I love the Cyclone. This ride has an enormous amount of personality. With all the new technology you see on wood coasters these days I love the way this coaster rides, without the awful "shuffle" you get on most coasters from this era, this one just throws you around. The ride offers little air time, but in the front seat you get some of the best ejector air time I've ever felt. Without the trim breaks, this ride keeps up its speed until the very end. With the trims it's a bit lackluster I'll admit. I ride this at least twice when I visit the park. The first drop into the turn around is still one of my favorite first drops on any wood coaster to date, even though it was better with the longer drop, it's still better then adding a trim break! I give this a Don't Miss, because while it's not the best wood coaster you'll ever ride, you definitely don't ever ride another one like it!

This ride, in my opinion, is the worst ride throughout the park. When I was in line for it, the coaster went by above us, and the whole entire track was swaying back and forth. This ride is rough, and I snapped my neck on it one time. Not one of my favorites. I do not recommend this ride

''Six Flags New England has the honor of being home to what many consider the Best Coaster on the Planet. On the other end of the spectrum, Cyclone is there too. Unfortunately, I really can’t think of ANY positives for this ride. I got off this monstrosity holding my lower back. I felt more like 62 than 26'', said TheCoasterCritic

Oh, Cyclone... you have such a special meaning to me. You're different than any other coaster I've ridden. You're a rare case. You're unique...

Unique for being what has got to be the most violent, busted and strickingly awful coaster experience I've ever come across in my life. Just nuke this thing!

This mess has problems all across the board. Wether it's painful and horrifyingly brutal, wether it's boring and tedious.

When I got to SFNE, I was really looking forward to it (after SROS, of course!). I heard it was a thrilling airtime machine. CoasterGrotto rated it 9.0/ 10! So halfway though the day, I went in with lots of optimism. But I've been consistently snapped in my face by countless flaws.

At first, it just doesn't look really good. It's just a huge ugly mess of white wooden beams. And the queue line was just as depressing! Luckily, the line was a 20 minute wait, which could've been reduced to way under 10 if there were two trains running and if the operators were just a bit more disciplined.

So, board the hyper (hyper!!) stuffed trains, and after a while, off you go. Already there, there's a really bad sing of what's awaiting you. You're going at about 10 kph and you can already feel vibrations, but it's when you hit the lift hill that you freak out. I don't know if this is normal on these types of woodies, but once my car reached the climbing angle, it was bouncing back and forth, like, seriously.

I was freaked out. I was scared. I was fearing for my life.

The ride I got though was much worse than I expected. It was intense in parts. It was stuffed with airtime and laterals. But it was an absolute pain. During the more intense part, like the first drop, the vibrations of my car were FIERCE. I was thrown every which way in my seat as I was desperately hanging on for dear life. Many of the faster segments felt like rolling down a hill in a barrel: EVERY THRILLING ASPECT REGARDING THOSE PARTS WERE DEMOLISHED MY THE ROUGHNESS. Cyclone is not a beast in which claws you can actually sit down and enjoy yourself: The fact that you're thrown everywhere all the time absolutely kills any fun that could've been had here.

It's not thrilling, or exciting, it's just plain abusively violent. Just flat-out BAD.

And what about the milder parts, like the second turnaround and the twisted ending? Could've these been moments to try to relax and uncover? Or actually enjoy? Well, no! You're not treated to any of that sick ragdoll effect you just lived through, but you still can't relax, more like because you're bored and so annoyed! Bored my the terrible pacing: the trim brakes cut the speed heavily. And annoyed by some omnipresent vibrations: it's so busted and rough it seems like no matter how fast it goes, it'll never roll smoothly. It is FULL of bumps, and you just want those bumps to end.

The ending, which takes almost one half of the coaster's lenght, is terrible! The trim brakes kill all feelings of speed or G-forces, except those of the vibrations. And the fact that the coaster ends in such a mediocre and depressing tone makes hitting the brakes and leaving the ride feel all the more cheap and unsatisfying. It jsut leaves you with a nasty smile of disgust.

However, I do give Cyclone credit for three little things.
-First, if you're some kind of a sick dude who likes to beat himself, you're likely to find what you're looking for here. God are you in for quite a shake.
-Second, congrats SFNE for stuffing the car cushions so much. You may get shaked up like a ragdoll all around, but try that in a sofa. The softness spares you quite some pain.
-Third, I have to say, the dip after the evil trim brakes (halfway through the ride) ROCKS!! It's surprising and it gives a freaking high amount of airtime. This part right here is great. Too bad the rest is just absymal.

Well, I've recommended you try Great American Scream Machine (Great Adv) if you were curious about how it feels. You won't be satisfied in any sort of way, though at least, it will have been worth it because by then, you'd finally know how it feels.

Now with Cyclone, it's a totally different story: if you're curious about how it feels, don't give it a try. You'll be disturbed, shocked and just plain disgusted. It's not a good experience.
In fact it's just an insanity test.

As the past Riverside Cyclone, I heard it was a phenomenal legend. Unfortunately it is also a fact that as the -P A S T- Riverside Cyclone, it's just not good for you today.

I haven't ridden Cyclone in its "glory days", but this coaster deserves a 4 as it is. Usually only one train is running on this beast, but waiting time barely exceeds half an hour or so. The restraints are extremely sketchy, but that only adds to the fun by allowing us to truly experience airtime (plus a seat belt, but we'll ignore that for now). That being said, Cyclone is the most out-of-control rollercoasters that I've ever been on. It's rough, but so what? It's not very painful (if you're looking for pain, ride Flashback in the front row), but it's very rough. But the roughness is what gives Cyclone its personality, its character. This ride is the most underrated out of all of the rides in the park. Make sure you go on Cyclone besides the bruises and pain horror stories, you won't regret it.

This, yet again, is a posthumous review. The coaster as it currently exists possibly merits a 6 or 7. Although, in it's original form, was not only my favorite wooden, but overall favorite coaster. Bill Cobb designed this monster while undergoing heart surgery and it shows. The original first drop (which is still visible) was the most intense moment I have ever experienced on a coaster. The type of moment, where it was hard to place where exactly you were on the drop, although you had experienced it again and again. We always complained to Riverside management that they should replace the Morgan trains, but I would never have asked for the first drop to be re-profiled. It should be considered one of the great coaster sins!

This is the coaster that almost completely stopped me from riding coasters. The ride totally scared me. I felt like the whole ride would fall apart and the ride was insanely rough throughout. There are no fun qualities about this.

This ride is simply amazing. the twister layout is great and the drops are awesome too. i do not know what everyone is complaining about. Sure its rough but most old woodies are. This ride would get a perfect score if six flags had not reprofiled it and the brakes were not there along the course.

Very slow moving line when there is only one train running. This ride will beat you up. Its bumpy rickety and will throw you side to side. If the ride where smoother it could be pretty great. There are a couple of good drops in it. It still is fun just as long as you dont back problems.

I dont know why this has gotten such terrible reviews. I sat near the back and experienced no pain, just a wild ride. Now I like the bumpyness of woodies, and have never gotten hurt on any of the ones Ive ridden. Splitting headaches for some must have affected their judgement of the Cyclone, because I see no reason to rate it low. Just high.

Here is one of the most heavily criticized coasters on the planet. It has an interesting layout, tall drops, and many twists and turns. So why is it criticized? Six Flags has supposedly turned one of the world's once best wooden coasters into only a shadow of its former self. For years I denied these accusations and actually found this classic woodie to deliver quite a thrilling and glass-smooth ride. However, my recent rides on this Cobb twister have tarnished my love for this wooden coaster and made me believe Six Flags’ butchering of this coaster.

Unfortunately I was too short to ride the Riverside Cyclone back in its heyday, but despite this, I could easily tell that Six Flags has tampered with the ride even without riding Riverside’s once great coaster. The most noticeable sign is the reprofiling of the first drop (the original track is still visible within the structure and can be seen if one looks closely enough) and the addition of many trims that really reduce the ride's speed at times to almost a crawl.

The ride experience begins with a long walk through the ride's structure to the station. Along the way are descriptions of some of the chain's current and former wooden coasters such as the Comet, Rattler, and Colossus. Once reaching the station, riders can generally select any seat they choose, but occasionally I have had ops that unfortunately assign seats for you. Generally lines aren't too bad for this (20 minutes at most), but they can get long due to common one train operations and the ride’s long duration mixed in with slow loading. Of all the seats, I honestly have no preference since the back is much wilder, but also quite uncomfortable, while the front simply lacks intensity, but is much more tolerable.

Upon dispatch, riders begin with a slow climb up the ride's lift hill. The views on the way up are quite good of the entire park and Agawam. But the views don't last forever as I was soon treated to a very steep and intense first drop that gave very abrupt ejector air. In fact, the air is possibly too abrupt for my tastes as with all of the major ejector air experienced in the back, it’s actually quite painful, especially when combined with the constant jackhammering that occurs simultaneously. Following that is a fast, but bumpy turn followed by another good-sized drop that caused my pelvis to beg for mercy.

Afterwards comes the second turnaround, which sadly is taken at a snail’s pace thanks to a killer trim brake. Following the turnaround comes the ride's largest drop that again gives some very abrupt but pain-inducing ejector air for back seat riders followed by the ride's third turnaround. This one is also taken far too slowly again thanks to a trim brake, but front seat riders do get one of the most powerful bursts of ejector air I’ve experienced on any coaster.

Commencing the second half of Cyclone is my favorite part of the ride, a very sudden drop through the structure that gives some incredible ejector air for back seat riders, as not only does it literally send riders airborn, but it also is the only one of the major drops that doesn’t have me routinely screaming in pain. Following that is yet another turnaround, where unfortunately the ride just loses most of its speed thanks to yet another trim brake, resulting in the final few hills being far too slow to give the great air they look capable of. All that I get are some weak laterals and plenty of jackhammering.

Way to go Six Flags! You’ve turned what once was one of the best wooden coasters anywhere into a shade of its former self and one of the most uncomfortable and lackluster wooden coasters I’ve ever been on. The great ejector air really makes the ride memorable, but it’s also the ride’s downfall because of the pain that it causes in collaboration with the dreaded jackhammering. Of SFNE’s two wooden coasters, Thunderbolt is far and away the better and more enjoyable of the two for so many reasons. Do I recommend it? Certainly, just I definitely recommend the front over the back since it is much more comfortable. If you so choose the back, be prepared for a ride stuffed with powerful ejector air and pain. That being said, the Cyclone is a very intense woodie for all the wrong reasons- incredibly painful ejector air and horrid jackhammering. I just can’t help but imagine what this must have been like before all the modifications.