I just wanted to share my experience of riding this beast as a rollercoaster noob. To start, Im to a rollercoaster enthusiast as to what a person who goes to the movies a couple times a year is to a professional critic. I go to amusement parks once in awhile (mostly in the NJ area)and try to ride as many coasters as possible before the park closes. However, this may have changed my life.
To use another movie analogy, ever go into a movie theater and pick a random movie on a whim, without knowing ANYTHING about it? Then it turns out you just watched the Godfather, Citizen Kane, etc? That is the experience I had with El Toro on Oct 1.
It was actually my first trip to a coaster park since before Nitro opened. I had forgotten about Nitro completely, and knew a bit about Kingda Ka, but heard NOTHING about El Toro. We just happened to spy a beautiful looking and rather large wooden coaster and decided to get into queue. It was still early, so the wait was only about 45 minutes (getting to about 2 hours later in the day.) Examining the monstrosity, I really only got vague hints as to what was coming. I did notice that the first drop was not only incredibly steep, but TOWERED over Rolling Thunder. Then I noticed that the cars were rocketing over the hills at insane speeds. I grew up in Pittsburgh, so most of my experiences with wooden coasters were with the likes of the Thunderbolt and the Jackrabbit. In comparison, it made them look as if they were sitting still. I had a stronger inkling that I was in for a different experience.
But, of course, nothing could prepare me for the real thing. Unfortunately, I dont remember where we sat the first time, but the next two times were in the next to last car. To tell you the truth, I think we grabbed the front. Why dont I remember? More on that later. The excitement started to build as we moved up the first hill at a very fast clip. I wasnt prepared for that, but now things were starting to click. Go around the bend, throw my hands up and then everything is a blur. Just pure adrenaline. The only thing I can remember about that first ride were the negative Gs. Ive been on coasters that float you before, but NOTHING was even remotely like this. Despite being securely stapled, I was being FORCED out of my seat for many long wonderful seconds. Interesting note. Of the 3 times I rode, once I was the only person who had his hands in the error, and at least one other time, I was one of only a couple. This thing had people holding on for dear life (every other ride I was on had the majority of people with hands in the air.) After it was over, it took a minute before we could speak again. When we looked at our pictures, my face was of the purest joy one could imagine (while my girlfriends face was of utter terror.) It was MUCH more intense than I could possibly imagine, which is why I cannot remember where I sat next time. On my next trip, Im making sure I check out the very front and back seats though. Up until that point, I thought it was all about speed and inversions. Now I know that the Gs are what are truly fun for me.
Except for Nitro (which I also thoroughly enjoyed, especially because of the single t-bar that (sort of) holds you in), every other ride was anti-climatic after that, which may be the only negative I can think of.
Now, the next day, even the thought of it puts a smile on my face. Im seriously thinking of making trips out to visit other famous rides next year, like Voyage. This ride may have changed my life.  <script
|