Part 2
Magnum XL-200 (1989) - OOohh, this is a fun one to review! I know folks who LOVE this coaster, and I know those who really don't. For me? Well for the first ride in the front row, I was totally digging the first half of the ride, and then my thighs HATED the return portion. (Literally just my thighs.) As cool as the trains look, the lap bar is unfortunately not made to handle someone for strong airtime, which the ride has plenty of in it's bunny hills at the end. It's a unique conundrum to say the least! Thankfully I remembered a tip mentioned a while back to tighten your seat belt as tight as possible, I gave it a shot for my second ride and voila, it was totally enjoyable the whole way through! So knowing that trick, I certainly do like the ride. Just be sure to tighten that seat belt otherwise you'll discover the painful side of airtime. Finally, loved the effects the ride had and that's a cool station as well...though for some reason it reminded me of a Mall. ( "The Future, is in the PAST!" - Mabel Pines, 2012.)
Raptor (1994) - So here's a coaster I've been looking forward to ever since I saw it on America's Greatest Roller Coaster Thrills, I do love me a good B&M invert and this fully delivered the Kick-Ass ride I was hoping it would give! I was in the second to last row and that was wonderfully snappy in all the right ways, and it was incredibly smooth for me too since I didn't have to do much of a defensive riding position on it either.
Rougarou (Originally opened as Mantis in 1996, Reconverted to Floorless in 2015) - Out of all the B&M's in the park, I have to put this one on the bottom. It's the roughest of the B&M bunch by a clear margin, and while I did enjoy it from avoiding most of the headbanging with a defensive riding position, it really is a one and done. Also, while it does have a unique funky layout, I shudder to think how that went for a stand-up.
Woodstock Express (1999) - *Didn't ride, been on plenty of roller skaters before.
Millennium Force (2000) - The world's first Giga coaster, and one that's still highly regarded to this day. I had my first encounter with Giga's last year with Orion, which I did enjoy! So how does the original stand? Well, I can clearly see why so many love this coaster! From the sensation of speed, to the hills which give a nice batch of airtime, to the fact this ride just gracefully glides through the layout, this coaster is another one for the Just. Plain. FUN. category and it's insanely re-ridable! I really enjoyed MF, and it really makes a good case for my 2nd favorite coaster in the park. It's a coaster that didn't just break boundaries, it's a good coaster to begin with. I also liked the hype music for the station as well as the toaster over station which looks more like the 80's than the 2000's. ( "The Future, is in the PAST! Onwards Aoishima!!!" - Mabel Pines, 2012.)
Wicked Twister (2002) - *Unfortunately didn't get to ride since it was pretty temperamental, and the one chance we got was cut short since it broke down when we were in the station, and we got our reservation text for Melt. I've been on Steel Venom at Valleyfair, so I know I would've liked it, but wasn't missing anything too big.
Top Thrill Dragster (2003) - The World's First Strata Coaster, and still one of the tallest and fastest around. Is it a One-Trick-Pony? Yes. BUT, it does it's trick incredibly well, since that launch is insane! I'm normally pretty good at handling launches, but this was the first one where I was legitimately nervous for my first time. Watching it in person is a lot more intimidating than seeing it on video! But ultimately I really loved the punch this coaster gives. If something's gonna' be a One-Trick-Pony, I prefer it being something like TTD where you're gonna' get a great rush!
Maverick (2007) - Another crazy creation by Intamin, so crazy that it had to remove it's heartline roll before opening to guests! This is one I was looking forward to for a while, since it looked to pack quite a wicked punch. Not to mention I was intrigued by hearing that this ride is similar in ways to IoA's Velocicoaster, so I wanted to see how that compared. Well, both coasters have two launches and essentially two parts to their ride. A very twisty and inverting first section, followed by a much faster and wilder second half to finish things off. Both have great twisty elements and airtime, and are worth a ride or several.
Ultimately, I really did enjoy Maverick. However when it comes to personal preference/rating, Velocicoaster is the bigger and better variant of this. Doesn't mean Maverick is a bad ride, far from it! Velocicoaster took the good from Maverick and improved it quite a bit.
So that's been quite the several decades of coasters, Part 3 will tackle the current generation of coasters at the park.