Expedition Everest - Disney's Animal Kingdon (FL)

Date Ridden: Dec. 31st of 2007. Times Ridden: 2 with once in the 3rd row from the front and once in the 2nd row from the back.

To begin with, nobody beats Disney for capacity. We started off Animal Kingdom by doing Dino-land and easing our way back to Everest. Julia and myself got our fast pass and then, since the line only said 30 minutes, decided to go ahead and ride it once. Within 20 minutes we were seated toward the rear of the train and ready. Later on when we used our fast pass we were on the ride in less than 1 minute as there was no one in the fast pass line. Disney rules for capacity always and forever.

As for the ride itself, I am hesitant to use the phrase "mine train" as the premise behind the ride is an expedition up to the top of Mount Everest that goes awry. However, the ride feel is similar to that of Big Thunder Mountain. I do not mean this in any bad way as I feel that Disney is the master of the mine train type of ride and this for some reason seems to have that type of feel, particularly in the very slow beginning. However, the rides theme is top notch and that slow beginning is necessary to what you will encounter later in the ride.

The dual lift hills take the train up very high and from the front offers a great view between the mountain peaks. This is at the point which the track has been destroyed by the Yeti who is angry over the lack of respect paid to his temple. Examples of this destruction can be found all throughout the area surrounding the ride. After the first third of the ride is over and you take the backwards portion through a switchback on the track and into the mountain itself, it begins getting a little more intense. The backwards potion stops you in the mountain where you can see the cut scene of the angry Yeti which is just a little too cartoonish. Still, it is very fun to watch and leads into the third and final leg of the trip which includes the dive down past the Yeti himself.

This creature is absolutely amazing as he seems very lifelike and extremely angry. The back of the train is better at this portion as you get a little better look at him while zooming past.

So anyway, whats the deal? Everest as a ride rates out as a 7 but gets a bump up for the attention to detail and the creature itself. When riding, try the front of the car first to see the views at the end of the first portion and then try any car toward the back giving you a longer view of the beast at the end of the ride. Disney coasters are always less about thrills and more about the experience itself. In this case, the formula works as the Mouse has a great ride at one of the weaker Disney parks. Everest gets a solid 8 from me and ranks # 2 behind California Screamin as my favorite Disney coaster.

Great Bear - Hersheypark (PA)

Date Ridden: Summer of 2008. Times Ridden: 1

When dealing with an invert made by famous coaster designers Bolliger and Mabillard, you know what you are going to get. The ride will be smooth, the inversions fun, and a wonderful overall experience. Those expectations are met with The Great Bear at Hersheypark.

Here at Coaster Reviews, we try not to review a coaster if we only have only ridden it a few times. Some coasters are instant hits (Cyclone at Coney Island), while others take time to appreciate. However, Great Bear is what it is. It is nothing different from any other typical B and M invert which is a good thing. While it may not jump to the top of the ranking it is still a fun ride with very few, if any weaknesses. The problem with travelling all over the country is that once you have ridden one of these rides, the rest seem very similar. For that reason, Great Bear seems to rank alongside the numerous Batman rides throughout the country instead of at the top along with Montu, Raptor, and Talon. It is a wonderful ride with beautiful landscaping and a smooth comfortable experience. There just isn't anything that really stands out.

When visiting the World of Chocolate, this is still a "can't miss" attraction. The lines seem to be fairly short here and Great Bear will give you a great experience. If you have never ridden a B and M invert before then you will be in for a great time. If you have, then you know what to expect. And that, coaster riders, is a good thing in this instance.

Overall Rating: 8.

Ride Great Bear below.

Dueling Dragons: Fire and Ice - Islands of Adventure (FL)

Date Ridden: 1 time in the front car of both sides in January of 2007 and multiple times in other cars in January of 2008. Times Ridden: 10 total (5 for Fire and 5 for Ice)

This past January was one of the most amazing weekends of coaster riding in my life. Guy and myself rode the famous Montu 10 consecutive times, spent about 45 minutes straight on the the Starliner at Cypress Gardens and then....well it is tough to explain. I'll just say that it is a blessing to have friends ready to attend these parks with and to enjoy all of the fellowship that goes along with it. And did we ever have something to talk about on our 8 hour journey back to GA.....without a doubt the most intense and scary coaster ride of our lives. If I have you hooked please read on...

Most everyone knows the concept of the Dueling Dragons at IOA. This unique attraction consists of 2 superb B and M inverts which duel at various stages through their rides. The two coasters combine to make my favorite attraction in Florida but each coaster is in itself a unique experience. I am going to try to review each coaster separately in order to focus on what each side.....fire and ice.......has to offer. With all of that said lets check out Fire first.

After driving all night and visiting Kraken at Sea World first (see Kraken review) we grabbed some lunch and headed out to IOA for about 5 hours of coaster riding. We were looking for a lengthy wait on Hulk (which is normally the most popular attraction at the park) and the capability to ride the Dragons numerous times since the line is normally short. Amazingly we were able to get 2 quick rides on Hulk and them moved to the back of the park where the line for the DDs was approaching 40 minutes.

Since this is a capacity machine with 4 total trains running, our wait was only about 30 as we wound our way through the lengthy que (wait times varied as I think they had some issues with the ride......we had 30 minute waits sometimes and would run around to get back in line and get straight on during others......it was really weird..we got in 8 total rides) and jumped on the fire dragon first. We rotated our rides back and forth on the two coasters but the ride I wish to focus on was our final ride of the night on Ice. I will get to that ride later.

After multiple rides, I think I prefer Fire slightly even though I will give both the same rating. With Fire you have a little more intensity and a little more speed without really losing anything in the dueling aspect. You get two superb duels with Fire (as opposed to 3 that are noticeable on Ice) and they are both excellent as you can see the riders below you on the zero g roll and the double loops sneak up on you a little more on this side. However, as the park was about to close, we were running around the line to get back in for hopefully one more ride. They had closed off the short cut, so we simply leaped the barricade so as not to have to run all the way around. We sprinted through the castle and into the loading area as the gates were popping open. We ran straight through and got on the last car. There were only 4 people on the front and the two of us in the back when a phone call came down to the operators and everything was delayed.

It had been raining off and on all day and we knew that storms were in the forecast but we had no idea that a huge thunderhead had blown up. Suddenly one of the ops stated that management said to go ahead and send the trains as the last ones of the day. We were pumped as they sent us out to the lift hill...and into an unbelievable experience.

For anyone who is reading this, I kid you not, it seemed we had entered a freaking hurricane! It was pitch black, the wind was gusting at unbelievable speeds, and it was absolutely pouring rain. I am still amazed that they sent us out into that. As we dropped down the lift hill, I had to pull my hoody over my face and keep my hands in front of my eyes because the rain was hurting so bad. If there was ever an actual battle between dragons, it could not have been more intense than that ride we received. The thunder was crashing, the lightening was flashing every few seconds, and the rain was a torrential downpour. I was simply trying to survive and praying that we would make it back to the station. It would not surprise me if someone lost their job for sending that train out. I doubt that I will ever have a ride that intense ever again. We left the park once this ride was over, walked to the car, and then drove into Orlando to grab a bite to eat. When we got to the restaurant, I actually took off my shoe and literally dumped the water out of it. It was totally insane.

When comparing the two coasters, Ice offers a different layout with one extra duel (easier to see that is) plus a superb near miss with the castle wall as the coaster enters the cobra roll. I always pull my feet in much like I do on Montu with its near miss of the temple ruins. Ice is a little better at dueling as it has a longer run up at the double loops. It is much easier to see this inversion/duel on this side of the coaster.

Ice is still an intense ride, but it does slow down a little toward the end. There is one final duel in the last part of the ride that is much more visually noticeable on Ice since you are going slower (but by no means slow....Ice is still very quick all the way to the end).

Once again, while the front row offers the best visuals, you still get the dueling aspect in all seats as we rode in virtually every seat on the train. I really like the back seat on Ice as you get some great visuals of the other train going through inversions at numerous points throughout the ride. I would recommend on your first time through each side, go ahead and wait the extra time on the front car. After that, simply ride the first available row and try to get a wide variety of seats. That way one can get everything that this compact little ride has to offer.

Also take some time to hang out at some of the lookout points. This ride is almost as much fun to watch and appreciate from the viewpoint of a coaster enthusiast as it is to ride. It is amazing at some of the things this coaster does.

Whew, that took some time. I welcome comments or suggestions and highly recommend this attraction for anyone no matter how far you have to drive. Fire and Ice offer an experience that is impossible to get on any other ride in the world to the best of my knowledge. The attention to details is superb and all-immersive. I am a huge fan of fantasy literature as well (we high school English teachers tend to like that kind of stuff) and this ride gives the feeling that you are stepping back into the middle ages. I only hope and pray that they do not change ANYTHING about this ride when Harry Potter land comes. I enjoyed the books, but hope that IOA does not mess up the best themed ride on earth by trying to change it. I am somehow afraid they will though.

Ice and Fire get a solid 9 from me. Ride the front for a perfect 10 but good seats are located throughout the entire train. Go to Florida and ride this beauty. Now. Hurry!!

Corkscrew - Cedar Point (OH)

Date Ridden: Every summer since 2006. Times Ridden: 6

Corkscrew, located at the Coaster Capitol of the World, is a classic. It was the first coaster in the world to contain three inversions and is among the most picturesque rides in the world with its two corkscrews directly over the main midway. It is very well taken care of with a dark blue color scheme and three trains which run virtually all the time. The three trains make this ride a virtual walk-on regardless of how crowded the park is.

Alas, despite its positives, Corkscrew is a below average coaster. For some reason, the seats have a hump right at the neck which leads to a very painful ride. I don't think the ride has gotten rough just because of its age, I think it runs as well it did all those years ago. It simply runs the way it was built: not very comfortably.

That being said, you simply have to ride this at least once any time you visit the Point. It is a classic and not to be missed despite its rough sections and uncomfortable seats. Diving over the midway within a few feet of the people walking by is great fun no matter when you ride. I have found that the middle of the train seems to be a little smoother than the very front and very back cars. Regardless of where you ride, just make sure to give the old girl a whirl. The ride time is only a little over a minute and it is worth it to say that you have ridden the first coaster in the world with three inversion.

Overall Rating - 6

Ride Corkscrew below.

Hydra- The Revenge - Dorney Park (PA)

Date Ridden: Summer of 2008. Times Ridden: 2 with the best ride being in the very front seat for Guy's 100th coaster.

What the heck is a "Jo-Jo Roll"?

In preparing for our Summer of 2008 trip, I focused on a number of the newer rides as well as some of the more famous older ones. However, I did not pay much attention to what I thought was a small, compact floorless coaster located in Dorney Park and overshadowed by the likes of Talon, Steel Force and Voodoo. Hydra was that coaster.

First, let's have a little history lesson. Years ago, Dorney Park had a wooden coaster named Hercules at the exact location in which Hydra now stands. Hercules was a wooden coaster known more for its roughness than anything else. Many coaster enthusiasts enjoyed it but it was a little uncomfortable for the average park goer based on ride reviews I have read. I never had the chance to ride it. The coaster was demolished and replaced with a coaster named after the creature that Hercules destroyed in the Greek myths: The Hyrda. Hence the name, Hydra - The Revenge.

Now that we have the history lesson over, let's talk about the rides' signature element: that Jo-Jo roll. The only way to understand it is to simply see it. To the best of my knowledge there is not another inversion like this in the world. Dropping out of the station into the slow moving inversion with the absolute best hang-time of any ride ever is a different experience. After that, the journey up the lift hill, the first drop, and the other inversions are taken with that typical B and M smoothness despite the compact lay-out of the ride.

I liked Hyrda but the coaster still falls a little short of both Talon and Steel Force hence the lower rating. It is well above average and offers a unique experience for even the most seasoned coaster enthusiasts. Don't miss it when you visit Dorney Park.

Overall Rating: 8

Ride Hydra below.

Ride of Steel - Darien Lake (NY)

Date Ridden: Summer of 2008. Times Ridden: 3

As most coaster enthusiasts are aware, Ride of Steel at Darien Lake was formally Superman- Ride of Steel until Six Flags sold the park to another developer leading to the dropping of the Superman name. The ride was also given a new logo minus the "S" symbol. However, despite this name change the ride itself remains a wonderful ride and is consistently ranked among the top steel coasters in the world. It was also one of the coasters I was most looking forward to riding. Intamin, my favorite steel coaster designer, had already designed two virtually perfect rides (Millennium Force and Superman in Agawam) and this looked to be a very similar coaster. However, I was in for a disappointment.....and it had little to do with the coaster itself.

The problem with my Ride of Steel experience (and the reason this ride did not make my top 10) was this. Why would a park run two trains to improve capacity but refuse to allow people on one train so "it would not have to run half empty". That is the quote that I was given by what looked to be a park manager in a shirt and tie when asked why on a virtually deserted day in the park, along with two train operation, wait times were still over 15 minutes. Does running a train empty save more electricity than running one half-empty? On each ride on the empty train, the ride ops unbuckled every seat belt then buckled them right back before lowering the lap bar. It was among the most asinine things I have ever seen in my entire life. When we saw the park, I thought we would easily get 10 rides on this, their signature coaster, as well as riding everything else there. However, after 3 rides in 45 minutes with no one even waiting in line (sometimes they even held up the one train they were allowing people to board until more showed up to ride) along with our Motocoaster incident (see review) made for a poor afternoon and a virtual waste of 25 dollars.

OK, after that rant, how is the ride? It is wonderful. Some enthusiasts criticize this version of the ROS for having too much straight track but I feel that these portions are excellent for giving the rider that sense of speed that I love so well. The coaster is smooth with two great downward spiraling helices (not my favorite element on a hyper coaster but these are pretty good) and a wonderful finish with three great airtime hills. It was a little shaky at the top of the lift hill (not sure where the "shimmy" comes from but it was a little disconcerting the first time) but that did not detract from the ride.

The coaster is pleasing visually with the lift hill seeming to come straight up from the ground since it is in an area of the park that is slightly lower than normal when one first walks around to where the ride is located. There are no dead spots nor rough sections to speak of.

I was really disappointed when we pulled out of the Darien Lake parking lot. What I had hoped would be one of my favorite ride experiences was spoiled by poor park operations and a "carnie-like" attitude toward one of the greatest steel coasters on the planet. I do give props to the ride operator who let us stay on and get a third ride since there was no one waiting on our seat. If not for him, it would have been 2 rides in 45 minutes with no lines. Unbelievable.

To all Darien Lake management personnel: take a trip about 4 hours south to Knoebels in PA and watch the crew run Phoenix. You can definitely pick up some pointers.

Overall Rating - 9 (for the ride quality).

Ride ROS below.

Blue Streak - Cedar Point (OH)

Date Ridden: Every summer since 2006. Times Ridden: 5

Blue Streak is pretty much the best woodie Cedar Point has to offer. It is a quaint, old out-and-back design that really only has one problem: the restraints. In the cars, it is still possible to see where the original one position buzz bars were located, but now they are gone with individual lap bars and seat belts installed. To me personally, this always causes problems with the trains.

To begin with, the cars were not designed to use the new restraints. The intent of the original ride was to give the rider that out of control feeling one gets on all of the great seaside woodies from years ago. The lap bars on Blue Streak are especially uncomfortable almost ruining the entire experience. I am not a large person (under 6 feet tall and around 165 pounds) but I feel crowded in the Blue Streak trains.

Other than this one problem, the coaster design itself is above average. The ride is not rough, the out-and-back layout is fun with pops of air on both the trip out and the trip back. The scenery is nice with a good view of Lake Erie. The coaster itself could just be so much fun set among all of the steel materpieces Cedar Point offers if only it had been left as it was originally intended to be: with buzz bar restraints and an out of control feeling. What could have been a top ranked wooden coaster is now merely average. I will continue to ride Blue Streak on each return trip to the Coaster Capitol. Howver, I will also continue to rue the day that Cedar Fair neutered their best woodie.

Overall Score - 7

Ride Blue Streak below.

Kraken - Sea World Orlando (FL)

Date Ridden: January of 2007 and 2008 Times Ridden: 20 (yep....20) including 13 consecutive rides in 3 hours on 1-19-2008.

Happy Birthday to me on the best "non-gimmick" coaster in Florida!!! I was blessed to be able to spend the first part of my 36th birthday lapping Kraken on a cold and misty morning. And let me tell you, it was definitely worth the overnight ride from north Georgia to Orlando.

I remembered from 2006 that Kraken was an outstanding coaster, but riding something 13 times in a row gives one a greater understanding for rides that are this good. The pacing on this thing is simply perfect. The large drop into the vertical loop, the dive loop and the zero g roll lead to a virtually perfect first half. The drop off the mid-course brakes down into the two tunnels and the final corkscrew are superb. We even were lucky enough to ride on a virtually empty train in which the mid-course brakes did not kick in leading to an insane second half.

Add to that, the fact that it was so overcast and misty (it was impossible to even see the course layout from the top of the lift hill) led to some of the best rides I have ever had on any coaster. And amazingly, they were not even the best rides of the trip!! We had a wonderful journey to Florida and Kraken got us off to a great start. My only gripe was that for the first hour they were only running one train which led to 20 minute waits in between rides. Once the second train was added, the fun really began as everything else was a walk-on. Kraken gets a solid 9. Make sure to ride the front seat as without a doubt it is the best seat by far on the train.

Overall Rating - 9

Ride Kraken below.

The Incredible Hulk- Islands of Adventure (FL)

Date Ridden: January of 2007 and 2008. Times Ridden: 5 with once in the front, once in the back, and three times toward the middle/back portion of the train.
With the release of the new Hulk movie, I think it fitting to give this ride its review.

Living here in the Peach State of Georgia, coaster season closes in late October and starts back up in May. However, thanks to Orlando, I can get my coaster fix on each MLK weekend with a trip down to sunny Florida. I won't mention the humidity and spoil it for you.

IOA is one of our destinations each year with Hulk being the first ride we normally jump on in cartoon oriented Super-Hero Land. I, like most other enthusiasts, feel that B and M hit one out of the park with the creation of this green machine. However, I may be able to defend this ride from a different view point......that of the B and M computer geek designer. Read on as I sneak a peek inside his head.......

Computer Geek thinking aloud... "Ok, the Hulk is this gigantic green monster that is really intense. He jumps high, is strong, and can run really fast. But wait a minute....to start with he is this wormy-looking little geek scientist (hmmmm.....me?) until he gets angry. So, the ride should start off slow and then just go berserk when the geeky white dude turns big and green. Can we do that? Yep, we just need some tires and a propulsion system that shuts down half the power in Orlando when it launches."

Coaster Designer Geek continues to think...."OK, the insane launch out of the tunnel into the inversion....the dive into the mist....and the huge cobra roll. All that seems to be symbolic of the Hulks' anger. Now, what happens after he gets mad? Why, he calms down of course! So after the mid-course brakes we can design this ride as a snooze-fest symbolizing the return of the giant green guy into the geeky scientist once again."

End of Coaster Designer Geeks' thoughts.

In all seriousness, I like Hulk and give it a solid 9. It is a gorgeous attraction that is visible from anywhere in the park. I personally like the back of the train a little better since it seems the launch is longer so I would recommend riding there if possible. Also, the technology used for the launch still amazes me. I can't help but think of all those rotating Goodyears beneath the track each time I ride.

In summary, Hulk is a great coaster worthy of its top 20 ranking in many steel coaster polls. I personally like the Dueling Dragons better, but IOA does indeed have a solid trio of 9's making it a coaster lovers paradise.

Overall Score - 9

Morph into the Hulk below.

Superman: Ride of Steel - Six Flags New England (MA)

Date Ridden: June of 2007. Times Ridden: 7 with one ride in Row 2, 2 rides in the very back, and the others spaced out toward the middle and back.

Where do I start? Ok, I guess I'll start with the crazy idea Guy and myself came up with in March of this past year. We had already ridden the famous Millennium Force and was bound and determined to ride what we called "The Number 1 Ride in the World". ROS continually defeats MF not only in the Golden Tickets but also in the much more accurate Mitch's Poll (an online coaster poll highly respected among enthusiasts) each year. We had to know what all the fuss was about.

So we came up with the idea of riding both coasters within a 12 hour span.

We started off leaving GA on a Tuesday night, driving all night to a small coaster place known as 6 Flags Great Adventure (sic) with a couple of "decent" coasters. I have done my El Toro and Nitro reviews so there is no need to get into them. Kingda Ka was great but still a slight disappointment in my book. Anyway, we stayed for 4 hours and then took off up the interstate with our google directions taking us to Agawam. In between, we worked our way across the George Washington Bridge in 5 O'clock traffic in which 12 lanes on one side of the toll booth were being funnelled into 4 lanes on the other side. We think of this incident fondly as "The GW Car Orgy".

This put us seriously behind schedule but we decided to head up to Superman anyway. By the time we got there, they were not even taking up money for parking anymore so with our passes riding Superman cost us nothing but gas to get up there. We were able to get in 7 rides in 90 minutes. We rode absolutely nothing else in the park. We did not even walk around the park. We went straight to Superman, rode it until they made us leave, and then made it out to our car. We then drove another 8 hours to Sandusky (where we stayed for a couple of days in an actual hotel room with a bed to sleep in instead of a car with duffle bags as pillows in the back seat).

Ok how about the ride? It is as great as everyone says it is. It offers unbelievable airtime, particularly in the back seat. It is smooth as silk. The pacing never lets up from the first drop into the tunnel, all the way through the airtime hills going back, around the helix, into the mist-filled tunnel and over the camelback humps at the end. It is virtually a perfect ride with a wonderful view of the park (it was the only way we were able to see the entire park) and the river. We wanted to ride the front but with our limited time along with the huge line (about 20 extra minutes) we decided to get as many laps as possible. Plus on Intamin hypers, the second seat is almost as good since the seats on the back rows of each car are elevated. We were in the line for the 3rd seat but ended being offered the seats in the second row due to a group wanting to ride together.

My favorite part of the ride is probably a part however that does not even contain any airtime. The helix that takes you on a dive into a refreshing tunnel of mist was probably the part I looked forward to the most on each lap. As far as airtime, which is what the coaster is about, the hill on the way back from the overbanked turnaround which takes your picture (I dont remember if it is the 2nd or 3rd) has the sickest amount of the entire ride. You are absolutely ejected from your seat on this portion.

In conclusion, Superman ranks in my top 5 (although it is virtually tied with Millennium Force in my opinion...it may even be a little better but read my MF review and you can see why I list it as # 1) and deserves its Golden Ticket. Intamin has a winner with this one without a doubt. I look forward to getting back up to Agawam and checking it out again.

Overall Rating - 10

Ride the # 1 ranked coaster in the world below.