X: A slightly different opinion. (12-27)

Well, yesterday I went to Magic Mountain with my friend and my brother for one purpose: to ride X as much as possible. We got there at 5, and waited FOREVER in the loading station. I can't imagine how long people will have to wait once it's open to the public. I hope and pray they work out a different system than check, recline, and then check again.

First things first; praise the Lord! My brother not only fit, but he claims it's the second most comfortably fitting ride ever, after Apollo's Chariot. Way to go Arrow on awesome restraints. Okay, now to the ride. Well...it was pretty fun. The first drop was not all it seemed; I couldn't even tell we were going straight down. Most of the loops and twists were very disorienting, especially the third twist; where the heck are we going? I did get some major airtime...I mean MAJOR. The rotations were a little rough, but the train running on the track was smooth. It sort of reminded me of Stealth or Batwing in terms of shakiness, maybe a little smoother. The final raven turn was tight and insane. We pulled quite a few g's.

Okay, now my opinion. It was a fun ride. Above average. The best part for me was at the top of the lift where the seats reclined and we faced straight down. After that, the ride was just very cool. Unfortunately, I would be hard pressed to find space for it in my top 15 or maybe even 20. I just think it is a good solid addition to the park, but one that I would not wait more than an hour for. Don't get me wrong, I'm still extremely excited about it, I just think it let me down. 8.5/10

We only got 2 rides on X because the rest of the park was extremely crowded. There were some very mad people at the entrance yelling at the employees because they couldn't ride. I mean, they were MAD. Plus there were a bunch. Perhaps Six Flags should have thought twice about the season pass only "preview"? I think it might have been slightly unfair. Anyway, ride X as soon as possible; it is great, just not best.

-edit: I forgot to mention that one of the highlights of the evening for me was getting so close to parts of Viper which I had never seen before. Getting right up next to the pretzel was very awesome, and I was pleased to be able to see the corkscrew as well. I had always dreamed of getting that close to the outer part of Viper, and now it's possible!

*** This post was edited by saviourmachine on 12/28/2001. ***

Yeah, yesterday I noticed there were a few people upset because they couldn't get on the ride, mostly teenagers. My response was... tough turkey. Outside the park it CLEARLY states that X is not open to the public. I'd be upset to, but the park is offering a preview to season pass holders, period. You can't yell and scream your way into the park making exceptions. 2001 season pass holders waiting all year to no avail. They don't deserve to now have to wait 4 hours for it with other paying customers, so if people are upset they'll just have to get over it. You just  can't make a decision everyone will like,  so you'd better make a decision and stick with it and I for one, agree with the one they made.

As for the ride, the early response has been so overwhelmingly positive, I suspect a few people will ultimately be let down. Over time though, people will realize what a quality ride this is.

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"Time flies...Whether you're having fun or not". -Mary Engelbreit.

*** This post was edited by DWeaver on 12/28/2001. ***

Glad you had a great time! Yeah that's great to have two Arrows right next to each other!
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Don't.....look.....back! The Headless Horseman awaits you in 2002!
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