Valravn reviews

We used the CoasterMania ERT to ride Valravn a bunch of times. The first drop gives good free floating hang time for sure. The zero-g roll, on the outer seats anyway, kind of feels more like your being guided around in the seat more than floating, buts its still a great part of the ride. That pop of air at the end isn't too shabby either.

I really really hope that they do something with RMC on Mean Streak or something higher intensity in general. Capacity not withstanding, all of the Intamin's always have longer lines than the B&M's from what I've seen. Gatekeeper and Valravn seem more family oriented or aimed at the general public in my opinion and neither are worth waiting more than 30 minutes for. Also, it seemed like Gatekeeper was running a little faster than normal during CoasterMania, and in the back row, it was relatively intense....for Gatekeeper anyway.

I disagree with CoasterCam, I would rate I305 above Gatekeeper, but that's just me. Maverick is my favorite coaster at the park.

I felt the same way. It did seem like Gatekeeper was running a bit faster. I definitely noticed it on the airtime hill and the zero-g roll.

Valravn is pretty impressive.

The view is beautiful, to get basically a 270 degree view and some hang time up there, wow. The whole behind the scenes deal would be worth it just for that alone. It's absolutely gorgeous. The drop is as expected, however the extra length makes this just perfect. Griffon always felt kinda "small" because by the time you drop very shortly after you're the pull out of the drop (a few of you laughed didn't you) and into the next element. This felt just right. The first immelman is sweet. It feels a bit longer, kinda Gatekeeper ish, nothing too special here, just a really awesome element B&M have def. perfected. The curve up to the second drop is pretty cool in a Corkscrew, fly over the crowd kinda sense. The second drop is the best drop out of the two IMO. The little kick of speed you have going through the brake run and into the drop gives just a bit higher pop of air.

Then from there the loop is great, but as Tony and others have said, the 270 roll is pretty sweet on outside rows. It's new, but not so new. It almost feels like the zero g from Banshee or even Gatekeeper, but it's still a fun element. The helix and airtime hill are very Gatekeeper/Fury 325 I feel. The B&Ms need just a bit more of an ending. It's great, but keep it fresh. I literally felt like Gatekeeper and Fury go through those last two elements very similarly.

All in all, best coaster so far of 2016 and now best Dive Machine. We will see as I get more to what came out this year, especially with Lightning Rod now open, but I'm impressed.

Gatekeeper had hard wheels on the first two and last two cars during CM. That meant 3-6 were smoother and had very little rattle. I noticed this at about the 6th time if my 19 ride marathon on it.

TwistedWicker77 said:

New aged B&Ms are not a thrill in my honest opinion. Smooth, YES. But high speed and thrilling (with the exception of Fury), NO.

The manufacturers don't build the rides that they think enthusiasts want, they build the rides that the parks ask for. That is, assuming the engineering is solid. B&M is pretty fanatical about getting exactly the ride experience they designed out of their machines. Intamin, not so much.

K.R. said:

Capacity not withstanding, all of the Intamin's always have longer lines than the B&M's from what I've seen.

We've been over this... queue length has nothing to do with popularity, but it sure in influenced by capacity (so it is "withstanding").

A great example of that was on GK the last time we were at CP, it was close to a station walk on. I have yet to see, or at least notice them pushing full trains out like they were. They were dispatching the station train well before the train on the course had hit the mid-course brake run. GK is already high capacity ride but they had to be hitting some crazy numbers that day even without a so called line in the que.

Valravn is better than GK IMO. However, I kind of wish the final airtime hill and second drop had a bit more intensity. Maybe dial down the MCBR just a bit so it runs faster through that section.

(I do agree with K.R... I really want to see RMC Mean Streak.)

K.R. said:

I disagree with CoasterCam, I would rate I305 above Gatekeeper, but that's just me. Maverick is my favorite coaster at the park.

I too would rank i305 above Gatekeeper. That does not mean that I would rather ride i305 over Gatekeeper. Reridability is huge to me. I can't marathon a coaster that beats the living hell out of me. That's i305's downfall.

CoasterCam said:

K.R. said:

I disagree with CoasterCam, I would rate I305 above Gatekeeper, but that's just me. Maverick is my favorite coaster at the park.

I too would rank i305 above Gatekeeper. That does not mean that I would rather ride i305 over Gatekeeper. Reridability is huge to me. I can't marathon a coaster that beats the living hell out of me. That's i305's downfall.

I love I305. Then again, I'm the kind of guy to marathon Magnum with no trims.

I can marathon Magnum as well. I have never had a problem on it and I find it to be a very enjoyable and comfortable experience in any seat. I305 I cannot ride more than 3-4 times in a row without a break.

the 1305 first season was one the most intense yet joyous coasters I have ever ridden. Sky rush at hersheypark offers a similar experience for me. I305 now, with wider curve after the first drop is more like Millie now, an awesome coaster but more thrill and fun then frightening. However on average i305 never has more than a 30 minute weight because people are scared to ride, there is nothing else in the park or at bush gardens that tall or that fast. But your right i305 after 2-3 rides will put you down. And the first year it opened, I did 3 in a row and was completely blacked out on the third try, lost my hat keys and wallet, staggered like a drunk person.

Valravn is great, it gives CP great balance. When I make my 7 hour drive' Millie and dragster are still what get us juiced, but if they are both down, man raptor, gatekeeper, magnum, maverick, wicked twister, Gemini, AND valravn?,,, that's a hell of a fallback plan. I mean I've been to six flags great adventure, and if say nitro and el toro were down, no way I could enjoy myself like I would at CP.

Jeff said:

DjTimmay said:

The second hill is almost pointless because they slam the brakes on before the drop.

Uh, you know the radius of the curve on that drop is at most like 30 feet, right? You do know what happens if you take that at high speed?

We are still in the middle of our journey, but the one thing we are starting to realize is that CP coasters although many, are not all that extreme anymore.

Neither are Six Flags'. You're just not used to them.

I'm not implying you should shoot off the damn edge at 40mph, but almost coming to a complete stop kills it. Simple as that.

As for not being used to the other rides at some of these newer parks. There may be some truth to that, but I've returned to SFGreat Adventure & Magin Mountain 3 times since the start of this year. I've logged over 30 rides on several of their coasters (El Toro, Twisted, X2 to name 3) They just keep getting better and better to us.

I love CP, but if I'm traveling half way across the US several times a year to visit Six Flags parks on both coast when Cedar Point is only a 5 hour a drive from me it speaks volumes!

To each their own. This is the opinion of our group.

I would say that magic mountain is alright, and x2 is extremely overhyped, but like you said, to each of their own.

Don't get me wrong, I love CP, it's like going home everytime at the start of the year. Many many memories with people there.

But BGW > CP or SFMM

I too thought SFMM was just alright. Last time i was there, there just finished track erection on TC so i didn't get to ride it. I'm sure it rounds out their coaster line up, but the only rides I found to be worth while there were X2 and Tatsu. The rest were just ok.

Valravn proves you can't judge a coaster until you've actually ridden it. The virtual renderings do Valravn's ride experience no justice; the free fall on that first drop is unreal, the visuals before both drops are amazing (I find myself staring at TTD during night rides and the 2nd drop catches me totally off guard, kinda like the T-Rex on Jurassic River Adventure at IoA), the floating sensation through the 270 roll and the airtime hill both make for a great ending to the ride. The pictures online do no justice to the sheer size and presence of Valravn; it dominates the area, dwarfs Raptor, the size of the actual track (compared to non-Dive Coaster B&Ms) is huge, and the interactions with the midway makes it hard to picture how that section of the park looked without Valravn. When this was announced I thought Valravn would be an OK ride. The dive gimmick in theory did nothing for me seeing as Wicked Twister, Top Thrill Dragster, and Maverick all have 90 or steeper drops; but they have a totally different feel. The ride looked short; but it's the same ride time as Maverick. I found the whole experience from approaching the ride on the midway, the details in the queue, to the ride itself to be incredible. I think Cedar Point hit a home run with Valravn.

Gplez90 said:
the only rides I found to be worth while there were X2 and Tatsu. The rest were just ok.

Full throttle, TC and tatsu are the worthwhile ones for me. Everything else is alright. I'll never understand why so many people think that it has a better lineup than cp, or even great adventure for that matter

CPNostalgia said:

Full throttle, TC and tatsu are the worthwhile ones for me. Everything else is alright. I'll never understand why so many people think that it has a better lineup than cp, or even great adventure for that matter

Until somewhat recently, Magic Mountain had much better depth coaster wise than Cedar Point. There isn't any other park where a 400 footer, a nice hyper, an intense Batman clone, a 4D, and a floorless aren't even mentioned. Still, between the marquee attractions, I give Cedar Point a significant edge, ranking the rides 1-6; Maverick, Dragster, Millennium, Twisted Colossus, Full Throttle, and Tatsu As for the park experience, I'm not sure if I'd rank Magic Mountain ahead of Kings Island, let alone Cedar Point.

Trying to stay on topic, even a little - I haven't ridden Valravn or any dive coaster. These reviews have me excited. As most generally rank it ahead of GateKeeper. I thought GateKeeper was much better than reviews made it out to be.

TwistedWicker77 said:

New aged B&Ms are not a thrill in my honest opinion. Smooth, YES. But high speed and thrilling (with the exception of Fury), NO.

Banshee shakes her head at you.

Agreed. Banshee always seems to surprise me with how fast it feels.