OUTLAW RUN

Silver Dollar City

Outlaw Run was among the most eagerly anticipated coasters to open in 2013 and after six rides on it, I can certainly appreciate why.  This coaster has it all – aggressive thrills, airtime, novelty – and threatens to displace El Toro as my all-time favourite woodie.  From the old west-themed loading station, the train goes under the bridge used to exit the ride and ascends a 107-foot lift hill.  From there it makes a short dip and short hop up before plunging 162 feet at an 81-degree angle.  (Before Outlaw Run opened, El Toro had the steepest drop of any wooden coaster in the USA at 76 degrees.)   The drop, as anticipated, was breathtaking, with phenomenal floater airtime.   Following the drop is a 153-degree overbanked turn which almost feels like an inversion.  The ride supposedly features three inversions but the only time I perceived myself to be completely upside down was during the double barrel roll – although the first overbanked turn came awfully close.   With the drops, turns and inversions, this coaster has both floater and ejector airtime.  I found the airtime to be somewhat better in the back of the train although the front seat is fun because there’s nothing like staring down at that first drop.  The train moves along at a pretty good clip (68mph) and never perceptibly slows down. Toward the end of the ride is a pretty amazing wave turn followed by the double barrel roll, which was beyond awesome and almost blew me away.   An inversion such as this on a wooden coaster is cause for celebration.   I should mention the fact that the restraints consist only of a lap bar and shin restraint, and there is really nothing to hold onto!  This works, however, the only drawback being that the shin restraint makes it impossible for riders to put their feet flat down on the floor of the train and can be felt at moments of airtime but I didn’t find that to detract from the quality of the ride.  Alas, the ride is over all too soon.  Outlaw Run is a marvel of engineering and one of the best coasters I’ve ever ridden.  5 out of 5 stars.  For move information about rides at Silver Dollar City, visit www.silverdollarcity.com

WILDFIRE

Silver Dollar City

Wildfire is not dissimilar to other B&M looping steel coasters I’ve ridden but there is one notable difference.  Most coasters of this type descend the initial drop at an angle before entering the first inversion but the drop on Wildfire is straight down.   From the loading station, the train makes a right turn, ascends a 120-foot lift hill and drops an impressive 155 feet before entering an Immelmann loop.   This is followed by a vertical loop, cobra roll and finally, near the end of the ride, a corkscrew.    The train travels at a speed of 66 mph and features a banked curve before the corkscrew.   Wildfire provides an enjoyable ride experience and in my opinion is a cut above other coasters of similar design. 4 out of 5 stars.  For more information about rides at Silver Dollar City, visit www.silverdollarcity.com

POWDER KEG

Silver Dollar City

Powder Keg is somewhat different from other launch coasters I’ve ridden in that it uses compressed air in lieu of a hydraulic launch, linear induction motor or linear synchronous motor.   At the outset of the ride, the train is moved over to the left from the track in the loading station to a launch track.   With a certain amount of fanfare – there are flashing stoplights – the train is launched from 0 to 53 mph up a 98-foot lift hill, at which point it drops 110 feet.  (The ride ops at the time that I rode were claiming that the launch is from zero to 60 and that the drop is 119 feet; Roller Coaster Database says 53 and 110, so take your pick.)    It then goes through a series of turns and drops.  Somewhat unusually, there is a second lift hill about three quarters of the way through the ride.  I found this to be a very smooth, fun ride with a lot of kick but can’t say that Powder Keg blew me away.  3 out of 5 stars.  Photograph by Jeremy Thompson, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.  For more information about rides at Silver Dollar City, visit

www.silverdollarcity.com

GATEKEEPER

Cedar Point

Cedar Point’s new coaster for 2013, Gatekeeper, is very aptly named because part of the track overhangs the entrance gates to the park.  A wing coaster seating four across, with two seats on each side of the track, it’s accessed by two flights of stairs leading left and right.   Out of the loading station the train turns right, ascends a 170-foot lift hill and  goes into a dive drop, from which it plunges 164 feet.  This sets a new record for the tallest inversion on a roller coaster, previously held by Volcano The Blast Coaster at 155 feet.   From there the train enters an Immelmann loop.   The configuration of the track is interesting, as the initial section resembles a series of coils contained within a compact area whereas the latter section is stretched out and faintly resembles a figure 8.   On the stretched out section, the train passes through openings in two closely-spaced columns.  Other elements of the ride include a flat spin, zero-g roll, inline twist and inclined dive loop, the last of which is displayed in photograph #4.   Due to the similarity in design/concept, comparisons with Dollywood’s Wild Eagle are almost inevitable.  I found Gatekeeper to be the better of the two rides, for both the elements and the airtime.  4 out of 5 stars.  For more information about rides at Cedar Point, visit www.cedarpoint.com

RAPTOR

Cedar Point

Raptor is a coaster I had bypassed on previous visits to Cedar Point in favor of more extreme thrill rides such as Millennium Force and Top Thrill Dragster.  I finally decided to give it a try and am glad that I did.  An inverted/suspended coaster seating four across,  it makes a left turn from the loading station, ascends a 137-foot lift hill and drops 119 feet  before going up into a 100-foot vertical loop.  This is followed by a zero-g roll, cobra roll and first of two helixes.  The ride features two corkscrews and a pretty intense helix towards the end.  What a fun ride!  I’ve been on several similar coasters but thought that this one is somewhat above average.  3 ½ out of 5 stars.   For more information about rides at Cedar Point, visit www.cedarpoint.com