Rode Soaring Timbers Thursday and again on Friday... The sensations are cool, but I really am not a fan and think that a lot of people who will ride this season will agree...
A couple of things to note to back myself up here.
The ride was originally a touring flat, so unlike the other Mondial attractions the park has, this ride was designed specifically for the road and for European fair style operations, where no seat belts and no US/CAN standard "Restraint Checks" would be required. Due to its super compressed seating arrangement to fit on a trailer, the ride ops cannot fit into each row to do the standard check of each seat and this is really not helping with the fact that you are packaged SO TIGHTLY into each row, that you cannot physically move your arms to buckle the seat belt yourself once restraints are down. The ride-ops are then forced to try to climb over the two outer riders to reach the person in the centre to buckle them. This is causing MASSIVE load times of around 10 minutes, and a ride cycle of about a minute... This may get better with continued practice of the ride ops, and once the guest become familiar with the loading procedure, but I don't think we will see load times faster than 5 minutes even when this happens.
I rode twice, and I don't feel the need to ride again; considering that less than a 2 minute walk on the other side of The Fly is very similar, more comfortable and fun ride called Shockwave...
GP that were riding in my gondola said multiple things including "This is stupid, I can't even see anything but the seat in front of me." "Move your fucking arm so I have room" and "I WAITED THAT LONG AND THATS IT!?" and LOTS of "OMG MY SEAT BELT ISNT BUCKLED OMG IM GOING TO DIE I CANT DO IT MY ARMS ARE STUCK I WANT TO GET OFF."
The ride is cool looking, and its always nice to have another flat ride, especially when they can eat a nice chuck of people who would otherwise be waiting in another line... but I just wish that this had been a park model and not a previous touring ride that was designed to fit in a small space. It shows with the rider comfort level and the inability to follow what has become standard procedure for restraint checking at this park...
The landscaping and the ride design is breathtaking, and the park nailed it in that respect. Its just, in my opinion (and we will see over the course of this season what others have to think), that it is not to the standard of what they already have, which is a shame.