SFNE 6-20..."The Perfect Storm?"

As you can tell by the title, yesturday, my dad, brother, his friend, and I made our way up to SFNE. We have packers here this week because were moving to Texas, but my dad hates moving. He hates themeparks aswell, but I convinced him to take us instead of sitting here with the packers all day. He agreed, and yesturday morning we left for SFNE. It took about two hours driving from Jamestown, Rhode Island, and we were at the gates around 11. My brother and I have passes for SFFT, so we got right in. My dad had a military ticket, and he bought a ticket for my brother's friend. We got in the park pretty quickly, and knew we were heading straight for Superman: Ride of Steel. We got there, but saw a train sitting on the lift. The staff member informed us that it wouldn't be open for a little while, so we headed to the parks second best coaster, Batman: The Dark Knight. It was a walk-on, and we took the second row. The ride was even better than I remembered in October. The lift seemed much steeper and faster than before. It really gets you up there in a matter of seconds. The drop is pretty steep for a coaster of it's size, and I prefer it too almost anyother drop i've been on except SROS and SKC. The loop, dive loop, and turn through the loop were as good as always, but the 0g really kicked butt today. In the morning the trim before it was turned off, and the train flew through it. The corks were fun, and overall the ride was pretty exciting. It was a great start to the day.


The two best elements of BDK.


Interlocking Corkscrews.

After BDK, we noticed Mind Eraser was open (has been closed most of the season so far) and decided to check it out. However, the line was way too long for an SLC, and we headed over to Splash Water Falls. What I didn't know was that this would be our longest wait of the day. It was about twenty minutes, but we got on, and were relieved of the heat for a few minutes. This ride is great for families but wasn't too thrilling for any of us. As we got off, we saw a few empty SROS trains fly by, and walked down to the DC Superheroes area. The staff guy (different person) told us it was opening shortly, so we hopped into line. Three or so more test later the line started moving. It was only in the covered area so in 10 minutes we were in the station. We deciced to go for the middle on the first ride, and as we were about the get on, the lift shut off. The ops closed all the restraints and told us that were under a weather delay. We looked out the station and saw what they were talking about. A T-storm took over the park for about 45 minutes, and everything else was closed, so we just sat down and chilled in the station. A bunch of people got up and left, and by the time they started testing again there was barely a train full of people in the station. I took this to my advantage and hopped into the front row line, which was about three trains long because those people stayed around too. They ran each train three through three cycles, but it was fast because there wasn't any restraint checks or any loading processes. After about an hour delay I was strapping myself in for the ride of my life. The climb up the 208 foot lift was calm, with the river setting to my left. I did take a few glances to my right to get an overview of the park, and saw that it was pretty empty. But before I could reel anything else in, we were cresting the top of the hill. There was some air in the front as the back came over the hill. It did, and then the train just took off. The drop was amazing because of the view I had. The tunnel was quick, and I was about to hit the first of many airtime moments of this day. The first hill had awesome sustained airtime in the front. As the train started to crest the hill I was shot out of my seat (not as strong as other spots) and was held there. The air came to an end as the train plumitted down the next drop. It led into the overbank, which was insanely fast. At the top there were some nice g's, but it was over in a flash. We flew through the right to left transition, and down the little hill before the next two insane hills. There was a nice little pop of air in the front on this little hill, which I would learn later isn't part of a back or middle seat ride. The next hill, or 4th hill, was a step above the first hill. The air was stronger, and sustained across the entire hill. But compared to the 5th hill, this hill was nothing. The train dove down inbetween these airtime hills and snapped a pic of me with my air going crazy (was windy...3rd train after the storm) and I was yelling in excitement, not fear. The 5th hill has been descirbed as one of the most insane airtime hills on any coaster, anywhere. Boy did it live up to those expectations. The ejector air I felt as the train went up the hill was the strongest moment of airtime I have ever experienced...and then it was sutained over the entire hill. It felt as I was going to just fly right out of the car...but I was saved as the train took the exit of the hill, a slight left turn, into Superman's "spaghetti bowl." The first Switchback hill didn't have any airtime (atleats at 1 o'clock) but it was a nice relaxing moment as the train glided across the top. But then the relaxing was over. The train dove into the helix, which had great forces at the bottom. It lead right into another switchback, which was much smaller and tighter than the first. The train whipped over the top, and I experienced yet another moment of ejector air. It didn't last as long as the 4th hill, but was just as strong. I prefer the next helix to the first one, because it's longer, and has that nice dip to it near Nightwing (see photos below). This time there is a flat transition into the last switchback hill, which had even more extreme ejector. It didn't match the 5th hill, but was my second favorite spot of air. The tunnel turn is fun and fast as always, and the exit into the bunny hills had the most lats experienced on the ride. The two bunny's were really flowing and had great air. The turn into the brakes was a crazy ending because the train absolutely flies through it and into the brakes. The train slams to a stop, with the front two cars sticking out from the last brake. The stop was extreme but didn't bother me in the front. Later in the day when I rode in the back the brakes were somewhat painful because the stop was really sudden and the back car is in the transition from the turn to the brakes. Superman is definetly my number one ride...the air is just insane and the twister section is fast and one of the funnest parts of any coaster I've been on (108 of 'um).


Rainbow after a second storm at 7:30.


More crazy weather.


I tried to include all three hills. I failed.


Yet another angle.


OMG exclusive track in the tunnel shot! No, I just wanted to show that for some reason the second tunnel's lights weren't on at night. The first tunnel's lights were on.


I just can't get enough of that drop.


A look at the massive second hill through Mind Eraser.


Mind Eraser's drop just makes this overbank pic insane.


Entering the tunnel. Unfortunetly, there was no fog.


Another look without the train.


36 lucky people right there.


Incase you didn't know, this ride towers over the park.


Heres that dip by Nightwing, which was running all day!


Spaghetti goodness.


Train entering the helix.


36 more people entering the twister sections.


One last look.

I'm posting the rest of the trip report in a seperate post because there's alot of SROS pics. Just so you get a feel for my day, here are the ride counts:

SROS: 7
BDK: 3
Thunderbolt: 3
Pandemonium: 2
Cyclone: 1
Mind Eraser: 1
Poinson Ivy: 1
Splash Water Falls: 1
Catapult: 1
Scream: 1

The only closed attractions were Flashback and Spider. Spider is being taken apart.

Your such a lucky guy to have that monster asyour 100th coaster.
I miss counted my ride counts, and on the day at Busch Gardens Tampa. I planned for Sheikra to be my 100th different coaster. But as i said i miss-counted and went on Python instead as my 100th. And realised when i got home! Grrrr!

Anyway glad to see you had a good day despite the crazy storms, thanks for sharing the pictures you took with us, ecg.

So, because I waited three extra trains for the front seat my brother and his friend took a spin on Nightwing. I didn't feel like damaging the family jewels, so I skipped the ride for the day. We decided to then head over to Pandemoniums corner of the park. The first ride we headed for was Catapult, because it was new. As we got to the entrance, a cycle just ended and there was no line. We wen't for the right side so we would get a better view of the park. We got in the last row, and pulled down on the restraints. The OTSR's were fine, but the lapbars sucked. They go down as far as they can, no matter what you try to do. Everytime I took a breathe it got closer and closer. I had to go through this process three times too, because two people had to get off because they were having problems breathing. They got off at opposite times, so we had to go through restraint checks three times. After the third check everyone was set to go. The giant swatter raised to it's highest point, and started to spin. This ride is insane. It's the craziest flat ride I've ever been on. Your facing straight down at the ground for a period of time, and then are whipped around to do it all again. Then after three complete spins at 30 m.p.h. (which is quite fast) the ride stops at the top, and spins the opposite way. The backwards spin isn't as crazy as the forwards spin because you can't really tell what's going on. It's just like your doing backflips in mid air. After we were released from serious liposuction, we headed to Clyclone.


I'm on that swatter, but it's too far to see.


Once again, i'm too lazy to zoom in on me.


Another angle of Catapult.


This is the Cyclone. The first person to respond with what's unique about the coaster's supports as seen from this pic gets 500 points.

Cyclone didn't have a wait, and my dad and I went for the back seat. The lift was surprsingly straight, especially when you compare it to Thunderbolt. At the top there's a serious decrease in radius, so as the back is yanked over the top there's serious ejector air. There are other spots of ejector on the second part of the drop, and on the drop off from both turnarounds. The ride was rougher than I remember, and I didn't care for the ride at all. After Cyclone, I wanted to take a spin on Pandemonium. Dad was hott, so he went to the waterpark. My brother and his friend wanted to do the super bungie thingy while I waited 15 minutes in line. I did, got on with an old grandma and her two grandchildren, and we didn't spin at all. However, the ride was still fun. There was even a pop of air on the last hill.


What the hell is Mr. Six doing at SF?


The awesome helix.


WTF? This is a family ride too.


Another look from underneath.

After I got off the three of us headed to Thunderbolt. It was a walk-on, and we grabbed the front two rows. This ride is alotta fun, especially for it's size. My favorite aspect about the ride is that it gets faster as the ride goes on. And man, that hill on the last stretch is just phsycho. I was practically standing up. We got the whole Thunderbolt deal done in about five minutes, and it was now 3:45.


I'm in the white.


Dad rode by himself after the waterpark.


There's really nowhere to get pics of Thunderbolt.


POV shot!! No, i'm just kidding.

After the T-bolt my brother and his friend (we'll call him Steve for now on) headed to the water park to meet up with dad. I decided to go on a SROS streak, because I had until 6 when I had to meat up with dad at the waterpark. I got in line at 4, and by 5:30 I rode SROS 5 more times. I rode In the back three times, and once in the second car and once in the third car. At 5:30 I realized that I needed to get on Mind Eraser, so I headed over there. I git Poison Ivy ont he way just because it was empty. I got my own train. Mind Eraser had no line at this point, so I hopped in row 11. This SLC sucks, period. It was worst than it's clones at SFA and SFAW (now at GE). I was happy it was over, and headed to meet up with dad.


These people are wishing they were standing where I was, and not on the ride.


I think they should paint ME so it doesn't mix with SROS.

I met up with dad, and Alex and Steve wouldn't be there for about 15 minutes, so I took two spins on BDK. It was starting to get dark about now, because a storm was rolling in. The ride was faster than this morning, but the trim was now on. Without it, the 0g would have been nuts. The ride still delivered, and we all met up afterwords. We then realized that we hadn't ridden Scream, so we walked on. It was pretty much an exact copy of the one at Fiesta Texas, so I rode just to get the view. Thunderbolt had no line, so dad and I decided to take two more spins on it. It was even faster, but there was no phsycho hill because we sat in the back.


Storm's rolling in around the centerpiece of the park.

Alex and Steve wanted to ride Scream even more, se told them to meet us at 7:30 by the swings. Dad didn't get on Pandemonium earlier, so we headed over there. We walked on, and were the only two people in our car. We spun like crazy! It was an insane ride, and the airtime was stronger than before. We got off, and headed back to the swings because it was raining. It ended up raining from 7:30 to about 8:45. During this time the swings stayed open so we all took a couple of spins and chilled with some ice cream.


Swing fun. There's the bro and Steve right there.


Dad with the skunk...it's an inside joke in our family...don't ask.

At 8 we headed down to Superman to ask what time it was going to open. They had no clue, so we sat around there for a while. At 8:30 Nightwing opened back up, so my brother and Steve went for it. I decided to go get a spot in Superman's line, because it was starting to clear up. At 9, I heard that ca-chunk sound. Superman was up and ready to take us on it's amazing night rides. Earlier after the rain it tested each train three times, but this time the crew sent each one only once. They were great with us during delays. I got into the station, jumped into the 4th car line, and was on the third train out. This night ride was just magical. Going up the lift was incredible, as it was black at ground level, but at 200 feet there was an orange glow like i've never seen before. This ride was faster than all of my rides earlier in the day, and I swear that the airtime on the fifth hill was just as strong in the 4th car at night as it was in the first car around 1. The twister section was great because everybody was cheering and in such a happy mood. Everyone put their hands up for one hell of a ride through the spaghetti bowl. The switchbacks were insane, and the forces in the helices were so much stronger than before. The only downside was that the lights in the second tunnel weren't on. I forgot to mention that all of the hills were lighten up, so the ride looked sweet. It was the second best ride of the day, just because you can't beat a front row journey on Superman. Seriously, if you have not been on this beast, go ride it now.

After SROS we left, and were all in good moods. It was a great day, and I can't complain considering that I got 7 rides on this worlds best coaster. Just imagine if there wasn't 2 1/2 hours of weather delay...could of had 10 more rides[:p].

Thanks for reading!!!

Seems like you had a good day there Jakizle. It's a good thing you went on a good day and had walk on rides for nearly everything. I don't see how some rides can be faster at night than in the day. Explain that to me.

And ...

How can a drop be steeper than before? Hmmm

Anyway, good to know you had a great time. Too bad your moving to Texas though

Originally posted by Matt

I don't see how some rides can be faster at night than in the day. Explain that to me.

How can a drop be steeper than before? Hmmm

MAGIC!!!!!!

Originally posted by Jakizle


This is the Cyclone. The first person to respond with what's unique about the coaster's supports as seen from this pic gets 500 points.

You serious about this? You sure mean the steel tube cone-like construction in the middle of the turn that is connected to the Supports per cables? Or is there something else?

Anyways, great TR and pics man, thanks to the wheater... The first, second and 7th SROS pics are some of the most beautiful pictures of any coaster I've seen... Ever. Good job!

Thanks Pad. I can make any of these wallpapers or avatars...look at mine. And no about the supports, there's something else. Look closely underneath the drop.

Matt, they just are faster. And where did I say steeper?

Looks like there's no footers.

Maybe I was a bit misleading. Look in the supports around the drop.

Screw that! havn't you noticed that there are missing peices of wood all over the ride! and the ride SCREAMS! its sooo loud. not to mention more painfull than Mean Streak, and this one just makes it around the circut!

i avoid this coaster at all costs when i go!

Great trip report and pics!

Are you talking about the original drop on Cyclone that is still burried within the supports? [:P]

You got it smarty pants...I think it's really cool that the drop is still there.

Originally posted by Jakizle



I'm in the white.

Ah, ok, didn't realize you were bald. That has be you though leaning on the railing wearing sunglasses though, right? [;)]







I'm just being funny. I realized you had to be wearing the Texas shirt.

One hint, Texas pride. [8D]

I knew you were kidding, lol. I have an onride pic from SROS if ya'll wanna see it. It was right after the storm, so my hair is going crazy.

nice report, sounds like you had a blast [:p]

Oh, I didn't really notice that old drop first... I overlooked it as being track behind the supports
Jake, if you can send me these three pics in higher resolution to p@greymonday.ch , that would be great [:D]

Sorry Pad, you are just about an hour late. My computer got packed right before you responded, as I am moving this week. If you want the pictures in a few weeks then I can get them to you, because we won't have the comp set up again until we get to Texas, which will be around the 4th of July. Im at the library right now. Sorry again, moving is just a pain.

You can see the original track structure at several points on Colossus at MM aswell.

^I only know the section where some hill valley has been changed into an MCBR. Are there others?

Hey Jake, no problem man. No need to hurry with the pics, I'd gladly recieve them in a few weeks.

Sounds like you had a nice time esspically with SROS and all.

Ok Worse then Mind Eraser at SFA ?!. . .i feel bad for you man.

Wheres the onride photo? haha

They're called Mind Eraser for a reason.

^Very true. It gets hard to think when your brain becomes a nice grey pulp.

An even better name for SLC's is this; http://rcdb.com/id805.htm [:P]

Now come on! I've been on Traumatizer what.....78 times to this present day. And its just not rough, and Tizona, the other Standard SLC i have rode. Not rough!!!
Why is it just me and gazag who think Vekoma rock complete ass! The designs are wonderful, so compact and twisty and yes, they are smooth!
Kumali and Jubilee Odyssey are both smooth too! Custom SLC's.
Ok, Boomerangs suck but thats it!

Burn SLC haters!

This SLC is officialy the first coaster that made me say, "Please let the ride end now." I mean, it was really bad...I couldn't even keep my head to one side, no matter how hard I tried.