Ultimate Rollercoaster

Well, today I am EXHAUSTED! Yesterday I rode Kingda Ka 13 1/2 times! Yes, you read that right, 1/2 which equals ROLLBACK BABY! If they could include that with every launch I'll think I have died and gone to heaven! I have been told I am super lucky to have had that and, it was the ONLY train to rollback the entire day. So I've never ridden TTD and have only ridden what I assume to be the weakest link which is Stormrunner so, take that into consideration when reading my ride review..

My first ride I chose the front seat. Of course I know from here on out I will never just queue up behind one other person upon entering the station to get the front seat so, I took advantage like anyone else would! I was a little nervous but my friend Wade was cool as a cucumber! We hear the horn and 3 seconds later we are off!

The Cheeks flew back and my eyelids fluttered like a shade that had been pulled down to hard and swung back up from fierce pressure! Yeah, that's the best way to describe what happened to my eyelids!

We soared to what felt like the heavens and I still haven't re-couperated from my eyelids flapping so my vision was heavily blurred and I did not get a good look at the view. We plummet down towards the parking lot and all I can see through my blurred vision was twisting green steel before we pull up and over the bunny hop and I regain my composure from the intenseness that had just overtaken me!

At this point I am hooting and hollering, asking myself what the F**k just happened here and, trying to clear the stars I am seeing in my eyes from I assume, those damn flapping eyelids again! LMAO, that was freaking incredible!

So I re-rode this beast as many times as I could and with each ride I got a better sense of my surroundings and was able to go beyond the intensity and feel the airtime On the Tophat and bunnyhill which can be nicely experienced when you sit closer to the back. Yes, there is airtime on that thar Hill and the Tophat to!

The OTSR's are not extremely restricting but, you have to get a nice ride op that doesn't staple you to death. There is roughness towards the back but, I believe it's not the ride but, the intensity that contributes to that. Sitting towards the front the wind helps push you back into your seat (Again, they are pretty comfortable!) but in the back it seems the train doesn't get the same launch kick as the front part and, probably because the front gets all the force in order to pull the back up the track with it?

KK is incredible, I just don't know what else to say. One heck of an experience and the rollback was just a reverse Freefall from 400+ Ft so that was totally amazing. Yep, safe to say I had a GREAT Day!

On a side note... RT ran fantastic with it's left side having been worked on. Viper is NOT going anywhere but the boneyard if you could see how they are cutting the track into tiny pieces! So, SFDL people that are in fear of getting this, forget about it, they are taking it down with the idea of never seeing it standing again !

The back is rough already? That is not a good sign for the future of this ride.

> Well, today I am EXHAUSTED! Yesterday I rode Kingda Ka 13
> 1/2 times! Yes, you read that right, 1/2 which equals
> ROLLBACK BABY! If they could include that with every launch
> I'll think I have died and gone to heaven! I have been told
> I am super lucky to have had that and, it was the ONLY
> train to rollback the entire day. So I've never ridden TTD
> and have only ridden what I assume to be the weakest link
> which is Stormrunner so, take that into consideration when
> reading my ride review..

> My first ride I chose the front seat. Of course I know from
> here on out I will never just queue up behind one other
> person upon entering the station to get the front seat so,
> I took advantage like anyone else would! I was a little
> nervous but my friend Wade was cool as a cucumber! We hear
> the horn and 3 seconds later we are off!

> The Cheeks flew back and my eyelids fluttered like a shade
> that had been pulled down to hard and swung back up from
> fierce pressure! Yeah, that's the best way to describe what
> happened to my eyelids!

> We soared to what felt like the heavens and I still haven't
> re-couperated from my eyelids flapping so my vision was
> heavily blurred and I did not get a good look at the view.
> We plummet down towards the parking lot and all I can see
> through my blurred vision was twisting green steel before
> we pull up and over the bunny hop and I regain my composure
> from the intenseness that had just overtaken me!

> At this point I am hooting and hollering, asking myself
> what the F**k just happened here and, trying to clear the
> stars I am seeing in my eyes from I assume, those damn
> flapping eyelids again! LMAO, that was freaking incredible!

> So I re-rode this beast as many times as I could and with
> each ride I got a better sense of my surroundings and was
> able to go beyond the intensity and feel the airtime On the
> Tophat and bunnyhill which can be nicely experienced when
> you sit closer to the back. Yes, there is airtime on that
> thar Hill and the Tophat to!

> The OTSR's are not extremely restricting but, you have to
> get a nice ride op that doesn't staple you to death. There
> is roughness towards the back but, I believe it's not the
> ride but, the intensity that contributes to that. Sitting
> towards the front the wind helps push you back into your
> seat (Again, they are pretty comfortable!) but in the back
> it seems the train doesn't get the same launch kick as the
> front part and, probably because the front gets all the
> force in order to pull the back up the track with it?

> KK is incredible, I just don't know what else to say. One
> heck of an experience and the rollback was just a reverse
> Freefall from 400+ Ft so that was totally amazing. Yep,
> safe to say I had a GREAT Day!

> On a side note... RT ran fantastic with it's left side
> having been worked on. Viper is NOT going anywhere but the
> boneyard if you could see how they are cutting the track
> into tiny pieces! So, SFDL people that are in fear of
> getting this, forget about it, they are taking it down with
> the idea of never seeing it standing again !

Great report.
Here is a link to SF360 which has some videos of KK in action..

That guy that does those coaster world news clips gets great footage, but my Lord he works my last nerve!

Shaggy

I like in the reverse POV how he was all calm before the launch, then goes nuts during the ride, then as soon as it stops he acts all cool fixing his hair...calmly saying "good ride." Hilarious.

> Well, today I am EXHAUSTED! Yesterday I rode Kingda Ka 13
> 1/2 times! Yes, you read that right, 1/2 which equals
> ROLLBACK BABY!

I'm so jealous that you got a roll back. I'm still hoping to experience it one day. Isn't the view from the top of the tower amazing?

Anway, here are some pictures that I took earlier this week:

-bunny hill

-tower

-train

-Mitch F.

Interesting article on an eBay Kingda Ka winner :-)

The OTSR's are not extremely restricting but, you have to
> get a nice ride op that doesn't staple you to death. There
> is roughness towards the back but, I believe it's not the
> ride but, the intensity that contributes to that. Sitting
> towards the front the wind helps push you back into your
> seat (Again, they are pretty comfortable!) but in the back
> it seems the train doesn't get the same launch kick as the
> front part and, probably because the front gets all the
> force in order to pull the back up the track with it?

I didn't realize Kingda Ka has OTSR's. That has to make this ride much more uncomfortable than Top Thrill Dragster. With only the same lap bar that Millennium Force uses, TTD is super comfortable.

One of these days I might make it to New Jersey. But for now, I will settle for TTD and MF. They are fantastic.

> The OTSR's are not extremely restricting but, you have to
> get a nice ride op that doesn't staple you to death.

OTSR's on this ride are disappointing, especially since TTD runs without them. OTSR's and stapling, now that's unnecessary.

The next thing that will happen in New Jersey is that they will be required to shackle and cuff the riders.

Nice trip report by the way.

Eric

> The next thing that will happen in New Jersey is that they
> will be required to shackle and cuff the riders.

Geeze Eric, don't give them any ideas. They just might incorporate this idea.

Thanks Diana, good TR and I will be riding it next week.

Ed

> So, SFDL people that are in fear of
> getting this, forget about it, they are taking it down with
> the idea of never seeing it standing again !

Alright, i'm outta the loop on this one..please explain..?

> So, SFDL people that are in fear of
> getting this, forget about it, they are taking it down with
> the idea of never seeing it standing again !

> Alright, i'm outta the loop on this one..please explain..?

There was a rumor going around that SF was going to relocate Viper and that the lead park to get it was SF Darien Lake. This is a far better thing to just scrap the Nogo altogether, and not make any other SF passholders suffer the pain.

Ed

Great TR! Di! You are so lucky to get a rollback and on your first day. I am actually surprised that there weren't a few more.

I can't wait til the last week of August to ride it with you. Diva weekend. Forget the boys! Well except Bruce! He rules.

Loved your description of launch and the air hill.

Katie, who can't wait for KK, maybe I can fit on that one. Right now my feelings with intamin still stand on IT SUCKS!

> The OTSR's are not extremely restricting but, you have to
> get a nice ride op that doesn't staple you to death.

> OTSR's on this ride are disappointing, especially since TTD
> runs without them. OTSR's and stapling, now that's
> unnecessary.

> The next thing that will happen in New Jersey is that they
> will be required to shackle and cuff the riders.

> Nice trip report by the way.

> Eric
>

Supposedly the Camel back was the reason for the extra restraints,and from what i understand that was the problem area as far as speed is concerned.
And the way people are explaining the ride they added alot of brakes to the camel back.
When this ride was biult the only non moving brakes on the camel back were at the bottom half.But like i said before this ride is designed to add and remove brakes where needed.
Evry one thought they would be removing brakes from that area,,geuss not.
Six Flags cut 9 inches out of a track on the launch side when they didnt need to ...in my opinion that made the train too fast and that was the holdup .

Thanks for the ride review!I'm glad that you were lucky enough to get the only rollback. I am surprised as well, that it was the only one of the day.I would have guessed that they would have had at least a half-dozen or so, from whats happened on TTD. I guess Intamin has finally got that figured out.

I also noticed you didn't mention anything about any breakdowns.Did the ride not experience any problems? If it did not,that is amazing!!

I have never been on TTD, nor Kingda Ka(of course). I have been trying to get to Cedar Point ever since TTD opened. Unfortunately,time and money dictate this LOL. After reading your excellent review, I'm thinking of changing my CP dreams to SFGAdv.The only ride that I have ever been on remotely close to these two is Hypersonic XLC(PKD).Which it seems, is a baby compared to TTD and Kingda Ka.

Thanks again for sharing your ride!

coasternutNVA

P.S. My wife wears contacts lenses.After reading about your eyelid flapping ride, I wonder if it would be a bad idea to ride this with contact lenses? I've seen people lose wigs and toupees on Hypersonic XLC. That ride is about 90m.p.h.I can't imagine what 128 m.p.h. would do to a wig!

> Thanks for the ride review!I'm glad that you were lucky
> enough to get the only rollback. I am surprised as well,
> that it was the only one of the day.I would have guessed
> that they would have had at least a half-dozen or so, from
> whats happened on TTD. I guess Intamin has finally got that
> figured out.

> I also noticed you didn't mention anything about any
> breakdowns.Did the ride not experience any problems? If it
> did not,that is amazing!!

> I have never been on TTD, nor Kingda Ka(of course). I have
> been trying to get to Cedar Point ever since TTD opened.
> Unfortunately,time and money dictate this LOL. After
> reading your excellent review, I'm thinking of changing my
> CP dreams to SFGAdv.The only ride that I have ever been on
> remotely close to these two is Hypersonic XLC(PKD).Which it
> seems, is a baby compared to TTD and Kingda Ka.

> Thanks again for sharing your ride!

> coasternutNVA

> P.S. My wife wears contacts lenses.After reading about your
> eyelid flapping ride, I wonder if it would be a bad idea to
> ride this with contact lenses? I've seen people lose wigs
> and toupees on Hypersonic XLC. That ride is about 90m.p.h.I
> can't imagine what 128 m.p.h. would do to a wig!

>It sounds like some sort of eye protection would be a good idea on this ride if they let you wear them.

> P.S. My wife wears contacts lenses.After reading about your
> eyelid flapping ride, I wonder if it would be a bad idea to
> ride this with contact lenses? I've seen people lose wigs
> and toupees on Hypersonic XLC. That ride is about 90m.p.h.I
> can't imagine what 128 m.p.h. would do to a wig!

Definitely tell your wife to wear protective sunglasses. The park allows them with a secure safety strap.

I also wear contact lenses, and without the glasses, I thought I was going to lose a lense. That definitely took away from the experience. With the glasses, I was able to enjoy KK entirely, with no worries.

Steve

> P.S. My wife wears contacts lenses.After reading about your
> eyelid flapping ride, I wonder if it would be a bad idea to
> ride this with contact lenses? I've seen people lose wigs
> and toupees on Hypersonic XLC. That ride is about 90m.p.h.I
> can't imagine what 128 m.p.h. would do to a wig!

> Definitely tell your wife to wear protective sunglasses.
> The park allows them with a secure safety strap.

> I also wear contact lenses, and without the glasses, I
> thought I was going to lose a lense. That definitely took
> away from the experience. With the glasses, I was able to
> enjoy KK entirely, with no worries.

> Steve

Thanks for the tip,Steve. I will look into getting some for her.

Have a great day,

Tim

Awesome review dude!!!
check this out maybe you'll have a flashback

http://streams.acurrentaffair.com/rollercoaster_small.wmv

> Well, today I am EXHAUSTED! Yesterday I rode Kingda Ka 13
> 1/2 times! Yes, you read that right, 1/2 which equals
> ROLLBACK BABY! If they could include that with every launch
> I'll think I have died and gone to heaven! I have been told
> I am super lucky to have had that and, it was the ONLY
> train to rollback the entire day. So I've never ridden TTD
> and have only ridden what I assume to be the weakest link
> which is Stormrunner so, take that into consideration when
> reading my ride review..

> My first ride I chose the front seat. Of course I know from
> here on out I will never just queue up behind one other
> person upon entering the station to get the front seat so,
> I took advantage like anyone else would! I was a little
> nervous but my friend Wade was cool as a cucumber! We hear
> the horn and 3 seconds later we are off!

> The Cheeks flew back and my eyelids fluttered like a shade
> that had been pulled down to hard and swung back up from
> fierce pressure! Yeah, that's the best way to describe what
> happened to my eyelids!

> We soared to what felt like the heavens and I still haven't
> re-couperated from my eyelids flapping so my vision was
> heavily blurred and I did not get a good look at the view.
> We plummet down towards the parking lot and all I can see
> through my blurred vision was twisting green steel before
> we pull up and over the bunny hop and I regain my composure
> from the intenseness that had just overtaken me!

> At this point I am hooting and hollering, asking myself
> what the F**k just happened here and, trying to clear the
> stars I am seeing in my eyes from I assume, those damn
> flapping eyelids again! LMAO, that was freaking incredible!

> So I re-rode this beast as many times as I could and with
> each ride I got a better sense of my surroundings and was
> able to go beyond the intensity and feel the airtime On the
> Tophat and bunnyhill which can be nicely experienced when
> you sit closer to the back. Yes, there is airtime on that
> thar Hill and the Tophat to!

> The OTSR's are not extremely restricting but, you have to
> get a nice ride op that doesn't staple you to death. There
> is roughness towards the back but, I believe it's not the
> ride but, the intensity that contributes to that. Sitting
> towards the front the wind helps push you back into your
> seat (Again, they are pretty comfortable!) but in the back
> it seems the train doesn't get the same launch kick as the
> front part and, probably because the front gets all the
> force in order to pull the back up the track with it?

> KK is incredible, I just don't know what else to say. One
> heck of an experience and the rollback was just a reverse
> Freefall from 400+ Ft so that was totally amazing. Yep,
> safe to say I had a GREAT Day!

> On a side note... RT ran fantastic with it's left side
> having been worked on. Viper is NOT going anywhere but the
> boneyard if you could see how they are cutting the track
> into tiny pieces! So, SFDL people that are in fear of
> getting this, forget about it, they are taking it down with
> the idea of never seeing it standing again !

I got three rides yesterday during morning ERT at Coaster Celebration. The OTSR's are unlike what you may be thinking.
They do not touch your head/cheekbones area like others do.
They did not even make contact with my body as I sat there.
I was unaware of them, in fact, until hitting the brakes on the downside of that "bunny" hill. That's when I felt them holding me back.
The lap bar portion of the restraint is a great system; I wish they could be retrofitted to the S:ROS's.

Mike B.

The way it worked out, I rode just the orange train, three times during Coaster Celebration yesterday.
Aside from being wowed, amazed and whatever other emotions/feelings you can attribute to such a powerful launch the only thing I noticed as any kind of negative during the launch was the roughness. It was enough to notice, but not too much to bitch about or really even remember as the ride ends and you are reliving the entire ride experience and describing it to others, etc. (Sit on the left of the train for a fabulous view of the park when at the top). It felt the same for all three rides to me. I rode in row 3 (2.1), row 5 (3.1) and row 9 (5.1) (last row, there is no row 10 (yet?)).
At that speed I don't guess it is easy to make anything roll perfectly smooth. Still, would the other three trains have felt the same to me? I won't know the answer to that question until...?

Mike B.

I'm shivering just thinking about getting a surprise rollback.

Has anyone out there ridden both coasters for a comparison?
I'm talking KK and TTD

> Well, today I am EXHAUSTED! Yesterday I rode Kingda Ka 13
> 1/2 times! Yes, you read that right, 1/2 which equals
> ROLLBACK BABY! If they could include that with every launch
> I'll think I have died and gone to heaven! I have been told
> I am super lucky to have had that and, it was the ONLY
> train to rollback the entire day. So I've never ridden TTD
> and have only ridden what I assume to be the weakest link
> which is Stormrunner so, take that into consideration when
> reading my ride review..

> My first ride I chose the front seat. Of course I know from
> here on out I will never just queue up behind one other
> person upon entering the station to get the front seat so,
> I took advantage like anyone else would! I was a little
> nervous but my friend Wade was cool as a cucumber! We hear
> the horn and 3 seconds later we are off!

> The Cheeks flew back and my eyelids fluttered like a shade
> that had been pulled down to hard and swung back up from
> fierce pressure! Yeah, that's the best way to describe what
> happened to my eyelids!

> We soared to what felt like the heavens and I still haven't
> re-couperated from my eyelids flapping so my vision was
> heavily blurred and I did not get a good look at the view.
> We plummet down towards the parking lot and all I can see
> through my blurred vision was twisting green steel before
> we pull up and over the bunny hop and I regain my composure
> from the intenseness that had just overtaken me!

> At this point I am hooting and hollering, asking myself
> what the F**k just happened here and, trying to clear the
> stars I am seeing in my eyes from I assume, those damn
> flapping eyelids again! LMAO, that was freaking incredible!

> So I re-rode this beast as many times as I could and with
> each ride I got a better sense of my surroundings and was
> able to go beyond the intensity and feel the airtime On the
> Tophat and bunnyhill which can be nicely experienced when
> you sit closer to the back. Yes, there is airtime on that
> thar Hill and the Tophat to!

> The OTSR's are not extremely restricting but, you have to
> get a nice ride op that doesn't staple you to death. There
> is roughness towards the back but, I believe it's not the
> ride but, the intensity that contributes to that. Sitting
> towards the front the wind helps push you back into your
> seat (Again, they are pretty comfortable!) but in the back
> it seems the train doesn't get the same launch kick as the
> front part and, probably because the front gets all the
> force in order to pull the back up the track with it?

> KK is incredible, I just don't know what else to say. One
> heck of an experience and the rollback was just a reverse
> Freefall from 400+ Ft so that was totally amazing. Yep,
> safe to say I had a GREAT Day!

> On a side note... RT ran fantastic with it's left side
> having been worked on. Viper is NOT going anywhere but the
> boneyard if you could see how they are cutting the track
> into tiny pieces! So, SFDL people that are in fear of
> getting this, forget about it, they are taking it down with
> the idea of never seeing it standing again !

What is clear is that OTSR's ARE necessary for this and every other Intamin hyper-style coaster. Because, you know, people have been ejected from their restraint system more than once!! Be it that the rider was too big, the ride-op didn't staple them enough...blah, blah, blah. Bottom line is someone died and now OTSRs will be the standard going forward, and that IS how it should be. Why complain about this? It has been said more than once that these new OTSR from Intamin are quite comfortable, and it is clear Six Flags can't operate these rides without a sure-fire way to keep people from falling out...sad as that may be. MF and TTD were lucky enough to get grandfathered in, and CP can just keep control of who gets on the ride and that the ride-ops are educated. However, I doubt even Cedar Fair parks will open new Intamin rides without them.

Pete

> P.S. My wife wears contacts lenses.After reading about your
> eyelid flapping ride, I wonder if it would be a bad idea to
> ride this with contact lenses? I've seen people lose wigs
> and toupees on Hypersonic XLC. That ride is about 90m.p.h.I
> can't imagine what 128 m.p.h. would do to a wig!

> Definitely tell your wife to wear protective sunglasses.
> The park allows them with a secure safety strap.

> I also wear contact lenses, and without the glasses, I
> thought I was going to lose a lense. That definitely took
> away from the experience. With the glasses, I was able to
> enjoy KK entirely, with no worries.

> Steve

> Thanks for the tip,Steve. I will look into getting some for
> her.

> Have a great day,

> Tim

Just wanted to add my two cents...went on yesterday (fantastic ride, indeed) and I wear contacts. It didn't occur to me until I was getting ready to launch that I might lose one, so I had no protective sunglasses or anything. Nevertheless, both of my contacts stayed in my eyes. They were quite dried out by the end of the ride, but I didn't lose them :)

Having ridden this after media day, I'm not impressed. OTSR are comfortable and I think necessary. I think it's over too fast and given that we have B&R Chiller that's never operated with any consistencey, I don't undersand why this lawn ornament was given the OK for installation. KK is the same ride as Chiller....just taller. Big deal.

I rode it once, a one trick pony. Waste of money if you ask me. Won't wait in line for it again.

Want my attention? Let's get a 4th dimension coaster courtesy of B&M, let's get rotting lumber some tlc. KK....LOL! Sorry, waste of money...not worth the wait. I can't believe the townships approve these piles of junk. Are the totally blind to what the parks already have that they don't take care of? How are these new rides approved?

Kat

> Having ridden this after media day, I'm not impressed. OTSR
> are comfortable and I think necessary. I think it's over
> too fast and given that we have B&R Chiller that's never
> operated with any consistencey, I don't undersand why this
> lawn ornament was given the OK for installation. KK is the
> same ride as Chiller....just taller. Big deal.

I fail to see how it is the same ride at all. Chiller is only a fraction as tall, slower, inverting, and the tracks are not complete circuits. The only thing they have in common really is that they are both LIM launched.

The only ride one could make a case for being nearly the same, but not as tall is Top Thrill Dragster at Cedar Point.

Height may not be a big deal to you, but a lot of people love the idea of riding the tallest coaster on Earth. I agree the track design is bland, short and gimmicky, with the only purpose being to take and drop you higher and faster and that's it. It is kind of cool how the so-called "bunny" hill is actually higher than the main hill on most coasters, but it'd be nice if they would spend the money to expand something like this into having a much longer and more interesting track.

> I fail to see how it is the same ride at all. Chiller is
> only a fraction as tall, slower, inverting, and the tracks
> are not complete circuits. The only thing they have in
> common really is that they are both LIM launched.

Actually Chiller is LIM launched, KK is launched by hydraulics, so its actually catapulted to top speed with a launch cable powered by the hydraudlics. Whereas Chiller uses no launch cables, but rather magnets. So really the only thing these two coasters have in common is the fact that they're launched, period.

-DAN

> I fail to see how it is the same ride at all. Chiller is only a fraction as tall, slower, inverting, and the tracks are not complete circuits

KK shoots you out, up the top hat, back down, over the sweet bunny hill and it's done. The Batman side of chiller is somewhat similar in that it shoots you out and has an inverting top hat.

> Height may not be a big deal to you, but a lot of people love the idea of riding the tallest coaster on Earth.

That's fine but there are those of us that also enjoy a great coaster ride that isn't over in the blink of an eye. And frankly, the feeling that my boobs suddenly shoot over to my armpits and my face is turned inside out on the KK launch isn't particularly appealing.

I think its great KK is there for those who love it, I thought it was fun once but won't wait for it again. It just annoys me that all I hear anymore seems to be height, height, height. You don't have to go 6 miles into the sky for a fun ride. Maybe if it did more than just a top hat but it grates on me that I hear so many scream "I hate floorless coasters-they're nothing but a gimmick." yet those are probably the same people waving their pom poms for this hunk of steel which is nothing more than a gimmick. A non-operational one at this point for that matter.

Millennium Force is another one. That first drop is a slice of heaven but I was disappointed because the rest of the ride feels like it's missing something. My husband loves it, I'd take Magnum any day over MF.

I just wish there was a balance. I LOVE Magnum, think it's an awesome ride but I almost hate it & wish it was never built for starting these ridiculous "top this" war the parks are having. It's not just about the height to all of us. I'm tired of this 'arms war' and just wish we could go back to having fun on normal rides. But the way things are going, it doesn't look like that's going to happen until someone shoots us out of the galaxy and drops us. There's too damn much focus on height anymore and not enough focus on the rest of the ride. Or maybe it's just my age, who knows. I don't feel like I have anything to prove by conquering these behemoths.

Kat