I wasn't sure which thread to post this in, so forgive me if I'm out of place here. And I know it's been open a couple of weeks, and I'm late on this, but anyone who has ridden this beast will understand my overwhelming desire to vent on how damn good this coaster is.
I live 6 hours from the Gold Coast, but as soon as I had a break in work and other commitments, I left in the early hours of yesterday morning (taking advantage of daylight savings) to get to Movie World at opening. And the minute I took the Pacific Highway exit, I wondered what I had gotten myself into. This thing towers over the park, it's intimidating, and incredibly photogenic.
But if I thought I was wetting my pants driving past it, I had another thing coming when the train exited the station for the first time, and I was staring at the massive stairway to heaven that is the chain lift. In a mixture of nerves and excitement for my first hypercoaster, I couldn't sit still in my seat, much to the amusement of the young lady next to me.
The chain lift is so fast and steep, you barely have time to gather your thoughts and pull yourself together before that awesome Joker face is looming right over you. And boy, is it a long way to look down from the front rows. But immediately after the chain let go of the train, all fears and regrets were immediately washed away. That first drop is the single greatest element I have ever experienced on a roller coaster (no exaggeration, although I'm fairly inexperienced to be fair). The air-time is on a level that we have not so much as gotten close to in Australia. And it's not just the first drop. The air-time hill blasts you out of your seat, before that incredible non-inverted loop, which is so fast and chaotic that you barely have time to think about it. Your backside bounces like a ping-pong ball on and off the seat as you're ejected with such force and intensity, over and over.
I agree with people that the Stengel dive is pretty forceless, but by that time I was having the time of my life, so who cares? The turn-around is another amazing pop of speedy air-time, and you pick up an awesome amount of speed diving around the bend. The twists and turns that follow, as well as the helix, were so much more forceful and fast than I expected - not to mention those bunny hills, which really pull the whole thing together with a few more incredible blasts of ejector air-time before the brake run. By the end, I was so high on what had just occurred - it was like all my Christmases had come at once...
And then I rode it backwards.
MY GOD. The first drop backwards is perhaps the most intense thing I have ever done - and I've been skydiving. Being dragged over the rise suddenly, and ejecting into the harness, before plummeting straight down as you stare back up at that looming Joker face... Incredible. I was speechless at the end, which gave the ride operators a laugh. The entire coaster is made so much better by going backwards. The elements catch you by surprise, which seems to at least double their force. Not to mention being at the rear of the train, meaning you're pulled with such force and intensity through the air-time moments, especially the non-inverted loop. The seats are comfortable enough that, even though you get thrown around because you can't prepare yourself, it's still a smooth ride that isn't uncomfortable in the slightest. I ended up spending $30 on backwards seats throughout the day.
And the staff? The staff do an incredible job. They were running through cycles at express pace, even when the line was backed up almost to the test seat. And the interactions with the operating staff when sitting in the backwards seats were enough to bring a big grin to my face every time. They know they have a world-class attraction on their hands, and they seem to enjoy that fact.
Movie World, you've knocked it out of the park. Heck, we could build another park around the park and you'd knock it out of that one. DC Rivals is the greatest thing ever to happen to Australian theme parks, and if you haven't treated yourself to a ride yet, you're in for a treat. Get in line, do it forwards, and then have a blue note ready to do the only thing that could possibly be better than that - BACKWARDS.
I wish there was a sixth star so I could give this more than just five, because by God it deserves it.