An indoor wild
mouse coaster, The Dark Knight is an experience that extends beyond the ride itself. Before
the ride begins, riders are ushered into a dark room and shown a video of a press
conference featuring Gotham
City ’s D.A. (portrayed by
actor Aaron Eckhart). There are questions about Joker cards found at
crime scenes and whether Batman should be incarcerated for taking the law into his
own hands (answer to the latter is that the city should be returned to a state of
affairs in which it didn’t need Batman) before everything goes haywire and the video
cuts out, presumably disrupted by The Joker. Sirens sound, those in attendance are told to evacuate
the city and the door to the loading area opens. The cars
in which the evacuees will ride seat four, with a lap bar as a restraint, and what
I found especially interesting is that they never stop moving. Those just
finishing the ride hop out of a car and the next group of riders jumps in; the restraints
are then locked and checked by the ride ops with the car still in motion. The journey
itself consists of multiple jarring sharp turns with a few unforeseen and unforeseeable
drops. Anyone who’s ever ridden a wild mouse
is familiar with the perception of being about to go off the track. The fact that this ride takes place indoors and
in the dark serves to enhance that perception. While there
is some illumination and at certain points riders experience startling visual effects,
during much of the ride it’s pitch black. After the
first series of turns the coaster drops in total darkness; after the next series
it drops twice, again in total darkness. Never a
fan of wild mouse rides, I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this one. It’s really
a hoot. (Apparently, it’s not for everyone,
as I shared a car with a young couple on one occasion and at the end of the ride
the woman threw up.) My only reservation
is that for repeat riders, the video presentation before the ride gets old awfully
fast. Nevertheless, it’s a significant component
of the overall experience and The Dark Knight
is a vastly entertaining coaster. 3 ½ out
of 5 stars. For more information about rides
at Six Flags Great Adventure, visit www.sixflags.com/greatadventure/
ROLLER COASTER REVIEWS
- AFTERBURN
- ALPENGEIST
- AMERICAN EAGLE
- ANACONDA KINGS DOMINION
- APOLLO'S CHARIOT
- AVALANCHE KINGS DOMINION
- BACKLOT STUNT COASTER
- BANSHEE
- BATMAN: THE DARK NIGHT
- BATMAN: THE RIDE SFGA
- BATWING
- Behemoth
- BIZARRO SIX FLAGS GREAT ADVENTURE
- BIZARRO SIX FLAGS NEW ENGLAND
- BLUE STREAK CEDAR POINT
- BOOMERANG COAST TO COASTER
- BOULDER DASH
- CANNIBAL
- CAROLINA COBRA
- CAROLINA CYCLONE
- CEDAR POINT
- CHEETAH HUNT
- COLOSSUS THE FIRE DRAGON
- CONEY ISLAND CYCLONE
- Cyclone Six Flags New England
- DEMON - SIX FLAGS GREAT AMERICA
- DIAMONDBACK KINGS ISLAND
- DOMINATOR - KD
- DORNEY PARK
- DRAGON FIRE
- EL TORO
- FAHRENHEIT
- FIRECHASER EXPRESS
- FLASHBACK SIX FLAGS NEW ENGLAND
- FLIGHT DECK
- FLIGHT OF FEAR - KD
- FURY 325
- GALACTICA
- GATEKEEPER
- GEMINI
- GOLIATH - SIX FLAGS FIESTA
- GOLIATH - SIX FLAGS GREAT AMERICA
- GOLIATH - SIX FLAGS NEW ENGLAND
- GREAT BEAR
- GRIFFON
- GRIZZLY
- GWAZI
- HERSHEYPARK
- HOLIDAY WORLD
- HURLER - CAROWINDS
- HYDRA THE REVENGE
- INTIMIDATOR
- INTIMIDATOR 305
- IRON RATTLER
- JET STAR 2
- JOKER'S JINX
- JUDGE ROY SCREAM
- KINGDA KA
- KINGS DOMINION
- KUMBA
- LEVIATHAN
- LIGHTNING RACER
- LIGHTNING ROD
- LOCH NESS MONSTER
- MAGNUM XL 200
- MAVERICK
- MEAN STREAK
- MIGHTY CANADIAN MINEBUSTER
- MILLENNIUM FORCE
- MIND ERASER - SFNE
- MONTU
- MR. FREEZE REVERSE BLAST
- MY TOP TEN ROLLER COASTERS
- MYSTERY MINE
- NEMESIS - ALTON TOWERS
- NEW TEXAS GIANT
- NIGHTHAWK
- NITRO
- OBLIVION
- OUTLAW RUN
- PHOENIX KNOEBELS
- POLTERGEIST
- POSSESSED
- POWDER KEG
- RAGING BULL
- RAPTOR - CEDAR POINT
- REBEL YELL
- RITA - ALTON TOWERS
- ROADRUNNER EXPRESS
- ROAR
- ROLLER COASTER
- ROLLING THUNDER
- RUNAWAY MINE TRAIN - SFGA
- SHEIKRA
- SHIVERING TIMBERS
- SHOCK WAVE
- SIDEWINDER HERSHEY PARK
- SIX FLAGS GREAT ADVENTURE
- SIX FLAGS NEW ENGLAND
- SKYRUSH
- SKYRUSH PHOTO SHOOT
- STEEL FORCE
- STINGER
- STORM RUNNER
- SUPERMAN - RIDE OF STEEL
- SUPERMAN KRYPTON COASTER
- SUPERMAN SFGA
- TALON
- TEMPESTO
- TENNESSEE TORNADO
- THE BEAST
- THE DARK KNIGHT - SFGA
- THE HURLER
- THE HURLER KINGS DOMINION
- THE JOKER
- THE SMILER
- THE VOYAGE
- THEME PARK REVIEWS
- THI3TEEN - ALTON TOWERS
- THUNDERBOLT
- THUNDERBOLT - SFNE
- THUNDERHAWK - DORNEY
- THUNDERHEAD
- TITAN
- TOP THRILL DRAGSTER
- TWISTED TIMBERS
- TWISTER KNOEBELS
- VIPER - SFGAM
- VOLCANO THE BLAST COASTER
- VORTEX
- WICKED
- WICKED CYCLONE - SIX FLAGS NEW ENGLAND
- WICKER MAN
- WILD BEAST
- WILD EAGLE
- WILD ONE - SIX FLAGS AMERICA
- WILDCAT - LAKE COMPOUNCE
- WILDCAT HERSHEY PARK
- WILDFIRE
- WOLVERINE WILDCAT
- WOODEN WARRIOR
- X-FLIGHT
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