Vekoma Boomerang! A first?

[cwgator]

My first and only one was Boomerang @ Wild Adventures. It was in March of this year. I didn't care for it at all; although I did ride it twice since there was no line. I tried different seats, not much difference. It wasn't a horrible experience, but I just didn't like the way it felt, especially during the cobra roll. It may be better with the new trains.

[fraroc]

Im surprised non of the coaster manufactures have not expanded the idea of boomerangs (other than the invertigo and giant inverted boomerang), with different layouts heights and inversions.

 

In a way, you could count the late, great Moonsault Scramble even though it wasn't a Vekoma (I always thought it was). It had a Norwegian loop instead of the Cobra Roll/Loop combo. It looked fun as hell though.

[goatdan]

When Boomerangs first came out, I was really gung-ho to ride them and somehow never ended up at the parks that had them. That luck all changed, and in pretty short order I rode about a half dozen of them...

 

...I think that a lot of people don't remember that when these came out, pretty much all steel coasters had some hurt to them. For the most part, they are no worse and are probably better than most of those. The biggest thing is they do pack a huge thrill punch in a very tiny space. I'll admit to really loving the sound of them operating. At one point, I got to hang out near SFDK's for a while, and I loved the soundtrack that it provided.

 

The overall ride experience doesn't hold up to the brand new rides today, but I don't dislike them at all and would be happy to ride them more. They also have a really solid capacity.

 

On the flip side, (I just realized this is an inadvertent pun) I didn't care so much for the Invertigo versions that I got to ride. The GIBs were a nifty concept, but they weren't nifty enough for them to make sense - they didn't get enough people through them to make sense at the big parks, and they were too big and costly for the small parks. Interesting concept, but not worth the wait in my opinion.

 

As others have said, I'm continually surprised that no one else seemed to jump on the bandwagon and produce another similar model of ride to the Boomerangs in the late 80s especially. If they could just come up with something, it's a concept that I think could still sell well today to parks that had both space and cost concerns.

[ajfelice]

My first Boomerang was "Boomerang: Coast to Coaster" at Darien Lake. I thought it was a pretty neat and unique coaster at the time until I learned how common these are. They still are fun for me to a degree.

 

I see Boomerangs as more of a thrill ride than a coaster. I get that feeling in my stomach after riding a spinning flat ride. I find them fairly intense and very disorienting due to the vertical loop backwards and the initial drop. Boomerangs to me are not good candidates for re-rides because one ride makes me feel queasy, not in "pain." Actually, they are on the edge of being downright sickening. Even though I don't them painful in terms of headbanging, I really appreciated the openness of the new Vekoma trains on Hershey's Sidewinder. I enjoy Boomerangs for a nice change of pace ride once during a visit, but they are simply that. Keeping the GP in mind, these are nice gimmick coasters; "loop-de-loops" and "OMG Backwards!!!"

[LNKrider]

My first was Boomerang @ WOF, I never got to ride the SF Deja Vu ride, and always seemed to skip the regular Boomerang's when I went to Fiesta Texas and SFKK. I was able to get on Face/off at Kings Island when I was there a long time ago. When I have been to WOF its like do I or don't I ride. Its kind of a ride if you want to thing.

[cfc]

Hmm--I think the first "Boomerang" type coaster I'd ever ridden was Two-Face at Six Flags America. The first "normal" Boomerang was probably the one at Hersheypark. Two-Face was the better of the two.

[TheSchwitek]

The Vampire at Kentucky Kingdom was my first in the mid-90's. My sister and I loved it. It was such a new ride experience at the time, and I remember running to get back in line after we got off. Oh, how things have changed.

[JuanSe_Colombia]

My first boomerang type was Deja Vu at SFMM back in 2008, I had a blast on it. Same year I rode Knott's Boomerang and it was awful my friend and I got dizzy, and I've never gotten that dizzy on a rollercoaster.

[rcdude]

My first boomerang was the one at Knott's Berry Farm. I can't remember whether it was my first shuttle coaster or not, but I do remember that I thought it was really good at first. After two or three rides, however, I began to not like it so much. I've now been on seven different boomerangs, some better than the Knott's one and some worse (more better than worse). While I still consider a smooth boomerang a decent coaster, the rough ones aren't really worth riding if you've got the credit. For someone who only visits a small number of parks, they are great rides, but when you travel around they do become somewhat boring and repetitive.

[Sammy*]

Did not think this thread would be around still, well my first Boomerang was Flashback SFoT, I was 11 when I first rode it. Back then Flashback was one of the more exciting rides, since there was no Titan, NTG, or Batman at the park at that point, and Mr. Freeze didn't come until the following season. When I first saw Flashback, maybe it was my 11 year old mind but I pictured it different (kinda delusional). For some reason I thought it was taller than it was and ran more than one circuit and the loop was before the cobra roll. The ride is not anything intense but the boarding experience is a bit terrifiyng when you see that train get released and rush past you. Even with the the old school Arrow/Vekoma trains, horse collar restraints in all. I never found it as rough as its reputation. Except for the cobra roll has some bad spots that will throw you around a bit.

It would be kind of cool if a park would actually reverse the trains to see if it gives much of a different experience.

[VinTheAttendant]

I remember when I was six years old, my family took me to Enchanted Kingdom in Laguna in the Philippines. I remember looking up at their boomerang, seeing the space ship next to it, and I thought it was the most intimidating thing I had ever seen in my life. Of course, I was too pathetic to give it a try, I just thought it an interesting story that the first boomerang I ever laid eyes on is one that a bunch of enthusiasts never knew existed.

 

The first boomerang I rode was Flashback at SFNE about six years later. I liked it, and I must admit that a smooth boomerang is a guilty pleasure of mine. The ones that don't age well are an utter killjoy though, and my very first boomerang is perhaps now my least favorite of the ones I rode.

 

I absolutely love the GIBs though. They're such an anticipated ride when I visit the parks they reside at that I often forget that they are lumped in the boomerang category. I've yet to ride one of the Invertigo models.

[Arrow Dynamics fan]

I will try to keep this matter of fact and hopefully will explain why I am not enthusiastic about Boomerangs.

 

My first experience was at WOF in 2007. At that time, I knew little to nothing about manufactures (I actually thought the parks built them themselves ) Being that this was nearly ten years after I had first ridden Mr. Freeze, I wasn't too excited, but I noticed that the track design looked similar to Orient Express and Ninja and assumed that I would probably like it. I noticed that the trains looked much different from what the two prior mentioned coasters had but didn't think much about it. The result was not good. The cobra roll was what really did it. Head banging is one thing, it took me years before I learned how to the Orient Express, Ninja, the Mr. Freeze (with OTSR), and others so that is part of the experience I expected. The neck and back pain is a different story. From what I recall, reverse hurt worse and it was definitely during the cobra roll.

 

I rode Invertigo last year at Kings Island. This time around I knew what this was, but wanted to try it. It wasn't as bad as the normal, there was still head banging, but there wasn't back pain and neck pain like the normal one had. This was the only ride I didn't ride again this year.

 

Along the lines of what Sammy and fraroc were saying on different layouts, I have thought of this myself. Traditionally I wondered if a Batwing inversion would work better since I have had more positive results with one way direction coasters. The added benefit of this could be they could literally call it a Boomerang since the Batwing inversion is referred to by some manufactures as a "Boomerang" inversion. One that I thought of more recently that would probably be better (although it would remove 2 from the inversion count) would be one with an overbanked turn (like what Mr. Freeze has). The advantages to this are it would probably have fewer stallouts, they are intense without having a reputation for pain on a coaster that operates at much higher speeds, and some variety would likely be more welcomed from enthusiasts.

 

For this to be a coaster I would like, it would have to lose the Cobra Roll for certain for something else and they would need to look into giving it a better start that would enable it with air time.

 

I also do look at these harshly because I look at cloning harshly. My reasoning comes from having visited SFOT last year on an invitation from a friend, and finding that they shared more than half of my home park's rollercoaster line up. To me this begs the question why drive over 600 miles when less than half is a new experience.

[Intamax92]

There is a boomerang at my home park(walibi holland), which is updated with onride music and new trains, It's not my favorite ride, but I still like it

When I first rode that about 10 years ago, I found it really intense and came out dizzy most of the times, that didn't keep me from riding again though.

 

2 years ago, I rode my first GIB, This was a really awesome experience

[cfc]

I also do look at these harshly because I look at cloning harshly. My reasoning comes from having visited SFOT last year on an invitation from a friend, and finding that they shared more than half of my home park's rollercoaster line up. To me this begs the question why drive over 600 miles when less than half is a new experience.

 

I think you've answered your own question. The Six Flags parks aren't building rides for the enthusiast community, per se. Their outlook is more "regional"; that is, your average Six Flags over Texas customer is unlikely to to "drive over 600 miles" just to experience another Six Flags park. That being said, I think that SFOT and SFSL have different "feels" to them and are both enjoyable parks.

 

I do agree with you about Boomerangs overall--they're just not very good (but the newer trains have helped).

Edited November 17, 2012 by cfc

[ThanksforRiding]

The best Vekoma sit down boomerang out there is Zoomerang at Lake Compounce. It runs smooth, fast and just incredibly well overall.

[reissecup]

my first, and so far only, boomerang was sidewinder at Hershey, and I didn't get any headbanging, but it was a bit rough but I like rough coasters. both times I rode it were at night, and I sat in the back

[rcjp]

My first boomerang type was stunt fall at parque Warner Madrid followed by stinger at dorney and (so far my only "normal boomerang") sidewinder at Hershey. Stunt Fall was the best of the three with stinger coming second due to its great forces and smoothness compared to sidewinder. SF was actually pretty good.

[BotanicalStig]

My first boomerang was... Boomerang... at Knott's. I knew it wouldn't be great but I wasn't expecting it to rough me up as it did. Miserable rollecoaster, pretty, but miserable. Next, I rode a GIB (Deja Vu at SFGAm), you could imagine how surprised I was at how great it was. Unfortunately, I only got one ride on it. Last, I've ridden Carolina Cobra. Over hyped. Way over hyped. No, you don't have to worry about smacking your head on the restraints, but that doesn't mean it doesn't thrash you about.

 

I would really like to see Vekoma bring the design back to the drawing board and try again. It really was a novel idea, just poorly executed.

[SingleRiderCam]

My first (and only) Boomerang is the Knott's Boomerang. I disliked it at first but then I rode it again at WCB in the new paint style and I had a better ride on it.

[azza29]

my first, and so far only, boomerang was sidewinder at Hershey, and I didn't get any headbanging, but it was a bit rough but I like rough coasters. both times I rode it were at night, and I sat in the back

 

Sidewinder is a good one as it has the newer trains with vest-style restraints rather than the full OTSR.

 

I've been on seven boomerangs in different parks, the Invertigo models seem to be the most fun.

[Josh Linn]

I've only been on one...rode Sidewinder in 2008 and it was one of the worst coaster experiences of my life.

[ajfelice]

I will say when I was younger that Boomerangs were not comfortable. Being shorter and having less body control at a younger age really let the headbanging happen. However, I'm still short 5'8", but I can ride one with little to no discomfort. I find boomerangs to actually be quite intense and disorientating. They are more of a thrill ride than a coaster for me, but I enjoy them. Of course they are not on the top of my list if I'm limited on time, but I try to ride them at each park I go to.

 

I have ridden Boomerangs at:

Darien Lake (first one)

Hersheypark

Geauga Lake

Canada's Wonderland

 

All of them gave a very similar and consistent ride.

[denning]

Let's look at it another way. Is there a better coaster available to a park in terms of cost, ease of maintence, visual look, thrills and size. There is a reason they have been so successful.

 

Honestly if you had a small patch of land and a limted budget for your park of course you would put in a boomerang. They look great, have a nice kinetic energry, and the general public loves them.

 

Look at Canada's Wonderland even if two B&Ms, their boomerang still has hour plus lines (albiet largely due to low throughput).

 

Now that I know better I don't like waiting in line for boomerang's at the expense of other larger more unique coasters but I have to give the ride credit where credit is due. It's like Mcdonalds, a good not great, dependable consistant and cost effective ride.

 

Now if only park management considered the Intatim Mega-Lite using the same criteria.

[Schrecken]

I've ridden at least a couple "traditional' boomerangs, a couple of inverted ones, and one GIB. My first was Sidewinder at HP, back in the late 90's when it had the old Arrow restraints. In those days I was just getting into coasters (having spent the first 26 years of my life terrified of them) and therefore Sidewinder was a little scary to me back then (and also remember there was no Storm Runner, Fahrenheit or Skyrush in those days, only the SDL, so Sidewinder was the only multi-looper they had. I wasn't fond of the head-banging, but I did enjoy getting new coaster experiences under my belt, and I do remember being a bit nervous while waiting to ride it for the first time. The nervousness was due to the drop part of the ride, as I had already ridden Anaconda and Drachen Fire that year.

 

Then, when I lived in CA I rode the one at KBF, and I don't remember caring much for it at all. My first inverted was Invertigo at CGA, and I did like that at the time. But in those glory days of boomerangs and inverted boomerangs, there weren't as many types of coasters (variety-wise) as there are today. No launches, no 90 degree or greater drops, just lift hills and loops on steelies.

 

My first and only GIB was Deja Vu at SFMM. I was there on the media day, and I do remember having some trepidation about the vertical drop. And sadly, on that day, something else that I found to be particular to boomerangs (at least back then) reared its ugly head - nausea. I never used to be bothered by motion sickness, even on looping coasters, but for some reason the boomerang and its variants tended to make me ill. In fact, it was a boomerang that has the notorious distinction of being the first coaster I ever got sick on (well, luckily I was able to get off and make it to a restroom, but barely).

These days I always make sure I wear a patch before I spend a day in a park (as even most loopers will make me sick now), whether or not it has a boomerang or variant, but even with the patch I can still get some pretty good vertigo going on a boomerang, which makes me really dizzy. So, when I rode Sidewinder a couple of times this summer, I just learned to keep my eyes closed on the backwards part (especially since I don't have to worry about defending myself from head-banging).

 

I will ride boomerangs and variants for credits these days, even ones with the old-fashioned restraints, but I don't really care for them all that much.

[Canobie Coaster]

Let's look at it another way. Is there a better coaster available to a park in terms of cost, ease of maintence, visual look, thrills and size. There is a reason they have been so successful.

 

Honestly if you had a small patch of land and a limted budget for your park of course you would put in a boomerang. They look great, have a nice kinetic energry, and the general public loves them.

 

Look at Canada's Wonderland even if two B&Ms, their boomerang still has hour plus lines (albiet largely due to low throughput).

 

Now that I know better I don't like waiting in line for boomerang's at the expense of other larger more unique coasters but I have to give the ride credit where credit is due. It's like Mcdonalds, a good not great, dependable consistant and cost effective ride.

 

Now if only park management considered the Intatim Mega-Lite using the same criteria.

 

Last week when I was at Lake Compounce, I heard quite a few people mention that they liked Zoomerang more than Boulder Dash. It's unthinkable for most coaster enthusiasts to have this opinion, but it just shows how popular these coasters are with the general public and why parks install them.

 

I really like the boomerangs at Lake Compounce, the Great Escape, and Darien Lake. I've found that those 3 give smooth rides and really allow me to enjoy the coaster's intensity without worrying for my skull. I'm not fond of the ones at Canada's Wonderland, Six Flags New England, or Hersheypark though. The first two are due to headbanging and the latter is due to the new vest restraints. It just seemed really tight and uncomfortable during the lift.