Park Review
|
Upper Marlboro, Maryland July 17, 2001 I ended up going to Six Flags America for about five hours on the 7th. I got there right at opening, used the Fast Pass system, rode every coaster once (plus Typhoon,) and left (I was getting sunburned, tired, and irritable at those around me). Ratings are 1-5, with an asterisk for special favorites. See the coaster section of http://www.childsfamily.com for more on the ratings setup - though I don't have any of the new listings from this trip report up there yet. I believe this visit brings my coaster total to 113. Superman: Ride Of Steel - my first ride on any of these. A great coaster, period. I liked every moment of it. Fast, powerful, not at all subtle. 5* Batwing - my first ride on any of these, too. I enjoyed it far more than expected. Despite the relative lack of speed and shortness, it is really very intense. A good job of using the astonishing visuals to scare you without really having to do that much, forces-wise. 5 Joker's Jinx - first ride on these Premiers (I've been on Speed). Painful, boring. Cool launch. I'd like it a lot more without the OTSR, a la the Flights of Fear now. 2 Roar - first GCI. Didn't do a lot for me, though it was a positive experience overall - beautiful to look at, but really lacking the power and rhythm of CCIs. 4 Wild One - finally one I've been on before. It's still a great coaster, with minimal braking (less than in '97, if memory serves). 5* Mind Eraser - I still like its location and find it disorienting in a satisfying way, but it's rougher than it was last time I was there ('97). 4 Two Face - some headbanging, but more enjoyable than the first-gen boomerangs I've been on. Less of a delay at the top of the second drop than some. 4 Typhoon - weird, weird, weird. I guess I appreciate the effort to do something interesting, but I don't think this is the right outcome. I suspect the other, more genuine coaster-type things (I think maybe Silver Dollar City has one?) work better. This one is just odd. Fun in places, but odd. 3 (I don't count this in my coaster count, though). I think that's all the coasters there. All that come to mind, anyway. The park looks enormously better than it did in '97 (newly Premier- owned then, still called Adventure World). Rides were operated well, employees were surprisingly friendly, the park was clean. Food was as bad as expected. Could use more shade. Stunt shows were laughably acted and underwhelming, but provided a break in the shade. -Bill
|