Wow. Well this ride was better in the Riverside days, but these PTC trains make up for it a little. The ride is insaine. The first drop is ok, but then you make a turn, and drop some more gaining good speed. Then you come up a hill, go around a slow corner, and down an insainely steep hill and get some of the most painful ejector air ever. Its great. The rest of the ride is still good. The ride is getting very rough in her older years, which is good. But it is definitely in need of a good paint job.

While the Riverside Cyclone has had a bit of a makeover in the Six Flags era, it still is a good wooden roller coaster with an interesting course. While the original drop was a heart attack thriller, from what I have heard is that the forces generated by the trains traveling down that hill were putting alot of strain on the structure, rendering alot of wood replacement nesseccary. Therefore a reprofiling was needed. What would improve this ride would be to replace the existing train cars with classic NAD "Century Flyer" models. Can you imagine a ride on the Cyclone then?

I rode this ten years ago when the park was still Riverside and thought this coaster was phenomenal (I would rate that version a 9-10) but it seemed so much different this time. Thanks to bumprnugit for explaining in detail how SF weakened this ride.

Edit: on 7/25/04 I changed my rating from a 6 to an 7 for the average over recent time. This woodie was running great today (like an 8-9). I almost got tossed from the car on three seperate occasions. I dont know what happened but this was so much better than last time.

Edit: 08/26/07 Bumping this back up to an 8. The coaster is still running insane through the first half with massive ejector air.

Awesome awesome ride. Nonstop from beginning to end, great at night, the trims kinda suck but its so much fun to try to keep your hands up. Sit in the back!

I used to love this ride...I mean REALLY love this ride(The Riverside Cyclone.) The original first drop in the back seat had no equal in sheer intensity (headaches be damned!) I even loved the Morgan trains, despite their numerous detractors. If you sat in the first seat of the last car (or any car, for that matter) you could put your feet on the brace for the trailer hitch and "surf" the ride. They also tracked perfectly, offering as smooth a ride as this tempest would allow. Then, enter Six Flags. "If it aint broke, lets break it and fix it." First, they add 4 seat articulating PTC trains. "Wow!", everyone thought, "maybe this will return the ride to its roots" (6-seater PTCs for you neophytes out there.) Not a chance. The ride is rougher than ever, and the cars track horribly. They give a push-and-pull effect in spots, which detract from the rides wild curves and dips. Next add the trims, and the skid brakes are replaced in the station (for two train operation - whenever thats supposed to happen.) Then, they commit the ultimate act of blasphemy; raise the first drop, and take out the swooping turn. Arrgh!! If you have never experienced this coaster before it was "Flagged", than youve missed a really great ride. I wont wax nostalgic of what once was, but suffice to say The Cyclone is a mere shadow of its former self. The third big drop after the Cobb "hoop de doos" is still intense in the back seat, and the visuals of the fourth drop into the structure are still great. Still, it pains me to ride the former "Riverside Cyclone" in its present state. If Bill Cobb were alive today, hed say "HELP!!! Get me outta this box!!!" ...
Used to be a 10; gets a 7 for nostalgic purposes and a few unspoiled elements.

A great very scary ride in the back, but it is killed by trims, and the old scary a** drop is still below the new one. Maybe there is hope...

I DO NOT LIKE THIS RIDE. It seriously is the most painfull ride Ive ever been on. It might have something to do with the fact that I was sitting in the back seat but I felt like I was going to die. It would make great firewood IMO.

I didnt really like this coaster too much. It has a pretty good layout but it is very rough. From what I hear, this used to be a great ride. The trains are very nice in appearance though.

Great coaster. I sat in the back row, and almost died, it was awesome. I was pulled out of my seat A LOT and thrown around a bunch. This is still a great ride, wish i could have ridden the original!

I didnt enjoy this one that much neither it wasnt fast and it hurt so bad...I was hurting after I got off this one...it was fun but wouldnt wait the time to get beat around.