I recently rode the Silver Comet for the first time. I gave it a good trial and tried 5 of the six individual cars (all cars except the 3rd car from the back. Actually, I rode six times with one duplicate car ride. I found the ride to be quite fun. There are some good head choppers. The ride is butter smooth for a wooden coaster and the finale is one of the best of any coaster, steel or wood, that I have ever been on. I find that the smoothness detracts a bit from the overall ride experience. I prefer a more out of control woodie feeling, more like the Beast at PKI.
I found the rides in the front and back to be the best places to ride. The front gives riders the classic weepy eyes that are the sign of a fast and exhilarating ride. Although, I found that the front car goes a bit far over the first lift hill before the lift hill release kicks in and you start your descent, detracting from the front row thrill factor. However, in the back row this adds to the fun, because I found that this late release coupled with the short train, throws off your established coaster timing. This means that the hill release catches you by surprise and gives you a little more time to sweat things out before the drop finally happens.
A word of caution to taller riders, people 5 feet 10 and taller. I found that the front of each car is more uncomfortable than the back, so plan accordingly. The restraints which consist of a lap belt and a padded safety bar work well to keep taller riders in place avoiding any shin/knee banging when sitting in the front of any car. However, there is a noticeable difference in overall leg room and side padding between the front and back of a car on this coaster. I do recommend trying a ride in the front at least once, even for tall riders.
I went to the park on a Sunday and even though this is the best ride in the park, the lines were rarely longer than one train. Most of my rides were a rope duck and a walk on away.
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