How bad was HyperSonic XLC?

On my second trip to Fuji-Q Highland I was able to ride Dodonpa, and I really enjoyed this ride. While intense, I didn't think it was painful at all. The transitions into and out of the top hat where a little rough, but other than that, the ride was incredibly smooth. The launch was especially surprising; the acceleration was so fast I barely even noticed it. One second we're sitting on the launch track, and then an instant later we're going 107 mph. I thought the TTD launch was more intense than Dodonpa's.

So, other than being a maintenance nightmare, was XLC really as painful as some have said?

I didn't think Hypersonic was painful, but it wasn't particularly good either. Dodonpa is a much better ride. I found it smoother, AND it had more to do.

On both of my two rides on HyperSonic XLC I was unfortunately in seats where the padding on the headrest was removed and during the launch my head was forced back into the metal of the headrest rather than something soft.

The thing rattled around like a two-trailer carnival ride and stopped on the edge of a dime. I can only think of about 5 coasters I found more uncomfortable.

I actually really like H:XLC. Sure it was short. Sure it had terrible capacity. Sure it broke down a lot. But the launch and top hat were truly extreme. I don't think I have a more mind blowing 3 seconds on any ride than the launch, climb, and airtime on that ride.

I wouldn't know, waited through the queue and it broke down when we sat down!

8.3, are you saying your butt broke the ride?

I agree with Andy--the first half was fun. It was the most intense launch I've ever experienced, and the air on the top hat was ridiculous. The launch is so fast it takes a couple seconds for your brain to process what just happened. One second I'm sitting in launch position, and the next I'm looking skyward. The second half of the ride was silly...it wasn't long enough to burn off all that speed, and consequently the brakes hit hard.

I really liked Hypersonic. I was really quite fortunate to ride it, really... the only day I've ever been to KD, it was open for about 15 minutes. But I was pretty close to it when it was testing so I jumped in line and got on. Overall I really enjoyed it. Some of the turns after the tophat were a little jerky, but the launch and tophat were incredible.

I literally had bruised thighs from being sent over the top. I've never experienced any long-term pain from a ride like that (outside of general soreness from marathoning a ride).

The rought part was after the top hat. Even then, that was in the later years. I found that the first two years the ride ran great (minus all the downtime) and was fun. After they intergrated the train's nose into the first car it got rougher, then when they added more weight to the trains with the seat arm protectors it probably didn't help. The last time I rode it in 2005 it was rough after the top hat.

I remember it being a bit rough on the top hat and coming down other than that i can't complain. It ran when i was there, and it was raining the whole day. I was only at KD once so i can say i was fortunate to ride it as well. I didn't see it as a mind blowing experience, considering I had Dragster under my belt, but felt it was in the same vein literally as the dragster. It was intense at the launch, but left you with a feeling of emptiness after the ride, only because it was so short.

They should've sent the cars around a couple times!

I only road it once in its debut season but I loved it. Still the best launch Ive ever experienced.

Rode it once during my visit there in 2004. It hurt my legs, and I, along with the others that I was with, had headaches the rest of the day from being whiplashed over the top.

The launch was insane, but the top hat was too short and didn't give you a chance to really enjoy/appreciate/process the airtime. And that was pretty much it. Tack on a long line and a ridiculously loud launch when you're standing in the queue, and the overall experience wasn't the greatest.

It was a prototype, plain and simple. A basic idea that could've been perfected and expanded upon, but hasn't so far.

Wanna talk about sections of track that are just wrong? How about this one! Watching the train negotiate that was a head-scratcher.

I only got to ride it once and almost didn't get to that day. The ride was not running when we got to the park. When it finally did open, we stood in a really long line that didn't move at all. Once we got on the ride, it was over before you knew it and then they couldn't get our restraints off for about 20 minutes. The loading pad didn't have a roof and the sun was baking us. They brought us cups of ice water while we sat there waiting. To be honest, I don't even remember the ride itself much. LOL

Mamoosh said:
Wanna talk about sections of track that are just wrong? How about this one! Watching the train negotiate that was a head-scratcher.

A friend of mine said, "Someone forgot to click 'continuous roll'" (reference to No Limits).

We rode it the last year of operation on our only visit to the park. Headed there at opening and still had a little wait. The launch was great but, as for the ride, we found it painful and wouldn't have ever ridden again even if it stayed open.

What he said.