Wicked Cyclone Media Day Review - Six Flags new England : Theme Park Trip Reports

Wicked Cyclone Media Day Review - Six Flags new England

May 20th, 2015, 8:30 pm

Kyle Sloane

Posts: 2113

Points on hand: 2,704.00 Points

OFF RIDE SHOTS:

General Overview

I'm going to just summarize my thoughts on the ride and then let the pictures and video speak for themselves. I think this one of the most INCREDIBLE coasters I have ever ridden. Anyone within a 5 hour radius of this park should feel compelled to come out and try this beast. To have this in my back yard is just unreal. This ride is INTENSE, and it is rapid fire from beginning to end. Yet, it is glass smooth, comfortable, and appeals to audiences of all ages! This ride is evidence to me that the age of height, speed, and other marketing gimmicks is coming to an end, and we are returning to what makes a truly thrilling and enjoyable coaster. It is evidence that a coaster just over 100 feet can be infinitely better than something twice its size. This ride was engineered to bring everything a ride could offer to the table, from beginning to end, leaving the rider completely disoriented, blown away, and ready to get back in line. I predict this will be the longest line in the park for some time to come, though I hope they get the two train operation nailed because you will most definetly find me waiting in that line regardless of how long it is.

Technical Breakdown:

I've said it before, as has everyone, but the airtime on this ride is just outstanding. If you have ridden el toro in the back row, you should know what type of intensity to expect on this rides hills. There are two hills near the end, the one switch turn, and the first hop on the double down that have little punches of airtime (still comfortable just less sustained). The rest of the hills maintain a radius for a set amount of time making for some really satisfying ejector, with the most sustained airtime being the hop next to the station, and the most intense being a tie between the first outward banked hill and the hill after the first zero g roll which are both almost skyrush level airtime (if the barrel roll was about -1, more than -1.7 is my guess for the back/front).

The stall at the beginning is a really unique element on this ride. It has a really snappy zero gravity twist on the way in, then there is just glorious airtime/ hang time for what feels like an eternity (probably just a couple seconds) until it finally snaps out and pulls up forcefully into the over bank, and then pulls around into the double down with some nice lats. Its a fantastic sequence to set up for the speed run that follows after the dive down. The zero g is similar, in that it provides a nice twist on the way in and out, with out of your seat hang-time in between.

Many of the little over banks on this ride would be more accurately described as underbanks, in the sense that they provide a huge dose of lats at the top. The turn before the zero g, and the turns on the last turnaround specifically come to mind.

The ones that are banked adequately have some really nice snap going into them, especially the one turn before the first outward banked hill, the exit of the turn after that, and then the entrance to the turn after the zero g. Even the the first over-bank has some very distinct snap to its transitions that are noticeable on ride. I think it wouldn't have hurt for the wavy turn bit after the zero roll to be a low flat turn instead, simply to break the pacing a bit, but its still got some nice forces and lats as it is, and I'm not complaining.

One of my favorite bits ended up being the final barrel roll. It of course has that crazy switch track, which sets you up to turn with a bank to the left, then ejects you out the other side right instead as it turns, and there is nice whip entering the roll. Then after that it does something just as interesting, the roll kind of slows down and lets you hang, and then you are pinned to the left as it unrolls, starts to pull up before it finishes un-banking, and then whips to the right over an underbanked, floaty airtime turn. It has you pinned from the exit of the barrel roll, all the way to the second outward banked hill, which kind of feels like it gives into the pull and finally tosses you to the left. Of course this is all still very comfortable thanks to the supportive design of the trains.

It kind of gives the same washing machine sensation from something like the flying snake dive, where you are just being whipped around and the forces are intense and disorienting. Train flies into the brake run surprisingly still with speed to spare and stops forcefully, leaving you feeling very "wtf just happened".
Overall, it lies between I305 and El Toro for me as my #2, then followed by Storm Runner.