# 9 - Volcano-The Blast Coaster (Spring of 2007)

Continuing on with this series, which is very enjoyable to look back on by the way, I decided on Volcano as my 9th greatest ride of all time.

Back in 2007, Julia came out for a couple of weeks during her track break and we took two outstanding trips. The first was to Virgina and back down through the Carolinas to visit King's Dominion and Carowinds. We processed our season passes at King's Dominion and had a great time there. We rode everything in the park, starting off with the now defunct Hypersonic XLC. By mid-afternoon, we had ridden everything with the exception of the Grizzly which had been down due to problems with one of the trains. We had gotten one ride in on Volcano and it instantly became one of our favorite rides. We decided to leave and go grab a bite to eat and then return that night with the intent to finish the park and get a night ride on Volcano.......on the front.

Up until this point in my coaster riding career (I was at a little over 100 total coasters), I really did not prefer one seat to another. I liked the front seat better but was really not that obsessed with waiting the extra time that a preferred seat requires. I had read on a web site however that a front seat night ride on this monster was not to be missed. We decided when we returned we would ride the Grizzly and then wait the extra time for the front seat on Volcano.

The plan went to perfection as the Grizzly was back running and we walked right on it. We then busted it across the park to Volcano and after about a 30 minute wait, we were rolling around the turn about to have one of the best rides I have ever had.

Simply put, the speed on some of these launched coasters is unbelievable when riding the front. Since Volcano is an invert (the track is above the train) then our view was totally unobstructed. We tore out into the night at over 70 MPH, turned the curve around the mountain and then were launched straight up the volcano itself with fire bursting out everywhere. The ride was totally insane through the inversions on its way back into the mountain where we de-boarded. We were both laughing hysterically the entire time.

Our ride on Volcano was silky smooth with the huge adrenaline rush of being launched out of the station, down the dark tunnel, around the bend and then blasted straight up and out of the top of the mountain. Everything else was just gravy after that unbelievable start.

In summary, riding this coaster at night is a must for every coaster enthusiast. The launches, the special effects, the super-slow inversions, and the smoothness make this a unique experience for even the most veteran coaster rider. The good thing is that the next year I got to experience this same identical ride with Guy under the same circumstances. And just like my previous ride, this one was also a "blast".