Just got back from my first trips to SFGAdv and Coney Island. The first day:
Got up at 4:30AM and got ready...left around 5:15 for SFGAdv. I ended up getting to the park around 10:30. I went straight to the Nitro line, and it was practically a walk on. I got on in 5 minutes...after I got off, I went again...another 5 minute wait. Following this, I headed over to Batman, which was a 30 minute wait. I wandered over to Skull Mountain, then the Runaway Train, followed by Medusa (twice), Roller Thunder's right side, and GASM. Did the Big Wheel, saw the water stunt show, and then headed to the Chiller, of which only Batman was running. This was the longest wait of the day at 45 minutes. Did Nitro again, then Rolling Thunder 3 more times (twice on the Left side) Ended up sandwiching a Batman ride in between two Nitro rides to finish up the evening.
Now, reports on the rides themselves:
Nitro- The first ride of the day was in the back seat, on the left edge. I got fantastic air on the first drop, and great floater air on all the rest of the hills. The helix was very intense, with a slight grey-out sensation towards the end of it. I was impressed, but I was a little disappointed after hearing so much about it. Second ride was in the second row, left side. I did not really like the ride from this position...no airtime with the exception of the first drop, and over each hill, I was almost held back. Still a great ride. I did my other 3 rides in the back row, and I never got an inside seat. The last two rides of the day, I held onto my hat instead of sitting on it, so I wasn't worried about losing when I came up. These rides were AWESOME, since I wasn't trying to hold myself in the seat. Incredible floater air on every hill, and great positive Gs at the hill bottoms and in the helix. The ride broke down twice while I was in line (on my 3rd and 4th rides), but they fixed it pretty quickly.
Batman: the Ride - Rode once in the back, and once in the front...definitely preferred the front in this ride. I've never ridden any of the Batmans, so it was original to me. I thought it was incredibly intense, but a little too short. Probably my least favorite of the B&M inverts I've ridden, but since all B&M inverts are awesome, it's still a damn good ride. All my blood rushed to my feet. :) Second time, I only waited 15 minutes total for the front.
Skull Mountain - I was surprised...this is a pretty good little indoor coaster. Great laterals. The screaming children made it interesting. ;)
Blackbeard's Lost Treasure Train - Good little family coaster. With this and Skull Mountain, the kiddies have two good rides to choose from.
Runaway Mine Train - An very surprisingly good Arrow mine train. I loved this ride. I got great airtime (sometimes painful with the metal lab bars), great laterals. It was an all-around fun ride...it blows the Mine Ride at CP out of the water.
Medusa - Rode front seat for my first ride on a floorless. Got a little of the foot chopper effect, but not much. I have to agree that the floorless coaster train adds virtually nothing to the ride experience, but it's still a good B&M looper. Great positive Gs, and incredible smoothness in the transitions. The Zero-G roll on this coaster is the single best element I've ever experienced. If the entire coaster was a drop and this 0G roll, I'd line up and ride it...WOW. Rode second time near the back...similar sensations. Great ride, but not as fun as Nitro.
Rolling Thunder - I thought this ride was just fun. while the trains go over the hills too slowly to really get any airtime, there's great laterals, and it's extremely rickety, which adds to the fun factor. This should really be counted as two coasters in the track record, as each side is NOT the same coaster. We got stopped on the lift my first ride, I think just so the ops could laugh at us..I was laughing too...the people in front of me were NOT.
GASM - The first time I've been on one of Arrow's 7 inversion beasts, and probably the last. At least for this one. The ride is beautiful, but it ends there. I have never been in so much pain on a coaster before. Every single inversion was a lesson in pain management, and even the TURNS hurt. They need to replace the rolling stock on this ride with trains that hug the track...if not, I don't think my brain can take it again.
The Chiller - Too long a wait, but a fun launch. The top hat inversion would be better if taken slower...I'd love to get hang time in the top. hehe. Anyway, I thought the best part of the ride was the inline twist coming back. I didn't have any trouble with headbanging on the ride. I rode in the last seat. Anyway, the padding seemed soft enough to help with headbanging anyway. Decent ride, but the wait was too long, considering I waited between 5-10 minutes for every other ride (except the first Batman ride of the day).
Am I forgetting anything? Hope not...anyway it was a fun day with beautiful weather. I had a great time. the park was practically empty. The longest I waited for Nitro was 25 minutes, but that was because of a 15 minute breakdown. Medusa was a 15 minute wait for the front and a 5 minute wait for anything else, but the line got long towards the end of the day...I didn't wait in it. Viper and Robin were closed.
Coney Island Cyclone - Got to CI, and after paying through the nose in bridge tolls ($13) and parking ($16.75), I got the POP wristband for Astroland. I rode the Cyclone 4 times, once in front, once in the very last seat, and twice in the front seat of the last car...my favorite position.
This ride was EVERYTHING people make it out to be. It is by far the best wooden coaster I've ever been on. I never thought such a small ride could pack such a punch. Every single drop, especially when in the last car, gave incredible airtime, with extremely hard laterals (not painful though), and a bunch of surprises. The ride simply never lets up. The drop after the second time around the far turnaround is the most surprising drop I've ever experienced. It begins dropping before you've exited the turn, so you get thrown out of your seat, pulled down, then thrown sideways from the turn. Amazing. My ride in the very last seat was a little rough and painful, but was totally out of control. I've never felt like that on any coaster. 75 years, and still one of the best coasters I've ever ridden. It the POP wristband didn't have a 3 ride limit on the Cyclone, I'd have ridden 12-15 times. As it was, I paid the $4 to re ride after my last seat ride, and moved to the front seat last car for my final ride. I haven't yet been on a CCI woodie, but if they're like this, I'll have a new favorite manufacturer.
I rode the Enterprise and the Water Flume, as well as the revolving tower. I didn't go over and ride the Wonder Wheel, because I was running short of cash, and I didn't really feel like it. And darnit! I forgot to go ride the Merry Go Round with the brass rings!! I just realized that. D'OH. Guess I'll have to make another trip to CI. :)
So ends a very long trip report...I'll have pics soon. (I took some fantastic shots with my digital camera...I'll post them on my new coaster pics website that I'll be opening this week)
Jman
*** This post was edited by Jman on 6/19/2001. ***
Great trip and,im glad you had a decent time at Sfgadv :) Now you have me very excited about going to ride the Cyclone at CI this year!!I am going next month and can't wait thanks to reading your TR .
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~*Rickyswmn*~
Have fun next month! I'm sure you'll enjoy it. Bring lots of cash, though...it's a ton of money for one coaster and a few flat rides.
Jman
the great american scream machine in 1995 was the smoothest ride ever! sometime after that it got painfully rough. too bad you did not ride it then.
*** This post was edited by Pinto on 6/22/2001. ***
