Associated parks:
None
We arrived at the much-anticipated Boomers at around 9:30 pm, purchased our Hurricane wristbands, and set off for the much-anticipated Hurricane. Jon, being the local, had been to this nice little “park” of sorts previously, but it was Kara’s first visit. As we were waiting in line for our tickets, we looked in awe of the Skycoaster and Blender as they sucked the fear out of its many riders. We had to do it. First, though, was the Hurricane.
The queue was empty, as always, and when the train arrived in the station we hopped in the front of the back car. First time out, we wanted to see just how lax the crew was; we both rode two clicks. From the moment it left the station, Jon knew that our little woody was running exceptionally well, and we were in for a great night. This thing was an airtime machine; we didn’t touch our seats from the first drop until the final brake run. One thing that’s great about this coaster is its first drop; instead of descending right away, the track curves before dropping its riders down the 100 ft hill. This “element” so to speak provides riders with an exceptional view of the surrounding area, as well as a burst of airtime…before the first drop even begins. These bursts of incredible airtime are prevalent through the entire 110-second ride. We both agree that the finale of bunny hops into the brake run makes this coaster truly extraordinary. We went again (duh!) just taking the empty seat, which was in the center of the train. Another great ride, but we both agreed the back was still superior. On our third lap, we decided to really test the crew…they were dispatching with a visual check instead of manual checking them. We thought we were all clear with Kara riding with one click and Jon with two…but we were wrong. On the lift we came to a sudden and abrupt halt and a seemingly pissed off ride op got on her mic and yelled for some chick to put her lap bar down, that it was too high (who would do such a thing?!). So yeah, needless to say Kara felt the need to head over to the extreme opposite section of the park, for she would hang her head in shame for the rest of the evening. Jon agreed that this was the best plan.
With 3 warm up laps on Hurricane, we were ready for a new challenge. We made our way through the busy arcade to purchase our tickets for the Skycoaster and the Blender. While trying to make our way through the seemingly endless arcade, we spotted the DDR machine…we’d hit that up later. Onto the Blender. The Blender, for those of you not familiar with it, is named generically a “Skyscraper” ride, built by Gravity Works. It consists of a tower supporting another tower like structure, the way a windmill supports its “spiny things”. Each end of the spinning tower has two seats which are free rotating. It is truly an insane looking machine. So, we had a little bit of a wait, but not too bad. When it was our turn to tempt fate, we discovered that the ride op, Mr. Adaams himself, was more terrifying than anything we’d encounter that evening. To be specific, this leather-trench coated, shaved head guy with piercings did not make any facial nor verbal expressions until the last second “Don’t pull this white cord or you’ll die” warning. Unfortunately, this would not be our last encounter with him. Finally it came time for our ride to begin. We began first in the backwards rotation. Within seconds, our excitement turned to pure euphoria. We found out hands not clutching the harnesses, but flailing through the air recklessly. After about a minute of this disorienting experience, we came to a halt 180 feet in the air. While the other victims were loading, we sat there slightly rocking, checking out the marvelous views of the Hurricane and the city of Ft. Lauderdale. Jon recollected of his days sitting in this very spot, watching the Hurricane being built. After a seemingly endless 3-4 minutes the twisted piece of metal began the frontward rotation, with no warning whatsoever. This was truly insane. As we picked up speed, our sense of direction was lost and had no idea where we were in relation to the ground. It was AWESOME. We both agreed that this Skyscraper was the best pay per attraction ever, hands down. The line for the Skycoaster was seemingly endless, so we headed back over to the Hurricane.
We rode, and rode, and rode again, and again, and again for a total of 8 laps. Kara fell in love. A few days before she had gone on Gwazi, and still missed her Timbers; but she felt this coaster was as close to it as any. We headed back to brave the mighty Skycoaster. Unlike the typical Skycoaster, this had only a total of 2 towers. We waited our turn and, to our good fortune, found Mr. Happy was here to serve us again. We suited up in our pretty purple harnesses, and made our way onto the loading platform. Before we knew it, we were 100 some feet in the air…not so patiently waiting for the remaining 100 feet we still had to travel. We arrived at the top and sat there, looking at the lego-sized man to wave his hands as a signal for us to pull the ripcord. But unfortunately, he and his buddies were taking pictures of themselves on Kara’s disposable camera…it seems that they had forgotten us for a short while. The guy finally gave the signal and we pulled the cord at last. *Click* Within an instant, we were diving head first into the strategically positioned concrete slab below us… The first 50 feet or so, which consisted of pure free-fall, were indescribably amazing. As soon as we felt the cord take a hold of us and began to swing instead of fall, all fears turned to excitement, and we were ready to do it again. The swinging back and forth provided plenty of time to digest what we had just experienced. The crew removed our restraints and gave back Kara her camera with about 8 pictures gone. We were psyched and shared our enjoyment with Mr. Friendly, who, not surprisingly, gave us no such acknowledgement.
Back through the arcade, this time stopping at the DDR machine. Having heard about it on Cbuzz/GTTP we decided we had to give it a whirl. It was our first attempt, but after watching all the guests pass levels with ease, we thought it wouldn’t be too bad. Well, we were wrong. We selected the easiest level, yet we failed…miserably. Within the first 40 seconds or so we were walking away with shame. Luckily there was still a woody waiting for us that would love us regardless. So we headed back to finish our evening on the beloved Dania Beach Hurricane.
The crowds had died down, and we were ready to spend some late-night quality time with our wooden beast. Our evening goal of 15 laps was now in sight, we had 7 more laps to go. We spent the remainder of these laps hopping around the train in different seats to determine where is best. Both being back-seat lovers, we were surprised how much we enjoyed the front as well as the ejector seat in the third car. So we finished up the evening at 1:30 in the morning, and retired for the night; looking forward to our excursion to BGT later that day.
But on the TR note: WOW. I am incredibly jealous. You guys sounded like you had a friggin' amazing time. I can't wait till "'Cam'-face" comes up to Jersey for a ride on a TRUE beast...
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The Luv Monkey has spoken...
Track Record: 29 and counting...
Drachen Fire [1990-2002] "One soul is lost...too much, too late..."
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