- July 15th, 2012, 4:22 pm
#49462
For our graduation trip me and a couple of my friends decided to go to KD. It was my first trip to this amazing, fantastic park. The four days ran together so much so this is more of a ride/park review more than a TR, but here it goes...
We left around 5 a.m. Monday morning, which put us at the park right at opening time. On Monday the park was dead. As soon as we got there we ran to Volcano, because we had heard the line will get really long, really quick. We got essentially a walk-on front row ride. Volcano was my first launch coaster so, needless to say, I was kind of nervous about riding, but as soon as the LIM's shot us off, it was nothing but pure bliss! I only wish the coaster was slightly longer. And just as I heard, the line filled up quickly, so we decided to go on to Intimidator 305.
First off, I wish that our Intimidator and theirs had not been themed the same, as I found myself comparing the two frequently over the week, even though I know they are two drastically different rides. We waited the extra bit to experience my first ever giga coaster in front row. The ride experience is unlike any other. Racing to the top of the lift in less than ten seconds, free-falling over 300 feet at an 85 degree angle, the positive g-forces gluing you into your seat through the first turn, it's all so insane!!!
Even after the re-tracking on the first turn to minimize the gray outs, I still found myself graying out on all of my almost 20 rides over the week. What I had originally thought was a dumb, outrageous move by Intimin, has now easily became my favorite coaster.
After we had our insanity fix, we rode Flight Of Fear. The queue line screams, "Paramount was here" as you weave through almost total darkness. As we enter the station, there is this sense of total fear in some of the guests as they watch the train shoot into oblivion, only to turn around and see an empty train rolling into the station, with no trace of the guests who rode before.
Launching into nowhere and flying left, right and upsidedown in total darkness is one of the most fun things anyone could do in my opinion.
After we rode Flight of Fear, we hit Backlot Stunt Coaster. The bodies that Cedar Fair put on the trains to cover up the Mini Cooper cars look quite pitiful, but nonetheless, we thoroughly enjoyed the nice little family coaster.
We were going to ride Anaconda next, but it was down due to maintenance until 12, as would be the case every day. So we headed to their HUGE Drop Tower. I was really excited to ride, considering it's almost twice as tall as the one at Carowinds.
The overall drop disappointed me. It felt really controlled the entire way down. I really think the Carowinds tower is better.
Afterwords, we headed to Rebel Yell. Even though it's almost 10 feet shorter than Thunder Road, it was still a better ride overall. The one thing I couldn't get over is how smooth it was, along with their Hurler and Grizzly.
Ricochet was up next. I was really excited about it, considering the awesome looking drop at the beginning of the ride, but it really wasn't as fun as the one at Carowinds.
Hurler was ridiculously awesome compared to ours. It didn't jerk me around at all! In fact it was so smooth, I rode in the back row once and thoroughly enjoyed it. I don't know what Cedar Fair has done differently with KD's woodies, but it needs to come to Carowinds soon!!!
Grizzy was so amazing!! Especially at night. We rode a few times in front row, and then decided to try the front seats in the back car, and wow! Flying through the woods at night with some pretty insane ejector airtime is one of the best things ever. Over the week we rode Grizzly just as much, if not more than Initimidator.
The Flying Eagles were pretty awesome, they seemed faster than our gliders but for some reason it was almost impossible to snap the cables, which, I think is the funnest part, so I have to give ours the slighter upper hand.
I was pretty terrified to ride Shockwave because of all the bad things I'd heard about TOGO stand-ups in the past, but I hankered down in the front row despite what I'd heard. The first bit wasn't that bad and was quite fun actually, but once you hit the top of the hill before the helix, everything changes. It's almost as if you are actually riding one of those TOGO stand ups you built on Roller Coaster Tycoon. I lived, but I can't really say that I'd ride it again.
Dominator was, in all typical B&M fashion, awesome! The really low overbanked turn right after the loop is really fast and fun, and really overall, the entire ride doesn't disappoint!
Anaconda was really fun, and not as rough as I expected. The placement of the ride is perfect, as it makes for great photos!
The entire park was absolutely beautiful and I couldn't get over their tree cover! The Eiffel Tower and fountains at the front of the park were just amazing and very relaxing.
That's pretty much it for the report. Here's a stock pile of some of my favorite photos of the week!
Dominator:
Volcano:
Anaconda:
Intimidator 305:
Random other shots:
We left around 5 a.m. Monday morning, which put us at the park right at opening time. On Monday the park was dead. As soon as we got there we ran to Volcano, because we had heard the line will get really long, really quick. We got essentially a walk-on front row ride. Volcano was my first launch coaster so, needless to say, I was kind of nervous about riding, but as soon as the LIM's shot us off, it was nothing but pure bliss! I only wish the coaster was slightly longer. And just as I heard, the line filled up quickly, so we decided to go on to Intimidator 305.
First off, I wish that our Intimidator and theirs had not been themed the same, as I found myself comparing the two frequently over the week, even though I know they are two drastically different rides. We waited the extra bit to experience my first ever giga coaster in front row. The ride experience is unlike any other. Racing to the top of the lift in less than ten seconds, free-falling over 300 feet at an 85 degree angle, the positive g-forces gluing you into your seat through the first turn, it's all so insane!!!
Even after the re-tracking on the first turn to minimize the gray outs, I still found myself graying out on all of my almost 20 rides over the week. What I had originally thought was a dumb, outrageous move by Intimin, has now easily became my favorite coaster.
After we had our insanity fix, we rode Flight Of Fear. The queue line screams, "Paramount was here" as you weave through almost total darkness. As we enter the station, there is this sense of total fear in some of the guests as they watch the train shoot into oblivion, only to turn around and see an empty train rolling into the station, with no trace of the guests who rode before.
Launching into nowhere and flying left, right and upsidedown in total darkness is one of the most fun things anyone could do in my opinion.
After we rode Flight of Fear, we hit Backlot Stunt Coaster. The bodies that Cedar Fair put on the trains to cover up the Mini Cooper cars look quite pitiful, but nonetheless, we thoroughly enjoyed the nice little family coaster.
We were going to ride Anaconda next, but it was down due to maintenance until 12, as would be the case every day. So we headed to their HUGE Drop Tower. I was really excited to ride, considering it's almost twice as tall as the one at Carowinds.
The overall drop disappointed me. It felt really controlled the entire way down. I really think the Carowinds tower is better.
Afterwords, we headed to Rebel Yell. Even though it's almost 10 feet shorter than Thunder Road, it was still a better ride overall. The one thing I couldn't get over is how smooth it was, along with their Hurler and Grizzly.
Ricochet was up next. I was really excited about it, considering the awesome looking drop at the beginning of the ride, but it really wasn't as fun as the one at Carowinds.
Hurler was ridiculously awesome compared to ours. It didn't jerk me around at all! In fact it was so smooth, I rode in the back row once and thoroughly enjoyed it. I don't know what Cedar Fair has done differently with KD's woodies, but it needs to come to Carowinds soon!!!
Grizzy was so amazing!! Especially at night. We rode a few times in front row, and then decided to try the front seats in the back car, and wow! Flying through the woods at night with some pretty insane ejector airtime is one of the best things ever. Over the week we rode Grizzly just as much, if not more than Initimidator.
The Flying Eagles were pretty awesome, they seemed faster than our gliders but for some reason it was almost impossible to snap the cables, which, I think is the funnest part, so I have to give ours the slighter upper hand.
I was pretty terrified to ride Shockwave because of all the bad things I'd heard about TOGO stand-ups in the past, but I hankered down in the front row despite what I'd heard. The first bit wasn't that bad and was quite fun actually, but once you hit the top of the hill before the helix, everything changes. It's almost as if you are actually riding one of those TOGO stand ups you built on Roller Coaster Tycoon. I lived, but I can't really say that I'd ride it again.
Dominator was, in all typical B&M fashion, awesome! The really low overbanked turn right after the loop is really fast and fun, and really overall, the entire ride doesn't disappoint!
Anaconda was really fun, and not as rough as I expected. The placement of the ride is perfect, as it makes for great photos!
The entire park was absolutely beautiful and I couldn't get over their tree cover! The Eiffel Tower and fountains at the front of the park were just amazing and very relaxing.
That's pretty much it for the report. Here's a stock pile of some of my favorite photos of the week!
Dominator:
Volcano:
Anaconda:
Intimidator 305:
Random other shots:
