I'm personally pretty keen to ride the coaster backwards when I get the chance,  and I'll definitely go forwards as well. What I don't understand is, if this has never been done before on a coaster of this size, why are people complaining? It may be a really good and actually give quite a different experience than the forwards facing seats. I personally wouldn't complain about it until I experienced the whole ride, in both backwards and forward facing seats. 

 

Edited June 13, 20178 yr by Sarm

^ Well said, Sam. No complaints from me either. The question I was going to ask is:

Is anyone considering riding this Backwards FIRST?

Most of the comments I've read are, "I'll definitely ride it backwards AFTER I've ridden it forwards a couple of times", but are we potentially missing out on a truly unique experience by not riding backwards first?? Riding forwards first will definitely 'ease the intensity' of your first backwards ride, and I just got to thinking, once you've ridden forwards, you can't go back (pun not even a pun in this instance) and thought I'd put it out there to those who love unique thrills, don't discount the idea of going backwards for your first DC Rivals ride.  DC Rivals Forwards is going to be an awesome ride, but riding it Backwards 'virgin' won't be an option afterwards!

(Just drunken Strop's 2 cent's worth!)

5 minutes ago, strop said:

Is anyone considering riding this Backwards FIRST?

Yup

Will depend on the wait, the anticipation once the ride is open and I'm in that queue won't allow me to wait in a longer line than I have to to get my first ride. 

I think I've decided that if it's an upcharge (which it should be) I'll ride it backwards as a one-off, then ride it forwards every other time.

Has anyone actually ridden a coaster backwards? I even find the Tree Top Flyer at USS nauseating when going backwards. I don't begrudge the fact that there'll be rear wards facing seats; I just hope they won't have to be cleaning them every couple of turns.

4 hours ago, iwerks said:

Has anyone actually ridden a coaster backwards?

I rode Le Vampire (Batman clone) at La Ronde backwards. It was great but my only issue that I had was not knowing where I was going I wasn't able to adjust my head to stop the dreaded head banging between the restraints.

I've also ridden The Racer at King's Island backwards which was really cool as the train next to us that we "raced" was facing forwards. They had timed it so that our train was slightly ahead of the forwards facing train so we could always see each other.

The closest thing I've actually done to riding a coaster backwards is Winjas at Phantasialand which has a backwards section if you seat at the back since it's the way Maurer spinning cars are made. It goes from the start of the coaster to the hairpin turns where the coaster starts spinning. Winjas is obviously no Mack Hyper and while I found riding the first section backwards fun enough, I still prefer riding forwards and seeing the track ahead.

What makes DC Rivals' backwards row even more intriguing is the supposed intensity of the layout. Judging by the construction, and based on comparisions with other Mack I've ridden (Alpina, and especially Helix), some transitions will be among the snappiest Mack has ever attempted.



On this picture for example, not only the S-turn looks pretty snappy already, it is built at a much lower height than the Stengel Dive it follows. With the supposed very fast pace the train will go through this element, we could expect really a really surprising turn at the back. Not seeing what comes next means you'll pretty certainly getting thrown around a couple of times!

However the first drop is arguably the most exciting element to ride backwards (again). Getting sucked into a steep drop with a twist, backwards sounds like a really wild dream! I actually found a cool reverse POV of Expedition GeForce, which features a much similar twisted drop, to show you what DC Rivals' drop could be:
 

DC Rivals' train is a little shorter than EGF's so the airtime will probably end up a little softer than of the German Intamin Mega, but it should still be pretty intense nonetheless! Also note the snappy hill towards the middle of the layout which resembles one of Rivals' hills.

Edited June 14, 20178 yr by Coaster Hipster

14 hours ago, iwerks said:

Has anyone actually ridden a coaster backwards?

technically, everyone who has been on TOT and SDSC has

Or buzz saw. If you want to count it as a coaster.

On 6/15/2017 at 4:59 PM, Tim Dasco said:

Or buzz saw. If you want to count it as a coaster.

Is Buzzsaw not a roller coaster now?

5 hours ago, Gazza said:

Is Buzzsaw not a roller coaster now?

Tower of terror over at Dreamworld isn't either according to MW's tallest and fastest roller coaster in the southern hemisphere claims.

MW is referring to a full circuit Coaster, which ToT is not 

Edited June 17, 20178 yr by Brad2912

Does TOT even reach anywhere near 160 any more?

1 hour ago, Gazza said:

Does TOT even reach anywhere near 160 any more?

Soy capp and two flat whites?

Being the tallest coaster doesn't count if you only use half the track.

On 18/06/2017 at 11:02 AM, Gazza said:

Does TOT even reach anywhere near 160 any more?

It doesn’t have to reach 161km/hr to beat Rivals it only needs to go 115.1km/hr

The GD is 119 high so it only need to go 2 metres past halfway of the tower to beat Rivals.

If the ToT still beats these stats and I don’t know if it does, then it would be great if DW grew a set and disputed MW claims.  DW should run an ad campaign. “Still the fastest” “Still The tallest” "First to go Backwards"

Umm don't you think that would sound just a tinsy bit desperate Skeet?  Trying to pitch an aging ToT against this would be a low road for DW to take imo. 

Showcasing the Park as an overall more complete experience with plenty of everything for everyone will help keep them in the game - and pretty soon with an exciting blindfold upcharge for rides like ToT, what better way to compete... right? 😆

I'm not talking about DW mentioning MW or what MW are doing at all.  I'm talking about DW reminding people what DW offer.  If DW coaster is faster they should say it or should we all just imagine what a fast coaster at DW would look like?

Well MW don't say it's the fastest or tallest coaster, they refer to it as being the fastest, tallest, longest and only Hypercoaster in the Southern Hemisphere 

Yeah, but that's kind of like saying that the first stock factory camry off the production line is the sleekest fastest biggest and roomiest 2017 Camry in the world...

 

however - that argument also works that it's the slowest, shortest and only hypercoaster in the southern hemisphere.

 

"Still the tallest, still the fastest, first to go backwards" would be an amazing ad to run.  So long as they don't draw the direct comparison and don't mention what's going on down the road at all I think it's totally fine.

4 hours ago, MickeyD said:

Showcasing the Park as an overall more complete experience with plenty of everything for everyone will help keep them in the game - and pretty soon with an exciting blindfold upcharge for rides like ToT, what better way to compete... right? 😆

When people are terrified on thrill rides they close their eyes in an attempt to make the ride less terrifying, blindfolds are very similar to closing your eyes.

I struggle to see how blindfolds will create a more intense experience. It's a great idea to open the park at night with all their "big 9" thrill rides running, but the blindfolds are unnecessary in my opinion, although hopefully they will get DW some extra money.

Edited June 21, 20178 yr by Sarm

4 hours ago, Sarm said:

When people are terrified on thrill rides they close their eyes in an attempt to make the ride less terrifying, blindfolds are very similar to closing your eyes.

I struggle to see how blindfolds will create a more intense experience. It's a great idea to open the park at night with all their "big 9" thrill rides running, but the blindfolds are unnecessary in my opinion, although hopefully they will get DW some extra money.

Have you ever done a ride with your eyes shut? It's pretty terrifying.

Apologies if this has already been said elsewhere, if there is no-one waiting for the backward seats, will Operators fill them from the normal queue or let the seats run empty?