DancingDays

Well, my dad, a couple of my friends, and I decided to make the trip to the Wisconsin Dells yesterday for Hades and Avalanche, and I was really quite impressed by both rides. Anyway... We left at about 8AM and arrived at our first park, Mt. Olympus at around 10:30. Once in the park, we headed straight to Hades. The first turnaround and the lift hill really stand above the entire park, and are visible from anywhere in the park. The stairs in the queue that go up to the station are right next to the drop out of the large high adjacent to the lift, and when the train flies through this section, everything vibrates and rattles wildly. It really is too bad, though, that there is only one train, because it makes for a much longer wait, even with a short line. When we arrived, the wait was probably about 20 minutes, with the longest waits being about half an hour. Also, none of the ride ops seemed to speak English very well, though they did run the ride pretty efficiently, considering there were only two working at a time. On to the ride itself: Completely mind-blowing. The speed of this thing rarely lets up, and the ride seemed to get faster and faster with each ride. Everything before the lift is great, with a number of spots of airtime. The drop out of the station gives a nice little pop in the back, and then you get two more spots in the double down, including the most forceful air I've ever felt on the second drop of the double down. You go from sitting down, to flat against your restraint instantaneously. You follow this up with a nice turnaround and then another little air hill with some great, strong air in which you are thrown to the right side of the car at the same time. The drop from the lift is also excellent, with great airtime all the way down, before flattening out for the tunnel. And the tunnels really are complete mayhem, you get thrown left, right, and suddenly the car just seems to fall out from under you before you hit the 90-degree banked turn. This really seems to be more of a gimmick than anything, because you don't really notice it until you see the track unbanking and realize it has already past. But from, that turn, you pop above ground with a great pop of air before being pushed back in your seat before the first turnaround. Here you get a bit of a breather before being hit with some heavy lats and the very nice long air hill which provides some excellent floater air before being thrown back into the tunnel. This time around you end in a turn that is banked in the opposite direction of the turn, as it feels as if the train is just going to completely derail. You then go up into the hill next to the lift, which gives some mild floating air, and drops you right back down under the structure before throwing you into a very intense turnaround, which can actually be somewhat rough, with some heavy vibrations. You then get another couple of pops of airtime and lats before turning around back into the brake run. The ride really is long, and is very punishing throughout. To me, it was very comparable to Raven's final section through the woods, but throughout the entire ride. The air was mostly small pops of air and floater air after the first drop, but the ride is so relentless. Each of my 7 rides was in the last car, though two of my friends rode front seat for their first ride, but were disappointed, saying they felt very little air, and that the back seat is just a completely different, and much more exciting ride. Hades immediately jumps to my number 1, just barely edging out Raven and Cornball Express. But I would recommend getting here as soon as possible, because if this ride is cared for as Zeus and Cyclops are (which is to say, very poorly), this ride may not be very enjoyable in a couple of years, because it already has a very sections that have some roughish vibrations. We ended up riding Zeus and Cyclops one time each, because neither really impressed us. Zeus had some air, but it was actually just really very quite rough and painful. Cyclops, on the other hand, was a lot smoother, and had a few nice pops of air, but it really is nothing special. We left Mt. Olympus at around 8 PM, and headed on over to Timber Falls for Avalanche. We paid our 14 bucks for the Evening Pass, and made our way to the station. There were very few people in the park, and only once did we have to wait 1 train. Avalanche is complete madness throughout. After the drop, it doesn't let up at all, and is a very punishing ride. The airtime throughout is completely awesome, with the perfect ejector, then floater air on every hill. This ride can be very rough, though. The first two air hills have some rather noticable kinks that cause you do be forcefully shoved back into your seat, causing a bit of pain. And every turnaround is very very rough. The train really weaves back and forth heavily, and the kinks in the turnaround that raps around the station are especially visible while waiting inside the station. The lats initially felt are extremely strong, and then you are shoved back and forth from side to side because of the extreme shuffling. But damn, is it a blast. We got 7 rides in about 45 minutes, even with the toll it was taking on our bodies. An instant favorite, but it could really use some work on the track. Hmm, I'm not sure many of you will get through all of that...I guess I got a bit carried away.

I'll usually wait for about 15 minutes, unless I'm very close to the station. Just about once every time I go to SFGAm, I'll get stuck in line for either Raging Bull, Superman, Batman, or Viper when it breaks down, and it usually only takes 10 minutes for the ride to get up and running again, so it's definitely worth it. I have left the line for Deja Vu after waiting about 35 minutes, then 30 more minutes because a train had valleyed. After about 20 minutes they finally got the train back to the station, sent it out again, and the train was slowed by the brakes between the loop and the second spike, causing it to valley again, so we decided to ge out. I also waited about 45 minutes for S:UF before it broke down, and we were in the station, probably 2 trains from riding...yet, 20+ minutes had passed and the situation didn't seem to be improving, so we decided to try to get one last ride on Raging Bull before the park closed instead.

Yeah, it's hard for me to see this being a disappointed. I mean, you have some of the key people from CCI designing the ride, and when have they made a poor ride?? And roughness? No reason for it to be at all rough for a few years, and that's if HW does Six Flags-type woodie maintenance, which there is no reason for, because Raven and Legend are both very smooth. Hades has gotten very positive reviews, and it's not even a complete airtime monster, which this ride looks to be. Though, I do agree about the name...hope I don't get scurvy on this very long ride.... ...I know, bad joke

When does the Twilight session begin/end, and how much is the cost? Do you know if these sessions are held every day, because I can't find that info on the Timber Falls website. Thanks for the advice, though...and I'm glad that there shouldn't be much by way of lines...because if the lines were supposed to be long at Mt. Olympus, I probably would've just changed the trip to Indiana Beach, ...

Well, in a couple of weeks I'm planning on heading up to the Wisconsin Dells for a day (probably Tuesday or Wednesday) with some friends to go to Mt. Olympus and make a quick stop for Avalanche, and was just wondering what lines would be like and whether anyone had any tips on the best days to go, etc....

Not particularly enjoyable, IMO. There really is nothing musical about it, it's just some guys thrashing around on guitars. I clicked the link not knowing that "music" would interrupt my Zappa, and it was quite a shock.

I agree, Batman Begins is excellent, 8.5/10. Not just an action movie, but also a very good character study...and the Scarecrow was a chilling villain.

Well, I mean, considering the fact that you go often, why put yourself through Iron Wolf (unless you have a particular liking for it) and Deja Vu. Two absolute crap rides, IMO. I would just avoid waiting the very long queue for Deja Vu. When I go, I just usually stick to B:TR, Raging Bull, Viper, and V2, since Viper and Bull are near each other, and V2 and B:TR are close.

Hmm, it's only a 2 and a half hour drive for me, so that might be a possibility. I'll have to see once that date approaches if this option will be available.

Thanks for the great and informative TR. Your highly favorable reviews of Hades and Avalanche are really making me excited about getting up to Wisconsin in a few weeks.

Cassandra Gemini, Chaddyboy...very nice. I'm Lonely (But I Ain't That Lonely Yet) The White Stripes

Stairway To Heaven Led Zeppelin live, 06.23.77

Man, I would've loved to ride B:TR last...Could be the best ride in the park. I'm quite glad Deja Vu wasn't running when I was there, as it really doesn't do anything for me, and is actually quite rough. I could ride B:TR and Viper all day...

Yeah, just go for it...I remember when I rode Shockwave @ SFGAm for the first time when I was about 9...I was scared out of my mind and even closed my eyes the entire time...now THAT was a bad idea.

I definitely agree with Scorpion @ BGT. A very fun ride that is really a hidden gem at a park that already has a number of good coasters. Personally, I'd pick B:TR @ SFGAm. Still THE best B&M I've ridden. No other B&M can match the quick shot of intensity that this thing delivers. And one other that perhaps could be underrated is Cornball Express, but only because not too many have ridden it. Better than Raven, in my opinion.

Yes, great TR and very nice photos of Wildcat....it looks like a very good wooden track.

Raging Bull last Friday. Good ride, yet I yearn for CCIs...

I'm with Cameron....you should really ask your doctor, because it really isn't worth it. And I'd skip Deja Vu anyway (if it's even running; it wasn't last Friday when I was there) becuase I really think it sucks. It jackhammers heavily, and it feels like you are falling out the inside of the seats in the boomerang. V2 is very fun, I think, though I didn't get a chance to ride it last week...but it's pretty tame, since you are just going backwards in a straight line a few times.

Little Acorns -- The White Stripes -- Elephant

What? You don't eat chocolate covered shrimp?

Finding Nemo??!!?!! Hah, I don't think so...and, A Hard Days Night...not quite. And Star Wars: Episode IV, when Empire is widely considered as the best film of the series... Yet, I do like seeing Raging Bull, Taxi Driver, Goodfellas, Pulp Fiction, and Dr. Strangelove, as they are some of my personal favorites. But I don't know about lists that give the films an order, as it's extremely hard to compare so many films to say whether one should be higher up than the other.

Well, I've always perused the site, but just signed up to the forums a few days ago. Name's Marty White, aka McFly from CoasterSims, Coasters2k, CoasterCrazy, you can contact me via AIM, which is EchoesC2k... ...and Zeppelin owns.

Exactly. That's the only one that will last. That Lime Coke is putrid. I imagine the others will be forgotten almost as soon as they're introduced too. Remember Vanilla Coke? LOL. Alright, that's it. I will not stand for this insulting my beloved Vanilla Coke, .

Great avatar Walrus Man, 2112 -- Rush

Oh yes, great movie. I actually prefer this over Rear Window, but just barely. Both would share spots on my top 20 list on YMDB. You just can't beat the Hitchcock-James Stewart combination for mystery/suspense filmmaking.