Hey, this is my first post on here! I've been following this thread for about three years, ever since X-Flight was announced, so I thought why not actually make an account after all this time and talk about GAm!
I visited the park twice over the past week, both on a wednesday. The first day I arrived at around 9:45 to get in line early for goliath, but got a bit ill after some quick rides on V2 and Batman. The second time I tried to do the same thing (sans headaches!!) but goliath didn't open that day due to these wonderful mechanical problems we've been hearing about, and I didn't want to stand in line for 3 hours when they started running it in the late afternoon as I'd already gotten the experience. All of these reviews are over my two days.
Goliath: As I've literally never been to a theme park outside of GAm, this is of course my first RMC, and MAN does it deliver! The first drop is absolutely insane, and you hit the airtime hill at what must be close to 50 MPH. I knew it was going to be short from the POVs, but this thing is criminally too short. I used to think X-Flight was too short, but after some consideration, it's just about the length it needs to be. Entering the brakes at practically full speed is unacceptable. Anyway, the second half of the ride really blew me away. The dive drop was surprisingly amazing; I was only expecting a quick turnaround but there was plenty of hangtime. The zero g stall is, of course, indescribable and totally amazing. I can't wait to see this on more rides. The action still doesn't let up, and there's even a pop of air in the brake run!
V2: What can you expect from this? It's a pretty standard LIM coaster, and it's nice, but after this recent experience of whiplash I might take an extended break from it.
Batman: It's sure one hell of a ride, but I've never been able to tolerate that much intensity. If it were up to me the ride would behave a little differently after the two loops, which I only this time discovered have some serious forces behind them, but for those that like this kind of ride there's nothing like it.
Dark Knight: It's not worth a long wait, but it's quite frankly not that bad of a ride imo. They've completely repaired every bit of themeing this year, so it's not just a senseless dark ride and actually has somewhat of a purpose now. Still angry that you don't get to see the video, though...at any rate, I'd take it over rajun cajun any day. The drops seem to be better positioned.
SUF: I'm here for the pretzel, and the pretzel delivers. Does the rest of the ride? No, but you all already knew that. I went in with a group of friends in the SINGLE RIDER LINE, though, and we were on one cycle in 7 minutes flat. Takes you right to the bottom of the stairs, and the single rider restrictions are...pretty lax here. Pretty ridiculous, and completely changes my view of this ride from a torturous, slogging wait to a quick adrenaline fix.
Whizzer: Still has some of the best interaction with the environment in the park, though somehow the line is longer than raging bull at times...
Viper: They should have never stopped running this thing backwards, imo, but it's one hell of a woodie. Ran it once near the front and once in back, and I can say that you feel a lot more speed in the back, especially going down the airtime hills, but much less of a pop going up them. I'd personally take the front for a slightly more consistent ride, but it's almost like this ride is hidden away in the corner when it could be a frontrunner anywhere else in the world.
Raging Bull: Single. Rider. Line. I went on this three times in 50 minutes, and I could have ridden it all day if I wanted to. I usually stick to near the front on rides, but made a concious decision to ride in the back row this time, and it was one crazy experience. The almost suction-like feeling of getting drawn in by the train is something else. I've read hundreds of posts on here about how terrible the trims are, and I've never understood why; I barely feel them. But that's because I'm in the front every time. Until this time, I didn't even know there WERE trims in the final helix! I have to agree that this ride should lose them, though, but I can see why they're there due to more "experimental" B&M designs at the time.
But yeah, raging bull has a single rider line. It's amazing, and it makes a great ride with a minimal wait even better. I know GCG will like to hear this!
X-flight: I don't know why this is viewed as such a mediocre ride, cause it's pretty amazing. First drop rivaling goliath and bull, and whoever said this thing was too smooth was crazy. There's quite a bit of force on the turns, roll, and helix, though it is a shame that the effects no longer work. What made up for this was the stellar crew work. I timed them, and they were constantly ready in around 60 seconds, which I've NEVER seen them do before! I made sure to give them a compliment in guest services, because we need more crews like that here. Probably the best thing I saw was somebody measuring a kid, then giving them a wristband right there to show that they were tall enough to not get measured again. That should be standard procedure! I rode this twice, and I can say that after comparing the front, back, and mid, I say my favorite seat is the right 2nd row. Don't know why, but I like it more than the front, but I always prefer the right side. Something about the turns makes it better for me...
I've definitely noticed that the park has gotten a lot more crowded, probably due to goliath. If it weren't for the new single rider lines, it would have been a lot worse days for me. The "yolo crowd" has definitely shown up more. A big group of crazy people behind me on sky trek tower of all things were swearing like mad and kicking windows and turnstiles in front of 5-year-olds. I would have spoken out against it if I knew that something good would come of it, but me confronting them would never have ended well. It's a shame, because it's putting a big damper on a great park...
