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Salou and the States 2016 - Part 4: Mad Cred Dash at Great Adventure (Finally)

CoasterCrazy

Giga Poster
Since my last foreign cred was all the way back in 2014 (what a drought), my family and I decided to splash out a bit and visit a park which had been on my bucket list for a very long time - PortAventura! We also managed to slot in a cheeky New York Trip as well (spoilers). Safe to say, it was probably the best theme parking summer of my life!

Before we start, I didn't take many pictures as I focus more on filming videos for my Youtube Channel, which you can find here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHmX1V ... YDZOeGMAXA
The pictures you'll see below are predominantly stills from the videos!

Here's my favourite video from the trip:


Driving through Salou, which is where we based ourselves for the week, it was pretty obvious how much PA dominated it!

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Love it or hate it, seeing any coaster from the beach is fantastic!

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The view from our apartment wasn't half bad either...I may or may not have been timing the dispatches...

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(Think I could get used to that)

Anyway, Salou's actually a really nice place to stay, although it has been a little tarnished by the mass tourism, in part coming for PA. Still, it's got a nice beach and Boardwalk, but let's be brutally honest here, none of us really care about that. I'll skip to the good part:

General thoughts and impressions of the park:

If you can't be bothered to read all of this (which is perfectly acceptable), here are a few, generic take-home points!

The good
- Shambhala
- Shambhala
- In Dragon Khan and Shambhala, I reckon PA probably have the best 1-2 coaster line-up in Europe. What's so fantastic about them is that they complement each other so well; on the one hand you've got the old-school intensity and insane positive Gs of a classic B&M looper and in the other, a graceful, elegant hyper coaster. Shammy offers a very different experience and type of intensity with its speed and relentless airtime, which virtually make it a stand-up.
- The park looks fantastic visually - all the areas are sufficiently different to provide variety, but also blend well into one another
- Did I say Shambhala?
- Excellent line up of water rides
- I'd been expecting 'siesta style' operations, but I was really pleasantly surprised by the staff. They were absolutely pumping out the trains on Shammy, consistently dispatching trains in less than a minute up until even 10.
- Queues weren't actually too bad. Whilst Baco did get up to 2 hours, the most I ever waited was about 50 mins for Shammy of course.

The bad:
- I did feel a little shortchanged by the fact all the attractions close an hour earlier than the advertised closing time of 11. I mean, the parade and fireworks are all great, but couldn't they just keep the rides running for another hour when the park is still pretty rammed? They have to close Baco, but nobody cares about that piece of **** anyway.
- For such a pretty park, the theming is actually surprisingly poor. In fact, aside from Angkor and possibly Baco, proper theming is generally nonexistent. Sure, the areas look realistic, but there aren't any coherent stories involved in anything and a lot of the rides feel like they miss the extra touch and instance that proper theming provides. China looks gorgeous, but at the end of the day, both of its coasters just have featureless cattlepens, no on ride theming or music. On Tutiki splash, they stopped with the rock work. Harsh I know, but do you see what I mean?
- Fastpass is a bit of a joke really. Yes, it's great for the consumer and to raise a bit of extra cash, but when the passes are sold in large numbers and are unlimited, whole trains of fast passers get sent out, which doubles the lengths of some of the queues, as the ratio of fast passers to normal guests is literally 1:1 on some rides. You really are made to feel a bit second-class.
- Hurakan Condor is the only proper flat there really. It's a shame as it could do with a bit of variety.
- Equally, it badly needs a dark ride, or any other indoor ride with an indoor, air conditioned queue line.

The ugly

- Furius Baco. Nuff said.

Onto attraction reviews then.

So after spending about 15 minutes getting our tickets processed (which isn't too bad considering they only cost €39 each for two full days), we opted for the ever-cliched 'head straight to the back of the park policy'

Of course, that meant it was time for Shambhala.

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Now, I'd heard a hell of a lot of hype about this ride, with some people even calling it 'Spanish for orgasm', although that one probably goes a bit too far. First things first, the ride was beautiful - so if it ride as well as it looked, I was in for a treat.

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Thankfully, it did. For my first ride, I was lucky enough to bag a back row 'wing' seat and boy was it worth it. As the front of the train crested the lift, there was a slight, but barely noticeable slowdown. But that was it and before I even had time to contemplate it, I was whipped over the top and flung out of my seat all the way down. Bliss.

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What's great about the rest of the layout is its variety. I haven't ridden any other hypers (yet), but from what I've seen, some of their layouts seem quite monotonous - Shammy stands out as being quite different. The ampersand is strange, but fun and still reasonably forceful and the speed hill is a lovely touch. All the other hills give a substantial amount of air too, even as you enter the brake run. I was expecting airtime - but not this powerful; it can only be described as floater at the top, which suddenly turns into ejector at the bottom of each hill.

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More B&M hypers should have these!

And it's consistent wherever you ride - even the front still has loads of airtime on the first drop, and I swear it runs even faster later in the day. The front row night ride I got was pretty **** crazy. It's also the complete package for the park being wonderful both to ride and operate - it even had beautiful lights on the trains at night and the comfortable but still very secure lap bars leading to rapid dispatches.

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It's also smooth as butter, rerideable (but intense enough to leave you feeling a little giddy) and that single rider line is an absolute godsend - nobody ever uses it, and the ops do, making it almost a walk on, even with a 40 minute queue. Dad and I even managed to sit next to each other on one ride too.

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That's enough.
Obviously then, 10/10
(x5)

It's just so majestic, I feel compelled to leave the offride here:

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Next, onto Dragon Khan

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Despite being overshadowed by its taller neighbour, this coaster still packs one hell of a punch and it would be criminal to overlook it. As I said earlier, it doesn't compete with Shambhala, only complements it. It has its job - and does it superbly.

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What a lovely mess of track!

Yes, there's a hint of roughness, but if anything, it's too intense (I think I even grayed out on the entrance to the dive loop once). It boasts 8 inversions, but at the speed at which it takes them, there is little time to dangle or even get a rush of blood to the head. Even with the MCBR turned on, it still soars through the rest of the very long layout. There's also a fair bit of airtime on that drop!

Anyway 9.5/10 for being a rough round the edges, but still the best B&M sit down I've done! (Better than Hulk and Kumba then)
(x4)

El Diablo

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Having heard mixed reviews of 'lift hill: the ride', I was somewhat sceptical about how this would one would ride. Despite now having over a hundred creds (woo), this was only actually my second Arrow after Vampire.

For a park that was purpose-designed, the location of the ride is definitely a bit bizarre. Obviously it interacts with the log flume - but it's a dead end, so there's no way of getting anywhere else, even to the Stampida complex, without going back through the entrance, which seems a bit counterintuitive. However, the entrance plaza is really nice, with even a splash of theming and it's nice to not stand in cattlepens, even if there are some exposed parts.

Ah well, onto the ride itself then. Waited about half an hour for it, despite it being advertised as a walk on. To describe it in one word, I'd say 'surprisingly pleasant'. Whilst it's true that there is a hell of a lot of lift hill on this ride (the section after the second lift is almost completely non-existent), the rest of the layout is actually fairly exciting - with even a bit of airtime on offer. The tunnel at the start (spoilers) is excellent and the drop and helix following the third lift is surprisingly large and forceful. It's a bit jerky in places, but it's not unpleasantly rough - in fact, it offers that slightly 'out of control' feeling that all good mine trains should have.

Overall - 8.5
(x1)

Then we stopped off at Tomahawk, the CCI kiddie woodie, sporting it's new mini millennium flyers. A real pleasant surprise actually - not too rough, some good laterals and even a bit of airtime to be had! Extra points for interaction with Stampida and being almost a walk on.

7/10 (as kiddie woodies go)
(x2)

Stampida

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When planning the trip, one of my main concerns about PA was that after the big two in China, the quality its line-up would head very quickly south. Stampida was certainly one of those rides - however, with the recent retracking I was cautiously optimistic. Judging from the pre-lift and weird lift hill, I thought it was going be even worse than my only other adult woodie at the time - Gwazi in 2012 (ouch). But the retracking really helped - it had that classic woodie feeling, without being overly rough. The dueling was fun, with some good laterals and speed carried throughout the layout, but although it did tease airtime, it never really delivered anything substantial. So for the first 2/3rds of the ride, it was a solid, fun little woodie with a bit of airtime. Then I hit the older 1/3rd of the track. Thankfully, it was only brief, but in all honesty, it was so rough it was almost funny. But, I guess the rest of the ride made up for it, so we rode the other side as well, which was actually a bit more tolerable.

Currently - 5/10
With retracking (which I presume is happening next year) - solid 7/10

At this point, Baco was pulling a 2:30 queue, so we didn't do it until the day after. But either way, might as well mention it now whilst you're still reading this...

Furius Baco

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Cheeky shot of the ride launching with the gates open!

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Hmm. I really haven't quite decided yet whether I'd rather ride this, or a blender. Because honestly, I'm not really sure there's too much of a difference.

Okay, maybe that's a bit harsh - it's not any rougher than the last 1/3rd of Stampida and the launch is good. Usually, I can tolerate a bit of roughness if the rest of the layout makes up for it, but the problem is that Baco's track layout is that's just so...uninspired? Admittedly the first turn and inline are quite fun, but the rest is just a bunch of jerky, low-to-the-ground turns which are all just taken a bit too fast for their own good. Things probably tearing itself apart to be honest. The only thing the majority of the layout has going for it is the sensation of speed - but the roughness just takes that away. Even if it was butter smooth, it still wouldn't be that exciting. Just why.

2/10 (1 for the launch, 1 for the inline)
Statement: Thank god they only made one.
(x1) - definitely not riding that piece of **** again.

Rest of the creds:
Tami Tami is your run of the mill Vekoma Junior. Tiny, but always fun (in part because you feel so pathetic riding it), but also surprisingly forceful. Nice setting too.

Other rides:

Tutiki Splash:
This ride is blessed with a great layout, setting and it's generally not too wet. It's got so much potential, but it feels really bare, missing that extra touch of theming which would improve the experience dramatically. Aside from the rockwork and other aesthetic improvements, the only real 'theming' I noticed was the chewing gum on the ceiling of the tunnel...

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Tutiki Splash...splashing?

7/10 (would be a 9 with theming)

Silver River Log Flume
Another excellent layout, with a fast flow and three fantastic drops of varying wetness. The last drop is surprisingly massive as it exploits the terrain very well, and also extremely fun. It's a real pity the ride is so hidden away so much, with only a tiny bit of generic western theming in the queueline. But, despite all that, it's definitely the best log flume I've ridden!

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9/10

Grand Canyon Rapids
I mean, at the end of the day, rapids are rapids are rapids, but this one is particularly excellent. Again, fast flow, but this time, there's some good theming along the walls of the trough. Really enjoyed this one!

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9/10

Templo Del Fuego

The sweaty half-hour queue may have had something to do with it, but I just came out of it feeling a bit...underwhelmed?
Then again, looking back on it, I'm not really sure where it could've been improved? I really don't know what to make of it actually. It's probably down to these few things:

- Probably the main reason was that it was mostly in Spanish, which I barely know a word of. Even though the effects were amazing, it was still a random Spanish explorer guy jumping around the stage?
- Maybe, I'm not a big fan of walkthroughs in general. I do struggle to enjoy rides which don't involve physical motion - they're more like plays I suppose?
- It wasn't all that long and seemed to end fairly abruptly.

So as an attraction, I'm not sure how I'd rate it, but as walkthroughs go, I'd probably give it a 9?
The first room was all a little weird (but then again, that's probably because I couldn't understand what was going on), but the effects in the main chamber were absolutely spot on, especially the fire, which immediately made everything better, and the small surprise at the end (SPOILER: The bit with the floor). Still, leagues above Sub-Terra.

Didn't ride:

Hurakan Condor - It looked amazing, but unfortunately, the queue was consistently over half an hour and only two of us were willing to ride it! Really regret not doing it, but then again, it just wasn't practical.

Angkor - Good theming, but it's a splash battle, so it looked a bit **** really.



Anyway, that's it from Salou! If anyone actually read this up to the end, I'll be impressed. Next up: Rare credding in France
 
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Smithy

Strata Poster
I'd probably say Liseberg have a better 1-2 but it's definitely close. Agree with you on Salon, nice enough place but felt like it lacked any sort of character
 

Mysterious Sue

Strata Poster
Great report, thanks. Good to hear it's not that bad queue-wise in the summer. I've only ever been in winter when it's dead but it would be nice to see the park as it's meant to be seen- in full sunshine. Such a photogenic park.

You didn't miss much with Condor, it's tall but the drop isn't amazing.
 

Howie

Donkey in a hat
Nice report.
You didn't mention Templo Del Fuego, did you miss it?
Is it even still there??
Technically it might not be a 'ride', but it's gotta be one of the best dark 'attractions' in Europe and it staggers me how many people overlook or just don't bother with it.
 

CoasterCrazy

Giga Poster
Smithy said:
I'd probably say Liseberg have a better 1-2 but it's definitely close. Agree with you on Salon, nice enough place but felt like it lacked any sort of character

Thanks! The Helix/Balder combination is probably better overall, but I feel Shammy and Dragon Khan offer more contrasting experiences so complement each other better? I guess I'll just have to get my arse down to Liseberg and find out.

Mysterious Sue said:
Great report, thanks. Good to hear it's not that bad queue-wise in the summer. I've only ever been in winter when it's dead but it would be nice to see the park as it's meant to be seen- in full sunshine. Such a photogenic park.

You didn't miss much with Condor, it's tall but the drop isn't amazing.

That's good to hear! Queues were definitely better than I expected, but they were still enough to prevent me doing the whole park in a day without a fastpass, although I suppose that's the idea!
I don't think I mentioned that the SRQ for Shambhala was an absolute godsend - it almost made the ride a walk on throughout the whole day. Thanks!

Howie said:
Nice report.
You didn't mention Templo Del Fuego, did you miss it?
Is it even still there??
Technically it might not be a 'ride', but it's gotta be one of the best dark 'attractions' in Europe and it staggers me how many people overlook or just don't bother with it.

I actually forgot about Templo Del Fuego in the report, which says a lot about what my family thought of it :?
The sweaty half-hour queue may have had something to do with it, but I just came out of it feeling a bit...underwhelmed?
Then again, looking back on it, I'm not really sure where it could've been improved? I really don't know what to make of it actually. It's probably down to these few things:

- Probably the main reason was that it was mostly in Spanish, which I barely know a word of. Even though the effects were amazing, it was still a random Spanish explorer guy jumping around the stage?
- Maybe, I'm not a big fan of walkthroughs in general. I do struggle to enjoy rides which don't involve physical motion - they're more like plays I suppose?
- It wasn't all that long and seemed to end fairly abruptly.

So as an attraction, I'm not sure how I'd rate it, but as walkthroughs go, I'd probably give it a 9?
The first room was all a little weird (but then again, that's probably because I couldn't understand what was going on), but the effects in the main chamber were absolutely spot on, especially the fire, which immediately made everything better, and the small surprise at the end (SPOILER: The bit with the floor). Still, leagues above Sub-Terra.
Thanks anyway!
 

Howie

Donkey in a hat
^Shame you didn't really 'dig' it, but I'm relieved to hear that it's still there. Even with the language barrier, I still think it's a spectacular show because, y'know... FIRE!!
Maybe I'm just a bit of a pyromaniac (was only just discussing my love of fire in another thread).

And I SO need Shambhala in my life...
 

CoasterCrazy

Giga Poster
^Shame you didn't really 'dig' it, but I'm relieved to hear that it's still there. Even with the language barrier, I still think it's a spectacular show because, y'know... FIRE!!
Maybe I'm just a bit of a pyromaniac (was only just discussing my love of fire in another thread).

And I SO need Shambhala in my life...
Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed it, but just didn't find it a particularly cohesive and engaging show. And yes, yes, you do. Everybody does.

Aaaaanyway. Long time no updates. Quite frankly, I haven't figured out how to save drafts on the new website yet and just haven't had enough time or motivation to update this thread. I've just finished my first year at the uni of Sheffield and it's been a wild ride....
Something I'm really going to miss when I'm living further in the city next year is not being able see a cafe called "El Toro" and another conveniently right next to it named "Thai Thai Ka". What makes that coincidence even crazier is that I was lucky to get the opportunity to ride them both last September, but before I get onto that...

Part 2 - Pirat' Parc, Gruissan
After spending a week in Salou, we headed across the border into the sleepy French coastal village of Gruissan. Nice enough place, but no creds I thought.
However, I was very happy to be proved wrong. I hadn't really bothered looking for parks in the area (Walibi Rhone-Alpes seemed to be the only substantial park and even that was miles away). So I was pretty happy to stumble upon a summer funfair with its very own permanent (and rare) cred!
That said, it was still a bit **** though. I didn't take any photos, so you'll just have to do with video screenshots and thumbnails I'm afraid.

First things first, the frisbee (probably a Huss freak out?). Nothing particularly noteworthy here I'm afraid - pretty much exactly what I expected.

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Then I headed over to the cred - Gold Mine, a Reverchon "custom coaster" and to my surprise one of only two ever made, and I think the rarest credit I've got so far ;)

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Nothing to write home about (apart from it being rare of course), but it was surprisingly smooth. On a similar thrill level to a large Zierer Tivoli, just without the vibrating-bottomness! Whilst I'm assuming it's probably because I'm not enough of a credit whore, this was the first time I'd ever lowered my own restraint ON THE LIFT HILL. I could've literally just jumped out at some point towards the end of the layout and filed a lawsuit. I mean, restraints aren't 100% necessary on a ride like this, but it's still a bit disconcerting nonetheless.
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Then I stumbled across something really interesting. By far the star of the park was a travelling, floorless, mondial inferno (essentially, an inverted version of Soaring Timbers at CW). I've done pitifully few flat rides (not even topscans) so it was completely new experience to me and even then, I think the floorless aspect completely charnges the axis of rotation and the overall ride experience. I believe this is the only one? Might be wrong though.
Either way, here's a video of the ride in its majesty:


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It ran a really long ride cycle too, which was better value for money than most other rides in the park too. Reversing direction halfway through was a nice touch.
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As for the ride experience, I'm sure it splits opinion, but I loved it. Whilst the positive Gs aren't massively significant, it really hurls you around, with the second axes of rotation resulting in some great moments of intense speed change. Whilst the revolution around the main arm felt very controlled, Mondial really managed to make the flipping part seemingly very random and unpredictable, whilst still offering time to catch breath. You can see a little bit of this in the video, but the best cycle is when you stay inverted for most of the revolution, before violently flipping over on the way back up again,
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Since it's the only decent thing at the park, I might as well rate it:
Intoxx - 9/10 (Taking one off for being a little bit one-dimensional)

Just thought I'd add that bit on for a bit of diversity. Up next:
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(And I promise I'll update this thread again before 10 months of passed this time...)
 
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Mysterious Sue

Strata Poster
A non-spinning Reverchon! I didn't know such a thing existed!
Never heard of the park either - good to see someone go to an out of the way park (that's in Europe and it isn't Gavin).
Unexpected creds are the best creds.
 

CoasterCrazy

Giga Poster
A non-spinning Reverchon! I didn't know such a thing existed!


Never heard of the park either - good to see someone go to an out of the way park (that's in Europe and it isn't Gavin).


Unexpected creds are the best creds.



Haha thanks! There are only two non-spinning Reverchons listed on rcdb so it feels pretty excluse. The other one is Siberian Tiger at Le Pal - wonder how many people have completed the set?


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Part 2: New York City - Culture and Creds!


I think it's safe to say last summer was the best in my theme parking life, and it was just getting started at this point! It was time to head over the Atlantic for what was actually my first trip to a state outside of Florida. I'd stared out of the windows of JFK on a transfer and had always wanted to see the city. My parents visited over 20 years ago back when large portions of the city were still quite dilapidated, but were pleasantly surprised at the massive regeneration efforts that have taken place since then.

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What a beautiful city.

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One of the best parts of NYC is central park, which has miraculously managed to survive since 1857 despite the presumably ridiculously high real estate value! It's beautiful and refreshingly cool away from the hustle and bustle of the city.

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A view from the ground:

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I think in general, the city's cleaner, safer and classier, as demonstrated perfectly by one of their big new developments:
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The One World Trade centre looks quite brilliant frankly. Apparently, it's the sixth tallest building in the world too!
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It stands next to two moving memorials where the old towers once stood.

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I'd definitely recommend a visit to the 9/11 museum if you stop by. It's haunting, but at the same time morbidly fascinating. Really makes you think about humanity's place in the world and is of course, a stunning and powerful tribute to the people who lost their lives.

On a happier note, the Statten Island ferry was wonderful. It provides some of the best views of New York (and the Statue of liberty), all for free! And there's even free wifi too! How exciting.
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(My phone case got in the way, but it actually ended up looking surprisingly arty)

Honestly, there's no need to take a boat tour with views like this.
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Grand Central Station was our base for the week:
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Very grand.
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The highline used to be an overground railway, but now it's been transformed into an elevated walkway trail offering some fantastic views.
Then there was this building:
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I visited back when the guy was still a joke, so everything just seems really poignant now. As for the actual building itself, it's a bit **** really. It's virtually empty, although it had a couple of gems inside and outside when I visited:
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Looks like no planes lost all their engines today.
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I'd highly recommend a trip to the top of the Rockfeller building, for this reason:
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Surely the best view in New York? The building doesn't have heritage quite as rich as the Empire state, but then again, you can't really see much of a building when you're on top of it...

Oh, and one more thing. There's this quite famous thing in Brooklyn:
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MURICA!
And even better..

Luna Park, Coney Island

Before I start, Disclaimer: I didn't get all the creds....sorry guys. I was with my family and since it's pay per ride (eugh), we decided to plan our day around enjoyment rather than creds (Ahem, looking at you Soarin' Eagle) The subway's painfully slow, but it's still well connected. I had a quick whip round, so didn't really take many photos I'm afraid, so I just inserted a few rather obvious stock photos instead. I did take videos though of course, which is better right?
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I think this picture very effectively summarises what the park is really - a sprawled concocted mess of rides opposite a wide expanse of beach.

Thoughts on the park overall: Lovely place, despite the *slightly* rip off prices. Thought there could have been a little more historical culture (as it sits on one of the most influential plots of land in theme park history), but it's a lovely day out overall. Having the beach and promenade so close to the park is fantastic and it's a really good beach too. You can pretty much go on rides to dry and clean your feet! I guess that's one advantage of not offering an entrance fee.
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Let's get the pain out of the way first then:

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Argh, and it looks so promising too! Shame enthusiasts don't rate it.

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Just did the one lap on the thing, front seat and...

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....It was...actually really quite good? Definitely blew away my expectations. "Smooth" isn't exactly an adjective I'd use to describe it, but then again it isn't excessively rough either, just jerky, occasionally rattly and a little bit uncomfortable. If you're able to tolerate and see through all of that, it's actually a really solid layout. If an Intamin had this exact layout, it'd easily be a top 20 ride. First drop isn't overly steep, but still provides some great airtime, swiftly followed by some good hangtime on the loop. The wacky twisted dive loop is really wacky and enjoyable too, also providing plenty of hangtime. The return trip is probably the highlight of the ride, with its snappy corkscrew and surprising amount of airtime right into the brake run.


The problem is the trains are an absolute cluster ****. 3 across is visually appealing, but a really awkward number for the majority of groups. I doubt they need capacity at Coney Island, but it'd definitely lead to issues at larger parks. They feel really cheap and nasty too. I didn't really notice it until the end of the ride, but boy did my thighs hurt! A little padding really wouldn't hurt (in more ways than one)? Honestly, it's like you're sitting on a high chair with someone ramming the table part into your legs. Apart from that, it's a great coaster ;)

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I'd be very happy if Thorpe replaced Saw with this!

Overall, Thunderbolt - 8/10 (Removed one for the restraints, the rest of the ride is really that good)

Next up, we headed over to Cyclone of course. But before we got there, I spotted Luna 360, one of those mini-Zamperla discoveries that I'd always wanted to do. Goes all the way around of course. Feeling slightly surprised that my family actually wanted to ride it too, we gave it a go.
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And it was great fun! For such a small flat ride, it offered some fantastic positive Gs, good hangtime and a little airtime before the full revolution. I still prefer the bigger ones that leave your mouth dry and your hair all over the place, but nonetheless, it's a perfect little ride for small parks and very different to the other frisbees I've done. Considering Giant Discoveries are selling like wildfire now, I'm kinda surprised there isn't a giant discovery at Luna Park. They're really missing a big flat ride.


Luna 360 - 7.5/10

Then for the most iconic ride on the planet!
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(Now these are my photos as you can probably tell)

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For some reason, the back seats were already taken and ops made us sit at the front. Does the train need balancing or something?
For something that's 90 years old, it's absolutely brilliant. It's perfectly smooth, with the only vibrations coming from that old rickety feel it still has, which is somehow extremely soothing. Not a big fan of the buzz bars though. It's refreshingly different to be physically lifted out of your seat, but I prefer being pressed into the restraint and being subjected to higher forces.

I absolutely love the scream of the wheels on old woodies too.


Whilst this must've surely held the title of best coaster in the world at some point, it's no surprise that Cyclone feels pretty tame. However, it's a ridiculously long layout and very much a perfect family credit (apart from the price I guess). Still, there's something extremely relaxing, satisfying and downright nostalgic about flying through the structure with some good airtime and classic old woodie feel. I'll give the benefit of doubt to the backseat - I'm sure it's even better, but I only did one ride because economics....

However, there's one thing which really peeved me off about Cyclone. And it's nothing to do with the ride itself- it's brilliant for a 90 year old coaster. However, for by such a famous ride, it's tucked away right at the back of the park. You even have to cross a road and go all the way down it to the corner where the entrance resides. It just feels completely separate from the main park, which does a pretty effective job of removing the atmosphere. Maybe it's just me having a nerdgasm, but I honestly did think it affected the ride experience!

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That aside, it's definitely a solid 8/10


At this point, as much as I wanted the rest of the creds, it was getting dark and we were running out of money. So we had a quick go on the new for 2016 enterprise, which was one of the floorless new generation ones,like catwoman whip at SFOT. It was good fun, but just not as fast or intense as I expected.
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Spin Zone - 6/10
Think I definitely regret not riding Steeplechase:
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Question is, did I miss much other than the creds, the Wonder Wheel and possibly the air race? Let me know ;)

There was also this place in Jackson, New Jersey that we visited later making up for all the lost creds. I'll mention that next time....
 

CoasterCrazy

Giga Poster
Completely forgot about this thread! Let's see how much I can remember about early September 2016...
Apparently, a surprising amount. I've also saved the best until last. Here we go...

Part 4: In and out of Six Flags Great Adventure in a day!


Looking back at it, I don't think I've ever had a more severe case of cred anxiety than on this day! The situation wasn't exactly favourable - 13 creds to polish off in a single day including a bunch of unpredictable Intamins, potentially inclement weather and a hell of a lot of filming to do at the largest theme park on the planet! Plus I had to make sure my family didn't have a "Six Flags Day" at my very first Six Flags Park!

So basically, if there were any significant queues, I was ****ed . Thankfully, it was a really successful day - the weather held off and the most I had to queue was around 30 minutes for the Joker! Here's my total hit count for the day:

El Toro x6
Bizarro x2
Kingda Ka x1
Nitro x2
BTR x2
Zumanjaro x1
Joker x1
Green Lantern x1
Superman x1
El Diablo x1
Parachute Tower x1
Log Jammer x1
Runaway Mine Train x1
Dark Knight x1
Houdini x1
Spite Mountain x0
Harley Quinn, Road Runner Railway - skipped for more laps on Toro :p

All in all then, 10 creds! I only got spited once (Skull Mountain for bloody VR) and whilst I could've grabbed some of the kiddie creds, I thought more laps on El Toro were a better use of my time! And it definitely was. Spoilers!

DISCLAIMER: As I was incredibly busy filming, I didn't take many actual pictures! However, I did take lots of video screenshots that you can find below. I've also embedded (what I think were) the best videos from the day.

Anyway, here's the picture you're all expecting:

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Easily my favourite view at any park anywhere. And in a SF park too - shocking!

First things first, I ran straight to El Toro and boarded the hype train. I felt obliged to go here first, simply because I'd never live it down if it spited me later on! Must've been on the first or second train of the day:

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And it was...
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Great? But only great. At that point, it was the best woodie I'd ever ridden, but that's not surprising considering the only other woodies I've ridden at that point were Gwazi (in its last season of dueling), Stampida and Tomahawk. One and half years later, I still haven't actually ridden another good woodie! All I managed in 2017 was Coaster Express :p
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I was happy I'd finally convinced my family that woodies can be good, but sadly, it paled in comparison to all of the steel coasters in my top 10. In any case, I think taking my family on the "newly retracked" Coaster Express undid all my hard work.
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Sadly I was left wanting much more - the airtime was consistent, but it was barely floater and apart from the pullout of the drop, it didn't really carry the sensation of speed and relentlessness that it's so famous for! Smoother than most B&Ms I've been on though!

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I tried it again in the "magic seat" at the back, but to no avail. I doubted I'd get back on it again.
So there we have it - El Toro 7.5/10 (a respectable score, but a missed opportunity)


Feeling slightly less anxious but slightly disappointed, I headed over to Bizarro:

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The placement of the ride really is "bizarre" - it's completely isolated from all the other DC rides and the forest setting almost feels like another park. Very refreshing! Could definitely drop the Bizarro theme - one of my biggest criticisms of the park is it almost feels like Six Flags DC given that 6 of the 12 coasters are superhero themed. Don't get me wrong, I love the genre and DC - but it's becoming a bit too much. Bring back Medusa!
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Plus the fire was working. That was another big plus - and a massive surprise given Six Flags' reputation!

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Anyway, rode it twice near the front and near the back. It's not going to blow anyone away by any means, but it has some really nice moments, particularly the drop, hangtime on the loop, zero G and some reasonably forceful low-to the ground turns later on. Given it was the first ever floorless and barely younger than me, it was predictably rough around the edges, which definitely detracted from the ride experience I'm afraid.

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But nonetheless, a good ride. I'd say 7/10, however, with a bit of train refurbishment, a ride later in the day when it had warmed up would easily be an 8.5.

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Bottom Left Corner: FIIIRRREEEE

Had a quick ride on their Arrow (?) log flume and it was one of the best I've done! Nicely themed, great setting, fast-paced, long and not too wet!
Brilliant ride - 9/10

Also took a spin on Runaway Mine Train, which I really enjoyed too! For a 1974 arrow classic, it was decently smooth, with a lovely helix, setting and even a surprising amount of airtime! Not sure my parents, who I accidentally didn't stop from going in a wheel seat, felt the same way though...

Overall 8/10, but make sure you avoid the wheel seats at all costs!

By that point, everything had been a walk on, but we predictably encountered our first (about 20 mins) queue of the day, for Superman: Ultimate Flight. In defence of the operators, that wasn't really their fault, simply because it's a flyer at the front of a massive park that was starting to fill up.

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Flyers are always a bit bipolar for me and this one was no exception. The wind rush on the first drop was brilliant and Pretzel loops are easily my favourite inversion - and probably the most forceful inversion on the planet!

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However, as I fully expected, the rest of the ride is pants. If the second half was a ride in itself, I'd consider it a lower tier family coaster. It just doesn't do anything? Ever flyer I've done (especially Manta), suffers from this same problem.

Overall then, I'd give Superman 6.5/10. Better than Air and probably a point or so behind Manta (simply because Manta's pretzel is bigger ;)


Next up - it had to be done - Green Lantern.

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On paper, this is a really good layout. And it starts really well! The pre-drop is a nice tease, the drop has some great airtime to it and it's got one of the best B&M vertical loops I've ridden - big, forceful and with an abundance of hangtime. The Dive loop that follows is nice...but then it just withers and dies.

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If it was a Sit-down, I'd love the short, snappy turns at the end of the layout. But they just don't work on a 20-year old Standup coaster. Sorry.

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However, I feel like it's a great layout - and for such an expansive park, there's definitely a niche for a second sit-down looper. I feel if they converted it into a classic sitdown, it would be both sufficiently different to Bizarro, but also better than Bizarro if I'm honest! I'd also love to see a theme change - I feel Wonder Woman or Lex Luthor would be a welcome change, or even something....original? I mean, the original Chang name would fit in really well with the Golden Kingdom!
Oh, and please, at least paint over the ****ing parking spaces....


As it *stands* though, Chang, I mean Green Lantern: 6.5/10 (that might sound overly harsh, but remember a score of 5 should be average)
Would be a solid 9 if it wasn't a Stand Up...

Grabbed a quick ride on the Parachute Tower. Had to be done for the nostalgia. And boy was it unnerving on the way up! The drop was surprisingly tall, but also nice and relaxing. Guess I'm probably never going to ride another one soooo....9/10 as parachute towers go?

Kingda Ka was down (Quelle surprise), so I headed over to the Joker for a quick ride. 40 minute queue, but definitely worth the wait - such a unique attraction! (Well, I mean it isn't now, but it was when I rode it...)

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As others have noted, it really feels like a flat ride and gets really intense at the end. Sadly, just as you start to love it, it comes to an abrupt end.


A good ride, but definitely a missed opportunity (I mean, they could make a whole new range of custom free-spin and controlled 4Ds, with a bunch of really exciting layouts, but they just haven't for some reason....I'd love to see a free-spinning raven turn!)

So I'd rate it a solid 8/10 for diversity - my first 4D actually.

Then with KK STILL closed (Anxiety was really starting to build at this point), we made our way to the other side of the park and yet another pair of B&Ms...

Nitro was actually my second B&M hyper in as many months - and I was really excited to see how an old-school hyper would compare to Shambhala!

First things first, I actually, non-ironically loved the station music - really got me pumped to ride, although it kept cutting out for announcements! Think I'd have gotten a bit sick of it if I was a ride op though. Rest of the station was a bit of a mess to be honest - essentially a bumfight, with no row assignment. Speaking of announcements, I've gotta say, I was actually really impressed with the whole Park's dispatch procedures! They were pretty quick, but also very thorough. I managed to just about hit 100 creds that very day...but honestly, SFGAdv was the first park I'd been too where the ops actually make use of the PA system and do a thorough visual scan.

Managed to get a ride near the back and front - comfortable restraints as expected, but what really struck me was how small 230ft felt? Maybe I've been spoiled! The drop was good (although admittedly, nothing compared to Shambhala's), but then the first half of the layout was just very...meh? The first element tries to be both an airtime hill and a stengel dive at the same time - but succeeds in being neither, the horseshoe turnaround is forceless and although they're good fun there's not much airtime on the hills.

However, the second half of the ride, quite frankly, is completely bonkers and is probably the most forceful section of a sit-down I've ridden. The positives on the helix are just insane and since the radius decreases as you ascend, the forces are sustained even though you're slowing down. The MCBR provides a nice respite, before some delicious ejector(!) on the last few hills, right into the brake run. They completely took me by surprise for a B&M! Probably wouldn't even be in my top 15 if it wasn't for the second half, but because of it, Nitro's currently my number 5. It really redeemed itself.

As a B&M hyper - 8/10
As a coaster - 9/10


Next up was Batman: The ride, which was my first Batman clone, but I very knew what to expect. Theming was barer than I anticipated, but it was a good coaster nonetheless. Not as forceful as everyone makes it out to be though, so I'd give it a generous 8/10. Nemesis Inferno's just a bit smoother and has a better sensation of speed because, so I'd rank it below that, but above Dragon Challenge (rip).

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Dark Knight was next. Some decent theming, but not *quite* enough to make it much better than a standard Wild Mouse. Is was nice they made an effort though! 6/10
And yes, the "surprise" was good. But not that good.

Hopefully Justice League has solved this problem, but the whole Gotham City area just felt incredibly lifeless with all those rides ripped out and not replaced! The area could really use a few flats (cough cough exactly like SFOT) as well, in place of the abandoned theatre. As nice as it looks from the front gate, I feel Joker would've been a bit better placed in Gotham too. Although imo hey should have kept the original Total Mayhem theme as the placement of the 4D free spin by the lake is delicious.

Think we did Houdini next? Lovely to see something like this at a SF park, with a pre-show too! Love a good madhouse - this was the third I'd done, but they still get me every time! 9/10

Kingda Ka was still closed (eugh), although I think it reopened in the time I was at the other side of the park, so it was time for...

Zumanjaro: Drop of Doom
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I'll not beat around the bush here. For such a massive ride, the drop was about as powerful as an S&S Space shot - in other words, weak as hell. You're really travelling by the time you approach the bottom, but it still seems a completely missed opportunity - I really wish they'd kept Rolling Thunder and built a ground-up tower elsewhere! The climb isn't anywhere near as terrifying as it should be either - KK's structure is just so massive, you just don't get the exposure you get on free-standing towers? I know it's outside SF's jurisdiction, but being able to run KK and ZDOD simultaneously would make both rides so much better...just imagine the vibrations you'd feel on Zumanjaro?

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6/10 - an average drop tower, but supplemented with some amazing views!


Thankfully, Kingda Ka was finally open and after a longer than necessary wait, we were on (near the front thankfully). I didn't realise it at the time, but in my "strict" Count Count, I'd got 99 creds at that point. Not a bad way to celebrate #100 then...

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Predictably, it was ****ing insane. The initial launch is actually quite weak and underpowering in acceleration, but just as you start thinking of rollbacks, the cable absolutely yanks you forward to the extent you can barely keep your eyes open. I mean it's great fun, but the acceleration is just so rough? Anyway, by the time your eyes reopen you're cresting the tallest coaster element in the world, with just enough time to contemplate your fate. The vertical twist is a lovely touch and there's a surprising amount of sustained airtime on the subsequent airtime hill. I only managed one ride and I loved it, but I was mostly just relieved that I'd managed to tick one of the world's most famous coasters off my bucket list.

However, I still felt like there was something missing from Kingda Ka, but the disappointment didn't lie in the track itself. Yes there are technical changes that would massively improve the ride too, but what completely shocked me were two things:

1) The lack of any good vantage points to watch the ride from. Somehow, Six Flags have almost managed to hide the tallest roller coaster in the world? The launch isn't even properly visible from the queueline? Oh, and before you ask, there is this view, which is beautiful and all, but nope, they treat it as an exit, and there's a security guard telling you to keep moving along. (Not my photo)

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And as a result,
2) The complete lack of atmosphere. The station feels empty and vacuous, the soundtrack is so quiet I barely noticed it and there's not even a announcement that identifies it as the tallest roller coaster in the world and the fastest in North America? Waiting for Zumanjaro kills it a bit too.

Here's what they need to do:
- New trains with lapbars (obviously)
- Replace the rough and unreliable hydraulic launch with LSMs (it's clearly possible, see Red Force)
- Make a proper entrance plaza, queue and viewing area
- Make the station a bit more exciting - and turn the music up!
- Do whatever they can to get Zumi and KK to operate in tandem.
- Oh, and remove the trim on the tophat ;)

I know that's quite the bucket list, but if they just did a couple of those things, it would massively improve the ride.

It then started to get dark, and we were still in Golden Kingdom. So we could either mop up the kids coasters, or ride El Toro. Tough decision ;)
In truth, we decided to do El Diablo first. Just to see whether all the hate for super loops was justified.
I actually quite enjoyed it! Didn't fancy rerididng, but it has some nice forces and hangtime - plus I love the fact it's manually controlled by the operator - makes every ride different!

I'd actually say 7/10!

Then we completely whored Toro. And wow. What a difference 3/4 of a day makes! Absolutely ****ing incredible.
The sun was setting, the station was emptying, so we managed 4 back-to-back rides in the Magic Seat one row from the back - I think they even let us stay on for our last ride! Airtime on EVERY SINGLE HILL, and the last big hill (by the first drop, you know the one) was balls to the wall insane. I don't think it's physically possible to get more airtime than we did on that hill. Christ, it was relentless.

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(That's the entrance to the hill I'm talking about...)

Just take a look at how quickly it flies over those hills!


I had a very difficult decision to make...was it better than Shambhala? I think those sunset rides we got on it were probably just about better. However, I think I just about prefer Shamhala's insane floater to Toro's insane ejector, but only just. Add the fact that Shambhala's reliably excellent (being good in every seat, at every time of the day - we rode right in the back of Toro and it wasn't quite up to the same standard), comfier, taller and a tiny bit smoother, I think Shammy just about clung onto my top spot. For now at least.

I was gutted that we had to leave the park before closing to get the last bus back into NY, but what a day it was!
Overall, SFGAdv could use some more flats, some landscaping and a few tweaks to some of their rides, but it really is a fantastic theme park, of which Toro is the absolute star!

Thanks for reading guys, hope the tardiness was worth it somehow!
I've actually visited two more parks since (Parque Warner and Ocean Park Hong Kong, so I'll write them up in about a year...)
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Rankings at the end of the trip:

1) Shambhala
2) El Toro
3) Katun
4) Nemesis
5) Nitro
6) Dragon Khan
 

Mysterious Sue

Strata Poster
Thanks for the thorough report. Brings back memories of my first visit to Great Adventure (although we got spited by El Toro). Well done on fitting so much into your day.
 

Sandman

Giga Poster
Nice report man, interesting to hear a newbies perspective of PA. That 8.5/10 rating for El Diablo & then 2/10 for Baco is despicable though ;) Glad Shambhala won you over though.
 
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