Date Ridden: January of 2008. Times Ridden: 15 including 12 in a row without having to leave the coaster station house.
Let me begin by saying that there is now a reason to visit Cypress Gardens down in Winter Haven, FL.
Starliner is a classic ride with a beautiful setting, comfortable seats and restraints, and (Im serious) some vicious air time!! I did not really know what to expect from this simple looking little out and back woodie but "Floridas Original Scream Machine" won me over after my first ride in the back seat. The air time varies from ride to ride and definitely from seat to seat. In the front there are usually two pops of ejector air on the way out and 0 on the way back. However, the visuals are great and the ride is still fun.
On the back seat however, you usually get 3 (and sometimes 4) pops and 1 decent pop on the return. Included in all areas of the car is one massive ejector moment on a small bunny hill right before the turn-around. And let me tell you, it is really good! Its definitely not El Toro good, but for a "true" woodie with this much age, it is a superb coaster moment.
Now...how did I get 15 rides on this thing in 1 day (actually in less than two hours)? Before our trip to Florida, we heard that the park clears out on Sundays after concerts. So guess when we went? Sunday after a concert on MLK weekend. That was some very good advice. I kid you not, there were maybe 20 people in the park. Most ride ops, including those on Starliner, were just standing around waiting on someone to come up so they could have something to do. The ops on Triple Hurricane were sitting in the cars chatting when we walked up. Not only were we able to turn in 15 laps on Starliner, but we also rode every other coaster there and most of the flats. We also rode 6 consectutive rides in the same seat! I love it when ride ops let you stay on if no one wants your seat. There were 6 of us on the ride and we were fine in the middle. Eventually the temperature dropped and the back group left. Not us!! We tied up our hoodies, put on our gloves, and rode another 3 or 4 times in the very back until the park closed. Even though I was freezing to death, I could not think of anywhere I had rather have been than riding this piece of coaster history.
Is this ride really a 9 placing it on par with Raven, Legend, and the OZCat out in Branson? Uh....no. Its probably more of a high 7 or low 8 but as I look back on my experience I could probably actually give it a 10. This past January was a great trip with 10 rides on Montu (see review), 8 rides on the Dueling Dragons at IOA (including the Storm Ride...also see review) and then closing things down on our final day with 15 laps on this beauty. Taking into account all of those factors, I decided on a 9 to balance the quality of the coaster with my experience on it.
As far as wood goes, Starliner is the best ride in the south. I like it better than the Gwazis at BGA. Its more fun than the woodies at 6 Flags over GA. Unfortunately I missed out on Cheetah at Wild Adventures since it was down for repairs but I dont think it would really compete either. As many woodie fans as are on this site, I would think that some of you would be willing to take a trek south to ride this one. Its not the gretest ride on earth, but this little out and back woodie is one thing that every coaster should be (and not every coaster is).......fun.
Ride Starliner below.
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