Winter Solace, Pt. 2

By the time we got there it was 1:30 and the rain had nearly stopped. Goliath showed no signs of life, but Riddlers Revenge was running, so we went to ride it first. Riddlers Revenge is my favorite standup coaster. I love it's pure feeling of flight, it's smooth entries and exits from inversions, and it's the only stand up that gives great, sustained airtime, especially over that camelback. This was Cindy's first ride, and she wholeheartedly agreed, calling it acrobatic and awesome! For the life of me, I cannot understand why people don't like this coaster. Riddler's Revenge does exactly what a stand up coaster should do without being gimmicky.

Ah! Goliath is running! HURRY! LET'S RUN! C'MON!!! HURRY!!!!

The line was very short and we had virtually no wait. We immediately went to the very back and boarded our ride. Yea!!! I'm actually going to ride it!!!

Goliath is *great*!!!!!

With each successive ride I grew to like Goliath even more. The lift hill is incredibly steep, and the first drop is *awesome* from the backseat. But it's the frontseat that I liked best, thanks to two things: the turnaround coming off first drop is unbelievably freaky, particularly if you sit in the left side. You get tossed up and to the left as the coaster turns to the right! Aaaaah!!!!! Cindy said she was truly scared. And the airtime over the third hill is amazing. It's very similar to Superman Ride of Steel. For our first ride the coaster barely kissed the midcourse brake, and the helices, while definitely strong, weren't blackout inducing as I was led to believe.

Let's go uh-gin! Hurry! Let's run!!!

We got in line and this time what little crowd was in the park had made its way to Goliath. Ah well, that's what we came for. That and Superman the Escape, which showed no signs of life. This wait gave me the chance to check out Goliath's theming, which is incredibly well done, particularly for a Six Flags park. The music is *great!* The stones and landscaping are first class all the way. My only complaint is with the roof. It's wood! It looks stupid! Why have these elaborate ancient stones for station walls if you're going to put up a 1970's wood roof?!? Taer it down!

While waiting in line, I looked back and saw Ted Ansley! Ah! Somebody stuck it out! I should have known it would be Ted. Only desperate out-of-towners would be foolish enough to risk an all-day rain threat to ride a coaster. Too bad the Rolling Regans weren't there.

Just as we were about to make our way up the stairs and into the station, I heard a roar. It sounded like a jet. "YYYYESSSS!!!" I screamed! I'd never even heard Supeman and I immediately recognized it. For the love of God, people, hurry!!!

Our wait was about an hour, and we opted for a front seat ride. It was worth it. What a view!!! The mist at the entrance to the tunnel immediately covered my glasses, blinding me for the rest of the ride. And that toss up coming out of the first drop!! Holy cow!!! I definitely like the backseat for the first drop, but the front seat is best for the rest of the ride.

We met up with Ted and immediately made our way up, up, up the hill to Superman The Escape! Cindy looked like she was ready to be hosed off after that climb, and she swore she was not attempting to scale that mountain again! This would be Ted's first ride, along with mine.

My expectations were very low with this ride. Everyone I've talked to says the same thing: yeah, the airtime is great, but it's over like *that.* Well, I was BLOWN AWAY by Superman! In fact, it was the surprise of the trip! I just could not believe the sustained speed down the track, and the climb up the tower. Cindy had ridden it before and she said she didn't go that high the first time. But the thing that truly thrilled me was the seemingly endless, total body airtime!!! It started even before we'd reached the top and lasted for what seemed like forever!!! I don't know if it's six seconds or not, but it's the longest six seconds I've ever experienced! I followed Jeff Johnson's advice and rode the outside seat of Row 2 for my second ride. Now I see why he recommended it! You get a great, unobstructed view and a much more vulnerable feeling.

Superman's great! Goliath's great!! Riddler's great!!! I love Magic Mountain!!!!! We rode Riddler some more, then ended the night with four or five rides on Goliath. During this time we also saw Jim Raimar and Jerry! More hardcore out-of-towners! One one of my frontseat rides I took my glasses off for a clear view. Wrong!!! The force of the drop pushed my eyelids open even farther, at which point the mist *blasted* into my eyes full force! YEEEEOOOWW!!! I spent the rest of ride covering my eyes and trying to get my sight back! On another of my frontseat rides, I was tossed so high up in the air, Cindy reached over to pull me back in! Everything on Goliath is extreme. I do wish it were it longer, and I prefer bunny hops to twists, but it's a great ride and I'd put it right up there alongside PKD's Volcano.

The line seemed to be too long for us to get another ride in before closing, so we made our way up to Viper and rode it twice. Boy, after riding such nice smooth coasters like Riddler and Goliath, Viper came as quite a shock. But I really like this ride. It's my favorite Arrow looper after Steel Phantom.

We thought the park was closed, but the entrance for Revolution was still open, and the ops let us ride. Ted and I took the frontseat, while Cindy sat behind us. I really enjoyed the ride, despite the terrible restraints and excessive braking. Cindy, however, did not. "Ow! Ow! Ow!" all through the ride. "I'm in PAIN," she cried out. The ops offered us a reride to close out the night. Ted offered to change places with Cindy. Again, I enjoyed the ride. So did Cindy. Ted, however, did not. "Ow! Ow! Ow!" Moral of the story: avoid the second seat.

We went to In-N-Out near the park for dinner. Both Ted and I got 4x4's while Cindy opted for a dainty double-double. I got mine animal style of course, and Ted insisted on capturing the moment on film. Oh good, another picture of RunawayMT with his mouth wrapped around food. I would like to say, however, that this was my one and only 4x4 of the trip, unlike another certain coaster enthusiast who not only ate TWO 4x4's, but ate them both ON THE SAME DAY!!! Of course he shall remain nameless.

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