Atlanta 2023 Region Trip://Day 3- The "Not As Big A Dump As It Could Have Been" Award

                    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 3- The "Not As Big A Dump As It Could Have Been" Award 

It would be a crime to ride a coaster called Twisted Cyclone in happy spring sunshine, right? As with last time I was here, I woke up and saw some ominous storm clouds overhead, which turned into a horrible downpour during breakfast. And again, as with my first trip to Busch Tampa, I learned that during the night, a tornado had hit the Dayton area and actually put a friend's parents in danger.

I've been to Six Flags Over Georgia twice in my life. Once in 2006 and once in 2018. However, it was my father's childhood home park and I grew up hearing stories about Dahlonega Mine Train and Okefenokee Swamp and those rides. We went in 2006 on a family vacation so he could show us the park he visited as a child, when Goliath was the big new baddie in town. I didn't go back until 2018 for Twisted Cyclone Media Day, but even then I didn't get much time there as my evening at the park I had planned beforehand got completely stormed out, and even the following morning was wet and rainy just for a coaster called Twisted Cyclone. But I knew a lot had changed, Six Flags has changed hands since I believe, Dare Devil Dive had been built, the infamous Ninja that was the worst coaster I had ridden for years was now Blue Hawk and had been updated, and there was another one of those cool Screampunk Districts that had also gone up in LA.

So I waited around my hotel playing OpenRCT2 on the new laptop for Jess and them since they said they could get me a lift the next day, but then I get a text that they're slow to get started so David saved the day and picked me up and decided to go in and chillax around the park with me for a bit.

It had dumped, and I mean, DUMPED down rain at Six Flags Over Georgia in the early hours of the morning, I had to step over puddles because this was the only pair of shoes I had brought and I wasn't about to do the whole trenchfoot thing again. But despite that, Over Georgia has a favorite entrance of mine, with it being impossible to enter the park without Goliath towering overhead. Visually it's one of the most impressive B&M hypers, so glad it was my first.

David had something to take care of with his pass and instructed me to run on in and wait for Twisted, so I did that. I always loved the theming on this weird little RMC, in contrast to Wicked Cyclone's dark, brooding take on the "severe weather at sea" theme, Twisted Cyclone has a lighter, almost joking take on a theme usually associated with destruction and destroyed shit as theming. The whole area has a beautiful pastel pallet and beach house architecture, boards nailed to the windows talk about a cyclone party (and used to say "grab a beer, run like hell"), and being from the yee yee Ohio part of the midwest where we mow our lawns during tornado warnings and the first coworker to go to the storm shelter is labeled as a chicken, yeah I can appreciate the humor in that. Mostly because, like most of the stuff I find funny, it's not as much a joke as many people realize.

Not sure if this was just the beating my legs took from ArieForce One yesterday, but Twisted Cyclone has cut its teeth nicely! This was my first public, warmed up, not media day, normal operation ride on this coaster and it's better than I remember it being. Much better. I was getting good ejector in every spot, the rolls were nice and snappy, and it feels much more like a proper babby Wicked Cyclone. Again, could be the sore legs, but I was ready for it to be over and felt like I'd gotten a good ride out of it by the time it wrapped up. Amazing coaster! Definitely confident in the initial call I made that it was better than Storm Chaser.

David got in next and we went for Goliath, which was just coming back up from a breakdown. My first ride on this was somewhat of an enigma, it was among the tallest I had ridden at the time (I think the only taller one might have been Son of Beast), and it intimidated me all day while being down for...some reason. When we got back to ride it later, to the tune of a shortened hour line (it was 3 before it had closed), we learned just as we were dispatching that it was because someone had had a medical emergency and passed away on it. So that's a tragic memory I'll always have with this coaster that I ended up loving that we still talk about to this day.

Goliath reopened from a breakdown and we boarded the massive B&M hyper in row two, understanding it might be the only ride of the day with just one train on the track. And I loved it! It's no Mako or Candymonium, but it's better than most of the ones of this era, reminded me a bit of a more modern Raging Bull. But its biggest drawback is it's gotten a bit rattly, not painful by any means but definitely doesn't feel like the silk smooth cruise I remember from childhood.

Time for the last credit of the trip! Call me Guy Fieri because we're hitting up America's greatest Dares, Devils, and Dives! This was the credit I was missing last time I was here but I missed it because my park evening got rained out, and to be honest, I had heard mixed things about that. Some told me I lucked out, others told me I missed out, and it's not a coaster you even hear about to begin with so I had no idea what I was in for.

And why isn't this talked about more??? And why is there only one?

Dare Devil Dive is great, it's like babby Cannibal! Many of the elements, namely the cutback, dive loop thing, and brake run feel exactly like the big scary Utah custom coaster, so this was definitely ahead of its time. If I were a park in 2011 I'd be telling Gerstlauer to shut up and take my money and build more of these, why are we not funding this???

With Over Georgia and the trip cleaned out for new coaster credits, David and I elected to go take things a little bit easier. We knocked out Superman next, which I sadly did not photograph but I enjoyed this as much as my first ride on it, it's nice and terrainy and rode pretty smoothly for its age. I'm so glad I worked on my claustrophobia enough to enjoy these flyers because coasters like this and Manta are amazing.

Great American Scream Machine was next, a coaster that I've heard horror stories of but remember nearly nothing about it. It's my friend Drew's most hated coaster, he calls it Great American Jackhammer Machine, and David warned me up and down about the brakes. Childhood memory is pretty dry, remember it being just a wooden coaster that didn't do a whole lot, and honestly it's one I had almost completely forgotten about until I became an enthusiast. Is it terrible? No. It's boring and farts around and does absolutely nothing at all, like most coasters of its day, but it's definitely not horrible and doesn't belong in the conversation for worst coaster on the planet by any means. One and done. If anything it would be beneficial for Six Flags to tear it down if the problem with it getting flooded is really that bad.

Blue Hawk, on the other hand, is a coaster I remember as Ninja, and not fondly at all. On the 2006 trip our server at Fogo de Chao heard we were going to Six Flags and comes back to our table with "don't do Ninja," and we sadly did it anyway. When I became an enthusiast, this was the coaster I picked for my first "worst coaster in the world." Now it's Blue Hawk and gets mixed reviews, and there was no line so that was concerning, but I had no problems with this! Blue Hawk is a ton of fun, good headchoppers, good inversions, suspended over the water like that provides some cool visuals, I'm honestly sad I didn't ride it again. I like Blue Hawk now! And I can't believe I just typed that sentence!

David left just in time for us to enter assholeville...

He advised Pandemonium next after he dipped out, which is one of those big chungus Zamperla discus rides Six Flags has been putting in, though this one is special because of its insanely cool steampunk theme and nearby Screampunk District. Now, with my engineering tech degree, it's basically a given I love all things nuts and bolts so I had to ride this and like it, not a ton of theming on it but a theme is present, but as I get in line, some asshat playing OpenRCT2 hits the "Large Tram" button and it dumps a whole bus full of buzzed, loud, obnoxious frat bros in the queue! These guys were Wonder Bread Limp Bizkit Monster Energy basic, anyone on a certain UK-based coaster forum using the term "basic" to gatekeep coaster enthusiasm clearly hasn't met Chet, Dan, Michael, Brad, and the boys. They're clapping, chanting, basically behaving like a stereotypical Disney tour group but you could smell the White Claw on 'em. At 1 in the afternoon. I was getting a headache from not eating (sometimes I forget to and today was one of those) so I could only take so much "OLEEEE OLE OLE OLEEEEE." And the worst part of it all? I really liked the ride despite having to put up with these idiots as I enjoyed it. Same sensation as Delirium back at home but it's way higher. Hate Zamperla's coasters but I love their flat rides!

Though after we all got off, Brandon from the group of bros (they joked they had the same mother and several different fathers but never seriously answered how they all knew each other when a lady asked?) said he lost his phone and it went into some trees in the low zone, so that was satisfying to watch if not a bit infuriating. Leave your shit off the ride you'll hurt someone!

With that having...happened, it was time for an April Fool's prank gone horribly wrong. The plan among Ben and I for April Fool's was going to be for me to get a selfie in the SFOG bathroom claiming I was out of toilet paper and put it in RMC Connoisseurs asking if any members could bring me some. So I decide to get a Phili Cheesesteak from Birds of Prey Cafe in DC...and the next thing I know Six Flags food sends me sprinting to the bathroom again. Fortunately I had toilet paper and just had an exorcism to deal with, but at least I got a somewhat genuine photo showing real concern for the prank while I was taking care of business. Now I don't even know how one manages to annihilate a person from the inside out with a cheesesteak, it wasn't like it was a taco or Chinese food or something where it's to be expected, so I have no idea what didn't agree with me here but this is my warning to all who might be going, especially those of you with sensitive stomachs.

For the first time in my life I might have Six Flags Over Georgia cleaned out, but in a few months that won't be true with Kid Flash opening. Saw the construction walls over by Gotham but it didn't look like a very active site. I wouldn't expect to be racing down those single rail tracks for at least a few months.

My pass includes a Flash Pass so I went to use it for a spin on Twisted and ugh, now they don't do that for you at the counter and make you do it yourself on your phone, and normally I can do technology but my aging iPhone XR has been having battery problems and their website was really slow to load when I went to do it. The Flash Pass counter was dead, they should've been able to help me out better than "oh just do it yourself." But that mess aside, Twisted Cyclone another time was great! The morning's ride was not a fluke, she's really warming up, and after riding everything else I still conclude it's the best in the park. Literally David slaying Goliath...with David wearing an ugly Hawaiian shirt and mandals in the Hooter's parking lot after getting cut off and kicked out with the cops on their way. Probably a Florida Man, maybe this is why Florida isn't too fond of David right now.

After that, I did a quick photo lap and shot Twisted Cyclone and Goliath, then hit another coaster I had wanted to reride: Georgia Scorcher. I remembered riding this but nothing about the experience, and I was glad I got to reride it because this isn't a bad coaster! I had just made a standup in Planet Coaster for Christmas themed to a ski resort so on the ride I imagined I was carving out slopes and moguls as we raced around those tight curves. Also love the interaction with Goliath. New favorite standup, I honestly expected more pain out of the Canada goose nesting near the exit.

I went back for Mindbender next, and I should've brought my Riddler cosplay from Con on the Cob 2022 because I really like this character and cosplayed as the Batman The Animated Series version of Edward Nygma. David warned me the ride had been nerfed somewhat, but I didn't care. This Schwarzkopf is still great, has some great pacing and works masterfully with the terrain, not to mention the loops are still great.

Afterwards, I was headed for Monster Mansion and Macho Nacho when I ran into Tim and Jess and their gaggle of delinquints again, so we all met up and rode Twisted Cyclone. Hundreds of carpenter bees were chilling around the station but thankfully they don't sting because we were packed in there for a while with this thing on one train ops. But it was great to see these guys again and walk them out of the park and wish them safe travels before the journey home to Florida!

With the peanut gallery having been successfully removed from Six Flags, THEN I went to Macho Nacho, which took forever and the seating area was disgusting. I put my hand in some sticky ABC gum and the were out of napkins, not to mention the food wasn't even that good. So I ate what I wanted of a subpar Six Flags burrito and decided to go do Monster Mansion to close out the night.

This ride is special because my father rode it as a child. Okefenokee Swamp Ride, he called it, was "like Splash Mountain without the drop at the end." We rode it together as Monster Plantation, now I'm an adult riding it as Monster Mansion. And this cute little dark ride just made me so happy! It's similar character designs, similar tech level, similar storyine, but it's been cleaned up and now it's nothing outside of good, clean, wholesome fun. Also shoutout to the crew who seemed to be the only ones having fun with their jobs, being kind to guests and dancing to the catchy song and stuff.

After that, I used my snack on an ice cream and the park closed. I went to the MARTA station, but the bus was late, and worrying that I would miss the airport shuttle from the airport back to the hotel, I took David up on his offer once again and he sent his girlfriend to pick me up...in a super cool Slingshot! Like, I got to speed past Six Flags at night in this cool car/motorcycle/thing on a beautiful night, the perfect way to close out the day! May or may not have gotten a few crazy looks practicing tai chi footwork in the parking lot waiting on my ride, but anything to kill time. I thanked both of them from the bottom of my heart for all the help, they're good people and I think we sort of share that desire to help fellow travelers out in our own necks of the woods when needed. So...now I gotta go home and pay it forward!

I remember Six Flags Over Georgia from my childhood as a pretty park with some awesome rides, and some not so awesome rides, and some of the rudest staff we've ever encountered going to parks as a family. My last trip here was cut short, but I liked what I saw. But this time? I love this park now. Not without its flaws, but I had an awesome time with their awesome coaster collection and just experiencing the ambiance of this traditional Americana themed amusement park. The wooded hillside setting is gorgeous, the dichotomy of Goliath and Twisted Cyclone being the best rides as well as both keeping the gate somewhat is really cool, and they've even got a solid supporting lineup with Dare Devil Dive and Blue Hawk and more. Their food department needs completely overhauled, some of the coasters (Goliath primarily) could use some paint and TLC, I did have a few employees who weren't rude but were unhelpful. But no park is perfect, and compared to how I remember the service here being, I was pleasantly surprised. I'm interested to see how this place changes over the next decade, because it felt like it was on the upswing. And that makes me so happy to see my father's childhood home park as the warm, fuzzy, fun place he told me it was when I was a young child getting into roller coasters.

Day 4- Early Bird Gets Annoyed By Frontier Again

I got this yesterday:

This, according to Ben, basically meant nothing. My flight didn't board until 12:30, and I woke up at 8-ish, but I figured being early wouldn't hurt anything. So I snag the 9 am shuttle from the hotel to the airport, get there early, and basically the second I'm at the Frontier counter the Frontier began to Frontier again.

I had purchased my carry on on the app, having learned how they do things, but when I get there early, per their instructions, I get told I can't get my bag tag because it's 4 hours before we take off...despite having been told to get there early. And this lady has the nerve to tell me it'll be $25 to print it at the counter if I can't use the kiosk. So cue the Jeopardy theme, I wait fifteen minutes, plane leaves at 1:15 so I try at 9:15, and it still won't take it, so THEN the counter agent does it for me free of charge after I waited around for nothing. And further insult to injury? Shit wasn't even bad at TSA, I've seen it way worse and got through in maybe twenty minutes. ATL TSA was at least kind, they were telling us to leave our shoes on so when I asked about my belt the sweet old lady tells me "take your belt off but leave those pants on baby," which got a laugh out of everyone. But here I am, at the airport way too early for my flight, because of Frontier, after Frontier tried to charge me for getting there too early like Frontier had asked me to do.

So I fired up the laptop, edited the Over Georgia photos, and got Chinese while I watched the planes move about the tarmac. Finally Courtney the Cougar came back to get me a ride home, we boarded, I did the boring ass flight, and Grant picked me up after a minor mix up at baggage claim.

Eh, not gonna lie that trip was pretty normal by my standards. Carry on trouble with Frontier, delinquents at Six Flags, got shaken up good by the RMC, and Ben's keys teleporting under the A/C, all in a weekend's work for Jarrett. But that's exactly why I subject myself to this stuff. Planning this it felt a bit like a glorified Fun Spot Atlanta business trip almost, but I ended up really falling in love with what theme parking the Capital of the South has to offer. Anyone passing through here going to Dollywood or Florida should definitely consider a day or two here, there's two RMCs, one of which is arguably the best American one, as well as a good B&M hyper and some decent loopers, flats, and even a dark ride. So hop on a plane, in a car, or atop a unicycle, and head on down here! It's...

...wait for it...

HUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGE!!!!