Wednesday, June 23, 2010

More Flags, More Fun at Six Flags America Part 2


This is the second part of our look at Six Flags America. If you missed Part 1, start here!

The Gotham City section of Six Flags America features some of the park's biggest and baddest roller coasters. From atop the Sodor Carnival Ferris Wheel I got this shot of two of those rides:

Through the supports of the massive Superman: Ride of Steel you can see Batwing off in the distance.

Batwing is a flying coaster, where riders begin in a sitting position and then are reclined so they are on their backs. At the top of the lift the train flips over and then you really are in a flying position. The ride is intense, and features several inversions.

Superman stands almost 200 ft. tall and has a first drop, seen above, of 205 ft. The drop is steep, and provides wonderful air-time all the way down. From there the ride takes you on a high speed, super smooth ride through more air time hills, along with plenty of twists and turns.

I've been on the ride's sister at Darien Lake, so I did know what to expect before climbing aboard. I had great memories of the Darien version, and Superman at Six Flags America held up to those memories with ease.

Gotham City also has a launched roller coaster, named Joker's Jinx. The ride launches the train directly out of the station at 60 m.p.h. and up into the twisted 'spaghetti bowl' seen above. Some years ago the ride's restraints were changed to simple lap bars, making the ride considerably more enjoyable and comfortable. There's nothing quite like watching the guests' faces in the station when that train launches!

I was quite bummed that Skull Mountain, located in the park's Skull Island section, was closed the day I visited. The unique water flume ride takes guests on a journey through dark tunnels and features a large drop through the Skull seen above. I'll have to experience it on a future visit!

Skull Island also features Roar, a wooden roller coaster. This ride is seriously twisted! Its track crosses over itself many times throughout the ride, making it hard to know what's coming next. There's also a neat section that's like a tunnel, but with open sides. It makes the speed of the ride seem even faster than it already is.

In addition to the brand new Thomas Town, the park also has the Looney-Tunes Movie Town area for the small ones. It's filled with smaller attractions that kids will love, all themed to the Looney-Tunes gang.

If free falling toward the ground is your type of thing, the park has the perfect attraction for you - the Tower of Doom. You sit in an open air car, feet dangling below you, and are slowly taken up to the top. From there you know what happens - whoosh and down you go!

The Wild One is the most historic coaster at the park, and also one of the few wooden rides to ever to have moved locations. The ride originally operated at Paragon Park in Massachusetts. When that park closed, Wild World, as it was known then, moved the entire ride to Maryland.

The ride's been operating here ever since, and remains one of the most popular coasters at the park. It's been reprofiled a bit over the years, but is still giving a great ride. I certainly enjoyed it.

There's plenty more to see at Six Flags America, but that's all the room we have for photos here. If you want to check out the entire gallery of shots I took while there, check out the NewsPlusNotes Facebook page.

And, if you want to plan your own trip to Six Flags America start with their official website - a wealth of information.


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