Fun Spot Atlanta closure

[JoshC.]

People are inquiring, but there is no imminent sale or relocation.

I'm not surprised by this. In fact, I'm surprised so many people on social media think something will happen quickly.

It was barely a month ago that the closure was announced. I'm sure across the industry there was some internals rumblings a bit before then. Even then, nothing leaked until a day or two before it was officially announced, so I expect the closure has come out the blue.

And the relocation of a coaster isn't always cheap. And it requires multiple things to align in terms of space, groundworks, finances, etc. It's not something that will come together in a month or so.

 

[VonRolland]

I mean I'm not shocked, it was really just a vanity project that flopped hard. Oh well, very interested to see where this ends whether a new park of the local scrap yard...

 

[TPoseOnTantrum]

Brian Knoebel told an ACE event the other day that John Arie Jr and RMC keep calling up the park superimposing the coaster onto their property. Knoebels keeps laughing them off, they have no intention of taking this ride.

God bless them they're trying.

 

[TheArtofCoasters]

Took the 1 hour and 20 minute drive down to Funspot Atlanta yesterday to get my first and final rides on AF1 after putting it off for over 3 years. Had a GREAT experience. I got to meet and take a picture with Alan Schilke (ended up on the same train as him for my night ride lol) and I got to meet John Arie Jr. as well. The energy was phenomenal; thoosies from all over the country were there, and the line was consistently long throughout the day (longer than I'm sure it ever was for that ride except maybe opening day lol). The vibe around AF1 yesterday felt like what I would imagine closing night or a media event would feel like. Absolutely amazing energy in the station for the night rides

The rest of the park is, respectfully, a bit of a dump. There was something oddly charming about it, though? There's something so cheesy and quintessentially "American summer" about it. Definitely a fever dream of a park

I'm really bummed out about AF1 closing down. You can tell that they invested in that with the hopes that it would attract a bigger crowd than it really did, but it was certainly a phenomenal ride regardless. It's so hard to believe that not only did I have a truly world-class RMC within an hour of me, but it was at a Funspot park at that. It will be missed. I'm sure it'll get relocated, but its current location really just added to the allure and uniqueness of the ride (also sucks that the "arcade roll" will no longer be called that by the community and probably won't be as cool in its future home). RIP (for now) AF1, you served us well.

Side note: Hurricane made me feel like I was gonna die. The ejector on the first drop had me seeing GOD. Unexpectedly fun credit

 

[DeathmetalmikeNL]

I saw a video on facebook in wich they said it won't be the last time you can ride af1. Can't find the video anymore though...

Will post if I find it again

 

[The_bullgod]

I saw a video on facebook in wich they said it won't be the last time you can ride af1.

This one?

64K views · 424 reactions | Great news that Arie Force One at Fun Spot america will indeed be relocated which means it will not be going for good! This is great news for every coaster fan especially those like myself who has not ridden this yet. It

Great news that Arie Force One at Fun Spot america will indeed be relocated which means it will not be going for good! This is great news for every coaster fan especially those like myself who has...

www.facebook.com

 

[Hyde]

This one?

64K views · 424 reactions | Great news that Arie Force One at Fun Spot america will indeed be relocated which means it will not be going for good! This is great news for every coaster fan especially those like myself who has not ridden this yet. It

Great news that Arie Force One at Fun Spot america will indeed be relocated which means it will not be going for good! This is great news for every coaster fan especially those like myself who has...

www.facebook.com

I'll believe it when I see it. You know, like the 20% boost a roller coaster apparently can create.

Appreciate John's hustle in keeping FunSpot relevant by building large roller coasters. But hard to tell where his pride ends and true relocation rumor begins.

 

[ECG]

I thought I would add a bit to the conversation since I'm finally back home after nearly eight weeks on the road.

I headed to Atlanta the day after I got home from my 14-game, 11-city, six-week World Cup stint to marathon the coaster with Joe Draves. The first few days were relatively quiet, with the queue extending to the bottom of the stairs inside the station. We got plenty of rides in, especially at park closing, when they let everyone not in the front or back seats stay on the train until everyone waiting in those queues got their front- or back-row rides. That allowed us to get four back-to-back rides in on single-train operation days and three in a row on Thursday and Friday when both trains were operating.

I didn't take many photos, but here are a few, starting with Joe riding in the front row with our friend Dan, who worked with Joe at GCI and is now at Hersheypark.


A friend found this photo online of John Jr. and Joe talking with Enchanted Parks CEO James Harhi, who rode and inspected the coaster with a couple of his staff members, but hasn't made an offer for the ride. (That's me on the far left.)


Wednesday's moon was amazing...


...Thursday's even more so.


On Friday morning (before everyone arrived), I took my bike for a ride around John's property and found some abandoned vehicles hidden in the brush about half a mile behind the park's parking lot. They were left there by the park's previous owner,






Alan Schilke, Scott, and @AndHart120 arrived that afternoon, when the queue went from the station entrance door in the morning to over an hour-long wait by the afternoon due to operational problems (one of the trains was overshooting the gates).

The queue went from ten to around 30 minutes by the time Alan arrived.


This photo made the rounds online of Alan and Joe riding with me in the row in front of them.


The train issue was cleared by Saturday, but the queue remained around an hour throughout the day due to the number of enthusiasts arriving.

Our group photo...


...along with the obligatory photo on the coaster...


...and one during our lunch.


Many familiar faces started showing up on Saturday, including Mr. Bybee and Co.


After Sunday's ERT session more familiar peeps started showing up, including our friends from Coasters And Brews (that's CF's Allison - aka Sky - beside Alan and myself).


The queue line had grown to about 90 minutes, but we didn't ride after the morning ERT until the final few rides of the night with John Arie Jr. and his family. The entire day was spent with Joe and Alan talking and taking photos with everyone in the queue or exiting the station. They both enjoyed being celebrities for a weekend.


I'm glad my wife allowed me to spend the week with Joe after only one day at home in nearly two months. It was a very emotional time with more moments of joy than sadness, at least up until Sunday. Spending so much time with the Arie family was an honor, but also difficult at moments. I can't thank them (and Joe) enough for allowing me to feel like part of the family.

There's still no word on what's going to happen with the coaster, but we're all hopeful that it will be relocated.

 

[Hyde]

I thought I would add a bit to the conversation since I'm finally back home after nearly eight weeks on the road.

I headed to Atlanta the day after I got home from my 14-game, 11-city, six-week World Cup stint to marathon the coaster with Joe Draves. The first few days were relatively quiet, with the queue extending to the bottom of the stairs inside the station. We got plenty of rides in, especially at park closing, when they let everyone not in the front or back seats stay on the train until everyone waiting in those queues got their front- or back-row rides. That allowed us to get four back-to-back rides in on single-train operation days and three in a row on Thursday and Friday when both trains were operating.

I didn't take many photos, but here are a few, starting with Joe riding in the front row with our friend Dan, who worked with Joe at GCI and is now at Hersheypark.
View attachment 42968

A friend found this photo online of John Jr. and Joe talking with Enchanted Parks CEO James Harhi, who rode and inspected the coaster with a couple of his staff members, but hasn't made an offer for the ride. (That's me on the far left.)
View attachment 42975

Wednesday's moon was amazing...
View attachment 42969

...Thursday's even more so.
View attachment 42971

On Friday morning (before everyone arrived), I took my bike for a ride around John's property and found some abandoned vehicles hidden in the brush about half a mile behind the park's parking lot. They were left there by the park's previous owner,
View attachment 42972

View attachment 42973

View attachment 42974

Alan Schilke, Scott, and @AndHart120 arrived that afternoon, when the queue went from the station entrance door in the morning to over an hour-long wait by the afternoon due to operational problems (one of the trains was overshooting the gates).

The queue went from ten to around 30 minutes by the time Alan arrived.
View attachment 42977

This photo made the rounds online of Alan and Joe riding with me in the row in front of them.
View attachment 42978

The train issue was cleared by Saturday, but the queue remained around an hour throughout the day due to the number of enthusiasts arriving.
View attachment 42986
Our group photo...
View attachment 42979

...along with the obligatory photo on the coaster...
View attachment 42980

...and one during our lunch.
View attachment 42981

Many familiar faces started showing up on Saturday, including Mr. Bybee and Co.
View attachment 42984

After Sunday's ERT session more familiar peeps started showing up, including our friends from Coasters And Brews (that's CF's Allison - aka Sky - beside Alan and myself).
View attachment 42982

The queue line had grown to about 90 minutes, but we didn't ride after the morning ERT until the final few rides of the night with John Arie Jr. and his family. The entire day was spent with Joe and Alan talking and taking photos with everyone in the queue or exiting the station. They both enjoyed being celebrities for a weekend.
View attachment 42985

I'm glad my wife allowed me to spend the week with Joe after only one day at home in nearly two months. It was a very emotional time with more moments of joy than sadness, at least up until Sunday. Spending so much time with the Arie family was an honor, but also difficult at moments. I can't thank them (and Joe) enough for allowing me to feel like part of the family.

There's still no word on what's going to happen with the coaster, but we're all hopeful that it will be relocated.

What a memorable way to be there for the final send-off @ECG!