Thrill seekers travel across the U.S. for this small theme park
By Ryan Hughes
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FAYETTEVILLE, Georgia (WUPA) — If you have the need for speed, there is an action-packed steel roller coaster about 20 miles from downtown Atlanta that’s attracting enthusiasts from across the country.
ArieForce One is filled with multiple airtime moments, weightlessness, and has you believing you’re traveling to space.
“Once you get to the inversions, you get to the rolls and things like that, you feel like you’re completely out of control,” said Grayson Moon.
Sitting near the entrance to Fun Spot America in Fayetteville, riders on board ArieForce One will climb 15 stories and fly at speeds up to 64 miles per hour.
“I have ridden 220 coasters, and this is my No. 1 coaster,” Moon said.
Moon met CBS News Atlanta at the theme park after driving from Charlotte. She’s part of the national group American Coaster Enthusiasts, and has ridden Arie more than 200 times.
“Arie, I typically describe as a bucking bronco. The very beginning – it’s very nice, it’s very smooth, and then all of a sudden it just sort of smacks you from behind,” she said.
ArieForce One first opened in 2023. It has the largest Zero-G stall in the country, which means the train rotates 180 degrees, stalls, and makes you feel like you’re floating for nearly four seconds.
“It’s just a world-class attraction,” said Jesse McKay.
It’s an attraction drawing fans from all over. McKay is from Nashville, Tennessee.
“There’s a lot of airtime hills kind of ejector moments where you feel like it’s ejecting you out of the seat,” McKay said.
Bryce Biffle traveled from Arlington, Texas, to ride Arie more than 30 times for his 35th birthday.
“As soon as you drop down that drop and go up into that raven trust dive, it is just thing after thing after thing,” Biffle said.
CBS News Atlanta decided to jump on board. Our team sat in the first row next to Moon to give Arie a test run.
It was a 155-foot climb to the top, and then it’s an intense ride filled with flips, twists, and constant turns.
Enthusiasts like Biffle, Moon, and McKay describe the coaster as a gem in metro Atlanta, where riders can take advantage of a world-class ride at a smaller park without the long lines.
“Normally, when I go, I’ll stay for a few hours and ride it about 15 times nonstop and have to go sit and breathe a few minutes, and then do the same again,” McKay said.
“The most I got in one day was 49. I couldn’t get the 50th, my thighs were a little angry at me,” Moon said. “It leaves you breathless, and there aren’t that many coasters that do that to me anymore.”
Beginning Feb. 16, all of Fun Spot America’s indoor and outdoor rides, including ArieForce One, will be open during the week and weekends.
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