Fun Spot America Atlanta
Fayetteville, Georgia – Friday, June 9th, 2023
Arriving at Fun Spot America in Atlanta was quite the contrast after the first half of the day touring civil rights museums and monuments in Montgomery. The bright primary colors, cheap materials, and homemade build quality all mark it as one of the largest amusement parks targeted at one of the lowest socio-economic class in America. Which is not in itself a criticism; everyone deserves access to affordable amusements, and it’s especially welcome if it contains one of the best new roller coasters in the country. While visiting the nation’s top theme parks is increasingly reserved for the comfortably affluent, riding some of its best roller coasters remains relatively accessible to a broader array of income earners, with Fun Spot America Atlanta’s debut of ArieForce One the most significant example of that possibility.
That said, being a relatively successful business owner in an otherwise low-income area is inevitably highly correlated with support for certain national political candidates. In particular, giving a big new roller coaster a military theme painted in bright red white and blue, but then naming it after the owner’s family name, is easily one of the most MAGA-coded things done at any amusement park in the country in recent memory. Not that you have to read between the lines. For years the ownership’s political preferences
have been fairly public, from issuing press releases with “Make America Fun Again” as a slogan, to being generally anti-mask during the height of the COVID pandemic.
Be that as it may, I was excited to be here. While it hasn’t always worked this way in the past or even present, I believe amusement parks can still be places where a diversity of citizens of all backgrounds and beliefs can come together as democratic equals and share in the common pursuit of happiness. From its low ticket price, simple yet welcoming presentation, and diverse workforce and clientele, Fun Spot does appear to live up to a number of these democratic ideals, putting other values above the politics of the day; and for that, I’m happy to give them my business, even if it doesn’t all align with my personal sensibilities. A world-class RMC custom creation certainly goes a long way to papering over political differences.
ArieForce One
Name and theme aside (which confusingly seems like it started with an Air Force inspired identity with the name and vehicle nose design, before shifting to a NASA / space travel theme for the queue and station later in the process) I would comfortably rate this in the top five Rocky Mountain Construction roller coasters I’ve experienced to date (out of seventeen), an incredible achievement for a park that otherwise is more of an outdoor FEC than a proper amusement park. Being built from the ground up may have given it an advantage to pursue a more aggressive layout that maximizes the potential of the technology without being limited to an existing structure. While there’s relatively little in its repertoire that’s completely unique to ArieForce One, the secret to its success is that it uses the standard RMC maneuvers in a pattern that progressively gets more intense from start to end.
The first 146-foot drop and raven truss dive loop are, of course, very good, but are relatively gentle maneuvers that provide a light touch of weightlessness. The slight trick-track into the truss dive is more interesting for the visuals than for the physical sensation.
A small speed hill and the zero-G stall under the lift hill start to get a bit more aggressive on the negative-G scale. The extended upside-down span of the stall in particular is a chance to live deliciously.
However, it’s entering the middle section of the layout, beginning with the outer-banked 90 degree airtime hill, when it starts to really kick into high gear with sustained ejector airtime across the entire curvature. A double-up airtime hill delivers more of that strong negative G-force at a quickening rhythm, with the extended crest and fall back down serving as the midpoint break in the ride. At this point every pairing of elements, while offering a unique dynamic, has focused on out-of-seat flying sensations with increasing intensity, and the progression works wonderfully.
It’s the next sequence that pushes ArieForce One into a higher class above most other RMC creations. A tight barrel roll spanning over the arcade delivers some absolutely incredible rotational whip unparalleled by anything except maybe a few Intamin designs from an earlier decade. What I love about these types of rapid inline maneuvers is that, because they pivot around the centerline, they can be both highly intense yet smooth experiences at the same time. You can feel the torque and visually it’s all a blur, yet it moves your body in the direction it wants to go, so you’re not ragdolled by excessive force in any one direction. This is my favorite single element of the layout.
But it doesn’t stop there. The entire turnaround (hidden behind the arcade) is a rapid-fire sequence of direction changes and ground-hugging curves, culminating in a second barrel roll almost as good as the first. Again, this whole sequence feels over-speed and finds the perfect balance between aggression and grace. This is the closest RMC (which is better known for its big show-stopping aerial maneuvers like what you find in the first half of the ride) has ever gotten to an Intamin Blitz Coaster-style pacing, and the only thing that could have made this sequence better is if it went twice as long.
The ride ends with its most controversial maneuver, a quad-down that delivers a rapid-fire series of airtime jabs. I appreciate the design intent and believe it fits logically with the overall choreography of the ride: it’s the fastest paced and most aggressive moment on a layout whose entire progression up to that point was also about becoming increasingly fast-paced and aggressive; it returns to the main negative-G motif after a brief third act detour into rotational whip; and the repetition of four nearly identical dips signals a signals a more uniform staccato finale closing act.
Unfortunately I also have to agree with what I believe is the majority opinion that this final sequence simply pushes the intensity level a little too far, especially when combined with the ergonomics of the restraints and seats that jab into your body without adequate methods to brace against it. This is made even worse by the subsequent brake run, which is far too short for the speed at which it enters, requiring a sudden deceleration better measured using crash test dummies than living humans. Coupled with the negative-G over the crest into the brakes, essentially sets riders up for a sharp suckerpunch to the gut at the end of every ride.
For many, this sour note at the end of the ride may understandably be a deal breaker, and I wouldn’t argue with anyone rating it among the worst RMC coasters because of it. A simple trim brake prior to the quad-down would do wonders for the rider experience, although it seems this is one of the few times where the coaster enthusiast’s purism against trim brakes may win out. In assessing my own judgement of the coaster, I decided that I would rather focus on its many excellent merits and award it an overall positive rating with an asterisk, rather than water my assessment down into the middling-tier with a pointless game of both-side-isms that doesn’t adequately reflect the highs nor lows of the experience. After all, these issues didn’t stop me from wanting to re-ride until late into the night; it just came with the caveat that the end of every cycle included some choice swear words.
Other Rides
To say that ArieForce One is the main reason for visiting Fun Spot America Atlanta is an understatement. That said, my thighs could only take so much before a break to explore the rest of the park for a little while was necessary. Among the other offerings at the park I tried were a Ferris Wheel (mostly to get photos of ArieForce One), an S&S Screamin’ Swing (fun, if a little nauseating), the Sea Serpent E&F Miler kiddie coaster (one ride for the +1 count), and the Hurricane E&F Hi-Miler thrill coaster. The latter, a one-of-a-kind 38 foot tall model that’s like a much smaller version of the Scandia Screamer, offers an amusing set of dips and a jarring set of flat curves along its 900 foot long triple out-and-back layout. Even without ArieForce One, the Hurricane still might have secured an hour pit stop to Fun Spot while passing through Atlanta, and on this half-day visit I even took the time away from ArieForce One to ride it twice.
Atlanta
A different version of this trip might have included a full day just to take in the city of Atlanta. However, for both family and work reasons I already had a couple opportunities to visit Atlanta in 2019 and 2022; by 2023 the amusement parks were really all I had left to check off, especially with the debut of ArieForce One that year. For those who use these pages as travel guides, I’ll try to briefly summarize the other attractions I had previously experienced in Atlanta and my recommendations.
A somewhat surprising candidate for the top of my list would be the Atlanta History Center, a great (if underrated) regional history museum all around, but most specifically for their absolutely gobsmacking Battle of Atlanta Cyclorama that you can still experience in its original form; one of only two original full-sized cycloramas remaining in the country. Think Imax or VR long before either of those technologies were feasible, although the level of craftsmanship and tangible sense of scale of the exhibition honestly makes it even more amazing to witness in person than either of those modern technologies. A modern light and sound show is periodically projected inside the cyclorama to cover the history of the battle and the cyclorama itself, making it an especially worthwhile destination.
Pemberton Place in the heart of Atlanta has a collection of Atlanta’s three most visible and significant visitor attractions. (All are covered on the Atlanta CityPass, which I’d recommend especially if visiting during peak hours for its expedited entry.) The World of Coca-Cola is the most famous, if perhaps least essential. As far as corporate brand centers go, this is one of the better examples with high-end experiential design offering a variety of activities, including the opportunity to try a taste of the infamous Beverly. Even if you generally avoid sugared beverages, the Coke brand is at least inextricable from 20th century Americana that still makes it a destination of interest.
The Georgia Aquarium, on the other hand, is absolutely essential for a visit to Atlanta, if a bit of a time commitment due to its sheer size (and they were significantly expanding it at the time of our visit). The whale sharks in the Ocean Voyager exhibit, the only place in the United States to see the species, are especially humbling to witness in person. Even with so much to do, we hung back for a quarter hour just watching them swim by.
Lastly, the National Center for Civil and Human Rights rounds out the three with more serious subject matter. The high level overview of the American Civil Rights Movement is a good starting point for those undertaking a Civil Rights tour of the South, especially with the top-notch exhibit quality, although it shouldn’t substitute for more specialized historic Civil Rights Trail stops in Atlanta or across the South. The Lunch Counter Sit-In Simulation, which simply uses immersive audio headphones and asks you to close your eyes, is an especially harrowing and memorable experience.
Not too far away, the CNN Studio Tour is also included on the CityPass, which is the only circumstance I’d recommend taking the time to experience. The other other exceptions are either if you’re a huge CNN fan (uh…) or if you’re interested in the history of the building, which prior to CNN hosted the World of Sid & Marty Krofft experimental indoor amusement park in 1976. While there’s very little evidence the park ever existed, one remaining feature is the world’s longest freestanding escalator, which is still in use at the beginning of the tour.
I even had some association with the design work done for two of Atlanta’s museums. First, the Fernbank Museum of Natural History is located next to one of the few remaining old growth forests remaining in a major American metropolitan zone. The museum itself is undergoing a program of revitalization; some exhibits were pretty outdated in 2019, although I expect these are now improved. The NatureQuest children’s discovery area won a Thea Award for those interested in that kind of thing, and the outdoor nature trails also now include an immersive nighttime nature walk.
The Center for Puppetry Arts is one of the most unique specialized museums in the city which I was pleased to have had a (very) small hand in creating the new exhibits organized into two major wings: the Global Collection showcasing different puppet traditions from around the world, and the Jim Henson Collection chronicling the story of America’s most famed and beloved puppeteer and his many long-lasting creations.
Finally, the Atlanta Botanical Garden was the one attraction I actually got to experience across two different seasons, both during its Garden Lights, Holiday Nights display, as well as a daytime spring visit when the gardens were in full bloom. This was also a world-class facility, with the Georgia climate probably well-suited to hosting a variety of horticultural displays for all seasons and from different ecosystems.
There was even more I’m not mentioning, including a number of culinary options (real quick: Pittypat’s Porch is a fun if kitschy Southern experience, while Ponce City Market’s Nine Mile Station offers cool rooftop views and even some simple carnival amusements, although Lyla Lila offered the most refined cooking I’d taste in the city), but these are the essentials I would recommend for those visiting ATL.
Okay, now back to the (relative) present of June 2023…
After riding ArieForce One late into the night, we needed a dinner option on the way to the hotel that would be open late. Normally I research everything far in advance, but in this case we ended up calling my sister, who previously lived in Atlanta for four years during my prior visits before relocating to Chicago, for a recommendation while we were already en route downtown. We ended up settling on the Little 5 Corner Tavern as our best option, and indeed I was able to order a pretty good pulled pork sandwich (with beer and taters) at 11:00pm. It was a little surreal returning to a neighborhood I had visited several times not too long ago for family, only now we had no connection to it other than as theme park tourists. The only other item of interest to note was the surprise discovery of what looked like a rare Allan Herschell Twister spinning flat ride vehicle on display outside the tavern, covered in bumper stickers.
Thus ended another incredibly eventful day (yet oddly was technically the shortest day of the trip due to the time zone shift between Montgomery and Atlanta).
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