Georgia Scorcher at Six Flags Over Georgia was the last stand-up coaster Bolliger and
Mabillard ever built.
And could it be their best?
Most of the later B&M stand-ups were large and forceful, but Georgia Scorcher does things
differently.
This one has modest stats and a turn based layout.
Find out if this is better in this review!
Bolliger and Mabillard’s three roller coasters were all stand-ups that were modest in size.
But in the mid-1990s, B&M built a trio of large, record-breaking stand-ups.
The first would be Mantis at Cedar Point in 1996.
The second would be Chang at Kentucky Kingdom in 1997, which runs as Green Lantern at Six
Flags Great Adventure today.
And the third would be Riddler’s Revenge at Six Flags Magic Mountain in 1998.
Each one was bigger and more forceful than the last.
But Six Flags Over Georgia and B&M did a contrarian layout in 1999 with Georgia Scorcher.
This stand-up would stand just 107 feet or 33 meters tall and feature only 2 inversions.
Was Six Flags being cheap or did B&M learn something?
Their first three stand-ups weren’t as smooth.
B&M did thankfully fix this with their newer coasters.
However, the large over-the-shoulder restraints usually rest right next to your ears, so it’s
pretty easy to get headbanging if you don’t set it correctly, but more on that later.
Their later stand-ups were extremely forceful.
I love their power.
The positive Gs in the valleys and inversions make my legs feel like jelly.
It feels like the coasters are trying to shove you through the floor.
This sensation alone can be uncomfortable for some, but it can be brutal if you are
in the wrong riding position.
There are two things that can go wrong.
One, you can be sitting down.
You straddle a bike seat and if you sit on this, your groin will take the brunt of the
force, which is not pleasant.
Two, if you don’t put the bike seat low enough, the positive Gs will compress your
groin against that bike seat anyway.
I have a video going into more detail, but the key with these stand-ups are to get a
few inches of clearance between the bike seat and your groin.
This also gets the over-the-shoulder restraint below your ears.
It will be jammed against the top of your shoulder, which can be a dealbreaker for some,
but I find that much more tolerable than a sudden headbang or groin slam.
What’s most telling about these 6 coasters is that half of them have been converted from
stand-up to floorless coasters.
While this has made the coasters less intense by stripping them of their unique riding position,
it has made the coasters more tolerable for most people.
And you could argue a few others would be candidates for conversions if their parks
didn’t already feature floorless coasters.
But I’d argue Georgia Scorcher never needs to be touched.
Georgia Scorcher features the smoothest tracking of all the stand-ups.
This ride is glass smooth.
The ride also features more comfortable G-forces.
There are some positives, but they’re milder and less sustained, so your legs don’t feel
like they’ll explode.
This is why I think it’s a shame B&M hasn’t built a stand-up since this one.
The company still offers stand-ups on their website, but it’s clear their other models
have proven more popular both from a rideability and capacity perspective.
Georgia Scorcher is located adjacent to the roadway into Six Flags Over Georgia.
Both this coaster and Goliath, which travels directly over Georgia Scorcher, make quite
the first impression.
And that’s especially the case now that Georgia Scorcher has been repainted to a cherry
red color.
Before that, the ride’s yellow track was looking awfully faded.
Georgia Scorcher is located to the left of the main entrance and for many, it’s the
first coaster they’ll come across.
Because of this placement, the park typically opens this ride a half hour.
So the ride usually is a walk-on during this period.
But it can build up a wait right after the official opening time as more people funnel
into the park.
Georgia Scorcher does not have the best capacity.
Each train can hold up to 32 guests in 8 rows of 4, but dispatch times are pretty slow like
most stand-ups.
Many guests think it’s funny to bounce up-and-down in their seat until it locks in an uncomfortable
position, so the employees have to go row-by-row both checking the restraints and setting their
height.
So if you aren’t one of the first ones on Georgia Scorcher, you’re best returning
in the second half of the day after everyone is further into the park.
In terms of seat selection, I have a slight preference for the front for the unobstructed
view, but I find the forces to be pretty similar throughout the train.
Once dispatched, you head up the lift hill.
It doesn’t look too tall though since Goliath is right next to it.
Goliath’s returning bunny hills are nearly as tall as Scorcher’s lift!
After a short pre-drop, you head down a straight first drop.
I was hopeful this would give some airtime like the other straight drops on B&M loopers,
but it was too shallow to do so.
The pullout did deliver some solid positive Gs though.
A few other valleys on the ride deliver weaker bursts of positives, but not as much as this
one.
The drop is followed by the first inversion, an 81 foot or 25 meter tall vertical loop.
It’s not that much shorter than the drop, so you slow down at the top and get a little
hangtime.
You then get some positive Gs in the valley and they’re maintainted through the subsequent
turnaround.
And this element is a greyout moment for me since the Gs are sustained for a few seconds.
That’s followed by a 360 degree upwards helix.
This element doesn’t do much in the force department but it is mildly dizzying since…if
you’re like me…will be coming off a greyout from the prior turnaround.
You then speed over a bunny hill that sharply banks to the right at the top.
This looks like one of those speed hills on Fury 325 and it is pretty funky on a stand-up.
You don’t really get any laterals, but you do get some lift which is always a freaky
feeling on a stand-up.
You then whip through the snappiest element on the ride, the corkscrew.
This inversion pulls you through it at a good clip, but not as much as the older B&M loopers.
Georgia Scorcher then has a few more turns before hitting the brakes.
The turnaround after the corkscrew is pretty forgettable.
Then comes another turnaround, but this one gives a little airtime and then way you snap
to the right also gives some laterals simultaneously.
You then twist 180 degrees on the descent.
Then you bank up and to the left into the brakes, getting some abrupt laterals on the
way.
This is the one spot where you need to watch out for headbanging if you’re restraint
is next to your ears.
That ends the 3000 foot or 910 meter long course and it really is impressive how much
track B&M packed in considering the narrow footprint.
So what would I rate Georgia Scorcher?
I would give this stand-up a 7 out of 10.
This is probably the most comfortable stand-up.
It’s super smooth and the forces aren’t as intense.
I do prefer the power of the large stand-ups, but those rides do take a lot out of me.
I could ride Georgia Scorcher all-day.
This ride also has a pretty neat layout for the genre since it’s twist and turn based
rather than inversion centric.
But you still have two solid inversions sprinkled in to get your fill.
I think this coaster is towards the middle of the pack at Six Flags Over Georgia, but
it offers an experience unlike the park’s other coasters and this ride type has become
a dying breed in the industry.
Who knows if we’ll ever get another new stand-up coaster.
So those are my thoughts on Georgia Scorcher at Six Flags Over Georgia.
What do you think about B&M’s final stand-up?
Do you prefer this over the larger ones?
Let me know down in the comments.
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