Classic wooden coasters are the pinnacle of the amusement park industry, and when one thinks of The Great Escape’s Comet, one can’t help but tribute the park for saving this wonderful classic. As I’m sure many of you all know, this classic woodie almost hit the wrecking ball after Crystal Beach closed back in ’89. Thankfully though, this charming, little family park known as the Great Escape, relatively unknown at the time, swooped in to rescue this wonderful coaster, which alone rocketed the park into a relevant destination for amusement park fanatics.
Located in the very back of the park, the Comet truly is the park’s star attraction and the park certainly is proud of it, as the coaster is maintained quite well despite its age and its snow white paint job still looks great after all these years, though it did seem in need of a small touch up back in 2000. But nonetheless, this classic just looks great in its new home and it really looks as if its spent its entire life there. And not only does the track look great, but the attraction has a spiffy new logo and very well maintained trains which seemed to each have a fresh coat of paint.
Now being the park’s star attraction, lines are sure to be form, right? Oh yes they did. Despite hitting the park on a relatively light day, while most other attractions were a walk-on (except for Nightmare and its horrendous capacity!), this maintained 15-20 minute waits all day. But it definitely isn’t the park’s fault, as both trains were running with fairly quick dispatches, two things atypical of a Six Flags run park. And I swear, at least half the people in the park were in the back of the park either riding this beauty, waiting for it, or admiring it. Talk about a draw!
Once seated in the comfortable PTC trains, the ride begins its very long double out-and-back layout which bears a striking resemblance to the Phoenix in my opinion, which is always a good comparison for a coaster to have. And along with having a similar layout to the Phoenix, each of the Comet’s hills provided some nice air, with a few select hills giving some major ejector air which rivals that of the almighty Phoenix. One thing I can say that this triumphs the Phoenix in is its first drop, as its fairly tall and provides some great ejector air in the back and is the main reason why the back row is my preferred row on this coaster.
Not only is the entire attraction a blast from start to finish thanks to the generous air it provides on every hill, but also the ride is remarkably smooth despite its age. Because of this, it’s apparent that the park’s maintenance staff works very hard to keep this coaster running in tip top shape as there were absolutely no rough or jerky spots whatsoever on the entire attraction. I was absolutely psyched about that since it made many re-rides on this incredible coaster possible, especially due to the fairly short waits the attraction had all day.
The Comet simply is a flawless wooden coaster from start to finish that provides a fast-paced, air-time filled experience while being remarkably smooth. This truly is the park’s star attraction and the main reason for visiting this quirky Six Flags park since the other coasters honestly are sub-par if you ask me. And how good is it? Well, currently it sits behind the Phoenix, Hershey’s Wildcat, and Boulder Dash, but that could easily change after a few more rides on this great since I don’t fully remember exactly how mind-blowing it was. Hopefully Six Flags realizes what a gem they have in their hands and lets this classic continue to thrill many more riders for years to come. Absolutely no visit is complete without this amazing wooden coaster that still gives an incredible ride despite its age.
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