Coaster reviews

Pace Intensity Layout Discomfort

Slamming into the headache-inducing transition before the brake run is an awful final impression to a tight, fast, intense ride. Hearing the signature roar from the parking lot is a great way to start the day.

Location Fun Intensity Dead spots

Let me get this out of the way: at night, this feels like a really nice hike through the deep woods. I love the vibe in the dark. But when the sun shines and the flaws can't be hidden, you notice that the ride is made mostly of straight track. Half of the ride duration is devoted to climbing the two lift hills, and while the rose bowl helix is incredibly forceful and a wonderful finale to the ride, it's almost not worth waiting three minutes strapped into the ride just to experience that.

Pace Intensity Layout

An intense experience from drop to brake run. This was my first invert besides Raptor, and the snappiness, relentless pace, and forcefulness took me by surprise.

Pace Intensity Layout

Alpengeist was everything I wanted from an invert. It was intense without being nauseating, and the layout was a fun deviation from the generic B&M invert layout - not just the Batman clones, but Raptor as well. It felt fast, and the terrain interaction was incredible.

Airtimes Pace Fun

A bit of a one trick pony, but the airtime on Diamondback is quite strong. You haven't lived until you've put your arms out, Rose from Titanic style, in the back row. The splashdown is exhilarating when you do.

First Drop Capacity Lap Bar Dead spots

For a ride so revered by the community, I felt that Fury didn't really *do* much. The drop was tall, fun, and gave some decent airtime, but after that, the layout was lackluster aside from the lateral air atop the treble clef. This would rank highly among hypercoasters, but I didn't feel it warranted the level above most enthusiasts seem to put it in.

Airtimes Pace Intensity Too short

A more raw ride than the IBox, this is the only inverting wooden (or "wooden", as there is no wood between the wheels - however, I found the laminated grout to feel quite similar to the laminated wood of "true" woodies) coaster I've ridden. It's a strong ride, with the stall being unsurprisingly the standout element.

Pace Intensity Layout

A raw, powerful wooden coaster, RFII packs the punch of a pre-depression John Miller creation with the smoothness that comes from modern technology and a devoted upkeep team at Waldameer. The speed and intensity are so incredibly out of place at this family-oriented park, but I can't complain about walking on a half dozen times for less than admission to most parks.

Inversions Pace Layout

Moving efficiently from element to element, this ride turns you upside down smoothly early and often. The theming is well-placed, and the mist dispensers are welcome on a hot day. But the shining star of this ride was the zero G roll - the smooth rotation taken at the perfect speed to spin you without exerting any forces; this was the best-executed zero G roll I've ever experienced.

Airtimes Pace Layout

The first ever B&M hyper is easily the best I've ridden. The smooth airtime was expected, but the forceful low turns surprised me. It packs more variety than any other "airtime machine" model I've been on.