Portemine's USA Adventures - Part 3 (Six Flags Great Adv)

[Coaster Hipster]

This summer I am in the US mainly for studying but I also wanted to enjoy the fabulous rollercoasters there! So last Monday I couldn't resist the opportunity to try my first RMC and took the bus to Agawam, MA...

The park entrance at opening time. I thought this was fairly crowded for a Monday...

I wanted to do Goliath first but the GIB was closed for the day due to a technical issue. Apparently it broke down a few days ago and an employee told me it wouldn't open again until at least the third week of August. Having heard the coaster has gotten so uncomfortable because of its new trains I felt this wasn't such a big loss after all.

I then decided to follow the advice on this forum and do Pandemonium first to avoid the ride's low capacity later. It was a decent ride actually! Some decent family fun with a nice change of direction between the two helixes. Operations were a little bit slow with the cars stacking for a little while on the brake run, something that is going to be a recurring theme today.

Moving on to a much bigger fish with Wicked Cyclone To me it looks more impressive and taller irl than in pictures. The Iron Horse makes a distinctive roaring sound which I actually find appealing. The queue goes inside the ride's layout which offers some nice picture spots. Too bad I didn't take one of the Zero G Stall, it looks so elegant from the queue :|

The ride itself is really, really good but not mindblowing imo. The airtime is numerous, relentless and very agressive. The Zero G Stall is very enjoyable but not as snappy as I hoped. I still prefer regular Zero Gs though but this is a nice change. There are some weird and fun laterals throughout the ride and notably this banked airtime hill that was pretty funky. The barrel rolls provided some nice floaterness with a little bit of light laterals as well. Not the highlight of the coaster but definitely an enjoyable and good for variety element.

Now the seating is not as comfortable as in a Mack hyper or even Intamin mega I feel. There is a little bump on the outside of the train which makes lining your legs a little awkward. Also not a big fan of the shin guards. Then again I'm being very nit-picky

I managed to get 5 rides during the day but none on the front row because the operators do not let you choose your row. Oh well... After hesitating for quite a while, I think I still prefer Goliath (WH) slightly. WC does so much more but it lacks the big forceful G+ moment that Goliath's first drop offers. But at #4 it is still obviously an excellent coaster.

Because I am not going for the credit (shocking!), Thunderbolt was one of the many coasters I skipped for the day. I initially wanted to ride it but after seeing the long wait line for it I decided against it.

Same thing for Mind Eraser. Having ridden a few others SLCs (including the first and infamous Condor at Walibi Holland), I thought it just wasn't worth the wait. I think the SLCs looks quite aesthetic actually, for all their roughness. If only they had the same comfort as the B&Ms...

Speaking of which, Batman - The Dark Knight is the only coaster made by the Swiss duo in the park. It is pretty much your regular good but not outstanding B&M really. Some decent forces in the drop and the overall experience was fairly smooth but for a couple of headbanging in the zero-g and the second flat spin which is a slight disappointment.

But what do I see ?

The most anticipated coaster of my visit to the park, Superman the Ride looks really photogenic from most viewpoints in the park. And it is fairly well integrated within the landscape too, with some tunnels and trees around.

I rode EGF last year and I was really, really looking forward to this one. It has been trading with the German Megacoaster for #1 spot until recently. However its reputation waned a bit due to reportedly uncomfortable new restraints and a somewhat not as good as before ride experience. Still though, the on-ride POVs looked very promising and the layout is very long and full of potential airtime.

After an unnecessary 2 hour long wait which really makes me question the need for VR, I managed to get a front seat yeah On to the amazing Superman March and the lift hill starts relatively slowly before speeding up which builds up my excitement.

While impressive looking at the top, the first drop did not feel as forceful as EGF's at the bottom. And then the airtime hill that followed was good ejector, but then again, not as intense as its Holiday Park counterpart. From that point it became clear that Superman was going to be no better than #2 at most. Thankfully the rest of the layout was really really good with some powerful airtime especially during the back-to-back camelbacks. The first helix is pretty fun too.

Overall, Superman has the better layout on paper but it just lacks that tiny bit of intensity to match EGF pure glorious awesomeness. I managed to get a second ride right at the back which was really good as well, maybe not as powerful on the first few airtime hills but the rest of the layout makes up for it.

Six Flags NE gave me a good impression, the park had some decent greenery to it, it doesn't feel like a parking lot like I feared. It has an amazing top 2 coasters and solid complement rides with Pandemonium and Batman but a few crappy Vekomas as well. The operation were a bit slow to my disappointment but that is not a big surprise. I really don't regret going there but I won't go again immediately. It was fun discovering RMC though!

 

[TMCoasters]

Re: Portemine's USA Adventures - Part 1 (Six Flags New Engla

Great report. I must say, I also enjoy Superman more (It and WC are my 2 and 4 as well). You're not missing much with Goliath... even in front row it's quite uncomfortable. The first drop is fun, but after that the roughness and bad trains ruin the ride.

 

[Ian]

Re: Portemine's USA Adventures - Part 1 (Six Flags New Engla

Can't believe you turned down two creds - then again, the two you turned down are ****!

I love that you thought Wicked Cyclone was "not mind blowing" but you still treated yourself to five rides on it! Hahah! That's the beaurty about RMCs. Even if a tad lacklustre one slips through the net, they are still incredibly reridable.

 

[Coaster Hipster]

Re: Portemine's USA Adventures - Part 1 (Six Flags New Engla

Great report. I must say, I also enjoy Superman more (It and WC are my 2 and 4 as well). You're not missing much with Goliath... even in front row it's quite uncomfortable. The first drop is fun, but after that the roughness and bad trains ruin the ride.

Thanks! Yeah that's pretty much what I heard about Goliath! Too bad because it could really be great without those trains...

Can't believe you turned down two creds - then again, the two you turned down are ****!

I love that you thought Wicked Cyclone was "not mind blowing" but you still treated yourself to five rides on it! Hahah! That's the beaurty about RMCs. Even if a tad lacklustre one slips through the net, they are still incredibly reridable.

Haha you're abosolutely right - the RMCs are addictive! I really find WC to be excellent though, that's just me being nit picky ^^ Thank you for the comment.



Second part of my American theme park journey with my trip to Six Flags America! Yesterday I braved the very hot weather to visit my second Six Flags park and my 4th Intamin Mega overall...

The lines were a little long at the entrance but overall I did not have to wait long for most of the rides - except one as you'll find one later...

I started the day with an historic coaster, the very first B&M ever produced! Apocalypse is an average ride. No vibrations during the whole layout but some minor headbanging. Nothing as bad as a Vekoma SLC but nothing really exciting either. The stand-up position is not very comfortable and the layout mainly consisting of twists and turns doesn't do much.

After an early lunch, I went on Joker's Jinx which was another walk-on. Thanks to the lap bar restraints the coaster is a decently fun one, with a mildly powerful launch and some good forces during the first 3 inversions. The rest is a bit overbank overkill and a little shaky towards the end but nothing too bad.

I thought Superman SFNE's operations were bad. Well Superman SFA's are just ridiculous. The train stayed idle in the station for about 10 minutes each time. The crew applied some really annoying policies like waiting an extra 30 seconds before letting the passengers board or letting empty entire rows. Oh and screw VR, again. What should have been a 10 min wait at most turned into a 3 quarter-hour line.

The coaster itself ended up a little bit above my expectations. Nothing outstanding but moderately forceful helixes (comparable to Walibi's Goliath for example) and some really good airtime on the second hill and bunny hops. The airtime-less first camelback is the major drawback of the layout however and it lacks some sheer intensity to even match Goliath WH.

I was really excited for Batwing as it would be my first Flyer. I find the coaster type really fascinating and the mix of laid-back and prone positions have a lot of interesting potential to my eyes. The operations were fairly decent - well, at least compared to Superman - and this was another walk-on thanks to me being a single rider. Despite some slight vibrations in the track (this is Vekoma after all), the overall experience was fairly comfortable. No headbanging at all, even during the dreaded double Inline Twist part. There's some forces after the first drop and especially during the vertical loop. The layout feels a little tad short but I enjoyed it nonetheless. I don't think I like the flying position that much however, but I'll have to test more Flyers to assert that opinion.

I heard some rather negative word about Roar and disappointment about its equivalent at SFDK being converted instead of this one. But I thought it wasn't that rough. Nothing particularly interesting either with no airtime and just twisty turns as a layout.

Rajun Cajun is among the more nervy spinners that I have tried. It spins a lot and the final bunny hop surprised my a little. The layout however is really standard. Meh.

The Wild One, however is a fairly brutal one. Really shaky throughout! Some ok airtime after the turnaround though.

After that I decided to leave the park in time to get my bus. Overall I found SFA to be average. It lacks a truly extraordinary ride to stand out and make me really enjoy the day there, like a RMC. I woudn't have been there without the season pass, but it was still nice to ride an (underwhelming) Intamin mega and discover coaster flying.

Next is Six Flags Great Adventure during Coaster Day on August 26th!

 

[Hutch]

Re: Portemine's USA Adventures - Part 2 (Six Flags America)

Did they do one train operations on Ride of Steel? Either way 10 min dispatches must be so painful, and the ride looks like it has the worst design of any hyper coaster.

I actually hope they don't get a legitimately good coaster any time soon because I don't want to be tempted to visit there. :lol:

Nice report though. Do you plan on doing any other parks in addition to Great Adventure while you're over here?

 

[Gavin]

Re: Portemine's USA Adventures - Part 2 (Six Flags America)

Pretty much my experience with Six Flags America about a week before you I guess. Apart from Apocalypse; that was f**king vile. Along with the two Vortex standups, the worst B&M coasters by a very big margin. Red ears levels of head banging.

VR on Superman can just f**king die. As a coaster it was better than I was expecting. Decent airtime - at the back anyway; didn't try anywhere else - but with too many dead areas.

 

[Coaster Hipster]

Re: Portemine's USA Adventures - Part 2 (Six Flags America)

Pretty much my experience with Six Flags America about a week before you I guess. Apart from Apocalypse; that was f**king vile. Along with the two Vortex standups, the worst B&M coasters by a very big margin. Red ears levels of head banging.

VR on Superman can just f**king die. As a coaster it was better than I was expecting. Decent airtime - at the back anyway; didn't try anywhere else - but with too many dead areas.

You were at the back too ?! Haha our days were really similar then. Apocalypse had some headbanging but I find it almost acceptable having been on Walibi Holland's El Condor and Goudurix. Thanks for your comment, I'm looking forward to your next TR

Did they do one train operations on Ride of Steel? Either way 10 min dispatches must be so painful, and the ride looks like it has the worst design of any hyper coaster.

I actually hope they don't get a legitimately good coaster any time soon because I don't want to be tempted to visit there. :lol:

Nice report though. Do you plan on doing any other parks in addition to Great Adventure while you're over here?

Thank you! I have no plans for visiting other parks since I would like to visit NYC and have little time to do so because living there is so expensive

Yes, unfortunately they only ran only 1 train of S:RoS. I actually think Arrow's 1994 hypers are worse than this. Awkward banking and forceless layout take the cake for me.

 

[Coaster Hipster]

Re: Portemine's USA Adventures - Part 3 (Six Flags Great Adv

Last part of my American coaster journey: Six Flags Great Adventure! I planned to visit the park on August 16th, only discovering a few days before that it was Rollercoaster Day :--D A nice coincidence for a visit I was really excited about.

Hopping off the bus I get this fairly nice skyline which only builds up my excitement. You can even get a glimpse of El Toro!

I headed first for the Flash Pass building but the saleswoman told me I did not really need one pass as most of the rides had little to no wait - except of course Kingda Ka. I wasn't expecting such honesty but I appreciate it!

I went with my plan and started my gooning with the right side of the park and Batman. Up until then, its Vampire clone in Montreal sat at the bottom of my Top 10 but I only had very vague memories of it. The B:TR clones are known for their sheer intensity and I was eager to have a more accurate comparison with other Inverts I rode such as Black Mamba, OzIris or The Monster.

I wish I took a picture of the entrance because the theming is actually pretty nice, for a SF anyway. Some greenery, a nice porch entrance and a queue line that is a little bit sophisticated (for a SF, anyway). The ride was a first row walk on my first attempt as I sat on the right. The ride resulted to be fun but not as intense I as expected. Maybe it was because it hadn't warmed yet, but it didn't live up to its reputation for me and also felt a tad short. It's still a good coaster, and I rode it once again afterwards, but I think is inferior to other inverts I tried.

(What an ugly station)


I had moderate expectations for Nitro, having ridden Goliath at La Ronde and remembering a tall but dull and forceless ride. But this one turn out really good imo! Of course the clamshell restraints help a lot making the experience enjoyable, but the layout itself is nice.

The first drop felt steeper than expected and while the intensity is nowhere near Intamin mega levels, the height and some elements like the long, moderately but thouroughly intense helix make up for it. My favourite part is those L turn airtime hills where you dive left at the top of the hill, it's a weird but very enjoyable feeling!

Onto The Joker which had the third longest wait of the day after Toro and Ka. The ride is smooth but I realize I don't really like the sensation of being thrown around, even though the rotation was mild on that day. At least the operations were fast - looking at you SFA...

Bizarro would be the star attraction at many parks. But here it is only one coaster among others. I found it to be a standard B&M with a very standard layout (after all it was the first B&M floorless). Some moderate forces but some rattle as well. I experienced some headbanging, for example at the bottom of the Cobra Roll.

It was time to move on to the most anticipated coaster of my whole journey to America, none other than El Toro! I had to wait for around an hour because it broke town twice but I also chose a front row seat to begin with. Having read Bannister's recent SFGAdv trip report I was worring about the coaster becoming rough but my concerns were mostly tossed aside.

After a very fast cable lift hill and a quick turnaround, the train took me into this mighty steep drop which felt really scary but also a bit short imo. But even scarier are the headchopper at the bottom of the drop and all throughout the ride: they look really, really close! I can't remember another big coaster where I don't feel brave enough to raise my arms. The bottom of each drop was very intense but not as much as EGF I felt. There was strong airtime on the first two camelbacks, a nice change of direction after that but little to no airtime on the hills after the turnaround which slightly disappointed me.

I say slightly because the hill coming right before the S-turns is just gloriously intense, the most powerful of the whole coaster. It took me by surprise the first time and I kept being amazed by how strong it is each time after. The S-turns add some welcome variation to the ride layout and are taken at a good speed. The EGF turn-like that follows is fairly strong but the second one felt kinda weak.

Overall, I found El Toro to be an extremely thrilling ride and very intense! I'd rate it as my number two right behind EGF, which intensity is still unmatched to my eyes (I might be idealizing it though).

That's me in front of the then-down Kingda Ka. I went on Zumanjaro instead and it was a solid ride. Great view of the park's coasters at the top and the drop is nice with some good weightlessness. It's a nice back-up whenever KK is down as it is the only other thrill ride in the area.

After about 10 minutes the Intamin Strata opened again and I entered the queue line. It is really frustrating that you cannot see the launch and the whole coaster very well from the line. Makes the wait more boring and for such a coaster this is a complete waste of an opportunity

I inherited of a back row seat for my first ride. The launch started smoothly but ended up very shaky. The rest went on as a blur to me. The ride ends so fast! I rode it again at night at the front and it was much smoother which makes the speed much more enjoyable.

Green Lantern actually delivered some good forces. It's a shame the whole experience is ruined by the uncomfortable standing position, slight rattle and some headbanging.

On the other hand, I really enjoyed Superman: Ultimate Flight! I know people find its layout boring after the Pretzel Loop, but I found those turns really fun and graceful. I had mixed feelings about the flying position after riding Batwing but I warmed up on it a lot after Superman: UF. As a side-note I like how the cars are in inverted position rotate to the flying position in the station instead of the lying down position found on Vekoma flyers, it is much more elegant and impressive that way.

I ended the day with 6 re-rides on El Toro and one final ride at night on KK as I wrote before. El Toro broke down once again in the middle of this, which makes me think Intamin is this super hot but unreliable mistress. Still my favourite manufacturer though <3

So my final thoughts on SFGAdv: it was a very enjoyable day there! The park has a very strong line-up of coasters, and while SFNE has a superior Top 2 in my opinion, Great Adventure has much better "secondary" coasters to enjoy. It is my favourite Six Flags of the three I have visited, indeed because it has so much to offer.

Thanks for reading my Trip Reports and I hope you enjoyed the read! I'll be back in September with a TR of Parc Astérix back in my home France

 

[Ian]

Re: Portemine's USA Adventures - Part 3 (Six Flags Great Adv

Great report. Plenty of solid creds there. I think it's the first time I've not seen the word "ghetto" in a SFAm report.

Can't believe you brushed over Bizarro with an average wave of your hand...it's the best coaster at SFGAdv IMO!