Coaster reviews

While it may not be as intense as its Tampanian brother, Hulk still delivers in terms of theming, thrills and pacing... right up until you hit the mid...

While it may not be as intense as its Tampanian brother, Hulk still delivers in terms of theming, thrills and pacing... right up until you hit the mid-course. I wish Universal would’ve worked with B&M to redesign the entire second half, since they had gone through all the effort to rebuild the track; however, it’s not a major issue, as Hulk still warrants 4 stars from me. The zippy launch in the tunnel sequence never got old on all 5 of my rides, and the cobra roll over the water is a picturesque but nevertheless intense manuever. I surprisingly enjoyed the dive into the misty tunnel, which the water provided some relief from the heat of April in Orlando, and the second loop was decently intense. Overall this is tied with Rip Ride Rockit (a surprising candidate) for my favorite coaster at Universal Orlando Resort.

Going in I was told that Rip Ride Rockit was an abysmal, rough and jerky ride. But I was very pleasantly surprised, hence my 4-star rating. This coast...

Going in I was told that Rip Ride Rockit was an abysmal, rough and jerky ride. But I was very pleasantly surprised, hence my 4-star rating. This coaster has some good pops of sustained floater air in the beginning, and decent G’s towards the end — with the middle of the ride making up a notable “dead spot.” My favorite element probably has to be the inclined loop (a “Plot Twist” per Universal’s marketing scheme), which pulls some great laterals. The first drop is also pretty fun because of the unrestrictive lap bars. However, some of the transitions are a bit awkward, most notably the rises into the first and second mid-courses which give this kind of odd sensation of experiencing airtime while being shuffled to the side of your seat. Two crazy experiences I had with this coaster is when going in for a second ride, our train stopped just before the lift hill. A minute later we were evacuated off the ride and given a free Express Pass, which I later used for my third ride. And on the fourth ride, I was rocking out to the Jackson 5 when our train stopped on the brake run just before the last. The speakers still blared for another minute, but finally our train crawled forward and completed the rest of the circuit. It was a great end to a great day.

Had really high hopes for this: but, i ended up not really liking it. Probably due to the fact that i only rode this one time and got stapled on it, b...

Had really high hopes for this: but, i ended up not really liking it. Probably due to the fact that i only rode this one time and got stapled on it, but i will have to ride it again, kinda.

While this is far and away my mother’s favorite coaster of all time, I still think Wild Eagle is a decent ride in its own right — but surpassed by the...

While this is far and away my mother’s favorite coaster of all time, I still think Wild Eagle is a decent ride in its own right — but surpassed by the other two B&M wing coasters that I have ridden, Gatekeeper and Thunderbird. The location for this coaster is the best thing about Wild Eagle, because you are atop the hillside that splits Dollywood’s park layout in two. The inversions are taken at a perfectly graceful speed, providing good hangtime and several near misses with the trees; while the helices at the end offer a pop of airtime, and a slight hint of laterals. All in all Wild Eagle is not a bad ride, but it certainly could be improved; as with most of the other wing coasters bar Thunderbird, it tends to fall a bit short in the intensity category.