KINGDA KA

KINGDA KA
SIX FLAGS GREAT ADVENTURE

I can think of many adjectives to describe Kingda Ka and the one that immediately comes to mind is extreme.    The height (456 ft.) and speed (128 mph) – not to mention the launch – are sufficiently extreme to take people way out of their comfort zones, which is why I hadn’t ridden it before.   There’s a first time for everything and not having done a launch coaster, I decided it was time to give it a shot, especially given the huge popularity of this ride.   Once the riders were all harnessed in, the train left the loading area and got into position for the famous launch, in what was a moment of great anticipation.  Then suddenly, zoom!   Accelerating from 0 to 128 mph in a couple of seconds was startling to the point of being shocking, but also exhilarating.   Wow!  Once at the top, the train spiralled down 418 feet in what is the longest descent I've ever experienced.   One more small hill and the train returned to the station.   I have mixed feelings about this coaster because it’s a very short ride – less than 30 seconds – and very little happens during the course of the ride.   Yes, the launch is thrilling but once you reach the top you go right back down and that’s pretty much all she wrote.   That's why Kingda Ka will probably never make my top 10 list.   However, the more I ride this coaster, the more I like it.   The rush of adrenaline during the launch is addictive and the front seat is pretty amazing.   Now that I've ridden both Kingda Ka and Top Thrill Dragster, I've decided that I like Kingda Ka a little more because even though it lacks the great theming of Dragster, it has the extra hill and I find that the harnesses on KK are more comfortable than the lap bars on TTD.  (On TTD I've had a problem with my elbows getting banged up.)  3 ½ out of 5 stars.  (In the  photograph taken from a cable car, that's El Toro in the foreground and Kingda Ka in background; I liked this shot because it shows how Kingda Ka towers over El Toro, which is by no means small.) For more information about rides at Six Flags Great Adventure, visit their website: www.sixflags.com/greatadventure/

BIZARRO

BIZARRO
SIX FLAGS NEW ENGLAND

Six rides on Bizarro almost made up for having to drive two hours from Boston to Six Flags New England due to misinformation on a website which said that Boston was the closest airport to Agawam.  (Hartford is the closest airport.)  Because this coaster was manufactured by Intamin, which built my two favourite coasters – El Toro and Millennium Force – I expected a good ride and believe me, I got one.  The lift hill reminded me of Millennium Force because both coasters have a body of water on the left side and no guard rail on that side, the only difference being that Bizarro uses a chain lift and MF uses a cable lift.  The first drop of 221 feet at a 72-degree angle was breathtaking, with the added element of speeding into a mist-filled tunnel at the bottom of the drop.  That was followed by a succession of drops and overbanked turns.  This ride is all about drops, angles and special effects.   The track layout is outstanding and the helixes were pretty intense.  I rode Bizarro in the front, middle and back of the train and found that the G-forces are much greater in the back.  This can be felt throughout the ride and particularly when racing around a right-banked turn into the second mist-filled tunnel.  However,  I still enjoy the front not only for the unobstructed view but for the very noticeable hang time before going over the first drop.  The only thing I wasn’t crazy about was the sound effects.  On my first visit to SFNE, each seat had a speaker in the headrest which blasted out Bizarro-themed music that sounded like a combination of commercial voiceovers and rap.  Well, a roller coaster soundtrack is an interesting concept but I felt that this detracted from rather than added to the ride.    (At least it wasn’t as obnoxious as the repetitive pre-recorded announcements in the loading area to the effect that riders must have two legs and at least one arm to ride Bizarro.)  When I visited the park a year later, the soundtrack had been removed.  With or without a soundtrack, Bizarro is one of the best coasters I have ever ridden.  5 out of 5 stars.  For more information about rides at Six Flags New England visit www.sixflags.com/newengland/

FLASHBACK

FLASHBACK
SIX FLAGS NEW ENGLAND

This coaster was a novel experience from beginning to end.  Going up a lift hill backwards was a first for me, and struck me as rather bizarre.  As the train was being pulled backwards I felt myself being pushed forward to the extent that it seemed as if I was going to be pushed out.  (Not a chance, as riders are restrained by harnesses.)   Not far from the top, the catch car releases the train and zoom, the riders are sent hurtling downhill without any warning.  The train proceeds through two corkscrews and a loop, then does it all in reverse.  Going downhill backwards felt as odd as going uphill backwards and this segment of the ride proved to be more intense than the first.  In one of the corkscrews I seemed to be flat on my back staring up at the sky, which in a way was pretty cool.  However, I didn’t find it as enjoyable as I might have because the force exerted in the corkscrews/ cobra roll caused me to hit my head against the headrest twice and bang one elbow while trying to regain a sense of balance.  That being said, Flashback was a pretty good ride.  3 ½ out of 5 stars.  For more information about rides at Six Flags New England, visit www.sixflags.com/newengland/

CYCLONE

CYCLONE
SIX FLAGS NEW ENGLAND

If you’re seeking high thrills, this is not the ride for you.   The longest drop is only 90 feet  although I must say that it feels like less than that so the anticipation I felt while being pulled up the hill turned into disappointment.  The lift hill is deceptive because the drop on the other side is 22 feet shorter than the length of the lift hill.  This is not to say that a coaster must have huge drops to be great;  Phoenix at Knoebels doesn’t have any big drops and is a great ride because it has other things going for it.   What I mean to say is that Cyclone struck me as unexceptional.  I thought that the best elements of the ride were the turns (this is a twister), which do offer some decent airtime.  And although the track looks pretty rickety, the ride did not feel at all rough.  It’s not a bad ride; it’s just very tame by my standards.  Ho hum.  2 ½ out of 5 stars.   For more information about rides at Six Flags New England visit www.sixflags.com/newengland/  (P.S. The video is almost unwatchable because of the green tint – the camcorder is obviously defective - but it will at least give you some idea of the ride.)

DIAMONDBACK

DIAMONDBACK
KINGS ISLAND

Like Apollo’s Chariot, this B&M coaster goes straight up the lift hill from the loading area, and with surprising alacrity.  I could be mistaken, but my impression was that it took less time to reach the top than it did on Nitro.  The first drop of 215 feet at a 74-degree angle is phenomenal and that was followed by a second, lesser drop.  This ride has some interesting elements such as a hammerhead turn similar to the one on Nitro and a spectacular splashdown.  Unfortunately, from the front seat I was unable to see the huge plumes of water which rise up during the splashdown although maybe riders at the back of the train can see this – I would hope so because it looks quite impressive to spectators.  One thing which struck me as unusual was how the seats are arranged.  Diamondback seats 2 across and whereas the seats in the first row are side by side, the seats in the second row are spaced apart, and staggered that way throughout the train.  As to other elements of the ride, the helixes were not as intense as those on other coasters I have ridden but all in all, Diamondback is an excellent and exciting ride.  (Be forewarned that  because this a very popular ride, the wait time to get on it was 2 hours.)  4 ½ out of 5 stars.  .   For more information about rides at Kings Island, go to www.visitkingsisland.com/

THE BEAST

THE BEAST
KINGS ISLAND

It isn’t the biggest, fastest or wickedest wooden coaster but it is the longest – and in my opinion one of the best.   Although I would not classify it as a high thrill ride and would have to agree with those who find it lacking in airtime, I think it has enough going for it to merit the popularity it has achieved.  Particularly noteworthy is the length and duration of the ride – 7,359 feet and 4 minutes 10 seconds or 4 minutes 50 seconds, depending upon which version you believe (website with stats says 4:10 but printed material given to me at Kings Island says 4:50 so take your pick).   And The Beast manages to pack a lot into those almost 5 minutes.   From the loading area it makes a right turn, proceeds up the lift hill and drops 135 feet into a tunnel. This is followed by a number of twists and turns and a couple of excursions into total darkness.  One of the tunnels is underground, which would explain why everything was pitch black.  After the second lift hill, the train goes around a curve and then descends 141 feet into a covered helix.  For me this was the best part of the ride because the train is banked sharply left and in the darkness this is a blast.  Rarely have I had so much fun on a wooden coaster.   When I’m enjoying a ride this much I tend to laugh – and on The Beast I laughed my head off.   OK, so it isn’t as ferocious as it used to be but it’s still worth riding.  I would have ridden it over and over except for the fact that the wait time to get on it was just over 2 hours and as I had also had to wait 2 hours to get on Diamondback, this simply wasn’t an option.  (Note that on weekends, the ride lines and food lines tend to be very long at Kings Island.)  Kings Island does offer Fast Lane passes to avoid the long wait but those are pricey - $55.00 as of May 2012.  So one ride on The Beast was all I got and I couldn’t get a decent photograph of it because it’s not out in the open like Diamondback – although the fact that it’s mostly hidden from view actually adds to its allure, because you don’t know what you’re letting yourself in for.  4 ½ out of 5 stars.   For more information about rides at Kings Island, go to www.visitkingsisland.com/  Last but certainly not least, the three good photographs of The Beast are courtesy of coasterimage.com, a fabulous website for coaster pictures: www.coasterimage.com/