Trip Report - King's Island (9-20-2008)

To begin with, Guy and myself knew that the middle day of our three day trip up north was going to be crowded. We hoped Friday and Sunday would be slack (and boy, were they ever) so Saturday we had a plan. We wanted to ride the infamous Mean Streak at Cedar Point followed by a 4 hour drive to KI where we would get some pics and ride both the Beast and Son of Beast at night. That would be three of the most maligned coasters of all time in one day. Our plan was a success and we took some really good pics, many of which I have already posted. For the purpose of this post, I will concentrate on our time spent at King's Island.

We arrived at the park around 5:00 P.M. and walked over the entire thing taking pics before we even rode a coaster. Around 7:30 we finally got in line for the Son of Beast, one of the lowest ranking wooden coasters in the world despite its 200 foot tall lift hill and 80 MPH speed. We waited about 10 extra minutes for the front and had an outstanding ride. The ride was a little bumpy and devoid of any airtime but still fun and fast. Following this we jumped straight on Flight Deck (formerly Top Gun). By this time it was dark so we headed back to the Beast. There we found a lengthy line (about 30 minutes plus an extra 20 for the front seat) but the ride was definitely worth it. After our ride, we still had about 30 minutes before the park closed (we had already spent about 45 minutes eating some Skyline Chili....the world's best so they say) but we decided to head on out since we wanted to be rested for Holiday

World the next day.

This was the most crowded we had seen the park in our numerous visits. We have never spent an entire day here, but next year with the addition of the new hypercoaster Diamondback, we may have to try to work it into our schedule. The park has the top ranked kids area in the world according to Amusement Today mainly due to its unheard of total of 3 family oriented roller coasters. The woodies are excellent, particularly at night. There is a flyer, Nighthawk, which offers a unique experience for this section of the country. As a side note, Guy TIVO'd an episode of The Brady Bunch in which they visited King's Island during its opening year of 1973. The episode was great (minus the horrible acting) showing a number of really old rides (they were new then) as well as some great footage of The Racer which was the parks only roller coaster at the time. My, how times have changed.

In summary, we had a great time at the park. We did not intend to ride much since we have ridden everything there multiple times. However, we still had a nice relaxing few hours following our insane Millennium Force laps the night before, and the insanity we knew was coming the next day at Holiday World. King's Island is a great place which will get even better next year as Cedar Fair is seeming to put lots of money into it.

Swamp Fox - Family Kingdom (SC)

Date Ridden: Summer of 2008. Times Ridden: 1 on the very front car of the first train sent out for the day.

I have ridden a LOT of roller coasters. I have ridden small coasters, medium coasters, and big coasters. I have ridden famous coasters and obscure coasters. I have ridden old coaster and I have ridden new coasters. While I have not come close to riding every coaster in the United States, I have ridden enough to decide what is most important to me: and it may not be something most coaster enthusiasts agree with.

I do not care about tallest, fastest, longest, etc. I am about the EXPERIENCE. Answer me this. What would be more fun? Waiting three hours in the humidity laced heat of Jackson, NJ to ride the world's tallest and faster coaster Kingda Ka or continuously looping Florida's Original Scream Machine (The Starliner) located in Cypress Gardens, FL? Would I rather wait in the long line for a 20 second ride (granted a good one), or put in 10 laps on a 70 foot tall ancient woodie in under an hour? Coasters are about fun people and it doesn't take the the world's fastest or tallest anything to have fun.

I said all of that to say this: the small Swamp Fox located in Myrtle Beach is fun. As you go up the lift hill, you can see the Atlantic Ocean less than 100 yards in front of you for as far as the eye can see. Instead of dropping straight over, the train circles slowly around a half-circle giving each ride a startling view before diving down the first drop. It is a great first drop which leads into a surprisingly airtime filled ride with my all time favorite restraint: the simple buzz bar.

This may not be a good review because I absolutely love these old wooden coaster built decades ago along the seaside. The Giant Dippers in Santa Cruz and Belmont, Great White up the coast in Jersey, the aforementioned Starliner, and the legendary Cyclone take me back to a previous time when coaster riding was not about breaking records but about having fun. And it seems that the more I ride, the more I love these quaint woodies and the small amusement parks where one can buy a wristband and ride 100 times if they wish. To me, that is more fun than waiting forever for one ride.

Thanks to all the small parks like Family Kingdom who do a wonderful job of upkeeping these old rides. i do not know how much longer rides like the Swamp Fox will be around, but as long as they are, I will make them vacation destinations. So give the old Swamp Fox a twirl. I seriously doubt it is the # 8 ranked coaster in the U.S. as the sign proclaims, but it is smooth, fun, and offers a couple of pops of ejector air. Surely that is worth a visit if you are in the area.

Overall Rating - 8

Ride Swamp Fox below.

The Loch Ness Monster - Busch Gardens Europe (VA)

Date Ridden: Summer of 2007 and 2008. Times Ridden: 2

The Loch Ness Monster is a sit-down steel looper located at the # 2 ranked amusement park in the world according to Amusement Today. The ride is the oldest operating coaster at Busch Gardens celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. Based on the looks of this classic ride, you would never guess its age.

BGE ranks right up there with the best of all operating amusement parks when it comes to the upkeep of their rides. For that reason, while not the best coaster in the park, the Loch Ness Monster offers a very fun experiences with many unique elements in a ride that doesn't beat you to death due to the OTSR's. The unique interlocking loops are smooth, the closing helix in the tunnel is fast and intense, and the other transitions are not bone-jarringly uncomfortable. The ride is good.

However, with the high-tech thrill rides being built today (many of them at this park), old Nessie is one of the weaker attractions here. It is not an airtime machine like Apollo's Chariot, does not have a 200 foot vertical drop like Griffin, nor is it the world's tallest and fastest suspended coaster like Alpengeist. Most of the time, this coaster has no line so you are not going to spend your entire day waiting. I would not recommend more than one or two rides, but make sure you do get at least one spin on it. The interlocking loops themselves make for a great photo op along with bridge area as well.

Overall the Loch Ness Monster score in the 7 range which is not bad for BGE's "worst" coaster. At many other parks, it would be the feature ride. Here, it is simply another coaster to hop on and get a credit.

Overall Rating - 7

Ride Loch Ness Monster below.

The Beast - King's Island (OH)

Date Ridden: Four different occasions since 2006. Times Ridden: Six total with three of those being in the front seat.

The Beast is one temperamental thrill ride. Of our six rides, 4 of them have been among our most memorable rides of all time (in a good way) while the other two have been absolutely horrible. First let's discuss the bad.

Last fall on our way back from Cedar Point, we stopped in on Sunday to get a quick ride on the Beast before heading home. What occurred can best be described as torture. The ride itself is world's longest wooden coaster both in length (well over a mile) and in ride time (over 5 minutes). The ride was so rough that at one point Guy and myself crashed heads. I was actually hoping the ride would break down and we could walk back to the station through the dense forest the track takes you through.

Also, on our first trip to Cedar Point, we caught a back seat ride that was almost as bad. These two rides are probably the two worst rides I have ever had on a wooden coaster. However, the Beast also delivers the goods in a mighty way.

When riding in the front car (approximately an extra 15 minute wait), there are very few wooden coasters that can match it. The ride itself takes you out through the woods, through numerous pitch black tunnels, traverses two separate lift hills, and finishes with a 720 degree double helix that seems to be among the fastest elements ever placed on a wooden coaster of this size. If you go back and read our Magnum review, you will find that we had much better rides on the 200 foot steel monster when we avoided riding above the wheels. That is a theory that we have yet to test on the Beast but will try out on our next trip up there. There has to be some reason for the drastic differences in the half-dozen rides we have had.

A few days ago, we worked it out where we would be at KI for one of the famous night rides on this creature. We waited the extra time for the front and it was definitely worth it. It was on this ride that the Beast proved its top ten status as the 8th ranked wooden coaster in the world. There were areas of the track back in the wilderness that were completely dark with the riders having no clue which direction the train was going to go next. The ride itself is totally devoid of any airtime, but the speed, laterals, and intensity more than make up for it. The train (despite the presence of numerous trim brakes) seems to move really fast and take the few turns at breakneck speeds.

The total experience is an absolute must for any coaster enthusiast. I would really like to give the Beast a 10 based on the outstanding rides I have had, but am going to keep it at a 9 due to the fact that two rides were horrible. I am also debating on whether this deserves a spot back in the Coaster Reviews Top 20. Based on our last ride (or probably any ride it night) it probably does. Do not be surprised if you log on one day to find the Beast sitting proudly around the # 15 overall position in our rankings. It is a great ride and deserves all of the acclaim that it receives.

Overall Rating - 9

Ride the Beast below.

Trip Report - Cedar Point (9-19 and 9-20)

What an unbelievable weekend! After a leisurely drive Thursday night with a stop at Red Lobster, an hour spent at Books-A-Million, and a good night's sleep, we awoke on Friday morning ready to finish our 5 hour drive to the park. We needed to there by 5:00 P.M. for ERT

and, based on last year, thought the park crowds might be slack. And were they ever.

We started off the day with 10 consecutive rides on Millennium Force without having to leave the station. I was not aware of a shortcut gate that was present until the ride operators opened it for those who wanted to ride again without having to walk all the way around. We used this gate and usually got right back on the train we had exited since they were running three trains through the course at breakneck speed. We could actually have stayed here all night and ridden the ride close to 100 times if we had wanted. Alas, we were at Cedar Point, so there was more to do. We walked around the park, getting rides on Maverick, Dragster, Magnum, Skyhawk, and MaxAir. In between those, we hung out at the back of the park in front of Carn Evil (a great name) waiting on the new haunt, Terror Island, to open so we would have the chance to walk over an area of the park generally not accessible to the public: Millennium Island. It was themed up with scary pirates and tons of mist so we were ready to head out of there since neither Guy nor myself are excited about the scary haunts. We eased up toward the front of the park, took a spin on Raptor and then meandered over to Blue Streak. It was running very well and, since it was a coaster we had not ridden as often as most of the others, put 10 quick laps on it. We had a blast there as Blue Streak is very similar to our local Cannonball at Lake Winnie. This was an example of some "Old School" fun before we grabbed a quick snack and headed

back to Millennium Force.

It was here that we had our best rides of the night including possibly some of our best ever rides on one of our favorite coasters. Our 11th and 12th rides were totally insane as the coaster seemed to have really warmed up and was flying along the course and out through Terror (Millennium) Island. The mist was unbelievable as there were large portions of the ride where you could not even see the other riders in the train. We rode seven more times giving us a total of 17 rides on this one coaster in one day. All together in a little over 2 hours, we rode

Millennium Force 17 times. I have been at CP where the wait for one ride was longer than the entire time we spent riding the coaster.

We left and spent a couple of hours the next day getting pictures. We did hold out for a ride on the front car of Mean Streak and it was actually a good ride. Mean Streak catches a lot of flack from coaster enthusiasts but we both like it as long as we lean up and ride in the front seat only.

The crowds were horrible on Saturday so I suggest visiting on Fridays in Spetember. The one problem that you will face on Fridays as that the less popular rides (Mantis, Gemini, etc) are not open. There were around 10 of the 17 coasters operating when we were there. They were all open on Saturday but evidently there is not enough staff to run them along with the numerous haunts on Fridays. We did not really care as we had already ridden these rides and were more interested in riding the higher ranked coasters and getting some good pics.

Our final tally included 17 rides on Millennium Force, 10 on Blue Streak, and 1 each on Maverick, Magnum, Dragster, Skyhawk, MaxAir, Raptor, Wildcat and Iron Dragon. That was 35 total rides in approximately 7 hours on Friday and 1 ride on Mean Streak on Saturday. That was as good a time as we have ever had during our numerous trips to Cedar Point. Ride on!!!

2008 Golden Ticket Awards - Steel Coasters

In part one of this three part series, the Coaster Reviews staff looked at the top ranked wooden coasters in the world. This post will deal with their steel counterparts, many of which are very high up on our ranking as well.

Steel coasters obviously have a different feel from the wooden variety. As I first began

riding coasters on an obsessive basis approximately three years ago, I found that steel coasters heavily populated my top 20. For one thing, there are many more steel coasters than wooden ones. In addition, steel seems to be much easier to keep running as wooden coasters are really bad if not taken care of. Steel was my preferred ride type until this summer after my rides on Phoenix, Cyclone, Boulder Dash and Ravine Flyer II. Now, despite my love for Millennium Force, I prefer wooden coasters generally speaking. That still does not take away from the fact that there are some wonderful steel coasters in existence which I have ridden. The 2008 ranking based on enthusiasts votes are listed below.

1) Superman-Ride of Steel - Six Flags New England in Agawam, MA - 1363 points.

2) Millennium Force - Cedar Point in Sandusky, OH - 1107 points.

3) Nitro - Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, NJ - 838 points.

4) Apollo's Chariot - Busch Gardens Europe in Williamsburg, VA - 718 points.

5) Expedition GeForce - Holiday Park (not World) in Hassloch, Germany - 651 points.

6) Goliath - Six Flags Over Georgia in Atlanta, GA - 646 points.

7) Magnum XL-200 - Cedar Point in Sandusky, OH - 518 points.

8) Phantom's Revenge - Kennywood in West Mifflin, PA - 428 points.

9) Top Thrill Dragster - Cedar Point in Sandusky, OH - 366 points.

10) Montu - Busch Gardens Africa in Tampa, FL - 343 points.

Some interesting notes are that 3 of the top 10 are located in Cedar Point with Maverick falling to 12th giving them 1/3 of the top steel coasters in the world. My own Goliath moved up in the rankings finishing only a few points out of the top 5. It ranks as my 4th favorite steel coaster.

GeForce in Germany is the only overseas steel coaster in the Top 10. It is supposed to be a smaller version of the # 1 ranked Superman ride.

Coaster Reviews has ridden all 9 of the U.S. coasters ranked in the top 10 and we definitely agree on numbers 1 and 2. Superman and Millennium Force are far and away the two best coasters we have ridden and the point totals prove this fact.

In conclusion, steel coasters are generally known for their smoothness and those listed above are among the smoothest in the world. Apollo's Chariot and Montu are Busch Gardens coasters which are probably the two easiest to ride coasters in the world due to their silky smoothness. All of them are great though. And if you are interested simply hop in your car, fill it with some liquid gold (aka gas) and take the short 16 hour journey up to Agawam, MA. Then you can say you have ridden the best coaster in the world. That's what we did. And loved every minute of it!!!

Jokers Jinx - Six Flags America (MD)

Date Ridden: Summer of 2008. Times Ridden: 1

The JJ is an outside launched coaster located at one of the weaker Six Flags parks in the chain. As documented in my review of their signature ride, Superman: Ride of Steel, our day there was very disappointing. In contrast to Superman, the Jokers Jinx is well kept with a clean and neat station. The one thing I did not like was the presence of the Locker Nazi at the front who would not even allow hats in line. Most of the time, I simply fold my cap up and stick it in my pocket. The Nazi tried to make me put my hat and Julia's fanny bag up in a locker. We obviously refused, left the area, and came back later with our gear hidden in the pockets of our jackets. I will do a lot of things at theme parks but paying 2 bucks for a locker is not one of them.

The ride itself is arguably the best ride in the park. To the best of my knowledge, it is a virtual copy of the indoor Flight of Fear coasters located at two of the former Paramount parks. The launch is very fast, the inversions are smooth with minimal head banging. The ride is well-themed and the addition of the new Batman movies has probably made the ride a little more popular. I would not call this ride a "can't miss" but it is still one of the better rides at the park.

Overall Rating - 8

Ride Joker's Jinx below.

Magnum XL-200 - Cedar Point (OH)

Date Ridden: Numerous times since 2006. Times Ridden: 16 currently.

As most coaster enthusiasts are aware, Magnum was the first coaster that broke the 200 foot barrier back in 1989. At that time, I was a junior in high school and was not aware that the Coaster Wars had begun between Cedar Point and Magic Mountain in California. The building of Magnum was the first shot fired which led to other larger and faster coasters such as Superman: The Escape, Goliath, Millennium Force and Top Thrill Dragster. However, Magnum started it all and is arguably still the best of those coasters listed above in the minds of many.

Magnum is still smooth with an abundant amount of airtime, particularly on the bunny hills leading back to the station on the return trip. The view of Lake Erie cresting the top of the lift hill is gorgeous and the speed (over 70 mph) is still top notch. The kidney shaped turnaround is probably the least enjoyable element as it is a very awkward transition and uncomfortable way of turning around the train. The designers (Arrow) did a much better job with some of the later coasters such as Steel Force in Pennsylvania and Mamba in Missouri with the downward spiraling helices which turned around the trains. Those two coasters however, are still considered inferior to Magnum mainly due to their lack of airtime on the return hills.

One word of advice. Magnum gets some bad reviews due to what many riders call "roughness". I can offer some agreement with these statements however I think I have discovered the problem. When entering the station, you will that the train are designed to hold three rows of two seats per "car". The back seat in each of these cars has a steel box in the floor. These boxes, according to a ride operator, contain the wheels. It is in these cars, riding directly above the wheels on the track, are the places of some of the roughest rides I have had. I recommend therefore,

to avoid the third row in each car which includes the very back seat on the train: one of the most popular seats on large hyper coasters. So keep in mind when you enter the station, do not sit in any of the third rows of seats on the train. The other seats are much smoother and offer just as much airtime without the jerkiness riding above the wheels gives.

Lastly, Magnum is a great coaster to close down the park on. As crowds thin out, the middle rows of the train are normally blocked off since the very efficient station crew always runs three trains and the ride is not as popular as it once was. When the car is not full, the opportunity is there for the mid-course brakes to not kick in leading to an insane second half of the ride. That happened to us once and was one of our best coaster rides ever. The bunny hills were literally throwing us out of the seat since the train was only half full and the brakes did not slow us down at all. Zipping through the cool night air and flying over airtime filled hills at well over 50 mph is an awesome way to close down Cedar Point.

Despite many coasters which may be considered "better", Magnum still holds a place in the Coaster Reviews Top 20 and should stay there for many years to come. It is a fun ride which started the wave of giant steel coasters we still see today.

Overall Rating - 9.

Ride Magnum below.

Trip Report: Holiday World 9-21-2008

Wow. Let me say it again......Wow!! Talking to Guy on the way home last night, I told him I needed a short review for today since I knew we would be suffering from a "coaster hangover" following our late night jaunt through Indiana. However, after thinking about it today, I had to write up the first ever Coaster Reviews Trip Report following the greatest weekend of coaster riding we have had in our three years of being OCD coaster nerds.

We spent Saturday night in a local Comfort Inn placing us approximately 10 minutes from the park on Sunday morning. We arrived about 10 minutes before opening time to an empty parking lot. There

were maybe 20 cars there. We walked to guest services to pick up our tickets (there were problems with our online order but it was fixed very easiy) and entered the park to a walk-on ride on the back seat (our favorite spot) on The Raven. We then eased on around and took two front seat rides on The Legend. I was for hanging out there for a while since these are two of my favorite coasters in the world and they were totally empty. However, Guy was seriously in need of riding The Voyage.

The station was empty. We proceeded to spend the next hour riding the top ranked wooden coaster in the world 10 consecutive times without leaving the station. The ride ops were nice enough to allow people to re-ride if no one was in their line waiting for a seat or move to a different

seat that was empty. This fact allowed us to never leave the train for a solid hour.

To make a long story short, we did the same thing with 8 straight rides on the Legend, 11 straight on The Raven, and finished off with two more on the Voyage following a Goblin Burger and some free drinks at the Pepsi Oasis. We finished with 35 rides on three of the top woodies in the world in under 3 hours of ride time. We obviously did not want to leave the park, but with a five hour driving awaiting, we had to go home from one of our greatest days at a theme park ever.

Holiday World in general is a great place to visit with unlimited free drinks, friendly operators, and a wonderful family atmosphere. The owners and operators have not forgotten that theme parks are supposed to be ralaxing and enjoyable experiences that friends and families should cherish. There is no sense of hurrying (except when sending out the next coaster train). And those fact are not even taking into account the world class rides that are located there. There are very few negatives on any tip to Holiday World. They well deserve their Golden Ticket Award for the World's Most Friendly Park. Next year should be even better with the addition of the all new Pilgrim's Plunge. I am sure that at some point next year, I will find myself walking through the front gate excited about a great day of amusement park fun. It is simply put one of the best theme parks in the nation. It is right there with Cedar Point and Knoebels as parks at which I have enjoyed myself the most. I expect it to stay that way. We may have great experiences at parks in the years to come, but topping this half-day will be tough.

2008 Golden Ticket Awards - Wooden Coasters

Today will be my last post until Monday since Guy and myself are headed up north on our typical three-day, three-park trip in which we will be visiting Cedar Point, King's Island and Holiday World. We will be riding the Coaster Reviews # 1 ranked coaster Millennium Force as well as the longest coaster in North America, The Beast. However, our highlight will probably be our Sunday rides on the # 1 ranked wooden coaster in the world, The Voyage. Thinking about this weekend has led me to write this short article listing the top coasters in the world.

Each year, Amusement Today posts the top ranked coasters in the world

based on the votes of a number of well-traveled coaster enthusiasts. This year there were no true surprises as most of the well-known coasters ranked in similar places on the lists as they have in the past. Listed below are the ranks and scores of the top wooden coasters on the planet.

1) The Voyage at Holiday World in Santa Claus, Indiana - 1225 Points.

2) Thunderhead at Dollywood in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee - 1047 Points.

3) Phoenix at Knoebels Amusement Park in Elysburg, Pennsylvania - 1029 Points.

4) El Toro at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, New Jersey - 993 Points.

5) Boulder Dash at Lake Compounce in Bristol, Connecticut - 861 Points.

6) Hades at Mt. Olympus Theme Park in Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin - 677 Points.

7)Shivering Timbers at Michigan's Adventure in Muskegon, Michigan - 523 Points.

8)The Beast at Kings Island in Kings Mill, Ohio - 471 Points.

9)Lightning Racer at Hersheypark in Hershey, Pennsylvania - 447 Points.

10)The Raven at Holiday World in Santa Claus, Indiana - 428 Points.

Of the coasters listed above, the Coaster Reviews staff has ridden 8 of them with only Hades and Shivering Timbers not in our ride count. The others are definitely world class rides with all but The Beast ranking in at least one of our Top 20's. The Beast has actually given us a couple of perfect 10 rides but a few really rough ones have kept it on the outside looking in. We are seriously looking at getting one of the famed night rides on it this Saturday.

In conclusion, the opportunity to ride any of the above coasters is a complete privilege as they are all superb with a variety of different elements. So whether you like the speed and intensity of The Voyage, the laterals of Thunderhead, the racing aspect of Lightning Racer, the chaos through the woods on Boulder Dash or the Raven, the silky smoothness of El Toro, or the massive airtime of the Phoenix, you can't go wrong with any of them. Put some gas in the car and go find one of these beauties. you will definitely not regret the experience.

Thanks for reading. Coaster Reviews will return on Monday the 22nd with more pictures and more reviews.

Revenge of the Mummy - Universal Studios (CA)

Date Ridden: Fall of 2006. Times Ridden: 1

Hmmmm.......I was trying to decide what coaster to review today and I ran across this picture of the Mummy out on the west coast. Without a doubt, this is the inferior ride when compared to the Orlando version, but it is by no means bad. The theme is top notch, the ride is smooth, and the special effects are Disneyesque.

Since the ride is totally indoors, weather is not a factor and this thing runs year around. The opening launch is pretty strong and the ride to the end of the lay-out is fast and furious. Once the ride stops and the bugs come to visit (fairly realistic feeling), the train simply reverses course and travels the track backwards.

The ride is short but fun. By the time we rode once as the park was opening, the line had backed up and we went elsewhere in the park. The ride is so similar to a Disney ride in that the first experience is by far the best. Once you have ridden it once and seen all the surprises, then the coaster elements aren't really enough to make you want to stand in an hour long line.

That being said, if you live in the west coast or are just visiting Universal Studios, do not miss the Mummy. The ride has no inversions and is smooth throughout in the large multi-seat trains. The experience the first time is well worth it.

Overall Rating - 8

Unfortunately, due to this being an indoor coaster, no video is available.

Superman - Ride of Steel - Six Flags America (MD)

Date Ridden: Summer of 2008. Times Ridden: 1 in the middle of the train.

As most enthusiasts are aware, there are three of these Ride of Steel rides. The number one ranked ride in the world is at Six Flags New England. Another is located at Darien Lake and this final on is in Maryland. The Darien Lake version and this one are clones with identical lay-outs. The ride in New England is a beast as I have already reviewed. I loved the Darien Lake ride and it landed just outside my top 20. Unlike many enthusiasts, I enjoy straight track sections and the sensation of massive amounts of speed. That is why Millennium Force at Cedar Point still ranks as my number one coaster because no coaster I have ever ridden gives that sensation of speed for that long spread out over a mile of track. I was hoping this Ride of Steel would challenge my top coasters as I knew I loved the lay-out. Unfortunately, there were problems.

The ride itself is located at the very back of the park as far from the front entrance as is humanly possible. This is not an issue, as we normally go to the back of the park first to beat the crowds and then work our way around to the front. However, the ROS was not operating when we entered the station house. They were still running test trains so we grabbed an open back seat spot in the line and waited patiently. I noticed immediately that only one train was being run. I quickly calculated that re-rides would be difficult as there were many people beginning to enter the line to ride the park's signature ride. Watching a few test runs gave me time to look at the station, the ride ops, and the train. I was not impressed with any of the above. The station was shabby and dirty when compared to other parks (and even other rides I found out later as the park's other coasters were well-kept and clean). The ops were sitting around laughing and eating while totally ignoring the guests. Lastly, the train they were running did not look as if it were made from "Steel". It was bashed in pretty severely on the front. looking as if it had rammed a light pole. Then, when they allowed the gates to open and guests to finally enter, there was a problem with the retrains not coming locking so they had to block off half of the train! Yes, our seat was one of the non-locking ones so we had to get in another line and wait about three cycles before we got on. The ops placed nasty trash cans in the aisles that did not work so only half of one train was running.

Since we were busy, we only rode one ride and it was superb. Despite the bashed up train, the ragged seat belts, the chewed up lap bar, and the nasty garbage cans in the station, the ride itself delivered. I had a blast dropping down the first hill and enjoying the smooth, air-time filled ride known for its great series of camel backs at the end.

I simply do not understand why parks that have world class coasters do no perform regular upkeep on them. The rest of the park was clean, the ride ops were friendly, and overall experience was pleasant. However, on their signature ride, the experience was lessened due to poor maintenance and operators with no personality. Now I do understand that all coasters have problems and issues that must be dealt with. I may have visited on the only poor operating day of the year for this coaster. However, running only half of one train is totally unacceptable on a ride of this caliber.

Hopefully over the winter, Six Flags will dive in and give this coaster some much needed TLC. Seriously, this ride could easily rank much higher if it offered a more pleasant overall experience to its guests.

The ride itself received a 9 but I am subtracting a point for the poor experience, operators who were rude, and the horrible smelling station.

Overall Rating - 8

Ride Superman below.

Mind Eraser - Darien Lake (NY)

Date Ridden: Summer of 2008. Times Ridden: 1

Ouch. If only this coaster lived up to its name, this could possibly be a more positive review. As it is, despite being featured on the Travel Channel with coaster guru Paul Reuben, this is one of my least favorite adult coasters. There are a number of these Vekoma suspended looping coasters and one of them rank very highly. They are simply torture devices that a rider has to fight to survive without a headache for the rest of the day.

Many coasters, including the highly ranked Maverick and Storm Runner offer a couple of incidences of head banging/neck chopping due to the restraint system. This is not due to roughness or poor coaster design. The rides are simply intense and feature restraints that are necessary for the elements the coaster was designed with. Normally in these cases, the rider can prepare for these elements and virtually eliminate the uncomfortable issues with different riding styles or techniques.

However, on Mind Eraser one gets the Pinball Bang in which one's head is continuously bounced from one side of the restraint to the next. It is among the most painful things a coaster rider can endure and is prevalent on virtually all of these Vekoma coasters I have ridden.

This ride does offer a great first drop, particularly from the front row, but the back-to-back corkscrews and other inversions are absolutely horrid. I have found the best chance one has to hold your head all the way to one side of the restraint and try to keep it there the entire ride. It is tough on the neck but is still better than being bounced back and forth.

I would recommend one ride only on Mind Eraser. Any more than that would border on insanity. Of course most people consider coaster enthusiasts crazy anyway.

Overall Rating - 4

Ride Mind Eraser below.

Steel Force - Dorney Park (PA)

Date Ridden: Summer of 2008. Times Ridden: 2 including once in a fairly heavy rainstorm.

This may be the smoothest coaster that I have ever ridden. I realize that is a bold statement to make but keep in mind I do have both Apollo's Chariot and Montu in my ride tracker. I am not saying that Steel Force is better, but I do seriously believe that as far as smoothness is concerned this is a world class ride.

Despite (or maybe because of) the smoothness, the detractors of this coaster claim it lacks intensity. I do not really agree with that statement as I think Steel Force has enough elements and forces necessary to produce a well-rounded ride. This ride is much better than its brother Mamba at Worlds of Fun. It is a great out-and-back design with a super first drop, a very fast helix at the turnaround, and a series of bunny hops on the way back that look much better than they actually are.

While the ride is nor perfect, I do feel that, along with Talon, it offers as solid a 1-2 punch of steel coasters as there is in any park. Both are fast, fun, and normally contain very short lines as multiple trains are normally running. I had a blast on both trips to Dorney with my two rides on Steel Force being the highlight of each trip. On the second trip in July, it was the only coaster running in the rain so I'm not sure if they close it down in adverse conditions. Due to these factors, this is a coaster that barely escapes my Top 20 ranking falling somewhere in my Top 25-30 rides. I thoroughly enjoyed it and hope to get back to Dorney Park to get in a few more laps.Steel Force is just a really fun hyper coaster with high re-ride scores.

And oh yeah, it does have a really cool logo.

Overall Rating - 9

Ride Steel Force below.

Wicked - Lagoon (UT)

Date Ridden : 7-7-2007 Times Ridden : 1 (Ridiculous Line)

For its location (Utah....basically the middle of nowhere as far as coasters go),Wicked is a great ride. Upon entering the park we walked on three other coasters in the first 15 minutes and worked our way around to Wicked. For some reason there is a very small queuing section so the line was already backed well out on to the midway. We went ahead and got our ride after about a 45 minute wait as the line moves very quickly. I am seriously glad we did. More on that later.

The ride itself offers no preferential seating as the ride ops make sure very seat is filled. This really does not matter as far as this ride goes as the trains are only two rows with four seats per row. You either get a front or a back seat. I do prefer riding on the end seats on all coasters that have 4-across seating. I got the back row far left seat. The ride turns out of the station into an enclosed section and merely slows down before the "launch" instead of completely stopping. The launch itself was weak which is my main gripe with the ride. It was more of a push up the 105 foot hill instead of an actual launch. I think the top speed on this thing is around 40 MPH and that is on the drop following the launch. I enjoyed my ride as there are some wonderful elements including the heartline roll type inversion that is taken at a slow speed and gives some great hang time. The over banked turns are nice but seem weaker in the short stubby cars.

After hitting 5 of the 7 coasters in the park including the Ace Classic woodie Roller Coaster twice we left the park for a bite of lunch. When we returned it was utter chaos!! I did not expect tiny crowds but the number of people there with their ice chests and, get this, BBQ grills was unfathomable. The water park which is included with park admission was filled to capacity and people were in line waiting to get in it. The river rapids ride wait was over 2 hours. We waited 1 hour each for the two kiddie type coasters so we could have the credits and before we left I wanted one more spin on Wicked. When we walked over i could see the line curling around the midway and out of sight. Based on the 45 minute wait from that morning, I would say it was easily 2 to 3 hours. I never really even saw the end of the line. There were so many people there it was difficult to breath. All of the lines for virtually every attraction had spilled out of the queing areas and people were lumped up all over the place. We decided to head on out toward Roswell where the Alien Convention was in full swing (no I don't believe in ETs by the way). However, after my visit to Lagoon I was about ready to "phone home" and let you guys know to stay away from Lagoon on the weekend following the 4th.

In conclusion, Wicked is a good solid ride, hence the 8 rating, but scores lower in my book than the other new rides of 2007. Its popularity is immense in this part of the country but I don't think Id make a special trip out for this ride only.

Overall Rating - 8

Ride Wicked below.

The Great American Scream Machine - Six Flags Great Adventure (NJ)

Date Ridden: Summer of 2008. Times Ridden: 1 in the front of the train.

My home park of Six Flags Over Georgia contains a wooden coaster by the same name as this ride, so far that reason alone, we decided to make sure we got in at least one lap on this sit-down looper with 7 inversions during out latest trips to New Jersey. While not disappointed (I did not have the highest of expectations), I was not blown away either.

Six Flags Great Adventure boasts some of the top coasters in the world. They have the world's tallest and fastest coaster in Kingda Ka, the # 4 ranked wooden coaster in the world in El Toro, the # 3 ranked steel coaster Nitro, and the GASM which is tied with numerous other coaster for the most inversions this side of Atlantic Ocean.

Make no mistake about it, this is not a comfortable ride. There are some serous forces generated throughout the 7 inversions and the restraints give you a good half dozen bashes to the side of the head. A headache is a distinct possibility so make sure you load up on Advil before riding. Still, there are some positives. Despite being located in one of the busiest parks in North America, the line here is normally very short. If you time it right, you can take your headache medicine, get in line, ride, then by the time the pain begins your medicine is kicking in. That is always an advantage.

On a serious note, it is always fun to ride one of these older coasters that survived the great Inversion War of the late 80's and early 90's as parks battled one another to field the coaster with the most inversions. The GASM has survived and is worth a spin when you visit. Like we said earlier this week, average is not bad.

Final Rating - 7

Ride the GASM below...without needing the Advil.

The Carolina Cyclone - Carowinds (SC)

Date Ridden: Summer of 2007 and 2008. Times Ridden: 2

There is nothing wrong with being average. Despite most of my reviews receiving scores of and 8 and above, over half of my 328 coasters score in the 7 or lower range. These are normally coasters at parks that are not as famous and, let's face it, not as good, as the others I have ridden.

The Carolina Cyclone is one such coaster. To begin with, it is a steel looping coaster, not a wooden coaster like the original Coney Island Cyclone. The ride consists of vertical loops and corkscrews and, despite its age, is still relatively smooth.

The restraint system is not the greatest in the world, but is still not a horrible ride so there is not a lot of head banging and ear bashing. One good thing is that we have only ridden this specific coaster in the first third of the train. I have found that on sit-down steel loopers, the back is to be avoided at all costs as the force of whipping the train through the inversions leads to a great deal of discomfort on any looper not built by B and M. I avoid riding in those positions.

So anyway, I guess an average coaster deserves only an average review. When at Carowinds, don;t forget about the old girl toward the back of the park. The lines are never long and the ride is ok. I do not regret any of my rides on the Carolina Cyclone......because there is nothing wrong with average.

Overall Rating - 7

Ride the Carolina Cyclone below.

Steel Hawg - Indiana Beach (IN)

Date Ridden: Labor Day weekend of 2008. Times Ridden: 1 in the front seat.

Wow!This is my second Indiana Beach coaster review and there will probably be more to come as the week progresses. As far as this ride is concerned, I have to say I am impressed. When I saw the lay-out and the restrain system, I was ready for some serious pain as this little coaster looked seriously intense. The steepest drop in the world and some crazy inversions and transitions on this ride looked like total insanity. I was not far from wrong but the coaster is not as rough as I thought. At least for me it wasn't.

I may catch some criticism for this, but Steel Hawg looks and rides like a Mad Mouse/Wildcat on steroids. I understand that it is not a mouse ride per se as it does not contain the switchbacks or quick turns but I still got that feeling while in line and while riding. It basically has three elements. They include the steep 120 degree first drop, the twist and dive inversion similar to the one found on the former Manhattan Express in Vegas, and the zero-g roll right at the end. These three elements are each very unique due to the small size of the 4-seater cars. The restrains are not really the "over the shoulder" types that one normally sees on looping coasters. Instead they use a hydraulic type system to lower the top shoulder restraints into place as well as the lap bars. For me, the restraints were ok, but Julia, who is a bit shorter, said she had terrible problems. That made me wonder, so for the rest of the day I asked a variety of people in the park who had ridden the ride if they thought it was comfortable. I made special note of their sizes and heights. For the most part, riders between 5'9 and 6'0 were satisfied while those much shorter or taller said the ride was uncomfortable. I am around 5'11 so I fit just fine. Larger guests in general said they felt cramped and would not ride again. That might be something to keep in mind as the restraints are very unique.

As for the ride itself, I have to say I was impressed. The first drop was pretty darn good despite being very short. It is nowhere near as good as the steep drops on Maverick or Fahrenheit since the lift hill on the Hawg takes you up and around a curve before you drop. Still, the forces are there and it is actually pretty scary. The twist and dive produces some serious hang time and the zero-g/barrel roll at the end is smooth as well.

The ride is very short but still offers enough unique elements for me to give it an 8. It is by no means a landmark coaster or a destination ride. It is probably the 3rd best coaster in the park but it does offer some elements rarely seen on larger rides. Be prepared for about a 30 minute wait as the capacity is horrible. They have four cars but were only running two when we were there. Everything else in the park was a walk-on but we had to wait a while on this.

It is still tough for me to look at this as anything but a pumped up mouse despite its unique thrills. I enjoyed the Hawg immensely but just can't go above an 8.

Overall Rating - 8

Check out Steel Hawg below.

Rock 'n' Roller Coaster - Disney's Hollywood Studios (FL)

Date Ridden: 1-1-2008 Times Rdden - Once in the back seat.

Hmmmmm.....this ride seems to receive either outstanding reviews or poor reviews so I'll try to shed a little light on why I think its pretty good.

First, the launch is excellent. I prefer the back part of the train (limo in this instance) on launched coasters because to me it makes the launch seem longer and faster. The launch compares favorably to that of the Flight of Fear rides at KD and KI in that you are blasted into darkness. Entering the trains and beginning the ride builds up a great deal of anticipation for what is a very good launch. The ride itself is solid with only a few cases of minor head or ear banging. I once again used what I call "The Turtle Method" to avoid getting my ears bashed too badly.

The ride theme is excellent, the soundtrack is outstanding (if you like Aerosmith obviously....the song I heard on my ride was Dude Looks Like a Lady) and the entire experience is a pleasurable one. I felt the pre-show was lacking as the band performs much better as musicians than they do as actors. However, at least there is an attempt made to theme the ride and it does rate as well above average.

I'll give this an 8 but I do not think it is on par with Everest or California Screamin. It is more of a 7.5 type of ride but I'll go with an 8. Make sure to get your fast pass or make use of the single rider line. With this ride being close to Tower of Terror it is easy to knock off both of these attractions at once. I would recommend getting your fast pass for this ride (the wait is usually longer here) and then riding TOT which I think is better anyway. Just a suggestion that we found worked well.

Overall Rating - 8

Check out the video below dealing with the Rock-n-Roller Coaster on Modern Marvels.

Leap-The-Dips - Lakemont Park (PA)

Date Ridden: Summer of 2008. Times Ridden: 1

Welcome to a short review on the most significant coaster operating today. Well, that may be a little dramatic, but Leap-The-Dips is the oldest operating coaster in the world. It has been in existence since 1902 and thanks to some TLC from the current ACE organization is still running wonderfully.

The ride itself is known as a side-friction coaster in which the car continuously bounces along the track at a whopping 7 MPH meandering along and at times "leaping the dips" which are tiny 4 -5 foot drops along the track. There is only 1 car which seats two riders in the front and two in the back. Think of the typical Santa Clause sleigh minus the package of presents in the back and you have the Leap-The-Dips car. There are no restrains/seat belts as one climbs in, is pushed to the lift hill by the 14 year old ride op, and off you go. The ride seems fairly lengthy mainly because it is so slow. However, for a coaster of its age and historical importance it is a fun and smooth ride.

Lakemont Park itself is a small park with three coasters including the Starliner which overlooks the local minor league baseball field. We entered on a weekday morning and paid 3 bucks for a ride all day wristband. We only had about an hour but it was an hour and 3 dollars well spent. I am confused as to why the park does not market this ride more. Being the oldest coaster in the world, they have an excellent drawing card to bring in visitors as the park is located right off the freeway. A few billboards and a cheap ride ticket for the Dips would bring in even non-enthusiasts who wanted to simply say they had ridden the oldest operating coaster.

I absolutely loved the ride. I actually debated on giving it a 10 as there is nothing in the world to compare it to but decided on a 9. It is definitely a ride I personally will never forget. I hope and pray that this wonderful little piece of Americana continues its run for another 100 years.

Overall rating - 9

Leap-The-Dips below.

Alpengeist - Busch Gardens Europe (VA)

Date Ridden: Summer of 2007 and 2008. Times Ridden: 2 with once on the front and once toward the back.

OK, this thing is huge. Alpengeist is one of the top ranked inverted coasters in the world mainly due to its enormous size. It is an absolute must-ride on the front seat as the view dropping down the almost 200 foot first drop is spectacular.

Everything about Alpengeist is big. The Cobra Roll is gigantic as is the vertical loop. The ride is themed very well like everything else at Busch Gardens. Along with Montu (another Busch Gardens coaster) there is probably more attention to detail paid than on any other invert I have ridden.

Now, what does all this mean? First it means that despite some flaws, Aplengeist is a great coaster. The problem with the ride being so huge is that the inversions seem forceless at times. It is like the ride is crawling through them offering good hang time but little else. On most cobra rolls, the whipping action pins the rider to the seat. On this ride, there is actual hang time as the train meanders through the element.

For the reasons listed above, this is a commonly criticized coaster. It does not in my opinion rank above Montu or Raptor, but is a unique attraction due to its enormous size and gigantic elements. I enjoyed the ride immensely although it does slow down significantly toward the end. It is still fun and is a can't miss attraction while at Busch Gardens. Thanks to the wonderful first drop, it grades around a 8 which I will bump up to a low 9.

Overall Rating - 9.

Ride Alpengeist below.

The Cornball Express - Indiana Beach (IN)

Date Ridden: Labor Day weekend of 2008. Times Ridden: 10 all over the train.

The Cornball Express was our reason for visiting Indiana Beach. This coaster is constantly ranked among the top wooden coasters in the world and I really wanted to see what the hype among enthusiasts was all about. Based on the short, intense layout, I was fully expecting a Top 20 ride with possibly a perfect score. Unfortunately, I did not get that but Cornball is still pretty good.

The ride has 3 or 4 serious moments of air time in both the front and back seats. My first ride was toward the middle and it was very underwhelming. The front is probably the best seat (I rode it at night for my final ride) but the back is excellent also. One problem is that the single train has really taken a beating and needs some serious TLC. When riding the back seat, there was a screw that kept popping out on the car in front of me causing a piece of trim to flap around right in front of me. I was constantly taking off my shoe and hammering it back down into place so as not to get my eye put out. I mentioned this to a ride operator who just smiled and said they would work on it before the next day. The ops themselves were very friendly and allowed re-rides without having to walk around if there were empty seats. That is always a plus, but it is also important to make sure all screws are locked down tight.

Each seat on the train had numerous signs of wear and tear on the restraints and the seats themselves. Some of the seatbelts were very ragged as well. All of the problems seemed very minor. I think just fixing a few areas could really make this thing look and ride like the world class coaster it has the potential to be.

Let's face facts. This ride could score a 10. It has enough airtime, a smooth track, and only a buzz bar/seat belt restraint system. These three facts, plus the fast and friendly station crew (despite their adversity to a simple screwdriver) make this a fun experience. The view of Lake Shafer was gorgeous as well.

In conclusion, riding in the middle of the train gets a solid 8 while the front and back are very high 9's. I do score rides based mainly on my experience and I had a great time on the Cornball Express. I will give it a 9 with a little more love by the park bumping up into the ranks of the top wooden coasters in existence. As of right now however, it is not there.

Overall Rating: 9

Ride The Cornball Express below.

The Flying Super Saturator - Carowinds (SC)

Date Ridden: May of 2007 Times Ridden: 1 (facing backwards)

So far I have reviewed a number of large and impressive coasters since they are my preference when it comes to theme park thrills. However, once in a while along comes either a flat ride (Maxair/Delirum or Skyhawk, a totally immersive attraction (Tower of Terror or Indiana Jones and the Forbidden Eye), or a 3D dark ride extravaganza (Curse of Dark Castle/Spiderman) that offers a top of the line blast of a good time. Sometimes even a log flume (Rip-Saw Falls) can do the same thing. I prefer coasters, but I really enjoy these other attractions as well.

Now where was I going.....oh yeah. The Super Saturator.... Is it a coaster or simply a "theme park experience". As a coaster, this ranks in the family coaster range of a 5 or 6 on par with Swamp Thing at Wild Adventures/Cypress Gardens or Runaway Reptar at Carowinds itself. However, I am not going to critique it as such. I am going to base my grade (a solid 8 ) on the entire attraction and the amount of fun one can have by participating.

First, you WILL get soaked. There is no question about that. Most riders take the easy way out and simply bomb the people in line since they are sitting targets. We were drenched well before getting on the ride itself. I am assuming that most people know each rider has a "water bomb" that can be used one time by pulling a lever. While you are riding, bystanders are manning water cannons and pushing buttons activating water explosions in order to further soak you. You have the option of attempting to hit these people instead of the Innocent and defenseless targets standing in line. While waiting in line, we noticed one girl (rather large in skin tight white leotards and a white top) firing a water cannon toward the end of the ride. She was absolutely soaking people and most all of the riders had already emptied their bombs by the time they reached her. She was a having a blast. It was at this point that me and my partner/girlfriend made a vow.....white leotard girl would pay and pay severely.

We watched as other cars moved along the track. We watched as they released their bombs and decided on the precise point at which we were to send down the water laden "Fat Men" from our Enola Gay suspended coaster car. When the time came (we had decided upon the back seat so we could see her reaction) we dropped and released......and did we ever connect!!

She never knew what hit her as she had no clue we were armed as we came by. The que line let out a huge cheer as we moved back toward the station house....alas we were pummeled by an 8 year old at the final point blank water cannon (he hit me directly in the eye) but it was still worth it. As we exited, the spandex lady had left probably due to the necessity of changing clothes into something less revealing.

We on the other hand, found a spot in the sun and attempted to dry off since it was a semi-cool day. Our wait for the ride was only about 20 minutes but it still had terrible capacity as we were almost on the steps once we walked through the line. Its sad that this ride is no longer running since it was great fun for the entire family. I am going with the 8 due to the uniqueness and the overall fun factor. High thrills were not an expectation for the SSS, but loads of laughs were. And this little ride delivered.

Overall Rating: 8

watch the Super Saturator in action below.

Vortex - Canadas Wonderland (Ontario, Canada)

Date Ridden: Summer of 2008. Times Ridden: 1

Vortex is a suspended coaster (some people call them "basket rides") in the far, far north. It is among the top coasters at CW and ranks second to the Big Bad Wolf at Busch Gardens in Williamsburg among suspended coasters. It offers an enjoyable climb up the top of the signature mountain in the middles of the park, a great first drop, and lots of speed and swinging which is what a good suspended coaster does.

The line is normally backed up out of the que but does move very quickly. A full que seems to be about a 30-45 minute wait which is not bad. The ride itself seems to be well maintained and the station crew does a wonderful job of hurrying people on and off. There are no signature or stand-out moments on the ride but there is nothing that bad either.

Despite its location at one of my most despised parks, Vortex is the perfect example of the average coaster. It does not offer an outstanding ride, but does not offer a horrible experience either. It is not a fast ride but is not slow either. I was not really comfortable in the trains, but was not really uncomfortable. Everything it is designed to do, Vortex does and for that it should be commended.

I enjoyed my single ride on Vortex but do not plan to visit again anytime soon. CW in general suffers from horrible park operations, poor customer service and massive amounts of people. Visit the park at your own risk but if you do, take a pin on this ride. It is one of the only decent rides at the entire park.

Overall Rating - 7

Ride Vortex below.

Lightning Racer - Hersheypark (PA)

Date Ridden: Summer of 2008. Times Ridden: 4

Every so often, you hear of a coaster that sounds so unique and interesting that when it is finally ridden, there is the inevitable let down. On our summer trip of 2008, Lightning Racer unfortunately fell into that category due to a number of reasons. However, lets look at some of its positives first.

Lightning Racer is considered to be a dueling or racing coaster due to the fact that it contains two coaster trains which run simultaneously along two different tracks. The coasters in this case (named Lightning and Thunder) begin on staggered lift hills and are constantly flying beside and around the other coaster train. This technique is done to perfection with IOA's Dueling Dragons (see my review) and this ride is almost as good. Unlike other racing coasters, (Gemini at Cedar Point, Gwazi at BGA, etc.) it is never known which side will win. We rode each side twice and won both times on the Lightning side and once on the Thunder side. There are a variety of factors which cause once side to finish first and probably the way I leaned forward and yelled at the top of my lungs are not among them. Regardless, the racing aspect is great fun and adds to the overall experience.

Both sides are also silky smooth with nary a hint of roughness. There are very few, if any, pops of airtime but there are tons of laterals which make up for it. The quick directional changes and transitions are smooth, fast, and fun as well. So what is the problem?

This sounds dumb but I really don't know. I do have a few ideas but am not really sure if any of them are legit. This ride is a capacity machine since it runs two trains on each side. However, on our visit they had the entire middle of each train roped off. They only opened about 4 seats on the front and 4 on the back. I am not sure if this is standard procedure on slack days but this led to wait time in the station. Now granted, the wait time was not significant (less than 10 minutes) but as an enthusiast I was wanting re-rides. I do not think there would have been a problem filling each train on each ride so that was not an issue.

It's also known among coaster enthusiasts that wooden coasters run better when the trains are full. The added weight usually adds speed and thus the elements are more enjoyable. Since wooden coasters do not have inversions (except for the former Son of Beast at King's Island) the laterals and speed are very important. Since Lightning Racer was not running full trains, I think some of this was lacking.

Then again, I was looking for a better version of Dueling Dragons and this ride is definitely not that. Since wood is my preferred material of choice when riding coasters, I was fully expecting this ride to dive into my top 10 among the great woodies. Alas, it is not even in my Top 20 despite the high score I will still give it. Maybe another day the Coaster Reviews Staff can make it back to Hershey and give this thing another whirl or two. Until then, Lightning Racer gets a solid 9 and, despite its shortcomings, is still the best ride in the Land of Chocolate. And it has a short wait.

Overall Rating - 9

Ride Lightning Racer below.

Storm Runner - Hersheypark (PA)

Date Ridden: Summer of 2008. Times Ridden: 1 in the second seat.

Here again, is a unique Intamin ride. Storm Runner, has a powerful launch, a great Top-Hat, and an intense inversion called a Flying Snake Dive. This thing has to be seen to be believed. However, like so many Intaim rides that have been built recently, the restraint system causes a point to be taken away in my book.

Millennium Force and Top Thrill Dragster are 2 Intamin rides that have received perfect 10's from me. That is not due to the fact that they are located at Cedar Point but rather due to the simple lap-bar style restraint system they have. However with Kingda Ka and their other looping sit-down coasters, these restraints just cause me to have to fight to be comfortable and that is not what a perfect coaster does.

Maverick, Farenheit, and Storm Runner are all very similar to me. They are outstanding rides that could be 10's if their restraints were a little more comfortable. I still recommend the method I described in my Maverick review of placing the elbows against the back of the car and pushing forward slightly when entering an inversion. However, on Storm Runner, I was not prepared and took two seriously hard shots to the neck going through inversions.

I will still give the ride the benefit of the doubt and score is as a 9. I know that with another ride, I would have been prepared and enjoyed the elements much more. Some positives of the ride include the launch, the top hat, and the unique inversions. Just be prepared when you enter them or you will leave with a sore neck.

Overall Rating - 9.