AT: Tim Baldwin

FAYETTEVILLE, Ga. — Prior to Fun Spot America Atlanta becoming the third property in the family-owned park chain, the facility had roots as more of a family entertainment center. The batting cages, arcade, go-karts and miniature golf were staples of the FEC market, but there were some carnival rides to make the mix of offerings somewhat of a small amusement park.

The Arie family purchased the park in 2017 and rebranded it as the first Fun Spot property outside of Central Florida the following year. Since then, more has been added. In fact, the park became the recipient of Breakout FEC of 2021 in AT’s Golden Ticket Awards. 

Things have changed. In using the park’s slogan capitalized by CEO John Arie, Jr., “It’s HUGE.”

The new ArieForce One roller coaster is the largest attraction investment to date, which includes both parks in Orlando and Kissimmee. It was supplied by Rocky Mountain Construction.

“The reviews on this have been absolutely phenomenal,” said Arie. “I have to say, RMC exceeded my expectations. It was a $13 million investment. We did have to do an additional $6 million property investment that the county made us do, which was unexpected, but the $13 million we spent with RMC is very, very worth it. We’re very happy with their workmanship, their quality and their staff.”

“We pour our heart into every ride we build,” said Darren Torr, president, RMC. “John Arie, Jr. and his team and his family have been wonderful to work with. I hope this a cornerstone for this park that will help it continue to grow and evolve.”

“When Fun Spot approached us, we weren’t sure what size of ride they were looking for,” said Jake Kilcup, COO, RMC. “John Jr. came out and said, ‘I’m looking for a banger. Give me something big.’ We went for it on the design. We had several iterations afterward, but we kind of came back to the original layout. John loved it so much. I think it was the right move. It ties the whole park together and kind of sprawls through the whole park.”

The park has 120 acres on which to expand. Hopes are that the world-class roller coaster puts the park on the map.

“In my vision, I want to have a water park, more roller coasters, and a hotel and villa in the back of the property,” Arie said. “I want to turn this into a regional theme park. It’s the same size as your average Six Flags.”

Six Flags Over Georgia is located 20 miles from Fun Spot America.

“We are in a great community,” added Arie. “Fayetteville is a small town, but there is a lot of heart here. There’s a lot of small businesses — and that’s what we are. We’re a part of that.”

Standing at 154 feet, the coaster is not only iconic, it’s monumental. For the RMC team, ArieForce One is almost a first in design type as it is more of an out-and-back-style coaster. The layout was created by designer Joe Draves.

“A lot of times we work with a reprofile and work with existing foundations,” Torr told Amusement Today. “It forces creativity on us. “Originally, where we do the barrel roll over the arcade building, we were going to go through the building. Complications made us go over it. But my personal favorite moment is the outer-banked turn.”

“It’s right along the highway, so we hope it pulls people into the park,” added Kilcup. “We have some tricks we reuse — because they are good tricks! — but we always want to give them something special, something different. The raven truss dive was a really unique element. Using trusses for more than just the lift hill just makes it aesthetically more beautiful. Anytime we can bring our geeky aesthetic engineering side into it, we love that.”

The ride features an 83-degree first drop, an outward-banked airtime hill, double up, wildly banked turnaround and four inversions.

Like Torr, Arie feels his favorite moment is the outward-banked turn. “It gets everybody. It’s amazing and smooth. It puts a smile on my face every single time.”

“The barrel roll over the building. I think it is so snappy and tight,” said Kilcup. “The catch out of it is just so perfect. Joe did an amazing job.”

Named after John Arie, Jr.’s father, John Arie, Sr., it was inspired by the elder Arie’s love of flying and exploration.

“I rode it, and it’s the most intense but smoothest roller coaster I’ve ever been on,” said John Arie, Sr. “I’d go again in a heartbeat. It’s absolutely a signature ride not only for Fun Spot but RMC and the state of Georgia. It’s absolutely unbelievable.”

RMC has frequently worked with Irvine Ondrey Engineering (IOE) for control systems.

“While working on AF1, John Arie, Jr. and the entire Fun Spot America Atlanta staff really went above and beyond to make sure everything was ready on time, and it was clear that this project was a true labor of love for them,” said Brian Ondrey, president, IOE. “We have a great relationship with RMC, too, and are always honored to work with their team. This ride is non-stop thrills and it’s going to make Fun Spot America Atlanta a hot spot for years to come!”

“The biggest challenge on AF1 — which also has been impacting all of our other projects, as well as those of the greater industry community — was the supply chain shortage and the current volatile, ever-changing nature of component availability,” noted Bill Buckley, parts producrement, RMC. “We’ve had to be aggressive and vigilant to obtain what’s needed for our work.”

The ride sports a space theme. Patriotic insignia, flags and exploration signage help convey the idea. The trains have a futuristic look, as if they are ready to launch into space.

“We worked very close with the marketing department of the park,” said Torr. “We know what the envelope is that we have to work with. They develop a concept of what the theming is going to look like and we’ll go back and look at the feasibility of it and work with the artists we have on staff.”

Maclan Wheels have long partnered with RMC on their trains.

“We have worked with both RMC and Fun Spot for a number of years. It is so fun to see them come together,” said Maegan Wallace, sales and marketing, Maclan Wheels. “This ride is so fun and intense; we are thrilled to have a part in it.”

First-rider opportunities were auctioned off, and the proceeds ($5,000) were donated to the National Roller Coaster Museum and Archives.

“In 2018, we were close to 140/150 employees,” said Torr. “When the pandemic hit and all the parks shut down, construction projects shut down and nobody was ordering any new coasters. For us, we don’t have a revenue stream when that happens. We, unfortunately, had to reduce our labor force to stay in business. We’re a family-owned company, and we were able to collaborate with John Jr. in early 2021. It was a great time — it was good for them and good for us. It let us retain our key people and keep the core of RMC together. It allowed us to live to fight another day and hopefully continue to bring these engineering masterpieces to the world.”

At the ride’s opening, John Arie Jr. told AT: “Everyone who had shown up today has just given me goosebumps and warmed my heart.”

This article appears in the  MAY 2023 issue of Amusement Today.
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