IJST: 'Mini' Review
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So today PKI had their Season Passholder sneak of IJST (which is still going on in the cold drizzle as I type), so I thought I might as well start this thread (since a trip report would be overkill).
Overall impression: Nice family ride which will thrill those who are riding with kids. My impression? I'd wait no more than 1/2 hour for it personally, but since it's one of the few rides in the park I can fit in, it's nice to have around.
I rode twice, in the two primo spots: very front, and very back. I was extremely lucky as it looks like they assign seats on this ride.
The good:
- Launch into spiral garage is fantastic, and easily the best part of the ride. Lots of G's and fun. Same for the tunneled section of the ride (the G's part).
- I FIT!! If you only knew how much of a pain it was to get into (Premier trains on) SOB or FOF for me (neither of which I can ride anymore... 6'4" / 260lbs due to my height and leg room mostly), then you'll be glad to know, this is heaven in leg room comparably. BUT, if you are tall, ask to sit in the front section of a car. The back of each car has a jutted out speakerbox, and it's hell on the knees.
- Airtime in the front, speed in the back.
- Very efficient running two trains today, but the crowds were extremely light due to rain and pass restriction for entrance to the park. I'm not sure if adding a third train to the run will speed up loading that much though.
- The Mini's are comfortable, and the left side door is a nice touch.
- If the effects wear down over time, you won't miss much, so it won't affect its longevity.
- You will get wet on this ride. Well, in a TR:TR kind of way.
The bad:
- The queue line is WAY short. I expect that the line will either creep in front of the bathrooms, blocking them, or will block Happy Days diner during busy days.
- The soundtrack. It's there, but do I remember it? Nope. It's too quiet. It's a rock theme, but the only things I heard were something about 'Quiet on the set' before the launch, and 'Cut' after the ride ends. That's it.
- The spalshdown is a small trickle, but since you don't notice it while riding, it's moot.
- The tunneled section was supposed to have 'surprises'. The only 'surprise' I saw were the working head/tailights on the Minis. It's still fun, twisting and turning in there, but if you expect effects... forget it.
- Unnoticable 'fishtailing'. I couldn't tell in the front, I couldn't tell in the back. Maybe it was me, but I paid attention for it, and didn't feel anything that resembled 'fishtailing', per se.
- No 'jackhammer' staircase effect for subway entrance. Either it's not there, or it wasn't turned on. It doesn't effect the ride, but that section doesn't add anything more than a dip into the helicopter scene.
Overall, it'll please families a bunch, and I heard a lot of families loving the thing (especially kids), but the enthusiast might be a little jaded after riding depending on your mood. Me? I'm thrilled to have a launched coaster to ride again, so no real complaints here. Just don't go in expecting Mummy, or something, and you'll have a good time.
-Chris *** Edited 4/29/2005 11:45:35 PM UTC by Chris Rettig***
Considering how awful USH's Mummy is I'd hope no one expects a ride of that caliber. IJSR has to be better ;)
I know they do that at SFDL on Shipwreck Falls.
We really enjoyed the ride. Its not the huge, thrilling coaster we were hoping for, but it was still fun and entertaining. The tunnel at the end, and the splashdown were a great finish to the ride. We were also wondering about the effects on the staircase.
Overall, we really liked the ride...We wouldn't wait any more than an hour for it, but it is a great addition to PKI. *** Edited 4/30/2005 3:40:44 AM UTC by coastertigger***
Also, I thought the queue line was pretty long. Did you not have to walk through all those zig-zags on the side near the Beast bathrooms or were they even using those tonight?
-Sean
These were soft openings so not everything was working. I got a bunch of rides in due to the fact that you could just walk back up and get more tickets to ride.
Hi.....whats your name again?
Ride of Steel said:
This is just a guess, but don't be surprised if they add more water to the splash pool to make the splashes bigger when it's hotter out.I know they do that at SFDL on Shipwreck Falls.
Well I'm not so sure about this one, seeing as how the splash area is very shallow before the turnaround back to the station. But you could be right. It might've been that way just for the tech. rehearsal.
Oh a couple of points I missed....
- I didn't notice a third launch out of the billboard either. It seemed like there was enough speed after the dive from the helicopter, through the tunnel, to get the train out of the billboard without an extra launch.
- Be prepared to be bored in line by the televisions showing behind the scenes footage of Italian Job. Over and over and over and...
- I'm not sure where it takes your on-ride picture from. It looked like either the helicopter scene or the helix.
- The turns are tight (good thing). It felt like a mouse in spots.
- The most air that you get is from coming through the billboard, and the top of the hill right after the 'overbank' turn.
- If you sit in the front car, you won't see much of the helicopter scene, and you are most likely NOT to get wet. The opposite is true for the back car. Middle car, best of both worlds.
-Chris
Favorite things: the trains - they are cool. I love the opening doors and such. They are also very comfortable. I also like the speakers even if the soundtrack is lackluster.
Least favorite things: Length - it is a very short ride. Or at least it feels that way. That is about it really.
Overall, I like the ride. I would rank it as my 3rd favorite ride at PKI behind The Beast and Delirium and firmly ahead of their other coasters.
Sean Flaharty said:
Also, I thought the queue line was pretty long. Did you not have to walk through all those zig-zags on the side near the Beast bathrooms or were they even using those tonight?-Sean
We just ducked under before we got to the zig zags. There were never more than 20 or so people in line.
Sean Flaharty said:
One thing that should be noted about the effects is the fishtailing and stair effect can be turned off when needed as with the other effects. Since the ride is in "technical rehearsal" mode, all the effects are being tweaked and some aren't being used just yet. The park plans on having everything up to par by the 19th of next month.Also, I thought the queue line was pretty long. Did you not have to walk through all those zig-zags on the side near the Beast bathrooms or were they even using those tonight?
-Sean
Yeah I realized the 'tech rehearsal' aspect, I just thought they might run through all the effects. Not that I am complaining, I just didn't notice them as noted. I also don't think they'll add much to the ride when they're finally turned on (fishtailing, maybe... jackhammering, doubtful).
They opened one line of the zigzag queue, because that's all that was needed tonight (being so dead as it was). I thought that the queue itself looked really small though. Even if they open all the zigzag lines, I can forsee the line being forced into the midway during a busy weekend day in the summer. The queue is about the size of the outdoor TR:TR queue, but it just doesn't seem that big. Maybe an optical illusion. :)
pyrocoasterkid said:
Unless I missed someone's mention of it, I dont see any mention of it: was the "stair" bouncing effect there?
"- No 'jackhammer' staircase effect for subway entrance. Either it's not there, or it wasn't turned on. It doesn't effect the ride, but that section doesn't add anything more than a dip into the helicopter scene."
It wasn't turned on today.
According to what I'm reading above, the PKI opening was a soft one and weather was poor. However, tonight at PCW, the place was packed. At flag drop, we ran to IJ and made it pretty close to the station. We waited just under 30 mins to ride. Coming off, the entire queue was jammed, and was spilling out towards Minebuster. With two train opreation at PCW as well, 3 hours was the quoted wait time with a full queue.
None of the sound or special train effects were running at PCW. But I wasn't fussed by that. I really enjoyed the ride. I found it short, too short. But overall, it's tons of fun. The launch has great G's and the under-ground portion was great. I wish there weren't breaks at the bottom of the last hill (coming out of the bill board) it feels like you could get great air there, but are slowed too quickly.
Coming out of the bill board you can see a LIM panel inside there that the train obviously passes through, but I agree with comments above, any boost here is minimal and you can't really tell.
Capacity was a nightmare at PCW tonight. It will be mobbed all summer long. I hope that three train operation can improve their riders per hour.
I noticed that this slowed down the throughput as well, since if people are getting off the ride, they have to wait until everyone is off the ride and through the exit gate to put an empty train into the station.
People were packed like sardines in the unload area every time someone got off the ride. If someone is taking their time getting off the ride, then dispatchers have no choice but to hold the train until everyone is through the gate, even if there are no people on the train and the station is empty.
I think that they might have to extend the helicopter scene a little bit for true 3 train operation due to the shallow exit area.
Between a small queue and the exit area, there will probably be really long waits for the ride this year.
The fish-tailing and subway effect were both off. And like everyone else, I didn't notice the third boost out of the billboard. I'm looking forward to when everything is working so I can experience the total package.
I'd really like to see someone do a side-by-side comparison to see which one edges out the other in terms of the look, feel, and experience if they get to both parks.
They're identical in the ride & theming... but the queue line & other minor differences might seperate the two... along with what may seem like a more or less powerful launch & if effects "seem" better at one vs. the other.
I must say i cannot wait to ride this on sunday
The only major difference at PCW is the location of the ride. It's hidden well back behind Minebuster, and the only place you can see the track and ride elements, is if you're in queue right near the station, or if you're on the ride. We'll have to see what the view of it is from Splash Works this summer, as you may be able to see more from there.
From what I've heard of PKI's, it's quite open, and can the track and elements can be seen from most sides. I love the positioning and entry to it at PCW, you can see from the pics in the link above. In
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