Well shambhala at portaventura, spain. I tried the seat in the queue and fit fine, mainly to show the kids how the restraints work, it clamps your thighs on to the seat, no upper body. On the actual ride the leg restraint was a lot tighter, so much so that I couldn't tense my muscle to move my leg, started getting numbness by the time it was over. Great rollercoaster, epic views, shame I couldn't ride a second time.
Cedar Point is a childhood favorite of mine!
I went with my kid last year, as he went on a school trip to a different park, went on a roller coaster, and had a craving for more.
First some reason, I had memories of the Raptor coaster, something very specific, but I couldn't quite remember.. something like "yes, but at the end you'll–" but I couldn't quite put my finger on what happened at the end to make it stick with me?
Then I went on it again as at adult. At the end, as we were pulling in, it happened: that jerk as it rounds the last corner: my head suddenly bounced off the harness like a pinball and I was left with a ringing headache when I got off. That's what had made me remember it! LOL
Not my favorite coaster, but a classic, in my mind.
Rode almost all the coasters that day! Not more than a 10 minute wait on most, excluding the biggest ones.
What are you two's favorites there?
Magnum XL is so headache-inducing & basic, but I can't help but love it!
Really like the Millennium Force, too, but wasn't able to ride it this trip as I was having spinal issues.
Unfortunately, my absolute favorite, the Mantis, was shut down permanently before I had a chance to ride it one last time. RIP sweet prince.
OH! I thought the Gatekeeper was really neat, too! But go on the cars closest to the water– I think that side is the best!
Raptor is such a great coaster but that head bang that you talk about is something that becomes an issue with all of B&M's inverted coasters with that type of restraint. They seem to get worse with age in the headbanging department. Still a coaster that I love to ride but not one that I can marathon. I think, for me, when it was new and I was in my teens that coaster always felt like it just kept getting better as the ride went on. Most coasters start running out of a steam by the end but Raptor was one of the first that used tighter turns and inversions to make it feel like it was going faster and faster even if it was slowing down.
I've been on way too many coasters but one of my most memorable rides was when I was 8 and rode the brand new Raging Wolf Bobs at Geauga Lake with my dad in an absolutely insane downpour of rain. That ride will always live with me.
My favorite roller coaster of all time was The Beast at Kings Island in Ohio. I've easily ridden it in the 3 digits.
Around 2013 or so they added additional braking to 2 parts of the ride where you used to blast through a huge helix and get pinned into your seat. One of the parts was at the end and it ruined my favorite part of the ride.
Still love The Beast but it will always be a lesser version of what I rode as a kid.
I also remember hurting my back on the Son of Beast. That was back when it had the loop. In my opinion the loop was the only good part of that ride.
I also got to ride the Diamondback on opening day. I still have my first rider tshirt i got that day.
I agree that those magnetic trims ruin the flow. It actually doesn't go any slower than it did before but it really does feel like it because of how abrupt those brakes hit. I know magnetic trims save a lot of maintenance but I would love it if they went back to the friction trim brakes.
I'm curious what year you rode SoB. I rode it opening year (possibly 2nd year) and I absolutely loved every moment of it. I know that it tore it's self apart quickly which was the biggest reason why they got the new lighter trains (which led to the removal of the loop since they couldn't make it through it). I don't doubt it was getting bad.
If i had to guess it was maybe 2006. I think i rode it once with the loop and once without and didn't like it either time. But that was just me. Its been a long time but i remember it feeling like the train poked me right under the shoulder blade.
I may have liked it if i rode it more than twice but i hurt myself the first ride and never really wanted to go again.
Also i cant believe that it isn't any slower especially the final part with the 2 tunnels back to back. It feels so much slower.
