Well, I got on it 3 times in the end (as well as several other things, including the new mine train, due to a soft opening.) Iāll briefly tell you my āINITIALā thoughts in here rather than leave it for my trip reportā¦
Firstly, the area, itās great. Weāve been spoilt lately with things like Rookburgh, Galaxyās Edge and Pandora, so it obviously doesnāt stand up to areas like that at all, but it is very pretty, and has some incredible view points for the coaster. The problem for Voltron is that itās theme is very similar to Rookburgh, so comparisons are difficult to avoid.
The queue line is great, trying to avoid spoilers here so Iāll just say that I love the outdoor queueās main theming element, as well as almost everything in āthe room.ā To borrow a phrase from another, much older and wiser goon who shall not be namedā¦ āWell this room gives Rookburgh a run for itās money.ā
The ride itself begins with something that was a little bit of fun, but again, without spoiling anything, looks more aggressive in videos than it feels in real life. A fun little addition, but absolutely a gimmick. The ābeyond verticalā launch is great, a bit punchier than your average mack launch, but with some hang time at the top. The rest of the layout reminds me of smiler massively, but much better in that there are other elements, and huge pops of airtime to break up the inversions. Those airtime moments can be very strong ejector btw, a bit surprising for a mack.
That turntable was a worry, and a valid worry I think, it breaks the ride up too much for me, and ruins the flow. The lights did absolutely nothing to improve it in the day. However at night, with the smoke on, the lights helped make it more interesting.
The coaster has some very intense sections. Particularly the helix / turn after the MCBR. If you fly straight over the MCBR (which you do not always do) then that turn is / can be grey-out intense!
I wouldnāt say the ride is rough as such, but it definitely has a rattle in some seats. My first ride in the wing seat had a very noticeable rattle, and a few jolts in the layout. However those in our group who sat on middle seats said it was smooth. We switched for the next two rides and I found them both fairly smooth, with only a very minimal āmack rattle,ā whilst they now found the outside seats rough. I think thatās enough to confirm for me that the outside seats are not nearly as smooth as the inner seats, which was pretty much to be expected.
There was word being passed around of 2 ārough trainsā due to different configurations on them. I think they were 2 and 5 but canāt really remember. Whatever the train numbers were rumoured to be, we were lucky enough not to have ridden them. Thankfully!!!
Overall itās a winner, a fantastic coaster and a great area. Itās not top 5, and Iām not sure itās top 10, but it is brilliant. Weāve just been spoiled for incredible coasters the last few years. And of course, 3 rides is not enough these days to make your mind up on a coaster, so I do reserve the right to change my mind!
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