When I first saw El Toro from the chairlift, it seriously looked like a mirage. The structure is absolutely beautiful and that ultra-steep drop and airtime hills just look too good to be true. The entire ride almost looks fake- thankfully, it isnt. LOL
The theming for this ride is probably the best in the park- granted, that isnt really saying a whole lot, but it really is nice. Theres a statue of a bull that sort of serves as the mascot for the ride, some retro-looking Spanish posters, sand and desert flowers, and an overall Spanish flair to the ride. Even the seat belt sort of looks like a bull, although I doubt that was intentional.
The cars are extremely confining and the lap bar is as tight as it can possibly be. However, this is a good thing- if the restraints were any looser, I cant even imagine how much youd be whipped around. The lapbar sort of reminds me of Nitros restraints- of course, theyre obviously very different, but theyre similar in the sense that you can put your arms up the whole ride without worrying about being whipped around or anything.
Now for the actual ride. The cable lift is really exciting, almost comparable to a launch as others have said. The first drop is pure insanity- the train honestly feels like its tearing into the track! The next two hills offer THE MOST insane, gravity-defying ejector air ever- you wont even understand what Im talking about til you ride it. Im a little hazy as to exactly what order the next few elements are in, but anyway- the headchoppers are awesome- Im pretty short, but even I felt like I had to dodge them. The airtime hill by Rolling Thunder was absolutely fantastic, and really takes you by surprise. My 10-year-old brother, whos only been on 5 or so coasters, actually pointed to that hill when we got off the ride and said it was his favorite part. The twister section towards the end of the ride is unlike anything Ive ever been on before and is probably why they named the ride "El Toro"- its probably the closest you could get to riding a real bull.
The whole ride experience is silky-smooth, yet highly intense. There are no brakes in the middle, so the ride never really slows down.
If there were only one word to describe El Toro, it would be "flawless". I dont care if you live on the other side of the world: Get to Great Adventure RIGHT NOW to ride this thing! You havent lived until you do.
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