rjholla2003

I definitely like the way that SFGAm pulled this coaster off. Looks much better than it's Jerseyan brother. I'm jealous!

Sounds like you rode Ka in a car other than the very front one. Ouch! I refuse to sit anywhere else. The rear of the train is so bad that during the commercial shoot, none of us wanted to go back there during the rotation. Seeing as that was before it even opened to the public, I wouldn't even want to imagine what it's like now.

In regards to the pre-show, the beginning of it is background noise. They don't start the real pre-show until the doors are closed and the lights start to dim. You really missed very little, if anything. In fact, it's so much filler that they have it "looping" (I believe it's two very well edited loops) so that one load can exit while the other load enters the area.

Looks like we throw Batman on the side of the fence we have it on for the same reason. I put it there because the ride is amazingly solid, which is why it's cloned so much. You, on the other hand...well you know you. That's simply a case of "To each his own". Kingda Ka, I still find it the most thrilling, lightning bolt type ride you can have. I haven't ridden TTD, but I personally don't find the OTSR more restrictive than any of the Intamin T-Bars I've ridden, or lap bars, since the shoulder straps are mostly a joke. I also think that between the second hill and the brake on the tophat, that I would find Ka more enjoyable than TTD. Of course, I'll leave my final judgement for when I get to the Point. I'm sure TTD has better trains. And for my parting words: Super(lame)man sucks. Stop cloning it!

This is my "Great List": El Toro Nitro Medusa Batman: The Ride Kingda Ka Some may question BTR and Medusa being in the list, but I simply can't get tired of either of those two

Apparently I was by you during most of the event! My girlfriend and I are in the background (and sometimes foreground) of like half the pictures! My verdict on The Dark Knight Coaster: It's a GOOD coaster with GREAT theming. The major problem it will have with the current guest we get at the park is that they are used to GREAT coasters, and the park has plenty. For a mouse, it's a pretty solid ride...after it warms up. On our first ride, the turns lacked the out-of-control feeling you usually get on a mouse. The second time however had loads of speed in the turns, and I would say that it did feel somewhat like you were in a city that was in a state of chaos. If they do add more effects such as mist to give it a smoky feeling, or better lighting so you can actually see Batman (I missed him both times, and I knew where he was), then I would definitely feel that it will be a GREAT dark ride that happens to be a GOOD wild mouse and GREAT theming. They said that it would be as immersing as Space Mountain would be, and I think it's safe to say that they did in fact hit that mark. Bottom line: It does it's job. Guest who are disappointed with it seem to usually be those who are expecting El Toro in a box. It's a very fun, immersing, highly themed dark ride that happens to be a roller coaster. Now maybe they'll do a refurb on Skull Mountain so it can kick DK's ass.

Actually, that would make it worse. Instead of simply underestimating the excitement of consumers, they would be negligent. Common sense would say to put a wrist strap on them, especially when Game Boys and DS systems have them.

May I please have my title changed to "Hip-Hop Has Died This Morning"?

Whoops! Typo fixed. Ment to type "Dorney Park" there.

The rails were made in Germany. AFAIK, the initial cost of a prefabricated wooden coaster is more, but in the long run it would costs less. You won't see El Toro down for legnthly periods of time like Rolling Thunder for retracking. You won't see Great Adventure spending $1 Million a year in retracking like Dorney Park had to do for Hercules because the ride tore itself apart. If a section of track needs to be replaced, you can simply order that segment, pop out the old one, and pop in a new one. It's like placing a new Blue Lego piece in your Lego castle when the old piece broke. *edit* Fixed small blunder

I haven't ridden The Voyage, so I'll simply say some things about El Toro. To the original poster (I forgot who it was, lol): If you're ever at Great Adventure again, wait until later in the afternoon to ride. During the B-Roll shoot and Media Day, the first runs were somewhat unimpressive in the twister section. The beginning is always great fun, but you lose speed coming out of the turnaround, barely get air in the two 'back' hills, and the twister falls flat. The second run with people was a different story though. It got so much faster in lap 2 that at the end we all literally looked at each other and said "Wow!" It's pretty freaking crazy. 14 rides into the day and it was still getting faster. At night, you can visually see a HUGE difference in speed, hear it in the trains as they crest the hills, and the rides are downright glorious. El Toro is THE night ride, with BTR and Nitro being the other two 'must rides' at night. The Rolling Thunder hill is amazing. I'm not sure if it's simply that strong, or if it is the most beautifully executed hill possibly ever. After the insane ejector of the out run, you have perfect float in the two hills after the turnaround. You then take that sharp, highly banked turn to the left and climb upward as you're rolling back to 0 degree banking. You're greeted with more of that perfect floater air once again...and then the train dissappears. Next thing you know, you're kissing the sky while you're butt is missing the seat a lot. Your thighs are saying hello to Mr (or Ms) lapbar more than ever and you're caught beyond off-guard. The drop is so steep that you feel like you're standing, and the turn to the left is beautiful. The twister is a tour-de-force when the train is running hot. It's hard to keep your hands up and you start to get "fuzzy vision". It's pretty intense. It's just a lovely ride. I just wish the station wasn't so high up so it could do some more. Even with that, it's still the perfect bull simulation. You'll come off feeling like a rodeo champion.

Splurge and get Gold Flash Pass. You'll most likely need it unless you plan on staying from open to close.

If you plan to go during Fright Fest this season, I'd wait until the middle/end of September to start making concrete plans. All the advice that's given now based on seasons past may be invalid soon...

There's a Wawa store about 1 mile from the park's entrance. Stop in there and grab some cans.

Lovely article