Friday, September 30, 2016

.....If it wasn't for Wild One

Oh... Six Flags America.
Once a major up and coming park in the Six Flags chain.. Now a forgotten wasteland of hand-me-down rides from other Six Flags parks that didn't want them anymore. At one point in time the park was adding one or more new coaster every single year... but come 2001 it suddenly stopped and Six Flags started ripping out rides (and coaster) across the park (Six Flags parks as a whole did this.. And it really ruined a lot of awesome parks) While in the last few years most of the investments here have gone to the ever growing Hurricane Harbor water park.. most of the rides in the dry park have been relocation's from elsewhere or  kiddie/family rides in nature and this also left more than a few battle scars around the property. Maybe one day Six Flags can turn things around here and bring it back to the so-called Glory Days of 99-00 when the park was so promising and had a lot of unique, one of a kind, cutting edge rides.
(While I know it'll never happen.. I can still dream) 
Yeah, somehow… Outside of Six Flags New England… it's probably my visited Six Flags park with some 20 visits racked up... and now over at least three different seasons… I’ve made multiple visits here within the same year!
Maannn…. If it wasn't for Wild One
(or having a season pass)
The drive from Frederick to the park was just over an hour
Woo, uh, Six Flags America.
Getting to the park later in the afternoon, most of the crowds had already arrived and since it was super hot out.. Most everyone was in the water park.
Walking down the end of the ‘Main Street’ area I passed the Zamp Flying Carousel.
(In all my visits here, I think I’ve only ridden it once or twice)
((Jeff would shame me for riding it anyways))
Since my last trip here the park rethemed the area around Wild One with a ‘New Orleans’ overlay… Including the addition of Ragin' Cajun. A hand-me-down Zamp Mouse from Six Flags Great America.
It's actually the second coaster in the park to come from the park
(And yeah, I rode both there.. And here.. as well)
Opened with the New Orleans expansion was this set of Larson flyers, French Quarter Flyers
And the parks Falling Star was renamed and themed into the Zydeco Zinger
Added in 2015, Bourbon Street Fireball became the park's
”10th roller coaster”
lololololol
(I skipped it.. This time around)
Yeah… These Larson Super Loops… aren't coasters.
But hey, Wild One is!
One of my favorite wood coasters… and a transplant from Massachusetts
So.. I had to take it for a lap
Making my way out of the area I took a quick ride on Tower of Doom… Uh, make that Voodoo Drop.
Working my way to the far end of the park I passed Penguin's Blizzard River…
closed, despite being like 100*s out.
This poor looking Smoking Section once housed the parks Avalanche/Flying Bobs (after it was moved from next to Joker’s exit) but before that.. Held one of the extremely few ‘custom’ themed Chance Chaos rides... themed here as Krypton Comet. What a shame :(
(One of my favorite flat rides)
LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL
What.A.JOKE.
Six Flags + VR on popular coasters.
hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!
New for this year, all the Six Flags parks added a 'VR Coaster' using Samsung Gear VR.. and in doing such made rides with rather good put-through come to a virtual stand still. (and in some cases made rides do as little as 5 dispatches in an HOUR!) What should have been a line of maybe 15 minutes for superman stretched well over an hour. I saw a train cycle... from the ride entrance... Walked all the way back to Batwing, rode it, walked back.. and that same train was still waiting on the final block to reenter the station (because the other was still loading.......)
So.. I skipped it.
Yeah, I'm so glad Kraken at SeaWorld is gonna start this next year..........
Oh hey, and the train is now an all the time attraction... Rather than just for guests using the private function grounds.
Woo, Batwing... Still in time-out at Six Flags America... but I try my best to give it the courtesy ride each time I visit.
Also took Jokers Jinx for a ride. The coaster was a walk on.. yet the dispatch times were pretty horrible. You can see here the train is basically empty and yet the staff have failed to lower the lap bars despite the second train having already completed its run and is now just baking in the summer sun.
(meaning, they'd probably be better off just running one train)
Typical Six Flags.
Bitching aside... I like the ride and its always a fun coaster.
Still surprised the park has hung onto its Round-Up
The remains of Typhoon Sea Coaster... The park couldn't even bother to remove the entire thing when they put in Apocalypse a few summers ago.
<3 Intamin Flying Dutchman <3
Apocalypse, the first coaster B&M ever built
(Although not at this park but rather Six Flags Great America)
I walked up to take a ride but it went down.. So I walked away and headed over to Roar.
But once I got there.. decided I was too lazy to wait in line for it.. So I just kinda... walked away from it.
Ehh
Shipwreck Falls... Had I not been flying out a few hours later.. I might have taken it for a lap.. Since it was so GD hot out.
Rodeo, with its awesome Cow Cars
And Renegade Rapids, the parks raft ride... That I hadn't ridden in some +10 years.
(And while today would be no different.. I actually would end up riding it twice, about a month after this photo was taken.. ha)
Lastly.... 
Did...not...ride
(Oh hey, Mind Eraser)

Uh.. yeah. It really is a shame a park that could be rather amazing is left to just rely on locals using the water park. Six Flags even put the park up for sale a few years back... Maybe had someone else stepped in.. The park could shine... but that doesn't mean it cant under Six Flags rule... It just wont.
After leaving the park and getting a few drinks and snacks from a gas station near the park I headed back to DC to drop off my rental and get myself to the airport for my early evening flight back to Orlando. The drive back to Reagan from Six Flags is just under an hour.. but I also gave myself some extra time to check out some of the overlook stops on the George Washington Memorial Parkway I passed earlier in the week. (and also built in time for DC rush hour traffic.. haha)

Bonus Vine: Rides at Six Flags

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