5/12/06 TATSU Preview Day

Just got back from the park and can say I was definitely BLOWN away by Tatsu, and I have ridden Stealth (now BORG Assimilator) and X-Flight, and I can say Tatsu smashes those two right into the dirt. NO EFFIN' COMPETITION. Every part of the ride fit perfectly with the flow of the coaster, with no "tame" spots, and the ride starts off great, and finishes great and pulls a lot of G's and has a lot of moments with "floater time." I don't know what happened with Silver Bullet, but B&M is still at their game with this one. It is intense all the way through.

I was so worried after having followed construction so closely for months and knowing exactly where the elements were placed would completely mean for a disappointment or not meet my high expectations. Boy was I so wrong. And not only that, but to my surprise, the ride only got BETTER with each and every ride, meaning in short, it has a high re-ridability factor if you have the stomach for it. Which is completely opposite of X-Flight and Stealth (BORG). One ride for me was enough, and those two weren't fun or thrilling enough to line up again.

I thought Tatsu was going to be too short, having seen construction pictures over the course of the past few months, and have seen it in person, and was really worried about this, but it was actually "just right." I also didn't hear any complaints of it being too short from other guests, which was something I was so sure to hear (this is something you hear all the time on Batman), all I heard as each train hit the brake run was screaming, hysterical laughter, a lot of "OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD" and "WHAT THE ***** JUST HAPPENED!?" And as expected, the most talked about part of the coaster by the guests was the pretzel loop.

I rode it 21 times today (God knows why I did it), and will be back at the park this evening for the 100.3 THE BEAT event, hopefully picking up more rides at Tatsu. After the 5th or so ride, my head began to pound with a huge headache from riding Tatsu over and over and the heavy G-forces on the ride, but I still kept riding it over and over, considering a good amount of the time, some seats were not completely filled, so I just got off the ride, and hopped into another seat and went again. At around my 17th ride, I felt like I needed to barf from feeling so nauseous, but I hadn't eaten breakfast, but just drank a lot of the free complimentary bottled water.

My favorite row would probably be the very front row, I rode in each row at least once, and I have to say the back was just way too intense to do more than once. I felt my ribcage tighten against my organs during the pretzel loop and couldn't even yell out during that part. In fact, the entire ride is like that from the back row.

Thanks to Magic Mountain for also extending the preview riding time an hour longer to 1:00pm after they "closed it for the day at 12:00pm."

I give it a 10/10. My ONLY complaint, is that the bottom of the pretzel loop produces a vibration in the trains, which causes a mild discomfort, since the G's plaster your head against the headrest and the back of your head directly feels the vibrations.

My favorite parts of the coaster are cresting the top of the lift, the first drop, the corkscrew, the zero-g roll, the horseshoe curve, the inline twist, and the pretzel loop. Oh oops. Did I pretty much just sum up the entire ride? The only overrated/"meh" part was the tight overbanked turn going into the pretzel. It went by too quickly and didn't really produce any sensations, fortunately it doesn't take away from the ride by any means.

Kudos to Magic Mountain for deciding to build a Flyer up so high off the ground, unlike its predecessors -- the effect was very prominent, at parts of the ride, facing down on the treetops, it made the experience that much more thrilling. I can't imagine Superman Ultimate Flight(s) coming anywhere close to Tatsu just for this reason alone.

For those that think I'm being really biast in review, please know that I actually went into the experience with very very high expectations, and was actually bracing myself for even a slight disappointment. I thought if it could at least top X-Flight and Stealth, I would be somewhat okay with it. I couldn't have been more wrong. I'm very ecstatic about the ride. It's that awesome.

Did I forget to mention that Paul Reuben was back at the park again today, and is even more of a douche bag in person?

Glad Tatsu delivered. I saw it testing when I went last and was amazed at the pacing. Is Revolution open? I do remember seeing a section of track removed for Tat's construction. I'm heading there next week again, and I'll definitely be on it.

Revolution is back open. *** Edited 5/14/2006 1:33:13 AM UTC by person***

Although I think there are many more things the park needs before having received Tatsu it's a mute point. What's done is done and the ride looks great and, unlike some, I don't mind the placement of the ride. I was pleasantly surprised to see to many small details [i.e. the decorative rock on the footers] incorporated into the area. It seems that until a park comes along and attempts to take the records for tallest/longest/fastest flyer than SFMM has a real hit on its hands.

Had I not had so many horrible experiences at the park in the early 2000s -- resulting in my visiting only once per year the last few years to renew my annual pass so I can visit other SF parks -- I would have raced up there this weekend to ride it. I know my 8-yr-old nephew wants to go so I suspect I'll get up there sometime in June to ride it, but I'm not in any hurry.

Thanks for the review, KrAx ;)

Moosh: Although I think there are many more things the park needs before having received Tatsu it's a mute point.

Its not mute point Moosh, its moo point. You know, like a cow's opinion that no one cares about. So it's. . . .moo! ;)

(Joey Tribiani...."Friends")

*** Edited 5/14/2006 4:24:07 AM UTC by Antuan***

LOL...I was tempted to use the Friends reference, 'Tuan ;)

I rode Tatsu yesterday and enjoyed it, but didn't want to write a whole trip report. What was amazing to me is the height at which the track stays above the ground for most of the ride and the very nice steep lift. The only thing I can't figure out is the people saying it is an intense or wild ride. To me, it feels just slightly less controlled as the SUFs. The pretzel was very strong, and I really enjoyed the ultra-high helix after it, but overall, it was just a nice smooth B&M. Nothing too wild or crazy.

Of all the Mountain's coasters, it's amazing they don't really have much airtime throughout the park. In fact, California is lacking airtime at the moment with the current state of Santa Cruz's coaster.

What do you mean California lacks in airtime? Have you actually ridden SFMM's 2 classic woodies? You do that and I dare you to say that again....

Yeah I have been on both of MM's wooden coasters many times over many years, and they both lack airtime. Also, both are running very poorly this year IMO. GhostRider probably has the best air in California, and it only has really pronouced airtime at one point.

Lack of airtime in California is by no means an accident... *** Edited 5/22/2006 6:47:19 AM UTC by DWeaver***

Sorry about the sarcasm....anyone that has ridden a decent wooden rollercoaster would know that the 2 at SFMM are just a notch above a pile of wood scraps. Everytime I go to the Mountain I want to ride Psyclone because I forget how horrible it is, thinking to myself "how bad could it really be?" in result I come off the ride with regrets and a back ache. Ghost Rider on the other hand is a gem in my books.