Valravn reviews

Having been to CP now four times this year, and snagging 6 rides on Valravn (3 in the front row, 3 in the back), I am very, very happy with its addition to Cedar Point! It was even more fun to ride than I anticipated it being (I had only ridden ShieKra previously), and I absolutely LOVE what they've done with the whole new midway around the ride! There's very little I could add, that hasn't already been said in this thread, but suffice it to say CP has another winner on their hands, and I've definitely noticed a spike in crowds early in the season, compared to previous early seasons. People are coming out to the park in droves, and mostly all going to ride Valravn. This certainly makes for some nice, shorter lines for MF and Maverick, particularly early in the morning!

BTW, one of my rides on Valravn, during the early rider time, either the mid-course brake didn't catch at all (less likely), or it didn't catch fully (more likely), because we flew through that part of the ride, and went down the second drop with little loss of speed. As we were also in the front for that ride, it was easily the best of my 6 rides, as the intensity of the coaster never really let up! Has anybody else experienced this on the coaster? It seemed like it must have been an accident of some sort that it didn't slow us down much...

Slightly off-topic, but I had a chance to ride Storm Chaser at Kentucky Kingdom the other day, and ended up riding it 20 times, including 10 times in a row (3 without getting out of the front seat) during an ERT session. If you think marathoning Magnum is hardcore, go marathon that thing! lol I haven't ridden any other RMC coasters, but it sounds like they're mostly all similar in terms of airtime (with maybe the exception of Goliath), and SC was intense in a way I would describe as Maverick on steroids! Funny thing... The front actually is more intense than the back on it, and yes, the Blue train IS faster than the Purple train, for whatever reason. It also has an "ejector seat", and same as Magnum, it's the back row of the first car. Check that one out, if almost brutal airtime is your thing! Ok, sorry to digress, just thought I'd mention that since people were comparing Magnum and I305 above.

Oh, and one last thing, related to the conversation about capacity, and wanting an RMC to help with that... If we're talking strictly load times, from what I saw on Storm Chaser, I wouldn't expect anything close to B&M numbers from an RMC, due to their larger restraints, and all the issues checking guests of larger size, and making sure they "fit". Just something to be aware of, if you're not familiar with an RMC already.

CP Maverick,

The reason it picks up speed is the elevation change that you don't really notice until the pretzel inversions. It really is an underrated element to that ride and it gets me every time I ride it.

I love Banshee too, and really don't understand the hate coming from some people toward B&M lately.

I guess if people love guessing games as to when their favorite Intamin is going to be up and running, that's cool. But give me a coaster with a lot of forces and speed that I can generally find open all the time over Intamin's poor capacity and downtime any day.

We were finally at the park Wednesday and Thursday, and we'll have to be in the meh group. Only got one ride as it frequently wasn't running when we were in the vicinity. And we sat in the middle of the middle row. Boring.

Hope to try it again some day in the front row. The landscaping is beautiful though.

Chris

Front row makes a big difference. IMHO.

CoasterKyle1121 said:

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.

Raptor is still better IMO.

I wouldn't really consider Raptor a "new aged B&M"...

Everything built after Iron Wolf is a new aged B&M people. It doesn't even have to be a B&M!

darkrider68 said:

Front row makes a big difference. IMHO.

Front row on the end seats is even better. Sitting in the middle doesn't do much for me at all.

diggerg56 said:

darkrider68 said:

Front row makes a big difference. IMHO.

Front row on the end seats is even better. Sitting in the middle doesn't do much for me at all.

I'm hoping to drop some lbs before I go back in the fall so I can check out the end seats; extended red belts are all in the middle.

TwistedWicker77 said:
Raptor is still better IMO.

LOL, you and your sense of humor!

;-)

I like both equally for different reasons. The biggest thing Raptor has is the Cobra Roll and a fantastic helix. Banshee is great for the drop, dive loop, and that dive down the hill is really great.

To me, Raptor would be on par with Banshee if it didn't have the Cobra Roll. Because it does have it, it's behind Banshee, Montu, Afterburn, Talon and Flight Deck (CGAm) in terms of inverts for me.

thedevariouseffect said:

Banshee is great for the drop, dive loop, and that dive down the hill is really great.

Banshee also has vastly superior restraints, trains that are more accommodating, and is smoother than Raptor. This isn't to say that Raptor is especially rough, but there have obviously been undeniable improvements to both element design and track fabrication in the last 20 years that Banshee benefits from.

The one area where Raptor outshines Banshee is the end. Raptor's ultra-forceful helix beats the pants off Banshee's final element(s).

Totally forgot about the train design, and absolutely agree. I haven't actually been on Banshee at all this season. So far it's been Vortex and Beast only. I've really moreover been in the park to look around and relax after a big day at work, so not really a day trip to ride rides yet. I bet it's probably sacrilege to some of you here to know I've gone in the park, sat down somewhere, relaxed, and went home lol

I've often said that if I lived closer to either KI or CP, I think it would be part of my routine a couple nights a week to stop at the park, grab dinner, and maybe ride a roller coaster or two before going home.

If I worked in Mason, I'd consider going to the park on my lunch hour to get a piece of La Rosa's.

If you have a gold/platinum pass and all-season dining, why would you not do this?

I do have a pass, but not a meal plan yet. I try to avoid park food just a bit, trying to get a tad healthier. However I do enjoy the park atmosphere enough to make the venture in.

I def won't go for Larosas. That's probably the nastiest Pizza in the region. Cincy has chili and Pizza so dead wrong lol.

I'd probably get Graeters if I was going to KI that often. At CP I'd be eating Macho Nachos.

****...It's lunchtime now, and ice cream does sound great...

But...it's ganna be salad and a half Panini kind of day...

Thanks man :P

thedevariouseffect said:

I bet it's probably sacrilege to some of you here to know I've gone in the park, sat down somewhere, relaxed, and went home lol

No it doesn't. Sounds like a relaxing evening at Cedar Point to me.

Same here. Some of our fondest memories at the park are of visits where we don't step foot on a single ride.