Don't have much to compare it to as the only other B&M dive I've done is Valravn, and that was like a decade ago and I barely remember it (there are m...
Don't have much to compare it to as the only other B&M dive I've done is Valravn, and that was like a decade ago and I barely remember it (there are much more memorable rides at Cedar Point). This was more fun than I remember that one being. I really like the restraints on this. I found them very comfortable and they interact well with both the hanging over the drop and the hanging that one of the inversions had. Maybe some people are more "hardcore" than me and like that feeling of slipping out of your restraints, but it's not for me so I much prefer these restraints.
I marked location as a pro, but it's a qualified pro. The actual location in the park is awful. It's a long dead end walk in the corner of the park, and it sits on an open, barren piece of land with no theming and hardly any shade. However, once you ascend the lift hill (which incidentally is a very quick lift), the views are incredible. When you first reach the top, you get some great views of the city skyline, then when you turn you get some gorgeous views of the Mission Bay area, and finally when you hold before the drop you get a nice birds eye view of the whole park (assuming you can stop yourself from looking straight down that drop, although in the back row you unfortunately don't get much choice in the matter).
As for the layout, it's pretty fun. The first drop is great, as I'd assume they pretty much all are, and then it goes through several very smooth, swooping inversions. I see some people say they're forceless (and that's not entirely untrue), but forces aren't always necessary to me for a ride to be fun. I've heard that same complaint about Gatekeeper and I love that ride. I'm a big fan of coasters that give me a flying feeling, and that can only really be accomplished by not having any strong forces positively or negatively.
I rode the ride three times, one front row center, once back row center, and once front row on the outside wing. The back row was definitely the worst as you don't really get to see down the drop very well and it has a bit of a rattle (not to the point of it being a con, but it's there). The front wing was an interesting experience. I found the ride to be a lot scarier there as there's no track beneath you and you can REALLY see that. It kind of made me uncomfortable for the same reason that I'm not a fan of drop towers (Tower of Terror/Guardians of the Galaxy notwithstanding), but at least there's walkways under you on the lift hill. I probably would've freaked out if there wasn't. Once the ride gets going it's not too bad, but being on the wing actually counterintuitively lessens the sensation of flight that I enjoy because it's a little shaky there. Again, not enough to knock points off, but enough to be noticeable. If you want your ride to be more intense, maybe try a front outside seat. The sweet spot for me is definitely front center as you get the great hang over the drop, plus a great flying sensation. The problem is getting that spot of course. Even on a day like mine where literally every ride was a walk on, it can be difficult to get the center. Everyone wants to sit in the front for obvious reasons, and since it's six across, you need to massage it so that you're third or fourth in line.
I got a night ride on this one, and it's definitely worth doing at night, but I wouldn't go so far as to say it's an improvement. It's nice to see the city and the park lit up (not sure how the park normally looks at night, but I saw it lit up for Christmas and it was great), but you can't really see much of the bay or make out much beyond the lights so it's kind of a two steps forward two steps back situation. You also don't really get any benefit from the dark once it gets going. The ride is lit up a bit (and the track is also very painted a very light color), so you can see the track pretty clearly. Also, since there's nothing else in that area of the park, you don't get to see any fun night lights like you do at the top. I don't think they even bothered to put Christmas lights over there.
First launch has some fun theming projected on the walls, then a solidly forceful launch for a family coaster (felt stronger to me than Electric Eel)....
First launch has some fun theming projected on the walls, then a solidly forceful launch for a family coaster (felt stronger to me than Electric Eel). First half has some solid airtime and weaves through terrain pretty well. I'd describe it as just pure fun. Then it hits an AWFUL mid course break run. Not only does it mess with the pacing, but it's slams the restraint into your gut in the back rows (it's not as bad in the front). The launch afterwards is solid, and then there are two twisty drops the get some serious ejector airtime in the back row. The 2nd drop in particular tries to fling you out of the train sideways (back row right is the magic seat for that one). After that there's a really long, tight turn (might be a helix?) that pulls some pretty strong positives. After that there's a couple more swooping turns, but unfortunately they do basically nothing, and then the ride's over (the second brake run isn't anywhere near as bad as the midcourse).
This is definitely a back row ride. Not only is the second half way better in the back, but the front row can't really see the projections in the tunnel before the first launch. The only real advantage to the front row is having the wind in your face on the launches, and there was one airtime hill early on that got some fun floater air in the front.
I did notice a bit of a rattle in the back on some of my rides, but it didn't really affect the ride elements at all; it was just noisy in kind of an annoying way. Maybe it's only one of the two trains they were running that had the rattle because sometimes I didn't notice it, and sometimes I couldn't not notice it.
I got a night ride on this as well, but I wouldn't say it added much. The ride interacts with terrain well enough that I would rather be able to see it clearly, although it was fun flying past the lights they had up for Christmas.
