With the end of summer soon approaching, the general trend of the theme park industry is to announce new rides and attractions that will be coming the following season to help keep their line-up of rides fresh, whether it be a new family ride section, or the latest monster thrill ride. While these announcements are often quite exciting, this time of year can also lead to some disappointing announcements, such as the closing of rides for various reasons (Low ridership, high maintenance, etc…). This trip was inspired by one such closing, as Waterville USA in Gulf Shores, Alabama had Announced that they were closing their wooden coaster, Cannonball Run. When looking over my coasters to ride list, this was one of the more off-the-beaten-paths rides that I had always kept looking for possible trips to do to ride it, but never got to a point of making. With the announcement that the coaster would be closed at the season’s end, that would lead to an expediting of the plan to visit the area. When finding time to visit the area, I had another short trip I would be taking around the same time with my friend Phillip, and based on the timing of the closure, as well as the timing of one of the larger fairs in Georgia, it seemed to all fall in place perfectly for going on a short visit to the area. Because of the schedules of the area parks that were open around this time of year, the route to visit would call for starting in the Atlanta area, then driving to South Alabama and the Florida Panhandle the next day. After that, it would be on to the North side of Alabama, and the last day would head through the North end of Georgia before going back to Atlanta to fly to Philadelphia to meet with Phillip for our next excursion. To get to Atlanta, a flight with trusty old Alaska Airlines would be taken on the redeye to ATL. One of the things that really stuck out with this flight was the mood lighting in the plane, as Alaska had been sharing their planes to utilize the mood lighting from their acquisition of Virgin America, which would use similar lighting on their planes before the merger. The flight itself was a relatively smooth affair, although it did have a baby that would cry (the kind that was projected by said child so as to make sure EVERYONE could hear, including the pilots) about every 45 minutes or so after the first hour and a half of the four-hour flight. I certainly understand that flying can be tough for parents with such young children, and understand that many try to do what they can to help calm their kids, but it still made it difficult to try and get much rest on the flight, hence why in the video, while sitting in the rental car before going exploring I look and sound really worn out. To remedy this, there would be an in-car nap after breakfast at a nearby Chick-Fil-A, along with an occasional snooze between stops. The first day would definitely be far more relaxed and easy-going than on most trips. Upon getting an hour or two of shut-eye, it was time for some exploring. Upon recalling the last visit to Atlanta, while waiting for the flight to go to Johannesburg in South Africa, there was the display for the Martin Luther King Center, and so I decided to go and visit the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Park near the heart of Atlanta. Since it was still a bit early, the main visitor center was not yet open upon arrival, but many of the other points of interest can still be seen on the outside as the park covers a few blocks and includes Ebenezer Baptist Church, the church of Atlanta that King served as a minister. You can also visit his childhood home where he was born, and there is a plaza that features the tomb of Martin Luther King along with his wife Coretta Scott King. There is also a walkway that features plaques in the ground to commemorate those who were contributors to the fight for civil rights, including the likes of Rosa Parks, President Lyndon B. Johnson and many others over their years. Once the visitor center opened, there are exhibits that discuss a variety of topics, including the efforts lead by Dr. King to achieve civil rights, as well as historic artifacts from his life. One of the more prominent features inside the visitor center was the wagon that was used for his funeral procession after his death, which looked quite old and rundown. Although that was the reason that it was chosen, as it helped to show how Dr. King was seen as being at the same level as the common man. As the afternoon came closer, the home of the first roller coaster for this trip would soon open for the day, and that was the Family Entertainment Center known as FunXcess. About a 26-mile drive from the Martin Luther King National Historic Park, the venue appeared to have been opened inside of an old store of the rural Atlanta area, in the town of Lithonia. While visiting FunXcess, I was the only visitor, and everyone else inside were employees, but with it being a Thursday around lunch time, it made sense that it would be a bit slower at the facility. Along with the Crazy 8, an SBF Visa Spinning Coaster, FunXcess also offers a variety of arcade games and a go kart track. There was also a bar for the adults located next to their concession stand. With the space of the building, it looks like they could add more to it in the future as there is still room for more attractions if they choose to do so. As the day went into the late afternoon, and a leisurely drive to Marietta later, it was time to visit the North Georgia State Fair. Much like the Washington State Fair back home in Washington, this fair is home to a roller coaster that stays on site while other rides are added to the line-up during the fair. The timing of the fair, along with the pending closure of Cannonball Run, helped in the decision to make this trip. While arriving at the opening time of the fair on this day alone, I would later be joined by my friend Randy, who joined me at the Delta Flight Museum back in March and is the leader of the Metro Atlanta Coaster Club. A short while later, we were joined by two other members of the Club, Amanda and Stephen. Being the first day of the fair for the year, they had a special with free admission to the fair, and the carnival had an unlimited-rides special. $20 and you could ride for the whole night! The fair itself seemed to be somewhere between a larger county fair and a more traditional state fair as it wasn’t the largest of fairs, but they did have many of the staples of a great fair, including a variety of food stands to choose from, exhibition halls featuring produce from local farmers and displays from local businesses, and an area with a variety of farm animals. The exhibition hall of the North Georgia State Fair was fairly new as part of the modernization of the facilities for the fair. Another prominent attraction of the fair is the Georgia Mountain Lift, a ski-lift style skyride that takes riders from one end of the fairground to the other. This is a great way to get a sense of the layout of the fair from a bird’s eye view, and to find out what all is available. The carnival of the North Georgia State Fair this year was run by James Drew Exposition, and included a variety of rides that are often staples of county and state fairs across the country. One of the rides that they were getting set-up which would unfortunately not be available for the first day was a set of double Ferris Wheels. The kind where you have two wheels to either end of longer arms, and as the wheels spin, the arms also rotate. This is a classic ride of which I’ve yet to experience, but seeing that Drew Exposition still operates one, it gives me hope to have an opportunity to try one before they are all gone as it’s not a commonly made ride anymore. There would also be an additional roller coaster to ride in the form of a Wacky Worm provided by James Drew Exposition. The coaster that stays onsite all year? A classic Schwarzkopf Wildcat. The Wildcat at the North Georgia State Fair runs wonderfully and looks excellent as it is very well maintained. Much like other Schwarzkopf Wildcat coasters, this ride offers moments of light airtime at the tops of the hills, and small spikes of positive g’s at the bottom. As the night came, the lights of the rides would come on, and one of the highlights of the carnival would take place, which was a human cannonball demonstration. To add to the spectacle of the show, the cannon was positioned on one side of the Cyclops spinning pendulum ride while the net was on the other side. This certainly added to the difficulty as the stunt man would have to wait until he was over the ride to have a clear view of the net to help with the positioning of his body for the landing in the net. The operating of Cyclops during the stunt added to the visual of the show, although they ran it without any passengers on board. And as the night grew later, and the lack of sleep began setting in, it was about time to head to bed for the night. A special thank you to Randy, Amanda and Stephen for the company while visiting the North Georgia State Fair. I always enjoy catching up with Randy and it was nice to meet Amanda and Stephen for the first time. And as the night grew later, and the lack of sleep began setting in, it was about time to head to bed for the night. A special thank you to Randy, Amanda and Stephen for the company while visiting the North Georgia State Fair. I always enjoy catching up with Randy and it was nice to meet Amanda and Stephen for the first time. |
See more of 2018 Southeast Trip:
1: Exploring Around Atlanta / 2: Montgomery and the Gulf Coast / 3: More Alabama Coasters / 4: Lake Winnepesaukah / 5: Fun Spot & Going to Philly |
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