Georgia Surfer has an opening day and it will be opening day of the 2025 season! During a Coaster Fest 2024 Six Flags Over Georgia General Manager Greg Fuller gave a great update on the construction of Georgia Surfer and the challenges it’s seen. He mentioned permitting was slow and they lost about 12 weeks there and then that there were “manufacturer challenges” with Intamin. Specifically that the gondola (train) just shipped ocean freight on August 14th from Europe. Maybe a little too much time worrying about Falcon’s Flights in Saudi Arabia? With all these delays, they just decided it was best to delay and do it right. He said they wanted to run the heck out of it and make sure it was 1000% right for next year. He also stressed numerous times that the ride was a prototype where some challenges are always anticipated.

Several other interesting tidbits came out of the presentation. The park confirmed a couple of rumors that the ride indeed was originally intended for another park and parts of it were in another country. Greg also mentioned the price for the project at $13 million which is no small chunk of change, even when getting a deal on a prototype meant originally for another park. The decision to delay the opening was also made post merger in consultation with legacy Cedar Fair executives. Greg mentioned though that this could be a blessing in that Cedar Fair has some excellent resources for things like theming and the extra time could let them plus the ride up a bit rather than rushing for a 2024 opening.

A few final comments. First off, I just want to say I love Greg Fuller. I’ve never met Greg or heard him speak before, but I was immediately taken by how plainly and transparently he spoke at this event. With him at the wheel I think Six Flags Over Georgia is in great hands. Second, in 2024 which appears to be a cursed year for new coasters, I appreciate the park wanting to do this right rather than rush things. Finally,I want to give a huge shout out to Theme Parks To The Max whose awesome video below taken at 2024 Coaster Fest was the basis for this update! I can’t wait to be there on opening day 2025 to ride Georgia Surfer and you can always check out the POV rendering from the park too!