Hey folks, as an extra credit option for my class, I am to submit the topic of my current paper which is a Tatsu ride review to an appropriate website to get traffic. I hope I did it justice as this encapsulates how I felt during my very first experience with this coaster.
My Quest For The Best
Roller coasters, some people love them, some people hate them. I myself fall into the love them category. The perfect coaster for me has to be comfortable, have a steep drop, multiple inversions, a ride time of at least 90 seconds, and it has to travel faster than 60MPH. Not only does the ride itself have to meet those criteria, but the wait for the ride has to be tolerable and comfortable as well. I also feel that a fantastic coaster has to conform to some sort of theme. When Tatsu, a steel-flying roller coaster designed by Bolliger & Mabillard opened at Six Flags Magic Mountain in 2006, I knew I had to conquer it.
Immediately upon driving up to the entrance to Six Flags, you can see the twisting, red, yellow and orange track of Tatsu towering over the landscape. This is a huge roller coaster that dwarfs the others around it. The track weaves throughout the trees of the park in some places and hugs the terrain of the hill it is built upon in others. My heart is racing with anticipation and I am not even in the park yet.
The park opens and I make my way to Tatsu along with hundreds of other people. I already know that the wait for Tatsu will be long, but as I approach the ride queue, I pleasantly find the line is protected from the sun by a shade screen. In places where there is no screen, there are trees that provide plenty of shade. This makes the wait in line very comfortable and I appreciate that Six Flags makes an attempt to keep their riders cool while they wait for the ride.
Surprisingly, the wait for Tatsu goes by rather quickly. I expected to wait at least an hour based upon my perceived position in line, but I got to the boarding station in less than 30 minutes. The reason for the short wait time is that Tatsu has a dual loading station that services two trains while a third is running the track. The dual loading system of Tatsu is capable of 1600 riders per hour making for an extremely fast rider turn around and a lightning quick wait time.
The one thing I noticed while waiting in line is Tatsu’s theme. The premise of the ride is a dragon swooping and diving around the park flying through the air. You can clearly see all of this from the queue. The track has wide sweeping turns with tight in-line twists that flip you upside down. As I near the boarding station, I see what I think, has to be the most ridiculous element of this ride…a 124 foot pretzel loop. If you can picture an upside down pretzel, you have a general idea of what a pretzel loop is. I hear the riders scream as the train plunges down the 124 foot drop disappearing below the tree line and all the screams abruptly stop. All screams resume shortly after as the train rockets back up above the tree line making a few more twists and turns before hitting the brakes and entering the boarding station. I cannot wait to ride this coaster.
In the boarding house I get my first up close look at the train. The seats themselves are attached with a swinging mechanism. While boarding the train, seats are perpendicular to the track. This allows riders to hop into their seats and adjust as necessary while in a sitting position. When the over the shoulder harness swings down to secure you in place, the passengers ankles are also clamped in place against the seat by little flaps that fold over them. The shoulder harness also has a flexible rubber breastplate that rests against your chest to provide maximum comfort for the rider during their experience. After all the ride attendants signal that the coaster is green, meaning it is safe to proceed, the entire compliment of cars fold up against the train swinging all riders feet to the back. At this point, you are now completely free and hanging in the harness face down and head first, much like a hang glider would be. For the entire ride, through all the swoops, dives, rolls, twists and that even more intimidating pretzel loop, you will be hanging in this harness. My heart rate significantly increases at this point. This is my first experience on a flying coaster and I am now both terrified and excited at the same time and I am boarding the next train.
I board the train, palms sweaty, gigantic butterflies in my stomach, and I have to remind myself that I actually do like roller coasters. The seat, even though hard, is really comfortable. It contours the body nicely and the ankle cups are wide and accommodating. The harness swings down in place and completely covers your chest with the rubber pad. It looks safe and I know there is no way I could leave the seat even if I wanted to, which I admit, at this point I really did. It is too late to turn back now as the cars fold back into place and I begin my trek.
As the coaster leaves the station you hear the “clickity clack” of the chain lift as it pulls the train up the lift hill. As we make the trip to the top of the 170 foot climb, I get a beautiful bird’s eye view of the park and the Roaring Rapids ride that flanks Tatsu. I start to feel uneasy as we climb even higher and I come to the realization that the only thing between me and unsuspecting park goers below is just a harness and rubber pad. My gentle grip on the harness bars now becomes death grip on the harness bars. The climb to the top feels like an eternity, but once we arrive, the dragon awakens.
Tatsu immediately makes a 180 degree sharp, sweeping, 111 foot drop to the right and the sensation of flight is fully realized as we reach the exhilarating top speed of 67 MPH. This is instantly the best roller coaster I have ever been on. All of my fears about how I am riding are gone as I fly through the air on this brilliant creation. The train enters the first of four magnificent inversions in the form of a 103 foot tall corkscrew and I find myself squealing with glee with a huge smile on my face. As we swiftly soar through the air my thoughts turn toward the 124 foot pretzel loop and I again wonder why the screams stopped. I am about to find out as the train rolls out of the second inversion and heads towards the loop.
The train approaches the loop and quickly plunges down the track head first. I scream out a “WOOHOO” as we plummet to the earth. When the train reaches the bottom of the loop I now realize why the screams stopped. All of the G-forces you experience at the bottom and climb out are put squarely on your torso taking the wind from you. It is a shocking coaster element because it is not painful in any way but it takes your breath away and is the best element I have ever experienced on a coaster. We travel through one more in-line twist and sweeping turn and the train hits the breaking system. As we await an open station there is only one word that comes to my mind…wow. I immediately get back in line to ride Tatsu six more times that day.
Tatsu is an invigorating ride which boasts an impressive two minute ride duration giving you a solid bang for your buck. The flying train is both frightening as well as thrilling and is the most comfortable I have ever been on a roller coaster. If you love wild rides, Tatsu is a beast you have to tame.
