So I've visited Six Flags Over Georgia twice. Both times came in band trips: one time being in my first year of marching band going to BOA, the other time being in my final year of marching band going to the Peach Bowl.
The first time on October 30, 2011 I did:
1-Goliath (B&M Hypercoaster)
2-Acrophobia (Intamin Gyro Drop/Tilting)
3-Mindbender (Schwarzkopf Looper)
4-Batman: The Ride (B&M Inverted Coaster)
This most recent time on December 30, 2017 I did:
1-Georgia Scorcher (B&M Stand-Up Coaster)
2-Dare Devil Dive (Gerstlauer Euro-Fighter)
3-Goliath (B&M Hypercoaster)
4-Superman Ultimate Flight (B&M Flying Coaster)
5-Batman: The Ride (B&M Inverted Coaster)
6-Goliath (2nd time) (B&M Hypercoaster)
I need to visit this place when it's not a band trip lol. It's just with the limited time and long lines, I can only do so much. But this is a really nice park.
Goliath is another amazing B&M Hypercoaster. I especially enjoyed the double helix by the main entrance; very unique for a hyper where you would expect an over-banked turn, or a "hammerhead." One of the more intense ones I've ridden! The most recent time though, I had to put myself in layers since it was very cold in Atlanta. I had to put some kind of headgear on to keep me warm, and I almost lost that headgear because of the intensity of that ride LOL. 😂 It's a VERY fun coaster! I rode it 2 times last time!
Unfortunately I never noticed the tilting feature that much on Acrophobia. I still enjoyed it, even though I didn't get to go on it last time. Falcon's Fury, though, makes it look like child's play.
Now Mindbender was a pretty fun coaster if I recall right. I was unable to go on it last time, but the first time I remember it going through some woods. Those types of coasters appeal to me. I was a little disappointed I wasn't able to do it this time around. Batman: The Ride was the second Batman clone I've ridden (the first was at SFMM; the third and most recent was at SFGAdv). The first time I was there, the wait was insane. Trapped in the middle of a slow-moving switchback room, wondering if I was going to be able to do it. This time, I didn't even have to go into the room, so the wait was much less.
Georgia Scorcher was one of the rides I've gone on for the first time in the Peach Bowl trip. It was a nice compact Stand-Up coaster, and it is also the last Stand-Up built. I actually really enjoyed those types of coasters. I also rode Dare Devil Dive for the first time, which opened the first year I went to SFOG. I really enjoyed this coaster compared to the other Euro-Fighter I rode (Mystery Mine which was pretty nice too) maybe because it has lap bars. It gives you a sense of free-flying.
Superman Ultimate Flight here was the second version of the coaster I rode, the first one being at Six Flags Great Adventure in 2012. It broke down at one point in line, but it was worth it! I didn't realize how awesome these flying coaster clones are. Of course they were amazing, but this made me remember better!
I actually saw the construction of Twisted Cyclone, the new RMC conversion of Georgia Cyclone, so as you'd imagine, I got excited and took pics.
Overall, I actually really enjoyed the park both times I was there. Simply hanging with a group of young band members, from high school to college, was very fun, and the rides were high quality! Hopefully I can visit again real soon, especially with Twisted Cyclone now open! 😁
Wednesday, May 30, 2018
Canada's Wonderland Review 2017
Canada's Wonderland: 6/7/17
1. Leviathan (B&M Giga Coaster)
2. Drop Tower (Intamin Giant Drop)
3. Wild Beast (Curtis D. Summers Wooden Coaster)
4. Bat (Vekoma Boomerang)
5. Fly (Mack Wilde Maus)
6. Vortex (Arrow Suspended Coaster)
7. WindSeeker (Mondial Wind Seeker)
8. Minebuster (Curtis D. Summers Wooden Coaster)
9. Backlot Stunt Coaster (Premier LIM Launch Coaster)
10. Behemoth (B&M Hypercoaster)
11. Time Warp (Zamperla Volare)
12. Flight Deck (Vekoma SLC)
13. Dragon Fire (Arrow Looper)
14. Riptide (Mondial Top Spin Splash)
15. Leviathan (2x) (B&M Giga Coaster)
16. Drop Tower (2nd time) (Intamin Giant Drop)
17. Shockwave (Mondial Top Scan)
18. Thunder Run (Mack Powered Coaster)
19. Guardian (Art Ent/Triotech 4D Interactive Dark Ride/coaster)
20. Behemoth (2nd time) (B&M Hypercoaster)
21. Sledge Hammer (HUSS Giant Jump 2)
22. Psyclone (Mondial Frisbee)
23. Behemoth (3rd time) (B&M Hypercoaster)
24. Leviathan (4th time) (B&M Giga Coaster)
Warning: You are going to see me have an anger fit about a certain ride here. I'll try to keep it as civil as possible, but beware younger viewers; you'll see censored swearing.
Canada's Wonderland was my 4th Cedar Fair park when I visited last year. It was a great park with an awesome balance between flat rides and coasters. To clarify when I get to the coaster I'm going to yell at, this is no attack towards the park. It's only meant towards the coaster. The park on the other hand was just amazing!! 😁
Leviathan was the first ride of the day, and I was immediately reminded of Fury 325 at Carowinds. Like Fury, Leviathan was a mind-blowing coaster (or mind-crushing/6-star... rankings anyone? 😜) and became one of my all-time favorite coasters. From the brilliant first drop into the tunnel, to the forceful curves; from the wind pounding your face, to the insane speed, this is a coaster to be reckoned with! I tried a little Rick and Morty reference at the station saying "Show me what you got! I want to see what you got!" I intended to complete the joke, but the ride's insanity made me forget to complete it. 😂 Overall, what a great coaster! With this coaster, I have now ridden every giga coaster in North America as of 2017 and as of today.
Drop Tower was the same model as the one in Carowinds as well as the one in California's Great America (Intamin Giant Drop). This was a lot taller than the one in Carowinds, but the same feeling; a very fun drop tower. We next did Wild Beast which was a really fun wooden coaster. It's another coaster that's not very popular with other enthusiasts. For the most part I have a high tolerance for coasters (we'll get to the one that broke me in a moment. Trust me, it's going to get ugly... or fun for some of you).
Bat was another Boomerang credit for me. Like the others, it's a fun coaster with a small footprint! We then rode Fly; basically your typical Wilde Maus/Wild Mouse coaster. This ride was a little heart-warming though, because a little girl couldn't ride with her father, due to him being too fat to ride. So an employee rode instead to keep the girl company, riding in the row in front of us. Now that is GREAT service!
Next came Vortex, my second Arrow Suspended Coaster at the time. I enjoyed this ride a lot more than Iron Dragon. Afterwards came Minebuster, another nice woodie. This one had a fun out-and-back layout. We then rode our second Backlot Stunt Coaster. I do think these rides could have been a little longer, but these are fun family coasters.
And then we rode the other B&M coaster in the park, Behemoth. At the time this was my second experience on a stagger-seated B&M hyper. This was the first one built though, opening in 2008 (for reference, Diamondback opened in 2009 and Intimidator opened in 2010). Behemoth was just as great as Intimidator (at the time I did not ride Diamondback), and I especially loved the double helix towards the end. As if it's a surprise, it's yet another amazing hyper coaster!! 😁
Oh god... now we're getting to the bad part... there's two coasters in this next section. One of them I thought was stupid, the other I thought was just abysmal. Shall we dive in? I'm dreading to recap these horrors. Another warning: I will try to keep it civil, but younger viewers probably shouldn't look at this.
Let's start with Time Warp... this was my first Zamperla Volare credit, and according to the design of the ride, it is a flying coaster. I say this, because... it really didn't feel like a coaster. I didn't feel any enjoyment from this thing. I'm mostly a kind critic for coasters, as you might have guessed. This ride, however, was just a waste of time. It banged your head, though at least the guards on the restraints were soft like pillows, so it wasn't the worst feeling. No, my main concern was everything else with this ride. The trains were uncanny and weird to enter into: you had to climb to get a good height. And the ride just didn't feel like a coaster; it felt more like an incredibly strange flat ride, with the train just dragging you throughout the ride. Even by flat ride standards, almost all of them would be better experiences than this. I WANTED to enjoy this, but I just couldn't. Instead of feeling accomplished of getting another coaster credit on my list, I was baffled and thought to myself as the train entered the station: "What the hell did I just ride?" I am not one to judge a ride design based on one ride, but if this is what the experience is for this kind of ride, I'll still ride the others if they're in my way. However, I would not look forward to it. And comparing this thing to ANY other flying coaster (Manta, Nighthawk, Firehawk, Tatsu, the Superman clones) would be a complete insult to these kinds of rides. Flying coasters are graceful and thrilling; this was just a mess.
So, what do you think my pick is for what's worse? You would think it's a ride that I have not ridden any other design of like the Volare. No... there's a coaster here much worse than this. I guess because I rode a similar version in another location and I didn't find it that awful. But here we are and it's about to get ugly.
Flight Deck, my 2nd Vekoma SLC credit... as I mentioned, I have a high tolerance for coasters and as I just stated, I am a kind critic. I usually never outright hate coasters. The other SLC I rode in Heide-Park wasn't that bad. Boomerangs are fun. I have enjoyed many woodies that have been despised by most, like Gwazi, both Hurlers, and Mean Streak. I even enjoyed my one TOGO Stand-Up credit, the now removed Shockwave at Kings Dominion, and a huge majority of enthusiasts hated that ride. I enjoyed old B&M Stand-Ups like Vortex at Carowinds even though my brother hated it. Mantis was hated on by coaster enthusiasts, but I loved it. The old version of Revolution at SFMM was rough, but tolerable (I still have to ride the new version). Even Time Warp was at least not painful. So with this you can see that I have a high tolerance.
(it's coming)
But Flight Deck... This thing is one of the most ******* awful pieces of **** I have ever had the misfortune of riding.
Okay, I'm done swearing... but, I was prepared for this thing to be like Limit at Heide-Park... BOY was I wrong! This thing was just AWFUL! The roughness was absolutely painful! My head was whacking all over the place and the guards in the restraints were harder, so my ears were getting banged HARD. I also had to grind my teeth. *sighs* Guess I finally experienced a "Vekoma Headbanger," and I can confirm; it is as bad as everyone claims it is. If a guy like me who can tolerate practically anything on a coasters says this is an unbearable, painful experience, it's probably a sign that you should only ride Flight Deck if you are desperate for a new coaster credit. If you are not into credits, I would avoid this contraption like the plague! I'm definitely never riding this piece of trash again (unless they change the restraints into the softer ones. But I would just prefer if they simply give Flight Deck a painful death and scrap it along with Time Warp to build a B&M Inverted/Flying/Wing Coaster in that location). I'd watch Fear Factor Live 10x before ever even considering riding Flight Deck again. This is the first coaster ever that I outright LOATHE with a passion.
*breathes in and out* I'm sorry you had to see that dark side of me. Those two coasters were just very unpleasant experiences. That said, there's one good thing that comes from this: as a coaster/park enthusiast, riding new types of rides really benefits me. That way I can see what to do with theme park design, and what not to do. Some types of coasters I like; some types I don't. I'll never know unless I try; and that helps my experience. Thankfully, Flight Deck and Time Warp to me are the only two awful rides in the park, so now let's move on to better things.
We then had lunch, recovering from the two contraptions of doom, and then rode Dragon Fire, an Arrow looper that travels under Leviathan. It's definitely dwarfed by Leviathan's massive lift hill going above it, while the lift of this ride is about as big as Leviathan's final brake run. Otherwise, pretty fun coaster. We then rode Riptide, a Mondial version of the Top Spin. I've ridden two other Top Spins, both made by HUSS: Crypt at Kings Dominion and Talocan at Phantasialand. Riptide was another solid ride like those. The other two are better simply because they have more theming.
We then rode Leviathan two more times as well as a second ride on Drop Tower. Shockwave was next, as it was my first Top Scan. It was a pretty thrilling flat ride. We next did Thunder Run, a MACK Powered Coaster in Wonder Mountain. It reminded me of Alpenexpress at Europe-Park; a pretty fun family coaster.
We next rode Wonder Mountain's Guardian, a dark ride/roller coaster hybrid. It was mostly a shooter, but it did have roller coaster elements like a lift hill. It also had a drop track like Verbolten, so I found that pretty cool. I wasn't sure if I was targeting right, though, since the guns were a little weird (I couldn't lift them. Unless I'm mistaken...), but apparently I ended up with around 41,000 points so I guess I got it right lol. I would've liked a better indication of where I was targeting. Otherwise, this was a cool ride. It's nice to see Cedar Fair going with different ideas for their rides.
We then rode Behemoth a second time, and then Sledge Hammer, my first Giant Jump. It was actually really fun! Afterwards was Psyclone, a Mondial Frisbee. I enjoyed it, just the HUSS versions like MaxAir at Cedar Point (and eventually Delirium at Kings Island). I wrapped up the day with solo rides on Behemoth and Leviathan.
Despite the two terrible coasters, like I stated before, Canada's Wonderland was a great Cedar Fair park! Certainly up there as one of my favorite theme parks. What I liked the most was the balance with fun flat rides and great coasters. I definitely want to go back soon (especially since they're building a Dive Machine for 2019)!
1. Leviathan (B&M Giga Coaster)
2. Drop Tower (Intamin Giant Drop)
3. Wild Beast (Curtis D. Summers Wooden Coaster)
4. Bat (Vekoma Boomerang)
5. Fly (Mack Wilde Maus)
6. Vortex (Arrow Suspended Coaster)
7. WindSeeker (Mondial Wind Seeker)
8. Minebuster (Curtis D. Summers Wooden Coaster)
9. Backlot Stunt Coaster (Premier LIM Launch Coaster)
10. Behemoth (B&M Hypercoaster)
11. Time Warp (Zamperla Volare)
12. Flight Deck (Vekoma SLC)
13. Dragon Fire (Arrow Looper)
14. Riptide (Mondial Top Spin Splash)
15. Leviathan (2x) (B&M Giga Coaster)
16. Drop Tower (2nd time) (Intamin Giant Drop)
17. Shockwave (Mondial Top Scan)
18. Thunder Run (Mack Powered Coaster)
19. Guardian (Art Ent/Triotech 4D Interactive Dark Ride/coaster)
20. Behemoth (2nd time) (B&M Hypercoaster)
21. Sledge Hammer (HUSS Giant Jump 2)
22. Psyclone (Mondial Frisbee)
23. Behemoth (3rd time) (B&M Hypercoaster)
24. Leviathan (4th time) (B&M Giga Coaster)
Warning: You are going to see me have an anger fit about a certain ride here. I'll try to keep it as civil as possible, but beware younger viewers; you'll see censored swearing.
Canada's Wonderland was my 4th Cedar Fair park when I visited last year. It was a great park with an awesome balance between flat rides and coasters. To clarify when I get to the coaster I'm going to yell at, this is no attack towards the park. It's only meant towards the coaster. The park on the other hand was just amazing!! 😁
Leviathan was the first ride of the day, and I was immediately reminded of Fury 325 at Carowinds. Like Fury, Leviathan was a mind-blowing coaster (or mind-crushing/6-star... rankings anyone? 😜) and became one of my all-time favorite coasters. From the brilliant first drop into the tunnel, to the forceful curves; from the wind pounding your face, to the insane speed, this is a coaster to be reckoned with! I tried a little Rick and Morty reference at the station saying "Show me what you got! I want to see what you got!" I intended to complete the joke, but the ride's insanity made me forget to complete it. 😂 Overall, what a great coaster! With this coaster, I have now ridden every giga coaster in North America as of 2017 and as of today.
Drop Tower was the same model as the one in Carowinds as well as the one in California's Great America (Intamin Giant Drop). This was a lot taller than the one in Carowinds, but the same feeling; a very fun drop tower. We next did Wild Beast which was a really fun wooden coaster. It's another coaster that's not very popular with other enthusiasts. For the most part I have a high tolerance for coasters (we'll get to the one that broke me in a moment. Trust me, it's going to get ugly... or fun for some of you).
Bat was another Boomerang credit for me. Like the others, it's a fun coaster with a small footprint! We then rode Fly; basically your typical Wilde Maus/Wild Mouse coaster. This ride was a little heart-warming though, because a little girl couldn't ride with her father, due to him being too fat to ride. So an employee rode instead to keep the girl company, riding in the row in front of us. Now that is GREAT service!
Next came Vortex, my second Arrow Suspended Coaster at the time. I enjoyed this ride a lot more than Iron Dragon. Afterwards came Minebuster, another nice woodie. This one had a fun out-and-back layout. We then rode our second Backlot Stunt Coaster. I do think these rides could have been a little longer, but these are fun family coasters.
And then we rode the other B&M coaster in the park, Behemoth. At the time this was my second experience on a stagger-seated B&M hyper. This was the first one built though, opening in 2008 (for reference, Diamondback opened in 2009 and Intimidator opened in 2010). Behemoth was just as great as Intimidator (at the time I did not ride Diamondback), and I especially loved the double helix towards the end. As if it's a surprise, it's yet another amazing hyper coaster!! 😁
Oh god... now we're getting to the bad part... there's two coasters in this next section. One of them I thought was stupid, the other I thought was just abysmal. Shall we dive in? I'm dreading to recap these horrors. Another warning: I will try to keep it civil, but younger viewers probably shouldn't look at this.
Let's start with Time Warp... this was my first Zamperla Volare credit, and according to the design of the ride, it is a flying coaster. I say this, because... it really didn't feel like a coaster. I didn't feel any enjoyment from this thing. I'm mostly a kind critic for coasters, as you might have guessed. This ride, however, was just a waste of time. It banged your head, though at least the guards on the restraints were soft like pillows, so it wasn't the worst feeling. No, my main concern was everything else with this ride. The trains were uncanny and weird to enter into: you had to climb to get a good height. And the ride just didn't feel like a coaster; it felt more like an incredibly strange flat ride, with the train just dragging you throughout the ride. Even by flat ride standards, almost all of them would be better experiences than this. I WANTED to enjoy this, but I just couldn't. Instead of feeling accomplished of getting another coaster credit on my list, I was baffled and thought to myself as the train entered the station: "What the hell did I just ride?" I am not one to judge a ride design based on one ride, but if this is what the experience is for this kind of ride, I'll still ride the others if they're in my way. However, I would not look forward to it. And comparing this thing to ANY other flying coaster (Manta, Nighthawk, Firehawk, Tatsu, the Superman clones) would be a complete insult to these kinds of rides. Flying coasters are graceful and thrilling; this was just a mess.
So, what do you think my pick is for what's worse? You would think it's a ride that I have not ridden any other design of like the Volare. No... there's a coaster here much worse than this. I guess because I rode a similar version in another location and I didn't find it that awful. But here we are and it's about to get ugly.
Flight Deck, my 2nd Vekoma SLC credit... as I mentioned, I have a high tolerance for coasters and as I just stated, I am a kind critic. I usually never outright hate coasters. The other SLC I rode in Heide-Park wasn't that bad. Boomerangs are fun. I have enjoyed many woodies that have been despised by most, like Gwazi, both Hurlers, and Mean Streak. I even enjoyed my one TOGO Stand-Up credit, the now removed Shockwave at Kings Dominion, and a huge majority of enthusiasts hated that ride. I enjoyed old B&M Stand-Ups like Vortex at Carowinds even though my brother hated it. Mantis was hated on by coaster enthusiasts, but I loved it. The old version of Revolution at SFMM was rough, but tolerable (I still have to ride the new version). Even Time Warp was at least not painful. So with this you can see that I have a high tolerance.
(it's coming)
But Flight Deck... This thing is one of the most ******* awful pieces of **** I have ever had the misfortune of riding.
Okay, I'm done swearing... but, I was prepared for this thing to be like Limit at Heide-Park... BOY was I wrong! This thing was just AWFUL! The roughness was absolutely painful! My head was whacking all over the place and the guards in the restraints were harder, so my ears were getting banged HARD. I also had to grind my teeth. *sighs* Guess I finally experienced a "Vekoma Headbanger," and I can confirm; it is as bad as everyone claims it is. If a guy like me who can tolerate practically anything on a coasters says this is an unbearable, painful experience, it's probably a sign that you should only ride Flight Deck if you are desperate for a new coaster credit. If you are not into credits, I would avoid this contraption like the plague! I'm definitely never riding this piece of trash again (unless they change the restraints into the softer ones. But I would just prefer if they simply give Flight Deck a painful death and scrap it along with Time Warp to build a B&M Inverted/Flying/Wing Coaster in that location). I'd watch Fear Factor Live 10x before ever even considering riding Flight Deck again. This is the first coaster ever that I outright LOATHE with a passion.
*breathes in and out* I'm sorry you had to see that dark side of me. Those two coasters were just very unpleasant experiences. That said, there's one good thing that comes from this: as a coaster/park enthusiast, riding new types of rides really benefits me. That way I can see what to do with theme park design, and what not to do. Some types of coasters I like; some types I don't. I'll never know unless I try; and that helps my experience. Thankfully, Flight Deck and Time Warp to me are the only two awful rides in the park, so now let's move on to better things.
We then had lunch, recovering from the two contraptions of doom, and then rode Dragon Fire, an Arrow looper that travels under Leviathan. It's definitely dwarfed by Leviathan's massive lift hill going above it, while the lift of this ride is about as big as Leviathan's final brake run. Otherwise, pretty fun coaster. We then rode Riptide, a Mondial version of the Top Spin. I've ridden two other Top Spins, both made by HUSS: Crypt at Kings Dominion and Talocan at Phantasialand. Riptide was another solid ride like those. The other two are better simply because they have more theming.
We then rode Leviathan two more times as well as a second ride on Drop Tower. Shockwave was next, as it was my first Top Scan. It was a pretty thrilling flat ride. We next did Thunder Run, a MACK Powered Coaster in Wonder Mountain. It reminded me of Alpenexpress at Europe-Park; a pretty fun family coaster.
We next rode Wonder Mountain's Guardian, a dark ride/roller coaster hybrid. It was mostly a shooter, but it did have roller coaster elements like a lift hill. It also had a drop track like Verbolten, so I found that pretty cool. I wasn't sure if I was targeting right, though, since the guns were a little weird (I couldn't lift them. Unless I'm mistaken...), but apparently I ended up with around 41,000 points so I guess I got it right lol. I would've liked a better indication of where I was targeting. Otherwise, this was a cool ride. It's nice to see Cedar Fair going with different ideas for their rides.
We then rode Behemoth a second time, and then Sledge Hammer, my first Giant Jump. It was actually really fun! Afterwards was Psyclone, a Mondial Frisbee. I enjoyed it, just the HUSS versions like MaxAir at Cedar Point (and eventually Delirium at Kings Island). I wrapped up the day with solo rides on Behemoth and Leviathan.
Despite the two terrible coasters, like I stated before, Canada's Wonderland was a great Cedar Fair park! Certainly up there as one of my favorite theme parks. What I liked the most was the balance with fun flat rides and great coasters. I definitely want to go back soon (especially since they're building a Dive Machine for 2019)!
Busch Gardens Williamsburg Review 2016
So let's talk about some new parks I have done between 2014-18:
Busch Gardens Williamsburg:
Day 1: 7/19/16
1. Escape From Pompeii (Intamin Shoot-the-Chutes)
2. Apollo's Chariot (B&M Hypercoaster)
3. Tempesto (Premier Rides Skyrocket)
4. Roman Rapids (Intamin River Rafting ride)
5. Mach Tower (Mosers Drop Tower)
6. Verbolten (Zierer Family Launched Coaster)
7. Alpengeist (B&M Inverted Coaster)
8. Curse of Darkastle (Oceaneering 3D Thrill Ride)
9. Griffon (B&M Dive Machine)
10. Le Catapult (Scrambler)
11. Le Scoot (Arrow Log Flume)
12. Skyride
13. Lochness Monster (Arrow Looper)
14. London Rocks
15. Battering Ram (Swinging ship ride)
16. Verbolten (2x) (Zierer Family Launched Coaster)
17. Mach Tower (Mosers Drop Tower)
18. Grover's Alpine Coaster (Zierer Junior Coaster)
Day 2: 7/20/16
-Water Country USA
1. Surfer's Bay (Wave pool)
2. Jammin' Jukebox (Funky Chicken, Twist, Hully Molly) (Water slide tower)
3. Vanish Point "Slide" (right) (Body slide)
4. Colossal Curl (ProSlide Tornado)
-Busch Gardens Williamsburg
1. Apollo's Chariot (B&M Hypercoaster)
2. Davinci's Cradle (Magic Carpet ride)
3. Mix It Up
4. Alpengeist (B&M Inverted Coaster)
5. Griffon (B&M Dive Machine)
6. Europe in the Air (Simulation ride)
7. Train
8. Verbolten (Zierer Family Launched Coaster)
I heard many claim that Busch Gardens Williamsburg is one of the best theme parks in the world. I can definitely see why: just a very well-rounded park, with awe-inspiring views.
I honestly had a hard time deciding which of the coasters was my favorite. I loved Apollo's Chariot AND Verbolten. Griffon and Alpengeist were amazing as well.
I first did Escape From Pompeii; it's a much better upgrade to the now defunct Tidal Wave at BGT. The moment I did that ride, I knew things were looking good for this park. Apollo's Chariot, however, blew me away! It's another B&M Hypercoaster added to the list of excellence. What got me about the ride was the land it was used in; the views you could see as a result.
Next came Tempesto. This was my first Premier Skyrocket. It was a solid coaster; the idea reminded me a lot of Wicked Twister and it delivered just like that (and yes, I know there's a difference between the two. One is a Premier Skyrocket, the other is an Intamin Impulse). I next did Roman Rapids, which was actually a very solid rapids ride. Probably the best new one I've done in a while. It was better than Dollywood's, and was LIGHT YEARS better than the ones in Heide-Park or Six Flags Great Adventure (which were just mediocre). We then crossed over the Rhine to ride Mach Tower. I enjoyed this ride, as it offered great views. And the drop was nice as well.
Now, Verbolten. I don't know how to describe this. This is a Zierer launched coaster with an indoor section that tells 3 different storylines! I only experienced two of them: the lightning storm and the Big Bad Wolf, which as you may guess is a homage to the original Big Bad Wolf coaster. It's just a very well done experience. The different stories are very creative and I loved the outdoor section as well. Verbolten is definitely one of my favorite rides in the park (and probably one of the best themed coasters I've ridden).
Alpengeist was a spectacular B&M Inverted coaster. I liked Montu more, I guess because I've ridden it more. But Alpengeist was just awesome! I next rode Curse of DarKastle. Thank goodness I rode it back then, since it closed for good last year (RIP). I will say that I expected it to be a lot like Spider-Man, but what I got was... okay, not terrible or anything... but I was a little let down. It was enjoyable, but the ride didn't have the fast pace of Spider-Man, and the villain was incredibly cheesy. I was mostly laughing at how silly this guy was. There was one scene in the dinner table where he was toying with the guests and... he mostly told puns. "Soon you'll be getting your just desserts... but I'm getting aHEAD of myself." Hahahaha GET IT? Because he was throwing around food, and in the tray, his head popped out... The 3D dark ride aspect was still nice though and it's overall a cool ride; just a little too many puns for my liking. So. Many... *ahhhhh*
Now Griffon. The second B&M Dive Machine in the United States. Similar to Alpengeist, I liked SheiKra more because I relate more to it. SheiKra's been one of my favorite coasters for years now. But Griffon was just awesome as well! Definitely one of the best in the park! Le Catapult was a fun flat ride. When I got to that area, I saw the construction for InvadR, the GCI wooden coaster that opened just last summer. I really want to ride this coaster. Le Scoot traveled through the construction. Le Scoot was a solid log flume.
We then took the Skyride from France to England. Much like Busch Gardens Tampa, we had some great views of the coasters. But here, you also got spectacular landscape views! And then we rode Loch Ness Monster. Another solid coaster! The interlocking loops looked great from the outside and rode well on the ride! Then we watched the London Rocks show. We listened to a lot of great British rock music (like Queen and the Beatles)! We then rode the swinging ship Battering Ram. Unlike Phoenix at BGT, it does not swing upside-down. Afterwards came Die Wirblewind, a waveswinger. We rode Verbolten two more times as well as Mach Tower once more. Then we did Grover's Alpine Coaster, a Zierer family coaster like Air Grover at BGT.
The next day we visited the water park, Water Country USA. We only spent a couple of hours there because I also wanted to see my friend perform at a show later in the main park. We swam in Surfer's Bay first, and then tried the Jammin' Jukebox slide complex. I did all 3 slides (Funky Chicken, Twist and Hully Molly). I then did the left Vanish Point body slide (from inside the station). I unfortunately had some braveness to build up for the "trap-door" slide (that has since changed when I did Volcano Bay's trap-door slides. I'll do these when I come back to BGW). Before we exited the park, we did Colossal Curl. Another great Tornado slide.
We then went to Busch Gardens Williamsburg and did Apollo's Chariot first. We then rode Davinci's Cradle. And then we saw a show in the San Marco (Italy) section called Mix It Up. I'll say this: it's my favorite show in any SeaWorld/Busch park; and probably near the top for theme park shows in general. I LOVE marching band-style shows. From brass instruments performing with visuals, to colorguard, to even a drumline, it was just all-around entertaining! Having marching band as a part of me, I thoroughly enjoyed it and it even brought flashes of my time in high school with end of the year shows; we had shows that combined music and visuals, and the one in my senior year had music from around the world, including Italy. This was my friend's first year doing it, and now she's entering her 3rd year. I could see she really enjoyed it; it shows how fun the show is for audience members and performers.
Next up came rerides on Alpengeist and Griffon. And then we did a simulator called Europe in the Air; it's essentially Soarin' Over Europe lol. It did give me beautiful visuals of Europe bringing back memories of my 2010 and 2014 trips. Afterwards we took the train and did Verbolten one more time before leaving.
Overall, Busch Gardens Williamsburg was just breath-taking, in thrills and visuals. This is definitely a park I have to return to soon!
Busch Gardens Williamsburg:
Day 1: 7/19/16
1. Escape From Pompeii (Intamin Shoot-the-Chutes)
2. Apollo's Chariot (B&M Hypercoaster)
3. Tempesto (Premier Rides Skyrocket)
4. Roman Rapids (Intamin River Rafting ride)
5. Mach Tower (Mosers Drop Tower)
6. Verbolten (Zierer Family Launched Coaster)
7. Alpengeist (B&M Inverted Coaster)
8. Curse of Darkastle (Oceaneering 3D Thrill Ride)
9. Griffon (B&M Dive Machine)
10. Le Catapult (Scrambler)
11. Le Scoot (Arrow Log Flume)
12. Skyride
13. Lochness Monster (Arrow Looper)
14. London Rocks
15. Battering Ram (Swinging ship ride)
16. Verbolten (2x) (Zierer Family Launched Coaster)
17. Mach Tower (Mosers Drop Tower)
18. Grover's Alpine Coaster (Zierer Junior Coaster)
Day 2: 7/20/16
-Water Country USA
1. Surfer's Bay (Wave pool)
2. Jammin' Jukebox (Funky Chicken, Twist, Hully Molly) (Water slide tower)
3. Vanish Point "Slide" (right) (Body slide)
4. Colossal Curl (ProSlide Tornado)
-Busch Gardens Williamsburg
1. Apollo's Chariot (B&M Hypercoaster)
2. Davinci's Cradle (Magic Carpet ride)
3. Mix It Up
4. Alpengeist (B&M Inverted Coaster)
5. Griffon (B&M Dive Machine)
6. Europe in the Air (Simulation ride)
7. Train
8. Verbolten (Zierer Family Launched Coaster)
I heard many claim that Busch Gardens Williamsburg is one of the best theme parks in the world. I can definitely see why: just a very well-rounded park, with awe-inspiring views.
I honestly had a hard time deciding which of the coasters was my favorite. I loved Apollo's Chariot AND Verbolten. Griffon and Alpengeist were amazing as well.
I first did Escape From Pompeii; it's a much better upgrade to the now defunct Tidal Wave at BGT. The moment I did that ride, I knew things were looking good for this park. Apollo's Chariot, however, blew me away! It's another B&M Hypercoaster added to the list of excellence. What got me about the ride was the land it was used in; the views you could see as a result.
Next came Tempesto. This was my first Premier Skyrocket. It was a solid coaster; the idea reminded me a lot of Wicked Twister and it delivered just like that (and yes, I know there's a difference between the two. One is a Premier Skyrocket, the other is an Intamin Impulse). I next did Roman Rapids, which was actually a very solid rapids ride. Probably the best new one I've done in a while. It was better than Dollywood's, and was LIGHT YEARS better than the ones in Heide-Park or Six Flags Great Adventure (which were just mediocre). We then crossed over the Rhine to ride Mach Tower. I enjoyed this ride, as it offered great views. And the drop was nice as well.
Now, Verbolten. I don't know how to describe this. This is a Zierer launched coaster with an indoor section that tells 3 different storylines! I only experienced two of them: the lightning storm and the Big Bad Wolf, which as you may guess is a homage to the original Big Bad Wolf coaster. It's just a very well done experience. The different stories are very creative and I loved the outdoor section as well. Verbolten is definitely one of my favorite rides in the park (and probably one of the best themed coasters I've ridden).
Alpengeist was a spectacular B&M Inverted coaster. I liked Montu more, I guess because I've ridden it more. But Alpengeist was just awesome! I next rode Curse of DarKastle. Thank goodness I rode it back then, since it closed for good last year (RIP). I will say that I expected it to be a lot like Spider-Man, but what I got was... okay, not terrible or anything... but I was a little let down. It was enjoyable, but the ride didn't have the fast pace of Spider-Man, and the villain was incredibly cheesy. I was mostly laughing at how silly this guy was. There was one scene in the dinner table where he was toying with the guests and... he mostly told puns. "Soon you'll be getting your just desserts... but I'm getting aHEAD of myself." Hahahaha GET IT? Because he was throwing around food, and in the tray, his head popped out... The 3D dark ride aspect was still nice though and it's overall a cool ride; just a little too many puns for my liking. So. Many... *ahhhhh*
Now Griffon. The second B&M Dive Machine in the United States. Similar to Alpengeist, I liked SheiKra more because I relate more to it. SheiKra's been one of my favorite coasters for years now. But Griffon was just awesome as well! Definitely one of the best in the park! Le Catapult was a fun flat ride. When I got to that area, I saw the construction for InvadR, the GCI wooden coaster that opened just last summer. I really want to ride this coaster. Le Scoot traveled through the construction. Le Scoot was a solid log flume.
We then took the Skyride from France to England. Much like Busch Gardens Tampa, we had some great views of the coasters. But here, you also got spectacular landscape views! And then we rode Loch Ness Monster. Another solid coaster! The interlocking loops looked great from the outside and rode well on the ride! Then we watched the London Rocks show. We listened to a lot of great British rock music (like Queen and the Beatles)! We then rode the swinging ship Battering Ram. Unlike Phoenix at BGT, it does not swing upside-down. Afterwards came Die Wirblewind, a waveswinger. We rode Verbolten two more times as well as Mach Tower once more. Then we did Grover's Alpine Coaster, a Zierer family coaster like Air Grover at BGT.
The next day we visited the water park, Water Country USA. We only spent a couple of hours there because I also wanted to see my friend perform at a show later in the main park. We swam in Surfer's Bay first, and then tried the Jammin' Jukebox slide complex. I did all 3 slides (Funky Chicken, Twist and Hully Molly). I then did the left Vanish Point body slide (from inside the station). I unfortunately had some braveness to build up for the "trap-door" slide (that has since changed when I did Volcano Bay's trap-door slides. I'll do these when I come back to BGW). Before we exited the park, we did Colossal Curl. Another great Tornado slide.
We then went to Busch Gardens Williamsburg and did Apollo's Chariot first. We then rode Davinci's Cradle. And then we saw a show in the San Marco (Italy) section called Mix It Up. I'll say this: it's my favorite show in any SeaWorld/Busch park; and probably near the top for theme park shows in general. I LOVE marching band-style shows. From brass instruments performing with visuals, to colorguard, to even a drumline, it was just all-around entertaining! Having marching band as a part of me, I thoroughly enjoyed it and it even brought flashes of my time in high school with end of the year shows; we had shows that combined music and visuals, and the one in my senior year had music from around the world, including Italy. This was my friend's first year doing it, and now she's entering her 3rd year. I could see she really enjoyed it; it shows how fun the show is for audience members and performers.
Next up came rerides on Alpengeist and Griffon. And then we did a simulator called Europe in the Air; it's essentially Soarin' Over Europe lol. It did give me beautiful visuals of Europe bringing back memories of my 2010 and 2014 trips. Afterwards we took the train and did Verbolten one more time before leaving.
Overall, Busch Gardens Williamsburg was just breath-taking, in thrills and visuals. This is definitely a park I have to return to soon!
Cedar Point, Kings Island, and Carowinds 2018 Trip
So I've just graduated college earlier this month. I celebrated by visiting 3 parks: Cedar Point (again. I seriously can't get enough of it lol), Kings Island (a new park for me), and Carowinds (4th time). I have a *lot* to talk about these places, so let's go!
Cedar Point - 5/20/18, 5/21/18
Cedar Point's newest addition this year was Steel Vengeance, the RMC Iron Horse conversion of Mean Streak. So this ended up becoming my first RMC credit.
Cedar Point - 5/20/18, 5/21/18
Cedar Point's newest addition this year was Steel Vengeance, the RMC Iron Horse conversion of Mean Streak. So this ended up becoming my first RMC credit.
And, I have to say this... I've seen coasters keep getting topped off in terms of excellence and quality by more and more coasters. In 2008, I thought SheiKra was the best. In 2009, Manta went right up there. In 2010 when I started going out of state for coasters, I thought X2 was the best, and Blue Fire was amazing too. In 2011, I thought Millennium Force, Top Thrill Dragster, and Intimidator 305 were the best. In 2012, I fell in love with Kingda Ka (yeah it's short, but simply the launch felt AMAZING). In 2015, I thought Fury 325 went up there. And now, here we are again: Steel Vengeance is one of the best coasters, if not THE best coaster, I have ridden yet!
I heard a lot of people claim this is the best RMC in the world. While I have not ridden any others, I think it's going to be very difficult to compete with this particular coaster. My Dad who rode with me joked "Why do we need seats?" The reason being, you're pretty much out of your seat for the majority of the ride. Yeah, Steel Vengeance has the craziest airtime I've ever experienced. The inversions were also some of the best I've gone though. After the ride, I had the urge to ride Millennium Force as soon as possible just so I can compare the two. Even after riding other coasters like Rougarou, Blue Streak and Raptor, I was still contemplating how to react to what I just rode in the back of FrontierTown.
I rode Millennium Force soon after, and I found that Steel Vengeance has more airtime than Millennium Force. But Millennium Force felt more fast than Steel Vengeance (obvious since Steel Vengeance is 75 mph vs Millennium Force's 93 mph). I can't choose between the two ultimately, but I could say what the best ride experience of these two days was: Steel Vengeance, and that is simply spectacular since Millennium Force is one of the best coasters I've ever ridden.
So there you go... we have another top coaster. It's likely the best coaster I've ridden, and as of today I have ridden 165 coasters (and I'm not even done yet)!! Steel Vengeance is worth *any* wait. See a 3-hr wait with one train going? Do it! You will NOT regret it!
Kings Island - 5/23/18
And now we have my 5th Cedar Fair park. The previous 4 have been spectacular, and this park is no different. And yes, I was immediately reminded of Kings Dominion.
First ride of the day was Banshee. We rode the coaster twice, and that coaster went right up there with Montu as one of my favorite inverted coasters. I still have to give the edge to Montu, simply because of nostalgia; but Banshee is a great ride of it's own. What I liked about the ride is how different it is compared to other B&M Inverts. The layout of the ride is:
-Dive loop
-Vertical loop
-Zero-G-Roll
-Pretzel Knot (reminds me of the Batwing elements on Montu and Afterburn)
-Vertical loop
-Right turn
And you would think if you'd take a right turn on a B&M Invert, you would enter a set of brakes (MCBR). Banshee has other plans though, because as soon as you complete that turn, you enter an inline twist.
And then you enter a left-hand downward helix, before making another turn into the final set of brakes.
It's a very unpredictable inverted coaster. If you're accustomed to simple loop, immelmann/dive, zero-g-roll, cobra/batwing, mcbr layouts, prepare yourself for this thing. Overall, a very solid coaster!
I next did my 3rd Arrow Suspended credit: the Bat. A very fun ride that takes you through some woods, and 6 years ago next to the wooden monstrosity Son of Beast, once the tallest wooden coaster in the world. Son of Beast has since been demolished and replaced by Banshee. Bat is pretty fun.
Delirium was next, as it was my 2nd HUSS Giant Frisbee. Since MaxAir at Cedar Point was closed both days, this was very welcoming! And Delirium is just as fun as MaxAir! I next did Drop Tower, an Intamin Gyro Drop like the version in Kings Dominion, except it's even taller! :O Great ride! Of course, to me, Falcon's Fury is hard to beat, but the Drop Tower gyros are both very insane!
Next came my first Invertigo credit, as I rode the Kings Island version. Boomerangs have always been a bit of a guilty pleasure for me, so I actually really enjoyed Invertigo! Afterwards came Adventure Express, a ride Mom can ride. That's always a good thing!
Then we focused our attention to Rivertown, home of Diamondback, Mystic Timbers, and the Beast. Our first ride was Diamondback, twice, making it the third B&M Hypercoaster staggered seat credit on my list. The two others are Intimidator and Behemoth. I believe the only other staggered seat B&M Hypercoaster I have yet to do is Shambhala in Port Aventura (unless there's one in China that I don't know about). What do I think of Diamondback? It's amazing, like pretty much every other B&M Hyper (I do have a thing for airtime machines after all)! Probably the best ride in the park, but this is against some stiff competition.
Next is Mystic Timbers, the park's newest coaster that opened last year. A very spectacular and unique wooden coaster. The ride experience feels like something from a coaster in Busch Gardens Williamsburg. But what makes it very unique is the ending, which takes place in a shed. Like in Verbolten at BGW, there are 3 alternate endings: a giant bat, a huge snake, or a magic tree await riders on screen, giving the illusion of attacking/grabbing the train. I've only seen the bat ending, but the bat looked terrifying! This went up there as one of the best rides in the park as well as one of the greatest wooden coasters I've ridden (not counting El Toro/Steel Vengeance). Not so fast though...
The next coaster on the list is the world's longest wooden coaster, as well as the 3rd longest coaster overall: the Beast. The ride is well known for how long it is (the duration according to RCDB is 4 minutes and 10 seconds). I've seen POVs of this coaster. However, I did not expect the feeling of riding it to be so amazing! From the sights in the woods, to the insane tunnels and drops, the Beast is truly an experience to behold. If you are a coaster enthusiast and haven't ridden the Beast yet, do it (and first off, go to Kings Island period). The POVs don't do it justice. It's probably right up there with Diamondback as one of the best rides in the park, and it passed Mystic Timbers as the best non-El Toro/Steel Vengeance woodie I've ridden just shortly after I rode Mystic Timbers.
Then we had lunch at Festhaus (most of the restaurants were closed... understaffing perhaps? Still though 😒 I'll let it slide since it was May lol). Afterwards I rode Racer, a coaster that opened with the park in 1972 as well as one that started the second golden age for coasters after the industry seemingly started to dissipate in the 60s. Yeah, this park has plenty of coaster history. Overall, Racer's a pretty fun coaster!
We then journeyed up Coney Mall into X-Base, traveling underneath Racer, where Firehawk and a version of Flight of Fear are located. We first did Firehawk, a Vekoma Flying Dutchman like the one in Carowinds (Nighthawk). Much like Nighthawk, this ride was relocated from another park (from Geauga Lake after 2006 where it was called X-Flight). Also much like Nighthawk, this ride was pretty sick! ^_^
Flight of Fear came next. I rode the one in Kings Dominion, and I enjoyed that one. The Kings Island one brought back good memories, as it was just as fun as I remembered the other version.
Afterwards I rode Vortex, a fun yet somewhat rough Arrow Looper, and WindSeeker, which like the others is a nice, calm, yet very high ride. Then there was only one credit left: Backlot Stunt Coaster, which is the 3rd and final version I had yet to ride (riding the ones in Canada's Wonderland and Kings Dominion). Like the others, it's a fun and fast family launch coaster. And then I did rerides of coasters/rides (Diamondback, Mystic Timbers 2x, Banshee, Delirium, Drop Tower, Invertigo, and Adventure Express), and at one point I went to the Eiffel Tower, the park's observation tower much like the one in Kings Dominion.
Overall, Kings Island was yet another amazing and beautiful Cedar Fair park I added to my list! What made it even greater was the terrain, especially how it was used on rides like Banshee and Beast!
Carowinds - 5/25/18
I finally got the chance to try Fury 325 and Millennium Force on the same trip. I'd say Millennium is more forceful while Fury 325 has a little more airtime. They were both, however, extremely elite coasters and two of the best ones I've ridden. What has changed since I was last here in 2015 was that the water park expanded (didn't visit the water park though), Carolina Cobra became Flying Cobras and the area around it got a makeover with 4 new flat rides and a new "County Fair" theme, and they have added a Plants vs Zombies ride. Given that I'm a huge PvZ fan, I really enjoyed the ride as well as the effort/VA in the animation cutscenes.
And if you've been following the park, you know that Carowinds is gearing up for major expansion in 2019. To the right of the entrance, they are building a new SpringHill Suites that will be "owned and managed" by the park; an on-site hotel, very key to turning Carowinds into the "Cedar Point of the South." Additionally they removed WhiteWater Falls in the 2016-17 offseason and have also removed the Sand Dune Lagoon. What for? A new 2019 coaster. It will be a Mack Launch Coaster (with two launches) with a barrel roll element once you get out of the station. Then you launch into another inversion (from the looks of the layout posted on Screamscape it looks like a vertical loop). Additionally, the second launch will send you into a top hat. I got to see the construction and it looks like the former site is now cleared. Additionally the former station area for Thunder Road, removed in 2015, looks like it's being used for this new project. Looks like another coaster I have to do soon! I really enjoyed Blue Fire at Europa Park, and I am so pumped we have the opportunity to have something similar to it in the USA. As of now, the only launched Mack coaster in the US is Manta at SeaWorld San Diego, and that's a family launched coaster. To have a thrilling launched Mack coaster opening a year from now in a park that takes a day to travel to from where I live is just exciting!
Otherwise Intimidator and Nighthawk were great as always! Afterburn was fun! Hurler, Flying Cobras, Carolina Cyclone and Vortex were all fun coasters that rounded up the park too. It's still amazing how Carowinds has grown into a coaster kingdom, and at the very least Carowinds is the coaster capital of the Southeast. I'm really excited to see it grow even more!
And with that, there's my recap of the trip. It was fun! What's impressive is that we compacted it into a week and a half lol. 😂
Saturday, January 20, 2018
Hey Guys
So once again I was too busy to return to my blog. This time it took way longer than I wanted, and for that I apologize lol.
First off, a lot has changed for me since the last time I posted in September 2014. To begin with, I've changed my major after the Fall 2014 semester: instead of Industrial Engineering, I'm doing Digital Media. Fast forward to January 2018, and I am now entering my last semester at UCF. I am currently scheduled to graduate this May. Note: just because I changed majors doesn't mean I'm not doing theme parks. In fact, I feel that Digital Media will help me design parks better (by computer, you know). That Fall 2014 semester, I had to deal with Engineering Statics. It was then I came to a realization; is this really what I want to do? I enjoyed the professor, but I did not enjoy the class. I had to withdraw it before the deadline because I was struggling. It was then that I entered a crossroads; I thought "There has to be another way to design a theme park than this." It was then I decided to give Digital Media a chance for Spring 2015; and here I am now with 4 Dean's Lists awarded to me (and hopefully another one to come). I am enjoying this major and am applying for a Masters!
I've also recently parted with a gift that I've had for 7 years; a few weeks ago marked the end of my marching band career due to my impending graduation. From entering my high school in July 2011 to playing at the Peach Bowl in college and marching at Magic Kingdom, it was quite the ride! I would be remiss if I didn't say I'm really going to miss this whole experience. It helped me grow and expand my range of teamwork. But I know it will always be a part of me; a part that can't just be forgotten. Heck, I even enjoyed a football game for the first time ever when I was a part of the UCF Marching Knights! I will never let go of what being in marching band gave me, whether my time wearing a uniform is over or not (and yes, I will still play alto beyond my marching years in case you're wondering).
Now onto more positive things: I have been to many theme parks since my last post in September! I suppose I will list it by year:
2015:
I revisited Carowinds to ride Fury 325 (and it is one of my all-time favorite coasters!!). I also revisited SeaWorld Orlando for the first time since 2009, the year Manta opened; geez, it's been that long ago. I started going there a lot.
2016:
The next summer, in June, I rode Mako for my first ever soft opening experience and it immediately went right up there with Manta and SheiKra as my favorite coasters in the state. I also rode Skull Island at Islands of Adventure the day that it first soft opened; I was in line for One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish when I read a tweet from Attractions Magazine (I believe) that Skull Island soft opened. I immediately dashed over there as they were only letting a select amount of riders in. I really enjoyed Skull Island!
I also started revisiting Busch Gardens Tampa later that month. Before then, I hadn't visited the park since December 2012 when I was still living in Pembroke Pines. So I rode Falcon's Fury for the first time and I was immediately blown away with the mechanisms of the drop tower; the seats tilting straight down was jaw-dropping, as was the drop that came. It earned a spot in the all-time greats (without question the best drop tower I've been on). I also rode the new Cobra's Curse coaster (which was also the day it opened; June 17th), and it was a very fun ride as well!
That summer, I took a trip up north and visited Busch Gardens Williamsburg for the first time. I'll go over what I think the park is, but I'll say this: it is as great as everyone claims. I do admit I am in love with Universal, so I'm biased, but Busch Gardens Williamsburg is definitely a park I want to do again!!
I also revisited Cedar Point for the first time since 2012, so I rode Gatekeeper for the first time, making it the third B&M Wing Coaster I've ridden (the others being Flug der Damonen at Heide Park and Wild Eagle at Dollywood). Gatekeeper was an awesome coaster, but the presence of certain coasters (I'm looking at Millennium Force, Top Thrill Dragster, and Maverick) makes the ride below the quality I expect from Cedar Point. It was still a great coaster however! I also rode the brand new Dive Machine, Valravn! While I wouldn't say it's as good as SheiKra (then again, I'm biased since I've loved SheiKra for so long), Valravn is definitely up there with the other great coasters at Cedar Point! Of course, Millennium Force, Maverick, and Top Thrill Dragster were just as breath-taking as they were in 2011 and 2012!
Additionally, I worked in Aquatica over the summer! And it was AMAZING! It really made me happy to be into theme parks!!
2017:
In addition to the parks I usually go to (Universal, SeaWorld Orlando, Busch Gardens Tampa), I also had another northern trip. Very similar to the last one except instead of Busch Gardens Williamsburg, I visited Canada's Wonderland, my 4th Cedar Fair park and my first park in Canada! Canada's Wonderland was just amazing! A well-balanced park with thrilling coasters (Leviathan and Behemoth in particular were spectacular) and excellent flat rides! I'll talk more about the park along with Busch Gardens Williamsburg later on (just a teaser, there are two particular coasters at Canada's Wonderland that I loathed, so prepare for some fun. Heheheh...). Otherwise this trip is pretty similar to 2016 with another revisit to Cedar Point. The only difference is that rain threatened us towards the end and we had to hightail it before the park closed. Also Mean Streak was already in the process of becoming Steel Vengeance (can't wait!!!!!! 😍).
Later in the year as part of the Marching Knights, I visited Atlanta to perform in the Peach Bowl. One of those days we stopped at Six Flags Over Georgia, a park I visited in another band trip in 2011 for BOA. I was able to do a lot more than last time! I also just realized I didn't give the park a proper review back then, so I'm going to be talking about it as well with the other two parks later on.
2018:
7 days after the New Year, I performed with the Marching Knights at Magic Kingdom (just like in January 2014 after the Fiesta Bowl). I was able to visit Magic Kingdom afterwards, but I still wasn't able to ride the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train (😡).
So there's a gist of where I'm at. I'll talk more whenever I have the chance! Additionally, I believe June 4th this year marks the 10th anniversary of when I first started this blog. So I'll probably do something about that! 😁
Saturday, September 6, 2014
Dollywood and Carowinds Review
About a month ago, I visited Dollywood and Carowinds. After the trip however, I couldn't find time to post a review with college and Band Camp starting up again. But now I will post a review!
Dollywood: 8/5/2014
1. Tennessee Tornado (Arrow Megalooper)
2. Wild Eagle (B&M Wing Coaster)
3. Firechaser Express (Gerstlauer Launched Family Coaster)
4. Blazing Fury (Herschend Powered Coaster (Indoors))
5. Daredevil Falls (Shoot-the-chutes ride)
6. Smoky Mountain River Rampage (River rapids ride)
7. Thunderhead (GCI Wooden Coaster)
8. Mystery Mine (Gerstlauer Launched Eurofighter)
9. Wild Eagle (2nd time) (B&M Wing Coaster)
10. Skyrider (Family swing ride)
11. Barnstormer (S&S Screamin' Swing)
I heard from many that Dollywood is one of the best parks in America. Well, I have visited it, and I'm pleased to announce those claims are true. Dollywood is an awesome park from theming to even the rides. Is it as great as Phantasialand? I wouldn't say so, because while Dollywood has been claimed by everyone as a great park, I didn't hear much about Phantasialand until I went, so it was an awesome surprise. But yes, Dollywood is a very good park! So what are we waiting for? Let's talk about the rides:
Tennessee Tornado was a pretty fun megalooper and I liked how it was in the woods. This is my third Arrow Megalooper I think, with the other two being Viper at SFMM and Anaconda at Kings Dominion. I liked Viper better (it was a great ride at least in 2010), but I definitely liked Tennessee Tornado better than Anaconda at Kings Dominion (for those who follow me, you probably know I don't like Anaconda at all). Great layout as well. Overall, very nice looper!
Wild Eagle was a surprise for me. This was my second Wing Coaster and some claimed it wasn't that great compared to others. Well I rode it, and it was actually a very fantastic coaster! It is now my favorite Wing Coaster overall. The fact that it was on a mountain made it a very spectacular experience, plus the view of the layout from the top of the lift. The ride itself really delivered, and it became a 5-Star. Definitely my favorite coaster in Dollywood.
Firechaser Express: An even greater surprise and a great example for what IMO a family coaster SHOULD be. It became a 4-Star on my list, which is quite an accomplishment for a family coaster! So why that ranking and not a 1, 2 etc? Everything it does is well done from effects and theming to even overall ride experience. This was the perfect family coaster! For starters, the layout including the backwards section was excellent. It was thrilling yet accommodated riders who did not like straight drops like my mother. When I got off the ride, I immediately thought of the rumored Amber Mine coaster for Jurassic Park at Islands of Adventure. IMO, this type is what I want for that coaster. It will give IOA the family coaster they've needed for a while. I even think there is space for one (if they use the Trike Encounter plot, as well as parts of a redesigned Camp Jurassic). So yes, an amazing family coaster and coaster in general! Well done Dollywood!
Blazing Fury: Alright, I'm just going to say this... it's my least favorite ride in Dollywood. I just... didn't get this ride. I didn't even think it was a coaster when I rode, but at the same time I knew it was (RCDB classifies it). Still it felt like a simple train ride with drops. I would appreciate it more if we had a compelling story to follow as well as exciting effects and animatronics... but we didn't. Instead it's based off of forest fires (which funny that, Firechaser Express was, and they handled that idea MUCH better on that ride) with very little effects (and boring ones) as well as outdated animatronics. I guess since I go to Universal a lot, I expect animatronics to be just as great as the ones there, but these ones were bad. I suppose the one thing I will defend this ride for is that it was made by Herschend themselves (the company who runs Dollywood and Silver Dollar City in Missouri). I like how rides can be designed by theme park companies themselves. Still, this ride needs an update, NOT a removal, but an update. Definitely one of my least favorite coasters.
Daredevil Falls: Typical shoot-the-chutes ride. Fun ride but nothing compared to Jurassic Park River Adventure at IOA.
Smoky Mountain River Rampage: While I didn't like it as much as Congo River Rapids at BGT or Popeye at IOA, it was still a fun ride. A bit slow, but cool.
Thunderhead: This is my favorite non-Intamin wooden coaster. The layout is just exhilirating, especially when the train goes through the station! I've done four other GCIs: Gwazi (Busch Gardens Tampa), Lightning Racer (Hersheypark), Wildcat (Hersheypark), and White Lightning (Fun Spot America). None of them are as good as Thunderhead! Awesome wooden coaster! :D
Mystery Mine: While it did break down while we waited in line, I enjoyed the ride! This was a very intriguing roller coaster, and no doubt one of the coolest I've seen. For starters, after the station, you are immediately dropped into an indoor section. Also, both drops caught me offguard! The theming is also top notch! This was my first Gerstlauer Eurofighter and it was a very awesome experience.
Skyrider: This was an interesting family ride. Almost like a miniature WindSeeker, however there are some controls on the vehicle that you can use to change the experience.
Barnstormer: After the last ride, we immediately remembered Barnstormer, and it was almost closing time. We ran to the ride just before the park closed and we got in. This is my second S&S Screamin' Swing, the first being Skyhawk at Cedar Point. Very good experience and definitely better theming than the other one! For some reason, however, they had one side running, while the other was shut down (maybe because of the park almost closing, or mechanical issues. After all, Skyhawk did experience some technical difficulties recently).
Overall, A for Dollywood!
Carowinds: 8/6/2014
1. Intimidator (B&M Hypercoaster)
2. Nighthawk (Vekoma Flying Dutchman)
3. WindSeeker (Mondial Wind Seeker)
4. Vortex (B&M Stand-Up)
5. Hurler (International Coasters Wooden Coaster)
6. Drop Tower: Scream Zone (Intamin Giant Drop)
7. Carolina Goldrusher (Arrow Mine Train)
8. Carolina Cobra (Vekoma Boomerang)
9. Nighthawk (Vekoma Flying Dutchman) (2nd time)
My second visit to Carowinds. The first time I visited this place was in 2011 with Kings Dominion and Cedar Point. While I revisited the two others in 2012, I didn't go to Carowinds that year. So now Carowinds is once again equal with the other two.
The stuff that has changed since then was not skyline-changing (except WindSeeker), but are a lot of changes regardless. In 2012, they added WindSeeker. In 2013, they added Dinosaurs Alive. In 2014, they moved the Skycoaster, cleared the Go-Karts for the new 2015 coaster (BTW announced as Fury 325. I'll talk about it later), and built a new building Harmony Hall on the field in front of Intimidator (just to name a few). Harmony Hall, BTW, is an awesome place for shade! The park is as great as I remembered (though the operations were a bit crappier then I recalled, particularly on Vortex and Hurler). One thing that saddened me was Afterburn being down the entire day. :( But it was a great experience like in 2011. Also, between my ride of Vortex and my ride of Hurler, I got to see the construction for Fury 325's entrance area! I have a feeling Thrill Zone's look will change by next year (not just the coaster but the area in general)! So let's talk about the rides:
Intimidator: As usual, Intimidator is one of my favorite coasters at Carowinds! Still has awesome airtime and ride experience! :D
Nighthawk: Also as usual, Nighthawk was fantastic. This and Intimidator are my favorite coasters at Carowinds. While Nighthawk does have bad capacity, that didn't take away the awesome experience I got. At the moment, I decided: this is my favorite type of flying coaster. While the B&M ones I do love almost as much, the ride experience of Nighthawk is definitely better overall, such as laying down on the lift hill and all of a sudden flipping into flying position! That one section I've always loved, and this time was no different. Towards the end, I gave Nighthawk another ride, since I wanted my ride count of Nighthawk to be equal to Intimidator, since like I said, it is my other favorite in the park! Of course with Fury 325 being built, I have a gut feeling my two favorites are going to be challenged by that monster!
WindSeeker: This one was installed with Kings Dominion's in 2012. I've ridden Cedar Point and Kings Dominion's, so this one is my third WindSeeker and my Mom's FIRST WindSeeker. It is an awesome flat ride, and definitely one I would like to see in Florida in the future. I'm a little depressed the popularity of these rides being installed has dwindled. Not one new one has been installed by Cedar Fair since 2012 (key word being "new." Steelhawk opened in Worlds of Fun in 2014, but that was a relocated WindSeeker from Knott's Berry Farm). These rides are great experiences as well as a great way of getting a view around!
Vortex: While this is and has always been the B&M I like the least, it's still a decent experience!
Hurler: As always, it was a very good wooden coaster. I don't understand the hate this ride gets for being rough and headache-inducing. It really was not that bad. Plus, woodies are usually supposed to have that rough feeling. Now that doesn't mean I complain about woodies that are smooth, since I do like El Toro and Colossos a lot, those being my favorite wooden coasters (El Toro probably getting first place) and some of my favorite coasters overall! I just don't see anything to complain about rough woodies. Now rough STEEL coasters on the other hand, I do have a problem with. But anyways, Hurler is a pretty good wooden coaster! :)
Drop Tower: This is a cool drop tower, but I've always preferred the Gyro Drops over the Giant Drops. Still a cool ride!
Carolina Goldrusher: A cool mine train. Mom didn't remember this one, so she was a little worried about if there were drops (but there weren't). XD
Carolina Cobra: Like before, a fun ride experience!
So overall, Carowinds is still a very fun park. I'm still a little disappointed I wasn't able to ride Afterburn or Thunder Road, but Carowinds is still the park I remembered in 2011, and I probably will have to go back again next year to ride Fury 325! :D
Friday, July 25, 2014
B&M Track Speculation #2
So let's begin. In addition to the yellow, light blue, orange, and white track pieces, dark blue pieces have popped up in the beginning of July (photo courtesy of PVA62):
Let's review the track pieces. We now know where the white and orange track is going.
White: Gardaland (track pieces are arriving on site)
Orange: Holiday World
Yellow: ?
Light Blue: ?
Dark Blue: ?
The light blue track has been pointed out to be flying coaster track ALONG with the yellow track. The light blue tracks do look more twisted than giga coaster track. I'd be willing to bet that either the yellow or light blue will be for the park in China then.
But now that leaves us the dark blue track. The track pieces do look like giga track, so we may have found Carowinds' giga. And another question arises as well: where is Efteling's track pieces. They did say they were building a B&M Dive Machine along with Gardaland. So I am just stumped as to what pieces are going to be for Efteling.
We will find out soon though. So stay tuned!
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