http://strobelyte.blogspot.com/2013/06/a-look-into-my-taste-in-coasters.html
http://strobelyte.blogspot.com/2013/06/my-favorite-non-coaster-rides.html
http://strobelyte.blogspot.com/2013/06/my-favorite-parks.html
A little about myself for this. I'm from Cincinnati, Ohio, which makes Kings Island my home park. As of this particular post, I've been to 9 parks and have ridden 60 roller coasters, 45 of which are steel and the other 15 wood, along with tons of other rides. I'm a bit of a history buff as well with a lot of interests in how amusement parks and roller coasters started out and the various points in history which they were majorly affected. Along with opinion bits, this blog will feature news, park announcements, and reviews of rides and parks I've been to.
For my first blog post, I thought I'd bring up a ongoing series which I created when I blogged for Coaster-Net.com. This series will feature one coaster I've ridden every month, where I go on about how I was introduced to it and a summation of the ride, like how it came to be and a description. So without further ado...
For July 2013, I will go with Hersheypark's multi-looping Fahrenheit. I've been to Hershey twice, and during my second visit in 2008, I had the great timing in riding this 6 inversion scream machine in it's opening year. There were a ton of viral hints around the internet at the time, and Hershey came through with a pretty neat ride. It's a pretty normal looping coaster, with all 6 inversions back-to-back (6x). Designed by Intamin, the designer of such rides as Millennium Force and Volcano: The Blast Coaster, the ride features a few things which sets it apart from normal coasters though. The 121 ft lift is completely vertical, which combined with the seats which lean back slightly, feels more than that. However, if you really wanted a true beyond vertical experience, the drop will deliver that as it's angled at 97 degrees. You know that feeling on steep coaster drops where it feels like it goes under itself? This actually does that.
Photo courtesy of COASTER-Net
It can be quite the sight for those new to seeing it, and it is quite the unique first drop with the extended bits of negative g's you get when you drop down. With the set up of trains with only 3 cars, that drop comes up pretty quick, though it does have a nice but brief view of Hersheypark.
The ride starts in a large, wood, church-esque station. After everything is good to go, the train glides around a curve to the right before brakes take hold. This is due to the fact the lift uses 2 chain motors, which start and sync up before the computers let the train onto the lift. Once the chain engages, the lift pics up and after a few seconds, the crest is reached. After that short view of the park, riders plummet down that 97 degree drop reaching 58 mph. The ride then rises into the first set of inversions. The sequence of elements starts by the train doing half a roll to the left, then descending through a half loop back to the ground. The second inversion is the opposite of that, which the single double inverted element has been named a Norwegian Loop. The ride drops and reaches the far point of the course by heading up into the second set of inversions. This element is more common on roller coasters, known as a cobra roll, which the track visual mimics that of a cobra striking. Heading back to the station, the ride rolls through 2 corkscrews in a clockwise rotation, finishing the last head-over-heels maneuvers for the ride. The coaster has a bit of momentum left, which lets the ride curl through a high speed over banked turn (a turn banked at more than 90 degrees). The ride then falls below the lift before a small bunny hop lifts riders out of their seats. A curve to the right before leveling off into the final brakes.
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