PARK HISTORY

Six Flags over Georgia History Timeline

1965 Angus Winne's Great Southwest Corporation purchases 3,000 acres of land near Atlanta, Georgia.

1967:

Six Flags over Georgia, built for $12 million, opens on June 7^th as the second park in the Six Flags chain.

The six areas are:

· Britain, with a Colonial theme and Hanson Cars.

· Confederate, home of the Dahlonega Mine Train (Arrow steel roller coaster), the childrens Mini-Mine Train (Arrow steel roller coaster), the Tales of the Okefenokee dark ride, a Sky Lift to the USA section, the Crystal Pistol theatre, a Mule-Go-Round ride (with a live mule) and a train station for the Six Flags Railroad.

· Spain, with the Castillo De Soto (a building themed as a fort), which houses the Casa Loco (tilt house), the Casa De Fritos restaurant, a candle shop and a poster shop.

· France, which consists of Jean Ribauts Adventure (riverboat ride with animated scenes), a train depot for the Six Flags Railroad, Lafayettes Shooting Gallery, the Watermelon Waterloo picnic area, the Gaslight on the Green restaurant, and a souvenir shop, The French Trading Post.

· USA, featuring the Happy Motoring Freeway (car ride), Petsville (petting zoo), MoMo The Monster (Spider type ride), the Krofft Puppet Theatre, the Chevy Show and the Animal Fair store.

· Georgia, a section with only one attraction, the Log Jamboree (log flume).

1968:

· A new area, Lickskillet, is added, themed to resemble a Georgia coalmining community. It includes the Spindletop (rotor ride), the Wheel Barrow (double Ferris Wheel), several craft shops and a shootout show performed in the street.

· A second sky ride, named Sky Buckets, is added between the Confederate and Lickskillet sections.

· All of the scenes in the Tales of the Okefenokee ride are changed prior to the season.

· The Casa Loco tilt house is moved outside the Spanish fort and renamed Casa Magnetica.

· The Horror Cave, a walk-through haunted-house type attraction with animated scenes, debuts inside the fort in the former spot of the tilt house.

· A second flume is added to the Log Jamboree.

1969 The Sky Hook is added to the USA section after having been relocated from Six Flags over Texas.

1972 The Riverview Carousel (purchased for the closed Riverview Park in Chicago) is added in a new area north of the Spanish section.

1973 The Cotton States Exposition, themed as a classic amusement park, is added around The Riverview Carousel and includes The Great American Scream Machine (PTC wooden roller coaster), bumper cars and several game booths.

1976 The Happy Motoring Freeway is removed.

1977 The Great Gasp, a parachute drop ride, is added in the area vacated by the Happy Motoring Freeway.

1978 Mindbender (Scwarzkopf steel looping roller coaster) is added to the USA section.

1979 Highland Swings (Chance Yo-Yo) is added to the park.

1980 Jolly Rogers Island, a new pirate-themed area connected to the USA section, is added, featuring the new Flying Dutchman (pirate ship) and Mindbender.

1981:

· The Tales of the Okefenokee dark ride is remodeled and renamed the Monster Plantation.

· Jean Ribauts Adventure riverboat ride is removed at the end of the season.

1982 Thunder River (Intamin white water rafting ride) is added in the area formerly occupied by Jean Ribaut's Adventure.

1983 Free Fall (Intamin first-generation drop ride) is added to the USA section.

1984 The Great Six Flags Air Racers are added to the British section.

1988 Z-Force (Intamin steel Space Diver roller coaster) is added after being relocated from Six Flags Great America.

1990:

· The Georgia Cyclone (Summers/Dinn wooden roller coaster patterned after the Coney Island

Cyclone) is added to the British section.

· Z-Force is removed at the end of the season and relocated to Six Flags Magic Mountain as Flashback.

1991 The Mini-Mine Train is removed at the end of the season. (Not sure if this is correct year. Ride was removed prior to 1992.)

1992:

· Ninja (Vekoma steel looping roller coaster) is added after being purchased from Conkos Party Pier in New Jersey where it operated as Kamikaze.

· Road Runner Convoy (truck ride) is added in the area vacated by the Mini-Mine Train.

1994:

· Looney Tunes Land is redesigned as Bugs Bunny World. Changes include:

o Henry Hawk Happy Worm is renamed Toro, Toro.

o Elmer Fudd Fewwis Wheel is renamed Fiesta Wheel.

o Tweetys Swing is renamed Swing Sevile.

o Road Runner Convoy is renamed Convoy Grande.

o Flying Tasmanian Devil Planes is renamed The Little Aviator.

o Yosemite Sams Buccaneer Boats are renamed Santa Maria.

o Road Runner Runaround is removed.

1995:

· Viper (Schwarzkopf steel launched shuttle loop roller coaster) is added after being relocated from Six Flags Great America, where it operated as Tidal Wave.

· UltraZone (indoor Laser Tag) is added to Jolly Rogers Island.

1996:

· Fearless Freeps DareDevil Dive (skycoaster) is added to The Cotton States Exposition section.

· Flying Dutchman pirate ship is removed at the end of the season.

1997:

· Jolly Rogers Island is transformed into Gotham City and Batman: The Ride (B&M steel inverted roller coaster is added.

· Mindbender gets new green/black paint scheme.

· Highland Swings is removed at the end of the season.

1998:

· The parks front entrance is totally remodeled and becomes The Promenade.

· The back park entrance is closed.

· Ragin Rivers is removed at the end of the season.

1999:

· The Georgia Scorcher (B&M stand-up steel roller coaster) is added to the Georgia section of the park.

· Goldtown Racers (Go-karts) is added in the former location of the back entrance.

2000 The Great Six Flags Air Racers are removed at the end of the season.

2001:

· Acrophobia, an Intamin 161-foot stand-up gyro drop tower, is added in the spot vacated by The Great Six Flags Air Racers.

· Tweetys Clubhouse (frog hopper) is added in Bugs Bunny World.

· Déjà Vu (Vekoma steel Giant Inverted Boomerang roller coaster) is added but doesnt open until September 1^st due to mechanical flaws.

· Log Jamboree is renamed Deer Park Plunge.

· Viper closes in September and is removed at the end of the season.

2002 Superman: Ultimate Flight (B&M steel flying roller coaster) is added in the area vacated by Viper. This is the first kind of this ride in North America.

2003 After spending all of the 2002 season laying dismantled in the employee parking lot, Viper is relocated to Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom and renamed Greazed Lightnin'.

By Chris Cowan of Theme Park Timelines

PAST THRILL RIDES AND ATTRACTIONS:

MoMo The Monster-- Removed in ?. A large "monster" with long, writhing arms with barrels attached. Passengers rode in the bucket, and were spun and lifted through the air. This ride changed locations in the park several times before it was removed.

The Original Log Flume-- Removed in ?. Back in the early SFoG days, there were two log flumes residing at the park. The original flume stood where The Georgia Scorcher is now before it was removed.

Ragin' Rivers-- Removed in 1998. This ride was a series of water slides - two open, two enclosed - that passengers were sent tunneling down in inflatable rafts. It was removed when The Georgia Scorcher came into town.

Buford The Buzzard-- Removed in ?. Buford The Buzzard was a traveling buzzard puppet in a covered wagon who delighted in making stupid joke and taunting the audience. The buzzard also handed out autographed photos. Buford was removed from the park when Premier Parks took over.

Okeefenokee Swamp-- Removed in ?. This dark ride resided where Monster Plantation is now. Instead of monsters, there were wildlife animals.

The Great Six Flags Air Racers-- Removed in late 2000/early 2001 to make way for Acrophobia. 12 open cockpit planes took riders up 100 feet and then tilted slightly inward, spinning around the 125-foot tower in slow circles. The wind force up there was absolutely amazing. This ride had a 36" minimum height requirement. This ride was one of my first rides ridden at SFoG.

The Highland Swing-- Removed in 1999 to make way for The Promenade park entrance. Riders were seated in swing seats, legs dangling, and were then slowly lifted, where the seats tilted slightly inward, spinning around the tower in slow circles. This ride is unassembled in the employee parking lot.

The Flying Dutchman-- Removed in 1997 to make way for Batman: The Ride. The ride was similar to The Looping Starship, only the ship didn't turn upside-down; it simply rocked its riders back and forth. This ride is still at the park, though, disassembled in the employee parking lot.

Exxon Modern Car Ride-- Removed in ?. These were convertible style self driven cars that were found in the old USA section of the park. Just like the original Hanson Cars, Modern cars had two tracks. They were removed to make room for The Great Gasp, and USA Games/Arcade section.

The Sky Hook-- Removed in ?. This huge attraction stood where FreeFall now stands. It was a large Y shaped ride that lifted an egg shaped cage to a great height to give riders a view of the park and surrounding area. As the cage was lifted the other would lower and the structure rotated. There was a recorded description of that was in view that played at the top. The Sky Hook was sold to Silver Dollar City in Pigeon Forge, Tennesse, where it is still non-operational.

Satellite Rides-- Removed in ?. Located at the top of the hill that leads down and into Gotham City from USA section was a pair of rides called the Satellites. They were circular undulating rides.

Chevy Show-- Removed in ?. Located in a domed building the, Chevy show featured Cinema 180 which showed crazy and zany movies that were meant to make the audience dizzy or motion sick.

Skylift (to Confederate Section)-- Removed in ?. The current queue building for FreeFall was originally the queue house for the Modern Skylift. The old pad is still behind the building and is used for staff bbq.

Petsville-- Removed in ?. A petting zoo located in the area of the current Eattin' Time food court. It featured barnyard animals to feed, and a seal pool with underwater viewing window in back.

Lafayette's Shooting Gallery-- Removed in ?. Located where the current Metro Arcade stands, the Lafayette's Shooting Gallery featured guns that shot B.B's at mechanical targets.

Skylift (to USA Section)-- Removed in ?. The station and queue are now Six Flags Kids shop. The Skylift tower in the Crystal Pistol circle actually served both the Sky Buckets and Sky lift, with the Sky lift crossing over the cables of the Sky Buckets.

Casa Magnetica-- Removed in ?. This was a gravity house where things seemed to be defying gravity due to the way the building was built. It was a walk through which later featured animated characters.

Mule-Go Round-- Removed in ?. This was a merry-go-round ride where riders rode in suspended gondolas as a mule provided the power to turn the ride. I did not like this ride whatsoever.

Horror Cave-- Removed in ?. Located in the current Bugs Bunny Playfort, the Horror Cave featured an entrance through a monsters mouth, creatures in a murky moat, a suspended bridge over a spider threatened man and a slide at the exit.

Spindle Top-- Removed in ?. This ride was a round room which revolved, pinning riders to the wall ending with the floor dropping from the riders feet.

LickSkillet Shooting Gallery-- Removed in ?. This was the original shooting gallery that was near Thunder River. The current one is in "downtown Lickskillet."

The Phlying Phlyrpus-- Removed in ?. A circular ride with a large sail on the front of each bucket. By moving the sail, the rider could make their bucket swing.

Elmer Fudd's Fewwis Wheel-- The word "Ferris" was spelled "Fewwis" because of the way Elmer Fudd usually talks in the old Bugs Bunny cartoons -- using 'W's instead of 'R's. The ride was a very small ferris wheel located in the old Bugs Bunny Land.

Showcase Theatre-- Not many people remember this. But before the Drive-In Theatre, it was called the Showcase Theatre. It had a very large fountain pouring out of the front wall into a pond below. Same theatre layout inside the building, but sort of different on the outside.

The Round Up-- Removed in ?. A carnival type ride that was installed in Cotton States for a couple of seasons. It was meant to be temporary, just a small fixture until the park could find something to replace Mo-Mo The Monster with.

Bouncy Bridge-- Removed in ?. The bouncing bridge from the fort to Carousel Hill. Though not considered a "thrill ride" it was still a very popular attraction for all ages.

Drunken Barrel-- Removed in ?. A tea-cup type ride that stood where the Wheelie now sits. It not only rotated in 3 directions, it also lifted to give a falling feeling as well.

Jean Ribaut's Adventure-- Removed in ?. This was a comical boat ride along the rivers of Georgia where French explorer Jean Ribaut met his fate at the hands of some hostle Native Americans. This ride stood where Thunder River is now, and was removed to make way for it.

PAST ROLLER COASTERS:

Viper-- Removed in 2001. Viper was one of only a few remaining Schwarzkopf shuttle loop coasters. The ride was built in 1978 and was installed first at Six Flags Great America as Tidal Wave. It came to SFoG in 1995 as Viper and had one of the best themes of any ride in the park. The ride was very fun, and usually there was no wait which made it a must ride every time you went to SFoG. This coaster remains at the park, though disassembled in the employee parking lot.