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PARK HISTORY

Welcome to the Park History section of the SFoG Info Center. This page will have important dates in Six Flags over Georgia's history. It will also be updated with new dates through the years as new rides open, old rides close, or special events at the park occur. If you have any dates or rides we don't have, please email us at zuben13@aol.com
 
IMPORTANT SFoG HISTORY EVENTS:

June 7, 1967-- Six Flags over Georgia opens its gates in Austell, Georgia for the first time. The Dahlonega Mine Train and Mini-Mine Train were the first two roller coasters at the park. DMT is still in operation, while the MMT was closed in 1993.
 
April 1973-- The Great American Scream Machine debuts at the park and is featured in the Guinness Book of World Record as the tallest and longest roller coaster in the world.
 
March 31, 1978-- The Mindbender, considered one of the world's best steel coaster classics by Anton Schwarzkopf, opens at the park.
 
1983-- Free Fall, a first-generation Intamin fall tower, debuts at the park. The ride recently has had numerous problems which leaves speculation that 2002 could be its last year in operation.
 
1988-- Z-Force, an Intamin Space Diver, is moved to the park from Six Flags Great America.
 
March 1990--The Georgia Cylone, the South's first wooden twister, is built at the park. Today, it is considered one of the best wooden coasters in the world.
 
1990-- Z-Force is removed from the park after only two years at the park. It was sent to the West Coast and Six Flags Magic Mountain where it now runs as "Flashback." Z-Force was considered by many the worst ride the park has ever had.
 
March 1, 1992-- Ninja, a Vekoma sitdown freeform, is moved to the park from a small park in New Jersey. It took the old spot of Z-Force, and is one of a handful of coasters that sits entirely over water.
 
Spring 1995-- Viper opens at the park after being moved from Six Flags Great America. The coaster was one of only a few remaining Schwarzkopf shuttle loops.
 
Spring 1997-- The Jolly Roger section of the park is transformed into Gotham City. The Flying Dutchman ride is removed to make way for the new B&M inverted coaster, Batman: The Ride, which opened on May 3rd. The Mindbender is also painted neon green to match the new theme.
 
1998--Six Flags over Georgia and all SF parks are now under new management. Premier Parks Inc. bought them in early 1998.
 
Spring 1999-- The Promenade is the newest section of the park and is also the main entrance, with restaurants and shops all along the path. The Highland Swings are removed, and The Georgia Scorcher opens at the park.
 
Winter 2000-- The Great Six Flags Air Racers are removed from the park to make way for the new Intamin stand-up gyro drop tower to go in its place.
 
May 2001-- Acrophobia, the new Intamin gyro drop tower, opens at the park, and is considered one of the most thrilling and scariest rides in the world.
 
August 25, 2001-- After a staggering delay, the Vekoma super-boomerang, Deja Vu "soft" opens to trains employees and test the queue system.
 
September 1, 2001-- Deja Vu officially opens at the park.
 
September 16, 2001-- Viper is torn down and put in the employee parking lot to rust. It is not known if the ride will be rebuilt at the park or another.
 
April 6, 2002--The first B&M flying coaster in the Western Hemisphere, Superman: Ultimate Flight opens to rave reviews at the park.
 
June 7, 2002-- Six Flags over Georgia celebrates its 35th anniversary.

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.

Z-Force-- Removed in 1990. This was the first and only Intamin Space Diver coaster. The coaster started out at Six Flags Great America, then moved to SFoG in 1988. It was put in the current location of Ninja. It was moved to Six Flags Magic Mountain where it now runs as Flashback.

Mini-Mine Train-- Removed in 1993. Originally called Yahoola Hooler. This was one of the orginal coasters at SFoG is similar to Six Flags over Texas' Mini-Mine Train. It was located where the Bugs Bunny Convoy Trucks are now. One feature on the ride was it intermingled with The Dahlonega Mine Train's final tunneled drop.