Fear, excitement and anticipation. No, this story is not about the dreaded exam week where individuals are anxious and terrified to get their exams over with. Last week Tech presented its students with a bundle of emotions in yet another creative way: Six Flags.
Even though it is almost a given that most of the mechanical engineers probably spent their time figuring out kinks in the roller coasters’ mechanisms and the physics majors tried calculating the speed and velocity of god knows what, the trip to Six Flags was a major stress reliever for most. Apart from the acrophobic, this break from school proved to be exhilarating. At least, that’s how it seemed to be.
Taking a break from the usual frat parties on Friday night, almost every student on campus (who wasn’t at Music Midtown) hitched a ride on the bus, with their adrenaline rush at a peak. The view of roller coasters on the drive up and the visibly short lines only raised levels of excitement and anticipation.
Loony Toons and Daffy Duck conducted a mini photo shoot with each student, and afterwards everyone went on “Splash Water Falls,” which, unfortunately, barely lived up to its name.
The next stop was “Acrophobia” (ironic, yes), which consisted of a 200 foot drop. At the very top of the ride, an intimidating speaker found it amusing to scare all the riders. As the riders descended from the drop, students waiting in line felt as if they were in a violent wind storm.
“Batman,” a ride that actually did live up to its name, let everyone experience the thrill of being a superhero for about sixty seconds.
“Dare Devil Dive,” (some students mistook the name for “Dare Devil Die”), was a nearly vertical ride that dropped you from ninety feet above the ground.
The “Georgia Scorcher” luckily cooled everyone down, with each drop producing screams of joy.
Craving some more adventures, people mounted “Goliath,” a ride similar to Scorcher, except it was a twenty stories high trip into the sky and dropped people seventy miles per hour. As with any amusement park, the rides were the best part of the trip for Tech’s adrenaline junkies.
Giving students a much needed break from the dining hall, the food at Six Flags was mouth watering. Crammed with Cold Stones, Panda Express, and satisfying sweet tooth options, the food was the perfect getaway from the exhausting rides. It felt almost as if the place had every type of cuisine out there.
A turn off for most people, though, was the nonexistent difference between food portion sizes. For example, one person ordered a small fry, while their partner ordered a regular. With a mind blowing 1⁄4 inch difference, the vendor charged two dollars more for the regular.
Everything else seemed to be heaven on earth. Oh, speaking of heaven, let’s talk about the funnel cake. That funnel cake was probably one of the most delicious desserts the students had ever filled their stomachs with.
A chocolate funnel cake the size of a plate was topped with soft serve ice cream, a waffle cone, chocolate syrup, fluffy whipped cream, and a cherry on top to wrap up the delicacy, and the perfect night.
As tired legs shuffled through the park and onto the buses, everyone sank into their seats out of pure exhaustion, but each face was lit with a smile.
The night was hands down one of the most memorable ones that Tech students had so far this semester. From the warm welcome to the park to the amazing food and adventurous, thrilling roller coasters, Six Flags proved to be the perfect getaway from stressful college life.