SILVER DOLLAR CITY AND CEDAR POINT BACK TO BACK

Most of my trips to theme parks tend to be rather hectic due to the flight schedules involved. The primary purpose of my latest trip was to ride Outlaw Run and Gatekeeper, and the only flight schedule I could find that would allow me to do Silver Dollar City one day and Cedar Point the next gave me a window of only about 5 hours to spend at each park.

After arriving at Silver Dollar City at opening time on June 6, I had to wait for three trams to get one to take me to the park's entrance. The fact that so many people were there so bright and early did not bode well for being able to get on a ride without a wait, but the other folks must have had a different agenda from mine because there was only a short wait to get on Outlaw Run. The queue was such that I managed to get in six rides, and these were six of the best and most memorable rides of my life. What a wild ride! I never thought I'd ride anything that I considered to be on a par with El Toro, but Outlaw Run is exactly that. The 81-degree drop was awesome and the double barrel roll almost blew me away. The airtime was so good that at one point I seemed to be in danger of losing my shirt.

Outlaw Run was followed by rides on Wildfire and Powder Keg. I thought that Wildfire was a cut above other coasters of similar design, and liked the fact that the first drop is straight down rather than at an angle such as is the case on most steel loopers. Powder Keg was a fun, compressed-air launch coaster although I can't say that it blew me away.

Coaster Mania at Cedar Point proved to be somewhat disappointing because of the limited time I had to spend there. Because attendees had ERT on Gatekeeper from 9 to 10am, I expected to be able to get right on, but it turned out to be about a 4o-minute wait. It was worth the wait, however. I thought that Gatekeeper was excellent and superior to Wild Eagle. From there it was on to my all-time #3 favorite, Millennium Force, where I had to wait for the better part of an hour to get on despite the fact that the park had just opened to the general public. After Millie, I had time for only two more rides, so opted for one that I like a lot (Maverick, 40-minute wait) and one that would have the shortest wait time. I had never ridden Raptor and the line seemed to be moving pretty fast so I went for it and am glad I did. What a fun ride!

After Raptor, I had only enough time to stand in yet another line to get my Gatekeeper jacket (one of the perks of attending Coaster Mania) and unfortunately, by this time they had run out of everything but large and extra large, so I had to settle for a large even though I take a small. It's a pretty cool jacket with zipper pockets but I look like a linebacker in it so will probably take it to a tailor and have it altered.

As rushed as this trip was, I consider it a success insofar as I accomplished what I set out to accomplish: i.e., ride two of the most eagerly anticipated coasters to open in 2013.

About the shirt- mine blew straight up on every ride I took. Now, while the rest of you endeavor to get that picture out of your head, I'll go ahead and say: "how embarrassing!"

So...note to self if I ever get to ride Outlaw Run: Wear form-fitting shirt and/or supportive full coverage bra. Hehehe...

Or make yourself an Intamin belt... ;)

I still want one.

I've heard it said by those more in the know than me that the average SDC patron is much more interested in the shows and crafting in the park than the rides, so this may account for some of your luck with the rides.

bunky666 said:

I still want one.

I still don't.

I still wonder where tortise guy went.

Wherever he went, hopefully you follow...

Remember? He's more of a pony guy than a coaster guy. I'm sure he's over there.

bunky666 said:

So...note to self if I ever get to ride Outlaw Run: Wear form-fitting shirt and/or supportive full coverage bra. Hehehe...

I was wearing what I consider to be a fairly form-fitting top but it still blew up on every ride. (It was admittedly very lightweight.) If I ever get back to SDC I'm going to wear one of my tight Nike athletic tops with a built-in bra. Alternatively, I could wear a regular shirt, tuck it in and anchor it with weights!

I suspect that you're correct in your assessment that my luck with rides had to do with park guests being more interested in shows and crafts.

How does the airtime compare to other airtime-high coasters like Toro and Skyrush? What did you think of the Wave Turn (or Wallcrawler) and other specific parts of the ride? Lastly, How does the ride use its terrain? Is the ground just level ground surrounded by trees, or does it have a lot of "ups and downs" that you are riding on? Sorry, I know it's a lot of questions, and I'm not expecting answers to all of them. I might get a chance to ride it this summer, and I'm super excited.

The airtime is very strong, compares to any ride out there I'd say. The bar comes down on your thighs but isn't uncomfortable.
And when I saw the wave turn approach I said "holy s**t" I knew it was there, but it looks wrong. It's like lateral airtime, if that makes any sense. Scary.
One of my absolute favorite rides ever. Rideable, but kind of a workout at the same time.

How smooth is Outlaw Run? I rcdb says it's wood, but I'd think it'd be uncomfortable if it were rough.

Yes, and it's good that you pointed that out, because otherwise, I might have expected it to be one of those rides that's really quite comfortable when it gets rough.

#

That's what she said...

I found it to be pretty smooth for a wooden coaster, also very comfortable. It's more comfortable than El Toro. Although the shin restraints can be felt at moments of airtime on Outlaw Run, this is a minor inconvenience. On Toro, on the last hill, where it drops you down to the left - one of the all-time great airtime moments on any coaster - I always seem to be on a collision course with the lap bar.

Does it use its terrain very well? I can remember seeing what appeared to be small hills spread across the ground in pictures. Does the train utilize these hills and travel over them, or does it just run on level ground most of the time (during the parts where it is hugging the ground like on the banked turns and wave turn)?

One more thing, I can't stop wondering, what makes the lateral airtime so special? Is it because it's something that you don't see on other coasters, and you're not used to it like you are with regular airtime, or is it because lateral airtime truly feels more out of control and overall better than regular airtime?

Blaster, it is kind of a subjective thing. Maybe if you rode it, you wouldn't think it was all that great. It just depends on what a person likes.

Honestly, I would check out some YouTube footage for terrain. I think it looks like they did a nice job, ad the coaster itself looks wrong in all the right ways. Sometimes the videos don't do a ride justice, but I'd be willing I bet there are some that give you a good idea of what people mean when they praise this ride.