Review of Georgia Gold Rusher at Six Flags Over Georgia, a Coaster Full of Story and Airtime Fun!

Georgia Gold Rusher roller coaster at Six Flags Over Georgia

I won’r bury the lead, Georgia Gold Rusher is an airtime machine! I had a chance to ride the new Georgia Gold Rusher at Six Flags Over Georgia as part of the March 13, 2025 media event. I was able to score my invite through my ACE membership and got 12 rides on the new Intamin Ultra Surf Coaster. The first thing you’ll notice is the high level of theming Six Flags Over Georgia has installed since last season, really unprecedented for the park since Batman. The mining theme is everywhere with flowing water features, machinery and beautiful wood decking greeting you in line. The ride itself is spectacular fun. The launches feel forceful and there is a surprising amount of airtime on the bunny hill between the two spikes. The weightless on the spikes is awesome too, but it’s really about the airtime on GGR (the abbreviation for Georgia Gold Rusher) that is so crazy good and way more than expected. This is a 10 out of 10 and will surely be a hit for Six Flags Over Georgia as its only launch and spinning coaster.

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Headed to the 2025 NFL Draft in Green Bay, Wisconsin? Ride the Zippin Pippin Roller Coaster for Only $1.50 at Bay Beach Amusement Park!

Zippin Pippin Roller coaster

The 2025 NFL Draft is headed to Green Bay, Wisconsin form April 24-26, 2025. It was also just announced from Bay Beach Facilities Supervisor, Britney Burkart-Labar that the city owned Bay Beach Amusement park will be open to coincide with the draft, operating on Wednesday, April 23 through Saturday, April 26 from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m . What is Bay Beach you might ask? It’s a 100+ year old amusement park on the shore of Lake Michigan that is home to a world class wooden roller coaster that Elvis loved called Zippin Pippin and you can ride it for only $1.50!

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A Combination Spinning Flat Ride and Centrifugal Birthing Machine?

Apparatus for facilitating the birth of a child by centrifugal force
Apparatus for facilitating the birth of a child by centrifugal force

Years ago I took a class on patents and was shown some examples of crazy patents to demonstrate that not all inventions have to work or be useful in real life in order to be granted a patent. One of these was US Patent #3,216,423 “Apparatus for facilitating the birth of a child by centrifugal force”. This was brought to mind again as Hashem Al-Ghaili recently released a video of the potential device in action that was mind blowing. To summarize the invention, it’s essentially a spinning table that literally helps pull the baby out with the same centrifugal forces you’d feel on your favorite theme park ride.

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There’s an Indoor Vekoma Suspended Family Roller Coaster in Kiev, Ukraine!

Suspended Family Roller Coaster - MK900 located at Galaxy Family Amusement Park
Suspended Family Coaster – MK900 (photo from Galaxy Park)

So I was surprised to learn there is an indoor roller coaster in a theme park inside a mall in Ukraine. This isn’t just any roller coaster though, but a Vekoma suspended family coaster called “Suspended Family Coaster – MK900” located at Galaxy Family Amusement Park in the Lavina Mall in Kyiv, Ukraine. It’s not the most creative roller coaster name, but it is the first indoor suspended roller coaster I’m aware of anywhere. The ride also appears to be operating daily which says something given the war going on in Ukraine!

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Will New Steel Tariffs Affect New Steel Roller Coaster Costs?

Steel Curtain Roller Coaster sign at Kennywood
Steel Curtain by Roller Coaster Philosophy, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The Trump Administration recently announced a new 25% tariff on all imported steel that is set to go into effect on March 12, 2025. A steel roller coaster uses a significant amount of steel, in fact Steel Curtain at Kennywood is reported to weigh an astounding 2.67 million pounds with 113 pieces of track, 1,162 total pieces and 21,470 bolts! The largest single track piece of track weighed 15,000 pounds. A tariff wouldn’t just affect steel coasters though, but also affect flat rides and even drop towers. So let’s talk about the potential impact of a steel tariff on the theme park industry and what we can expect going forward. We won’t get into politics or the potential economic reasons for tariffs, just how it might affect new ride costs in the future.

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Valentine’s “Love & Adventure” at Busch Gardens

Celebrate Valentine’s Day at Busch Gardens with their amazing “Love & Adventure” event on either February 14th or 15th, After the park closes from 8pm to 10pm the Egypt section on the park will be transformed into a romantic adventure featuring fun, food and entertainment. Rides such as Montu and Cobra’s Curse will be open and there will be animal encounters, carnival games, a Caricature Artist, music and other performances to entertain you. On the food front you’ll get a complementary cocktail and a spread of artisan charcuterie, gourmet desserts, and sweet treats. All this is only $45/person

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A Used Roller Coaster is Up for Auction!

Wanna bid on a roller coaster? This isn’t Scorpion from Busch Gardens or anything (which I’ve heard rumors of relocation about), but a kiddie coaster called Safari Coaster from the defunct All Star Adventures Theme Park in Wichita, Kansas that’s up for auction! This is from the “Miner Mike” line of kiddie/family coasters by Wisdom Rides and operated until 2024. It is an auction by Bill Ramsey & Associates, LLC who seems to specialize in the Family Entertainment Center space.

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Six Flags Over Georgia Announces 2025 Opening Date and Special Event Schedule with New Parade!

Six Flags Over Georgia Logo

Six Flags Over Georgia announced its 2025 opening date will be March 15, 2025. The park also announced its event schedule including things such as the much loved Fright Fest and Holiday in the Park events. Holiday in the Park was recently recognized as one of the best theme park holiday events by USA Today’s “10 Best” contest. This spring will also be BIG with the opening of the new Georgia Gold Rusher roller coaster!

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Mine Blower at Fun Spot America Kissimmee is a Fun Ride with Explosive Power in a Small Footprint

Mine Blower roller coaster at Fun Spot America Kissimmee

Mine Blower is the signature coaster at Fun Spot Kissimmee. Among coaster enthusiasts it’s both famous and infamous as it has an amazing layout that’s wildly fun, but has also gotten a reputation for being rough, even by wooden coaster standards. However, the park has recently attempted to address this issue with an RMC 208 partial retrack. I had the chance to ride it on a recent trip to the Orlando area and here’s my review of the experience along with an overview of the great Gravity Group creation that is Mine Blower.

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The Closing of La Vibora at Six Flags Over Texas Ends the Era of the Intamin Bobsledding Coaster

La Vibora at Six Flags Over Texas. An Intamin Swiss Bob Roller coaster.
La Vibora at Six Flags Over Texas by Jeremy Thompson, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (cropped)

I was sad to see the closure of La Vibora at Six Flags Over Texas on November 4, 2024. As far as I can tell it was the last standing of what was known as the Swiss Bob roller coaster by Intamin. On a Swiss Bob a bobsled like vehicle is taken up a lift hill and then released into a tubular track to free roll and mimic the action of Olympic bobsledding. Most classify this style of ride as a roller coaster even though it lacks traditional track. La Vibora is being removed to make room for a new dive coaster for 2026 (here’s a video of the demolition from Amusement Source), which no doubt will be a great addition for the park, but the uniqueness of the Swiss Bob will surely be missed.

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