Diamondback - Kings Island (5-2-2009)

I made it!! A weekend that had been placed on my calendar 6 months in advance finally came to fruition and was totally perfect.

While riding the newest B and M hyper coaster at the location of one my Top 20 (The Beast) coasters was the main goal of my weekend, I did have a little other unfinished business in the city of Cincinnati: setting a marathon P.R. at the Flying Pig Marathon which is one of the top ranked marathons in the world. My plan was to drive up Friday night, visit King's Island and ride Diamondback on Saturday morning, pick up my running packet and some race gear on Saturday evening, run the race on Sunday morning under 3 hours 50 minutes and make it back home that night in order to sleep and head to school the next morning. Everything worked out perfect.

Now, you are not here to read how I ran a 3:45:47 crushing my P.R. by over 7 minutes, or the great pasta dinner the night before hanging out in downtown Cincy listening to a live band and stuffing my face with carbs for energy the next morning. You want to hear about Diamondback and I will do my best to describe the experience.

To begin with, I really want this to be a good review since I can find virtually nothing detailed so far about this coaster online. If you are interested in making a trip to visit KI, then maybe this will give you some information you can't get anywhere else. If so, tell your friends about the site. Our readership is growing but we are still looking for more activity from enthusiasts like YOU!

Now, on to the coaster. Getting straight to the nuts and bolts, Diamondback scores a solid 9 just like every other B and M hyper I have ever ridden. It has some positives as well as some negatives which are basically divided up into the two halves of the coaster itself. The first half is impeccable. I think the first drop is the best on any B and M coaster. You exit the station and go straight up the lift hill ala Millennium Force but not nearly as quick. The drop is steep and fast and leads into two other unbelievable airtime hills before hitting the hammerhead. The third hill is the best as I counted 8 seconds of airtime on that hill alone. Due to the speed of the train, the hammerhead turnaround seems to be more forceful than the one on Nitro. It is here however, that Diamondback begins slithering toward mediocrity.

When leaving the hammerhead and heading up the next hill, a trim brake kicks in which slows the train noticeably. There is no airtime whatsoever leading all the way up to where the mid-course brake kicks in which brings the train to almost a complete stop. The drop off the mid-course brake area is well below average and leads into another hill and helix before the splash down which is simply another way of slowing the train before cresting the final hill and hitting the final brake run. If you were counting, that is four brake runs in the last half of the ride which totally kills any momentum the first half had built up.

If you are an OCD coaster enthusiast (which I define as having ridden or being dragged along on over 100 coasters) you will probably be disappointed with Diamondback. The general public however, totally loves the ride as it is like nothing in Ohio with its smoothness and perfect first half. If visiting, take advantage of the single rider line which is run perfectly. I was able to get 5 rides in an hour while the normal line seemed to be about a 45-60 minute wait if not longer. The station crew was doing an excellent job of running all three trains so this thing is a people eater. The new open air trains (identical to Behemoth) are an advantage as I was able to get two second row (which are actually the same as front row) seats plus three rides somewhere in the middle. As a single rider you do not get to pick your seat but the shorter wait time is well worth it. I never got near the back but some people said you actually get wet back there on the splash down. I can neither confirm nor contradict that but I did not see anyone get off the train wet.

In conclusion, despite the negatives King's Island is now a destination park. With a world class woodie, a flying coaster, a launch coaster, an underrated sit-down looper, a racer, and the worlds tallest and fastest woodie added to this hyper coaster, it is a park to visit for an entire day or more. If you are on your way to Cedar Point from the south, do not forget to stop in on your way to visit this park. It will be well worth your time.

Final Rating - A solid 9.

Review: X2 at Six Flags Magic Mountain (CA)

The ceremony is about to begin! Let me say that if you have ridden the original X but have not been back to Magic Mountain for the upgraded X2, you are missing one of the best rides in the world.

Back in 2006, I took my first trip to California in 7 years and visited a number of theme parks with Magic Mountain being the primary destination. I enjoyed X a great deal as it was totally unlike any coaster I had ridden. However, at the time I was probably around only 50 coasters total so I did not recognize how unique X truly was. I ranked it an 8 and left it out of my Top 20.

Fast forward to February of 2009. After a very disappointing day at Knotts with both Ghostrider and Xcelerator not running, we were hoping for a little more fun at a park I had not had very good experiences at. Magic Mountain had always been crowded with many of the rides down. Not this time. The lines were non-existent, all the coasters were running and X had been upgraded to one of the best coasters in the world.

When riding X2, you get an entire sensory experience. The huge flat screen in the station, the dual loading X cars, the creepy soundtrack (hence the first line of this review) in the station as well, and the fast loading ride ops. All of these things set the mood for the ride experience that is about to come. Once you are loaded (I prefer the inside seat since it seems a little smoother), the sound system begins with a wide range of music starting with Harry Connick (I think) and randomly jumping to artists that vary from Metallica to the Beastie Boys. The experience is totally indescribable.

I will suggest the front seat which gives you an unimpeded view of the 90 degree 200 foot drop at the beginning while going down face first. That is one of the best first drops on any coaster ever. After that, the ride is completely crazy with a total of 3 inversions (I think), a fire element toward the end, and a completely warped ride experience. We were lucky enough to get in 10 rides (yep 10) with the last 9 without having to even leave the station. I have heard that lines are normally in the 2-3 hours range so I believe we hit it on a good day. The ops were not making us walk around the station since the lines were so short. We had a blast riding X2 however we did run into a problem after about 6 laps. We started hurting.

That’s right, pain became a problem. My back and head were both killing me as well as my neck and shoulders. This is not a coaster that people (my age at least) can continually loop. The intensity of the ride makes it great fun for a couple of laps. And despite the ride being smooth, the elements simply make it a coaster that pushes the limits to what a human body can take. From now on, I will be satisfied with a couple of laps each trip.

As it is, X2 scores a 9 and ranks # 11 on my list of all time favorite coasters. It is unique and offers an unparalleled experience. It is without a doubt a destination coaster that no enthusiast should miss. And now, about Tatsu……….

# 1 - Millennium Force.....A Life Changing Experience

By now, regular readers of the site know that Millennium Force at Cedar Point was actually a life-changing experience for me.

Now I know those are very strong words considering that these are just roller coasters, but sometimes we have great experiences when we least expect them. I was simply getting away from some major problems in my life. I had never even heard of Cedar Point back in 2006 much less any of the specific coasters located there. Once I had my first ride on Millie, my life was forever changed and I became a coaster geek.

Please scroll down and read my Millennium Force review for more details of my favorite ride of all time. And there you have it, as I moved toward my favorite rides I discovered that many of these coasters already had detailed reviews leading to shortened down versions of my favorite rides.

Like always, thanks for checking out the site. With coaster riding season beginning again, look for more reviews, pictures, and tips in the upcoming months on coasterreviews.net.

# 2 - The World's Most Famous Roller Coaster

The Coney Island Cyclone is not simply a roller coaster. It is an American Icon and a total experience that no enthusiast (or common rider for that matter) should ever miss.

Without a doubt, it is one of the most famous coasters of all time located in one of the greatest cities in the world. The experience is like no other ride in the world today. Despite being among the most cloned coasters of all time, the original is still unique and ranked way above the others. You can read my very lengthy and detailed review as one of the first posts on this site. If you want a better account of this ride, I recommend that you go there. However, for the purpose of this post, keep in mind that my solitary ride back on July 3rd of 2008 was one of my best total experiences (not just at theme parks) ever.

I will never forget it.

# 3 - The Storm Ride (Dueling Dragons) 2008

What a ride! I will not cover all of the outstanding details as this ride (as well as the next two) have been covered in my reviews of the coasters themselves. Needless to say, this particular ride (on the Ice Dragon) was as good as anything I have ever been on. The Dragons themselves ranked in my Top 20 for a while, in large part because of this ride. The outstanding woodies have taken their place and dropped them slightly out of my top ranked coasters but are still among my favorites. The storm ride was totally out of control with rain beating down me, the wind blowing and lightning flashing every few seconds. Once again for more details please read my ride review of Dueling Dragons.

# 4 - The Beast (Kings Island) Fall of 2008

Some coasters have multiple personalities. They may be good on one, great another, and terrible on yet another. It may depend on the time of day the ride takes place, the seat on the train, or even the time of year. However, no coaster has more of a split personality than The Beast at King’s Island.

The Beast is legendary wooden coaster which is on many peoples Top 20 lists, including mine, due to its speed, length, and strong laterals in its famous double helix. It has also given me quite possible the worst ride of my life in October of 2007 on a cold day at the park’s opening. However, approximately one year later, the wooden legend delivered with a front seat night ride I will never forget.

This coaster has already been reviewed on this site and this particular ride has also been discussed. Let me add to that by saying that riding the Beast at night is an experience no coaster enthusiast should miss. There are no lights on the track and the coaster is almost two miles long. With over five minutes of ride time in the pitch black darkness in the woods of central Ohio, this coaster deserves its high ranking.

The Beast is a destination coaster that is well worth the drive and price of admission. And at night, it is almost unbeatable with my best ever ride that did not contain a lightning storm or a coaster with a soft spot in my heart. Those reviews are coming up but rest assured, I have never had a better coaster ride than this one in my life.