screechin’ Eagle station from a distance were the highlights.

After wanting to cry, I headed just a little southeast to Kings Island. After driving past the park, I noticed there were several people in the lot next to the sign. Not wishing to intrude, I went behind Great Wolf Lodge to take some shots of the still unpainted Flight Deck and Son of Beast. I noticed very quickly that the blue train was sitting toward the bottom of the lift hill with test dummies in it. After waiting several minutes hoping to see a test run, I gave up and continued on my way south.

Check in:

I’ve heard that you shouldn’t stay at the interchange where Six Flags Over Georgia is located, but I was already impressed with Goliath on my trip past it on the interstate. A brief detour lead to a strike-out, as the good views were all on the highway on the way past. The Sleep Inn Douglasville was my destination.

Once at the Sleep Inn, I was slightly disappointed to find out that I was on the first floor despite my “top floor preferred” comment on my reservation. This was not a big deal, but it seems every time I’m on a lower floor I have to listen to people stampede around on the floor above. My top floor preference was reinforced. The people above did plenty of stampeding all night long. After my stay, I left a comment card and just mentioned this on the card. Today, I got a letter from the manager at said Sleep Inn apologizing for the noise level and presenting me with a 10% off coupon for my next visit. Now that’s definitely good PR. Six Flags Over Georgia should take a leaf out of that book for our event, but that’s a story for later on in the TR.

The tragic morning:

We were informed through e-mail the day before that our morning ERT for Spring Fling was cancelled, but that the evening ERT was extended for an extra hour. I still arrived at the park at normal check-in time and spent the morning taking millions of pictures in the pouring rain and speaking with fellow ACErs. Around 9:15 or so, I saw Georgia Cyclone starting its morning test runs and spent a few minutes trying to get a picture of it. Georgia Scorcher and Goliath also made test runs, though I was unable to get pictures of these.

Eventually I met up with Ken Jones and Jeremy Baruffa, and we talked for a while to pass time. There were very few people around, except for a bus that moved in at about 9:30…uh oh. At 10:00, we lined up to get into the park. They were hopeful to open the day on Cyclone, but I had my doubts. We had heard numerous claps of thunder and saw flashes of lightning only 10 minutes before. To no surprise of mine, we were told Cyclone was closed, and that the park would likely shut down by noon.

Train ride:

After being told the coasters were closed, we decided to ride the train which was open. The conductor of the train was very into his job, and did a fabulous job pointing out lots of various rides and other points of interest around the park. After riding the train, we began our aimless wandering.

Bumper Cars:

Since the bumper cars were open, we decided to give them a try…and another…and another…and we eventually ended up with about a dozen rides total, and were on them for over an hour. Finally, my rear couldn’t take any more sitting, as we had just been sitting in the same cars without getting off. There were enough cars for those that were boarding and those who were still on, so we were just allowed to stay. It should be said that the staff at Bumper Cars were very friendly.

More aimless wandering, and popping a Wheelie:

After wandering through the park in the rain, and becoming very soaked in the process, we decided to ride The Wheelie. For those that don’t know, Wheelie is an Enterprise type ride, of which I am quite the fan. That was a fun ride in the rain, though my company didn’t seem as thrilled as I about getting slapped in the face by rain.

Lunch:

We eventually ended up at the correct area of the park for lunch, and waited for the picnic grove to open. Once inside, Jeremy, Ken, and I sat down with other ACErs that I have seen at other events, Josh Munsen and Michael Morris. We were told at lunch that the park was officially closed, but that we would be allowed to stay and ride the coasters, which were opening up…finally! Listening to Great American Scream Machine and Ninja test was too much for me to try to pay attention to the presentation at lunch, so we practically ran out of the picnic grove to ride coasters.

Great American Scream Machine:

This was my most anticipated coaster of the trip, and there was no anticipointment to be had. The coaster flew over all of the airhills, and I found the overall pattern to be very distantly reminiscent of the Screechin’ Eagle at LeSourdsville Lake…but perhaps this is because I was thinking about it from the day before. GASM ended up ranking at #7 in wood.

http://img254.imageshack.us/img254/273/gre...nscreammach.jpg

Superman:

After GASM, we headed up to Superman, and were thrilled about the ride as a whole. After only being on Firehawk and Nighthawk, I found being rolled onto my stomach in the station to be a rather surprising way to start a ride. I really enjoyed not having to look up at the sky on the lift, and the intense g’s at the bottom of the loop were SO divine. For a steel coaster, it was amazing!

http://img254.imageshack.us/img254/8400/supermanr.jpg

Walk some more:

We were going to make a gigantic circle around the park, but after walking for a few minutes, we were stopped by a security guard who informed us that we could either ride the coasters in the Cotton States section or go “this way” for Goliath, but the rest of the park was closed. Okay, we’ll go ride Goliath. I was looking forward to a preview of Diamondback.

Goliath:

Upon entering the station, I let myself be talked into a seat in the middle of the train…well, on Diamondback, I’ll be riding in the back seat, thank you. The ride was fast and full of airtime, and I absolutely loved it. An added bonus was the double helix turnaround that I just fell in love with. It was fast and full of good g’s. Then there was that other annoying thing after the turnaround – run over it with filled dump trucks please. Regardless, the rest of the ride was still a blast, though I found my Sunday ride with very little killing…or…trimming to be the best ride I had.

http://img254.imageshack.us/img254/6372/go...doublehelix.jpg

Wandering some more:

From Goliath, we wandered and wandered and wandered, and at some point in the wandering we found out that Goliath was closing. We then proceed to be weirded out by the fact that no one seemed to want us near the front of the park. We were beginning to wonder if something had happened in the parking lot that they didn’t want us to see from the front of the park or the tops of the rides. How were we to get out? We were told that we would be exiting from a gate at the back of the park, and a tram would take us to our cars. Upon deciding that this was really weird, we hopped on Ninja before it closed too.

Ninja:

Well, it was your standard for the type. I enjoyed the plentiful laterals on the ride, but it didn’t impress me any more than other rides of its type. We eventually worked our way back to Ninja at the time when it was the only coaster open. What we did in the meanwhile remains a blur, so it must have been more wandering.

More wandering and other stuff:

Eventually GASM opened back up again, and we scored another ride on it, but other than that, it was pretty much all closed for a while. In the process of wandering A BUNCH, we could find no answers about what was going on or what was to happen for evening ERT. No one seemed to have any answers, and the answers we were given contradicted themselves, so we were pretty much exhausted mentally, emotionally, and physically from all of the wandering in the rain and trying to solve a major puzzle.

Goliath toward the end of the day:

At about 5, we had been talking with fellow ACErs David Cornell, and his friend who I’ll just call “Beast Karen” since she took The Beast Walkback with me only about…hmmm…all of them last season. We see that Goliath is open, and Karen was really excited about this, as she had been unable to ride that day so far. After two rides on Goliath, Jeremy and Ken went back over to ride Superman again (only to get stuck in the brake run…he he), and I stayed at Goliath for four more rides. After the 3rd without even leaving my seat, we were informed that “this is the last train of the night for Goliath” at 6:00.

Answers?:

David, Karen, and I stopped to talk to one of the security guards who was directing everyone to the back exit to the park. David asked what else was open as far as rides…all closed. He then asked about ACE’s ERT, and he said he had no clue, but would call and find out. Finally, someone who can answer questions! All events have been cancelled was the response. This means, basically we paid for a $30.00 lunch, or if you were not a season passholder, a $60.00 lunch. We were given a free gift, a Monster Mansion mug. This was very much appreciated, but still didn’t seem to compensate for the day that we had just had.

Tram to lot and Kenny’s:

We decided as we were taking the tram around to our cars, that we would all come back the next day. Jeremy had been told by someone else about a restaurant at exit 37 called Kenny’s which we went to for a delicious all-you-can-eat buffet. It isn’t often that you can find one of these where you can eat and get a Coke for…are you ready…$7.00! (Or 700, according to the checkout person. I paid with a 1,000! He he. “What makes up a dollar?” was the next question, and then it all made sense why she said what she said. The answer is 100 pennies. Did I start there? No…I started at quarters, like, I was informed, does everyone else.

Sleep Inn; Night 2:

After I cancelled my reservation at Quality Inn in Chattanooga, late, and with no penalty – highly recommend them now, I headed back to Sleep Inn Douglasville. This time, I was able to get the top floor with no problem. Actually, I was informed in my letter that Friday, the top floors were occupied by a middle school – that explains why I listened to stampeding all night! It was an even better experience than the previous night, and the only thing wrong then was the stomping. I highly recommend this hotel, as it’s peaceful and conveniently located right off the interstate at exit 34.

Arrival on Day 2:

After calling Ken, I learned that they were in the process of getting Ken’s ticket from the day before upgraded to a season pass. He was not able to do this on the day before because processing was closed. At least they were descent about upgrading it without a hassle. Go Six Flags! I proceeded to head back to Great American Scream Machine and camped out for 4 rides without getting off. Let’s see, a campout ride at the back of an amusement park on a wooden coaster – could it get any more familiar. I also figured I’d better get as many rides as possible, as it was running with 1 train, and continued to run with one train for the whole day.

Batman:

I headed from GASM to Batman to pick up a couple of missed credits. I met Ken and Jeremy on the way, who had just gotten off Mindbender…another ride that they were stuck in the brake run of. At this point, I’m starting to become very amused with their talents of getting stuck on rides. Batman was a fast, fun, and smooth ride, but nothing I haven’t seen before. Mindbender was still down when we got off, so we passed it up for a while.

Scorcher:

We ended up at the station for Georgia Scorcher, and reluctantly waited in the line for it. It would have been much nicer with a second train. I found it to be a fun coaster, and my second favorite stand-up. Sorry, but it still doesn’t beat Chang.

http://img254.imageshack.us/img254/8541/georgiascorcher.jpg

Georgia Cyclone:

Holy crap! I didn’t expect to find a new #2, but I did. This coaster’s airtime was amazing, and we did something that never happens at a Cedar Fair park. There are two trims throughout the course of the ride. The first one we sailed right through on every ride. YAHOO! A TRIM THAT’S OFF!!!!!!!!!! The second trim was on, but it did very little to the ride. It still kept the coaster at #2 status, but it didn’t do much. The airhills were loaded with airtime, and I especially enjoyed the hill coming off of the second turnaround. (More on that hill later.) I also liked how after the first turnaround, the back of the train is pulled around the corner and down the drop. This coaster ROCKS!

http://img254.imageshack.us/img254/6784/ge...one032small.jpg

Dahlonega Mine Train:

After two rides on Cyclone, we picked up the Dahlonega Mine Train, which we missed the day before. At the entrance, we were amused by the sign that said “The Dahlonega Mine Train is a Roller Coaster Type Ride.” It’s not a roller coaster, but a roller coaster type ride. Apparently one is a roller coaster, and the other is a ride that rolls and coasts, but is not a roller coaster. Actually, they were probably just discouraging families to bring small children on board, but it made for a great standing joke the rest of the day.

The ride itself was a typical mine train coaster, which I have learned to love. There are three lift hills, and the only dud is the second one. It just kind of crawls around and doesn’t do a whole lot, but the rest of the ride is a blast. Don’t miss it if you’re in the area. By the way it’s “duh-lawn-ih-gah” with emphasis on “lawn” if you were wondering.

Wile-E-Coyote:

Closed due to temperature…next.

Mindbender:

Finally, they were able to get Mindbender running, and were putting on a second train while we were in line…finally. This is good, because we were getting sick of the long waits for coasters due only to single train operation. Many of the coasters did the same, though regrettably the wooden coasters did not, nor did Batman, which had a wait of over an hour (that I did not attempt).

Once on the ride, I was told to remove my glasses. Not leave, just take them off. Okay, I took them off. They of course did not…oh no…did not find their way back onto my face on the lift hill and then come off again in the brake run…no I wouldn’t do that…nope. I just put them back on while I was rolling forward on the brake run. It may have been disguised as the lift hill, but it looked like a brake run to me, just slanted the wrong way. Okay…done BS’ing, but this was just weird for me. If they didn’t come off on the Georgia Cyclone, there’s no way they would have come off on Mindbender. Whatever!

Mindbender was fabulous! It had great airtime, and was refreshing not to have OTSR’s on a looping coaster, nor seatbelts to contend with. The trim halfway through the ride did very little, so I’m not too concerned, though I wish it was off, and I ranked this as #10.

http://img254.imageshack.us/img254/7875/mindbender.jpg

Back to Scorcher:

From Mindbender we went back to ride Scorcher, now a walk-on due to two train operation. It’s nice that they decided to do for some rides what they should have done at opening to begin with.

Back to Cyclone:

Jeremy and Ken needed to leave soon, so that they could do a little credit whoring before their arrival at Dollywood the next day. They wanted to do one more ride on the Georgia Cyclone, which was fine with me. Once again, I rode in my favorite – left side of back seat. (This becomes important later.) Then, we browsed the gift shops, and I later purchased my finding of a Georgia Cyclone T-shirt. We said goodbye, and I made one last circle around the park before leaving myself.

Final Circle:

I started with Goliath. This ride was trimmed very little and was my highlight on it as a result. There was great air on the way back, and it ran the way it should run all the time.

Mindbender was next, and this time was a walk-on. I again rode from the back seat, and the attendants never batted an eye about my glasses. Apparently some care and some don’t. It’s just like the loose article shelves that sometimes they will allow you to use, and sometimes will yell t you for using. It completely depends on the operator, and was not consistent at all.

GASM was next, and was a 15 minute wait due to single train operation. Grrr! Anyway, it was a great last ride, and I enjoyed riding it in the sunlight for the very first time. The funny part was in line, some kid pointed to Ninja and mentioned that it was closed (it was – all day Sunday). Did you know it was down for construction because “they keep adding on loops to it.” I didn’t know that information, and it seems a little unlikely since we were on it the day before. Gee…I wonder how rumors start?

Final Ride on Georgia Cyclone:

This was a rarity. A ride on a wooden coaster that actually scared me. Not for long, but it did scare me. I didn’t do anything different than my other 3 rides. The lap bar was still down the comfortable 2 clicks – 3 is stapled, just like on The Beast – and the seatbelt was loose enough to do nothing just like I like it. Well, the employee that checked me picked up the seatbelt, shook it to make sure that it was fastened, and then set it back down on the seat. (These are one seatbelt per row.) During the course of the ride, I was having a blast, and then comes the hill off the second turnaround. The airtime there combined with the force of just going around a corner. Of course I was not holding on, as I very rarely do, and those forces caused me to slide halfway out of the lap bar and I landed at the bottom of the hill with the center of my rear on the seat divider. Ouch! I spent the journey up the next hill wondering if I could get back into my restraint, or if I would return to the station sitting on the restraint. How cool and unusual would that have been for me? And how traumatic would they have made it for them? I’m glad it didn’t happen that way, as I much prefer the first trim off, the way it should be. The second is bad enough.

Conclusion:

Other than holding on for that particular moment on Georgia Cyclone, I’ll really have to think about whether or not to do Spring Fling next year. I was told that it has rained for the last three years, so it may not be something I’ll go to in the future. I’ll go to SFOG again, but in the summer when it’s so hot nobody wants to go. That sounds like a good plan to me. At 3 in the morning, I arrived home to my wonderful bed, and slept with the roller coaster glow from my flesh. It’s great to finally be back on some coasters, and I can’t wait for April 18th.

[The Interpreter]

In the summer, Six Flags Over Georgia is a very, very busy park. I'm glad you liked The Georgia Cyclone...and you can find me in the back on the right, usually. For giggles, I sometimes ride the front, where the ride is a big old puty tat....SFOG is one of my favorite parks...last year at Spring Fling it did rain..but only at the end of the day...and boy, oh boy did it rain. Same story the year before.

[dare-to-fly]

Robert even asked at the beginning of lunch how many had attended a Spring Fling that was dry, made them stand up, and said, "See...proof. We do have dry Spring Flings."

At any rate, I didn't like the Georgia Cyclone, I LOVED it. Hence the reason for its #2 status. Not to forget Great American Scream Machine at #7. Actually Goliath ranked at #1 in steel, but I kind of glossed over it. I'm not sure why, oh wait, yes I am...steel. I'm just a wooden coaster person, what can I say?

[XGatorHead 8904]

Hopefully Diamondback will surpass Goliath as your favorite steel. We'll find out soon.

Did you ever find out what, if anything, happened in the parking lot/front of the park on Saturday? That's odd that they had you exit out the back of the park.

[violakat03]

Don't think that going in the middle of the heat of summer will mean the crowds are away. Atlanta residents are used to the heat. We went through the week on the first week of August in 2006 and the park was pretty well packed. We waited almost 2 hours for Superman: Ultimate Flight. There was not a single ride that was less than a 20 minute wait. We spent 2 days there also and on the second day we got a gold Flash Pass, which cut our average wait time to 5 minutes. Using the Flash Pass, we waited 15 minutes for Goliath (it was running a 2+ hour wait all day, both days).

[dare-to-fly]

Did you ever find out what, if anything, happened in the parking lot/front of the park on Saturday? That's odd that they had you exit out the back of the park.

It seems that nothing "happened" but that they were just allowing us to use the back of the park for what time they decided to remain open. We thought it was weird all day, but the only thing we got was a theory. Our theory is that they wanted anyone who might be trying to come into the park (like a season passholder hoping for a walk-on day) that the park would look desolate, and they could just tell them the park was closed due to weather without an argument. That would explain why they decided to close Goliath until toward the end of the day. Honestly - no clue for sure!

I'm glad they opened Goliath toward the end of the day. I know that I won't be able to get 4 rides in a row on Diamondback without leaving my seat for a long, long time. Hopefully the capacity and the ride combine with future walk-on days to make that an eventual possiblility - and that "no re-ride" policies do not come into play - see Son of Beast.

[TheCryptRaider]

Sounds like you had a good day, but sorry it rained. Yes I did read it all.. Or maybe most of it...