Steel Vengeance Media Day

Hopefully this will make you permanently whole now

Maverick360 said:

GigaG said:

Dvo said:

GigaG said:

Looking forward to seeing the footage that comes out of this!

To see the ride, or to compare it to Gatekeeper's media day? ;)

Early reviews are sounding pretty amazing. I'm excited to get on this thing.

To see the ride. To compare it to GK's media day is pointless to me, because the aspect of GK's media day that I always fanboy about isn't here :P.

It looks AMAZING. I love how in the POV you can hear when the train is riding on its upstops.

Considering I wasn't an enthusiast when GK had it's media day, can someone tell me why everyone is always talking about it?

They opened media day to members of some coaster clubs for GK in 2013, along with the Gemini Midway in 2014 IIRC. Also Banshee at KI in 2014.

They since have stopped doing that, returning to the old closed media day. There are a few theories on why, ranging from "there was no return on it from letting enthusiasts participate" to "It's because those no-good enthusiasts complained so much about free stuff/special events."

Anybody who wishes for open media day back (GK Media Day being one of the best times I've had at CP) risks being labeled an entitled bad enthusiast :P.

I agree that CP should sell some of those Mean Streak wood plaques. KD sold the wood of Hurler, and KI sold some from SOB.

Pete, it was good to see you today. Great ride report and glad you like the ride! First one is on me at the new beach beverage establishment...

^^Oh stop over exaggerating the push back from people disagreeing about media days being open. There are no theories regarding why they were stopped. They've gone back to the invite only media days because it is what works best for the park. These are not enthusiast events, they are media events.

End of story

Now, as for the ride itself. I completely agree with Pete's assessment. The airtime is relentless and you get air in some places you're not expecting. The fan turn in particular offers a pretty good bump of air that completely took me off guard. The drop is PHENOMENAL in the back row and the outward bank turn is as crazy as I thought it would be. No joke, this is the best coaster in the park and perhaps the world. And I honestly fear what this ride will be like after a hot summer day because it was HAULING through out the entire course.

After about 4 hours of sleep at Castaway Bay, we got ourselves ready and out the door by 4:45, and were walking up to the ride by around 5:00. Luckily, the rain was holding off and there was a pretty nice fog and zero wind, which added to the ride's already ominous appearance. The signage looks incredible in person, and by this time a train was already loaded and cycling.

A couple off-ride quick observations; The chain lift is purposely very loud, again adding to this ride's personality (more on that was we go). The lights up the lift hill are lanterns; a really nice touch, and the headlights on the train are fully functional (EDIT: Nevermind. See posts below). It was pretty sweet just watching the train run its course with the lights bobbing and weaving through the course. There is also plenty of reading to do in the queue; Walt has a great video tour of it up. They are definitely adding some backstory to several of Frontiertown's citizens.

At first glance, I thought the shin-guards on the restraint were going to be uncomfortable. Not even slightly.

From the ride's first moments, you realize that RMC does not waste an inch of this ride's track. If they could squeeze in another airtime hill, they did. I don't want to repeat everything Pete already said (which was spot on), but I will add a couple thoughts;

1) This ride is ferocious. Yes, it is incredibly smooth, and yes, it is paced perfectly...but to be honest after our 5th lap I was about ready to done. For me, this had nothing to do with any pain, but just the sheer force of it all. That said, we snuck in a 6th lap before the lunch break and a 7th just before leaving around noon. I survived.

2) Where I noticed most of the intensity was on the 2nd half. There is absolutely zero let-up to the train's pace, and I was left completely disoriented as we raced through the structure. Of course, we were giggling the whole time.

3) I think you spend more time out of your seat than in it. A hilarious amount of airtime, and a nice mix of ejector and the floaty kind. Just wait until you experience the outerwardly-banked airtime hill. It gets you where it counts. Then again, every hill on this ride gets you where it counts.

4) Hands down the best coaster in the park, and I don't think it's even close. Now, I have not traveled the entire globe, per se, but this is easily #1 on my personal list. I didn't think any ride would ever top my wife's list, which includes MF and El Toro at Great Adventure, but this one blew her away as well. It's about as close to coaster perfection that I have experienced.

I don't think I have ever ridden a coaster where after a few rides I could not give you a complete play by play of the elements. That said, after seven, I still don't have the ride down in my head (which I think is a good thing). There is just so much going on from beginning to end, it's dizzying.

^Are you sure those were headlights? I think they were the ring lights or whatever the media cameras used.

Those were definitely lights for the reverse POV GoPro seats.

1000 years of force said:

Pete, it was good to see you today. Great ride report and glad you like the ride! First one is on me at the new beach beverage establishment...

I'll be there too, anyone else want 1000 Years to pay? ;)

Hmm. I hadn't thought about that with the headlights. I blame the 4 hours of sleep.

Well then I take back all the good things I said! ;)

1000 years of force said:
Pete, it was good to see you today. Great ride report and glad you like the ride! First one is on me at the new beach beverage establishment...

Thank you so much! Looking forward to the new beach beverage establishment, I'm sure I will be a frequent customer as the summer goes on!

And 1000 Years is buying all summer. :)

TTD 120mph said:
These are not enthusiast events, they are media events.

What media did you represent? Or Pete? Enthusiasts were invited. It’s all a matter of befriending the right people at the park.

I’m glad to hear the ride is great! I’m excited to ride it Friday.

We're there to represent the park for media purposes. It's really not that complicated.

Would you describe any of the airtime as flojector?

Ejectair

The underbanked turn must feel nuts. I've always wondered why more coasters don't do that. Free airtime all the way round.

The final hops are irregular left/right. Something more coasters should feature too.

CoasterGuy15 said:
Why does the media get all the cool gifts and not the every day guest? I'm sure we would enjoy those signs a lot more. I'm sure they will be all over ebay because the people won't appreciate them enough to keep and enjoy it for what its worth.

Not the two we got. In fact we gave them to our children and they are proudly displaying them on their shelves right now. #086 and #665. So if you see those on eBay let me know and I have a will to revise. :)

I’ll just echo most of the praise offered here and add my two cents.

Steel Vengeance is the perfect big brother to Maverick. It’s smooth as silk, and yet kicks your ass in a way that little bro could only dream. ‘Relentless’ is a word that gets bandied for this ride, and rightly so. From the moment you begin the acceleration down that steeper-than-Millennium drop, there is literally no let-up, not for a second. It’s forceful beyond belief, crazily disorienting, and disregarding of normal states of being such as ‘up’ or ‘down’. Or ‘slow’. You’ll never hear that word mention in regard to this ride.

For me personally, the only drawback is that the insane ejector moments are so many and so powerful, they lead to pretty bad thigh pain and bruising after only a few rides. Part of this may be because I’m over 50. The other part may have more to do with me being a wuss. Either way, it’s not a power-riding coaster for me.

But definitely, this is a new definition of what a roller coaster can be. There is some serious next-level stuff going on here. You won’t want to miss it.

coast said:

TTD 120mph said:
These are not enthusiast events, they are media events.

What media did you represent? Or Pete? Enthusiasts were invited. It’s all a matter of befriending the right people at the park.

I’m glad to hear the ride is great! I’m excited to ride it Friday.

There is irony in that several of the people who are most vocally critical of my comments are ones who are invited in some way.

Random question - did parks ever invite enthusiasts to Media Days prior to GK? I seriously don't know.

I believe they did but I'm pretty sure it was invite only as well. And I can't speak for other people on this matter but I don't intend my comments to sound condescending or conceited. However, the fact that there were enthusiasts present, doesn't mean that the event was an enthusiast catered event. Nor does it mean that you or coast or anyone should be invited simply because you too are enthusiasts. Everyone there was invited directly by the park. I can't tell you why I was invited (as it's honestly none of your business) and I couldn't honestly tell you how you could become among those considered for these things.

The park wants people they KNOW will follow the rules, spread the word, promote ________ and represent the park via interview, if the moment should arise. If you feel that you are the type of person that can do that, good for you. But, again, I have no advice as to how to become someone who is invited to these things. I'm only critical of your (and coasts's) posts because you bring about this idea that since some of us get invited, it's not fair that you don't get invited. Of all the people I know that do these events, not a single person takes these things for granted.

All I can say is that a person's actions can go a long way.....good or bad. And in the end, is it really that big a deal that a handful of people got to ride it before you?