Best Ride to Ride at Night

SFMM's Goliath in the dark and Colossus Backwards in the dark both during Fright Fest

First a quick chuckle sent out to mOOSH. "cigarette and Kleenex"....I was in stitches.

Votes for me are Raptor, which virtually seems faster at night than in the afternoon. The elements seem to create off balance sensations that I don't get earlier in the day.

Beast and Legend at night, no question.

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Pale Rider said:
I was just getting to the end of this thread and was like "How has nobody said Rampage yet?", until I just saw Steve mention it. I've ridden allmost all of the U.S. heavyweight woodies out there in the dark and the one that for me has the most startling day to night transformation is Rampage. It literally becomes a different coaster as the darkness falls. Ah man, now I'm getting fired up for RRR again in June.

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I was just thinking the same thing, b/c Rampage doesn't have any lights at all unlike most of those coasters mentioned above. Sneak-A-Peek weekend will be my first time on this beast this year.

There is truely nothing better than the Beast at night, especially if the park is open later than 10PM and the cool air of the night is starting to set in back in the woods! LOVE IT!

timmyk

Magnum, with a cool breeze off the lake.

Raging Bull, no doubt about it - especially that drop into the tunnel. In fact, the first time I rode it, it was at night - that drop freaked me out!

The Boss

The Beast.

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timmyk said:
There is truely nothing better than the Beast at night, especially if the park is open later than 10PM and the cool air of the night is starting to set in back in the woods! LOVE IT!

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Last year at BeastBuzz the Beast ERT lasted till after 1am :)

And to tie CB events and night rides together, I'd like to mention Talon. The whole thing is (or at least feels) markedly faster after the sun goes down - almost to a ridiculous level in comparison.

Good reason to make it to CoasterBuzz Con in May. :)

Other than that - all the usual suspects mentioned repeatedly in this thread.

Rampage YES! Way out of control during Scare Fest 2003. Actually, it had a red light under one dip, and I think a few others under the track elsewhere, but they were subtle. It really is a different ride at night.

Take the best steelie and turn off the lights and you'll need a cigarette and a kleenex after each ride. Its THAT good.

That was, by far, the funniest (filthiest, most gorgeous ;)) think you've ever said. And you're a funny guy! I'm glad I wasn't drinking when I read that.

For me=Thunderhead (the best) and Swamp Fox (mmmm, wood and the beach).

Ghostrider and Bullet were both good at nite, Matterhorn was better at nite, Xcel was better at nite, and Beast is always good at nite.

There are a lot of good coasters at nite. But Thunderhead and Swamp Fox are the real thing at nite.

Wooden coasters just seem to give better rides at night as a rule, but in this category I would have to say that Beast and Legend top the category for me. The night rides we had on Beast for BeastBuzz last year were nothing short of amazing. Legend at night is a religious experience, nuff said.

As far as steel is concerned, I think Magnum takes the award for that category. It's even better when they take off the trims at night, which CP has been known to do. Millenium Force is pretty good, too.

For flat rides, nothing will ever beat my nighttime Delirium rides an Kings Island. Seeing the Eiffel Tower all lit up, upside down, was just an awesome experience.

While I think that The Legend is the best coaster I've ridden day *or* night, the "Most Improved by Darkness" award, IMO, goes to little sister Raven. That *5th hill-mist-"S"turn* especially in the backseat is an experience to treasure.

After that, I'd have to say S:ROS @ SFA in the pitch-black is amazing. Even that much maligned straight track before the 3rd hill is more exciting.

lata, jeremy

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thrillerman1 said:
Rampage YES! Way out of control during Scare Fest 2003. Actually, it had a red light under one dip, and I think a few others under the track elsewhere, but they were subtle. It really is a different ride at night.

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Notice you were talking about "Scarefest," they don't usually have any lights on regular nights. Yeah, I realized years ago that after the track cools the trains fire can roll free of resistance from the heated track of the day. This is what gives it the faster ride ever.

I will say the MF at night is insane... my first ever ride on it was at night I was wondering what was going on for the whole ride. No clue where it was going or how high or low we were just knew i was at the top of hills when i had a great view of Lake Erie with boat lights.

As for wooden coasters.. ride Phoenix during PPP at night and i was praying i wouldn't come out of the car. Twister on the same nights is plain wild you don't know when to brace and just get slammed into the laterals. Now maybe if i get lucky this year these may change since.... Legend, Raven and Beast are all on my hope to hit list this season.

I'll list a few in a couple categories.

Wood- The Beast. As said before there is nothing better than racing through the woods when it is pitch black.

Steel- Millenium Force. Any ride on this is a good one, but have fond memories of my night ride on it.

Surpise to me- Superman at Six Flags America. I could not believe how dark it was when I rode this one.

Sentimental- Thunderbolt at Kennywood. This one is the coaster I have the most night rides on by a long shot.

Incidentalist said:
A seat on Big Shot facing the strip is amazing at night.

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I was thinking the same thing but actually X-Scream, nothing like looking over the edge at night and seeing Vegas lit up.

I also have to concur on the Big Shot comment (Im a pre X-Scream Vegas visitor:() bouncing up and down looking at the strip and hearing "Viva Los Vegas" is a scene I will never forget.

Well at least I'm starting to get agreement on the Strat. Airtime at 1000 feet with a view like that is one of a kind.

My view on X-Scream wasn't the best as I was in the second to last row. I'm not going to make that mistake again. If you're going to ride X-Scream, ride in the front row. I could see working your way up to the front row if you purchased multiple rides, but I pretty much wasted my single ticket. Still fun, but it loses a lot when you're in the back.

- In no particular order -

Tsunami - During it's opening month, this ride was a blur in the dark. The boards flying past your head look so much closer when your depth-of-field is disappearing.

Ghostrider - I am with Moosh on this one. This ride is aggressive, crazy, fast, and damn good. But ... it is not rough.

Thunderbolt - Diving into the ravine for the last drop seems to take an eternity in the dark.

I will also leave out the Beast. With it's floodlights and magnetic castration, it is not quite what it used to be.