Six Flags Over Georgia/Carowinds - June '15

Hey CoasterCrazy, I've managed to convince my friends to humor me with a road trip to Six Flags Over Georgia on June 1st and Carowinds June 2nd and 3rd (one Starlight admission and one full day). Both parks close early (7 and 8pm), but hopefully during the week crowds will be light. Does anyone have any pro tips or insight for having the best experience at these parks? What type of crowds to expect, which coasters to hit first, best seats, should I even ride Ninja???

Thanks in advance!!

[Paradox]

I had a horrible experience at SFoG but some of the rides are actually fun.

RIDE ACROPHOBIA! Seriously my favorite drop tower ever. It is amazing.
Georgia Cyclone is sh*t but you could ride it for the credit if you really want to.
DDD is really fun especially with the lapbars and it has a great layout.
Batman is fun and you might be able to catch Namtab while you're there. Even if you've ridden a clone before I would recommend riding this as the queue is themed pretty well.
Mindbender is great as well and the loops are a lot of fun.
I would recommend skipping Ninja.
I never got the chance to ride Goliath and Georgia Scorcher due to a thunderstorm but I've heard that they are really good, especially Goliath.

Hope you have more fun than I did.

Thanks for the tips Paradox, I'd almost forgotten about Acrophobia! I'm seriously looking forward to Mind Bender, I love Shock Wave at SFOT and a terrain version of it sounds awesome. Man, I'm sorry you missed out on Goliath, hopefully no thunderstorms for me or I may weep openly.

^I heard the helix makes some people black out. It looks like a great coaster, and it's cool that it goes outside the park!

[Paradox]

aj74205 wrote:

Thanks for the tips Paradox, I'd almost forgotten about Acrophobia! I'm seriously looking forward to Mind Bender, I love Shock Wave at SFOT and a terrain version of it sounds awesome. Man, I'm sorry you missed out on Goliath, hopefully no thunderstorms for me or I may weep openly.

Acrophobia is pretty much at the front of the park so I would recommend riding it first as the lines build up quick for it. Mindbender is at the back left of the park I think and is very forceful.

Considering I was next in line for Goliath when the storm hit I was ready to go on a rampage.

Operations are also horrible and single rider lines do not exist which sucks.

^We'll probably hit either that or DDD first, I know its capacity is low. What is with Six Flags and the constantly degrading status of their operations? SFOT has been enough to make me want to pull my hair out my last few visits.

SFOG was really fun when I went. Definitely more of a classic feel than most SF parks.
Anyway here's my thoughts,
Goliath- Loved it when I was there, the best airtime on any B&M I've ridden. That might just be because it was before I got used to ejector though.
Batman-Lots of fun, should still be backwards
Mind bender- Lots of fun definitely give it a ride
DDD-nice eurofighter
Scorcher- I refuse to ride standup's so I have no idea
Ninja- Never rode it. Didn't seem like it was worth the credit.
Superman- Way better than the other clones due to the terrain
Scream Machine- Parks best woodie, lots of airtime and not to rough
Mine Train- Just a mine train
Cyclone- Good layout with some airtime and should be decently smooth with all the retracking
Rapid ride- no idea what its called but its not worth it. You don't even get wet.
Flats are practically non-existent
When I've gone I'll just buy a flash pass and head in a circle to minimize walking. That hill will kill you.

^Lol apparently there's a tad more terrain than other Six Flags parks, which I'm into. We may do a Flash Pass depending on crowd status. I don't generally care for stand-ups either but I've heard that Scorcher is among the best. Goliath, Mind Bender, and DDD are my priorities as I've been on many Batman clones and loathed Namtab. I will definitely want to hit Superman also so my friends can experience a flyer and it's good to hear that the terrain makes it better than the other clones. I generally prefer the front on woodies, does that hold true for Cyclone and Scream Machine?

[Blase Rhine]

Carowinds was my home park before I moved to Georgia so now SFOG is my home park. I wouldnt mind seeing if I could go and possibly have a meet up.

Keeping this short pretty much what everyone else said is true. Ninja isn't worth the credit at all. Superman is nice. They usually run only one side so lines get long. Batman is a clone but its worth the ride. My first time I went on Mindbender I wasn't expecting it to be as enjoyable as it was. Goliath is a must as well as DDD. WHATEVER YOU DO YOU MUST RIDE ACROPHOBIA. It is simply amazing. Everything else is fun. Walking is tough as the terrain is all hills. I don't recommend the flash pass (unless there are 1-2 hour waits) as you can do everything in a days time at the park. Anyways short, sweet, and to the point. If you have any questions feel free to ask!

[Paradox]

Yes Superman had horrible operations when I went.

There was a two hour wait and they only ran one train on one side and flyers take forever to load. It was really hot too so they made employees sell $4 small waters in the line because they knew people would be desperate.

Carowinds looks beautiful now with all of the renovations they did this season and I've heard mostly positive reviews about Fury.

^Ugh I'll have to skip Supes if ops are that bad.

Fury is definitely the reason for the trip, I'm super stoked. I quite liked Leviathan and Fury seems to address and improve upon the criticisms I have of it. I think the negative reviews have come mainly from the jaded TPR crowd who are heavily biased toward Intamin or can't enjoy a ride that is not explicitly designed around producing 'ejector airtime,' which is their chosen deity.

[Paradox]

Afterburn looks like one of the best old school B&M inverts so you should really check it out.

Looking forward to your review on Fury. I really want to get a review from someone who like you said isn't jaded.

I thought Leviathan would be horrible thanks to TPR but it is now my favorite B&M and is amazing.

"Fury is boring, there were absolutely no instances when I thought I was going to fly out of the train. The 300-foot drop at 81 degrees in the back seat was a straight ramp with no acceleration. What a forceless ride! The GP (who unfortunately don't know any better) will eat it all up, but for someone like me who has better taste in thrill rides, Fury is pretty much worthless."

[TTD03]

AmatsuNL wrote:

"Fury is boring, there were absolutely no instances when I thought I was going to fly out of the train. The 300-foot drop at 81 degrees in the back seat was a straight ramp with no acceleration. What a forceless ride! The GP (who unfortunately don't know any better) will eat it all up, but for someone like me who has better taste in thrill rides, Fury is pretty much worthless."

Thank You! This is how I feel about most B&M's.
Nitro is the same way. Yea, there is speed and airtime, but no forces. I fear in August this is what Fury will be like. MF however, not very forceful, but the drop into the overbank turn and the speed makes it that much better!

^Umm, TTD03 I'm fairly certain that post was parodying ThemeParkReview's 'seasoned rider' rhetoric. Nitro has a pretty forceful helix and is well paced with plenty of airtime, you silly goose. If you want to know what a forceless hyper is like, ride a Morgan.

[Paradox]

aj74205 wrote:

^Umm, TTD03 I'm fairly certain that post was parodying ThemeParkReview's 'seasoned rider' rhetoric. Nitro has a pretty forceful helix and is well paced with plenty of airtime, you silly goose. If you want to know what a forceless hyper is like, ride a Morgan.

You fell for it. TTD03 was lying.

I'm not so sure, lol.

Can anyone weigh in on whether Carowinds can realistically be done in a day? So far, I've planned for a 4-8pm starlight and one full day, but I suggested to my friends that we could hit Dollywood on the way back and they're into it, but don't want the trip to be too long. Still, with 11 coasters I want to ride (all but the boomerang and kiddie coasters) and 3 I definitely want repeat rides on, I think the evening plus a full day might be better. It will be Tue/Wed June 4th and 5th.

aj74205 wrote:

^Umm, TTD03 I'm fairly certain that post was parodying ThemeParkReview's 'seasoned rider' rhetoric. Nitro has a pretty forceful helix and is well paced with plenty of airtime, you silly goose. If you want to know what a forceless hyper is like, ride a Morgan.

Ya, no. Nitro isn't all that good. Besides the helix its got airtimless, badly paced hills. For the record, Phantom is way better than any B&M hyper.

[Blase Rhine]

aj74205 wrote:

I'm not so sure, lol.

Can anyone weigh in on whether Carowinds can realistically be done in a day? So far, I've planned for a 4-8pm starlight and one full day, but I suggested to my friends that we could hit Dollywood on the way back and they're into it, but don't want the trip to be too long. Still, with 11 coasters I want to ride (all but the boomerang and kiddie coasters) and 3 I definitely want repeat rides on, I think the evening plus a full day might be better. It will be Tue/Wed June 4th and 5th.

I have hit all of Carowinds in one day before and still had time to spare. I usually go very early in June (school in South Carolina gets out June 4th so people start flocking to the park the next week so you should be good) or September for Scarowinds. The crowds are usually not to bad with 30 minute or less waits. I havn't been since Fury has opened so I am not sure weather that would have a huge effect or not.

[TTD03]

aj74205 wrote:

I'm not so sure, lol.

Can anyone weigh in on whether Carowinds can realistically be done in a day? So far, I've planned for a 4-8pm starlight and one full day, but I suggested to my friends that we could hit Dollywood on the way back and they're into it, but don't want the trip to be too long. Still, with 11 coasters I want to ride (all but the boomerang and kiddie coasters) and 3 I definitely want repeat rides on, I think the evening plus a full day might be better. It will be Tue/Wed June 4th and 5th.

I have to side with Paradox, I was lying. Not completely. Nitro is a little forceless in certain areas, but the helix is very strong, and I do grey out a bit sometimes.

I live right by SFOG, so i'm pretty sure I could go!

[Blase Rhine]

Her0ofLime wrote:

I live right by SFOG, so i'm pretty sure I could go!

So do I! I live about 30 minutes away! We should plan a meet up soon!

As for the June 1st meet up. I am almost certain I will be able to go!