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Intimidator Coasters Review


sheikra_rocks
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Tonight I am in a hotel on my way back to Cincinnati, :(

Saturday EARLY morning, I am talking 2 or 3, we head down to Carowinds. It was around noon upon arrival. We do not rush when we take long road trips.

I go into the park, my partner heads off to go see a place he went to as a kid. He did join me later that day for a few rides, then we headed to Kings Dominion around 5 pm.

First off, When I get to Intimidator, the line is slap full. All the queues were being used. To my surprise, it only took 35 minutes to get to the top of the stairs. Rode in row 16 right side. It was fantastic! Airtime galore! Just like Diamondback in row 16! After that ride, the line was still around 35 minutes so I left and walked around. I needed the South Carolina side of Thunder Road... no wait! AWESOME! It was shockingly smooth in the front!

ink

Then headed back to Intimidator. Got in line, this time it was between 20 and 30 minutes to the top of the stairs. AS the train rounded the bend to the station, I noticed that 2 queues were being used. The line has shrunk to a 10 minute wait by the time I got through and rode. I rode it 6 more times, bring me up to 9 at this point.

My partner had returned, and he rode with me for my 10th ride, here we waited 20 minutes. Then we headed to Afterburn for more B&M love, then we headed out as mentioned above.

SO, that being said, here is what I think about the ride...

The first thing I noticed, was that it didn't shudder like Diamondback. The bottom of the drops are more spacious, and graceful. The banked turn on the second hill was amazing! The first trim was off, the turnaround was not as forceful as Diamondback's. The next trimmed hill was being used, but it was more subtle than Diamondback's, almost to the point of not feeling them.

After the MCRB, the turn was pretty cool, in the back it kind of whipped you over each hill.

Overall, I love the fact that it was so smooth, graceful, and full of airtime. I think it is just as good as Diamondback. 10/10:D

Rides = 10

Will talk about I305 later......

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Now, on to Intimidator 305! Ride count = 7

We arrive at Kings Dominion around 10:30am Sunday morning. On the way over to I305 I just knew there was going to be a line from heck. We get to the entrance, walk in, and straight to the station. We waited about 30 minutes for the front.

This ride is currently my number 1 steel coaster. It is indeed better than MF at Cedar Point IMO. The speed, the transitions, the airtime, the trims :blink: !

The trims on the first drop may take away from the speed, but they add something I think. While you are dropping, the train accelerates, when the brakes slow the train, your body wants to continue to free fall. Thus, unexpected air/freefall time. Then, relentless speed!

The new restraints are great. I hope they install them on Maverick!

This coaster completely exceeded my expectations.

We got in line again after our first ride, this time for row 16. Dead last! What a difference! I just can't say enough about the ride, words do not describe how awesome it is.

We ended up riding 6 times in a row. 1 in the front and 5 in the back. We went to go ride some other rides, mainly flats we had not been on, ate at the Pizza restaurant, which is 10x's better than our Laroza's crap! KD has deep dish pizza! We went on Volcano as well, which is my favorite launch coaster I think.

Came back to ride I305 one more time to get a photo. Then we headed out around 5 or 5:30.

Out of the 7 times we went on I305, we BOTH grayed out 4 or 5 times. Of course, we DID ride it 6 times in a row...LOL Also, we only waited 5 minutes for back rows of seats.

Intimidator 305 is a fantastic roller coaster, and needs to be ridden by all who dare call themselves a coaster enthusiast.

I rate it 15/10. :D

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I must disagree with you about Intrimidator at Carowinds. It does not deserve to be mentioned in the same breath as DB and Nitro. For those who have never been to Carowinds, imagine DB with trims that kill 75% of DB's airtime. But it is, after all, a B&M, so I wasn't terribly disappointed because I expected nothing from it. If you go to Carowinds, ride the trim braked wannabe designed to sell Dale Earnhardt t-shirts once for your coaster count, then enjoy Afterburn (one of the few B&M's that doesn't make me yawn), Nighthawk, Hurler, Caroina Cobra, Rebel Yell, and Carolina Cyclone, When it comes to that horribly short and boring thing called Vortex that they try to pass off as a roller coaster....Don't bother!

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Hmmm...un-relentless speed? Relentless speed would be constant with the perception of not slowing down. Un-relentless would be, I suppose, speeding up and slowing down or just slowing down very rapidly. :) Hmmm....after thinking about it a while, I bet you meant unrelenting...which means not giving up! Unrelenting speed...yep, there you go!

Anyway, I need to get back to KD before season's end and try that thing again. Perhaps it is no longer one of the worst roller coasters I have ever had the 'privilege' of riding. Before the braking, I liked the lift hill, and the brake run. Everything in between was just truly awful...a bashing for no reason, no airtime, too fast to be enjoyed and ungraceful transitions that were not even fun. I don't think I have ever been so disappointed in any other coaster anywhere.

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I too must disagree with you about Intrimidator at Carowinds. To me it was almost as boring as the B&Ms over at Busch Gardens. Diamondback is a way better ride. If you haven't been to Carowinds you are going to be disappointed if you are thinking it is anything like Diamondback.

Carowinds does have a cleaner park than KI. After going to Carowinds and coming back to KI last weekend it looks like a dump after seeing Carowinds.

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The first thing I noticed, was that it didn't shudder like Diamondback. The bottom of the drops are more spacious, and graceful. The banked turn on the second hill was amazing! The first trim was off, the turnaround was not as forceful as Diamondback's. The next trimmed hill was being used, but it was more subtle than Diamondback's, almost to the point of not feeling them.

After the MCRB, the turn was pretty cool, in the back it kind of whipped you over each hill.

Overall, I love the fact that it was so smooth, graceful, and full of airtime. I think it is just as good as Diamondback. 10/10:D

I think that sums it up pretty well, actually. Intimidator (CW) seems to be a tale of two coasters. My only rides were opening weekend when the trims were just as you described, first one not on and the second one barely touching. Outstanding airtime! I've also read other reviews where the first and second trims were both on, and those reviews have been less than complimentary. I guess it varies, but our rides were great and it's firmly in my top 10.

I do wonder about the Diamondback rattle. What I find interesting is that, of the B&M hypers I've ridden only Diamondback and the backseat on Nitro have had this issue. It's clearly something in the trains themselves, and you can see it pretty clearly if you're riding in an odd-numbered row on DB as you're moving down the track. It's like something needs to be tightened up, and I'd love to see that fixed sooner rather than later.

Anyway, I need to get back to KD before season's end and try that thing again. Perhaps it is no longer one of the worst roller coasters I have ever had the 'privilege' of riding. Before the braking, I liked the lift hill, and the brake run. Everything in between was just truly awful...a bashing for no reason, no airtime, too fast to be enjoyed and ungraceful transitions that were not even fun. I don't think I have ever been so disappointed in any other coaster anywhere.

I find it amazing how polarizing I305 is. I've seen a lot of people list it as their #1 and others really, really dislike it. I'll have the chance to ride the post-trim version here in less than two weeks and I'll report back with comparisons to my pre-trim rides then. My initial impression was that it was way too intense for the GP and those who didn't know how to ride defensively, so I'm hoping that's changed with the trims added. All I know is that I continue to see reports of short lines for the ride, which can't be good on your brand new multi-million dollar attraction.

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