Did a full 10 hour day at La Ronde yesterday. To say we walked out with all eight coasters (no kiddy cred) and drop tower under our belts would be failing to describe a miracle, courtesy of Saturday crowds and crews making Canada’s Wonderland look like Europa Park.
Sitting at 138 now but Goliath (#135) and Vampire (#137) were the highlights; good mix of whip and forces on each. Latter was my first Batclone as well, was surprisingly intense. Anyways there’s a good park in here but I’m not coming back for any reason barring a new coaster.
125. Untamed
Due to the hype and having already ridden Zadra I was ready to potentially be dissapointed, this was definitely not the case however!
They really did an amazing job on this conversion. The double inverting corner stall is amazing and so weird and roll at the end is a fantastic inversion as well. I also liked the cutback-esque inversion a lot more than I thought I would.
What sets this ride apart for me is the air time though. Even though it is mostly ejector, they still managed to bring a lot of variety due to the outerbanks and off-axis hills.
Even the plaza is very nice with the massive sign and water feature (especially for Walibi).
Currently ranks number 3 in my ranking, right behind Zadra and Hyperion.
362. Untamed
I do enjoy a good Eurofighter and this one is solid. That being said, the front row is stupidly rough while the back row is incredibly smooth. I love the lodge theming and all the little touches the park did to make it fit into the park. The park really needs more high capacity coasters though. I'm glad Untamed has a hidden single riders queue behind the station. That cut a potential hour wait into 10 minutes.
And then 361. Yankee Cannonball
The queue for this was brutal with the heavy crowds and single train operations. Since the park doesn't offer front of line passes, the line moves at a decent clip. The ride itself is ok. The buzz bars are really nice but the ride doesn't really give much airtime. It is really smooth and you can tell the park cares about keeping this in top shape. I was only able to get one ride in because of how packed the park was. First time riding, I waited 45 mins.
Due to the crowds, I had to skip the Frisbee, the rotor and the kiddie cred. Canobie is a great park though. I definitely see why people love this park
Got a few creds this week to cap off the year at Flamingoland and Drayton Manor:
Velocity
Great launch, great first airtime hill, however the rest is a bit bumpy and not that fun. The restraints aren't that comfortable and it's not overly smooth. Yet this was the second best coaster for me!
Kumali
Really wanted to like this more than I did, but it's quite rough - albeit not as bad as a normal SLC. The bottom of the first drop is great for the forces and the zero-g roll is very graceful compared to the rest of the ride. The loop and cobra roll are ok and the helix at the end does nothing. If B&M had built this it would have kicked ass. I even got a front row ride and still didn't care for it.
Mumbo Jumbo
Looks interesting, but it's very mediocre, except the first drop and the two inversions. The shoulder restraint things above you also don't help.
Hero
Utter ass, and not fun at all. Seemed to get worse as the ride went on, but at least it didn't KO me for the day.
Sik
Took an hour or so to open because someone drove into the fence - classic England. Not riding Colossus this year made this more interesting and it's easily the best coaster in the park. The restraints and smoothness alone make it better than Colossus. However, the first drop is also way better. The inline twists at the end are all individually great but the 4 in a row is just a bad design choice in my eyes. The best part was actually the two corkscrews - you get some pretty strong whip going into both of them. The loop, hill, and the cobra roll are ok. Also it's the only coaster that was really presented at all.
Runaway Mine Train
Kiddy +1 cred, rough as hell.
Dino Roller
Another kiddy +1, but if you're alone you can sit in the middle of the seats and get a few laterals.
Twistosaurus was the only other coaster open, but I was drained throughout my visit and thought all the teacup-esque spinning would be a horrible idea. I'd basically done it all in one day and speedrun the park.
Gold Rush
The only cred I needed at Drayton Manor. However this might be one of the best of the creds I got this week. Gold Rush has gone under the radar compared to the UK's more flashy additions this year, but it's well presented, it's a terrain coaster, it's smooth, it's got great reride value with the two modes, and it's genuinely quite whippy for the small size. You're not going to get powerful launches or ejector airtime as it's a family coaster, but the fact it has smaller versions of the whippy transitions intamin is known for makes it a sleeper hit for me and a great cred to end the year. I think I liked the second variant better, as it makes the best elements happen later on, plus it has warmed up by then. I got on it 5 and a half times. How does that happen you might ask? Halfway through there is a shed where you either get launched forward or backwards halfway through depending on setting. On my second ride it broke down inside the shed, so half a ride you go! Very much exceeded expectations.
Wave is a bonus as I have had the cred for ages. Sadly, while it's much smoother and a bit more comfortable as a sit down coaster, it's lost some of its character in the zero-g roll. No longer do you jump into the air, you are somewhat stapled. The corkscrews are aggressive on the front right though, but it really has gone to show that I am more travelled than I was when I last rode it.
Right then time to put something down from Nagashima I guess:
Hakugei: Never easy going against the grain but I can't ignore the sheer brutality of this thing if you have long legs I'm afraid. The elements are all fantastic, the speed is great, the airtime is insane and I can definitely see why people love this but ultimately it's all ruined if the airtime is slamming your legs into the rock hard restraints and you're too busy dreading the sheer intensity of the darn thing and therefore the experience is entirely negated for me I'm afraid. I've been as positive as I can. It's also a smidgeon short for me. Just goes to show everyone's experiences are different, but after this I'm not rushing to bag my 3rd RMC I have to say. On the plus side bucket list shortened somewhat. I still love Zadra though-4/10 (edited from 6 as 6 would indicate a coaster that I somewhat enjoy with many flaws. This isn't that...)
Steel Dragon 2000: And now from 'should be positive but ends up being negative' to the exact opposite.
Whilst I was somewhat looking forward to clocking my first giga, as well as the longest rollercoaster in the world, I hadn't heard much positives about this and honestly wasn't expecting too much. So imagine my pleasant surprise when I now have to boot something out of my top ten for this:
The coaster is butter smooth on the whole. There IS a rattle, that is beyond dispute, but it is very heavily sedated because of those lovely b and m clamshell restraints. I didn't think I feared any rollercoaster at all but that ludicrous one minute lift hill did make me somewhat question this I have to say. I've ridden Hyperion without issue but this somehow feels a LOT higher even than that I think....so cool.
That first drop is glorious and the second is solid too. The problem comes after this with the turnaround section which is by far the worst part of the ride and you have to brace yourself for a little. Any ride which has to be ridden defensively loses points in my book.
But after this part there's a lovely set of about 8 or so bunny hills giving glorious airtime which some find repetitive but I personally loved. I have to subtract for the twisted turnaround section which lasts too long (maybe 10-15 seconds) but take this and that rather nasty (though perfectly manageable overall) rattle away and we're looking at a potential 10/10. As it's stands I think it maybe just a tad difficult to marathon, though I did manage 4 rides in a row without issue for the most part. Very solid for a coaster that's nearly a quarter of a century old and right now my vote for the world's most underrated coaster-8.5/10
Wait times maxed out at 15 minutes for me as I went midweek during EP’s winter event and outside of Christmas holidays. Therefore, I never had to spend much time in line, but I particularly enjoyed when the tesla coils on the ceiling played music. They played either Voltron’s main theme or the Adventure Club of Europe soundtrack from Voletarium (this is a recent change). Either way, it made for a great atmosphere. The effects which show Voltron’s train launch on one side of the room and reappear on the other was also good. The room does feel a bit bare in the middle, as they have moved the Tesla animatronic to the side.
The boarding process with trains moving continuously on a conveyor belt feels efficient but not rushed or stressful. It worked smoothly every time, helped by all loose articles being placed in a locker before the station. Like Ride to Happiness, the restraints come down tight initially but then move up before locking in a fixed position that doesn’t change throughout the ride. I had a comfortable amount of room every time.
The pre-launch segment is effective in building up anticipation with electricity effects going off on either side.
The ‘bounce track’ is a fun gimmick that did not diminish over repeat rides. It provides some very light airtime and I like how the electricity effects intensify during this feature.
First-half
The initial launch is solid, if not particularly remarkable. Then launching up a steep incline was interesting, as someone who’s never done Wicked or Storm Coaster. The first ‘wow’ moment was the hangtime on the inside top hat. I feel like this element has been somewhat glossed over in the reviews I’ve seen. Particularly in the back two rows, it feels wonderfully sustained, and like you’re hanging on by a thread. The following corkscrew is whippy, particularly on the outside seats, and my favourite of the three corkscrews on the ride. This is the first part of the ride where you notice on a shuffle on the outside seats, but as with the rest of the ride, the roughness never reached uncomfortable levels for me.
You’re then thrown into a quick speed hill reminiscent of Lost Gravity’s. It provides a strong but short-lived airtime pop. It’s a good moment but there are a few better airtime moments throughout the ride. This is followed by a pair of back-to-back immelmanns, which delivered more intensity than I was expecting, compared to the similar immelmann-dive loop sequence at the start of Velocicoaster. On the right side of the train, you get whipped around the exit of the second immelmann quite violently.
After dropping into a boost section, you’re thrown into the first of my top 3 elements on Voltron: the zero-g stall. As far as I can think, this is the only stall so far on a coaster with 4-across seating / wing seats. Particularly on the right wing, I felt like I was being folded in half when entering this element. It was a vicious transition, and I loved it. And the airtime / hangtime is highly sustained, much like on Batman: Gotham City Escape or Hyperia, which I loved. Just as I thought stalls couldn’t get any better, Voltron delivers the most sublime one yet. Somehow, this element is matched in quality by the following camelback - the second of Voltron’s best elements. It gives the strongest ejector airtime of any moment on the ride, so much so that it made this usually silent rider audibly gasp. It’s also sustained over a satisfying period of time, which is important as my appreciation of very short ejector pops seems to be diminishing over time.
After two absolutely world-class elements, Voltron does calm things down a bit with a twisty s-bend hill. Probably the only element in the first half that didn’t really stand out to me, but it’s still a lot of fun and it doesn’t interrupt the flow or pacing. You’re then thrown into quite a tight dive loop, which feels similar to the ones on Karacho and Junker. Again, I felt like Voltron was trying to fold me in half here, especially on the right wing. Great stuff. And very swiftly followed by a short climb into the first brake run, which felt like an intense stop.
Turntable
The two-halves of the ride are connected by a turntable element. Despite knowing this element is located in the backstage area of the park, it was less obvious than I was expecting when riding. It did surprise me that they didn’t fully enclose the turntable, but I did really enjoy the ceiling effect, and how the Voltron theme music ramped when you connected to the launch track. At night this section had a great atmosphere. During the day it was decent, but perhaps could have a little more going on visually.
In terms of whether the turntable ruins the ride’s pacing, I felt like it wasn’t too much of an interference. The effects entertained me on each ride, and I think without some kind of break between the two halves, Voltron would become too much of an endurance test for the average visitor. Even more so if they’re being adversely effected by the roughness. As much as I am very curious to see how much of an endurance test Voltron would be if it just went straight into another launch here, I don’t feel the need to dock it too many points for how it takes a break. The second lifthill on Twisted Colossus is a much worse offender, I think.
Second-half
It took me a little longer to fall in love with the second-half than the first-half, and I still contend that more of these elements don’t quite feel like standout moments, but it’s an excellent stretch of coaster regardless.
Starting with a backwards launch, which has a nice initial punch but is not a very impactful element overall, especially if you’re not in the back row. However, I wouldn’t say it detracts from the ride either, and the next forwards launch is Voltron’s best launch, which at night even feels a little unhinged. In terms of airtime, the top hat is solid but not the best example of the genre, similar to Taiga’s. But again, the wing seats enhance the experience as you get whipped in and out of it.
The stretch of airtime-focused elements continues with quite a tall camelback, which might account for why its airtime isn’t quite as strong as the camelback in the first-half. Still, particularly when Voltron has had time to warm up, this elements sends you flying out of your seat until the point you start to level out. Next up is the third and final of my top 3 Voltron elements: the outer-banked airtime hill. This element is incredible. Even if you’re sat on the inside seats you are violently sent flying up and out to your left in an exhilarating manoeuvre. On the right wing it is a euphoric moment. The airtime is slightly less strong than on the first camelback, but this outerbank provides a more dynamic sensation. The airtime is still not over though with one of the best double-ups (second to Hakugei’s in my experience) following. I’d say most of Voltron is a bit better in the back, but this element felt better up front as you get strong ejector pops going into the MCBR as well as on the first hump.
We’re into Voltron’s homestretch now, and it’s crazy how long it’s taken to get here to be honest. It’s not my favourite part of the ride, as only the intense downward helix really stands out, but it’s still fast, thrilling, snappy and exciting. The drop off the MCBR is too shallow to be wild, even in the back row, and the ride’s second corkscrew functions more like the start of an RMC barrel-roll drop than a traditional snappy corkscrew, but it is solid. After the helix - the most positive-g heavy part of Voltron - you’re thrown into a fairly rudimentary but decently intense overbanked turn, followed by another solid corkscrew.
The ride finally ends with a little bunny hop into the brakes, which provides a pretty strong ejector pop once the ride is warmed up, but earlier in the day felt a touch underwhelming. While it’s certainly not as wild as Ride to Happiness’ ending, it’s also not close to being a meandering or sluggish finale.
Conclusion
Given low crowds and two days on-park, I was able to ride Voltron a total of 20 times, with 10 of those rides being in the dark. I had high expectations, and they were exceeded. It’s quite overwhelming just how much the ride offers, not just variety, but challenging levels and combinations of airtime, laterals, hangtime and intensity. It satisfies my desire for a long and extreme coaster, that’s comfortable but not too comfortable. By comparison, I feel that something like Velocicoaster, which is similarly long and varied, remains a little too comfortable in the forces it offers, outside of the mosasaurus roll. Of course this is nitpicking; Velocicoaster is very good, but I do think that Voltron takes a similar engineering aim a step further by injecting more bite and aggression into a layout with more clear standout moments.
Regarding its reputation for roughness, I definitely noticed a significant difference between inside seats and outside seats, with outside seats on the third row of trains seeming to be the most rattly / juddery. Every inside seat ride I had was near-perfectly smooth, which is something to bear in mind if you think you’ll be sensitive to Voltron’s roughness. Personally, in not one moment of any of my 20 rides was I uncomfortable, and to an extent I think the slight roughness added to Voltron’s intensity at points.
In sum - Voltron is absolutely a top 10 coaster for me, reinforcing that Mack has just as much to offer coaster enthusiasts as Intamin or RMC.
First trip to LEGOLAND in Windsor in a long time. Honestly, I was pleasantly surprised with this duelling shuttle coaster. I only tried the legends side so I can’t speak for the other one but it was fairly intense for a family coaster. Especially going backwards.
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