robbalvey Posted April 26, 2018 Share Posted April 26, 2018 (edited) All day long today people kept asking me "Where do you rank it???" "Where do you rank it???" and I think the fact that this was the #1 question people asked me, and put SO MUCH weight into the answer, is why I was hesitant to do the TPR Coaster Poll in the first place. And I know it sounds odd for me to say "I can't really rank it" because that we JUST PUBLISHED our TPR Coaster Poll! But hear me out... The answer to the question is, and this is not a cop-out this is an honest response... "I don't know." I mean, it's up there... REALLY high up there. But the reality of the situation is this... If you were to magically teleport me to any of these five coasters: Steel Vengeance, Medusa Steel Coaster, Lightning Rod, Wildfire, Outlaw Run, and I didn't have a choice of which one I got teleported to, I just showed up there in the seat already cresting the lift hill, I don't think I'd complain one bit regardless of which one I'm riding. And that's the actual truth! I told someone today "I spend less time ranking and counting because I want to spend more time RIDING, because that's the whole POINT of all of this!" So really, the ride ranks up there with some of the best in the world, and that's all you're going to get out of me! And what did I think of the actual ride? I mean, what can I really say? It's absoultely balls-out bonkers ridiculous. It just has moments that shouldn't be legal, that shouldn't have been possible. In fact, I was talking to the CP headest of the head honchos Jason McClure today and he told me "in all of my 18 years in this industry, when I was watching them put up pieces during the construction, it was the first time I would say 'are we SURE this is going to work???'" Because it just looks that stupidly insane. I didn't count the amount of airtime hills but it's a lot. I mean, 20+ maybe? And I wouldn't have been able to count them anyway because the entire time I rode I was too busy LAUGHING-MY-ASS-OFF throughout the entire ride! It's just one of those types of coasters. It is doing all kinds of insanely crazy intense things to you, but doing them in such an amazingly well engineered way that at no point do you feel like you can't just throw your arms in the air and have the best time ever! There's a lot more I could probably say, but instead I'm going to post some photos & video from today's event and then I'll let you all ask the questions you'd like me to fill in the blanks on... Here goes... First of all the POV: I always have to thank Cedar Point for delivering good materials that we can work with in a timely manner that helps us put together our content on the socials. So kudos to Tony and the team! And the rider cam: [fbvideonew] [/fbvideonew]Seriously, you don't even need to scroll down any further, just watch this video. This video gives you everything you need to know about the ride. It answers most questions and it really does give you a great feeling of what sort of crazy the ride delivers! On to the rest of the story... Look where I’m at! It’s going to be a very early morning tomorrow at Cedar Point! Can’t wait!!! It is a very EARLY morning here at Cedar Point! So early the sun isn’t even out yet! Thankfully Magnum’s lift hill will light my way... So I just took my first ride on Steel Vengeance! OMG!!! If you are familiar with RMC’s roller coasters this knocks them out of the park! It’s bigger, faster, and more out of control than the others! Congrats to Cedar Point! The fog is so thick right now you can barely see the train cresting the top of Steel Vengeance! [twitter] [/twitter] The maneuvers the train has to go through on Steel Vengeance are out of control! Some of them don’t even feel like they should be legal! Hanging out with Joe & Alan! These guys are roller coaster celebrities! Alan is responsible for the design and track layout of Steel Vengeance! Huge thanks to Tony Clark & Jason McClure and their team for all the hard work at Cedar Point has put into making Steel Vengeance a reality! The ride has absolutely blown away all expectations! [twitter] [/twitter] Fred Grubb is the owner of Rocky Mountain Construction. His company is responsible for Steel Vengeance! Not only do we want to send huge THANK YOUS to his team, but we also love how happy he always is when you meet him! Look at that smile on his face after riding his own coaster! I seem to be fairly impressed with the amount of "hairtime" that Cassy is getting on Steel Vengeance! Here’s some of the Steel Vengeance merchandise available! I love the candle... “smell the excitement!” lol The fog this morning added an extra layer of already amazing atmosphere to take my first rides on Steel Vengeance. She *KNOWS* the correct way to ride Steel Vengeance! Hands up all the way around...HUGE smile on your face! What makes Steel Vengeance so unique is how much action there is WITHIN the dense structure of the ride! Look at this photo... there's a train going through an inversion in there... somewhere... if you can find it! lol We are giving away Steel Vengeance stuff on our Twitter! Go RIGHT NOW and see how to be entered to win! Hey kids, look! We made Steel Vengeance trend on Twitter today! Yay!!! Was awesome seeing Japanese TV personality @imotodesse riding Steel Vengeance today for NipponTV's ItteQ! We love Japan and can’t wait to get back in a few weeks! Yep... That was a big thumbs up for Steel Vengeance! Got to ride it 8 times today all over the train and every seat is GREAT!!! The fog did clear a bit so I could get some slightly better photos... For those of you worried about the size of the seatbelt, you pretty much have to be an elephant for these not to fit around you! I'm totally "okay" with them assigning seats. There were no bad seats on this ride and if it helps speed up the loading process, EVEN BETTER! "Yes, hi, I have no talent, where's my tent?" Oh, yes, that's where I am again... The fog really did make a pretty cool eerie setting for the ride. And yes there is themed ice cream. I didn't have any of it, but here it is... There are many shirts to choose from. Here's one... Here's another one... Some of the themed elements you'll find in the queue. I find this section right here very interesting. The profile of it reminds me a LOT of Mean Streak! I wonder if that was intentional as a homage to the ride, or not. It was still very overcast, but at least the fog was starting to lift. Here is the entrance to the ride. I highly recommend using that Fast Lane side as often as possible! On the approach to the loudest lift hill in the world! Seriously, it's LOUD! Like, ironically Son of Beast loud. Note that this is NOT a "complaint" just an observation. I think it adds to the character of the ride. Here's the front of the train. Oh man, it really REALLY looks like the sun wants to break through! Certain elements of the old Mean Streak station haven't changed at all! So the sun never quite came out... but it really tried! One thing I love about going to media events is being able to get shots like this with NOBODY in the park! I guarantee you it will be pretty rare to see this area look like this again after today! Would you believe this picture was taken on the SAME DAY?!?! About 45 minutes after the ride close for the media event, the sun broke and we had blue skies! Oh well, I'm not complaining because it was an amazing day. Just gives us all the more reason to hang out at the park when we are back in August! Seriously, the ride is amazing! Get out to Cedar Point and ride it many, MANY times! Oh yes, be sure to POST YOUR COMMENTS!!! (we took the time to write the report, the least you could do is say something nice about it!) Edited April 26, 2018 by robbalvey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canobie Coaster Posted April 26, 2018 Share Posted April 26, 2018 Fantastic coverage! Knowing it's arguably one of the best rides in the world from your review combined with that rider cam says it all. The layout looks like it has every single type of airtime a thrill seeker could want and doesn't have a single dead spot. Twisted Timbers may give Steel Vengeance a run for its money on the loudest lift. I find it interesting these two RMCs are that loud since I never recalled their older ones being as loud. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shut It Down Posted April 26, 2018 Share Posted April 26, 2018 It looks amazing!!! I’m making my first trip to CP in June and I literally can’t wait! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThemeParkJunkie51290 Posted April 26, 2018 Share Posted April 26, 2018 WOW! It looks truly amazing, and I'm sure it was a fantastic ride! Great report! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joelwee Posted April 26, 2018 Share Posted April 26, 2018 Great report! It looks like you had a blast, and makes me really look forward to riding it myself. That's interesting about the loud lift hill. I've always considered Twisted Colossus's lift hill to be loud; was it even louder than that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Stratosphere Posted April 26, 2018 Share Posted April 26, 2018 The coverage today was absolutely amazing! I am glad that Steel Vengeance is living up to the hype. I remember the first two coasters I followed getting built was Millennium Force and Goliath at SFMM. Watching the transformation from Mean Streak to Steel Vengeance was incredible as well. It was entertaining watching this come to life through TPR and Tony Clark. Thanks all, cannot wait to get out there to ride! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeoplemoverMatt Posted April 26, 2018 Share Posted April 26, 2018 That looks like such an amazing ride. So wish I could be with you guys in August to ride many, many, MANY times!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bert425 Posted April 26, 2018 Share Posted April 26, 2018 Lovely pictures, and I absorbed every single video you posted today -- thank you for that (even tho my work today suffered, it was oh so worth it). cannot WAIT to get back to CP later this summer to give this ride a spin. you mentioned you rode 8 times today -- how back to back was that? I mean, I'm wondering about the intensity of it, as I tend not to "marathon" things, but rather tend to ride 1-2 times, break for something else, then go back again later (either shortly after, or later in the day). So just wondering on the intensity of it.. .does it fall more in the "wheeeee" category that insists on immediate re-rides? or do you feel it falls more into the "holy crap that's great" category, where one must catch a breath to stop the legs wobbling before getting back in line? does that question even make sense? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Superbatboy Posted April 26, 2018 Share Posted April 26, 2018 Looks great, hoping I can get back to CP later this summer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philthephorce Posted April 26, 2018 Share Posted April 26, 2018 Great pics and video, Robb! Steel Vengeance looks incredible on so many levels. The sustained speed, variety of airtime moments, variety of elements and the overall flat-out craziness will put this ride on many people's top 5 (or even top 3) for sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
805Andrew Posted April 26, 2018 Share Posted April 26, 2018 Love the hairtime video and the foggy pictures. Looks like an amazing ride and I can't wait to get back to CP in August (hopefully). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sportsdude360 Posted April 26, 2018 Share Posted April 26, 2018 I'm gonna have to get back up to Cedar Point and try this bad boy out! Thanks for the great photo's and video, Robb. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boldikus Posted April 26, 2018 Share Posted April 26, 2018 Thanks for all this great coverage, Robb. You do a great job of making me really want to go there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ape Posted April 26, 2018 Share Posted April 26, 2018 I followed along all day yesterday and I am just so happy we decided to get platinum passes this year. The only question I really have is do those bunny hops coming back to the station feel like the ones on Lightning Run? It looks like they do in the videos. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Invertalon Posted April 26, 2018 Share Posted April 26, 2018 I got six rides on it yesterday and as of today, have huge bruises on my shins.. If that is any sign of the extremely forceful airtime!... Crazy awesome ride. It's not a ride you can marathon, in fact, most people I spoke with yesterday had about 5-8 laps when you could have easily did double or triple that if you wanted. General consensus was that people needed a break given it's intensity after a ride or two for a bit. Once you go down that first drop, it doesn't let up until it hits that brake run. Even the MCBR you hardly notice as at that point, as you need a minute to brace yourself for the finale sequence which is just insane. I look forward to hearing what the "GP" reaction will be when they get off this thing... Will be a huge hit, no doubt. Cedar Point got an epic, signature attraction from RMC to the likes of Millennium Force and Maverick, that's for sure! As far as the bunny hops at the end of the ride, it honestly feels like if you were riding a mechanical bull. It's abrupt ejector air to back in your seat over, and over, and over again very quickly. The best way I can describe it. Out of control. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PVA62 Posted April 26, 2018 Share Posted April 26, 2018 Thanks for the coverage Robb! Can't wait to get up there and try this thing out! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WolfBobs Posted April 26, 2018 Share Posted April 26, 2018 Even the MCBR you hardly notice as at that point, as you need a minute to brace yourself for the finale sequence which is just insane. Out of curiosity how many trains were running yesterday? One would think that MCBR would be noticeable if all 3 trains where on course. But what do I know? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoasterAuditor Posted April 26, 2018 Share Posted April 26, 2018 Awesome coverage of an amazing new coaster! Those seat belts are similar to Twisted Timbers seat belts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cfc Posted April 26, 2018 Share Posted April 26, 2018 Thanks for the photos and videos. Steel Vengeance looks great, but is anyone surprised by that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OmnipotentSeal Posted April 26, 2018 Share Posted April 26, 2018 This is definitely the year for me to finally make the drive and visit Cedar point. Steel Vengeance looks amazing, and the reviews confirm that! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RCjunkie Posted April 26, 2018 Share Posted April 26, 2018 Thanks for the great coverage, you managed to get me even more excited for my CP visit this year. Did they have any of Toft's 'Brownie Bandit' ice cream for you to try (even though you didn't)? Or did they just have a mock up container for it? Really enjoyed the flavor they had for Valravn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coasterbill Posted April 26, 2018 Share Posted April 26, 2018 Great report!!! I can't wait to ride this thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PKI Jizzman Posted April 26, 2018 Share Posted April 26, 2018 The fact that you couldn't stop laughing speaks volumes about this ride! Seems to be a similarity among epic coasters. Wow...as loud as Son of Beast! That's impressive I kinda love it, though... Thanks for the great buffet of videos, photos, comments, and smiles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoppedup Posted April 26, 2018 Share Posted April 26, 2018 Great report! That coaster looks crazy good. Between three days of ERT and a Passholder Ride Night, I hope to get a few laps in on SV in August. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coaster_t Posted April 26, 2018 Share Posted April 26, 2018 Looks like an amazing ride. Love the hairtime video. I counted 24 pops. Wow! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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