Survivor, the Ride! Ride report w/pics

[Billy Hill]

I rode it today. It's really pretty tame compared to what I thought it would feel like. I liked it though. Even my wife, who ordinarily doesn't care for spinning rides very much at all, liked it. And she liked it a lot! Probably more than I did. My kids, ages 14, 11 and 10, all really liked it too. Riding it is an odd sensation for sure. I kind of expected it to be similar to Tasmanian Devil at SFMW, and it is, but then again, it isn't... It's got more a "floating" feeling to it. That particular feeling is actually pretty hard to describe. This is really a ride that you have to experience firsthand before it'll make sense as to what I mean by a floating feeling.

 

I guess I could have actually counted the number of times that you go back and forth, but I was too busy having fun to think about counting. If I remember right though, I think we made 2 trips back and forth in the loading area dip before we got up enough steam to make it over the hump. I believe we then went back and forth over the entire track a total of 3 times before it slowed us down and settled back into the dip for the loading area.

 

The center hump itself is really gradual. Going over it does have a pretty unique feel to it. It's the main part that gives you the floating feeling. And when I say "floating", I don't mean in an airtime sense. It's just kind of a "skimming the surface" or maybe a "gliding" type of thing. Like I say, you'll really just need to ride it to see for yourself.

 

This was a soft opening today and all the interactive queue effects are still being ironed out. The main gist of the interactive queue is that while you're in the final loading queue area (which are identified by different colors that correspond to areas on the ride platform) you stomp your feet, clap, and chant along with a video screen message that plays in front of you. Whichever team stomps-claps-chants the loudest will be rewarded by dousing the riders on the track via water jets from the mouths of tribal masks, and by fire shooting out of 2 torchs near the ride entrance. The timing of the whole interactive queue deal is still a work in progress. The guy that is on the current video was there in the queue, explaining the process and coaching people on how to do to the stomp-clap-chant thing. I can see where peeps will pick will pick up on it fairly quickly after a ride or 2 once it's all up and working. It looks like it could be kinda' fun.

 

I personally found the theming of the ride to be better than I expected. I'm still kind of on the fence about the "Survivor" show being attached to the ride, but it kind of works. (I guess) It'll be a while before some of the plants and trees grow enough to where you get the full effect of what they're trying to accomplish with the queue, but I honestly thought it all looked pretty good, and came across very similar to what was presented in the concept art. Having some idea of what consitutes "theming" at the non-Disney parks I personally visit, I found this to be better than average at the very least, with the potential for it be reasonably convincing once mother nature does her thing with the vegetation.

 

I could probably ramble on more about this, but I won't. My overall take is that it's a good ride. I enjoyed it, everyone in my family enjoyed it, and just about everyone that I saw ride it looked like the enjoyed it too. If you're an adrenaline junkie, then this isn't your fix. If you enjoy fun, family friendly rides and good theming, you'll probably like it just fine. It's not a worth a trip to the park all by itself, but I feel that it's a good addition.

 

Billy "I survived" Hill

 

P.S. The line moves pretty quickly for this ride. I didn't have a watch to look at, by I'd guess it was about 10-15 minutes from the time we got on the ramp (That's where the line started both times we rode today) until we were on the ride and underway. Not bad at all in my estimation. And, since they load a lot of people at once, you move forward a good chunk of distance every time the ride reloads.

 

Here are the pics:

Yay! We can actually ride it today!

The kids and their swag.

Here's what the bottom of the disc looks like. So shiny!

Here's the disc docked in the loading area dip.

A pyros delight! By the way, you can totally feel the heat from the fire when you're on the ride. It took me by surprise the first time I rode it.

Here's another relatively random shot of the ride doing its thing.

My humps, my humps, my humps! My lovely lady lumps. Uh, wait... I was thinking of something else... (My bad)

Here they are near the top of one of the end sections.

Here's a group starting to build up speed to get over the hump.

Here's the ride track as viewed from the far end of the exit area.

I think this is where they will sacrifice the losers of the interactive queue batlle once that deal is all worked out.

Looking back at the peeps on the ramp.

A little different view of the first part of the queue, taken from the ramp.

The ramp that leads you to the final queue area.

The first part of the queue.

[Bush985]

I rode today also a few times. I had five rides on Friday. I love the ride. Really a great addition to PGA. I'll have pics up tomorrow night hopefully. It's bedtime.

 

-RD

[martinb]

Really cool themeing for a THRILL RIDE, any airtime?

[Bush985]

There is a bit, but the restraints don't allow for much. Once it really gets going you feel it.

 

I'm gonna try to get a few more rides today after I get off at 4.

 

-RD

[Homer]

*Gasp* You won some Sonic swag!

 

*on-topic*

Survivor: The Ride's theming looks great! The whole interactive queue thing sounds like a great idea too.

[AznShortBoi8021]

This may or may not be a stupid question. How do the riders get on without falling off the disc thingy?

 

EDIT: I just realized the seats are inside the disc thingy, and the restraints prevent the riders from falling forwards.

[PhishyBrewer]

Very nice!!! I was going to come down yesterday but the early morning rain scared me away.

 

I'll take bets on that this fire affect will not be working after next year.

[Nrthwnd]

Believe it or not - this looks exactly like what Exp:Everest is having to go thru before the attraction really looks 'set' in it's themeing....

 

...letting all the landscaping grow in, lol.

 

I hope that most of everybody who takes in this interesting ride (it looks great, from what I've seen in your pix - and the testing vid here 'somewhere'...) will go back to it, a year later perhaps?

 

Will be great, then, to see how much enhanced and 'foliaged,' everything will look around 'Survivor:The Ride' by then.

 

Thanks for sharing the great pix.

 

~ ~ ~

 

And yeah, I agree with Wally... what's usually great effects at the beginning of an attraction's existence (I read somewhere here, that DarkKastle is possibly going to alter their 'pre-show' stuff too..), seems to go thru a "downsizing" with them, once it's up and running.

 

[WalrusMan]

I'll take bets that the fire's not working by the end of this year..... *rolls eyes*

[PhishyBrewer]

^What?

[man]

HOLY CRAP I AM IN ONE OF THOSE PICS

 

edit: its acctually two

[Guy T. Koepp]

This ride looks awesome! I hope this is the kind of family friendly thrill ride that Snyder wants to put onto Magic Mountain.

[man]

well I guess I can add some pics. I know they are crap, but I am not that good at takeing pics.

 

Also a 2nd review of the ride.

 

I liked it. It was better than I thought it was although it hurt like hell in my spine and between the legs were the pole went up. It was really fun though it went preety fast. It had no air time on that hump though and the disk kinda shook around when it reached the bottom area before it went up the spike. The effects on the ride were cool if most of them worked. The water went off real late and it would randomly shoot out a big cloud of water. The fire was the coolest though because it was really big and you can literally feel the heat. The funniest thing that happened was this girl was on it she screamed "DONT RIDE THIS RIDE" right after she said that the fire went off lmao the ride was pissed. The only thing is that after a few days no one will ride it because they come off complaining that it hurts and they dont like. All I can say is if you dont like to get hurt on rides then dont come to theme parks.

 

Now the line area was cool. When you enter there is a real wide path and it gets smaller and smaller. They have signs showing all of the survivors that were on and what tribes there where. After you see there is a TV were you can watch and they explain the chant and stuff during the ride and then they talk about the show. Then you walk up the wooden area and they have fake camps set up. When you get into the station they have 4 sections with differrent dots. They represent which seat you ride. They then have a annoying video of someone who tells you to chant saying that you do all this stuff to get a good thing on the ride.

 

I say this ride is really fun and for people who dont like it can look at this -->

 

ya I know this review sucks. Its my first though

This is right before the fire gets big, I literaly stood there holding my camra till the fire went off.

The ride is so tame people are just chatting while it goes over the hump.

Better pics of the masks that shoot out water. In the midle of the day it started drooling and let out at least 3 or 4 gallons of water.

EXTREEME CRAPPY CLOSE UP OF DISK MASK(damn pole in the way)

everyone looking for the restraints thinking "WTF?!?! were are the restraints"

[c0sterfreek]

I too rode it yesterday w times after work (I work at Top Gun...) It was a kick ass ride. And yes.. you can feel that heat from the fire ball anywere around that ride. I give it 2 thumbs up.

[man]

Sunday or Saterday. I also got it 4 times.

[PhillyGirl]

The scenery is ok, but the ride looks really dull.

 

So help me understand, is it the speed that makes it cool?

 

Is it the "thought" of flying off the track?

 

What is it?

[kaliboiryda510]

The scenery is ok, but the ride looks really dull.

 

So help me understand, is it the speed that makes it cool?

 

Is it the "thought" of flying off the track?

 

What is it?

 

 

Its the fact that its at PGA!!

[PhillyGirl]

PhillyGirl stated:

The scenery is ok, but the ride looks really dull.

 

So help me understand, is it the speed that makes it cool?

 

Is it the "thought" of flying off the track?

 

What is it?

 

kaliboiryda510 says:

Its the fact that its at PGA!!

 

Wouldn't that just make you a PGA groupie?...rofl......

 

Seriously, what does that have to do with the sensation you receive from the ride? Or, is it that doesn't matter?

[man]

well the theaming has a fire thing that you acctually feel the heat and a water thing that gets you wet. The rest is just to get you to watch survivor But the ride isnt total crap it was acctually really fun.

[Bush985]

As before mentioned by a few people, Survivor provides for a very unique ride experience. ALmost a floating over the hill. It's kind of hard to explain, but that is why I really enjoyed it, besides my legs flying over fireballs about five feet away.

 

Really is a unique ride.

 

-RD

[man]

I dont remember any floating on the hill. Its just fun when you hold your legs out on the top of the hills its really weird. The funny thing is everyone complains about the pain.

[arlen23]

That's got to be fun.

[Dr Freeze]

well here's a question. If the Intamin half-pipes are counted as coasters, would this be counted too?

 

 

 

-bret

[Bush985]

Intamin Halfpipes are powered by Lims. This has a drive system built into the car. Therefore there is no coasting at all. It is powered by a tire underneath the vehicle.

 

-RD

[man]

This is more of a flat ride really. It should really be called disko with a hump because its so freeking short. I guess they called it disko coaster so they didnt have such a long name. It still gets confusing.