I like the upper section, even if it does meander around a bit up there. The mirrored over-banked turns sandwiched between those two little airtime hills is a fun section of the ride that is a blast to overreact to. My reactions in the rider cam video below pretty much says it all.
There's really a lot to like about this coaster.
First there's the stop at the top of the lift hill - "What's going on?" "Is it broken?" "Oh no! Don't look down." Remarks like that are great as the train creeps over the edge of the drop and riders stare straight down at the quarry pond some 170 feet below.
Then there's the little left twist off the top of the lift hill that just throws you off slightly as you drop into the quarry.
I was completely caught by surprise by the huge pop of ejector airtime you get at the top of the quarry as the train passes under the zero-g roll. which itself is wonderfully executed.
Then comes the fun upper section followed by what most people say is their favorite bit - the drop back over the cliff into the tunnel. I also like the way the tunnel is lit and the nice whip up out of your seat you get as the train exits the tunnel into the brake run.
As for the trains - they're quite comfortable as well as aesthetically pleasing.
So it all sounds great and it is, but still something doesn't feel right - at least not as right as everything feels on Outlaw Run. I guess it's the pacing that's off a bit or something, but Outlaw Run just flows so naturally and this one seems a bit forced. Still a great coaster and a very fun ride that I could re-ride over and over again.
So how about some photos?
I'll start with the ride entrance.<3
I liked it so much I filmed an interview with RMC Designer and COO Jake Kilcup in front of it.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9h510Z8Wfd0[/youtube]
Media Day started at 5am for live feeds to TV morning shows across the USA and since it was still dark out, I took my first ride in the back row.
Normally I would say that the back row is the best, but the pop of airtime under the zero-g is much better in the front and the back isn't dragged over the top of the lift hill as much as it is on other coasters (due to the train almost stopping at the top of the lift hill). Plus it's really fun being in the front seat as the coaster slowly goes over the top of the lift hill, but the back has better airtime as the train goes over the cliff into the tunnel. So neither the front nor the back is definitely better than the other. I also took quite a few rides in the middle seats, where the zero-g roll felt best.
Here's the train that was used for the live TV feeds.
It has a forward facing POV camera as well as a rear facing rider cam (between the two spotlights).
The right front seat has the electronics that's powering everything with those two large battery packs, so the riders being filmed have to sit in the second row.
The girl from Spanish language TV station Univision was my favorite reporter of the day. :wink:
The other train was used for the coaster community and had both a reverse facing GoPro cam (attached to left rail) and forward facing one (attached to the back of the second row seat), so our rides were actually in the front row.
The forward facing POV video didn't turn out very good and was very shaky, so I didn't bother posting it on youtube. Here's the revere facing cam video:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hz1i7e2JcE8[/youtube]
Here is a geek shot of the coupling that Gerstlauer had to design just for the New Texas Giant and this coaster.
It was a very overcast morning, so I didn't take many photos and did more filming.
Thankfully it cleared up in the afternoon.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=arqSnM9T_Bk[/youtube]
Here's a screen capture from a video that shows the drone that the park was using for filming and photos.
Here's one of the publicity shots taken with the drone.