This Sunkid alpine coaster uses a ski lift to get its trains up to the top instead of a traditional chain or cable lift. Genuinely such a cool system

Hoping for a soft opening this evening!!

Went to Atlanta for my final rides on ArieForce One. While AF1 stole the show, I’m so happy I decided to spend 3 hours are SFOG because Goliath is just incredible.

This is my 2nd time at SFOG and on my first visit I only got 1 ride on Goliath due to its 90min wait. This time around, I was able to get 4 near walk on rides.

WOW

Solidified as my favorite B&M hyper. The ejector on this thing?! Didn’t know this ride model could go that hard!

I don't believe I've ever seen a picture of this poster in the subreddit before, so figured I'd share! It's located on the backside of the lockers, facing a bush, making it pretty difficult to spot unless by accident. Love that even eight years after the ride opened there are still new details to discover! Just wonder what Mr. Schilke thinks about it...

Thats a big inversion

At the end of June I took a road trip through the American Midwest, visiting five parks in the states of Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, and Kentucky. First, I spent two days at Cedar Point, then I went to Michigan’s Adventure, and after that was…

Park #3 Indiana Beach

I’ve been wanting to take a spin on both Steel Hawg and The Lost Coaster of Superstition Mountain ever since I found out about them, and this place almost completely closing for good back in 2020 made this place a high priority target for me. This park had an odd, quirky charm to it, and it honestly felt a bit like a Roller Coaster Tycoon park that someone just met the objective on. There’s a bunch of things tightly stuffed in everywhere whether it be rides, shops, restaurants, paths, ect. They used pretty much all of the space available to them and then a little more. I came here on a Sunday, so it was a little crowded, but the waits weren’t too bad for the most part. Arriving an hour after it opened, I had about six and a half hours to ride what I wanted before I had to get going to my next destination. The weather was sunny and getting hot, which was a bit of a problem here, but I made it through. Also, if you’re using something like Google Maps to get here, be advised that it’ll try to take you to the handicap and pay to enter preferred parking instead of the parking that is completely free and also the main entrance to the park.

Good things about Indiana Beach

First off, they offer free parking! As long as you don’t mind parking on grass, that is, and if for whatever reason you do there’s preferred parking that’s paved, but will cost you $20. The main entrance to the park from the free parking is a nice-looking suspension bridge, too, which is to my knowledge unique. The place has an interesting mixture of newer rides, older rides that are somewhat hard to find these days, and a couple unique attractions that you will not find anywhere else. The park is laid out rather well for the most part as the majority of things are along a straight path that runs almost the entire length of the park. Beyond that path there are some other paths on the northern end, but it was easy to find my way around everything despite things literally being built on top of each other. The food I had here was a bit cheaper than what I tend to find at my home parks, and while the pizza was about the same the ice cream was definitely better. Finally, the park had like a half dozen different arcades they had split their many, many arcade machines up between.

Bad things about Indiana Beach

First, I would like to thank the person whose trip report about this park in early to mid-June alerted me to the complete lack of drinking fountains. This allowed me to prepare by bringing my full water bottle along and drinking that throughout the day. Still, it’s rare to see a park have no free water whatsoever, and that disappoints me greatly. Beyond the water, a bunch of the rides were broken down, broke down on me, or just never opened. Since I was there for only one day, I don’t know if this is a regular occurrence, or if I was unlucky. Regardless, it doesn’t change the fact that in the six and a half hours I was here a ride I wanted to ride was either closed, broken down, or broke down while I was in line for it ten times. The staff here is rather lax about critical things and several of them looked bored, uncaring about their job, or just under-trained. It’s not fun to look at the ride operator while the ride is going only to see them leaning on the control panel with a bored expression as they look at one of the other rides, or the people running Hoosier Hurricane who barely checked the restraints and then sent the train out without saying a word, and then there’s the staff member who just didn’t care that one of the people on the bumper cars was breaking several rules. Add to that the people working at Steel Hawg struggling to figure out how run the ride and the guy for the sky ride being rather unclear with his instructions, and there were several times I just did not feel safe. The place also was just not clean inside or out with a lot of trash in places. Finally, though the park had a lot of arcade games, about 50% of them weren’t working at all.

Though I can’t really fault the park for this, another thing that brought the experience down for me was the numerous problems I had with other guests here. Especially since I usually don’t have many problems with other guests outside of school trip days. I had originally typed out the issues I had, but for brevity's sake I had about nine negative interactions with other guests (some were single guests and others were a problematic group) compared to only two positive ones (and one of the positives only happened in response to a negative interaction.)

Thoughts on the roller coasters:

Cornball Express: This one was all right. Nothing really stood out to me about this one. It rode all right for the most part, but there were a few bad spots in the course that could use some TLC.

Hoosier Hurricane: First off, thank you to the guy who let me ride with him after other guests stole my seat. I like how the ride runs almost the entire length of the park, and the s-bend between the lift hill and drop to fit it around the structures in the park is another thing that gives a Roller Coaster Tycoon vibe. This rode very similar to Cornball Express with it being a bit rough with some spots that need some TLC. While it did start off fast, I feel that it lost steam near the end of the ride.

Steel Hawg: First off, I love that this small park in the middle of the Indiana countryside successfully claimed the title of steepest roller coaster drop in the world for a year. This ride was hit with the double whammy of having a late scheduled opening time, and also having mechanical issues that delayed that opening further. When I noticed the ride was finally going, I quickly hopped in the slow moving because they only have one working car queue line. Then right before I got on it broke down again. I waited it out since I really wanted to ride this ride, and then finally got to ride my first El Loco model! This ride was as crazy fun as it looks online, and I had a blast! If I ever somehow achieve my crazy dream of owning my own theme park, I'm putting this coaster model in there somewhere. The drop was intense, the outer banked turn was interesting, and the hang time on the two inversions was crazy! As an added bonus, this ride had super comfy restraints!

Lost Coaster of Superstition Mountain: This was one of the many rides that suffered from mechanical issues throughout the day. Because of that it didn’t open until very late in the day, and broke down again while I was waiting in line. This oddity of a coaster was one of the main reasons I was here though, so I toughed it out and eventually got on the ride. Everything about this ride is unique in its own bizarre way. From the cage cars with forwards and backwards facing seats with a seat belt as your sole restraint, to the elevator lift, to the multiple turns that looked impossibly tight. The whole thing was a unique and interesting experience, and I’m glad that I was able to ride this one-of-a-kind coaster!

Other rides of note:

Antique Autos: A car ride that takes place almost entirely over water is another one of the reasons this feels like a Roller Coaster Tycoon park. It was a bit hard to get these cars to move as you had to stomp the pedal to get going, or else you slowly cruised along, but it was still a fun and interesting ride.

Den of Lost Thieves: A rickety old shooting dark ride that I’m honestly surprised didn’t derail given how some of the cars were handling the turns. The ride was ok. Mainly because it was very hit or miss (pun intended) on if the target would react to you or not even at point blank range. I did enjoy having an outdoor section that allowed me to look out at the park while still giving me some things to shoot at.

Dodgem: This one is the style of bumper cars where you have to go in a circle. I tend to not like these as much as the ones that let you go crazy anywhere, but this one was still good for the most part. Interestingly, instead of a solid barrier in the middle to promote going in a circle, it was three or four cones on spinning tires, which allowed you to shortcut the circle.

Falling Star: On the tamer side of things, but had some surprisingly good negative g’s on it and a fake out ending.

Rocky's Rapids: This log flume, like the one at Michigan’s Adventure, is a rather basic and ordinary flume with a nice drop. I did not like the amount of gum that has been stuck to the walls of each tunnel, however.

Skyride: One of two ways to get across the park without having to walk. This one gives you a nice view of the park, but it’s rather rickety and the restraints are on the poor side.

Spackman Express: The train for this park is the other way to get across the park without having to walk. I like that they have two options for this, and this one has a nice little spooky section behind the haunted house. While the station by the kiddie rides is clearly marked, the station at the southern end of the park is not unless I missed something. Like the parks before it, I recorded my trip on this train for those who wish to watch it.

Dr. Frankenstein's Haunted Castle: For whatever reason this is a $4 upcharge. I like haunted houses, so I paid the fee and went in. There wasn’t too much to this one. It was three stories tall, but mostly just filled with dark hallways to feel your way through, blacklight paint, and the occasional small scene. The eeriness came more from being alone. Halfway through I found a family lost in a confusing room filled with multiple doors, and we teamed up for the rest of the haunted house. (They were nice and one of the few positive interactions I had with other guests here.) Overall, though, this wasn’t scary, just dark. It did get me really good one time though. At a scene with a monster rock band, you can walk out onto a balcony that I didn’t know is designed to lean a couple inches forward to make it seem like it’s breaking off the wall. That was scary. In the end though, even at $4, the upcharge on this ride felt like a rip-off.

Roller coasters I missed:

Tig'rr Coaster: They were running one car that only sat two people, so the line for this coaster was moving extremely slow, and then it broke down after 20 minutes of waiting with a large line still in front of me. By the time it reopened it was late in the day and the line for it was even longer. Ended up having to pass it up so I could ride Superstition Mountain.

All American Triple Loop: Besides being scheduled to open late in the day, this coaster also broke down on me when I entered its line. By the time it had reopened, I was having to take care of a developing headache, and sadly passed this coaster up because everything I’ve heard about it sounded like it would just make my headache worse. It does look cool though.

Cyclone: This one just never opened up. Didn’t see anyone working on it either. It was just closed, which is a shame because it looks like a fun, classic steel coaster.

Other things I missed:

Water Swings and Paratrooper: Two rides that looked cool and were placed sticking out into the water. I wanted to ride them, but just ran out of time.

Shafer Queen: I kept forgetting to keep track of the time and kept missing this boat! A shame, too, but I have no one to blame for this but myself.

I found it while trying to find the Chaos ride that is allegedly in Costa Rica. I have not found who owns this inverter yet, but still a pretty big discovery. This showman also seems to own a pinfari ZL42. Any ideas? https://youtu.be/8dc2KZluL18?si=fnQykoGqzQNdbCbD

Vertical lift hill. Beyond vertical drop. The first overbank. Finnish loop. Dive loop. Immelman loop. Corkscrew.

And my oh my, the restraints. No OTSR on this ride is the absolute best. The restraints are on par with B&M clamshells in terms of comfort. The sliding back feeling you get going up that lift hill is so good, just to be thrown over the other side into that beyond vertical drop.

Ops for this ride (and at A-land in general) always seem on point.

The only thing that would make this coaster better would be removing the trims.

Between this and Matugani, I’m not sure which one is my Iowa favorite.

The way Europa Park pumps out trains on this ride is really impressive and makes for some fun racing/dueling.

Things are really starting to take shape…

The CBC has some additional photos of the transport process. Four belugas are going to the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago and two are headed to SeaWorld San Antonio - all on board the same plane. Other belugas are destined for SeaWorld San Diego, the Georgia Aquarium, and Oceanografic Valencia in Spain.

This is much welcome news as there were fears the whales would be euthanized unless the Canadian government could come to an agreement about their sale. (They did not want the whales going to parks with captive breeding programs.)

Of special interest in this sub is the final paragraph of the article:

For Niagara Falls, Canada Mayor Jim Diodati, the positives are twofold.

"Number one, it’s great for the animals. Number two, it’s going to be great for the potential of redeveloping Marineland," Diodati said. "We see this as win-win. There's a lot of great theme park developers around the world that have expressed interest [in buying Marineland], and now that the whales will have been moved, I think it’s going to open the doors for opportunity."

My first SLC. Really jerky and that pothole on the rollover was atrocious in the front. The rest of the layout was tolerable though.

Had my daughter work her ass of threatening she wouldn’t get the credit if she didn’t (that of course is a joke)

I'm talking about rides like the Tivoli at Fiesta Texas or sky scream at Holiday Park, which was originally for the Great Mall Of China

I made the cross-country trip to Atlanta this past week to ride ArieForce One before it closed. I was there for four days:

- Fun Spot Atlanta: Wednesday, July 15 (all day) & Saturday, July 18 (1 hour)

- Six Flags Over Georgia: Thursday, July 16, Friday, July 17 (all day), & Saturday, July 18 (3 hours)

Stats

- 85 rides

- 14 new credits

- 3 non-coaster rides

- 30 hours in the parks over 4 days

- 93,057 steps & 43 miles walked (inside & outside the parks)

Fun Spot Atlanta

Like many of you already know, this feels like a more permanent version of a traveling carnival. The old parking lot lines are still visible throughout the park. There is some greenery, but not nearly as much as you'd expect from a traditional amusement park. Walking around on all that concrete in the Georgia heat can be rough, so be prepared and stay hydrated.

The food prices were interesting. Some things were surprisingly cheap (hot coffee for $2 or fresh cookies for $3), while others felt expensive (iced coffee for $6, Dippin' Dots for $11). Overall, though, it was still inexpensive compared to Six Flags. I had the chicken tenders and fries, and they were better than expected. Whatever they're doing in that fryer, it's working.

The Other Rides

The only other rides I rode were the kiddie coaster Sea Serpent and Hurricane Coaster. Sea Serpent was actually more interesting than most kiddie coasters, and Hurricane had a layout I hadn't experienced before. It was definitely on the janky side, though, and could use a little more banking on the turns. Both were enjoyable enough for a single ride, but I didn't feel the need to go back.

ArieForce One (21 rides)

I managed 20 rides on Wednesday (all on the blue train) and one ride on Saturday (red train). AF1 is now my most-ridden coaster.

On Wednesday they were running one train, with either a walk-on or a 1–3 train wait, even for the front or back. Saturday they were running both trains, and the wait was around 20 minutes with the line extending outside the station.

Did it live up to the hype? Absolutely.

If anyone ever wants to know the secret to my heart, it's a great zero-g stall. ArieForce One has one of the best. Morning rides are fantastic if you're looking for something a little smoother, but by the afternoon the train is absolutely hauling. Almost too intense.

The biggest strength of ArieForce One is that there really aren't any filler elements. Even the back half is relentless. The turnaround near the end pulls some serious forces, and I consistently greyed out on the final barrel roll.

After enough laps, the final six bunny hops started to lose their novelty for me. They're still fun, but the thigh bruising starts to take over. Also...brace yourself for the brake run.

Overall, I completely understand why this coaster has developed such a devoted following. It's an incredible ride, and I'm glad I made the trip before it was gone.

Also, shout out to all the new thoosie friends I met at AF1.

---

Six Flags Over Georgia

First visit

This might surprise a few of you, but this was my first visit to a Six Flags park since 2011.

Overall, I would say the park has a good, but not great, coaster lineup. It feels like it's missing that one standout, destination coaster. If only there were another fantastic coaster in need of a new home somewhere down the street... 🤔

I spoke with a woman who is the daughter of the park manager. She said they assessed moving AF1, and it's not happening.

In general, I found most of the rides here to be rougher than their counterparts elsewhere.

Rankings

Twisted Cyclone (20 rides) – While AF1 is the better single ride, TC is far more pleasant for marathoning and packs a lot of action into such a short layout and footprint. I even managed about 10 consecutive rerides without leaving the station.

Goliath (20 rides) – My third B&M hyper. I've ridden a very similar layout at Silver Star in Europa-Park. Goliath had better airtime but was noticeably rougher. I greyed out significantly every time on the downward spiral. I did get to marathon it Thurs evening.

Superman: Ultimate Flight (9 rides) – My fifth flyer and fourth B&M flyer. I'm generally not the biggest fan of B&M flyers, but this one ranks high in the park thanks to how smooth it is. It definitely feels short. I marathoned this Friday morning (8 rides before noon)

Dare Devil Dive (4 rides) – Gerstlauer Euro-Fighters are usually the coaster type most likely to give me headaches. I've ridden two famous ones (Saw and Takabisha), and both rank among my worst ride experiences. This one, on the other hand, I really enjoyed. It was still intense, but not overwhelmingly so.

Riddler Mindbender (1 ride) – Great ride...right up until the brakes. This is the coaster I most wish I'd gotten a second ride on.

Georgia Scorcher (2 rides) – My third stand-up coaster and second B&M stand-up. Great first half, but the second half starts to deliver a bit too much headbanging.

Blue Hawk (2 rides) – I enjoyed this more than Goudurix. Still fairly rough, but the setting over the water is quite nice.

Batman: The Ride (1 ride) – I rode in the back row, which turned out to be a mistake. It wasn't terrible, but the headbanging near the end made it a one-and-done. I usually enjoy Batman clones, but this was my least favorite.

Dahlonega Mine Train (1 ride) – A fairly standard mine train with just the right amount of classic Arrow jank.

Great American Scream Machine (2 rides) – Quite rough and bumpy. Yet, for some reason, I still felt compelled to ride it twice.

Joker Funhouse Coaster (1 ride) – A fun little family coaster.

Non-coasters

Pandemonium – Standard, with some pretty good airtime.

Monster Mansion – A great dark ride, especially for a Six Flags park.

Thunder River – It's been a long time since I've ridden a rapids ride, but this one was good. I only got slightly wet toward the end.

Firsts

- Two RMC hybrids in one day (technically AF1 is all steel).

- E&F Miler coaster.

Other Recommendation

City View Sports Bar (about a mile from SFOG) has an awesome Thursday karaoke night, though the frozen margaritas were a little weak.

And for those of you who saw my missed connections post...yes, we ran into each other again and exchanged numbers. 😀