Six Flags New England- July 6th, 2018

From July 5th to July 9th, my Mom and I had visited four amusement parks in the US Northeast, those being Great Escape (Six Flags), Six Flags New England, Six Flags Great Adventure (Day 3 & Day 4), and Knoebels.

Day Two- July 6th, 2018:

After waking up at our hotel in Enfield, Connecticut, we made our way up to Six Flags New England located in Agawam, Massachusetts. Six Flags New England features many rides and attractions within its 235 acres. The park dates back to 1870 when it was known as "Gallup's Grove" until 1886. Then from 1887 to 1911 it was known as "Riverside Grove", which saw the addition of some early mechanical rides. From 1912 to 1999, the park was then known as "Riverside Amusement Park", home to an array of thrill rides from various eras. Then at the start of the 21st century, Riverside Amusement Park was transformed into Six Flags New England. Since then, many new and exciting attractions have joined many of the classic attractions that have been at the park for many years.

Now with a little bit of history out of the way, let us move onto our day at Six Flags New England! It had started out with a downpour just before opening, which allowed for a quiet day at the park. The rain had delayed the opening of the rides by more than half an hour as they had to be dried off and tested before opening to visitors. While waiting, I had chatted with one of the park's marketing staff who was conducting surveys regarding the park. After waiting a while, the clouds began to clear and the rides had opened for the day. While there, I had rode 11 of the 12 roller coasters which operate at the park as well as many of the unique flat rides that the park has to offer. Overall, our day at Six Flags New England was amazing! I hope to get back one day soon!

Shortly after we arrived in the parking lot at Six Flags New England, some dark clouds had rolled in, causing a downpour to occur. We waited the downpour out in the car before proceeding to the main entrance of the park.

Since Six Flags New England's parking lot is across the street from the park, you can either walk to the pedestrian bridge that takes you to the main entrance, or you can take a tram, like we had.

Here is a view of the entrance to Six Flags New England from the pedestrian bridge.

After a while, the rain began to dissipate, allowing for the rides to open for the day. While waiting for the roller coasters to open, I had taken a ride on some really fast bumper cars and a Scrambler. Here is a waterfall at the base of the New England Sky Screamer.

A little over an hour after the park had opened for the day, the roller coasters had opened. My first roller coaster ride at Six Flags New England was the Wicked Cyclone. Manufactured by Rocky Mountain Construction (RMC), the Wicked Cyclone features a 109 foot 78° drop which allows the two 24-passenger trains to navigate the remainder of the 3,320 feet of twisted and airtime-filled track which contains three hair raising inversions throughout the duration of the ride. Throughout the course of the ride, the Wicked Cyclone reaches speeds up to 55 mph (88.5 km/h).

Here I am taking my first ride on the Wicked Cyclone! It was a truly amazing hybrid coaster, featuring steel track and a wooden support structure. While the Wicked Cyclone had opened in 2015, the ride structure dates back to 1983, as it was a wooden coaster known as the Cyclone, which operated until July 2014 due to reports of roughness. After it's closure, RMC came in and made it the beautiful creation it is today! Also, every time I rode Wicked Cyclone, I did so with my hands up the entire ride!

My second roller coaster ride of the day was on the spinning roller coaster, Pandemonium. This spinning roller coaster was manufactured by Gerstlauer and has been at the park since 2005, originally being named "Mr. Six's Pandemonium" for the first two seasons of operation. It was a fun spinning coaster with many turns and quick drops.

After riding the Pandemonium, we headed over towards the Flashback, the park's Vekoma Boomerang coaster. On our way over, we came across this interesting Looney Toons water fountain.

After getting on the Flashback, I headed towards Six Flags new England's classic wooden coaster, the Thunderbolt. The Thunderbolt (originally known as "Cyclone") had formerly operated at the 1939/1940 New York World's Fair before arriving at the then Riverside in 1941. Since then, it has called Six Flags New England home. The Thunderbolt features 2,600 feet of wooden track, taking 24 passengers 70 feet above the ground, before dropping into the figure-eight track configuration, reaching a maximum speed of 40 mph (64 km/h). It gave a smooth ride which allowed me to ride with my hands up the entire ride!

After getting on a few more rides, it was time to ride Superman: The Ride.

Superman: The Ride had opened in 2000 and is Six Flags New England's tallest roller coaster, standing at 208 feet tall, with a drop of 221 feet.

Superman: The Ride features many airtime-filled and banked sections of track among its 5,400 feet of track as it reaches speeds up to 77 mph (124 km/h).

In addition to the airtime hills and banked curves, Superman: The Ride also features an underground tunnel with some awesome yellow neon lights, which kind of give the feeling of tunnel vision. From 2000-2008, the coaster, manufactured by Intamin was known as "Superman- Ride of Steel". For the 2009 season, the coaster received a re-theme to Superman's evil clone, Bizarro. For six years, the coaster had operated with purple and blue track, along with many special effects, including fire along certain sections of the track. For the 2016 season, the coaster's theme was reverted back to Superman, thus receiving the name "Superman: The Ride".

After taking a ride on Superman: The Ride, I ventured through the rest of Gotham City, catching a ride on the newly re-themed inverted coaster, Riddler Revenge, the park's Wild Mouse coaster, Gotham City Gauntlet Escape from Arkham Asylum, and the park's 4-D coaster, The Joker. After that, I took a ride on Six Flags New England's floor-less coaster, Batman- The Dark Knight.

Batman- The Dark Knight was manufactured by Bolliger and Mabillard (B&M) and opened in 2002. It features 2,600 feet of track containing five inversions which the passenger train navigates at speeds up to 55 mph (88.5 km/h) after descending from a height of 117.8 feet. Throughout the ride, your legs dangle safely above the track.

Here is one of the 28-passenger trains passing through the dive loop inversion on Batman- The Dark Knight

Here is another shot of the passenger train passing through a corkscrew inversion.

As mentioned, I had captured a ride on The Joker, a 4-D Free Spin coaster manufactured by S&S. This fun and compact coaster features single eight passenger cars with seats that freely rotate throughout the duration of the ride. Once the car dispatches from the station, the seats begin to swivel back and forth, as they ascend a 120 foot vertical lift hill. Once it reaches the top, the car then dives down a small drop, causing the seats to flip upside down.It then navigates to more small hills before quickly diving down to the next level of track, which features another set of hills which allows the seats to flip even more. From there the car then swoops down another drop which hits one more hill, allowing the seats to rock back and forth before arriving back in the station. This quick coaster ride features fins placed along the track which causes the seats to flip as the car goes over the hill. I personally found The Joker to be very fun and enjoyable!

 

Here is a view of the newly re-themed for 2018 Riddler Revenge. This Vekoma SLC (inverted coaster) was previously known as "Mind Eraser" from 1997-2017. In 2017 it had received new trains with vest restraints, ultimately providing an enjoyable ride.

After riding more rides and getting a bite to eat, we headed back towards the Crack Axle canyon section of the park so I could get on a few rare and unique rides there.

Up in Crack Axle Canyon is the ride "Houdini- The Great Escape". This ride, manufactured by Vekoma opened at the park in 1999 and features a pre-show themed to the great Houdini leading to the ride section, which is an awesome illusion. The whole experience is great! I would recommend anyone to ride Houdini- The Great Escape when visiting Six Flags New England! Your senses will be reeling with confusion!

After a bit of downtime, the Tomahawk finally opened. This ride is a rare Frisbee ride manufactured by Huss and has been operating at the park since 1999. It features a disc of inward facing seats that rotates as the central arm swings back and forth, reaching heights of over 70 feet. Prior to riding the Tomahawk, I rode the Rock n' Rodeo, a flat ride also located in Crack Axle Canyon, which was manufactured by SBF Visa and has been at the park since 2016.

Throughout the day, work was being done on Goliath, the park's Giant Inverted Boomerang coaster manufactured by Vekoma. Since it was getting later in the day, we thought it was not going to open.

I decided it was time to fly high, 408 feet to be exact, on the New England Sky Screamer. Having opened in 2014, The New England Sky Screamer rises over 400 feet reaching speeds up to 43 mph (69 km/h) as passengers ride seats of two suspended by chains. The New England Sky Screamer was the tallest swing tower ride in the world, until the Orlando Star Flyer opened in early 2018, standing 450 feet tall. The New England Sky Screamer was manufactured by Australian based amusement ride manufacturer, Funtime.

After taking in the nice views of the surrounding area from the New England Sky Screamer, I decided to take another ride on the Wicked Cyclone. Here is the train passing through a zero-g inversion.

Here is an interesting shot of the Flashback with the sun shining through its track.

To our surprise, Goliath had opened, so I got in line in order to give it a ride! Once the passengers board the train, they get taken backwards up a 191.6 foot tall 90° vertical lift hill while seated beneath the track. Once at the top, the train drops down the hill at speeds up to 65.6 mph (106 km/h) before entering the first set of inversions, the cobra roll. From there, the train quickly navigates the vertical loop before heading up the second vertical spike. The train then slowly reaches the top of the second vertical spike and is released again, to race along the track again, backwards!

Here is the train navigating the second tower. I am somewhere on Goliath at the time of the photo was taken.

If you look closely, you can see me in the second last row as the train returns back to the station. It was quite thrilling!

In 2012, Goliath had opened at Six Flags New England. From 2001-2011, it had formerly operated at Six Flags Magic Mountain as "Déjà Vu".

Here is a look at the top of Scream's tower. In the photo is the down tower, which blasts you down towards the ground from nearly 200 feet high.

After catching a ride on Scream, we took another stroll through the Rockville section of the park. It features sights and sounds of the 50s. It was a very nicely themed section of the park.

Here is a fast look at Superman: The Ride's train as it enters into the tunnel.

Here is another view of Scream. This photo shows the turbo shot tower, which blasts you up and down. The third tower, the up tower was closed during my visit.

The turbo drop tower was really fun and the best of the towers on Scream.

In the Rockville section of the park, is the Fireball ride, manufactured by Larson. It loops passengers head-over heels around 70 feet in the air. While the ride was great, the theming for the ride was also great.

Here is a view of the 1909 Illions Grand Carousel. In the morning while it was raining, my Mom and I took a spin on this timeless classic. From 1909 to 1939 or so, this carousel had operated at Coney Island in New York. Since then, it has operated at Six Flags New England.

While Six Flags New England is home to some dynamic thrill rides, it is also home to some nice landscaping.

Here is the New England Sky Screamer soaring high above the ground below.

As the sun began to set, the park came alive at night with an array of lights on many of the rides.

The Grand Carousel looked very beautiful in the evening sun.

After a great day at Six Flags New England, we decided it was time to head back to the hotel.

Here is one last look at the main entrance of Six Flags New England. Up next is our visit to Six Flags Great Adventure! Stay tuned! :-)

La Ronde- May 19th and 20th, 2018

Over the Victoria Day Long weekend, my Mom and I ventured to Montreal to visit La Ronde for the first time! We arrived in Montreal on Friday May 18th and visited La Ronde on May 19th and 20th.

During our first day at La Ronde (season opening day), the crowds were light due to the great chance of rain, which allowed me to get on many rides before the rain had arrived around 4pm. Also, that day, I had gotten my first ever Six Flags Gold pass processed which will come into great use later this season! On Sunday, the crowds were a little heavier as it was mostly sunny and quite warm. Throughout Sunday, I was able to re-ride many of the rides and coasters that I had rode the previous day. Also on Sunday afternoon, I had met up with a fellow amusement park enthusiast, Marc. We rode rides and discussed amusement parks up until the park closed for the evening. Now, on to the photos of our trip!

We arrived bright and early for our first visit to La Ronde. The park opened at 10:30am that day. Here we are waiting for the parking lot to open.

From the Village parking lot at La Ronde, you can get some great views of Goliath, a B&M hyper coaster.

Here is a look at Goliath's lift hill and first drop from the parking lot.

Here is a look at La Ronde's second entrance, the Village entrance.

Here is La Ronde's gondola wheel, the Grande Roue. It is a Giant Wheel manufactured by Vekoma of the Netherlands. It has been offering visitors great views of the park since 1984.

A view of Goliath's first drop through the trees!

During our trip, we discovered that the Red-Winged Blackbirds were quite aggressive in Quebec. We were swarmed by many on Friday and Saturday! Here is one jumping down from a barrier in the parking lot.

While waiting for the park to open, I took this creative shot of the entrance looking through the side mirror of my car.

La Ronde had some very nice landscaping, especially in front of the back entrance.

Nearing opening time, Goliath began to go through some test runs. 

After the park opened for the day, I had rode Goliath, making it my first ride of he day and at La Ronde. It is a roller coaster with a ton of airtime. Manufactured by B&M, Goliath has been operating at La Ronde since 2006. It stands 174.8 feet tall, making it the tallest coaster at the park. My Mom had captured this photo while I was riding Goliath.

After riding Goliath, we began to head in the direction of the Season Pass Processing Centre. Along the way, I managed to get on a couple of rides. Here I am on Demon.

The Demon is a phenomenal thrill ride manufactured by Mondial. While a used ride, the Demon came to La Ronde in 2014.

Being a "Roll Over" model, the Demon flips and holds passengers upside down on many different angles throughout the duration of the ride.

After riding the Demon, and the all-new for 2018, Tourbillon, we went and got our passes processed. After a short wait at the season pass processing centre, we were on our way to more rides once again! Somewhere up there way up high, I am up there on the Vol Ultime, a 148 foot tall Star Flyer manufactured by Funtime.

After a ride on Vol Ultime, it was time to take another sky high ride, this time on the Orbite. The Orbite manufactured by S&S, launches passengers 192 feet upwards upwards in a matter of just seconds. It has been operating at the park since 1999. If you look closely, you may be able to see me on there!

After riding Orbite, I went right to Disco Ronde, a classic HUSS Breakdance ride which has been operating at the park since 1986. As the ride operates, heat pounding music plays to complete the overall ride experience. If you enjoy rides that spin, this one is for you! While on the Disco Ronde, my Mom had captured this photo.

After riding the Disco Ronde, I then went to Vampire, a rather forceful and enjoyable inverted coaster manufactured by B&M.

After riding Vampire, I went next door to Titan, a Zamperla Giant Discovery Frisbee ride. Here is a view of the impressive entrance to the ride. 

After getting on many more rides and attractions around the park, we decided to take a relaxing ride on the Mini Rail, an original attraction that dates back to the days of Expo 67, which turned into La Ronde the following year.

The Mini Rail travels around the park, giving passengers a nice view of the park. Monstre, the park's wooden coaster stands tall in this photo.

Here is a view of Ednör - L'Attaque from the Mini Rail, the park's Vekoma SLC which has been operating at La Ronde since 2010.

Here is a nice close-up view of the Toboggan Nordique from the Mini Rail.

Also from the Mini Rail, I was able to get a view of the Gravitor, a Chance Falling Star ride added to the park in 2016 in the Adventure Avenue section. The Gravitor goes back and forth before going over the top, giving riders a sense of airtime! The Gravitor had originally operated at Six Flags St. Louis until 2015 as the "Rush Street Flyer".

Here is a view of the classic Condor, another one of many rides from the HUSS collection. The Condor takes passengers on an 88 foot high spinning adventure while giving passengers a nice view of La Ronde.

Here's a look at the Demon while taking a relaxing ride on the Mini Rail.

Before arriving at the station located at the park of the park, the train on the Mini Rail slowed down. It allowed me to get a perfect shot of passengers enjoying an exhilarating and airtime filled ride on Goliath before hitting the final brake run.

After taking a ride on the Mini Rail and boarding a few of the other rides, I headed over to La Ronde's original looping coaster, the Super Manège. This coaster, manufactured by Vekoma has been operating at La Ronde since 1981, flipping passengers upside down, not once but twice through its corkscrew inversions. If you look closely, you can see me riding up front as the train headed down the first drop. It surprisingly gave a decent ride with a bit of unexpected amounts of airtime.

After riding Super Manège, I ventured over to Boomerang. The Boomerang was one of the first Boomerang model coasters manufactured by Vekoma when it had opened in 1984. It unfortunately has not aged too well over the years, giving a somewhat uncomfortable ride. Thankfully, the Bat at Canada's Wonderland (opened 1987), the same ride model, had aged much better than the Boomerang at La Ronde. I am somewhere on the Boomerang when this photo was captured.

After riding the Boomerang, I rode the Manitou. This ride, manufactured by Zamperla provides a swinging and spinning ride while seated facing inwards. Manitou opened at La Ronde in 2003.

Here is a back view of me on the Toboggan Nordique, La Ronde's wild mouse coaster. The Toboggan Nordique was manufactured by Zamperla and opened ta the park in 2003.

Up next was a ride on Le Monstre! As Canada's longest wooden coaster (both tracks of 3,996.1 ft and 4,025.6 ft in length, respectively) and Canada's only dueling wooden coaster, Le Monstre provides an excellent and amazingly smooth ride as the train races along the track through the tangled wooden structure. Backseat rides are truly amazing on this underrated wooden coaster that dates back to 1985 and 1986!

Here is the Phoenix, a Flying Scooter ride manufactured by Larson. It is located in the Avenue Adventure section of the park.

La Ronde's new for 2018 attraction is the Tourbillon. It is an awesome new version of the Tilt-A-Whirl which spins a lot more than the older models which were manufactured originally by Sellner Manufacturing. The Tilt-A-Whirl is now manufactured by Larson. Since I am a huge fan of Tilt-A-Whirl rides, I greatly enjoyed it! 

The blue train on Le Monstre can be seen here racing along the twisted wooden track.

Unfortunately the Spirale was closed all throughout the weekend during our visits. It would have provided a great view of the park, but it unfortunately was not ready for the season just yet. The Spirale is reported to rise 330 feet in the air as the observation cabin rotates up the tower, providing a panoramic view of La Ronde from high above. The Spirale was manufactured by Von Roll and dates back to 1967.

After getting a ride on La Ronde's indoor roller coaster, Dragon, the rain began to come down quite steadily. Luckily, the crowds were light on opening day, so I was able to ride a lot of rides before the heavy rain had arrived. After this photo was captured, we had left for the evening even though the rides were still operating in the pouring rain. It was great first day!

Our second day at La Ronde started out somewhat cloudy, which kept the crowds away. On Sunday, the park opened at 11am, so we had waited a while before we were let in.

Once the park had opened for the day, we were greeted by this large interesting sculpture which is located at the front entrance. 

At La Ronde's main entrance, there were two large water fountains lining the pathway which had two fountains in both. Interestingly enough, they sort of looked like swimming pools. I guess that is why the park had put a "no swimming" sign on them.  ;-)

Along the fountains were some beautiful tulips.

At the front entrance of La Ronde is a very large map.

As we were waiting for the rides to open for the day, I noticed that the former log flume's lift hill, La Pitoune was still standing. I was informed that it will be left there as a memorial to commemorate the former iconic ride as it was an original attraction of Expo 67 and had operated there for 49 years.

Here is a view of Vampire before it had opened for the day. It was manufactured by B&M and is a clone of the other "Batman" model coasters at other Six Flags Parks. What makes it unique from the other "Batman" model coasters is that it is mirrored. It provides a very forceful ride along its compact track as it sends you head-over-heels five times.

Here is Vertigo, a ride manufactured by Zamperla that loops upside down many times. It hadn't quite opened yet for the day at the time of this photo.

Here is one of the two trains on Vampire sending passengers through a corkscrew inversion. I made Vampire my first ride of the day. It sure got my blood flowing!

Here is Vertigo operating. Just like any Zamperla Hawk, it has some nice looping and hangtime action!

Here is Titan in full swing against the cloudy sky!

Gravitor is a nice flat ride for thrill seekers of all ages.

Passengers also get flipped upside down for a total of five times on Ednör - L'Attaque. This coaster began its life at the former Six Flags AstroWorld as "Serial Thriller" when it debuted in 1999. Once the park closed in 2005, it was then shipped to Great Escape in New York where it was stored until it was then shipped to La Ronde where it opened in 2010. While Vekoma SLC's are notorious for being rough, Ednör - L'Attaque gave a decent ride with little to no discomfort.

While it was too cool to ride water rides this time of our visit in my opinion, some visitors of La Ronde took the plunge on Le Splash, a splash boat ride. It definitely provides a soaking experience!

In the mid-afternoon, the clouds had cleared and made way for a nice sunny day for the remainder of our visit. Here is the Carousel which is located near the front entrance of La Ronde.

This photo showcases some of the original theming of the park from the days of Expo 67. Fort Edmonton was a rather interesting section of La Ronde. It felt like an old western town. 

Here is another view of Fort Edmonton at La Ronde.

Looking from Fort Edmonton, you can see the lake which is in the middle of La Ronde. The Grande Rue, Catapult, and Ednör - L'Attaque line the edge of it, making it rather picturesque.

Here is a closer look at the Ednör - L'Attaque which goes over a portion of the lake.

Orbite may be small in comparison to the other power tower rides out there, but it still packs a punch!

Marc had eventually arrived at La Ronde by mid-afternoon. Since he had to go to the Season Pass Processing Centre to activate his dining pass, my Mom and I waited nearby. While we waited, I happened to notice that the sign for the park's former stand-up coaster was still up behind a fence. The Cobra had operated at La Ronde from 1995-2016. It was eventually demolished during the 2017-2018 off-season. Prior to operating at La Ronde, it had operated as "Stand Up" at Skara Sommarland of Sweden from 1988 to 1994. Cobra was only one of two remaining Intamin stand-up coasters while it was still operating.

The Mini Rail runs above paths and nearby other rides.

Here is a view of some of La Ronde's classic rides, which are the Pirate and the Condor.

After taking a couple rides on Vampire, Monstre, and Goliath, Marc and I decided to take a ride on the Grande Roue to get a nice view of the park. Manufactured by Vekoma, the Grande Roue rises over 140 feet tall as it overlooks the nearby lake. The Grande Roue has been at the park since 1984.

From the top of the Grande Roue, you can get a nice view of La Ronde and the rides which operate there.

Here is a look at the other side of the park from the top of the Grande Roue with the Monstre, Super Manege, and the Boomerang roller coasters standing out.

Here is a closer view of the Titan and the Vampire from the Grande Roue.

As the other cars were loading, we had the pleasure of being stopped at the top. From there, we were treated with some nice views of Goliath. Being on an island does have its benefits as you can capture some unique photos.

Here is one of Goliath's trains cresting the airtime filled hills as seen from the Grande Roue.

Once back on the ground, we sat around and talked for a little while before we went and finished our day off at La Ronde with another ride on Monstre and Goliath. Here is a look at a cow outside of one of the Moozoo ice cream booths at La Ronde. They serve great soft serve ice cream! 

After another great day at La Ronde, we said goodbye to Marc as the park was closing for the evening. Just before we left La Ronde, my Mom and I took this photo to end off our amazing trip. The following day (Monday), we made our way back home. I thank you for checking out our photos of our fun weekend getaway to La Ronde! :-)