Long Time No Post / 8-21 Enchanted Village

I was in Seattle for a friend's wedding and I managed to slip away for a few hours to hit up Enchanted Village. It's pretty obvious that the water park is the real draw at this park, which is a good thing for a coaster enthusiast. I got there a few minutes after 10 and already had my discount ticket purchased from a alocal Safeway, so I strolled right in. $12 for parking, ouch.

The saying goes "Ride early, ride often," and thats just what I did. First up was Wild Thing, a standard Arrow loop & corkscrew. For an aging & relocated ride of this nature, it was fairly smooth, only one real jolt exiting the corkscrews. For some reason they were giving double rides, not sure if this is standard on that ride or only because it was early and there was no wait. 2 laps.

Next was the Kiddie Coaster, no maximum height, so I managed to squeeze into it for the credit. There are some wicked laterals from the front seat on this, which took me by surprise. It's actually worthwile for that reason. 4 laps.

Klondike Gold Rusher would have a delayed opening, so I skipped it for now and went to the main attraction of the park, Timberhawk: Ride of Prey. As you probably know, T:ROP was S&S's first attempt at a wooden coaster, and for a first go at it, they did pretty well. The layout was difficult to see in pictures, as I couldn't find (or didn't look too hard) one online. That can be a good thing because you may actually be surprised by something, which I was. The layout is basically a double out and back, but with a few crossovers along the way, which provide a bit more interest than a standard double out & back. The first drop has good air from the back, and excellent feeling of speed from the front. There are good "frontal air" moments in the front, and some good "rear-seat air" moments from the back, which makes for a somewhat dead experience (airtime wise) from the middle. The speed is kept up well throughout the ride and the ride is very smooth for a woodie. It won't break into my top 10, but it definately is the highlight of the park and worth the price of admission, well the discounted price at Safeway, anyhow. 6 laps.

I backtracked to Klondike Gold Rusher, which is a basic Zamperella Wild Mouse. It ran untrimmed and was nice a nd fast all the way through the final turns. Those final turns are the best part, great lats and you can hear the wheels straining to maintain their grip. 1 lap.

I only had a few hours, so that was it for me. This was the first new park I have visited in quite a while, and despit its small size, I'm glad I got back in the saddle.