FLYBOY
"...It's so insane cuz when it's going good it's going great,
I'm Superman with the wind at his back, she's Lois Lane..."
Folks, there's only so many super-heroic taglines I can come up with before I start borrowing/stealing lyrics from Eminem songs. Between all the 'Batmen' and the 'Supermen' rides at Six Flags parks, I'm rapidly running out of clever hooks and catchy lead-ins for these coaster reviews.
This was the first Bolliger & Mabillard flying coaster to open in the USA and only 2nd in the world - following the debut of 'Galactica' (née 'Air') at Alton Towers. Although revolutionary at the time, the "pretzel loop" inversion has now been done to death and can be seen on practically every flyer around the globe. I give this ride props for introducing that fun element to the coaster world, though.
Unlike the bland installation at my local park (SFGAm in northern Chicago), this 'Superman' benefits from some minor yet very tasteful environmental themeing. There's some lovely rock formations and a ^^_tunnel_^^ preceding the in-line twist, not to mention the close encounters with the rocky hillside. In contrast, the 'Ultimate Flight' by me was built on top of a parking lot, which is gross.
This ride has the ability to benefit from a dual loading station that can boost ridership in an effort to reduce wait times. For whatever reason, operations decided not to use it, which defeats the WHOLE POINT of simultaneous loading. I've seen this done on 'Mr Freeze Reverse Blast' and it definitely makes a difference. Excited to see this put into play, I was 'Ultimate-ly' disappointed (see what I did there?)
I haven't ridden the version over at SFGAdv in Jersey but I think it's safe to assume this is the strongest install of the trio in terms of ride layout. However, this installation is plagued with technical issues since it was the first one built. Across two separate days, I noticed ride crews needed to manually lock/unlock restraints. One lady's restraint even came undone during a pre-flight safety check. What the flippity f*ck!?!?
Oh, and the mechanism that tilts the trains from a seated to a flying position makes tons of noise. B&M most likely didn't have all the kinks ironed out at the time, so guests are treated to some lovely screeching sounds as the train exits the station. The ankle braces are rather rough on your shins, much moreso than the 'Superman' at my home park.
Eric S's Six Flags Over Georgia coaster rating : 8th out of 9.
Final verdict --- while this ride showed some great potential on paper, in reality it faltered. Ignoring the 2nd half of the dual loading platform, noisy mechanics, and clumsy/occasionally busted restraints all add up to a rather disappointing coaster experience. Exacerbating matters is that part of the queue is "hidden", so you can't gauge how many people are in line....until you're stuck in the middle of it.
Six Flags Over Georgia had a hit on their hands back in 2002, but this roller coaster is old news nowadays. Oddly, there were trim brakes added at two different points, though neither were activated during my rides. I *did* enjoy the hilly setting of this one, which included some dramatic rock blasting and a sprawling elevation change.
Still though, this isn't an epic custom flyer like 'Tatsu', 'Manta', or 'The Flying Dinosaur' at Universal Japan. Those are likely to elicit a 5* review from me; this one's lucky to get 4*.
I'd recommend riding this if you've yet to experience a flying coaster, otherwise skip it and head to another attraction nearby. read more