These rides turn stomachs at Six Flags

Open daily through July; open weekends later in the season; hours vary. General admission at the gate is $62.99 for adults and $42.99 for children under 48 inches tall, but discounts abound; save $20 on adult tickets at sixflags.com/overgeorgia. AAA and some credit unions also sell discounted tickets.

ABOUT THE REPORTER

Tom Kelley is a lifelong roller coaster and amusement park fan. He grew up in northeast Ohio near Cedar Point, an amusement park recognized for its collection of rides and roller coasters. He is a member of the American Coaster Enthusiasts and has ridden more than 300 different roller coasters.

There’s a couple of new ways to take a spin around the Gotham City area of Six Flags Over Georgia this summer.

You can spin up and over and upside-down, or merely go around and around and around. Pick your poison.

Two rides, the Joker Chaos Coaster and Harley Quinn Spinsanity, are now open at Six Flags, providing more thrills in Gotham City.

You can’t miss the Joker; it rises 70 feet above your head as you walk up the path leading up into Gotham. And, boy, is it loud — a combination of riders screaming and the intense noise the ride makes when it’s in motion.

The Joker consists of a ring of track holding a train that at first rocks forward and backward inside the circle. The train eventually dangles riders upside-down at the top, then loops round and round the track. As if that’s not enough, the train then stops, changes directions and circles the loop in reverse.

The ride is quite popular. “It’s a lot of fun. Before the ride, I said we were going to do two things: We’re going to go forward, and we’re going to go backwards,” said Cody Rogers, 24, of Woodstock.

“It’s a fun little ride if you’re taking a break from the coasters,” added Duncan Farquhar, 15, of Marietta.

Harley Quinn Spinsanity is less overwhelming but surprisingly powerful. The family-oriented ride consists of cars that twirl in circles while moving around on an undulating platform. The ride offers just enough of a thrill for older riders yet isn’t too intense for smaller children. And it’s a ton of fun — if you can handle going around in circles.

“It’s a real multigenerational ride,” said Dale Kaetzel, president of Six Flags Over Georgia and Six Flags White Water, “a ride where parents and children can be on together and share the thrill together.”

Kaetzel said the park this year is emphasizing Gotham City, which is also home to the Batman roller coaster and similar themed rides. “It’s our guests’ favorite section of the park,” he said, and the new rides have been accompanied by fresh landscaping, paint and other improvements in the area.

Also now open at Six Flags is Hurricane Harbor, the popular water park that is included at no additional charge with park admission. The slides, wave pool and water playground provide a refreshing, cool, wet break from the amusement area, and the water park also includes places to lounge or sit down and grab a snack.

The new rides in Gotham City, along with Hurricane Harbor, bring a good flow to the park, Kaetzel said. “Guests can enjoy two new rides, then go cool off.”

For more information: sixflags.com/overgeorgia