• Eric Esty

    Lap Bar Nice surprise! Location

    On a woodie with three seater PTC trains, I can guarantee a smooth ride by sitting in the middle of the cars. And lo and behold, I had a very fun ride on Minebuster. It's not a particularly exciting ride, but that's the joy of it. It's a scenic woodie ride across the park, and it reminded me of Legend a little diving in and out of the waterpark. Plus, the helix at the end was excellent! Great laterals all the way through, with a good tunnel as well.

  • Eric Esty

    Airtimes Location Intensity

    Behemoth is my favorite coaster at Wonderland! A front row ride on this coaster is blissful. Smooth, perfect floater airtime in the entire first half. A forceful downwards spiraling helix after the midcourse, and a last third of the ride that doesn't leave you disappointed. Plus the waterside location is gorgeous, as is the coaster itself. This is absolutely one of my favorite hypers in the world.

  • Lukas 42

    Rattle Headbanging Discomfort

    Ouch! This is one of the worst mouse coasters I've ridden so far...

  • Lukas 42

    Rattle Discomfort

    Quite uncomfortable and rattly for a Mack Wild Mouse...

  • Eric Esty

    First Drop Location Layout Too short

    SheiKra, even after riding the likes of Griffon, Valravn, and Yukon Striker, is still my favorite dive coaster. It's the most dominant in the skyline, has the most deliberate and purposeful layout, and has the best theming and landscaping. The two drops have excellent airtime, the inversion is forceful at the start and has floater air in the exit, and there are several moments of strong positive forces. The water splash is the most beautiful I can think of, as is the stunning red and blue color scheme. It even has the best capacity, with a double loading station. Everything about this ride is perfect, and the only thing holding it back is the short duration. As the coaster that eliminated all my fears of coasters once and for all, I love SheiKra.

  • Eric Esty

    First Drop Fun Masterpiece

    Millennium Force is perfect. I wouldn't change a thing about it. Floater airtime, positive forces, huge speed and scale, and smooth and comfy trains. But most importantly, the feeling of excitement in the air from all riders supercharges this ride with a level of joy no other coaster can give me. Some coasters drain you with unrelenting intensity, but Millennium Force gives you life. It's like a homecooked meal, a big bowl of pho, or a childhood memory. It's warm, comforting, and perfect in its imperfection.

  • Eric Esty

    Location Pace Ejectors

    Some say that your first RMCs will be your favorites. In my case it's absolutely true. New Texas Giant was my first ever RMC, and as I await the opening of Iron Gwazi, it's currently my second favorite. There's so much to love with this ride. An awesome first drop, unbeatable enormous overbanks, and lots of airtime, especially in the second half. The pacing isn't balls to the wall, but not boring either, and for my taste that's perfect. But what really gives this ride its charm is that it feels more Texas than any other coaster in the state. It's big, with wooden structure and weathered steel track, and it's built over a creek. The foliage is low to the ground, but overgrown, crawling up the structure. There's a flaming oil derrick, rustic tunnels with red white and blue flashing lights, and the trains are hot rods. Most importantly, like everything else in Texas, it's BIG.

  • Eric Esty

    Comfort Fun Masterpiece Dead spots

    Fury 325 is my favorite steel coaster! The variety of forces is astounding. Floater airtime, pure speed, sideways airtime, and a touch of intensity. It's consistently paced, and every turn has a purpose. The treble clef or hive dive is a highlight, as are the low to the ground turns, and the floater hills at the end. It's got the usual incredibly comfy clamshells, it's stupidly smooth, it's beautiful, and iconic, with a cool hornet theme fitting to the region. Only complaint is that the helix slows you down a little, but it doesn't take away from the rest of the ride and is taken at a decent speed. I love Fury, with my keychain and my mug, and my coaster loving heart.

  • Eric Esty

    Airtimes Smoothness Hangtime Too short Capacity Harness

    Forceful launches, a smooth ride, and a great inversion with hangtime. Good airtime in the front, and a forceful drop in the back. There are also good moments of positive Gs, particularly at the bottom of the first drop. The twists on the rise and drop are very fast. The non inverting loop is great, and is on a much better ride than the other coaster with this element in Florida. It's a blast, and excellently paced, though short. The trains are incredibly awkward to get into, but once you're in its quite comfy. The comfort collars don't get in the way of your airtime or hangtime. Tigris has wonderful landscaping and some good theming. There's an awesome station soundtrack as the coaster is running, complete with roaring sound effects. The queue has rockwork, foliage, and tiger facts around it. No cattle pens to be seen. The front entrance sign is gorgeous, and the name fits right in with the likes of SheiKra and Kumba. The ride is also gorgeous, a stunning orange track with contrasting black supports. Tigris isn't perfect, but it's an excellent addition to Busch Gardens Tampa, and unlike Tempesto it fits in perfectly as a supplementary attraction. It's beautiful in the skyline, and has a great name, theming, and ride experience.

  • Eric Esty

    Airtimes Pace Intensity

    I don't think this ride is perfect. It feels way too long to me, and in terms of forces, there's not much besides repetitive, relentless airtime. However, it achieves this in a variety of different ways, at least in the first half. Step up and step down airtime hills, rising and falling inversions, and two giant parabolic sustained airtime moments (one being outerbanked) definitely make the first half the highlight to me. However, the second half feels very repetitive and unimaginative. If all you want is raw airtime then this is your dream coaster. But for me, I'll stick to terrain monsters like Iron Rattler. Nonetheless, Steve is still and excellent coaster and is stupidly fun from start to finish in a way that will make you cackle and clap your hands.