• Michael M.

    Airtimes Inversiones Situación

    This is an incredible jack-of-all-trades coaster. It has great launches (especially the second). It has great inversions, especially the mosasaurus roll that makes you feel like your are about to be ejected into the water just below. It has great ejector airtime in a few different spots. I seem to remember even getting a bit of hangtime, though I can't remember where in the course. I found that the back row was best for airtime and the operators always let me sit there if I asked nicely (and wasn't in the single rider line). The seats and restraints are very comfortable, as always with the newer Intamin OTSLB trains. There is a trim brake on the top hat, but it is a variable trim brake and if it was hitting, I couldn't tell. The only complaint I have is that it has a remarkably shaky ride, much more so than, for example, Pantheon. It normally wouldn't cause me any problem, but I think my head still hasn't fully recovered from getting beaten to hell by Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit yesterday.

  • Michael M.

    Tematización Launch Fun

    I was surprised at how good the forces on this were. The launches were great (and I could even hear the awesome Intamin LSM growl over the theming sounds). At one point, it even gave me the stomach-dropping feeling that most bigger coasters can't manage. There's also a surprise element that I won't spoil here. This is almost perfect, but it misses the last half-star because it just isn't quite intense enough for my preferences. That's not a knock on it though; I'm not in the target demographic for it.

  • Michael M.

    Inversiones Launch Intensidad

    This is so far my favorite B&M sit-down looper and my favorite traditional (non-inverted) looper. It starts off with a surprisingly powerful drive tire launch. (I seriously had no idea a drive tire launch could kick that hard!) You can even smell hot tires in the launch tube if you sniff at the right time. It launches you into an intense sequence of inversions that are whippy without (usually) causing headbanging. (I found that the front was more likely to headbang than the back.) No one inversion stands out, but they are all fun. There's even a couple pops of airtime mixed in for variety. I found that, as usual, the back row offered the best forces. The tracking is mostly smooth, but there are a couple of potholes here and there. It calms down a bit after the MCBR, but the first half is more than enough to make this a phenomenal ride. I honestly never thought a traditional looper would rank this high in my personal favorites.

  • Michael M.

    Tematización Fun Vibración Capacidad Confiabilidad

    Cobra's Curse is a unique, fun spinning coaster that uses spinning in an out-of-the-box way, completing one section locked forward, one section locked backward, and one section free-spinning. Sadly, I didn't get much spinning during the free-spinning section of my ride though. All of the elements are enjoyable, but no one stands out above the others. The theming is very good. The capacity is quite bad, as with most other short-train coasters. The reliability also seems quite bad, with the ride utilizing all of a transfer table, and moving station (complete with electronic eyes!), an elevator lift, and a drive tire lift all on the same ride. After only having seen the elevator lift initially, I was already suspecting that reliability could be an issue. Sure enough, it broke down for a short period while I was queueing and then was down almost all day on my second day in the park. The track profiling is smooth, but like seemingly so many other Mack coasters, there is a very prevalent rattle that you can both feel and hear. I find it rather annoying, but it doesn't cause any pain or result in a headache.

  • Michael M.

    Airtimes Primera caída Suavidad

    The B&M Hypercoaster is my my favorite coaster type and Mako is a shining example of why. The first drop yanks hard and give borderline-ejector airtime in the back row, which is surprising considering the shorter 7-row trains. The following overbank offers fun sideways floater airtime. The following camelback starts with floater airtime at the top and then transitions closer to ejector as the train proceeds down the hill (again, in the back row). The special thing about that hill though is how long it lasts. The airtime lasts for a full 5 seconds, which is longer than any other coaster I have ridden. The rest of the layout offers several more nice camelbacks and some overbanks, one of which is probably the closest you'll ever come to an inversion while restrained by a clamshell. The post-MCBR section can get a bit slow if the train is heavily loaded, but I found that a lightly-loaded train seemed to cause the MCBR to hit less hard and resulted in the second half being more fun. The trains track the smoothest of any of the B&M hypers I've ridden so far. The operations for this ride also seem faster than most of the other rides. That combined with the inherent capacity of a B&M hyper (especially one without seatbelts) means there is seldom a long line. As you might have guessed from what I said previously, the back row is definitely the best here. The way the station is set up, the back row line is partially concealed behind some theming, so most people don't seem to head there, leaving it with a short line usually. I could easily ride this thing all day and never stop having fun.

  • Michael M.

    Airtimes Vibración Torta

    This thing tracks about like a shopping cart that is missing a wheel. It jerks and bangs its way throughout the entire layout, slamming my brain around inside my skull. While seemingly tolerable for a ride or 2, it seeds a migraine for me that then ruins the rest of my day. It has a lot of potential though; the layout is full of airtime and the non-inverting loop is a very fun element. The default music selection sucks, but there are several good songs on the secret menu. Despite its impending closure being the reason I went to Florida when I did, this was the worst coaster I experienced during that trip. I can't say I'll miss it.

  • Michael M.

    Tematización ¡Buena sorpresa! Launch

    It's more fun than I expected it would be. The dark ride sections have great theming (especially if you like fire) and the coaster sections have nice forces (including some quite decent airtime pops). Most of the profiling is gentle enough to avoid any neck discomfort (unlike the Flights of Fear), but it would be a good idea to brace before the forward launch, as there is a sharp left bank immediately afterward. The launches aren't particularly punchy, but occur unexpectedly (unless you're the kind of thoosie like me who is looking at the track, not the show scene) for a nice surprise. It is also a good idea to brace for the braking, because there are 2 separate times when you are slammed to a stop quite hard. Surprisingly, the restraints on this are actually quite comfortable for me; the shin guards, while present, do not actually contact my body like on every other Premier coaster. It is also a joy to see the dual stations with separate load and unload platforms being worked as efficiently as they are here. I don't know that I have ever seen faster ops anywhere else.

  • Michael M.

    Tematización Tiempo muerto

    Overall, this ride is an incredible technological marvel with the rotating coaches, the tilt track, and a couple of other effects tracks. Only Intamin would design something so crazy and it is incredible they got it working as well as they did. As a coaster, however, it is a very short but sweet ride followed by 5 or 6 (albeit cleverly-disguised) MCBRs. What's there is fun, but there just isn't enough of it to make a complete ride.

  • Michael M.

    Tematización Layout Vibración

    This is another one that is probably fun for the kids but not really for me. It isn't awful by any means (I am of the firm opinion that riding almost any roller coaster (except you, Beast and CP Corkscrew) is more fun that not riding a roller coaster), but it just isn't forceful enough to be particularly enjoyable to me. The theming is nice though, however being forced to exit through the penguin exhibit, which often gets jammed up, is not great. This coaster rattles like crazy. As with the other new B&Ms, it isn't something that's going to hurt your head, but B&M, could you please just go ahead and fix this? Please?

  • Michael M.

    Airtimes Launch Fun Lap Bar

    This is sort of like a Kirkland Signature-brand Pantheon. It has mostly the same idea with a swing launch between a top hat and a vertical spike followed by some other elements. I seem to be a sucker for swing launches, so naturally I found this one fun. The rest of the layout offers plenty of whip and ejector airtime as well. The tracking is mostly quite smooth as I have come to expect from Premier, but the trains suck, as I also expect from Premier. Just like Skyrocket II trains, they are nearly impossible to get in and out and the lap bars are uncomfortable for my thighs and shins. This one at least doesn't have the useless Comfort Collars though.

  • Michael M.

    Inversiones Intensidad Vibración

    Many B&Ms age well. This one has not. It is a very intense inversion machine that I was expecting to like quite a lot judging from my experience on Dominator, but this one just didn't work out for me. The problem is that the entire course is littered with potholes that make my head hurt, resulting in a rather unpleasant ride for me. I wish I had more to say about the specific elements, but I had a hard time enjoying most of them due to the rattling. There was a surprisingly high amount of airtime for a looper though. This should be a capacity monster with 3 8x4 trains, but for some reason they were only running 1 train on it when I was there, despite a pretty significant wait.

  • Michael M.

    Airtimes Launch Fun Vibración Demasiado corto

    I'm not sure this is what people mean when they talk about standing airtime, but it's about time B&M figured out that airtime while standing is more fun that positive Gs while standing. Lifting your feet completely off the train during the airtime is a unique and fun sensation. The launch also kicks quite hard and, due to the way the restraint is set up, this will lift your feet off the floor too. That caught me off-guard on my first ride. I'm not sure the forces are much different between the front and back, but I definitely prefer the front for maximizing the surfing effect. Everything that is there is great, but I feel like it is a couple elements short of what it should be. As with seemingly all the post-2020 B&Ms, this has quite a distinct rattle. It isn't painful or headache-inducing, but it is a shame that things seem to be going this way. Speaking of pain, you definitely want to stand straight up on this rather than crouching to lower the bike seat like on legacy B&M standups. The seat moves up and down during the ride on this one and crouching caused it to hit me in the groin a couple of times on my first ride. Ouch! The restraint is definitely easier to use and check than the older stand-ups though.

  • Michael M.

    Inversiones Intensidad Incomodidad

    Manta was my first B&M flying coaster and I was impressed. The inversions are great, especially the pretzel loop, which offers extremely strong positive Gs with your back towards the ground, a very unique and intense experience. I also like where it flies close to the ground; it really does feel like you're going to hit something. It is mostly pretty smooth, but there are a few potholes here and there. The restraint is also not particularly comfortable for me, but that's true for pretty much anything that touches my shins on a coaster.

  • Michael M.

    Fun Vibración Capacidad Tiempo muerto

    It's good for kids, I guess. Parts of it pull some nice forces. The second elements wants so badly to be a 0g roll, but doesn't quite make it there. This sort of feels like if Mack (for the rattle) grafted a Vekoma SFC train onto full-size B&M invert track. And it does rattle quite a bit in a way that feels and sounds similar to most of the Mack coasters I have ridden. It isn't painful here due to the slow speed and lessened forces, but imagine if something like a large-scale invert or a gigacoaster rattled like this. It would be unrideable. I really hope B&M can get this figured out before they build anything like that. The fact that this can only run 1 train is disappointing. The layout could probably support 2 trains if the reduction brake was converted into a block brake, but the duration is short enough that the ops would really need to haul to keep up with it. On the positive side, they did finally manage to make an invert with a quiet anti-rollback system on the lift hill, so there's that…

  • Michael M.

    Launch Ejectors Hangtime Demasiado corto Arnés Lap Bar

    Now that I've gotten a chance to ride a Skyrocket II without being stapled, I've decided that these things are *way* too much fun for how compact, short, and clonable they are. The launches have good kick. The backwards stall is disorientingly fun since you can't tell where you will stop. The transition to horizontal after the third launch has great airtime. (I imagine this airtime is probably better in the front, but I never rode it in that row.) The heartline roll is delightfully hangy, made even better by how high up you are. Then you hit a trim brake before the drop, but this is absolutely necessary, because the extremely strong ejector airtime created by the combined drop and twist would probably kill the back row riders otherwise. (Seriously, that has to be some of the strongest airtime I've experienced on anything not made by RMC.) The non-inverting loop is also whippy and fun. I also noticed and appreciated how quickly and precisely the train parks back in the station at the end. Despite not being stapled this time, the restraints are still quite awful. The lap bar isn't really even a lap bar for me; it pins me in by the lower thighs and shins, which isn''t the most comfortable during the strong airtime. The comfort collars aren't uncomfortable to me, but they are also completely pointless and make a train that is already difficult to board even worse. I really wish Premier would figure out how to make a better restraint; that would make this ride even better.

  • Michael M.

    Airtimes Inversiones Ejectors Incomodidad Lap Bar

    Finally, an RMC that doesn't have a rapid sequence of bunny-hops! This is an awesome coaster with lots of very strong airtime (of course!), probably the whippiest inversions I have experienced on an RMC, and a very nice floaty 0g roll. As with all the other RMCs I have ridden, it is very intense throughout with no dead spots. Every row is great, but the back row is definitely best for airtime and whip. This displaces ArieForce One as my favorite RMC, mainly due to the increased length and aforementioned lack of bunny-hops. As with all other RMCs, the restraints are not designed for someone with legs as long as mine and are uncomfortable even if I'm not stapled. The anti-rollbacks are also still the noisiest in the industry (no surprise there). The combination of those is why I only gave it 4.5 stars instead of 5. Curiously, this one has Consign programming where the rest of the RMCs seem to have IOE programming. This doesn't have multi-move and the station parking seems slower than it needs to be, so maybe that's why.

  • Michael M.

    Velocidad Layout

    For being the first gigacoaster, Millennium Force stands up quite well against the more modern ones. The sense of speed is incredible and it never lets up throughout the ride. There's plenty of positive Gs, but not enough to make me pass out like its younger sister Project 305. (The people who call it "Millennium Forceless" are just silly.) There is some airtime too, but that isn't really the focus. There is a noticeable shake throughout the layout, but I never found that to be uncomfortable or painful. I didn't enjoy it as much as Fury 325 (my favorite gigacoaster), but it is still an amazing ride.

  • Michael M.

    Inversiones Velocidad Ejectors Incomodidad Lap Bar

    Steel Vengeance is a truly amazing coaster, but it doesn't quite live up to the hype for me. I love everything about it. The first drop is amazing, the inversions are great, and there is so much airtime, but in general I tend to like more graceful, sustained airtime instead of the quick ejector pops Steel Vengeance focuses on. In that way, I actually consider Twisted Timbers to be superior. As with all RMCs, it is impeccably smooth but the trains are quite uncomfortable for people with legs as long as mine. It doesn't rise to the point of pain, but it does detract from the experience. The lift hill is also painfully loud and I must plug my ears in order to avoid getting a headache.

  • Michael M.

    Primera caída Intensidad Ejectors Lap Bar

    This was my first-ever RMC and it absolutely lives up to the hype. Most of the first drop is a 0g roll, which is pretty insane. That along with the other inversions provide great hangtime. Other than that, it is mostly a bunch of airtime hills that provide some of the most wonderfully, amazingly violent ejector airtime I have ever experienced. All of the elements are taken extremely fast and the intensity never lets up from the first drop all the way to the brake run. The entire layout is immaculately smooth as well, both in the macro (transitions) sense and micro (no rattle) sense. I only have 2 complaints. The first is that the shin pads on the lap bar are uncomfortable, bordering on painful, due to my very long legs. This happens on just about any restraint that uses shin pads. My other is the lift hill. The anti-rollback system is so noisy, especially as the train speeds up over the top, that it gave me a headache. I wish RMC could have used a silent anti-rollback system like what is becoming increasingly common these days.

  • Michael M.

    Inversiones Velocidad Ejectors Incomodidad Lap Bar

    ArieForce One is amazing and is in my opinion the best RMC I have ridden so far. The first drop has sustained ejector airtime, especially in the back of the train. The "raven truss dive" (it's a dive loop in my book) isn't particularly forceful, but is still a fun and unique way to implement a turnaround. The 0g stall might just be my favorite element on the whole ride. It provides glorious inverted floater airtime in a way that I don't recall having experienced before. The outer banked turn and the double-up once again provide great sustained ejector airtime, this time for the whole train. I'm not sure I would call the barrel roll over the arcade "whippy", but it is certainly fast and forceful. The following turnaround has pretty strong and sustained positive Gs for an RMC, but it isn't enough to make me gray out. There's another 0g roll in there, which is fun but doesn't really measure up to the 0g stall from earlier. Then there's the (in)famous quint-down finale. That's the only element on the coaster of which I'm not a huge fan. I prefer sustained airtime to quick bunny-hops (which is the primary reason why this and Twisted Timbers go above Steel Vengeance in my book), so the finale doesn't really do much for me. The final brake run also hits extremely hard (It is truly amazing how hard magnetic brakes can decelerate the train without even touching it) and I pretty much need to brace for it in order to avoid pain. Combined, these make the finale the only part of the coaster that detracts from its re-rideability. I feel like a better finale would be to replace the quint-down with a couple of camelbacks and a longer, gentler brake run. My complaints about all the other RMCs are still true here. The anti-rollback system is extremely loud and the lift hill engagement is quite jerky. The shin guards are uncomfortable to slightly painful for long-legged people. I also have opinions about the operations here. The operations were very slow and only one train was running when I visited. The operators wouldn't be in position to hold the movement enable buttons by the time the train got to the holding brake, so it was like the train was stacking even though only one train was running. Once the train did get into the station, they would often wait to scan the wristbands of the oncoming riders until after the exiting riders had already exited, causing a delay. Once the oncoming riders did board the train, there were often significant unexplained delays in checking the restraints and/or dispatching the train. Sometimes it was so slow that I could get off the train, exit, come back around through the entrance, and board the same train for the next cycle. The operators also kept crossing without clearance from the control operator, which, after only attending parks using IROC so far, bugged me. Oh, and watch out for stuff getting ejected from the train during the finale. I got hit by a phone ejected from the coach ahead of me and it was not pleasant.

  • Michael M.

    Airtimes Launch Hangtime Tiempo muerto

    I went in honestly not knowing quite what to expect. Every other Intamin multi-launch coaster had gone into my top 10 at the time I rode it, but this one doesn't seem to get the hype of many of the others. And, while it wasn't quite as good as the others, it is still an amazing ride that does not disappoint. The first launch, while short, has good kick. The following banked turn is a bit of a dead spot though. The second launch doesn't have quite the kick of the first, but is still fun. I expected the second element (the half-top hat followed by a helix) to be a dead spot, but in the front of the train, the half-top hat gives very nice ejector airtime. In the back of the train, however, it is just mild floater. The second top hat also gives good ejector airtime in the front, which again becomes mild floater in the back. This is definitely a front-row ride. The corkscrew (seriously, RCDB calls this a heartline roll‽) results in (unexpected, to me) hangtime that I enjoyed very much. There's no headbanging for me, but if I mispredict what the train is going to do next, sometimes I can get mild neckchopping. This would definitely benefit from the newer OTSLB trains like on Pantheon. The tracking is not quite as smooth as the newer spine-style track that Intamin used on Intimidator 305/Project 305/Pantherian and Pantheon, but it doesn't cause any pain or detract from the ride experience. Some people complained about capacity, but during my visit, they were rolling the trains on every cycle. Granted, there were only running 2 trains with a only a single station, but if they could keep that up while running all 5 trains, this ought to result in quite good capacity.

  • Michael M.

    Inversiones Velocidad Intensidad

    Montu is an incredible invert with lots (a world record of 7 for inverts) whippy inversions and plenty of rip-your-legs-off positive Gs. It is amazing in both the front and back row, though the maximum effect of some of the elements is only achieved in one of those. I think the positive Gs might be a bit stronger or perhaps more sustained in the front row because I gray out there but not in the back. I think this ever so slightly edges out Raptor because it seems to run a bit smoother, but it doesn't quite match the raw power (or smooth-tracking polyurethane wheels) of Alpengeist. I didn't experience any headbanging in any row while pressing my head back into the headrest, but some elements could possibly result in headbanging if you don't ride defensively.

  • Michael M.

    Suavidad

    For a wild mouse, it isn't awful. Obviously it has lots of flat turns with strong lateral Gs, but I personally don't find those objectionable since I can see them coming and brace (unlike Goldrusher, which will give you whiplash with its sudden lateral jerks going into and out of banks). It tracks quite smoothly though and there is practically no rattle. The bunny hills are fun and there are actually a couple of halfway-decent pops of airtime. Watch out for that end-of-course brake if trains are already stacked at all the drive tires, it is rather crashy. It's almost as if someone at Mack saw Magnum XL-200 doing a C-set and was like "Das können wir auch!". It felt a bit weird riding this alone as a 30-something guy…

  • Michael M.

    Inversiones Hangtime Incomodidad Sin interés

    I really want to love old Arrows, and sometimes I do (like with Loch Ness Monster and Carolina Cyclone), but this one just misses the mark. The first drop (usually a great part of Arrow loopers, for me anyway) is curved (which eliminates any airtime it might have had), janky, and not really fun. All the transitions are rather bad and some of them are taken quite fast, leading to discomfort. (My head seems to rise far enough above the restraints on Arrow trains that I don't usually headbang per se, but it still isn't comfortable.) The first loop is nice and the corkscrews are taken slowly and give some hangtime. The slowness of the rest of the second half of the layout is an issue though, making it rather boring. Now that this is getting removed, I wonder if they will replace it with something that can interact with the lake in a meaningful way, like maybe a Vekoma invert or a Vekoma flyer. Please?

  • Michael M.

    Inversiones Situación Intensidad Vibración Capacidad

    This was my first (and, at the time of this writing, only) flying coaster. I actually enjoyed it quite a bit overall. The inversions are fast, intense, and just keep coming and coming. The "seating" position means you usually can't see what the track is going to do next, which heightens the intensity. It also plays a role in the corkscrews at the end being the single most disorienting element I have experienced. (As of the time of this writing, no, I have not ridden X2. 😆) The track profiling is good and there isn't any headbanging, but the tracking isn't great and there is a fair bit of rattle, though I didn't find it painful. The capacity is absolutely awful. It only runs one train (even though I see no reason why the track layout shouldn't be able to have a wait block and run 2) and the uniqueness of the seating makes it take a long time to load, so I had to wait longer for this than any other ride on the day I visited. While I completely understand why they closed it, I am still sorry to see it go and will miss it.

  • Michael M.

    Fun Intensidad

    It's an old Arrow looper, so it is a bit janky and tosses you around some with those tangent-radius transitions. I never experienced headbanging, but that's because I'm tall enough to make headbanging impossible with Arrow OTSRs. After having ridden Loch Ness Monster, which I found had the tendency to snap my neck forward during the loops, I was expecting that here too, but I didn't experience it. I would definitely still recommending keeping your head back against the headrest though. After reading other people's experiences with Arrow corkscrews, I was expecting the ones on this ride (which is the first Arrow to feature them that I have ridden) to be painful. The entry into the first corkscrew does have strong laterals, but I didn't experience any discomfort. The entire layout has sort of a fast-paced, frenetic kind of intensity that I don't really experience on newer coasters but enjoy quite a bit. There's a bit of a rattle if you ride in a wheel seat (even-numbered rows), but odd-numbered rows don't have this. Odd-numbered rows also have quite a bit more legroom, so if you have long legs, definitely pick one of those. Overall I don't get the hate for this. It doesn't really measure up to more modern loopers, but it is still fun.

  • Michael M.

    Airtimes Primera caída Fun

    Thunder Striker is really an underappreciated coaster. It has great floater airtime throughout the pre-MCBR section. Like most B&M hypers, the airtime comes on in a bit more of an eject-y manner in the front of the train, while not hitting quite as hard but lasting longer in the back. The back is definitely the best place to experience the first drop though, as with just about every other coaster. It is still quite smooth. I could hear the trim brakes during the first half hitting, but they didn't seem to slow the train down much. The MCBR can be unpredictable sometimes though. I've had rides where it hardly hit at all (even on hot days) and other rides where it slowed the train down quite a bit. If the MCBR doesn't hit hard, the section after it is also fun, but it can be a bit of a dead spot if the train is running too slowly. If this wasn't in the same park with Fury 325, it would get a lot more love.

  • Michael M.

    Tematización Lap Bar Hangtime Vibración

    Copperhead Strike really goes all-out with the hangtime. Starting right after the station with the jojo roll, every inversion leaves you hanging from the seat. There are no over-the-shoulder restraints of any type here, which definitely intensifies the effect. This was one of my first roller coasters with inversions that didn't have some kind of OTSR and while OTSRs don't really bother me, I definitely am starting to prefer this style of restraint. It also has a few great moments of airtime with bunny hills and the Stengel dive. Usually I think traditional sit-down coasters are best from the back, but this one manages to have great airtime in the front too, and there is definitely more hangtime in the front. The launches aren't the strongest and can't really be considered elements in and of themselves, but they get the job done. It has a pretty strong rattle that seems to affect every row of every train. It isn't painful, but it is annoying and in some causes quite loud, even off-ride. Sadly, once I experienced Maverick at Cedar Point, that made this one seem too tame by comparison…

  • Michael M.

    Torta Capacidad Tiempo muerto

    It amazes me how much headbanging this slow, boring coaster with no actual elements somehow manages to have. I think the layout is the same as the one at Kings Island, but that one at least has vest restraints and therefore headbanging is much more difficult. It is also only capable of running one train and therefore has horrible capacity. Why does this thing even exist?

  • Michael M.

    Airtimes Demasiado corto Incomodidad

    Woodstock Express has surprisingly good airtime for a family woody. It was definitely better than the airtime on the Kings Island version, but I was also sitting in the back for my ride on this one, so that may have made a difference. However, with my long legs, the airtime just causes my knees to bang on the front part of the buzzbar, which is quite unpleasant. It is quite smooth for a wooden coaster though and it appears to have had quite a bit of track work done recently. If the trains were a bit bigger and the layout was a bit longer, this would be better than Hurler…