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an interesting steel hyper, though one which was ruined somewhat by the most intense stapling i have ever had on a coaster. considering the leg bar which locks into your shins, the lap bar pushed all the way into the abdomen (fellas, this restraint system came awful close the family jewels) and the operators coming by to yank every last bit of slack from the seat belt, i could easily imagine i was seated in an electric chair, sans arm cuffs and electrodes. its a darn shame, because i found this coaster to be a unique design concept (as unique as a ride can be that has a twin sister a few hundred miles north) and strangely relaxing while also being exhilarating. it begins with a gorgeous and long, steep first drop. sitting in the very back car i was reminded of the blind faith i have in amusement park safety measures. with hands up, the main sensation i felt being whipped over the top of the supermans lift, aside from the butterflies of reverse g-forces, is the restraints pressing into your outward thrusted body. truly without the restraints no one would arrive at the base of this hill inside the train. while this is indeed thrilling, i cant help but wish i could get just a bit of air between my bottom and the seat. the same goes for the other pretty freaky airtime hops at the end, but alas, no such luck on superman for riders are glued down flush into the chairs as if on flypaper. i didnt think i would go for the banked turn right after the first drop but it is actually really fun and a trick i have not seen before on a coaster of this size. the inclusion of two helices is also a very nice touch. they drill some nice positive Gs, but they are also wide and languorous, giving you the opportunity to look around enjoy the speed. you cant get TOO cozy during these helices though, because you are treated to the dramatic optical illusion that you are going to wail into to a support pillar as you rotate out of them. i should note that this particular superman installation has also aged a little and the ground level passages recurrent in the ride are a bit on the jittery side, and i say this in a celebratory sense because this ride actually has some charactor to it and isnt your run of the mill creamy speed coaster. all in all, a great coaster which, if run in a slightly less paranoid manner would get a possible 9 from me.
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