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.
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.
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.
I liked Mystery Mine a lot more way back in October 2016, praising it as the 3rd best coaster at Dollywood. But after a reride in December 2017, I beg...
I liked Mystery Mine a lot more way back in October 2016, praising it as the 3rd best coaster at Dollywood. But after a reride in December 2017, I began to dislike this coaster more and more for some reason. I remembered the significant amount of headbanging, and how most of the ride, bar for the 95° drop and pair of inversions, is one massive “dead spot”. Headbanging is prevalent in the drop preceeding the first lift, and the jaunt succeeding the first lift. I often waited around 30-40 minutes for this coaster, and while it is a long ride most of it is spent meandering around the mineshafts (which are very elaborately themed, by the way). For me, the best moment of Mystery Mine is the hangtime in the inversions. This is a decent coaster that could be vastly improved with lap bars.
I love this coaster to death. Maybe it was that Phoenix was my 100th credit, or Phoenix shocked me by how strong its airtime was, or that this ‘40s wo...
I love this coaster to death. Maybe it was that Phoenix was my 100th credit, or Phoenix shocked me by how strong its airtime was, or that this ‘40s woodie only had one rough spot, but this coaster is my #10 overall — most notably besting all 3 RMC’s I’ve ridden so far (New Texas Giant, Lightning Rod, Twisted Cyclone). I had been told by a Pennsylvanian coaster enthusiast that Phoenix was overrated and that Twister was the real gem at Knoebels — but I found it quite the opposite. After a hot dog lunch, I got into line for my 100th coaster. There was only one train, but the Knoebels ride op crew dispatched that train within thirty seconds of its return to the station. The line was around twenty minutes long, even as I chose to wait for the front row (something I rarely, if ever, do on coasters) to commemorate this special occasion. I boarded the train, and was almost alarmed at how high the buzz bar was locked above my lap. “This is amazing!” I proclaimed to my Pennsylvanian cousin who was sitting beside me. We rolled out into the metal tunnel, somehow blocking all sunlight for a few seconds right before we ascended the chain lift. I could see the antique cars, band organ and a few other rides from here — I contemplated my life as a coasterfan leading up to this point, waiting for the true ride to begin — and then we were off! The first drop isn’t anything special, merely giving Phoenix some energy to work its magic with, as is the turnaround succeeding it and in turn the first half. I remember first feeling airtime through Phoenix’s very loose buzzbar restraints at the top of the second turnaround, which set the train up for the “Mayan hill” — a double up and double down in one. At the top of the “Mayan hill”, I was given my first taste of Phoenix’s insanity — and nearly stood up, instinctively clutching the buzzbar in hopes of safety. The next turnaround is the one rough spot on Phoenix, but it is astonishingly smooth considering the sheer age of this coaster. I mistakened the next four consecutive bunny hills to be a speedy little finale, but oh boy was I wrong; on every single hill, I was forced to stand up in my seat and sheer, childlike joy was injected into my veins. All too soon we rounded the final turn, which is the brake run, and Phoenix was over. This coaster is absolutely amazing.
Impulse to me feels like a Gerstlauer eurofighter done right. Gone is the bulky OTSRs which amplify the sometimes abrupt transitions into headbanging,...
Impulse to me feels like a Gerstlauer eurofighter done right. Gone is the bulky OTSRs which amplify the sometimes abrupt transitions into headbanging, replaced with comfortable lap bars — comfortable, that is, aside from the first drop. On the first half of Impulse’s vertical drop, you are flung from your seat with Skyrush-esque ejector air. This caught me entirely off guard, and I was more than a little surprised. But that all comes to a close as the lap bar slams into your stomach midway through your descent. The lap bar isn’t painful, per se, as this is the only moment where it could be considered uncomfortable — but it is not exactly enjoyable when it knocks the wind out of you. The rest of Impulse is made up of enjoyable hangtime — most notably on the inline twist at the end, not unlike a Gerstlauer eurofighter’s — a pair of intense helices and an overbanked turn.
All that being said, however, Impulse garners long waits throughout the entire day; it’s at the very front of Knoebels, and has a poor capacity. If you thought 3 trains of 8 people didn’t sound good, know that only one (1) is generally in service at any given time. The other two are stored via a clever switch track mechanism on the brake run. Knoebels does have efficient operations however. Overall Impulse is my 2nd favorite coaster at Knoebels (which is my favorite amusement park by the way), just behind the legendary Phoenix.
Galaxy Orbiter is a fun, family-friendly compliment to the insanely intense and thrilling Mindbender. Galaxy Orbiter is overshadowed by Mindbender, wh...
Galaxy Orbiter is a fun, family-friendly compliment to the insanely intense and thrilling Mindbender. Galaxy Orbiter is overshadowed by Mindbender, which in turn is overshadowed by the other major coasters on the other side of Canada (Leviathan, Behemoth, Goliath, etc.). This coaster offers some intense spinning (read: the wild mouse-style turns succeeding the first drop and the bit entangled within Mindbender’s superstructure), a satisfyingly long ride and even a pop of airtime or two. However, there are multiple “dead spots” in the layout, but they are to be expected with a coaster geared towards families like this one. It is also worth noting how this coaster practically gives a tour of Galaxyland, as it was masterfully weaved in and around most other rides and attractions in the park. Galaxy Orbiter is a great way to relax after the insanity of Mindbender, while still enjoying decent thrills.
