Special Features: Cliff's Amusement Park Review

Posted at 6:01 PM EDT (2201 GMT)

May. 31st, 2005 -- The main reason that Cliff’s Amusement Park was so high on my list of parks to visit when I moved to the Phoenix area was sheer curiosity. I had heard great praise for New Mexico Rattler, but not very much about the rest of the park. Besides a few pictures from online photo albums, I didn’t know very much about the park. So, when fellow ThrillNetwork Editor Chip and myself left Phoenix for a trip to Cliff’s Amusement Park, we had no expectations outside of New Mexico Rattler and the great things we heard about it. I think we both had the sneaking suspicision that we were on the verge of “discovering” something great, and boy did we ever.

We arrived at the park about a half-hour before opening and were fortunate enough to be allowed to ride New Mexico Rattler a few times before the park opened. We snagged rides in both the front and the back of the ride, which both gave different experiences. As for myself, like most CCI-designed roller coasters, I quickly became partial to the back car. New Mexico Rattler is an amazing blend of elements that hit you faster than a right-left combo from Muhammad Ali. It might be one of the few layouts that I failed to memorize after riding it over and over. Rattler combines the “rip you off the seat” airtime that you find on most CCI’s with a surprising amount of lateral G’s, tunnels and sheds, and turnarounds with airtime in the middle of them.

The one thing that really stuck out in my mind about New Mexico Rattler is the jaguar-like agility and pacing throughout the ride. The single six-car PTC train never loses any major speed from the lift to the final brake run, and it seems to only build up speed. Rattler has the same relentless force that you get on Raven as you fly through the middle and end of the ride. Needless to say, New Mexico Rattler flew up to the Top 5 roller coasters on my list. This is easily one of the best wooden roller coasters in America. It surprises me you don’t hear much about the ride, perhaps only it’s location in Albuquerque holds it back from being heralded as one of the best. If you’ve never had the pleasure of riding the New Mexico Rattler, trust me when I say it’s one of the best roller coasters you’ve never ridden. The great thing was that the ride only got better once the park opened and the train was full of people. It was as if someone put the ride into overdrive and stomped on the gas pedal.

While New Mexico Rattler is without a doubt the crowned jewel of the park, there are plenty of other things jammed into the park to peak your interest. When I say jammed, I do mean jammed. Cliff’s is a very small park, much smaller than I expected. Basically, it sits inside of a city block in the midst of a commercial area with car lots, fast food restaurants and shops to the north of downtown Albuquerque.

Cliff’s has a very solid collection of traditional amusement park rides. Two of my favorites were staples that you see at every park, but they ran well at Cliff’s. Yo-Yo, a Chance Wave Swinger was one of those rides. I’ve ridden many Chance Yo-Yo rides and even more Wave Swingers from other manufacturers, but Cliff’s Yo-Yo uses it’s location to provide an extra thrill. Yo-Yo sits out in the reservoir of the Rocky Mountain Rapids log flume. As the ride gathers a quick head of steam, it begins to tilt. While the tilt makes you feel like you can fall backwards or forwards, it’s even scarier with nothing but shallow water underneath your feet. With the ride running at full steam, one girl lost her shoe into the water. I have a feeling that many shoes meet their watery demise due to the speed and force that Cliff’s Yo-Yo has.

The other common ride I really liked was Cliff’s bumper cars, Demolition Disco. The building is 95% enclosed, and has some small 70’s theming, complete with a disco ball in the middle. However, they were playing heavy rock music, but maybe the operator just didn’t feel like continuity was an issue. It was funny to say the least. Regardless, Demolition Disco is an exciting ride, thanks mostly to the Reverchon bumper cars. The bumper cars ran as well as a bumper car can possibly run without having the name Lusse on them. The had a nice giddy-up to them and some people were getting whacked pretty good. Every person seemed to really enjoy the fact that these things had a little gusto to them, it sure beats doing it at 70 mph on the interstate.

Besides those two rides, the park has numerous other amusement park staples, a Tilt-a-Whirl, Train, Log Flume, Eyerly Rock-O-Plane, Carousel, Musik Express and even a few “dry waterslides” built by Whitewater West. Two other rides of note were Galaxi and Sea Dragon. Galaxi’s used to be fairly common among fair circuits and parks, but seem to be fading away. However, Cliff’s ran in great shape and even had some nice little pops of air and a forceful helix that wouldn’t quit. It also had a very nice and retro-looking entrance sign that I’m sure looks really nice at nighttime. I’m such a sucker for a good pirate boat ride, and Cliff’s has a Chance Sea Dragon. The one thing that their Sea Dragon had that I hadn’t experienced on other pirate boat rides (or maybe it just felt that way) was an extended time at “full swing” without the tire touching at all. It left a heavy tummy-tickling feeling that every pirate boat should have.

When the park adds a Chance Falling Star and an A.R.M. Drop Tower (appropriately named “Cliff Hanger”) later this season, you get quite a nice collection of smaller rides that compliment their signature attraction really well. I can personally vouch for the A.R.M. Drop Towers, as I’ve ridden the one that operates in Phoenix at Castles n’ Coasters. It’s a very fun ride with a nice jolt of airtime as you drop and a “soil yourself” quick stop at the very last second of the ride.

Beyond the rides, Cliff’s has a very quaint atmosphere that blends in well with its southwestern location. One thing that stuck out to me is that Cliff’s has thick, green grass. To most people, this would seem ordinary, but trust me, it’s not easy to properly maintain grass out in this part of the country. The landscaping was well done, especially near the entrance of the park.

In all honesty, I was somewhat worried that 15 hours of round-trip driving to Cliff’s wouldn’t be worth it. However, New Mexico Rattler alone was worth the drive and the rest of the nice things at Cliff’s was just an added bonus on top of it. I really had an enjoyable time and hope to make it back up there later in the year when I make a trip up to Denver.

I’d also like to quickly thank Lichele, Holly and the New Mexico Rattler crew for being incredibly nice and accommodating, even though they didn’t have to be. It just made a great day that much better. With that being said, let me break down the park and crunch some numbers.

Rides and Attractions: 8.5/10
New Mexico Rattler gets all the attention, but Cliff’s has a solid collection of other rides that made me spend a little bit of time away from a stellar wooden roller coaster. Things will get even better when Falling Star and Cliff Hanger open in the near future.

Food: 8/10
To be honest, it was a short day and there wasn’t much time to sit around and eat. I did manage to grab a hamburger combo for a very reasonable price and the fries had a very nice seasoning salt on them that left my mouth happy. One odd thing is that the park is neither a Pepsi or Coke park. They feature Dr. Pepper and 7-Up as the primary soft drinks.

Landscaping/Theming/Cleanliness: 9/10
In fairness, Cliff’s doesn’t have a lot of room for landscaping. They really pack in everything in a small space. What they did have was nice. They had some small western-town theming that provides a nice framing for Rattler as you enter the park. The park was very clean and you could see a lot of sweeps walking the park picking up trash.

Operations/Efficiency: 9.5/10
The operators on New Mexico Rattler was extremely meticulous in the way they check the restraints, so much so that it took a while to dispatch a train. It’s not something you’ll hear me complain about. I’d rather be on the safe side and wait a couple of more minutes. All of the rides had nice, long cycles, but not to the point where it made lines unbearably long.

Value: 10/10
$2 will get you admission into Cliff’s, with $20.95 getting you an all-day ride pass. There are plenty of rides to offset the price of a wristband, and the park is small enough that you can get multiple rides on just about everything without a problem. The food and souvenirs are also priced very reasonably. A trip to Cliff’s will not break your bank like it might at a major corporate theme park.

Overall: 46/50
All in all, Cliff’s is serves it’s purpose very well. It’s not a major thrill park, but a great regional amusement park that the whole family can spend a day at and have fun. To the coaster enthusiast, it might not look like a must-visit place, but it is. New Mexico Rattler alone is worth a long drive, especially if you find yourself anywhere in the vicinity of the state of New Mexico. The park might not have any other big-ticket rides, but it’s still very fun anyway. After all, isn’t that why we visit parks, to have a blast?