#8 - Top Thrill Dragster - The Bug Ride (Fall of 2008)

Wow. It has been a while since I have posted anything. Hopefully, the consistent readers we have did not totally desert our site. Thanks to running races on two of the past three weekends and traveling to CA on the other, I have not been on here in a long time. In addition with fantasy basketball season ending and fantasy baseball beginning, my computer time has been spent on Yahoo Sports and CBS Sportsline. Yes, I have more than just one nerd activity; I have multiples!

Anyway, thinking back to my 8th greatest ride of all time brought back an actual audible stream of laughter. The ride took place late one night at the Coaster Capital (Cedar Point) when Guy and myself decided to wait the extra time for a front seat ride on TTD. This is normally an extra 30 minutes or so since the front has a huge line due to the nature of the ride. Out of over 10 rides we had never waited the extra time before so on this particular night we decided that the time had finally come.

Neither of us were prepared for what followed. Being that the ride is only 20 seconds or so, I personally did not think a front seat ride would offer that much more. I was wrong. While the ride goes over 120 MPH, the front seat seems much faster due to the unimpeded air that is totally slamming into your face. That, along with the intense 420 foot 90 degree drop made this a very memorable ride. However, it was the choice I made in choosing my seat that was the key decision that night. For some reason, Guy got in first. I normally enter the trains first while he goes last but on this occasion our roles reversed. By entering first he rode on the side of the train that had lights the length of the track......and bugs!

When we exited, I had maybe 5 or 6 plastered on my shirt due to our high rate of velocity. Guy had hundreds! He had bugs on his face, his glasses, and both arms. It was hilarious and he spent the next 5 minutes trying to clean bug stuff off himself.

Once this task was completed, we decided that we just had one of our greatest ride experiences. TTD is a great ride on any seat but the front takes the intensity up another level. Just don't forget to send your buddy in first!!

# 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".

# 10 - A Night Ride on the Boardwalk

When beginning this series, I could not think of a better place to start than on the # 1 ranked seaside amusement park in the world today: The Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk featuring the historic Giant Dipper coaster.

The specific ride I am thinking of took place in the summer of 2006. This was my first summer of obsessive coaster riding and the Dipper was actually an afterthought on a day we visited what was then Six Flags Marine World. The day was ridiculously hot as California can be in the middle of the summer, and we were finished a little after lunch. To kill the rest of the day, Julia told me of an old wooden coaster in the area that she remembered riding as a little girl. We googled directions and headed off.

Once we pulled up, I immediately fell in love with the place. It reminded me so much of all those countless hours spent riding the Cannon Ball at Lake Winnie when I was young. We took a ride on the Dipper as well as the other two coasters in the park, the sky ride, and took a stroll down the boardwalk. We saved enough tickets for one more ride on the Dipper and waited until it was completely dark. That is the ride that makes the top 10 of my greatest coaster rides ever.

The station was rocking as the coaster would pull in and the riders would reach up to high five those in line as the train pulled into the station. We ended up sitting somewhere toward the middle of the train since preferential seating is not allowed and rolled into the tunnel heading up to the track. The coaster itself is totally gorgeous at night with running lights along the rails, the beautifully lit up boardwalk, and the sounds of the Pacific Ocean off to your right. I do not remember a lot about the ride, only the sense of serenity this quaint old woodie offered me during a very chaotic time of my life. It seemed that ride lasted for hours (actually only a couple of minutes) with the wind blowing through our hair, the smell of cotton candy, and the typical amusement park sounds not often heard at larger parks. It was simply a great ride and one that I will always remember and cherish as the Dipper sits rock solidly in my overall Top 20.

Now, here is the good news. During Spring Break, we are headed back out there to stay at the Carousel Hotel with the intention of spending a couple of days in the park itself. On our only two visits so far, we have only stayed for a few hours and not really enjoyed all the park has to offer. This year I am going to ride the carousel and toss the rings in the clown's mouth and put up double digits on the Dipper itself. I can only hope that we receive another ride as great as that one on my first visit to Santa Cruz.

A New Series.........

I think most of you know that I like to count stuff. It has been documented in earlier posts about how the staff here at CoasterReviews keeps up with their rides, their books read, and so on. If there is a site to count stuff, we are members.

In light of that, over the next few weeks, I will be counting down the best coaster rides I have ever taken. I received lots of positive feedback from our "Year in Review" post, so it gave me the idea of listing my ten best rides. Now, please understand this is not simply a list of top coasters. Anyone who visits the site can click on the links to the left and see out Top 20 list. No, this is something more......this is the cream of the crop (I hate cliches....sic) as far as solitary rides taken over the past 3 years. There is a wide variety in the types of coasters. They range from sleek, new scream machines to old fashioned woodies. The one thing they all have in common was that they delivered unbelievable rides.

So, when you count up the 334 coasters I have been on and multiply them by 5 (which is the approximate number of total rides I have) you end up with over 1500 total journeys on roller coasters. Of that massive number, the ten that follow are best. Number 10 should be posted later this week. Thanks for reading and Happy Blogging!!