As I write this it's *checks calendar* NINE freakin' days until we set off on our American road trip! 11 parks, 108 coasters and a fuck ton of driving and fast food in between, suffice to say I am absolutely gagging to get going on one of the most cred-rich trips I've ever embarked upon. And obviously there's a ton of new-for-me stuff on this trip. In fact, Holiday World aside every single park we're visiting is a new park for me, which means the entire trip is going to be stacked full of first time experiences and reactions. For the most part, I really do try not to ruin coasters for myself by watching POVs and listening to opinions too much so that I'm able to form my own opinions as free from influence as possible, but let's face it with so many iconic coasters on this trip it's hard not to get excited about what lay ahead. Here's the nine coasters I'm most excited to ride on our epic American road trip!
I remember the construction and marketing for the GCI beast Mystic Timbers as clear as day - most likely due to the fact that the campaign had that oh-so-memorable #whatsintheshed campaign. American parks don't really tend to go all out with story and world building when it comes to theming and marketing their coasters, so Mystic Timbers felt like a breath of fresh air, full of mystery of intrigue. I know I like a GCI coaster, I love a spooky theme and I'm very excited to most likely be disappointed when I finally find out what's in the bloody shed! Essentially Mystic Timbers looks like it's going to be a fun, relentless frolic through the woods with some good pops of airtime and forces. What's not to like?
As mentioned, I visited Holiday World back in 2014 but at the time we visited Thunderbird was still very much in development so this will be an entirely new experience for me! I...don't hate B&M wing coasters - I think they're fine for the most part and personally from experience I'd saw The Swarm at Thorpe Park is the best I've ridden thus far. The layout of Thunderbird looks big and swoopy and fab, I'm very much hoping for a gorgeous, balmy summer evening for when it comes time for us to ride but let's face it, the thing I'm most excited for on this thing is the launch. Personally I think the launch on the Incredible Hulk coaster at Islands of Adventure is the coaster's best feature so I'll be interested to see if the same goes for this launched B&M wing coaster!
Look, do I think this thing is actually going to operate by the time we visit? Definitely not. Am I excited for it anyway? HAVE YOU SEEN THIS BLOODY THING?! Of course I am! I'm not getting my hopes up in any way by expecting that we'll actually get to ride Steel Curtain but damn, it looks absolutely insane. I adore S&S and think they're still one of the most innovative coaster manufacturers currently in the market (almost to their detriment as we're seeing here with poor Kennywood and all the trouble they've been having) but that only makes me love them even more. Steel Curtain looks like nothing we've ever seen before, meaning I have pretty much nothing to measure my expectation of the coaster against. Put simply - I have NO idea what to expect from this coaster and that excites me.
I almost feel a bit basic for having Maverick on my list but given my love of launches, Intamin and Taron I'd be lying if I said I wasn't buzzing to get on this coaster. I feel that it's a coaster that's dropped off of people's radars in recent years given it opened way back in 2007 and is basically a fossil at this point, but I'm interested to see how it rides in comparison to Taron. Because let's face it, without Maverick, Taron wouldn't exist so it'll fab to at least pay homage to the coaster that paved the way to perfection. Plus the thing just looks sick either way so yay.
I feel in general that Storm Chaser is the RMC that time forgot - nobody really talks about it but everybody I know who has ridden it absolutely RAVES about it. I know I said I try not to let outside opinions influence me but sometimes it's impossible to avoid! Anyway, given the smaller and more compact nature of this coaster it seems that RMC knew they had very limited space to play with and so they made every inch of track count in delivering the most outrageous layout they possibly could. And given the reviews I've heard they exceeded and then some. The thing just looks like the definition of an airtime machine so I am very ready to strap myself in and let the intensity take over.
OK so honestly I'm a little afraid of Mt.Olympus and Hades 360. The park seems like kind of a...lawless place. A wild west if you will, where anything could happen to you and if something terrible went down they'd just sweep it under the rug and carry on like nothing went down. BUT, that said I do worship at the altar of the mighty Gravity Group and I feel like they'll be my saviours when it comes to Hades 360 and its their involvement that's actually got me so hyped for this coaster. Like, have you SEEN the underground sideways track?! I absolutely adore MineBlower and I feel like Hades 360 takes that idea and runs with it. Plus a pretty hefty chunk of this coaster is casually just...under the car park RCT style and you know I need that craziness in my life. Hell yes.
Duh, obviously Steel Vengeance is on this list. I've tried SO hard to drown out opinions on this coaster so that I can make my own mind up but it's pretty much impossible to avoid it on the online theme park community. Overwhelmingly positive reviews obviously but that worries me slightly as I don't want to ride the thing expecting it to be amazing just in case it doesn't. I was burned by that mentality before back in 2012 when I rode Boulder Dash - I was assured this coaster was going to change my life and what actually happened was is fell short and left me feeling cold. But yh, really, really, REALLY don't want that to happen with Steel Vengeance and to be honest I don't think it will but yh, it looks obscene and I'm super duper ready to get it in my face.
Leviathan will be the tallest B&M coaster I've ever ridden and my first B&M giga coaster. I do love me a B&M hyper coaster so y'know, this seems like it'll be right up my street! It's just so...BIG! I'm definitely going to poo myself on the lift-hill but given those obviously airtime filled hills that follow I'm sure it'll be worth it. Currently Hyperion and Steel Dragon 2000 draw 1st place for me for the best-first-drop prize so I'm very excited to see if Leviathan will snatch that title away. It does look pretty sweet but in my experience I do find that B&M hyper first drops aren't as intense as other manufacturers so will be cool to see how it measures up. Plus you KNOW this coaster is pretty much going to be flawless so yh, super stoked!
The pièce de résistance, obviously, is Top Thrill Dragster. I am ALL about launch coasters, especially Intamin launch coasters and Dragster is something I've wanted to ride my whole damn life so it's still kind of surreal to me that I'll finally be riding in just a few weeks. INSANE! I'm super nervous to do such an intense launch coaster with just lapbar restraints but urgh, I KNOW that subsequent gut-punch and adrenaline rush is going to make it all worth it. Pretty sure I'm going to cry as we approach this coaster, it feels like such a milestone for me to finally be riding this thing and I'm actually a little bummed there's no way I can make it my 1000th coaster. Oh well, just riding it will be good enough for me.
OK, won't lie, I'm fucking BUZZING even more than I already was before writing this! Why do I do this to myself URGH?! Hopefully these next few days WHIZZ by and before I know it I'll be driving down a Mid-West highway somewhere. Woohoo!
Talk later xoxo,
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