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The Italian Job Turbo Coaster was a pleasant surprise on my visits to Paramount Kings Dominion. Located in the Congo section of the park towards the left side of the park near Anaconda, Italian Job Turbo Coasters layout is hidden from view when in line and not riding this fun family coaster because of the many props. The Italian Job Turbo Coaster has excellent theming with a parking garage, police cars, helicopter scene, fire effects, sewer, splashdown, and the giant billboard which the cars shoot out of during the finale. Because of the Italian Job Turbo Coasters 3 train operation, I found that the line moved very quickly and I had a 10-15 minute wait during the day. At night on a weekend it was a walk-on. The trains look fantastic as each car looks like one of the mini-coopers from the movie. There is a blue, red, and white mini-cooper and they are complete with working headlights and doors that close during the ride. Each train holds 12 people. My favorite row was the front because of the view and some pops of air-time during the ride. Once you board the cars, you are restrained by a comfortable, orange lap bar and the operators quickly check the restraint. The cars are dispatched very quickly allowing for the line to move even quicker. During the ride, the Italian Job Turbo Coaster has an excellent sound-track that accompanies the ride as it completes its quick 1 minute circuit. Once the ride begins, the train is instantly launched right from the station and reaches a speed of 40MPH. The launch isnt that forceful, but is quite fun. After a quick straightaway that travels under a highway sign, the trains speed around a pretty forceful upward helix around parking garage theming. The train barely makes it to the top and then descends down a small drop, followed by a quick scene passing by some police cars that flash their lights and are blasting their sirens. Then the train flies around a severly banked, curved, turn-around hill, followed by a small hill providing a burst of air-time for the front seat riders, followed by some slow twists and turns next to some billboards displaying images from the movie. Then theres a swift drop down a staircase, followed by another hill providing a pop of air-time for front-seat riders. Then the train pauses as there are some great effects as a helicopter shoots at you and a fire starts and burns next to the train. You can really feel the heat. Just as the major explosion occurs, the train is launched suddenly beginning the exciting second half of the ride and twists through pitch darkness through a sewer. There is are some small hills during the dark tunnel and one of them provides a brief pop of air-time. Then the train accelerates even more thanks to another launch just as the train shoots out of the massive billboard and down the rides largest drop, providing a pop of air-time for backseat riders. The drop goes under a bridge that is part of the queue line and then coasts over a small section of water and over a small bunny hill, followed by a final turn before hitting the brake run ending the short, 1 minute ride. Overall, the Italian Job Turbo Coaster is an exciting family coaster that any fan of launched roller coasters shouldnt miss. This is a great family coaster and is a wonderful coaster for those trying to build up the courage to ride scarier coasters could ride. At one point during the ride your photo is taken.
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