It's true - I have a life.
Jul. 17th, 2009 05:49 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lady_flamewingRealized I haven't made a real-life post in...just about forever, and yesterday was a day worth posting about. It consisted of a trip to Six Flags Magic Mountain in Los Angeles, CA with my sister and her friend.
Now, for those of you who might not know - I'm a roller coaster junkie. Entertaining, as I used to be petrified of them, but...in the past year, I've taken trips to three Six Flags parks in various places around the country. Once in Chicago, IL, once in Jackson, NJ (both with my boyfriend, who - happily - is also a thrill-seeker), and now this last trip.
We started out the day on Goliath. It's a seated coaster, so no big surprises there, but that's about all that's ordinary about it. It's first drop is 26 stories, or about 225 feet above ground, and it gets pretty close to vertical at 61 degrees. Top speed? 85 miles per hour. And - let me tell you - when you're at the top of that drop, and you start over...my stomach did about 16 highly acrobatic flips. I shook, coming off that coaster. Legitimately could not walk straight.
Scream was next. Not so much a vertical thrill coaster, as it tops out at 15 stories, but it's got a floorless car, which is pretty neat, and no less than seven 360 degree inversions. I feel like I spent more time upside-down on that coaster than in any other orientation. Top speed of 65 mph, so not as fast as some, but you really stop paying attention to that when all the blood is rushing to your head. A lot of fun, and it definitely lives up to its name - I screamed through the whole thing.
Batman was the next coaster - and I've been on it (or, at least its ilk) before. Roger (my boyfriend) and I suspect that most of these "theme" coasters - Batman, Superman, etc. - are of pretty similar build throughout various parks. Maybe not exactly the same layout, but...at least similar. So I wasn't thrilled about doing it again. My sister had never been, though, and it was Diego's first time at Six Flags, so it was worth doing. Not to mention that lines were really short, the day being really hot, and most of these coasters being old news to park-goers. So we pretty much just walked onto a lot of the coasters - a pretty excellent deal.
But, anyway - Batman. It's all right - a suspended coaster, which is always fun, and it's got a decent number of loops and curves to keep me interested. Gets up to 50 mph, hits 10.5 stories - like I said, not really a coaster to write home about, but good. I managed to thwack my head pretty hard on the side of the restraints coming into the station though (at least, I think it was on this coaster), and my necklace had blown back and over the shoulder restraints and gotten tangled. Thankfully, I managed to free myself before the restraints went up in the station, but it was a little scary for a moment.
I think we hit Terminator: Salvation next, and this is where lines started to get bad. This coaster literally just opened in honor of the new Terminator movie, and their line is set up pretty badly. You spend a lot of it out in the open, no shade to be found anywhere, and when you finally do get to cover, they've thankfully set misters up. Except that the misters are placed in very inconvenient locations, and - if there's any sort of breeze whatsoever - are more often misting nowhere near the line.
The line gets aggravated, I think, by the fact that the coaster is designed to be an "experience". They let only about 20 people through at a time, closing them in various rooms with speakers and video screens. The idea is that you're in the future, after the rise of the machines, and Magic Mountain has become a no-man's land. You're a group of civilians taking shelter under the coaster, and the army is sending you to "escape trains" to get you out before the machines can get you. It's a lot of bells and whistles, though I do have to admit that the one room with four torsos and heads of Terminators hanging from the ceiling is a nice touch.
The coaster itself was a little surprising. It's wooden, not steel, and I've got a little pet theory that this has to do with tying into the storyline. With the machines rising and whatnot, you're not going to want to build much out of steel anymore, are you? But, anyway - that being said, it's almost surprisingly good. Turns and hills at high speed, some nice tunnel elements with misters, and at one point - a gout of flame so big, you can feel the heat off it. Worth the wait, I think - or, at least, I'm glad I got to experience it. Not sure I'd wait that long to do it again, but the first time was good.
Deja Vu was up next. This has got a pretty cool design - true to its name, you do the coaster twice. Sort of. From the station, you're winched backwards up a 200-foot vertical tower and dropped. At 65 mph, you go through one vertical loop, a butterfly, and then forwards up another, identical 200-foot tower. Here, they catch you, winch you up the whole distance, and drop you into the coaster again - only, this time, you ride it backwards. This is definitely really awesome, and there is this heart-dropping moment at the top of that first tower where you're hanging there in limbo, not moving either direction, pressed up against the front of your harness going, "Why haven't they dropped me? Why haven't they dropped me?"
I managed, somehow, to get placed into the very last car on this ride, meaning I was winched up the highest on that first tower. Absolutely terrifying - in all the best ways, of course. You start to lean into your harness as you curve up into the tower, and then it just...keeps going. And you keep thinking it's going to stop, that you're up high enough, and it...doesn't. Fantastic. The only downside is that the line for this can get pretty bad, too. Due to the nature of the coaster, they can use only one car, and though they do their best to fill it to capacity and run it, the turnover time isn't all that quick, so the line gets pretty backed up.
We swung back to Riddler's Revenge after that. We'd been in line, waiting to get on, earlier in the day, but they'd announced technical difficulties and that they didn't know when the coaster would be up and running again. We thought it would be worth going back, though, because it's the only standing coaster in the park - and the tallest and fastest in the world. 156 feet up, 65 mph top speed, it does some really nice loops and a couple of barrel rolls. It's a good coaster - not excellent, but good.
The last two coasters of the day, though, were definitely worth the wait. Tatsu was up first - built exclusively for this park, the longest, fastest, and tallest flying coaster in the world. I expect it was designed with dragons in mind, being that its symbol is a dragon, and that it does some of the most terrifying loops and plunges I've ever experienced. I love flying coasters, personally, and this one is amazing. 263 feet up, 62 mph, and - what I think is one of its crowning achievements - an inverted loop. Instead of looping up and around, you loop down. And - being a flying coaster - this means that you essentially take a vertical plunge, headfirst, towards the ground at something around 60 miles per hour. This coaster does flying perfectly - it spins and loops and swoops and really, honestly, makes you feel like you're in charge of the sky. It's fantastic. The line for Tatsu can get pretty intense, but they do a much better job making sure their riders are shaded and cooled, so it's hardly unbearable.
And, finally, we topped off the day on X2. This coaster is a remake of a relatively recent coaster named, unsurprisingly, X. There were complaints that it was too short, that it didn't do enough to let riders take advantage of what it has to offer. And what it - and X2 - have to offer is free-spinning cars. Each set of two seats is affixed to a central frame that rides on the track. But each set of seats spins completely on its axis. 360 degrees. So while your frame follows all the loops and spins and drops of the coaster, your chair goes spinning every direction, resulting in a completely amazing ride. This coaster tops out at 20 stories, 75 miles per hour, and was completely, totally, and absolutely worth the more than an hour we stood in line. I would happily do it again and again and again, this coaster is so good.
It was getting pretty late by the time we actually got on, meaning it was essentially dark for the ride, which I think just makes it even better. It completely adds to that disorienting feeling of not knowing what's coming next, of barely even knowing which direction is up anymore. X2 also does a series of misted sections, and one backwards loop with two gouts of flame, which - in the dark - are huge and bright and light up the entire train that you haven't been able to see for the entire ride in a particularly eerie orange glow. This coaster has quickly rocketed to the top of my list, and I would absolutely do it again, wait be damned.
The end result? I am thrilled, sore to the point where I can't really walk, and have no voice from screaming. Couldn't have been a better day.
On a slightly less enjoyable note, my wisdom teeth have finally decided to rear their ugly heads, meaning I need to get them removed. I could do all four at once, if I went in to an oral surgeon, but the idea of being put under really, really, freaks me out. I've opted instead to have them out at my family dentist's under local anesthesia.
Had the first one done today - the top right, and so far, so good. I didn't feel a thing, it came out remarkably clean, and the doctor who performed the surgery made it as minimally invasive as possible. I go in next week to have the stitches removed and the bottom right taken out in turn. Wish me luck!
Now, for those of you who might not know - I'm a roller coaster junkie. Entertaining, as I used to be petrified of them, but...in the past year, I've taken trips to three Six Flags parks in various places around the country. Once in Chicago, IL, once in Jackson, NJ (both with my boyfriend, who - happily - is also a thrill-seeker), and now this last trip.
We started out the day on Goliath. It's a seated coaster, so no big surprises there, but that's about all that's ordinary about it. It's first drop is 26 stories, or about 225 feet above ground, and it gets pretty close to vertical at 61 degrees. Top speed? 85 miles per hour. And - let me tell you - when you're at the top of that drop, and you start over...my stomach did about 16 highly acrobatic flips. I shook, coming off that coaster. Legitimately could not walk straight.
Scream was next. Not so much a vertical thrill coaster, as it tops out at 15 stories, but it's got a floorless car, which is pretty neat, and no less than seven 360 degree inversions. I feel like I spent more time upside-down on that coaster than in any other orientation. Top speed of 65 mph, so not as fast as some, but you really stop paying attention to that when all the blood is rushing to your head. A lot of fun, and it definitely lives up to its name - I screamed through the whole thing.
Batman was the next coaster - and I've been on it (or, at least its ilk) before. Roger (my boyfriend) and I suspect that most of these "theme" coasters - Batman, Superman, etc. - are of pretty similar build throughout various parks. Maybe not exactly the same layout, but...at least similar. So I wasn't thrilled about doing it again. My sister had never been, though, and it was Diego's first time at Six Flags, so it was worth doing. Not to mention that lines were really short, the day being really hot, and most of these coasters being old news to park-goers. So we pretty much just walked onto a lot of the coasters - a pretty excellent deal.
But, anyway - Batman. It's all right - a suspended coaster, which is always fun, and it's got a decent number of loops and curves to keep me interested. Gets up to 50 mph, hits 10.5 stories - like I said, not really a coaster to write home about, but good. I managed to thwack my head pretty hard on the side of the restraints coming into the station though (at least, I think it was on this coaster), and my necklace had blown back and over the shoulder restraints and gotten tangled. Thankfully, I managed to free myself before the restraints went up in the station, but it was a little scary for a moment.
I think we hit Terminator: Salvation next, and this is where lines started to get bad. This coaster literally just opened in honor of the new Terminator movie, and their line is set up pretty badly. You spend a lot of it out in the open, no shade to be found anywhere, and when you finally do get to cover, they've thankfully set misters up. Except that the misters are placed in very inconvenient locations, and - if there's any sort of breeze whatsoever - are more often misting nowhere near the line.
The line gets aggravated, I think, by the fact that the coaster is designed to be an "experience". They let only about 20 people through at a time, closing them in various rooms with speakers and video screens. The idea is that you're in the future, after the rise of the machines, and Magic Mountain has become a no-man's land. You're a group of civilians taking shelter under the coaster, and the army is sending you to "escape trains" to get you out before the machines can get you. It's a lot of bells and whistles, though I do have to admit that the one room with four torsos and heads of Terminators hanging from the ceiling is a nice touch.
The coaster itself was a little surprising. It's wooden, not steel, and I've got a little pet theory that this has to do with tying into the storyline. With the machines rising and whatnot, you're not going to want to build much out of steel anymore, are you? But, anyway - that being said, it's almost surprisingly good. Turns and hills at high speed, some nice tunnel elements with misters, and at one point - a gout of flame so big, you can feel the heat off it. Worth the wait, I think - or, at least, I'm glad I got to experience it. Not sure I'd wait that long to do it again, but the first time was good.
Deja Vu was up next. This has got a pretty cool design - true to its name, you do the coaster twice. Sort of. From the station, you're winched backwards up a 200-foot vertical tower and dropped. At 65 mph, you go through one vertical loop, a butterfly, and then forwards up another, identical 200-foot tower. Here, they catch you, winch you up the whole distance, and drop you into the coaster again - only, this time, you ride it backwards. This is definitely really awesome, and there is this heart-dropping moment at the top of that first tower where you're hanging there in limbo, not moving either direction, pressed up against the front of your harness going, "Why haven't they dropped me? Why haven't they dropped me?"
I managed, somehow, to get placed into the very last car on this ride, meaning I was winched up the highest on that first tower. Absolutely terrifying - in all the best ways, of course. You start to lean into your harness as you curve up into the tower, and then it just...keeps going. And you keep thinking it's going to stop, that you're up high enough, and it...doesn't. Fantastic. The only downside is that the line for this can get pretty bad, too. Due to the nature of the coaster, they can use only one car, and though they do their best to fill it to capacity and run it, the turnover time isn't all that quick, so the line gets pretty backed up.
We swung back to Riddler's Revenge after that. We'd been in line, waiting to get on, earlier in the day, but they'd announced technical difficulties and that they didn't know when the coaster would be up and running again. We thought it would be worth going back, though, because it's the only standing coaster in the park - and the tallest and fastest in the world. 156 feet up, 65 mph top speed, it does some really nice loops and a couple of barrel rolls. It's a good coaster - not excellent, but good.
The last two coasters of the day, though, were definitely worth the wait. Tatsu was up first - built exclusively for this park, the longest, fastest, and tallest flying coaster in the world. I expect it was designed with dragons in mind, being that its symbol is a dragon, and that it does some of the most terrifying loops and plunges I've ever experienced. I love flying coasters, personally, and this one is amazing. 263 feet up, 62 mph, and - what I think is one of its crowning achievements - an inverted loop. Instead of looping up and around, you loop down. And - being a flying coaster - this means that you essentially take a vertical plunge, headfirst, towards the ground at something around 60 miles per hour. This coaster does flying perfectly - it spins and loops and swoops and really, honestly, makes you feel like you're in charge of the sky. It's fantastic. The line for Tatsu can get pretty intense, but they do a much better job making sure their riders are shaded and cooled, so it's hardly unbearable.
And, finally, we topped off the day on X2. This coaster is a remake of a relatively recent coaster named, unsurprisingly, X. There were complaints that it was too short, that it didn't do enough to let riders take advantage of what it has to offer. And what it - and X2 - have to offer is free-spinning cars. Each set of two seats is affixed to a central frame that rides on the track. But each set of seats spins completely on its axis. 360 degrees. So while your frame follows all the loops and spins and drops of the coaster, your chair goes spinning every direction, resulting in a completely amazing ride. This coaster tops out at 20 stories, 75 miles per hour, and was completely, totally, and absolutely worth the more than an hour we stood in line. I would happily do it again and again and again, this coaster is so good.
It was getting pretty late by the time we actually got on, meaning it was essentially dark for the ride, which I think just makes it even better. It completely adds to that disorienting feeling of not knowing what's coming next, of barely even knowing which direction is up anymore. X2 also does a series of misted sections, and one backwards loop with two gouts of flame, which - in the dark - are huge and bright and light up the entire train that you haven't been able to see for the entire ride in a particularly eerie orange glow. This coaster has quickly rocketed to the top of my list, and I would absolutely do it again, wait be damned.
The end result? I am thrilled, sore to the point where I can't really walk, and have no voice from screaming. Couldn't have been a better day.
On a slightly less enjoyable note, my wisdom teeth have finally decided to rear their ugly heads, meaning I need to get them removed. I could do all four at once, if I went in to an oral surgeon, but the idea of being put under really, really, freaks me out. I've opted instead to have them out at my family dentist's under local anesthesia.
Had the first one done today - the top right, and so far, so good. I didn't feel a thing, it came out remarkably clean, and the doctor who performed the surgery made it as minimally invasive as possible. I go in next week to have the stitches removed and the bottom right taken out in turn. Wish me luck!