Rotura Violenta

It went from a ride that I'd just skip whenever I visited the park to borderline "must-ride" status for me. I used to ride it imagining how much better it would be if it went backwards as before all you really saw was the sky so there was no sense of height. My other fantasy with this ride (impossible for various reasons, I'd imagine) would be for a brake mechanism to grab the car at the top of the tower, bounce it slightly (enough to throw you forward), and then drop it again. The LIMs on the towers of Premier rides do something like this to a degree, but with less of a grab. It really is a great ride now, though.

I always feel bad for the poor mechanics who have to grab a winch, pull it out there, then come back to operate the crank to get the car back to the station. If it doesn't stop perfectly on the brakes at the bottom of the tower, that's the only way to get it back! I was curious as to how this was done. I figured it would depend on any potential damage as well as the location on the track as that's quite a steep hill the train will have to climb to get to a position where it could potentially gain momentum again.

Skyrush and X2 are the other two examples I was thinking of that are non stop "Oh Sh!t" moments from start to finish. Non stop violence, more like! Personally I prefer a good, thoughtful, integrated ride than just a handful of gimmicks. I'm still not sure about Twisted Colossus as I don't find gnarly ejector airtime to be all that and the high-five doesn't appeal to me at all. Out of the RMC creations I've seen (haven't ridden any of them yet), Medusa at Six Flags Mexico looks to be the most appealing to me as the layout is complex and immersive. Although I don't think it'll be a purely gimmicky ride, a single turn to the right wouldn't have gone amiss on Twisted Colossus. A good balance of an immersive, well-paced, complex layout followed by a handful of well-placed "oh shit" moments is my personal preference, and the reason why, despite how rough it can be, I still find Ghost Rider to be one of the best designed coasters around.

Yeah, we found most of the mazes to be mediocre but with one or two nice touches. The strobe-lit dining room scene in the bird-themed maze, for example, was well done. The cowboy one and that one over by Xcelerator were pretty bad, though. Tooth Fairy was genuinely creepy—largely because of the sound of the dental drills everywhere. We were there for opening weekend and just figured that they didn't have everything in working order yet as there was only one real scare zone (that we saw) and a dearth of creatures wandering around overall. It was still fun however, and Ghost Rider was running better than expected.

The hi-five element has zero appeal for me personally—I think it actually looks kind of lame. But the moments where the tracks cross over each other look kind of fun. Lightning Racer is probably one of the better dueling coasters I've ridden, but that ride's excellent in other areas too; the dueling simply adds to the experience. With this, because the tracks never really depart and reconvene like they do on LR, I suspect that the dueling will be a better off-ride spectacle than on.

My experience as of late has been different. Aside from X, Riddler, and Tatsu which are restricted by design, I've found that the simple sit-down-strap-in rides actually turnover extremely fast. Goliath, Full Throttle, Superman, Ninja, Apocalypse, Batman, Viper, and Revolution all had quick dispatches on my recent visits. I understand the general pessimism given that it's MM and all, but I think any pessimism about this ride's operation should at least include (or even should be aimed at) RMC who, ultimately, will be responsible for creating a design that "works"—meaning a design that duels even against negative odds. We'll see!

I'm optimistic about the syncing. I doubt much of it will rely on human syncing skill and will be heavily automated with varying speed lifts. I'd even go as far as to say that an un-synced ride will be rare. There'll be sensors throughout the ride that keep things on time and keep the station informed. It's not like a coaster company engineering a design and then MM adding a smoke machine that they'll forget to refill a few weeks later. If the syncing mechanism fails on this, it'll reflect on RMC as much as SFMM and so I assume that RMC will be largely in control of this and MM will have to try a little harder than they normally do to break it. Only time will tell!

Welp, that confirms my plan to go directly to this to sign up before doing anything else. I would if I were you. Honestly, I had no idea what it was so I wasn't bummed to miss it, but others in the group were. You can see part of it from Montezooma's station and it looked like an elaborate assault course. But also, this was a busy night for the park. I haven't been to Knotts for some time, but I've been going to haunt off and on now for the past 15 years or so and I can never remember when it's busy or when it's quiet. I went one year and the park was so oversold that we got into maybe two mazes and on one ride, but every other year I've been, it's been a breeze. Opening weekend, it seems, isn't the best choice.

Went to Haunt last night. The areas by Ghost Rider and Pony Express were a zoo all night long (that's where six of the mazes are), and the rest of the park was relatively busy but felt less crowded. The mazes averaged between 20- and 45-minute waits, and some of the rides were over an hour. The Infection maze was operating on a fastpass-like system but was entirely "sold out" within minutes of the park's opening. There was just one scare zone (from what we could tell), and there weren't too many actors / scares going on in general (it's still early in the season). The Tooth Fairy maze was excellent—really disturbing and gross. Voodoo was also very good, albeit very short. The rest of the mazes were somewhat mediocre/average but each one had a cool scene or effect here or there. We rode Ghost Rider, the log ride, the mine train, Montezooma, and that new mouse coaster where Perilous Plunge used to be (a fun kiddie-type ride). I've always loved Ghost Rider, even at its most brutal, as I find it to have an exceptional layout. I assume some work has been done on the track as it ran quite well last night—not nearly as rough as it can be, and it was really hauling äss through the first half much faster than I remember in the past (which might be due to the fact that it had been running all day). Great airtime on the first camelback after the initial drop which, when watching it from the outside, looked a lot like El Toro's trains cresting its camelbacks. It also hit the mid-course turnaround far faster than I recall only to be virtually stopped by the MCBR (a smart move, given what follows). It's as wild as ever, but didn't feel nearly as jarring as it can feel. This is one coaster that I hope doesn't get an RMC reworking as the layout is so well done and the roughness seems to be a part of its character. Hopefully they can continue to maintain the track or pad those seats out a touch more in the coming years. The redone log ride looked good and preserved its cheesy animatronic aesthetic quite well. It still looks dated, but in a good way. The mine train, however, looked more Disneyland-ish and I'm not sure if the witch theme inside was an overlay for halloween or if it was permanent. Either way, it looked economically impressive—sort of like "good on a budget." A pretty fun night overall, but there's room for improvement I think.

Have they completed that trick-track piece? When I was there on Thursday, I could see the two tiny bunny hops that follow that image that Rob posted on the last page, but the next part wasn't assembled. It just looked like the beginning of a third bunny hop with the track banking to the left.

Great report, Chuck! Skyrush felt so overdriven to me that it was difficult to enjoy; it was more like an endurance test than a thrilling coaster, but I feel that way about a number of the more extreme rides out there. I still rode it around 15 times to make sure the experience was burned into memory. Fahrenheit, on the other hand, was excellent. As far as Goliath goes at Six Flags, I've yet to ride an RMC (looking forward to trying them at some point), but this is the only one that doesn't have me pricing out plane tickets to the area whereas the others all look so appealing. The layout seems a bit bland and perhaps a tad gimmicky. However, it looks great in the pictures you've provided here—a very ominous structure in the park.

Did you see the twisted piece at the end, too? There was a pile of bent track pieces next to where they were working, but I couldn't figure out the shape of what that part might be. Again, I'm assuming it's going to be a turn into the lift that's banked in the opposite direction. Why they would do that though, I have no idea.

Sorry I couldn't grab pics. I only saw the new track from the Goliath lift and from the top of Scream. It looks like the track leaves the station from the left side (facing the original entrance), veers left, straightens out, veers left a little more, then hits two small humps (maybe five or six feet off the ground), followed by whatever incomplete move comes next. It seems too close to the lift to be a roll of some kind, so I'd assume it's just a turn with weird banking. I don't see how it could possibly take this sequence with any speed as it's barely elevated. Anyhow, I'm sure pics will emerge soon to clarify. Aside from that, the park was very quiet except for an hour in the afternoon where it felt a tad more congested. We rode most everything by 12:30pm. Skipped Tatsu because no-one in our group really likes it, but the line for that looked quite long. Also skipped Green Lantern. Ninja, Lex Luthor, Full Throttle were all having issues throughout the day. Apocalypse and X gave the roughest rides I've had to date. Over and out.

Heh. I actually didn't take pics as you can really only see it from the Goliath lift hill. It looks like two tiny bumps and the beginning of a piece of track that twists to the left. Could be a roll of some kind? It's very low to the ground though. This is the section coming out of the station btw.

Tiny camel bumps (Bunny hops?) and what looks like the beginning of a trick track now visible on Colossus.

Yeah this is exactly where my thought process headed after that last post. I'm thinking in terms of crowds inside the park it might actually help us out. Now I'm off to hawking the weather (Farmers Almanac says flurries the week after! Anyone ever ridden in the snow?!) I think the weather is what helped me. It was hotter than ass and there were potential storms on the way, so I think it might have kept people out of the park. Although it never rained, it was super muggy and gross. The park clearly anticipated a bigger turnout as all the coasters were running multiple trains, yet they were having a hard time getting them even half-filled with guests. It was great!

Also, as awful as WildCat is (it's capital-T Terrible), it's worth riding just to see what it's all about. As others have mentioned, the mouse is stock. You could ride the same thing elsewhere quite easily. Same with that hideous boomerang.

I just looked up who Demi Lavato is—a Barney & Friends character? There were a bunch of people in costumes and stuff when I visited, but they didn't really draw crowds. Is this like a "meet and greet" affair? [EDIT]: Ugh. Nevermind. I see she's like a Britney Spears / Justin Bieber type thing. I could see how that would be a major problem with visiting—especially if you can hear the music.

As far as getting everything done in a short times goes, I was there just before summer and I was able to ride everything in under two hours as the park was totally dead. The place is a bit weirdly mapped out, but there's a shortcut that goes straight toward Skyrush station from the opening gates, but if you're getting there late, it probably won't matter. SDL is fairly lame, but it's sort of a classic of sorts and worth jumping on as you walk from Skyrush to Great Bear to Storm Runner.

Ha, I know right? Didn't see that coming! The lift tech is going to be pretty fascinating, I agree. I can't imagine it'll be anything other than a chain system, but the variation will be interesting to keep the trains dueling.

Are. I'm pretty sure that contemporary usage of neither is singular, so "is," despite feeling incorrect, is correct. Neither of these options is available. Neither one of those people is present etc. You guys think it'll be busy? I'm pretty sure schools are back in session now, right? And I figured the "bring a friend" days are probably attempts to fill the place up a little more in times when they expect smaller crowds. Not a big deal if it is crowded, really. Technically, either suggests two things. One OR another. "Are" is the correct word to use. To answer your question, I don't think it will be as crowded. Schools are back in session and this is the slightly "slower" period right before FrightFest kicks off. http://english.stackexchange.com/questions/10304/which-is-correct-neither-is-or-neither-are And yeah, I think it'll be pretty dead. We'll see!

Are. I'm pretty sure that contemporary usage of neither is singular, so "is," despite feeling incorrect, is correct. Neither of these options is available. Neither one of those people is present etc. You guys think it'll be busy? I'm pretty sure schools are back in session now, right? And I figured the "bring a friend" days are probably attempts to fill the place up a little more in times when they expect smaller crowds. Not a big deal if it is crowded, really.

No idea who either of those people is, but I'm planning on being there that day to take advantage of the get-a-friend-in-free thing that's part of that season pass deal. Hoping it'll be quiet, but we shall see.

We visited the park last year for the first time in over a decade and after Tatsu, Apocalypse and Batman, Ninja was our favorite ride in the park. I love it's proximity to the trees and the water and the unique layout it has which is a breath of fresh air in a Six Flags park. Totally agree; I think it's probably the best ride they have there right now as well.

The way it works is that you buy your discounted season pass online, print the receipt and head off to the park (tell the parking guy that you'll be upgrading to gold and they'll let you park for free). Go to the turnstile and they'll scan your printout and give you a new card. That card is then scanned again, and apparently, that's the gold upgrade. It's all done in one spot. There's no coupon book, no aplomb, just a plastic card with your name sharpied onto it. The coupons and stuff are online and you can access them once you register your pass. The expiration date you see is the last day to upgrade to gold. So I don't have to go to guest relations to get my "hard-copy" season pass? I just go through the normal turnstiles and they upgrade me there? The gold pass upgrade also says you get early entry in. Does that permit me to go through the gold pass line or do I still have to go through the general admission turnstiles? It was all done at the turnstile for me. Granted, I had to wait 15 minutes with everyone else, but once at the turnstile it was just a few seconds.