A-Z Blogging - Adventure Parks - R is for Rolling Thunder

Rolling Thunder was Six Flag's Great Adventure's dual racing coaster.  I say "was" because the ride was removed at the end of last season to make room for part of the new Zumanjaro Drop of Doom ride opening this year.  Rolling Thunder was the second of two big additions to the park, debuting in 1979, one year after the then-revolutionary Lightning Loops.

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Rolling Thunder was the first wooden coaster at SFGA, and though I was never a huge fan, I did take a ride every time I visited the park.  Last September, I thankfully got to take one last ride on the really-not-so-old coaster before its demise, and it was kind of sad, I must admit.  So here's to Rolling Thunder, a nice coaster with a great name who's time ended much too soon!  Take a ride...

"R" Coaster of the Day - Rebel Yell - 

King's Dominion, Doswell, VA

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One of my favorite racing coasters of all time is Rebel Yell at King's Dominion in Virginia.  Of course, every time I ride it, I get the Billy Idol song stuck in my head for hours, and it's not really as fun as it once was, but back in the day, when the two coasters began together in a true race out and back, oh, that was pure joy! Check it out...

Now that we're getting closer to the end of the April A-Z Blogger's Challenge, now would be a great time for you to check out the rest of my posts thus far...

A is for Alton Towers

B is for Busch Gardens Pipe Dreams

C is for the Coasters of China

D is for The Derby Racer

E is for EPCOT Center

F is for Ferris Wheels

G is for Geauga Lake

H is for Holiday World

I is for Islands of Adventure

J is for Coasters that Begin with the Letter "J"

K is for Kennywood

L is for Log Flumes

M is for Magic Mountain

N is for Nitro

O is for Outlaw Run

P is for Pirate Ship Rides

Q is for Quassy Amusement Park

A-Z Blogging - Adventure Parks - I is for Islands of Adventure

Universal's Islands of Adventure is one of the main parks of Orlando, Florida.  It is the newer of the two Universal parks, opening up in May of 1999,  and it's the only park I ever visited by myself (long story). I remember loving the place when I went there, the entire setting of the park is almost cartoonish and very, very cool, but I also remember being a little disappointed that there wasn't more by way of thrills.

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Islands of Adventure is located across from Universal Studios, connected to it by the City Walk, an entertainment area with shops and restaurants and nightclubs.  The themed sections of the park are magical, to say the least.  There's Marvel Superhero Island, Jurassic Park, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, The Lost Continent and Seuss Landing, all very cool and all with their own little rides and attractions to go with. It was great, don't get me wrong, but only a half-day is needed to soak in the whole thing, and like I said above, there just aren't enough thrill rides for an enthusiast like myself.

Some of my favorite rides at Islands include The Amazing Adventures of Spiderman (a wicked, wicked ride the movies kind of ride!), Jurassic Park River Adventure, Dragon Challenge (formerly known as Dueling Dragons), and this ride, the best thrill ride they've got...

  

So you see, Universals' Islands of Adventure IS a cool place, but for me still a little short on the real, all day kind of fun I expect when I go to an amusement park.  Like my pipe dream wish for a Busch Gardens Asia, I'd make this one much bigger...

"I" Coaster of the Day - Intimidator 305 - 

King's Dominion, Doswell, Virginia

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Today's coaster is one that teased me back in July when I visited King's Dominion.  It is the most recent addition to the park's impressive stable of thrill rides and it sat idle for big chunks of the summer waiting for a replacement part, including the day I was there.  Talk about a tease!  Walking around all day salivating at what could have, should have been...that massive structure just waiting to hand out screams to eager passengers like me.  Ah well, at least we've got video!

Check out my other A-Z Adventure Park entries for this month's challenge:

A is for Alton Towers

B is for Busch Gardens Pipe Dreams

C is for the Coasters of China

D is for The Derby Racer

E is for EPCOT Center

F is for Ferris Wheels

G is for Geauga Lake

H is for Holiday World

Roller Coaster Trip, Part II: Flight of Fear and Griffon

Jeez, it's already been awhile since I blogged about my coaster trip to Virginia, and I've posted two articles on Examiner since then.  Busch Gardens and Kings Dominion are two world-class parks and it was fun to ride all the rides there, except of course for Intimidator at the latter, which has been closed for maintenance most of the summer.

Aliens invade Flight of Fear

The two pieces I penned on my Adventure Parks page are about Flight of Fear in Kings Dominion and Griffon in Busch Gardens.  The first one we had ridden in Kings Island in Cincinnati a couple of years ago and I had forgotten how good it was.  Flight of Fear is an indoor coaster, many of which I do not like.  All the ones I've ridden before, except Space Mountain in Disney, were disappointing at best, but this one is freaking awesome!

You would never know from entering the building what's inside, but soon after the darkness of the place and the sound of screams up ahead are excitingly intimidating.  Throw in a fun ride operator, who took pleasure in enhancing the experience for the most scared of riders by teasing them before releasing the linear induction coaster into the darkness, and a whole new element of fun is added to the experience.

The other ride, in Williamsburg, was one my pal Dita could not wait for me to ride and for good reason.  Griffon is one of the best rides I've ever ridden!  What makes this one so good is the makeup of the train itself (10 seats across, 3 rows deep) and the terrifying element of pausing at the crest of the first hill which gives you a feeling of fright like no other.  In addition, the ride is as smooth as anything and nothing but fun the whole way through!  Check out a video I shot of it below:

This ride was no doubt inspired by a coaster in Alton Towers, England, which I've been dying to visit ever since I first heard of it.  The ride there is called Oblivion, and here's a ride on that one:

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