I only tend to rate the more special kids coasters. Woodstock’s Express may look like an unassuming, cute little Zamperla 80STD; but let me tell you, ...
I only tend to rate the more special kids coasters. Woodstock’s Express may look like an unassuming, cute little Zamperla 80STD; but let me tell you, if you’re credit whoring this you are in for a ROUGH ride (literally). Each turn on this coaster will slide and smash you around in your seat, and at the bottom of each hill your car violently shakes with a consistent rattle throughout. I get this is just a kids coaster, however, the new-for-2017 Whistle Punk Chaser (which I had rode just the last week) was so much smoother, probably due to its newness!
I actually had a pretty interesting experience on this kiddy coaster. So as I was boarding, a mother and her two children sat down a row or two behind...
I actually had a pretty interesting experience on this kiddy coaster. So as I was boarding, a mother and her two children sat down a row or two behind me. While the op was securing people onto the ride, she said hello to me. Naturally, as this was only my second time credit whoring, I really didn’t know what to do. But to be polite, I just said hello back. We got into a conversation about amusement parks, and naturally I told the family I was from the Carolinas and here on a roller coaster trip. Then I tell the kids with a smirk, “Your mom must be pretty cool to take you to Cedar Point.” And before we could continue talking, Wilderness Run began climbing the chain lift.
FireChaser Express is a surprisingly punchy and enjoyable family coaster. The launches’ sheer force surprised me — as while 16mph in 1.6 seconds right...
FireChaser Express is a surprisingly punchy and enjoyable family coaster. The launches’ sheer force surprised me — as while 16mph in 1.6 seconds right out of the station may not sound fast or intense, it actually pulled some DECENT G’s! A few pops of airtime here or there are also present, along with the fun section of S-bends right before the second launch. Theming is also very prevalent on this coaster with several passes through former zipline structures, the midcourse show scene and a cool firehouse-inspired station. However, capacity is a major issue on this coaster; while Dollywood staff are efficient at operating this ride lines can get long quickly. Only three 14-person trains run on the course at a time, limiting capacity to 750 riders per hour. This is definitely a family coaster worth a good wait, but I’d avoid anything over forty minutes.
While I may not praise Montu to death like its brother Kumba, this ride still has a lot going for it. Montu is an excellent invert and was the first I...
While I may not praise Montu to death like its brother Kumba, this ride still has a lot going for it. Montu is an excellent invert and was the first I ever rode. It’s still my favorite to this day, outplacing Banshee, Afterburn, Batman (Over Texas and Over Georgia), Great Bear, Raptor and Talon. It was the second major coaster I ever rode, right after Kumba — which got me into coasters — and features lots of intense inversions and turns. Most notably are the corkscrew finale, INSANE batwing, immelmann, second loop and helix. Montu provides much raw intensity for being an old-school B&M, and most prefer Montu to Kumba; however because of the special place Kumba has in my heart (read my review on Kumba if you are interested in hearing more on that) I rank Kumba higher, but Montu isn’t far behind. I am riding both this April after nearly four long years of being away from my former home park (Busch Gardens Tampa), and I am over the moon about it!
Kumba was the coaster that got me into coasters. I love this ride to death for that, and many more reasons. I haven’t ridden it in nearly four years (...
Kumba was the coaster that got me into coasters. I love this ride to death for that, and many more reasons. I haven’t ridden it in nearly four years (but I will return to my former home park, Busch Gardens Tampa, this April) so my very fond memories might be a bit outdated.
I remember a few months before I rode this coaster, how I’d just been getting into the enthusiast gig. I watched POVs of coasters online on a daily basis, which helped me get over my fear, and began to focus my attention on breaking that fear of inversions. Against my better judgement I decided to ride Kumba in February 2015. Walking up to it, my gut feeling began to kick in. Was I REALLY about to ride this huge B&M looper? I punched my stomach for being afraid and went into the nonexistent line. I fastened the shoulder harness, took some deep breaths in disbelief, and soon we were off. The slow and agonizing climb up the chain lift did nothing to ease my fear. Quicker than I would’ve liked it to be, the train disengaged from the chain dogs and we plummeted thirteen stories down. I didn’t scream; I never really have on coasters. Then the test of my will came; the 114-foot vertical loop.
One of the most ridiculous things I thought about inversions was, with all the blood rushing to your head would that make you dumber? How did it exactly feel to go upside down? Would I end up upset after my ride, like I was at SooperDooperLooper back in 2014? That all came to a head as the train inverted. It was a glorious feeling, being upside down for so long. My questions had finally been answered. The train soared through a dive loop and into the “Hell Roll” — Kumba’s overly forceful zero-g roll, the term unbeknownst to me at the time — but my favorite part of the ride was right up ahead. This cobra roll has a lot of whip and G’s to it, I thought to myself, and before I could contemplate the ride up to this point we were already dropping out of the mid-course. The pair of corkscrews and the banked turn, as photogenic as they are, offer high G’s to boot; then we dove under the station, into the dark tunnel, and burst out into a surprisingly high-G helix. I was pinned to my seat! Yet all too soon we hit the brake run, and with that, my undying obsession with roller coasters had just been amplified.
All in all, biased or not, Kumba is a literal masterpiece. I am more than ecstatic to ride this beast again this April, after nearly four looong years of waiting, along with my other old friends at Busch Gardens Tampa; Montu, SheiKra and (even though I don’t like to admit it) Cheetah Hunt. For many reasons it will forever be my favorite coaster at Busch Gardens Tampa, even if RMC Gwazi turns out to be as incredible as us coasterfans expect it to. While Voyage may be my #1 coaster overall, Kumba holds a special place in my heart for being the coaster that helped me over my fear. I love this ride!!!
I don’t know what makes me love this coaster so much! Maybe it’s the graceful and glossy smooth layout, or the two forceful vertical loops, or the bea...
I don’t know what makes me love this coaster so much! Maybe it’s the graceful and glossy smooth layout, or the two forceful vertical loops, or the beautiful terrain Mind Bender is interwoven with... it may not be insanely intense like its Canadian brother (which I have also ridden), but Mind Bender would make a great introduction to inversions for future coasterfans. I hope Mind Bender is around for decades to come!
Hydra is a fun floorless coaster that is known for its jojo roll, the highlight of the ride for me. It’s a graceful ride that isn’t very intense or me...
Hydra is a fun floorless coaster that is known for its jojo roll, the highlight of the ride for me. It’s a graceful ride that isn’t very intense or memorable, but has a unique setting up on a hill. My 2nd favorite at Dorney Park, bested by Talon.
Talon is, in my words, a mix of Great Bear at Hersheypark and Afterburn at Carowinds. It has the graceful, swooping motions of Great Bear and the whip...
Talon is, in my words, a mix of Great Bear at Hersheypark and Afterburn at Carowinds. It has the graceful, swooping motions of Great Bear and the whippy inversions of Afterburn. I prefer Talon to Afterburn, because it feels satisfyingly long while retaining intensity and has a great variety of elements. The corkscrew is my favorite moment on this coaster for sure, and Talon is my favorite coaster at Dorney Park far and away.
I had to do what I had to do to get to 100 credits. This was one of those necessary evils, but at least this Zamperla kiddy cred wasn’t as rough as Do...
I had to do what I had to do to get to 100 credits. This was one of those necessary evils, but at least this Zamperla kiddy cred wasn’t as rough as Dorney Park’s.
