Last ride on #GeorgiaCyclone at Six Flags Over Georgia
A few weeks ago, Six Flags made the announcement that the Georgia Cyclone was to be closed on July 30th. So yesterday, my father and I made a trip to Six Flags Over Georgia.
Since my dad had a free ticket, I only needed to buy a single ticket. Purchasing SFOG tickets online may initally appear to be a good deal, claiming "$25 off" front gate prices, but it's too good to be true. Six Flags continues to charge an asinine $9~15 "processing fee" for online purchases. Save yourself some trouble and just bring an empty Coke can to the ticket plaza. A one-day at-the-gate SFOG ticket with Coca Cola can discount is $55.11, including tax.
Is buying a single ticket online a day in advance worth your time? No, it is not.
We got the Cyclone over with first as it is near the entrance. For a ride that has always been a little rough, it was rough. Abundant peeling paint and rotten catwalks were just some of the signs that the Cyclone has seen better days. The park has yet to announce a replacement, though that didn't stop us from guessing. Dad had recently visited Cedar Point and saw that they were converting one of their wood coasters to steel, so he figures SFOG is doing the same.
If the Cyclone is being refurbished, it would be in good company. The Ninja was recently repainted in blue & grey (formerly red/black), new restraints, and rebadged as "Blue Hawk". The new restraints reduce the amount of head-knocking and slightly improve the experience. The new name is generic enough to fit in with the nearby Metropolis theming.
DC Comics continues its assault on the park's original 'flag' theming. The "Spanish" section is pretty much gone, divided between DC and "Bugs Bunny Boomtown" kiddie areas. I wonder if the Cyclone-replacement will have some DC-licensed name... "Wonder Woman's Golden Lasso"? It'll go well with the Johnny Rockets which is also located in the "British" section. Meanwhile, in "Confederate", er "Peachtree Square", the "Plantation House" chicken restaurant has been replaced by a lame Texas-themed (WTF?!?! This is SFOG, not SFOT!) sports bar.
One thing that hadn't changed are the employees. My father remembers when working at SFOG was fun, but it became a daily grind of monotony by the time I worked there. Clealry the latter atmosphere has persisted. If you treat employees like replacable cogs, they stop acting like people. As we ate lunch, we joked that Flash from "Zootopia" was working the food line while Priscilla was on register. Pretty much every role from admissions to ride operations was performed with minimal interest nor effort. At least the bathrooms were clean, so kudos to grounds.
The overall park experience was... okay, not great, just okay. In the end, we accomplished what we set out to do... one last ride on the Georgia Cyclone.
Since my dad had a free ticket, I only needed to buy a single ticket. Purchasing SFOG tickets online may initally appear to be a good deal, claiming "$25 off" front gate prices, but it's too good to be true. Six Flags continues to charge an asinine $9~15 "processing fee" for online purchases. Save yourself some trouble and just bring an empty Coke can to the ticket plaza. A one-day at-the-gate SFOG ticket with Coca Cola can discount is $55.11, including tax.
Is buying a single ticket online a day in advance worth your time? No, it is not.
We got the Cyclone over with first as it is near the entrance. For a ride that has always been a little rough, it was rough. Abundant peeling paint and rotten catwalks were just some of the signs that the Cyclone has seen better days. The park has yet to announce a replacement, though that didn't stop us from guessing. Dad had recently visited Cedar Point and saw that they were converting one of their wood coasters to steel, so he figures SFOG is doing the same.
If the Cyclone is being refurbished, it would be in good company. The Ninja was recently repainted in blue & grey (formerly red/black), new restraints, and rebadged as "Blue Hawk". The new restraints reduce the amount of head-knocking and slightly improve the experience. The new name is generic enough to fit in with the nearby Metropolis theming.
DC Comics continues its assault on the park's original 'flag' theming. The "Spanish" section is pretty much gone, divided between DC and "Bugs Bunny Boomtown" kiddie areas. I wonder if the Cyclone-replacement will have some DC-licensed name... "Wonder Woman's Golden Lasso"? It'll go well with the Johnny Rockets which is also located in the "British" section. Meanwhile, in "Confederate", er "Peachtree Square", the "Plantation House" chicken restaurant has been replaced by a lame Texas-themed (WTF?!?! This is SFOG, not SFOT!) sports bar.
One thing that hadn't changed are the employees. My father remembers when working at SFOG was fun, but it became a daily grind of monotony by the time I worked there. Clealry the latter atmosphere has persisted. If you treat employees like replacable cogs, they stop acting like people. As we ate lunch, we joked that Flash from "Zootopia" was working the food line while Priscilla was on register. Pretty much every role from admissions to ride operations was performed with minimal interest nor effort. At least the bathrooms were clean, so kudos to grounds.
The overall park experience was... okay, not great, just okay. In the end, we accomplished what we set out to do... one last ride on the Georgia Cyclone.