Tallest, Fastest... Wildest?

Since it’s media day today, I’ve seen a bunch of neat videos and the whole area looks fantastic (they really seemed to outdo themselves yet again), but I haven’t heard anyone whose ridden it say anything about the ride itself. Is it as awesome and as wild as it looks? Best ride in the park? Second best? Third best? How’s the airtime and pacing? What’s the best element(s)?

I've seen many people on social media, and some news reports proclaiming this ride better than anticipated. Some of the coaster podcast people etc are already claiming it's their new #1. I haven't seen a negative thought on it yet.

CoasterKyle1121 said:

Since it’s media day today, I’ve seen a bunch of neat videos and the whole area looks fantastic (they really seemed to outdo themselves yet again), but I haven’t heard anyone whose ridden it say anything about the ride itself. Is it as awesome and as wild as it looks? Best ride in the park? Second best? Third best? How’s the airtime and pacing? What’s the best element(s)?

https://www.reddit.com/r/rollercoasters/comments/8evq1m/steel_venge...nt_review/

Great review here (Top Comment in the thread).

Honestly it's probably the best coaster review I've seen. Gives a great play by play of the elements, and if I get assigned to a seat, I hope I get the back.

Skyhawk06 said:

Honestly it's probably the best coaster review I've seen. Gives a great play by play of the elements, and if I get assigned to a seat, I hope I get the back.

Speaking of which, is there any official word on whether it's going to be assigned seating or not?

I’d reckon so. And in the queue somewhere there’s a sign with the reminder that due to popularity seat requests may not be able to be accommodated. Or something like that. Wisely covering all the bases and possible scenarios.
Pro tip: be polite, look hopeful, and ask nicely. Find the words. Seriously, that usually works for me. Don’t go with the attitude that you waited three+ hours and you should be able to. They deal with those asses all day long and it’s usually a guaranteed ticket to the middle. Can’t blame em.
They didn’t do anything to alter the loading platform in terms of size. So, just like it was on MS, there’s not a lot of room for auxiliary queues for front and rear seats. Especially at first, their job is to increase efficiency and capacity. Whether it’s a proven method or not may be the question, but it is what it is.

Whilst smiling

"I realize you need to assign seating, but could I request the very back row please? I've come from London to ride this..."

Also, obviously, if you want to request a row, request one that's empty (Or at least not packed... groupers often allow only 1-2 trains' worth of people in the station.)... if they load front to back it should be much, much easier to get a back seat ride than a front seat ride, assuming the groupers are willing to negotiate.

On Valravn, you can sometimes request the front row, as that queue can hold about 2 rows' worth of people, it seems. But Valravn also isn't brand new anymore and I seem to remember them being quite strict at opening, not to mention that it's harder to fill an 8-wide row than a 2-wide row (and thus it is probably more likely on Valravn that the grouper will direct you to a spot in a likely not-full front.)

If SV is similarly strict, I'm sure they'll be willing to allow some seat picking once the initial crowding dies down.

I was a little surprised that they didn't modify the station to have more room.

Likely it would have been much easier said than done.

If it's any consolation, there is not a bad seat on this ride.

Personally, I don't think there will be a lot of assigned seating on this ride. It is much more important on rides like Valravn where there are so many seats across in a row that a large group could come in and leave several seats in a row empty. Therefore, the ride ops have to constantly keep things organized to maintain a strong capacity.

Steel Vengeance, by design, is not one of those rides. Take MF for example. Everyone knows that the front and back are the best seats on the ride, yet people still get in line for every row. There isn't assigned seating until last rides of the night when they are trying to suck up the last of the queue. I would imagine that SV would be the same, as the train style and capacity are remarkably similar.

There will be assigned seating on certain days and times, but I wouldn't expect it to be a regular occurrence.

Personally, I know there will be a lot of assigned seating on this ride. I just came from the event and even with a 30 minute wait and two trains they were pairing people up and assigning rows.
That didn’t stop me from asking politely on my last ride for a seat near the front, which I had yet to try. One of the gals went down the line and got a single rider from in the back to ride with me. Very, very nice. But that was for the event. I think on regular operating days they likely will be more strict.