The ride starts with a breathtaking twisted first drop (particularly towards the back of the train) followed by an excellent series of elements delive...
The ride starts with a breathtaking twisted first drop (particularly towards the back of the train) followed by an excellent series of elements delivering lots of airtime, in particular, the large outerbank into the downwards roll is very unique and I really enjoyed it. The stall is also great, you float all the way through! But once the train hits the trims in the splashdown, the pace is noticably reduced. The next two elements are still fun, but the sudden change in scale and pace from the first part of the ride is very noticable. Its a real shame they couldn't have made better use of the speed the train had before the trims, it makes the ride feel somewhat incomplete. I did experience a rattle on some rides but it was inconsistent, I couldn't figure out if this was down to a particular train or car but it didn't really affect my enjoyment.
The splashdown effect itself feels a little redundant, it's timed to follow the back of the train meaning that riders are unlikely to notice it unless sat in the back car and since it's also not particularly visible from off-ride (especially for non-riders), it doesn't feel like it adds much to the experience.
The theme is pretty 'meh' - the story is mostly delivered through the queueline video screens but I suspect the majority of riders won't pay it much attention. The landscaping in its current state leaves a lot to be desired, the planting has not grown-in so there's little natural shade/greenery around the plaza/queue. Many areas below/around the ride still look like a construction site, it feels like overall presentation was sacrificed in the rush to get the ride open on time.
The ride crew were doing an excellent job of keeping things running efficiently, while the main queue was over an hour all day during my visit, it was moving at a constant steady rate which always helps to reduce how long the wait feels.
Overall, the coaster itself is fantastic and I'm very glad to have it here in the UK, but it feels like it doesn't quite reach it's full potential.
A great first thrill coaster for the younger thrillseekers! The launches through the station, the rear spike (especially on the back row) and the hang...
A great first thrill coaster for the younger thrillseekers! The launches through the station, the rear spike (especially on the back row) and the hangtime as you roll over the entrance to the area are highlights (the latter is helped by the fact that the vests don't clamp down like those on older B&Ms). The helix around the jaguar statue has decent intensity on the lower parts and stalling out at the top whilst banked 90 degrees is a unique sensation.
It does feel very short, having the train fly backwards through the station and up the rear spike a second time after the return journey would've been fun and it feels like the train would definitely have enough speed to allow for this.
The main issue with this coaster is it's capacity, as a wing coaster which can only run a single train, dispatch times are slow despite the best efforts of the ride staff. This is made even worse by the fact that the airgates are not tall enough and therefore guests are not permitted to wait behind them while the train is flying though the station at speed. Guests are batched outside of the station and only allowed to enter once the train has parked which adds considerable delay, especially for those batched on the right side of the train who are only allowed to cross the bridge over the track once the train is parked! On a coaster which was always going to have capacity issues, the decision not to use full-height airgates is frankly baffling. On opening day the virtual queue system was doing a good job of keeping the physical queue time down, but it remains to be seen how the coaster will cope with peak summer crowds, especially if the park ever discontinues the virtual queue.
