Coaster reviews

Airtimes Fun Rattle Dead spots

I was a big fan of the original GCI. I want to start by saying that although this ride was very rough, I never had an issue with how comfortable it was. The millenium flyers that ran on Wildcat were padded very well, and that padding absorbed most of the roughness. Moving on to the ride experience, the prelift was fun. The hill had a tiny bit of weightlessness, and this section was pretty smooth. Wildcat's first drop had a very good gut punch, much like other twisting GCI drops. Unfortunately, this surprisingly good drop was preceded by a violently rough valley. After this, there was a pop of airtime into the first turnaround, which also, despite being pretty slow, jackhammered you pretty good. The drop off of the turnaround had some slight floater, as did the following hill. The transition into the second turnaround gave some good ejector, but the iconic following hill was just a dead spot. The turn afterwards (the one that passed right by the queue and under the break run) was actually very smooth. My favorite moment on Wildcat was by far the sideways ejector speedhill under the lift. This moment was extremely jarring in 2019-2021, but for Wildcat's final year, it was actually fun. It gave some very strong airtime and laterals for a traditional wooden roller coaster. This moment was followed by another shaky turn into an airtimeless airtime hill, which was followed by yet another shaky turn. The transition out of this turn actually gave some good floater airtime, and the twist into the final helix gave ejector. However this helix was unbearably rough. Sitting in the back row, you could see the train violently shake back and forth at the lowest portion of the helix. This turn is followed up by two airtimeless hills into the brake run. Overall, Wildcat was a very solid wooden roller coaster. The padding absorbed most of the roughness, and I'll always remember my winter night rides in the dark as we raced by the beautiful chaser lights. I miss this ride, I really do, but Wildcat's Revenge is an undoubtedly better attraction.

Theming Intensity Smoothness Capacity

This ride is AWESOME! Not only is the ride very smooth for a Vekoma Boomerang, it's CRAZY intense, and the theming and soundtrack add this extra layer of excitement that just gets you hyped to ride. Sidewinder was fun, but I am so glad they rethemed it and updated the chassis, it's just so much better now.

Airtimes Comfort Ejectors

Rode this two days after riding Kondaa which I loved but Toutatis blew it away. This is challenging for my number one coaster but only just edged out by The Ride to Happiness. Loved the air time, hang time and launches, Our last ride which was late in the afternoon on a hot day was amazing, with the exception of the trim on the Top Hat which we loved contrary to some peoples opinions, the pace was relentless right through to the brake run. What a coaster.

Lap Bar Comfort Smoothness Dead spots

The theming on this ride is excellent, but I don't include that as part of my ride review. By the third time through the queue, the in-queue videos on repeat were annoying and the spectacle of the queue and ride theming had diminished greatly. In terms of the ride itself, it's very uneven, the first 1/2 is very meh, not many forces or excitement. It's not bad, just not up to par with a coaster that is regarded as elite by many. The launch around the 1/2 way point is just ok compared to something like Maverick, but the top hat out of the launch is excellent and a great airtime moment. The zero-G stall is a nice element, there's an awkward whip element in between the stall and the hyped mosasaurus roll which absolutely deserves the fanfare as a fantastic element. The restraint system also lives up to the hype. Nearly perfect. Overall this is a top-tier coaster, with elite restraints, 2 elite elements (post-launch top hat and mosasaurs roll) but suffers from some poor pacing and a very marginal first 1/2.

Capacity Intensity Layout Discomfort

Great layout and sense of speed, but it's getting a bit too rough for my taste.

Intensity Too short

Best wing coaster in Europe. That helix pulling 5G on a hot day is elite.

Inversions Fun Intensity Dead spots

I used to be the biggest inferno hater on the planet. Name something about the ride and I could have told you at least 3 things wrong about it. But, I`ve mellowed and I`ve realized that this ride ain`t so bad after all. Don`t get me wrong, it`s still got it`s faults and if we are talking inferno v the OG, i`m backing my main alien monster nemmy in staffordshire all the way. BUT. It has improved a fair bit for me and I actually really like it now. A snappy set of corkscrews, a really intense vertical loop, a half decent drop and some helixes at the end which dependent on how it`s running can be really, really intense. But it is quite possibly the most fluctuating ride i`ve ever been on. You could have one ride and say it was trash then go on straight after in the exact same seat and row and reach the brake run with jelly legs. It really is a roll of the dice. Generally speaking though i`ve had way more positive experiences than negative this year so i`m letting it largely off the hook with this one. Last year it was as reliable as a ryanair flight schedule based on good-bad ride ratio though so it`s difficult to say. One thing I wont back down on is that zero-g roll. I`ve felt more forces in my car driving down the motorway than on this element. Lots of people love it but it`s a bit of a stinker element for me. But as long as it keeps a great station audio, good forces on the other inversions and a (relatively at the moment) consistent intensity level then i`m a happy chappy. I must add, fright nights rides on this offer some of my favourite ride experiences i`ve done and it always seems to run so much better on a longer day when the wheels have warmed up EDIT: This is now my favourite coaster in the park and one of my favourites in the UK. Nemmy does still beat it but it`s amazing how opinions can change

Airtimes Pace Duration Harness Launch

Sorry Nemesis you were number one but Icon`s in town now. The best coaster I have ever ridden without a shadow of a doubt. It`s got its faults but generally speaking blackpool knocked it out the park with this one. Its nicely stylized to a japanese cherry blossom garden I think? With a lot of gold? Honestly not too sure what it`s supposed to be stylized to but it looks banging so i`m not digging into the theming at all. It is an amusement park and not a theme park after all and for an amusement park i`m very impressed. The station is slick and modern with one of the best baggage systems ive ever seen, Greatly reduces the chances of your items being nicked. Rolling out the station you have the best anticipation music i`ve heard. Then wee. Your away. These launches ain`t great. And I wouldn`t have had a problem with them at all (its a Mack launch, they are all a bit on the slower side) IF blackpool pleasure beach hadn`t decided to put all the focus on these bland and unexciting launches. Seriously these launches now get more advertisement than the entire of the rest of the park combined. Anyway rant over and you enter the top hat. Airtime aplenty on this one and a VERY good makeup for the underwhelming start. You go into this twisty section with one moment in particular that stands out: a raised turn with a lovely dose of sideways airtime. Really fun and proper good. Downward barrel roll follows that which adds a nice dose of hangtime to the mix. 2 more pops of ejector later and all of a sudden you can`t see for love nor money cause you`ve just gone through a tunnel with the thickest mist imaginable. Perfectly placed cause that leads you into the booster launch and you cant see until your approaching into the jr immelmann. Inversion or not who gives one cause exiting this you get PULLED out your seat in a glorious moment of sideways air. From here on out its a mix of snappy low to the ground turns, higher up banked turns, s curves and a good couple of ejector hills until the final brakes are reached. Whoever said icon wasn`t intense (and its a lot of people) needs to reride the thing cause my legs felt as if i`d had one too many down the velvet coaster during parts of the second half. Genius layout. I haven`t really given it too much stick other than my little launch rant but i was expecting that. Here`s something I wasn`t expecting. The lap bar, although super comfortable has the tendency to push down on you with the force of a nightclub bouncer VERY soon after the ride has even started, killing any airtime room you might have had just after the top hat. It`s worth getting room for that element alone but don`t expect to keep any room on this. Trust me i`ve tried. VERY hard. But cause there`s no way to really push with your legs and the upper half of your body kinda surrenders with the forces you experience it`s just not really possible and the bar becomes superglued to the lower half of your body by the end of the ride. One more thing is that it`s not glossy smooth, it has got a rattle but for me that`s not really a negative, more a neutral becuase I don`t mind rougher rides and it adds character. But it does shake your head around a fair bit sometimes and can cause a bit of head ache. Overall, my new number one. Its not perfect but nothing is and its a knockout addition to an already strong park

Inversions Intensity Ejectors Rattle Too short Lap Bar

I rode it for the first time last week. I was scared to pieces but It was fun. The only thing I could do for the intensity was push off the shin guards. The drop was incredible. The 153 banked inversion was fine. The switchback hill was amazing. The ejector hills are absurd. The wave turns were fine. The barrel roll had laterals. My favorite part was the ejector hill after the wave turn. After the ride i realized that my hips were bashed and broozed from it, but its a great ride!!! That tears you up!!!

Airtimes Comfort Fun Too short Capacity Launch

Time Traveler makes you feel confused. The first drop is great with some airtime. The 95 foot tall vertical loop is pretty intense with hangtime and the switchback hill was absurdly full with whip. My favorite part was the zero g roll that feels like spinning while doing a somersault. Overall its my favorite ride on the planet.