# 6 - Raven - Labor Day 2007

I will not go into too many details since this ride has been discussed in my review of The Raven. I will say that this little coaster does indeed pack a wallop no matter where you ride it. I actually prefer the back seat because the surprise 60 foot drop in the middle of the course is much more intense back there. However, the ride that falls #6 on the overall greatest rides of all time was our front seat night ride during Labor Day Weekend of 2007.

It was the final ride of the day and we were lucky enough to be in lap mode. We had sprinted around for one last ride and were at the head of the pack of people doing the same. We dove in the front seat line and had a total blast. There are no lights at all on the track so the entire ride was in total pitch black darkness. It was easily our best ride of the day. I only wish we would have had a opportunity to ride The Voyage at night. So far that feat has eluded us. As far as the Raven is concerned however, it is a proven fact that the woodies at Holiday World warm up as the day wears on and the best rides are given toward the end of the day. We can definitely attest to that fact thanks to this wonderful ride on a very well-respected coaster.

The Raven sits solidly at lucky number 13 in my Top 20 and this great Labor Day ride comes in at # 6 overall in my best rides ever.

# 7 - Magnum XL200 - NO BRAKES!!!

I feel that as far as steel coasters go, Cedar Point is the best park in the world. Magnum XL-200 is the ride that started it all back in 1989 as the first ever coaster to crack the 200 foot barrier. It is still a great ride as evidenced by its current top 5 ranking in the Golden Tickets.

I have continued to keep this coaster in my top 20 due to a number of great rides I have taken, the best which was in the fall of 2007. This specific ride took place directly before the park was about to close. For those of you unaware, the ride operators begin to close down certain seats in the middle of the train at the end of the day. They keep the front seats and back seats open in order to keep the weight balanced and each train at least half full.

When this happens, the lower weight on the train allows the mid-course brakes at the turnaround point to not kick in which leads to an insane second half of the ride along the bunny hills. This actually happened to us on this ride (we were toward the front) and the coaster was totally out of control. My legs were actually sore from being forcefully thrown into the lap bar going over each and every hill. It was totally dark, the breeze was nice and cool, the view looking out over Lake Erie was great, and the airtime was some of the most intense I have ever had on a coaster.

That adds up to the #7 ranked ride of my life…..so far.