| Six Flags Elitch Gardens 9/9/01
I use the Griswold system to rate parks and rides. This ranges from -3 for bad to +5 for good. 0 means I like a ride, but only just.
The Park
Pay-One-Price: +2
Another holiday, another Six Flags park. Despite hearing so many bad reviews about the place - several trip reports I'd read rated it the worst Six Flags park, I was looking forward to my visit. I always thought comparisons with other Six Flags parks were unfair anyway, as Elitch's four coasters are never going to compete against the 15 at Magic Mountain, or the 10 at World's of Adventure, to name but two.
Therefore, if you take this park on it's own merits, then it isn't a bad little place at all. Yes, there are only four coasters; three of them "off-the-shelf" models. Yes, I had ridden everything by 3 o'clock, was bored by a quarter-past, and by half-past had made the decision to leave. However, given it's location and the population it serves, it doesn't need to be any bigger, unless grassland, prairie and snowcapped mountains are suddenly going to be making a visit, as that is pretty much what surrounds Denver for about 400 miles in every direction. It was also reasonably clean, easy to navigate around, and conveniently located, smack in the centre of Denver. It's just as well it is located here, as the total lack of signposts on the approach roads mean you're forced to find your way using the drop and observation towers as landmarks, and you end up sort of stumbling upon the car park almost by accident.
This leads onto what can be improved, and there are several things. One is the staffing levels; some flat rides had only one operator, meaning that it was taking three or four minutes to load and unload. This of course meant that queues grew long quickly, despite the park not being crowded at all. Also, several rides, including the Observation Tower and Disaster Canyon rapids, were not operating. As the saying goes, one down ride is OK, two perhaps questionable, but any more than that is beginning to look careless. Then there is the matter of pricing. We paid $22 to enter, with a $10-off coupon, and I would not have liked to have paid the full entry price of $32, as there were not enough rides to justify it. However, I think it is set at this level as there is a waterpark included in the entry fee, but I'd have thought it would be better to have two separate entry prices, one for the park and one for the waterpark, as not everyone (like me) is going to want to visit both.
The Coasters
Twister 2
Type: Wood, Twister
Features: N/A
Manufacturer: John Pierce
Opened: 1995
Inversions: 0
Ride Time: 1m 30s
Max Speed: 50 mph/ 81 kph
Highest Drop: 80 ft/ 25m
Rating: +3
This coaster is a replica of the original 1964 Twister, which was unceremoniously demolished when the park moved to this location in late 1994. I never rode the original, so I can't compare the two, but from comparisons I've heard, it must have been something really special, as this newer version wasn't bad by any means. The first small drop and turnaround off the lift is novel and fun, and the violent pop of airtime on the double-up after the second drop is as fierce as it is surprising. There is also moderate air at the crest of the first hill after the main drop. This is far more noticeable in the front of the train, which means that it's a better ride in the front than in the back. Don't expect there to be airtime in any othr part of the ride however, because there isn't any. However, there are plenty of good lateral G's as you travel the twisty circuit; this is especially true in the extremely fun tunnel near the end of the ride. The roughness was also just right; not too bone-jarring, just "rickety" enough.
All-in-all, quite a good ride. The lack of airtime is rather disappointing, however. Despite it being a twister as opposed to an out & back, a good twister design, something like Ghostrider or Megafobia, will deliver negative G's as well as laterals. Whilst not a boring coaster by any means, there wasn't the constant change of speed, direction or G forces that thiose two coasters offer.
Sidewinder
Type: Steel, Shuttle, Straight
Features: Catapult Launch, Single Loop
Manufacturer: Arrow
Opened: 1990
Inversions: 2 - 2 vertical loops, 1 forwards & 1 backwards
Ride Time: 55s
Max Speed: 45 mph/ 72 kph
Highest Drop: 47 ft/ 14m
Rating: 0
This is the weakest coaster in the park. For starters, climbing 60 feet into the air to the station is not fun, and in true Six Flags style, the loading time was slow. The ride itself is rough, and I don't understand why the train stops on a level stretch of track before it is launched backwards, instead of rising up and falling backwards straight away, like the Schwarzkopf shuttle coasters. The only redeeming features on this ride were the OK positive G forces at the base of the vertical loop, these were especially noticeable when going backwards, and the stomach-flipping inertia, albeit for a split-second, upon reaching the crest of the two drops.
Boomerang
Type: Steel, Shuttle
Features: Multi-Element, Two Lifts
Manufacturer: Vekoma
Opened: 1999
Inversions: 6 - 1 vertical loop and 1 boomerang. Each is taken forwards and backwards.
Ride Time: 1m 30s
Max Speed: 48 mph/ 80 kph
Highest Drop: 125 ft/ 38m
Rating: +2
This is the second of the park's generic coasters, and like the other two, it's only average. It gets it's positive rating because it was actually reasonably smooth for this type of coaster. Indeed, even round the boomerang inversions, which on older models are sometimes real headbangers, the roughness wasn't too bad at all. It's a pity that these coasters do deteriorate so quickly, as they do pack a punch in a relatively small, short ride. As it is, I'm sure that in a couple of years time, this model will have descended to the "Boomerbang" status of other models.
Mind Eraser
Type: Steel, Suspended Looping
Features: Multi-Element
Manufacturer: Vekoma
Opened: 1997
Inversions: 5 - 1 rollover, 1 half-corkscrew, 2 in-line twists.
Ride Time: 1m 50s
Max Speed: 55 mph/ 90 kph
Highest Drop: 95 ft/ 29m
Rating: +1
Again, another average coaster. During the first half of the ride, I was almost enjoying it, as it wasn't too rough at all, which, like the previously mentioned Boomerang coasters, is a feature of older models of this type. However, the second half brought me roughly down to earth, as it was almost unrideable, and I had to fight to try to keep my head attached to my shoulders. It does get a favourable rating for the first half however, and this meant that the rollover inversions were taken reasonably smoothly. When this is the case,, these are quite fun. It's just a pity that the ride is downhill - no pun intended - from there.
Other Rides
The park's other rides are of a similar standard to their coasters - i.e. average. The Chaos (0), Troika (0) and Rainbow (+1) flat rides are all OK, as are the Sea Dragon (0) pirate ship and the strangely-named Hollywood & Vine (0). Better is the Tower of Doom (+1) freefall drop tower, which is over 200 feet tall and has the added bonus of great views of the Rockies from the top. Also, the Shipwreck Falls (+1) chute-the-chutes ride doesn't just get you wet, it gets you absolutely soaked to the skin. The park also possesses a Huss topspin, the Shake, Rattle & Roll and a skycoaster, the XLR8R. The latter is an upcharge attraction, but you'll have to read another review for a rating of it, as I'd have rather had all my teeth removed with a pair of rusty pliers than ridden it.
__________________
Andy Rathe |
Linear Mode
