Fun Spite Atlanta, Lake Winnie, & Alabama Adventure

[Hutch]

After doing a bunch of traveling in the first half of the year, I decided to take a break from planning things and more or less keep my summer open. Well, it’s a good thing I did that as it meant I could book an emergency trip to Atlanta on a few weeks’ notice to grab ArieForce One. Once word got out that Fun Spot Atlanta was cooked, I knew I needed to get down there. Hadn’t been yet and there was no way I was gonna let a major RMC be a missed cred.

I ended up going down during the park’s final weekend of operation, which was far from my first choice, but my friend who I was planning this trip with couldn’t do any other weekend in July. So such is life. We also made plans to do Lake Winnie and Alabama Adventure, rounding out the weekend of sh—tty little theme parks.

Of course, a couple weeks ahead of the trip—after we had booked everything—my friend had to change his plans and could only join me for Alabama Adventure on Sunday, so I wound up on my own for the first two days. Well, not entirely alone as I ran into some familiar faces.

Day 1 - Fun Spot Atlanta

Last Friday I flew down early in the afternoon and landed at around 3:00. I decided to hit up Fun Spot that afternoon, thinking it wouldn’t be as busy as Sat/Sun (spoiler alert: wrong!). After grabbing my rental car, I was tempted to go straight from the airport to the park, but it was HOT, and I needed to change out of my work clothes. So I swung by my hotel first, did a little regroup, and ended up arriving at Fun Spot Atlanta around 5:00.

I picked up a wristband—which unfortunately was not needed—and went straight to Arie Force One. The parked looked ROUGH. There was actually somewhat of an atmosphere thanks to extra crowds, but I’d imagine a typical day would look kinda sketch.





I joined the queue of ArieForce One—already a bit of a line—and immediately saw it was broken down. A train full of riders were stuck on the brake run with a ride op walking down to hand them little paper cups of water. Shortly afterward they got them out, put one of the trains into storage, and cycled a few empties on the other one.





Soon it opened back up, confirmed by the cheers in the station, and I got on in about another twenty minutes. I wound up sitting in front of @ECG, who was accompanied by none other than Joe Draves and Alan Schilke (the latter of which was his first ride!).

As expected ArieForce One is (edit: WAS ) amazing. Unlike Intamins, which obviously deliver, RMCs tend to hit immediately on the first ride, giving me a pretty good idea of where it’ll end up in the rankings. It’s not gonna be my favorite but it ended up barely cracking the Top 10. No element is wasted.



I really enjoyed the finale for the sheer brutality of it, but I understand why not everyone likes it. It does toe the line of being too much, and slamming into the brakes requires you to brace with your arms or engage your core.

Couple other surprise highlights: the bunny hill after the dive loop had actual ejector airtime that always caught me off guard. There’s also a powerful corner before the last inversion which pins you in your seat.

My favorite moment was the top of the double up though. The ride is chock full of sharp ejector moments, but this is a nice sustained one that keeps you out for a bit. It’s amazing in the back seat, made even better with the arcade roll following up.



I wasn’t quite ready to get another ride yet, what with the queue getting longer and the ride down to one train, so I checked out the other creds. Hurricane Coaster’s line also looked rough, but I grabbed Sea Serpent. Some other goons had the same idea, so at least shame was limited/shared.



I braved AF1’s queue again, this time taking an hour. Yes, it was on single train ops, but it was still spending way too much time in the station.











I stayed near the back again—still incredible—but I wasn’t in the best mood considering it was a pain to get on. I realized I shouldn’t have bothered with the wristband. I went back to finally suck up the queue for Hurricane. This was extra painful considering it was one train for a capacity of six, but I got on after about 25 minutes when the ride op asked for a single rider. Thank god!



Heard nothing but janky things about this one and it was pretty bad. Some of the drops are kinda fun but the turns were sooo bad. I don’t know what it is, but it felt like it was going to tear itself apart.



I was gonna grab another ride on AF1 but I cringed when I saw the state of this line:



Well it turns out they closed the line early (this was around 8:45 at this point), and honestly I was kinda relieved since I didn’t want to wait for that. And I needed food. Apparently they opened the line back up at around 9:30 when they realized they were gonna empty the queue too soon, but I couldn’t have planned for that.









After grabbing a few more photos, I hightailed it outta there, grabbing a Dominos pizza on the way back to the hotel.

Honestly, it wasn’t a great visit. ArieForce One is an easy 10/10, but waiting in that line with one train is rough, especially when I was pretty much on my own. I also felt bamboozled on the wristband—definitely didn’t get my money’s worth. And considering this park (well, coaster really) was the motive behind the trip, it wasn't a great start to the weekend.

But don’t worry, I’ve got more s—tty parks coming up next.

 

[ECG]

...Soon it opened back up, confirmed by the cheers in the station, and I got on in about another twenty minutes. I wound up sitting in front of @ECG, who was accompanied by none other than Joe Draves and Alan Schilke (the latter of which was his first ride!)....

Can't believe you sat in front of me without saying a thing. And Saturday was much better than Friday.

 

[Hutch]

Can't believe you sat in front of me without saying a thing. And Saturday was much better than Friday.

I must be a hard face to remember (and I'm sure you interacted with dozens of goons) because I definitely said hi and shook hands with you as we sat down on that train. Your local friend was flabbergasted that it was my first time at the park haha.

 

[Hutch]

Day 2 - Fun Spot Atlanta and Lake Winnepesaukah

I had originally planned to hit up Fun Spot on Saturday afternoon/evening, with Friday being more of a “bonus” day since I flew in early, but after ending the night off in not a great mood, I honestly considered not even bothering. Ultimately, I decided to give it another shot—would’ve been a shame to only get two rides on AF1.

I had plans to hit up Lake Winniepesukah during the day, but after seeing the rain forecast for both areas, I decided to pop into Fun Spot first thing and drive up north around midday. This worked out nicely since I ended up sleeping in and lounging a bit, while still able to arrive at Fun Spot around opening.

I was in two minds about whether or not to buy a wristband or go for individual ride tickets (something like $12 per AF1 ride), but I decided to pay for another pass to just not think about it. It is what it is.

Luckily, the coaster’s queue was much easier this time around. With two trains, the line moved much easier. Even a full queue was about 30-40 minutes. Sure, that’s nonsense for a ride that’s known to have walk-ons, but still worth it given the ride’s quality.







I grabbed three rides in about couple hours, while also running into some more familiar faces.















After that I journeyed a couple hours north to hit up Lake Winnepesaukah. A completely different region of the state, as evident by a Confederate flag hanging tall along I-75 about 15 minutes from the park.

The park was worryingly quiet for a Saturday in the summer. Perhaps the reported thunderstorms in the morning kept people away. But most of the attendees were in the water park, leaving the rides mostly empty with a lot of bored ride ops.





I was almost convinced I’d be getting bonus cred—didn’t recognize this one—but it turns out this is supposed to be new-for-2026. Clearly not ready.





That’s okay, because I’m here for Cannonball. Love to see an old school brake handle, and I kept forgetting this has buzz bars!



And it’s actually kinda great! I got a few rides on this and was liking it more and more each time. There’s a few precious moments of standing airtime (just make sure to loosen the seatbelt on the lift hill!).





I did rerides in between wandering around and doing other rides. It was obviously on one train, but it was usually never more than a one train wait. I kept my eye on the queue and basically joined again whenever I knew I could get on the next train coming in.





The only other cred here is Wacky Worm, hidden in a quiet area behind the carousel. Luckily I joined just after a small group of families left, so I had a zen ride with nobody to shame me.







Grabbed a ride on their chair swing, always a guilty pleasure. The ops at this park were very friendly too. A bit of “thank you for coming to our park” and “enjoy your day” which you don’t often hear elsewhere.



Once I was happy with Cannonball, I enjoyed myself a ride on the sky ride.













I sat down thinking I could get off next to their water chute, but soon realized I’d have to go all the way around, just to have to walk back to the front.















I think the water chute would be more fun with a group, but it doesn’t do much. There’s an obnoxiously long tunnel where the boat constantly clangs against the walls. The lift and drop are unique at least. Not too wet either… though the lake is kinda gross.

And that was it! I was only in the park for an hour and a half, but I ended up doing quite a bit. Four rides on the woodie and a few other rides. Very easy. Pretty bitter about that random Tivoli though. That might not even open this year.

This was turning into a bit of dumb day of driving, but on the way back to Atlanta I swung by an FEC which recently opened up (or at least the visa spinner recently opened). Well, I showed up and encountered some unusual traffic leading into the parking lot. Dozens of cars were parked on the grass, and police officers were blocking the parking lot entrance.



I asked one officer:
“Where can I park?”
“Do you have a reservation?”
“…No.”
“It’s currently a four hour wait.”
“REALLY?!”

That was probably BS, but I was ready to cut my losses anyway. At the very least I wanted to pull into a gas station or something for a quick break to reset my nav system. Then I found a Subway around the corner and was like “Oh lemme just park here real quick and grab the cred.”



Wandered over, found the main entrance at the back, and saw this:



Yeah f—k that.

I’m honestly flabbergasted. Is there seriously nothing else to do in Atlanta?

I ended up going back to Fun Spot. I honestly would not have bothered, but there were a couple other folks I was hoping to catch up with (including old CFer Edward M, @MartyNZ, and first time meeting @MLDesigns). I got one more ride on AF1. Could’ve done it again but ended up just hanging out. I was satisfied with my rides anyway.

In hindsight I probably should’ve stuck with my original plan of hitting Lake Winnie first, then close out with Fun Spot, but the weather forecast changed my game plan. Honestly I’m not sure if the forecasted thunderstorms ever came in—I didn’t really encounter much.

I had another unfortunately late dinner back at hotel—this time with Taco Bell.

Final park day up next before I fly home.

 

[Hyde]

Love the trip report, and great you were able to make it to Lake Winnie! Inspiring for some too-early-to-plan 2027 plans, and thinking through some second- and third-tier parks that I've yet to get to.

 

[Hutch]

Day 3 - Alabama Adventure

Like Lake Winnie, Alabama Adventure was never a park I thought I’d get to anytime soon, but here we are. It’s two and a half hours from Atlanta (Lake Winnie a little under two), so it’s actually pretty reasonable for a day trip if you’re based there. Especially if you combine it with a visit to Six Flags Over Georgia and such.

Oh yeah, I didn’t hit SFOG this weekend. I actually never bothered with a Six Flags pass this year. I wouldn’t have had time anyway, but even if I did, between a day ticket and parking, it would’ve been $100. Absolutely not. Plus, I’ve done the park a couple times already, and their new creds are either already gone (the dueling kiddie thing) or SBNO (Georgia Surfer or whatever it’s called now).

My friend who couldn’t make it the first couple days had a redeye to Birmingham, so I picked him up there and we arrived at Alabama Adventure, coincidentally in time for rope drop. Apparently, this park is owned by the same family that owns Holiday World, so should be good right?



The main/only reason for visiting is Rampage, a CCI which is pretty similar to Megaphobia. The park map however suggests that it’s a dueling coaster!





Rampage is not a small ride, and it’s up on a hillside, so it’s a pretty cool approach.





We got on first train of the day in front row, and impressions weren’t great. There was some airtime, but the ride seemed to be in rough shape. Bit of a concern considering we came all the way out here for this, but it was still first train of the day with only a handful of riders.







Tried it again in the back car. The very back row was closed off, which I didn’t mind as it meant we could avoid the wheel seat. This was MUCH better. As I suspected, a full train of riders seemed to make it run a lot nicer. The drops had a lot more unexpected airtime in the back too. There’s also a lot of flat turns, resulting in some violently hilariously laterals. Left side is the bitch seat, if you were curious.



I also love this post-brake run turn into a second sloped brake run. Just nonsense.





There’s another cred up on the hillside, located awkwardly at the end of a long pathway. It’s some secondhand wild mouse designed by L&T Systems—no idea if I’ve done anything of theirs.













It’s a simpler layout than the usual affair, but I guess that makes it somewhat more interesting. The highlight was riding a car that was literally falling apart:



I found out shortly afterward that this was relocated from non-other than Lake Winnie, which tells you everything you need to know. If Lake Winnie of all parks didn’t want it anymore, Alabama Adventure probably got scammed. This thing isn’t looking too good, and they had to pour a whole foundation up on the hillside for this thing.









Couple more rides on Rampage. At one train operations, which were (acceptably) slow, each dispatch managed to be mostly full with riders.





Did our obligatory wander around the park afterward. Like Holiday World, this place had free soda, which is always a huge win for guest experience. Sadly, the rest of the park couldn’t match Holiday World’s quality. There were some nice areas, but other areas/rides were looking grim.







We were expecting the water park to be the park’s breadwinner, but this was looking bleak.







I think this was some bar, possibly abandoned.



This was a (clearly vacant) show area for stunt divers. Right before I took this photo, some kid was swimming in it. To be fair, nothing was stopping him from walking up and jumping in, but it was clearly not for the public.





Ok, this area looks much better. Makes sense now.



We ate lunch in the park (not our first choice but timing was not in our favor) and went back to grab the remaining cred, Centi-Speed.





And finished with a couple more Rampage rides. We had been staying towards the back of the train, and it kept delivering. For our last ride, we wound up on a wheel seat in the second to last car, and it was still great. There’s still some rusty valleys, but the extra ridiculousness added to it. There is a retracked airtime hill in the middle of the layout, but it’s not the most exciting moment.



It was time to hit the road after that as we had a deadline to return the car rental. Solid couple hours in the park with six rides on Rampage and one each on the plus ones. The park feels smaller than it actually is considering the water park takes up a little over half the space, so not much time is really needed if you’re here for just the rides. I'd imagine busier days would still be easy since most people probably go to the water park, but this was a weekend in the summer, so maybe it doesn't get much busier than this. Then again, it was a Sunday, so they're probably competing with morning church.



Rampage has a little bit of hype from others, and even though my expectations weren’t high, I’m glad it ended up being a really cool ride. I sorta forgot/didn’t realize that Rampage had been SBNO for the past three years. That must have been a bust for anyone visiting. The park can’t afford to lose it, but I don’t think it can afford to run it either.

You can see what the park is going for, there’s a lot of potential, but it hasn’t really come together yet. They seem to have figured out that the water park is where the money is, so hopefully they’ll continue to expand that (fix that dire-looking area in the middle, my god). Spruce up some other areas as well (i.e. the main street). And continue to work on Rampage, and maybe, MAYBE, they can afford another good ride in the long run.

Or just borrow money from your big brother (or whoever it is) running Holiday World.

It was 2.5 hours back to ATL. For whatever reason, all the flights to Boston got delayed, but I successfully stood by for an earlier flight (which I wouldn’t have made otherwise had that not get delayed either).

This will likely be it for me when it comes to creds this year, unless I randomly decide to do another trip in the fall. I've got some exciting ideas for next year that I need to start thinking about, but in the meantime, I have several months of cred drought to enjoy.