Date:3/30/2023-4/2/2023
Destination: Atlanta, Georgia
Goal: Fun Spot Atlanta, Six Flags Over Georgia
Distance: 524 Miles
Means of Travel: Flying
Potential Credits: 4
Day 2
We didn't have any issues sleeping at all, as a matter of fact I was up earlier than I even needed to be. Before we knew it, we were up and heading down the 20 minute suburban city drive to Fayetteville for the piece de resistance on this trip: ArieForce One!
When this was announced, I had no idea what to make of it. I had recently done both Fun Spots on Florida 2020 and knew them for go karts and compact wooden coasters, not some giant RMC. And truth be told, I was even more surprised it wasn't a family RMC. Something that looks like this is normal for Six Flags, but Fun Spot? The closest real world example I could think of was Storm Chaser but even that's a stretch. But as time went on, I noticed just how fast it was designed to shred that arcade roll, how much passion was getting poured into this from the name to the way they treated it and showed it off when it was done, I had a hunch this might be something special. This wasn't just some business investment where Six Flags throws money at RMC to fix up some wooden coaster or take up space with something flashy and marketable, this was a legitimate passion project put on by people who cared about having a very good coaster on property.
So we drive there, park, and first thing I hear is, "IS THAT COASTER STUDIOS???" Of course Taylor and Sarah would park right next to us, I complimented his duck socks, which he informed me were formal wear because the ducks were wearing ties. Evidently Taylor Bybee is classier than I am because the ducks on the duck socks I own do not wear ties.
Media credentials? Check! It's time to ride!
We had attempted to get RMC Connoisseurs polos but they got backordered. We may not be TPR or Coaster Studios, but we're trying our best okay?
First impression of ArieForce One is that it looks surreal and unexpected where it is, while at the same time looking exactly like a major Fun Spot coaster ought to. Same visual impact as Mine Blower but scaled way, way up. Like Mine Blower suddenly grew up but the rest of the little go kart pizza park stayed the same. I saw the park coming in, noticed the coasters and flats and Western theming on the arcade, but this was the primary focus and the trek back there sort of detracts from everything else.
However, I also realized quickly it reminds me a lot of old school Rollercoaster Tycoon. The Aries appeared to have taken a humble property with a few small rides and bits and pieces of theming, added a few rides of their own to make a little money, and spent it on some big scary chaotic coaster that does all kinds of deranged things and goes over things, scare a few guests out of riding it, and threw a number at the end of its name. And as a Rollercoaster Tycoon kid I couldn't help but both love it and find it hilarious.
Stuff in the press center, it's time to ride!
ArieForce One's queue has almost identical theming to Orion and I'd be very surprised if that was not exactly what Fun Spot was going for. Kings Island stretched the limited funding for their budget giga by repurposing random junk and byproducts of running a business (crates, pallets, lockers, concrete fountain bases, even an old flat ride op booth!) to bring Area 72 to life, Mike Koontz even personally bought some guy's satellite dish on Facebook Marketplace and drove there to get it in a truck. Fun Spot Atlanta did pretty much the same thing, with old oil drums, hoses, hard hats, and tools being used to spice up what would otherwise be a bare metal box with some railing and stairs inside. My favorite were these "exhaust pipes" along the back wall that I recognized as being disused tumble tubes from an old play structure, I assume something they tore down when they bought the park. Theming doesn't have to be hard, and most parks have random trash they probably step over and push aside and leave around every day that could make any ride even a tad more immersive with just a little creativity, a practice we've now seen from both a small park like Fun Spot and huge corporate Kings Island.
The station for ArieForce One has a lot of theming printed on tarps hung around the walls of the station like tapestries, including a giant fuel tank with a logo on it. There's banners hung overhead that commemorate construction milestones with dates, and the restraint board has theming on it as well.
Wow, and I mean, WOW!!! I've never been sold on a number one as quickly as I was sold on ArieForce One. Maybe it was because it was first coaster of the season, maybe it was the high of riding it, but just everything we did from station to brakes was just chef's kiss. Every element delivered, it missed nothing, it felt like even at 9 am it was bringing its A game through every single maneuver on that layout. The airtime hills were as strong as the ones on Steel Vengeance, the Raven truss dive scared the crap out of me as we twisted through that narrow curved girder, the stall was pure floater nirvana, the quad down at the end felt like the ending of Steel Vengeance, and that roll over the arcade felt easily as good as Velocicoaster's mosasaurus roll or Iron Gwazi's deathroll. This was not a Jersey Devil situation where I could tell it would impress me later, I was impressed now, at 9 am, without it even being super warmed up, before it had even opened to the public.
"So Jarrett," you may ask, "how on earth does one fly to a little go kart park, ride their coaster once, and decide it's the best out of over 400 on one ride?" And it's a question I will answer and a decision I will defend to the death.
ArieForce One starts with a few airtime hops under the outward banked top hat, think a prelift like Steel Vengeance has. After that, it's up a lift where you can see the whole wooded area around, dark evergreen trees rising out of bright red Georgia clay. From there, it's a pretty standard but awesome RMC drop, think like a straight mid-sized drop like on Jersey Devil or Wicked Cyclone. After that, you shoot up, bank slightly clockwise, before entering the truss box only to violently snap counterclockwise with rotational floater before diving back down to earth, imagine Goliath's dive loop but with the shaping of the ones on the Raptor systems. There's a high speed hop similar to the ones Vengeance and Twisted Colossus have after their lift hills, before going into what's basically a carbon copy of Goliath's stall, suspending you directly over the rusty-colored soil with nothing between you and the ground except the restraint. And the hangtime here is outright nirvana, breaking up two very violent moments of airtime because the outward banked hill that follows this is exactly like the one on Steel Vengeance, maybe not as sustained on the ejector since it's smaller but the force magnitude is definitely comparable. Next up is the best part of the ride if you're in the back: the ride double ups up over a hill, again, comparable to the double up on Steel Vengeance, but instead of seeing another hill coming up, you're pulled at great speed over the top of the element only to see a low-to-the-ground roll follow, about to twirl through it with all the momentum you're about to gain when it drops! And it does just that, this is some great rotational ejector, obviously it's not as powerful as over the hills but there is ejector as you fly through it, white steel girders spinning around you rapidly. From there you have an off-axis airtime hop into a pretty long, somewhat forceful banked turn that feels more like it's supposed to just turn the train around than anything, no trickety tricks or anything. Then there's another high-speed roll, not as powerful as the first but still pretty good, and a turn into the final element on the ride: a quad down. Yes, it gains speed like Dollywood's and yes it ends the ride on a high note, but personally I think it feels more like Vengeance's bunny hills just because all four pops are equally good, as opposed to Lightning Rod's which gets stronger with each hit. Finally, there's one final kicker hop into the brakes, which grab the train pretty hard and leave a nasty vector downwards and backwards on your lap from both the hill and brakes pushing the restraint against your thighs. And it's enough for the road because by now, you're probably pretty wowed if you have any interest in ejector air or good rolling elements on a coaster.
Ben and I took two rides, he felt it was better than Steel Vengeance but not Iron Gwazi so we no longer share a number one. I think what hits me with this coaster in particular is that I felt it combined the best things RMC had ever done into one coaster. You have Goliath's awesome inversion game, Iron Gwazi's twisting and breakneck pacing, and Steel Vengeance's iconic lap-crushing airtime. In addition, my parents both grew up during the space race and would always tell me stories about it, we have the entirety of Apollo 13 memorized between the four of us, and my father has worked in aerospace on and off throughout his engineering career. Space travel has always been something I see as incredible and noble, and while I never personally dreamt of going up there myself, I see and understand the story of John Arie's childhood dream through my experience being raised by two engineer parents who had the upmost respect for NASA and the space program. This coaster felt like I really enjoyed it on a personal level, everything I love, nothing I don't, and a theme I personally love, and similar to how I felt about Railblazer, it feels like a very "me" coaster and that's why it's my personal favorite. Maybe someone likes Iron Gwazi or Steel Vengeance better and those are sides I absolutely see and understand, but for what Jarrett loves, nothing tops ArieForce One.
When we were getting on for our second ride, they made the video with Colonel Hurley in the front (more on him later) and then invited us to the main midway for the opening ceremony.
Opening Ceremony was a bit like the ones I'd seen at other parks, maybe a bit more localized. IAAPA editorial director Scott Vice served as the MC and introduced speakers such as RMC president Darren Torr, former NASA astronaut Col. Doug Hurley, and of course, both John Arie Sr. and Jr.
John Arie Sr. gets up there and grovels about how he likes Air Force One better as a name after a whole season joking that his coaster is named after him.
At the conclusion of the ceremony, a big boom goes off as they go full Cedar Point and blow something up to celebrate a new coaster opening because, well, that's what you do for some reason. New RMC = Explosions.
After that, the first public ride on ArieForce One was taken for those who bid on it.
While walking back towards the entrance, we spotted Col. Hurley talking to people so naturally I got in line and got to meet this NASA legend. I had seen him take off on SpaceX's historic Crew Dragon on a livestream (I remember asking Ben which livestream he was watching for this launch and he, a Floridian, tells me "my porch") and that was only one of many instances I was blown away by some sort of space travel. Meeting this man I totally geeked out but it was an honor just to tell someone so iconic to the space program how much their work has inspired myself and my family.
...and then I stepped away and realized I looked like Scotty delivering pizzas in mommy's basement because I had turned my hat around to shoot photos and forgot to turn it back around so he could see the damn Air Force logo. I have a photo with Doug Hurley and I look like a total idiot in it.
Also ran into my buddy Jess and her...gaggle, if you will. Very nice individual, but I learned my face blind ass saw her in the station and she waved at Ben and I without me knowing who she even was.
Afterwards, Ben had to leave to go hit the skies, grabbing everything he needed, including the key in his bag, so I went and shot photos around the base of the lift outside the low zone with maintenance supervision and honestly, it looks best from down here. You won't be able to get where we were and that's a shame because this is the best place to see the coaster, it flies right overhead and you can walk right under it. Major thanks to Fun Spot for the safetysitting!
Safetysitting- (V.) The act of supervising a person or persons with the goal of safety in mind.
Once we were all done with photos, I had time for a last ride or two before Media Day ended and passholder preview began, so I snagged a couple of extra rides.
With Media Day all said and done, I snagged my equipment from the press center and headed back to the hotel to edit photos and do the social media work.
Also asked the hotel where to meet the shuttle at the airport and they just repeatedly told me "last one leaves at 11 o'clock" before slamming the door in my face when I tried to clarify my question. Don't think English was the guy's first language in his defense but that's never a way to talk to a customer.
I got back for the evening and snagged a wristband online for some more rides on my new #1 coaster!
By then she had warmed up. Like, a lot. This wasn't even Steel Vengeance anymore, this was something far further. We're talking like Skyrush level airtime over every hill. That's what you get for running a coaster since 7 am in the warm Georgia climate!
I broke it! We hit the brakes, we don't leave the brake run, and after about a minute some guy walks out there and says we were really booking it and came in too hot and messed up the control system. They got us back in and removed us from the ride and it was promptly fixed.
I snagged a few rides on it, then realized I needed a break, so I took it upon myself to check out the rest of Fun Spot Atlanta and pick up the two other credits I needed and just see the park.
Python Pits are a coaster type I have a bit of a soft spot for, given how my first one ever was one of these at a little FEC called Jeepers in a Michigan mall when we lived in Detroit when I was young. And honestly they aren't even bad coasters, yeah they're kiddie coasters but I'll take one of these over a Zamperla death machine any day. Plus watching a whole train of coaster nerds take it on was amazing popcorn material, "we should do this again when P'Sketti opens," one of them declared.
Next up was some EF Miler...thing, and I forgot to even photograph it, but you go through a little food pavilion to get to it. Screaming Eagle was on a sign, but the equipment in the station had "HURRICANE COASTER" written on it which is what its clone in Kissimmee is called so I don't know. For what it was it was half decent, little rough around the edges but I've ridden similar coasters that were much worse.
And then it was back for more and more ArieForce One! Ran into Jess and her cronies on one ride, and the other I ran into an RMC Conn member named David who rode with me.
Looks like Doug Hurley left his John Henry on the whiteboard at some point, not sure if this was there earlier or not.
A few rides later, I found myself shooting the Arcade Roll when I noticed something odd: this Screamin' Swing with only one arm?
Guy next to me said "this would be the scariest thing here had they not built that," pointing to AF1, and I see it! Screamin' Swings are scary rides as is but this one with just one other person next to you feels much more like isolated fear and it's way better for it. Decent cycle time too.
By then, my thighs, gut, and shins were really starting to feel all that being chucked around, so I headed back and took it easy with the sunset rides until I was able to get a night ride. ArieForce One is awesome in low light! It combines the pitch black darkness of the wooded sections at the start of the ride with that magical feeling you get zipping past the twinkling lights of a midway after dark on a coaster.
On the way out, Jess and Tim found me and talked me into doing the bumper boats with them, which was fun despite the motor in my boat barely working. But I did that, agreed to meet them at Six Flags tomorrow, and headed for my car to go drop it at the airport. Meanwhile, Ben is freaking out because he can't find his keys despite being in a totally different city and asks me to check the rental for them, and to my dismay they aren't there. I had to get back to the hotel to find them for him!
So...a funny thing happened on the way home. I drive on out, and out of nowhere my GPS starts acting up and sends me down this sketchy road, I have no idea why. It sounded like an alien abduction, so I'm not looking at my clock because I don't want to get sucked out of my car via tractor beam and get things stuck up my butt and be returned in time to return my car before Sixt closed. So with that delay, I know I might miss the last shuttle to the hotel from the airport, so I shot David from earlier a text and him, being the rockstar he is, rescues me at the crowded Atlanta airport despite getting lost and going to south instead of north, and offers to accompany me to Flags the next day and everything.
And to top off the happy ending, I get back to the hotel with a list of places to look for keys from Ben, and none of them are there. I start tearing the room apart, looking everywhere from in his bed sheets to the drawer containing the bible. Right as I'm about to open the toilet tank and go for a Navy rescue dive, I see something shiny under the A/C unit in the corner. It's Ben's keys! Somehow they ended up kicked under the corner of the climate control. He was so relieved and I zipped them into the lining of my bag. Then I showered and got some much needed sleep, Over Georgia needed me tomorrow!
"What possibly posessed them to think they could do this?" is something I often hear uttered by my folks whenever we watched Space Program anything. And I think that statement holds especially true for the little tiny go kart FEC building a massive RMC in the suburban outskirts of Atlanta. And while Alan did not design this, I know a large part of his philosophy was, "we don't want you to ride it and wonder how we did that, we want you to look at it and wonder how it's even possible." Dropping into a snappy roll, the raven truss dive, and finishing with that much airtime was all stuff that up until the last ten years or so might have sounded crazy. I remember Katy Perry even performed "Daisies," a song about overcoming the odds, at the conclusion of Doug Hurley's SpaceX Crew Dragon launch livestream. That's kind of always what coasters have been about for me, pushing forward and turning the impossible possible, and ultimately making dreams and ideas into reality, no matter what stands in the way. So to be invited to something like this, both personally as an enthusiast and as a representative to the larger RMC cult fandom, I'm not gonna lie I was extremely honored. Major thanks to Fun Spot for including RMC Connoisseurs, thanks to everyone who I met that day, you were all awesome, and a special shoutout to David and his family for the lift. It's days like this that are why I do coasters, and everyone who made it happen should be incredibly proud of what they did. The coaster is amazing, the park was the dictionary definition of hospitable, and I can't wait to see what precedent today sets for RMC, Fun Spot, and the larger Atlanta market as a whole moving forward.
UP NEXT: Severe weather has been reported in Atlanta as a Twisted Cyclone heads right for Clayton County! Residents should brace for severe weather that may sink boats, an army of brochachos descending upon Pandemonium, extreme park improvement, and a swarm of tracker jackers because it's 2023 and we can't have just one disaster at a time anymore. Coastervivor is on your side with the exciting conclusion to this trip report!
