29yrswithaGApass Posted March 26, 2008 Report Share Posted March 26, 2008 When flats were plentiful at GA, the park had all four A-frame rides pictured here at the same time. It's kind of ironic that the only one we still have today is the one that was installed first, the Buccaneer in 1980. Like roller coasters, similar looking rides don't usually offer the same ride experience. That was definitely the case for these four machines. Anyone have a favorite? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JetsDevs4Lyf Posted March 26, 2008 Report Share Posted March 26, 2008 Out of the four, the Buccaneer is probaqbly my favorite and most rideable. I haven't ridden rides like these in quite a while, but I've never been a fan of anything not a coaster going upside down so it always seemed the best bet for me lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Master Posted March 26, 2008 Report Share Posted March 26, 2008 I have been on 3 of those rides pictured. Buccaneer is the best of the 3 and I am gald the best one is staying for now. But with the management these days we don't know how much time Buccaneer has. Still it is a shame the park has gone down from 4 A frames to 1 but hopefully it won't go lower! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
29yrswithaGApass Posted March 26, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 26, 2008 The Buccaneer is still a pretty reliable ride- the manufacturer still exists (Intamin), and it is still found in a lot of parks. I think it may be safe for a couple of years yet. The Looping Starship's age started catching up with it and even though it too was manufactured by Intamin, few models still remain in parks today. The Evolution was just an operations nightmare for GA (I am not sure how reliable it is now at Six Flags St Louis). And finally, the Pendulum was simply a highly marketable attraction that was easy to rotate to another park. Now if we could just get some rides rotated into GA! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redsoxfan0810 Posted March 26, 2008 Report Share Posted March 26, 2008 I've been on copies of buccaneer and pendulum, having only actually ridden Space Shuttle. My favorite would have to be Pendulum, judging off of my rides on SFNE's Tomahawk. Evolution does look very fun, I wish I could've rode it, since I'm not going to Missouri anytime soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JetsDevs4Lyf Posted March 26, 2008 Report Share Posted March 26, 2008 Lol we have been a really charitable park to this point haven't we? I think soon all that kindness towards other parks will come back to us in a big way . It really is amazing though how fast the A frames havegone the way of the Dodo so to speak. They are a fun form of ride I will admit so it's odd that more of them arent produced. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
29yrswithaGApass Posted March 26, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 26, 2008 Actually we were a very fortunate park and received rides new when they were state-of-the-art. We passed on our hand-me-downs! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JetsDevs4Lyf Posted March 26, 2008 Report Share Posted March 26, 2008 ^ Good point on the new rides. We definately have been lucky not only recently but in the past to have our park get very new ride hardware so we can't complain there. I think right now the industry as a whole is stuck in a "build the next big coaster" mode and in a few years when everyone snaps out of it the flats will make a comeback. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Master Posted March 26, 2008 Report Share Posted March 26, 2008 One type of A frame GAdv has not had yet are The Claw type like Dorney and Hershey have. I think a Claw would be great for GAdv. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
29yrswithaGApass Posted March 26, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 26, 2008 When the park first announced Evolution and before I ever saw it operate, I originally thought the ride would move freely at the same speed as the Looping Starship. I was at the park when they tested Evolution for the first time and was happy to see it was more of a controlled "motorized" swing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redsoxfan0810 Posted April 14, 2008 Report Share Posted April 14, 2008 ^ I thought the same when I first saw it. It was surprising to see how it actually moved! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CycloneMan Posted April 15, 2008 Report Share Posted April 15, 2008 Pendulum was my favorite. I never got to do Evolution sadly. I've seen it operate, and the line was always very long when it was open and I'd always tell myself, "Next time". -Dainan "Sigh..." Rafferty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darkridedan Posted April 15, 2008 Report Share Posted April 15, 2008 It was only a carnival version of Mission Space. You missed out big time buddy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
29yrswithaGApass Posted April 16, 2008 Author Report Share Posted April 16, 2008 It was only a carnival version of Mission Space. You missed out big time buddy. I never thought about it, but you're right - Evolution was a lot like Mission Space! The motion, the seating configuration...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JetsDevs4Lyf Posted April 16, 2008 Report Share Posted April 16, 2008 Sadly I have experienced none of these, which is rough since thinking about it now I would probably enjoy Evolution at the current point in time even if it wasn't for me back when it was installed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darkridedan Posted April 16, 2008 Report Share Posted April 16, 2008 From what ride operators have told me, Evolution could have used vomit pouches too. It didn't make me sick though. I kind of liked it once I got up the nerve to ride it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JetsDevs4Lyf Posted April 17, 2008 Report Share Posted April 17, 2008 ^ See now that really does sound like my type of ride thinking about it. Damn lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gafreak Posted May 4, 2008 Report Share Posted May 4, 2008 I have to say atleast GA had enough common sence to keep this ride.If the buccanneer evr leaves the park i think that i will have a witch doctor cast a spell on the parkso hat no one will ever go there again.Lol. SF need the buccaneer to keep the kids who pay there salary comming to the park. I think the new managment that the park ha this year has already messed up by removing the swings and looping starship. They really need to redeem themselves in 09. All i have to ay to them is good luck, you better pull your head out of your butts and see that flats keep the park afloat, not 500 foot tall coasters! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coasterloverx13 Posted May 4, 2008 Report Share Posted May 4, 2008 buccaneer is my favorite because i never rode any of the other ones except the looping starship but it hurt my waist when it went upside down Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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