SFGAm(8-18) The Impulse curse has been broken!!!!
Associated parks:
None
It was a beautiful sunny Sunday afternoon. It wasn’t too hot. It wasn’t too cold. It was one of those days you could look back on and say it was a perfect day. My day up through the afternoon could be considered perfect as well. It was spent at one of my favorite amusement parks on the planet with my favorite person on the planet, my wife Shannon. We had lazed through the park the entire day, riding this and that and not really worrying about not getting to ride that and this.
That all changed when I saw the familiar yellow spikes up ahead. On a normal day at the park for me, those two spikes would be eerily silent like two monoliths standing vigil over the park. Today, however, the two spike’s silence was upended when a train carrying 26 passengers climbed up and down them several times.
Yes, today Vertical Velocity was open. For the first time after many repeated attempts to ride this giant steel yellow ‘U’ I was going to be able to ride. Many excuses had held me back before. Many times the ride wasn’t even open. Other times, a three-hour line stood in my way and my non-coaster riding wife’s patience did not hold three hours in it. Today, however, I held to ticket to get past the obstacle of a two-hour line. It was called Fast Pass and it was good.
I parted from my wife and entered the short line to thrills and excitement. I believe I heard my wife say to me as I left, “I can’t believe you are going on that thing.” That is when I saw my first V2 launch up close.
The coaster screamed out of the station. It was hard to discern at first whether the screams were that of the riders or of the giant magnets used to propel the train up the first twisted spike. I looked on in amazement as the train went half way up the twisted forward spike and then gently fell backwards again and into the magnets only to be propelled faster.
The train rocketed backwards up the rear straight and vertical spike. As it neared the top and began it’s decent back towards the station I heard several people exclaim their fear to get on the ride now. “Hell no.” “You have to be kidding me.” “You want me to ride that.” My thoughts exactly.
The train rocketed back through the station and was pushed again by the magnets and back up the forward twisted spike. My heart was beginning to pound so hard that I could now feel every beat through my entire body.
Backwards again and up the back spike. This time the train actually stopped on the spike! After a brief moment, the train was again falling towards terra firma only to level out and through the station. The chorus of “Oh Hell No” was growing now. A few people actually left the line I was in. I nearly considered it as well but then realized that I had been on many coasters in my day. How could this one be any worse?
The train made the rest of its trip by coasting up the front spike a final time and then back into the station. The line started moving again as more passengers were loaded into the train and sent on their way.
Eventually I was up on in the station platform and I picked a row in the middle to conquer this ride for the first time. My heart now felt like it was going to beat out of my chest.
One train left and I was going to be on. My pulse raced faster and faster as the train came whooshing through the station with each pass. I wanted so much to turn back and flee.
“Next twenty six riders watch your step as you board, “ said a ride op over the loudspeaker. She was talking to me. I had to go forward. I had to get on this ride now. I climbed up into the seat and pulled down the harness. I tried as hard as I could to get the buckle on the side to reach but alas I could not do it. I thought to myself, “a possible escape.” I could go home with the knowledge that I was just too big and couldn’t ride and I wouldn’t feel so bad for really chickening out.
A ride-op came and pushed on the restraint and got the buckle in. I was trapped. There was now no turning back. I was going to ride Vertical Velocity whether I wanted to or not.
“Please keep your hands and arms in the train at all times and hold on to any loose articles especially hats and glasses, “ said the ride-op over the speaker.
It was almost time to go. I gripped the restraint as hard as I could. I could feel sweat running down my body from the stress.
“Clear to launch, “ said another ride-op over the loudspeaker.
I heard the magnets engage. I knew we were going.
A sound of screaming filled the station. Instantly I was thrown back into my seat and being propelled forward at amazing velocity. A few four-letter words escaped my mouth as we entered the first spike. We pitched upwards and suddenly I was on my back looking straight up at the car in front of me and I could see part of the track spirally up ahead of me. I didn’t get much more of a look as the whole world seemed to fall away and I was falling backwards and into the station.
I knew this was one of the parts I was most scared about. Going up the back spike. The train sped up as we hit the magnets again and suddenly I was looking straight down at the ground and the pool of water underneath me was getting smaller and smaller. I had the courage to look around a bit. It was really quite a view. This wasn’t too bad.
Suddenly I was falling again and rocketing back through the station and up the forward spike. I had no twist on the first trip up the spike but this time I did. It was an odd sensation being turned around in a circle going straight up into the air and then experiencing the whole thing in reverse again.
As the train flew backwards through the station, I was heading towards the part I was dreading the most; the infamous holding brake. My pulse was racing and the sweat increased as we flew up the back spike. Suddenly everything stopped. I was expecting to fall forward into the restraints but because I was so stapled into the ride because of my size, I had nowhere to fall. It wasn’t a bad thing at all. Actually I liked it a lot.
“Woo-hoo, “ I yelled. It was one of those woo-hoo’s you yell when there was enormous stress and you just overcame it.
The rest of ride was going to be easy and I knew it. I also realized then that this was an excellent ride and that I really did have fun on it. As I was shot through the station a final time and up the spike I actually began to have fun and yell out more woo-hoos. As the train slowed down again in the station I knew then that this was a ride that I would ride many times into the future.
Walking tall and proud I strode down the exit way and back into the midway. My wife shook her head at me when she saw my grin from ear to ear. “I still can’t believe you went on that thing.”
So that is it. My impulse curse is over! After 3 different parks, numerous visits, and no rides, I finally got on one! Was it the best ride I have ever been on? No. After getting a second ride and riding this time for fun, I realized that the ride was just back and forth and didnt offer the same excitement found on a full circuit coaster. I will definately ride V2 again as well as other impulses.
One quick question to those that have rode both this and Wicked Twister. I had difficulty getting into the seat on V2 and I have heard that WT's restraints are smaller. I even tried the test chair and belt didnt go even as far as I got it yesterday on V2 although I have now heard some say that the belt on the test chair is a tad short. Bottom line. Might I fit in WT or should I not even try?
That said, the rest of the trip was standard. I have probably exceeded my SFGAm trip report limit for the year anyways but I just wanted to share the good news.
Just a side note, I talked to someone in Guest Relations about Deja Vu(I was in there for a different matter, I didnt go in there to specifially ask about a ride closure) and they said it will probably be open again Labor Day weekend at the earliest.
EDIT: WHy is that when ever you copy and paste from a word processor that all the paragraphs get removed?
-----------------
Bob Hansen
A proud CoasterBuzz Member
"So you think your'e really brave, gonna see the DEMONS cave.
You silly dude, your'e only food, for the DEMON"
*** This post was edited by Kick The Sky on 8/19/2002. ***
-----------------
Le roi est mort. Vive le roi.
Thanks Great America!
Kick The Sky said:
EDIT: WHy is that when ever you copy and paste from a word processor that all the paragraphs get removed?
-----------------
Bob HansenA proud CoasterBuzz Member
"So you think your'e really brave, gonna see the DEMONS cave.
You silly dude, your'e only food, for the DEMON"*** This post was edited by Kick The Sky on 8/19/2002. ***
If it was from notepad you didn't have wordwrap selected.
-----------------
This is a message from don corleone it says lucabratzi sleeps with the fishes.
If it was from notepad you didn't have wordwrap selected.-----------------
Actually it was done in Microsoft Word and then copied and pasted. I like to use Word for my TRs because I am a horrible speller and Word has a very nice spell checker in it.
-----------------
Bob HansenA proud CoasterBuzz Member
"So you think your'e really brave, gonna see the DEMONS cave.
You silly dude, your'e only food, for the DEMON"
You should have went to SFGAM when I did. My compelling presence alone healed both V2 and Deja Vu. Later on that week my presence was enough to heal S:UF @ SFWOA by about 2 pm. I also healed LoCoSuMo the following Monday--but just long enough for one ride. Only Wicked Twister was evil enough to resist my power....
-'Playa
(layin' hands on a coaster near you)
-----------------
The CPlaya 100--6 days, 9 parks, 47 coasters, 2037 miles and a winner.....LoCoSuMo.
Kick The Sky said:
EDIT: WHy is that when ever you copy and paste from a word processor that all the paragraphs get removed?
Notice when you type in Word that you dont actually have to put 2 returns after a paragraph? When you hit return it automatically leaves a space after the paragraph. But this space isnt an actual line, if you try to type on this line you wont be able to. Word uses a typesetting feature called Space After (or Space Before) that allows you to automatically add space after (or before ) a paragraph, even though it appears as a blank line in Word, it really isnt there. It is a nice feature because it allows you to have complete control over how big this space is. But when you try to copy and paste into another program, like your browser, it will only see the space between 2 paragraphs as a single return instead of two.
This is hard to explain, hope you understand.
-------------
signature withheld for no apparent reason
-----------------
SFGAm: 1)DV 2)V2 3)AE Blue 4)Viper 5)Bull
Wow, that was an awesome read! Brought me back to the Thrillride! days of Ride Reviews. It also made me think of my first ride on SUE back in May of 2000. Front row, h o l y c r a p! I had a heart attack going to the top of the spiral spike. :)
Thanks again for that review!
-----------------
It tastes like burning.
Wicked Twister's restraints aren't necessarily smaller than V2's. They're, more or less, shaped differently.
Though I can't say I've ever had a problem fitting into the restraints (knock on wood) I do notice that WT's restraints are a little smaller in the waist area (come down further onto your legs) and a little bigger in the shoulder area, and V2's are the opposite. When you ride WT, and you are of medium size (as I am) you'll notice that it feels like the restraint is only holding you in by the tops of your legs.
-----------------
Yep... It is PICTURES now... http://www.loopscrew.com
You must be logged in to post
