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Last Cred Review

Last Friday, I went to Calaway Park in Calgary, Alberta, Canada and picked up a +3. There are a pair of family coasters as well as Vortex, my first Arrow Corkscrew credit.

Vortex: This is the only Arrow Corkscrew coaster still operating in its original location. It's a great "first looping coaster" for the more timid riders out there (including my aunt & cousin, who rode it at the end of our visit) because it's small, not intense or intimidating whatsoever. However, because of those aspects which make it optimal for non thrill seekers, I didn't get very much of a rush out of this coaster. I'd heard that Vortex was as smooth as an Arrow could be from @CanobieFan, and he was most certainly correct. I only got one moment of headbanging, which was on the turn out of the double corkscrew. A notable difference about this ride when comparing it to other Arrow coasters is that you are sent around twice after a brief stop in the station midway through, but that doesn't drastically effect the ride experience. All in all, Vortex isn't anything to fly out to Calgary for (The Rockies, though, are another story), but it's the marquee attraction at the quaint Calaway Park.

If I had to rate it? 5/10
 
Megablitz at Wiener Prater:

Doesn't do much, but is pretty smooth and has to have some of the highest-intensity corners out there.
Would be an awesome travelling ride but it's a pretty mediocre permanent one. 6.5/10
 
Piraten - very very good, made me grey out a little bit on the first turn round at the bottom of the drop, lots of very strong airtime especially over the twisty airtime hills, packs a punch during such a short coaster and my first mega-lite. 7.5/10
 
Taron (yay!), I queued 135 minutes today for my first ever ride on Taron, due in part to a breakdown and some good old 1 train ops.

Yeah this ride is the real deal. The first launch is pretty gentle, and those super trimmed bunny-hops at the end make me sad, but everything in between is phenomenal. I love how it intersperses moments of calm with moments of carnage, the layout keeps you guessing, and the theming is out of this world. An amazing ride to look at, and even better to ride; very special indeed.

Definitely a top 5 coaster for me, will need to have a proper rethink of my top 10 at the end of the season.
 
Peet said:
Taron (yay!), I queued 135 minutes today for my first ever ride on Taron, due in part to a breakdown and some good old 1 train ops.

Yeah this ride is the real deal. The first launch is pretty gentle, and those super trimmed bunny-hops at the end make me sad, but everything in between is phenomenal. I love how it intersperses moments of calm with moments of carnage, the layout keeps you guessing, and the theming is out of this world. An amazing ride to look at, and even better to ride; very special indeed.

Definitely a top 5 coaster for me, will need to have a proper rethink of my top 10 at the end of the season.
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WHAT?!? I WAS ALSO AT PHANTASIALAND TODAY. The sheer tragedy. At least someone else can relate to how stupid crowded and hot it was!
 
Copperhead Strike - This is a really fun, unique ride. I love the attention to theming, which is on another level compared to most coasters [that I’ve seen]. The hangtime is out of control on a few elements and there are some enjoyable forceful transitions throughout (though also a couple awkward ones). I heard one family calling it “kinda weird,” and even on a day when everything is a station-wait I definitely expected longer lines for this, so I don’t know what the general consensus will be on it, but I think it’s a fantastic addition and easily the second-best ride at Carowinds.
 
Edward M said:
WHAT?!? I WAS ALSO AT PHANTASIALAND TODAY. The sheer tragedy. At least someone else can relate to how stupid crowded and hot it was!
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I've been there yesterday, as well :D
Sad that Taron has some problems atm.

To be on topic there was no new credit for me at Phantasialand. But the closest would be Crazy Bats: It's good to ride this coaster with something more than complete darkness again (I know it as Space Center, as well). The VR goggle were a bit heavy and put some pressure on my nose but the quality of the movie is quite good and everyone in my group thought it was fun. Only one person was a bit out of sync and said it was nauseating. I think it's a cool addition for the next few years.
 
Although it's not necessarily a new credit, I might as well post my updated thoughts on Mindbender from my ride a few weeks ago:

After riding Mindbender twice, each time with a full or nearly full train as opposed to the nearly empty one I rode in a few weeks back, I can happily say that it is once more deserving of a coveted spot in my top 5 favorite coasters. The 3rd row is truly the best, as it offers the wild intensity not found up front yet fortunately doesn't compromise smoothness for that - which, by the way, the 2nd and 4th rows aren't nearly as smooth. The opening act - a "Traver drop" - is impossibly steep yet constantly gaining momentum before the punchy landing. The first two loops are a real tolerance test, as I started seeing black at the transition out of the second one, and the following rose-bowl helix is a smaller version of the first drop. Even when Mindbender wasn't as intense with a less full train on my first ride, the third loop never failed to deliver - it's extremely tight and loaded with positive G's. Mindbender goes out with a bang during its Kumba-style intense helix finale. I'll save the rest of my thoughts on Mindbender as well as Galaxyland itself in my trip report coming out in a few weeks.
 
Ridge Runner at Blue Mountain... Probably the best alpine coaster I have done, only did it because I could manually stop it from becoming too fast or aggressive (they also said it was one of the attractions not prohibited for pregnancy, should be though) for the baby on board and it ended up you could hardly brake that much so I only rode it once.

Glad I got one cred this year though haha.
 
Tiki Waka, Walibi Belgium
Solid family coaster with a really nice theme in a nice calming area. I'd say it's the weakest Gerst Bobsled I've done, but it's still a perfect fit for the park and flows really well.
 
Untamed - Walibi Holland.
Well, it's just bloody good, isn't it? I mean, did you ever think it was going to be anything but bloody good?
Best coaster at Walibi? By a country mile. Best coaster in Holland? Yep, probably that too. Best coaster in Europe? Erm... dunno, that will depend on personal tastes but it's definitely up there with the Helixes, the Tarons and the Nemesisses of this world. First half is amazingly good - brilliant first drop, fantastic floaty inversions (the 270° double-inverting corner stall (or 'stall' for short) is sublime) and the airtime is immensely powerful, but all hell breaks loose in the second half where the pacing is cranked up to machine-gun level. The turns get tighter, the airtime gets stronger and the inversions get faster.
I know this is a horribly predictable thing to say... but it does kinda remind me of a mini Steel Vengeance, except it's not that mini really, it's still a very big coaster, but it has a similar feel to it, a similar flow of elements and a similar sense of mischief about it.
It's even got some semi-decent theming and a pumping soundtrack in the station.
Very, very good ride. You guys are gonna lose your sh*t at the CF Live in September. :)
 
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Fēnix - Toverland.
Seasoned wing-coaster riders will find nothing new here, it's a very by-the-numbers kinda coaster. Size, layout, intensity, speed, forces etc - all very comparable to things like The Swarm, Flug, and X Flight. So if you like any of those you'll probably like this. What Fēnix does have in its favour is one of the most beautiful paint jobs I've ever seen, some elaborate theming which includes an impressive fire-breathing dragon (well... mist-breathing anyway), an atmospheric queue line, nice station music and the new area that it sits in is just gorgeous. A quite remarkable achievement for a park of this size.
Kudos to Toverland for investing in this, I wish them every success. They deserve it.
 
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Howie said:
Fēnix - Toverland...

A quite remarkable achievement for a park of this size. Kudos to Toverland for investing in this, I wish them every success. They deserve it.
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This is one thing I always forgot whilst in the Avalon area: as much as Toverland is improving and has a fantastic vision for the future, they are still a small local park. It's mental to think they've invested in a large B&M coaster and part of me still hasn't had that set in.

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Gold Rush, Slagharen
Weird one this. The swing launch is very good, each bit in forceful and fun and really took me by surprise. The hang time after the backwards launch is mental. But the coaster itself is very vibratey (especially in the back row), and aside from the pop of airtime, forgettable. And the restraints are pretty horrid.

Solid coaster for the park, but doesn't leave me excited for similar Gersts.
 
Untamed, Walabi Holland. Keep it short as I intend to do a mini trip report for this one. But it is amazing, from start to finish. The lift hill is slow, but builds suspense. From that point on it’s just element after element. The first inversion is great, somehow feels like inverted airtime rather than hang time, all the way through it, if that even makes sense! Anyway my new number 1, beats Taron, Helix and Shambhala for me, which means Helix isn’t even in my top 3 anymore... Oh how the mighty fall ?
 
Aaron Smith said:
Soarin' Eagle at Luna Park - My first Zamperla Volare. The heartline rolls were uncomfortable and other than feeling like I may die during the whole thing I enjoyed it.
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Yep same for me when I rode the one at Wiener Prater. Vile restraints ruin the ride.
 
The only good thing about a Volare is when you get off it.

And even then, the pain and misery that you suffer after riding it doesn't make that an enjoyable experience.
 
JoshC. said:
The only good thing about a Volare is when you get off it.

And even then, the pain and misery that you suffer after riding it doesn't make that an enjoyable experience.
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They don’t look built to last a long time... I suppose that could be considered another good thing.

Honestly, I wonder if whoever came up with this design had ever ridden a coaster in their lives.
 
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