Spring Fling 2006

Post your trip reports here!

Moderators: radial, AMartin777

Post Reply
User avatar
MarkT
Chicken Little
Posts: 6
Joined: Sat Apr 01, 2006 12:18 pm
Location: Kannapolis
Contact:

Spring Fling 2006

Post by MarkT »

Spring Fling 2006

Six Flags over Georgia

To see all the pictures click here: http://www.pbase.com/foreseer/six_flags ... a&page=all


1:00 pm Friday I finally got to leave work and headed down I-85 to Atlanta. The trip was pretty uneventful but there were some decent things to see on the way down.

I arrived at my motel around 5:30pm. Although I could have gone a different way it had been so long since I’ve been to Atlanta I wanted to go through the city. Now I know why I haven’t been in a while. So, after arriving at my motel and checking in I decided to get some eats. In my cluster of business buildings there was a Cracker Barrel, well, needless to say I could not pass the opportunity for some good ole Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes with White Gravy, Green Beans, Macaroni and Cheese, Cornbread and a Roll.

It was time for a little sleepy time before my wake up call at 6am. Geesh, 6am on a Saturday, I must be nuts. But, all went well and when the wake up call came I rolled out of bed and did the obligatory 3 S’s and headed to the park. Well, actually 2 S’s, I didn’t shave.

Arriving at the park there were a few A.C.E.rs already there and of course Robert was out trying to hang a sign so we knew where to go. Parking was very simple and I got me a front row spot. As great as I thought it was I noticed later in the day a nice “screw” had found its way into my tire! Oh well, I’ll take care of that later, for now its registration and ride time.

I got all registered and inside our envelope were our Meal tickets, a Parking pass, Park Entrance pass, and a Wrist band. At the ticket booth they had several Superman pins so I got one of those also. After standing around for a little bit I met up with Jarvis and Ken. I was actually a bit nervous as I really don’t know anyone away from the CCrs so it was nice to see them. After we entered the park we were told they had to replace a device on Goliath and with the weather it would be a while before it opened. Well, none the less, we all still walked straight back to it hoping it wouldn’t take long. Along the walk back we saw Wes and his friends, Tina, Cowboy Bill and a few other regulars.

As a consolation to Goliath they opened up Superman and Scream Machine so we could ride. This being my 1st ride on Superman and after hearing so much about it all I can say is I like the pretzel but the rest, to me was boring. Yea it was a smooth ride but I’ll take Borg any day over Superman. The Great American Scream Machine was running quite well and offered up plenty of air. I was surprised with all the flooding the park has had lately that the Scream Machine remained as smooth as it is. I expected all kinds of wash boarding or pot holes but it had none.

Ok, after a while of standing in and out of the rain I knew we were getting ERT on Goliath later in the night and the general public had already started to enter the park so I decided to take off and ride it later. So, I roamed the park to enjoy what I could. My first ride was the Georgia Cyclone. It was as I remembered it, fast, rough, long. The one thing I like most about it is how it goes in and out of the supports. The poor ole Mexican girl who rode with me in the back just grabbed on to the lap bar, leaned on me and never lifted her head. It was actually quite funny to see. Next on my travels were the Scorcher, Dahlonega Mine Train, and anything else I could get on without to much a wait. By the end of the day, or rather the meeting and 8:30pm I rode almost everything there. I had a little advantage being a single rider but it didn’t work all the time, mainly when people wanted to ride together I got scooted up the line pretty good.

Our lunch was fantastic. It was 100% better than beans and franks; I mean hamburgers and hot dogs. We had Tortellini, Chicken based in almonds with a little marinade sauce, mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, pecan pie, salad, rolls. Even for me with all my oral surgeries I’m having everything was Very delicious and easy to eat. During lunch we had a raffle for a walk back and photo tour, which Tina was a winner again, does she win everything at these events? The announcement was made we had 302 members show up and that it was the last day for their PR guy. Seems he is going to Chicago to be their PR man. I hope he like the cold, wind and snow. There was no announcement on who was taking his place. The general manager was there, as I don’t know her name but I thought that was pretty cool of her to be there. Robert auctioned off the Ride Sign for the Great Gasp. Now, let me just say that I know it is a piece of history and the proceeds went to a good cause but come on, was it worth that price or was it just a thing of I have more money than you? The sign sold for $1805.00!! During the lunch session we were asked who has not had the chance to ride Déjà vu, well me being one I rose my hand and got a pass to ride it between 5 and 6 pm. Ok I rode it, enough said. Well lunch concluded and we were all on our own again to do what ever we could until the show.

I decided I was going to go through the haunted house even though it was an up charge. Well, it was great! The entire thing was very interactive, and nicely done. Of course when you have 5 girls going through it with you all things are not bad. The entire way they were grabbing my shirt and arms and screaming. One even bailed through an emergency exit. So, Jarvis, get your self inside. You will like it. If not I’ll refund your money.

So after taking in the park and riding all I cared to it was time for our show and meeting before the nighttime ERT. We were all handed our bags which contained a DVD of Spring Fling, 6 Flags flyers, a map, and a ticket for our T-shirt. The number on our name badge was the size of our shirts. So, give me a grey Six Flags shirt. Upon entering the theater we were given water and Robert was handing out Media Event DVDs in which Jarvis, Me and Wes all got one. They raffled off a couple sweat shirts, a huge drink container and a “fractured” coffee mug all signed by Mr. Bollinger. Watch out EBay!! The show they performed was very good. I liked the singers and the music but it was a different type show than School of Rock. As far as show per show goes I like School of Rock better. Ours has quite a bit more eye appeal where theirs they just walked around, danced and sang. So, now we come to the end of the meeting and it is time for nighttime ERT.
Nighttime ERT was awesomefied. All I rode was Batman twice, Mindbender 6 times, Georgia Cyclone once and Goliath 7 times. I could have ridden more but I was wore out and getting a little worried about that screw in my tire so Ken and I headed out.

Goliath is an awesomefied ride. No matter where I rode it I had air, views, ejection, and a few decent Gs. The drop was not as steep or as long as I expected but from the front seat it has a great view. On every single hill there was, even the very last one coming into the brakes, you had air in some shape or form. The helix was cool and made me think about my hands being stuck out a couple times. The ride is a good length and actually blends in very well with the park. There are no seat belts, only the lap device which to me adds in the thrill. The operator for the night, which I’ll call little Scott, was having fun and kept us entertained. The reason I call him little Scott is if you see his picture they could very easily be brothers. Ken and I noticed that right of the bat.

So, in conclusion I had a pretty good time with some great rides. OK, there were a few things I noticed about the operation of the parks attractions like, if it’s misting we can’t run the ride, and what is the deal on sending out partially filled coasters? I mean with the amount of people standing in line why don’t the operators ask for that one or two people to fill each row? I got lucky several times but it was because of the guests wanting to ride with their friends and not the operator trying to fill in the trains.

Will I go back for another Spring Fling; sure, especially if they get something worth while or offer Mindbender and Goliath?
Image
User avatar
AMartin777
OmniPotent Chicken
Posts: 1018
Joined: Tue Jul 05, 2005 10:47 am

Post by AMartin777 »

awesomefied TR Mark. Thanks for the pics and breakdown! :)
Image
Post Reply