Quiet Rambles About Coasters

She/Her || side blog where I talk about roller coasters and share my stories/opinions on them woop woop

[quietgalcoasterss]

Halloooooo

Welcome to my dumb little side blog. I should mention that I am NOT a professional photographer or even an amateur one. The pics I take might not be the prettiest, and hey my opinions might not be either. But I hope yall like my dumb little rambles o7

[quietgalcoasterss]

A Particularly Funny Ride on Nitro

I've been on Nitro a grand total of two times thus far (and unfortunately what you see above is the only photo I have of it as of right now). But even amidst everything I've been on, from Pantheon to Twisted Timbers, this thing is still such a grand slam. It's something I always put my hands up on, from start to finish. But during my second ride on Nitro this past summer, in which I went by myself, I was sitting in the same row as these 2 guys. I sat in the center-left, while they occupied the center and far-right seats. Initially I didn't pay much attention to them, but as the ops prepared to send us out of the station, their convos caught my attention. One of them said to the other as the ops checked our restraints "Bro this does NOT feel safe." Now just to make it clear, rollercoasters, especially modern ones, are arguably safer than airplanes. And Nitro was manufactured by Bolliger and Mabillard (B&M) , who are known in the industry and public for their efficiency, safety and fail-safes. But hey, for 2 scared guys, a big coaster is a big coaster, and I can't change that.

Our train pulled out of the station and began to climb the chain lift. I was growing more and more excited as I do, but those 2 were not exactly having the best time. Both of them were going "ooooooohhhhhhhhhhhhh shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit" throughout the climb, and although I was keeping my eyes on the road, I'm sure they were trying not to look down and only make their panic worse. I'll link a POV of Nitro below, so you can get an idea as to how big its lift hill is:

So yeah, pretty long climb. We finally crested the hill, I raised my arms, and they started screaming. They weren't high-pitched screams or anything, more so a constant "OHMYGODOHSHITOHFUCKOHSHITOHMYGODOHMYGODOHFUCK-". Plus, I'm fairly certain they were deciding what was better throughout the ride: holding onto the restraints for dear life, or flailing their arms in an attempt to fly away from the coaster. Now, I'm the kinda girl who laughs on a coaster, with the occasional woo! thrown in. And it's hard to say when the shift occured, perhaps on the hammerhead turn back to the park, but my laughter eventually turned from "oh my god this is so fun" to "oh my god these boys are going apeshit." I wasn't looking at them or anything, but every so often I would see a hand flailing around to my right. And it wasn't like their screams were being muffled by anything; eeeeeeeeveryone in the train could hear them.

Once we hit the final brake run, I was still laughing hysterically. I looked to my right, and they looked like they'd seen a ghost. They were limp in their seats and almost hyperventilating. I tried to calm down as much as I could, and asked them if they were okay. Their response?

"Blgrhub" I think they were okay.

They quickly vanished after I left the station, and I unsurprisingly never saw them again. But wherever those 2 are now, I hope they're still okay. Maybe they're back at Great Adventure right now for Holiday in the Park and are once again riding Nitro; it's one of the few coasters they still operate at this time of year \o/

[quietgalcoasterss]

My Rides on Kingda Ka

As of right now, I've ridden Kingda Ka at Great Adventure 3 times. I love this thing to death, even if she breaks down a fair amount. But I like to think that she just gets nervous when big crowds come in and the ride ops have to give her a bit to calm down before working again. You go girl :p

Before I discuss my rides on Kingda, lemme tell you about the time I just missed it. It was the first trip I went on this past summer with my dad, in which I got over my coaster fear for good. I was intentionally saving Kingda Ka for last, as I saw her as the most thrilling ride in the park. I had just gotten off El Toro, and figured Kingda was next on the list. We walked over to the Golden Kingdom, and at the time we did not know about the pathway between the Golden Kingdom and Plaza del Carnival, making back-to-back rides on Toro and Kingda way easier. So we ended up walking all around the park, unsurprisingly exhausting us.

As we made the voyage over, seeing Kingda lurking in the distance unsurprisingly excited me and gave me butterflies in my stomach. She be a big coaster; Great Adventure locals will understand how it feels to not only see her rising far out of the tree line during the drive, but being able to get up close in the parking lot. And Kingda Ka is LOUD: you can't hear it throughout the park since there's a lotta coasters that make some noise (Nitro, Superman Ultimate Flight, Medusa, El Toro etc), but when you're up close to her she roars. Fortunately, I'd been seeing trains go over the top hat all day-especially in the loooong line of Superman-so I knew she wasn't closed for the day.

We finally arrived at the entrance. Kingda Ka stood reaching into the sky. It was a particularly cloudy day. I handed my stuff over to my dad, raced for the gate, and...

she was closed for maintenance.

At this point, my dad and I were both too exhausted to wait around for her to come back online, so we decided to just head back over to Medusa so I could get one last ride on her. And hey, Medusa's a solid floorless coaster: smooth as glass and really nice colors for brownie points. But lemme tell you how I felt as we got back into the car, and sure enough a train was going over Kingda Ka's top hat. I guess I would have been bitter, but I was tired, thirsty and I still had an awesome day in the end, even if I missed out on the tallest coaster in the world. But I would be back soon. Very soon.

Few weeks later, I was back in Great Adventure, just a few days before I would leave for college. But I wasn't just here to have a fun day. I was here to conquer Kingda Ka for good. But first I warmed up with a ride on Medusa. Weeeeeeeee :3 \o/

Once I got off, I immediately gunned for Kingda Ka. Sure enough, she was closed yet again for maintenance. But I wasn't leaving: I put my stuff in a locker and I got comfy outside the gated-off entrance. I don't know how long I waited, maybe around 15 minutes, but I kept myself busy by listening to the staff tell people coming by that she's not sure when the ride will reopen. I do wish there were at least some benches nearby the entrance; Kingda goes down a lot, so it'd be neat to have to seat on the ground or lean against the fence. Not an earth-shattering issue though, just something you notice while you're waiting for a roller coaster to reopen in 85 F and 80% humidity with no idea of how long you've been waiting. You think some crazy stuff man.

Finally, the staff member got the all-clear from the station, and the chain was lifted. I zoomed into the queue, and fortunately there was almost no line. As far as I'm aware, Kingda Ka's queue seems to work in two parts. The first spans from the entrance and throughout much of the zig-zaggy barriers, while the second goes from the end of the last zig-zags to the station. I'm guessing that ride ops only want a certain amount of people in the station at a time, just in case Kingda goes down and they don't want crowds of people waiting around. So once the station starts to empty, they tell the ops dividing the queue to let more folks in. The first half was pretty much completely empty, and I ran all the way to the station. And lemme tell you, the ride ops operating Kingda Ka that day were stellar. I know Six Flags ops have a reputation for being pretty lazy, but that is not the case for Great Adventure. So far through my two recent visits, I don't think I've ever seen an objectively bad or even lazy crew operating a ride. I guess if I had to pick one that was bad, I guess it would be Green Lantern, since they seemed a little more bored than usual. But even then, they weren't half-assing or anything, they were still very much on top of things. And Kingda Ka's crew on that day was perhaps the best example of all. Whenever a train pulled back into the station, they began encouraging people to quickly unbuckle and prepare to get out and going to not stall the line. But they weren't forceful or rude: they had this perfect blend of strong encouragement and energy that got the next batch of riders hyped. It was awesome. I really hope that Great Adventure keeps up what they're doing with their ops, it makes me so happy seeing my home park doing so well in regards that their company is known to lack in.

Finally, I got into my seat and lowered my restraints: row 3, left seat. And lemme tell you, I was getting nervous. My coaster fear might have been slain, but that did not stop the anxiety over riding a hydraulic launch coaster. The train left the station, and stopped over the catch car. Staring at Kingda Ka's top hat from the parking lot is one thing. Staring down the top hat while in a train is a whoooooole other thing. Even now, having gone over it 3 times, I still get antsy over just the anticipation. A number like 456 feet (139 meters) can feel not as large when comparing tall coasters. And I know, Kingda's currently the tallest in the world. But in a world full of Top Thrill 2's, Intimidator 305's, Red Force's and Fury 325's, that number can still become numb, even if it's still the tallest. But when you're actually facing it down? It aaaaaaall comes back as to just how big a strata coaster really is. And it is scary. Fun, but scary.

I wasn't staring Kingda down for long, as my train ended up quickly hooking onto the catch car, followed by the brakes lowering. I wanna say that it's about 3 seconds from the loud click of the catch car to the launch slingshotting you off. But it somehow feels like a thousand years and an instant at the same time. My point is: Kingda Ka is fast. And it feels fucking amazing. It feels AMAZING!!! I LOVE IT SO MUCH!!!!!! I MUST'VE BEEN GIGGLING FOR LIKE 2 MINUTES STRAIGHT AFTER GETTING OFF AND I TOLD MY FRIENDS OVER DISCORD JUST HOW AWESOME IT WAS AND IT SURPASSED MY EXPECTATIONS SO MUCH!!!!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAA I LOVE KINGDA KA SO MUCH!!!! AND IT'S SMOOTH!!!! IT ISN'T GLASS SMOOTH BUT IT IS SURE AS HELL NOT CLOSE TO BUMPY OR RATTLEY OR ANYTHING OF THE SORT!!! WHY DO THOOSIES SAY KINGDA KA IS ROUGH???? I DON'T GET IT!!!! DO THEY HATE FUN???

So yea Kingda Ka is awesome :3 But I wasn't done with her just yet for that day. After hopping off I got some rides on Superman, Nitro, Jersey Devil and of course several on El Toro. The bull demands my soul and I shall answer. I am the bull's servant. But then I was feeling some more Kingda Ka. And sure enough, I now knew about the pathway between Golden Kingdom and Plaza del Carnival, so it was a way shorter walk. And hey, turns out Great Adventure has a few animal exhibits along the path. That was neat seeing some turtles :>

Fortunately, Kingda had been operating pretty smoothly all day. Unfortunately, that meant a line had formed. I think while waiting in line she also briefly went down as well, but you can't win all of em lol. So I ended up sitting in queue for a while. But we all knew that she was awake yet again once we heard trains firing off through the bamboo, and sure enough the line started moving again. It was while I was approaching the station that after hearing another train firing off, and I saw this girl look at her friend next to her with an expression of "how did you convince me to get in this line what is wrong with you".

Also can I just say that I love how you can hear Kingda Ka's launches through the bamboo, but you can't see it all too well? It's so cooooooooool. I know it's not the same as what OG Top Thrill Dragster did with the bleachers, lights and audio, but it's still so neat. I love little details like that: it makes Kingda feel like she's part of the bamboo forest. Even if you can see it all from the parking lot but it is what it is lol.

I sat in the same seat and row as before; it's just a nice seat. Not front row but still up close to the front. Ride was just as amazing as before, but after I got off something timely happened. As I was exiting the station and returning to the entrance, it started to rain. When it rains, the ride ops close Kingda Ka until the storm passes, since it's apparently pretty painful going that high up in the rain. So imagine my face when only a minute or so after I went over the top hat, they had to close Kingda lmfao.

I waited out the rain by grabbing some fries, albeit I still got a little wet and I forgot my rain jacket. Once the storm passed, Nitro and Medusa both unfortunately closed for maintenance: Nitro for presumably something caused by the rain, and Medusa for issues with one of the trains. But hey it wasn't a big loss: I got another ride on El Toro :3

But I figured to end the day with one last ride on Kingda Ka. The line was a little better from last time, and I sat in the same row. But another single rider asked if he could have the left seat, which I was fine with. And y'know what this man did? He put his hands up on the launch. I'm more than fine with putting my arms up on most coasters. I'm looking at you Nitro :>. But Kingda Ka's launch? Hell nah. After going over the top hat then sure hell yea. But even the ride itself tells you "Arms down. Head back. Hold on!" right before the launch. Apparently the wind hurts with your arms up at a speed like that! So yea, god bless that man's soul, hope his arm's are ok too.

So as of right now, those are my 3 rides on Kingda Ka. I love this beast to death, and I hope Great Adventure keeps her hydraulic launch for as long as possible. What happened to that guest with Top Thrill Dragster was tragic, and hopefully something like that never happens again. And hell, I'm pumped af for Top Thrill 2, it looks amazing. But what Kingda Ka does is special. It might not be the only hydraulic launch coaster in the world, but it is now the only remaining hydraulic launch strata coaster. And Intamin doesn't manufacture the hydraulic launch anymore on account of its inefficiency and cost. So for now, stay strong Kingda, you deserve just as much love as OG TTD did in its heyday. And next time, I'll go front row :>

[quietgalcoasterss]

My Top 5 (End of 2023)

Hi yall! Sorry for how long it’s been. Thanksgiving left me exhausted, and then all of a sudden I was coming back to college for finals weeks. I almost finished this a week ago, but then I just forget to add the last section. Anyway, as the end of the year approaches and seasonal parks close their doors, I figure this is an appropriate time to share my current top 5 coasters. So far, I’ve visited 3 major theme parks in the US as of recently: Six Flags Great Adventure, Kings Dominion and Busch Gardens Williamsburg. I’ve also visited Disney World and Universal Orlando, but those were back when I was 11 or so, and so I hardly remember any rides I might’ve gone on. So while this will change over the years, and I’ll eventually have enough credits to where I can start listing my top 10, 15 and even 20, here be my current top 5 :>

For context, I base my rankings off of two factors:

1. How much I want to re-ride it right now.

2. How long I’m laughing after I’ve gotten off. If I’m still chuckling by the time I’m back at the entrance, it’s a winner.

5. Kingda Ka, Six Flags Great Adventure

It won’t shock you to know that Kingda Ka was, at one point, the scariest coaster I’ve ever been on. How long did it hold that title? Like 2 hours until I rode it for a second time, after which I knew for a fact my coaster fear was all but buried. Despite that, I’m pretty certain that no matter how often I ride it in the future, sitting on the launch track will still give me butterflies in my stomach.

But god, that launch is unlike anything I’ve ever felt. Hell, for like 2 weeks after my second Great Adventure visit this past summer, I scoured Youtube for a pov/off-ride video that would hit the exact same mark as actually riding Kingda Ka. I never found one that got even close :(. I also never got to ride OG Top Thrill Dragster or any other Intamin hydraulic launch coaster (Storm Runner looks so good…), but god you mean to tell me there’s multiple of these??? Even though I’ve ridden longer rides, as well as ones that I wish I could ride right now even more, that does NOT mean Kingda Ka does not deserve love. All my homies love Kingda Ka.

4. Nitro, Six Flags Great Adventure

Nitro was my first ever B&M (Bolliger and Mabillard) hyper coaster (ride that exceeds 200 feet). And although the only other one I’ve ridden is Apollo’s Chariot, I do NOT understand why thoosies say this thing is mid. Sure the paint scheme is on the uglier side, but that makes it unique. And like, this thing isn’t the ugliest thing in the world. I don’t even know how you could make a coaster ugly.

This thing is floater airtime and speed galore. Next time I’m at Great Adventure, I’m trying out both front and back row to see how it lives up. I always put my hands up on Nitro cuz like, why wouldn’t you? Only part that’s a sharp change is the helix as the trains return to the station. That thing is fast and tight: I grey out every time I go through it. Not saying it’s bad at all, just a wild element lol.

3. Pantheon, Busch Gardens Williamsburg

Pantheon is my first ever ride to feature a vertical spike. And oh my GOD did it have me laughing like a mad lass. This thing is such a treat from start to finish. I have a whole other story to share about this coaster and waiting in queue, but that’s for another time.

What Pantheon does super well is consistency between its elements. From the first launch to missing the top hat to the spike to the hangtime, this thing does NOT quit (until the brake run of course). Some people say this is a mix between Maverick and Velocicoaster, and from the pov’s I’ve watched, I can see where they’re coming from. I’m planning on riding Maverick next summer, and I don’t know when I’ll be able to go to Islands of Adventure. But until then, Pantheon my beloved.

2. Intimidator 305, Kings Dominion

I love you I-305. I love you so damn much. This monstrosity was my first ever giga coaster (ride that exceeds 300 feet), and oh my GOD is it heavenly. I need to make it clear that this thing is not for the faint of heart. It is fast, whippy and unrelenting. But in a loving way :D.

I don’t think I’ll ever be able to not grey out on the right back after the drop. But lemme tell ya, greying out is awesome. I understand why some people dislike it and tend to avoid re-riding anything that does it to em. But me? I love the feeling. If anything I wanna immediately re-ride it if I feel my vision going. I’m weird and gay like that. Some people also say that this is the anti-Millennium Force: while Millennium does airtime galore, I-305 does speed and lateral’s galore. I’ll be the judge of that when I hopefully go to Cedar Point soonish, but for now, Intimidator 305 sits comfortably in my number 2.

1. El Toro, Six Flags Great Adventure

You knew this was coming. El Toro was my first wooden coaster, my first non-family coaster, my first big Intamin, my first blog here and it’s in my pfp \o/. I’m so glad that Six Flags has been genuinely caring for this monstrosity after all these years. Even with the recent incidents, they haven’t given up on it. And I’m so grateful for that, I can’t imagine Great Adventure without this.

There’s still many woodie’s that I need to ride. The Beast at Kings Island and The Voyage at Holiday World are both really high on my list. But as of right now I ain’t going out to Indiana just to ride a big woodie (and also Firebird, that looks sick). To be brutally honest, the only other woodie I’ve actually ridden as of today is The Grizzly at Kings Dominion. And it’s a solid woodie, don’t get me wrong. But it just ain’t the Bull.

Some people dislike El Toro for how rough it’s apparently become over the years. And while that’s understandable, I love a woodie that’s rough. It gives a bite to it, like it’s out of control. That’s what woodies specialize in over steel’s: they’re out of control. From this thing’s ejector airtime, to the speed, to the tight banks to the Rolling Thunder Hill, El Toro will never leave my heart. It’s no wonder I spent 30 bucks on a t-shirt and keychain on my most recent visit. I’m a capitalist slave to the Bull.

[quietgalcoasterss]

My first ride on El Toro

I share a similarity with many roller coaster enthusiasts: I used to be mortified of them. Growing up as a kid, I wouldn’t dare to step foot on anything that dominated the skyline and/or went above 50 mph. But this was complicated by the fact that my home park is Six Flags Great Adventure. Widely considered to be one of the best, if not the best Six Flags park, for its ride portfolio, cleanliness (for Six Flags mind you) and amount of stuff to do, it's no surprise my childhood summer camp often organized field trips to it.

I wanna say it was 2015 when I went to Great Adventure with my dad and younger brother. I was 12 or so at the time, and it was my 3rd ever trip. We were beginning to feel tired, and so far we'd been on the Log Flume, Skull Mountain and the Dark Knight Coaster (indoor coasters which are much more family-oriented. But we still wanted to do one more ride before resigning to the (scam) boardwalk games. We were in the Frontier Adventures section, close to Runaway Mine Train, when my dad pointed across the water and said "How about that?" He was pointing at El Toro. My brother and I were both very hesitant at first, but then my dad said something that I will never forget. It was only 10 words, but they are 10 words that will ring in my head forever: "It's a wooden coaster. It can't be that intense, right?" And somehow, he convinced us.

We made the long walk over to El Toro (Great Adventure's a pretty big park), and for the entire trek and wait-time in the queue, I kept thinking of what dad said to keep calm. Even as I buckled up and lowered my restraints, I kept breathing steadily and repeating "it's just wooden, it's just wooden." And so the train left the station, hooked up to the cable lift and I preceded to freak out. Lemme tell you, that ascent up the lift hill is FAST. It was as we reached the top and began the turn-around that we finally realized just how tall El Toro really is. 181 feet might not seem like much nowadays regarding roller coasters, especially in the same park with Kingda Ka, the tallest coaster in the world (until Falcon's Flight opens in Saudi Arabia). But that is still very very tall, especially for a woodie. In fact, El Toro is the 3rd tallest wooden coaster in the world, only beaten by T Express at Everland and Colossos at Heide-Park. So it won't shock you to know that all three of us began to regret our decision as we turned around to the first drop. I yelled out an "I LOVE YOU" to my brother, and down we went.

It's hard for me to describe my experiences on roller coasters in a lengthy and wordy manner. For the most part, since the experience itself is pretty short, my descriptions on the actual rides tend to be on the shorter end. Explanatory? Sure. But not very long. And given this ride was almost a decade ago, I can't remember much of it. If you wanna hear a more in-depth discussion on El Toro's ride experience, I recommend ElToroRyan's video on it (I wonder what his favorite ride is, might be Raging Bull). So I will provide for you some choice words to describe my brain during my first ride on El Toro: Fast Windy Bumpy AMIGONNADIE HOLYSHITAMIFLYING HEEEEELP MAKEITSTOOOOP The ride came to a stop, and I thought I was gonna pass out. My brother was still screaming after we hit the brake run, and my dad looked like he'd come face to face with god. We got off, and we all needed a moment to readjust away from the station. And finally, as reached the exit of the park, I gave them my short thoughts on the ride: "It was fun, but I am NEVER doing it again." Now, if I could go back in time and tell my younger self one thing, it would be this: "You're a girl." But if I could tell her another thing, then it would be "if you wanna get over your fear of roller coasters, you just gotta do it. Trust the trains, they are safer than airplanes. And deep down, you know El Toro was fun. Why don't you try something else, rather than one of the most intense coasters in the world?" And here I am now, having visited Great Adventure another two times in one summer, alongside Kings Dominion and Busch Gardens Williamsburg. And yet, after riding El Toro another four times, it remains my number one favorite coaster. I'm planning on visiting Cedar Point next summer with some friends, so that'll definitely shake up my rankings. But I am confident that even after Maverick, Millennium Force and Steel Vengeance enter my rankings, they will not dethrone the bull. Even when the day comes that I go to Magic Mountain and Alton Towers and finally ride X2, Tatsu, the Smiler and Nemesis, nothing, not now or ever, will ever take my number 1 spot from El Toro.