PKI First Time (Part 2: Rivertown)

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The Beast:

I was SO excited for this ride. My entire life I had seen it on TV and read about it in books. I couldn’t believe that I was actually on one of the trains ready to take a ride on the world’s longest wooden coaster. The lift hill is really slow on this ride. I was surprised about that. I thought the sound effects were really good. They were a bit loud but they added another element to the ride. We went over the first drop (which wasn’t very steep) and into the tunnel. Once we emerged from the tunnel we were hurled into the woods. The second drop was pretty good too and the speed going through the break shed was constant. That was until we hit the very end. The brakes in the shed were pretty powerful and slowed the train down a great deal. Upon exiting the break shed we took a right turn and flew down into a tunnel. The tunnel was pretty long. After that were some quick turns and dips before the second lift hill. At this point in the ride I was a little disappointed. The ride was pretty bumpy and the trims slowed it down WAY too much. At this point I had seen nothing overly fantastic about the ride and didn’t think I would. After riding Son of Beast I figured The Beast’s helix wouldn’t be all that great. Boy was I wrong…

Getting off the second lift hill is a bit of a process. It’s VERY slow. Pretty soon though you’re careening at an angle toward what seems to be a really small hole. The fear that you will not fit quickly runs through your mind. Then all of a sudden… TRIMS. That is something I was not expecting. They were really noticeable on the decent into the helix. Anyway… once we started to pick up speed again we were hurled into the most intense element on any coaster I’ve ever ridden. The helix was AMAZING. The speed was crazy and the tunnels gave the illusion that you were going even faster. The helix was rough but PERFECT. If it was smooth I would have hated it. It was just the right vibrations. What a way to end the ride.

Intensity: +5

Negative G’s: 0

Positive G’s: +2

Laterals: +5

Speed: +5

Overall Ride Rating: +4

We decided that since we were right next to it, Tomb Raider would be a good idea. As we were walking through the entrance the lady stopped me and said I couldn’t take my bag in. Okay, no problem. She had quite a few bags that she was holding for people right next to her so I said, “Oh okay, can you hold this for me?” To my surprise she responded, “No I don’t have anymore room. You’ll have to use a locker.” WHOA. First of all, she had PLENTY of room. She was already holding at least 5 bags and there was certainly room for more. Second, even if there wasn’t any room, she should hold all bags or no bags. Isn’t that discriminatory action or something? So we spent 75 cents on a locker. It’s not the money it’s the principal of the thing. As we were waiting in line, we saw a few people walking into the entrance with a bag. The lady told them they couldn’t take it with them but she said she would hold it for them. I WAS FUMING. My friend and I were dead set on filing a complaint but never got around to it.

Tomb Raider: The Ride:

This themeing for this ride is really great. Too bad the ride itself always breaks down. My friend, who had been to the park before, said it’s not the ride that breaks down but instead, the huge themed door. We finally got in and watched the pre-show. It was nice except for the drunken man making noises and grabbing pieces of the themeing. Walking into the main room was crazy. The sheer size of the top spin was breath taking. We got lucky and sat in the front row. After a rather long loading process the ride began. The way this ride fits in with the themeing is AMAZING. I especially loved the icicles and the water effects. I was one of the people in the front row to get wet. It was really fun. Everyone seemed to like it but the girls had one complaint. They said that although it was a good ride, it felt like their faces were going to explode. RRRIIIGGGHHHTTT…

Intensity: +4

Positive G's: +4

Negative G's: +4

Spinning: +3

Speed: +4

Overall Ride Rating: +4

Next we headed toward White Water Canyon. On the way there we stopped to take a bathroom break. As we did I realized we were right next to Runaway Reptar. I expressed my desire to go on it but my friends shot it down. They kind of voted against all of the kiddie coasters. That included the following: Runaway Reptar, Scooby Doo’s Ghoster Coaster, Taxi Jam and The Beastie. This was disappointing. My friends are evil!

White Water Canyon:

If you thought Top Gun’s queue was long, you obviously haven’t been on this ride. I thought we had entered Kentucky by the time we made it to the ride. The ride itself was good… if it’s 100 degrees. You get SO wet on this ride. The evil spray guns at the end really did us in. Overall I enjoyed the ride. Then again, I stayed the driest. This is the point in our day where the trip started to go downhill.

Intensity: +1

Wet Factor: +4

Fun: +3

Overall Ride Rating: +3

First of all, try going to a park with a bunch of whining girls complaining their crotches are wet. Please! I had to listen to that till… well I STILL am listening to it. Anyway… I really wanted to hit up Vortex so we headed to that next. The line for this ride moves very fast and the ride itself is beautiful. This is another one of those rides that a photo cannot do justice. As we were in line I saw Flying Eagles and told my friends I really wanted to ride it. Unfortunately we never got around to it.

Vortex:

Personally, I loved this ride. Yes it’s an old arrow with horrendous transitions but still, it had good forces and a great location. The first two loops were wonderful. They were intense and smooth. The corkscrews were also very smooth and were maneuvered through slowly. The boomerang / batwing element was a little rough but not too bad and the helix was a nice intense finish. Overall, I was the only one who liked this ride. My friends HATED it. They thought it was just like the Stemin’ Demon (The Great Escape) but bigger.

Intensity: +4

Negative G’s: +2

Positive G’s: +4

Transitions: -5 (They don’t get much worse than this).

Speed: +3

Overall Ride Rating: 0

EVERYONE wanted to ride the indoor launching one. A few of my friends had been to MGM Studios and I made the mistake of telling them that Flight of Fear was similar to Rockin’ Rollercoaster. The ride itself is kind of in the middle of nowhere. You walk under the racer and there you are, in a rather desolate area. We walked into the queue only to find it was an hour wait. I didn’t care. I knew if we said we would ride later we wouldn’t and I there was NO WAY I was going to miss this ride.

Stay tuned…

*** Edited 5/2/2004 11:30:28 PM UTC by rentzy17***