Six Flags America

Visited: June 16, 2017

Attending: Brian, Carole, and Alex

The first park of our vacation trip. We mostly included this one because our Six Flags passes and meal plan meant it was pretty much free. It was hot and humid, but overcast most of the time, so we weren’t really in direct sun. The park is smaller than we’re used to, and easy to navigate. Parking was amazing; right in front of the gate. The staff were very friendly and helpful, unexpectedly so. We got picked for a random customer satisfaction survey; not sure why. There wasn’t any place indoors to eat that we could find, though.

Batwing

We went straight to the back of the park to ride this one first, and it was really in the back. It probably would’ve been hard to find if I hadn’t known what I was looking for. We were the first ones there, and for a while the only ones. The attendants were very friendly and helpful, and chatted with us while we waited for the ride to officially open (an hour after the park does). This is a Vekoma Flying Dutchman, a flying model, not like B&M’s. Riders spend about half of the time on their backs, including the lift hill and brake run, which can be awkward if it’s sunny. The restraints are a big heavy vest, which gets hot. I found it more intense than a B&M, maybe a little too intense on some of the turns, but Carole and Alex liked it.

Superman Ride of Steel

We rode this one next because you have to go around it to get to Batwing. This is an older Intamin hyper, with an older style track. Not sure who made the trains, but the restraints are the sort that pull your ankles back and seem to fold around your knees. The ride has a couple of big hills, followed by an intense helix, then a medium hill, then a second really intense helix that I totally didn’t expect, then a few bunny-hops. It’s pretty much the definition of “ejector airtime.” Probably my favorite ride at the park, although maybe a bit more intense than I like.

Joker’s Jinx

Coming back toward the main part of the park, we did Joker’s Jinx. It’s a copy of Flight of Fear at King’s Dominion, which beat me up really badly 20 years ago. It was designed as an indoor coaster, but this installation isn’t indoors, so it looks like a bowl of spaghetti. It’s also got a fast LIM launch, which I have a bad history with. It used to have over-the-shoulder restraints, but doesn’t anymore, which removes the head-banging problems. Alex doesn’t like inverting coasters without shoulder restraints, so he passed. Carole doesn’t either, but tried anyway, and said it was fine. As we were told by an attendant at Batwing, the first third of the ride is exciting, with the inversions, the middle third is dull, and the last third is exciting again, with positive g’s close to the ground. Not my favorite ride, but definitely better without the head-banging.

Apocalypse

Back in the middle of the park, we rode this one next, to get it out of the way before lunch. We’ve all ridden a B&M stand-up before (all three of us, Green Lantern at Great Adventure; Carole and I, Riddler’s Revenge at Magic Mountain), so we knew to expect some head-banging. And that’s what we got. It’s fine for what it is, somewhat shorter in height and length than Green Lantern or Riddler, but fine for a B&M. It’s got pretty good theming and music, and the track goes through its own loop, which is neat, but the corkscrew section will beat you up. Update, 2019: I’ve since learned that this was the original B&M coaster, installed as “Iron Wolf” at Six Flags Great America, and later relocated. That probably accounts for the roughness. As of 2019, it’s been converted from a stand-up to a floorless model, and renamed “Firebird.”

Wild One

A really old woodie, relocated from another park in New England. Built and/or rebuilt by Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters, so that was the interest for me. I didn’t expect this one to be particularly intense because of its age, but I was wrong. It has some good air, and serious speed in the final helix. All of us were surprised by how intense it was. Kind of rough, because of its age, but not as rough as I might have expected. I was pleasantly surprised, but Carole and Alex didn’t care for the roughness.

Ragin’ Cajun

This is a wild mouse with spinning cars, a type I’ve never ridden before, so I wanted to try it. Carole and Alex passed. It’s pretty much a normal wild mouse. The spinning only happens in the lower half of the ride, so it’s not all that interesting, but it was a new experience.

Roar

A GCI wooden twister model. Some of these are great, some are rough. I thought this one was pretty good, but Carole found it rough. Alex passed. This mostly turned both of them off to woodies for the rest of the trip.

Mind Eraser

Finally, we rode this, which is off to the side in a shady corner of the park. It’s a Vekoma Suspended Looping Coaster (SLC) model, which most enthusiasts despise. I’d never ridden a Vekoma other than a boomerang, so I didn’t really know what to expect. It wasn’t terrible, but it wasn’t as good as a B&M inverted either. There was a fair amount of head-banging, which wasn’t fun. The setting in the trees was nice, though.