The outpouring of praise for The Voyage among the enthusiast community has become downright unseemly. Those whom we normally count upon for their depth of knowledge and experience and for their ability to separate cold truth from hype have written paeans to this roller coaster that would be more at home in the letter column of Tiger Beat than in the hard-bitten world of the well-traveled thrillseeker. "Ooohhhh, The Voyage! Its sooo dreamy!"
Well, if you think youre going to get the same sort of treacly fawning out of this critic, however modest his credentials, then Im sorry to inform you that you couldnt be more correct. I love this freaking ride. It instantly shot up to the number two spot on my all-time list, ahead of such timeless stalwarts as the Kennywood Thunderbolt and such New Jack breakouts as Hades and Boulder Dash. It has ferocious speed, relentless pacing, abundant airtime, epic length, and the best final act of any roller coaster I have ever ridden, period. The ride quality that emanates from the wooden track and steel superstructure is, in my experience, unsurpassed; it is dynamic enough to satisfy the hardcore wood loyalist and smooth enough to send the casual parkgoer away reeling but unmolested. I consider it a modern work of roller coaster genius that cedes nothing in intensity or guts to any coaster Ive ridden from any era. I marvel at the daring that went into The Voyage, but judging from the reactions I saw in the station during the eight hours hours I spent intermittantly riding this coaster, it was a gamble that is paying off handsomely. No one whom I observed appeared unhappy or unmoved by their ride.
Yet lest I be accused of being carried away by the cult of The Voyage, let me just tell you that this ride isnt perfect. Some things that people love about roller coasters can be found in abundance along the route of The Voyage, but not everything. At no time does this roller coaster launch into triple-digit speed from a dead stop, and it doesnt even break the 200-foot height barrier. Not even once does it travel upside down. You cant stand up on it, and it doesnt have strobe lights or anamitronics, even though you could find any number of places to install them along its more than 6,000 feet of track. The theming is mostly boat stuff, buoys, and fishing nets. I didnt see any fire, superheroes, or cartoon animals. The trains travel exclusively above the track, and they dont swing from side-to-side. Moreover, although it twists, turns, dives, and climbs the walls, Holiday World has been very unhelpful in its refusal to name these elements. I mean come on, we all know what a hammerhead and Immelman are, cant you tell us what happens during that last quarter mile of track?
So, obviously, Ive thought this all through. Im not just having an emotional reaction to the fact that on some rides my thighs had more contact on the opening hills with the lap bar than my ass did with the seat. That the ride kicks into into its highest gear AFTER the break run isnt clouding my judgment. The lack of any calm moment once the train disengages from the lift chain cannot perturb my disinterested assessment. And if at any time I was momentarily alarmed by the speed of this ride or experienced any exhaustion and dry mouth by the end of its course, such effects quickly dissipated and did not allow me to forget The Gravity Groups inexplicable omission of a helix from the layout.
So yeah, I liked it, but you cant say I didnt warn you that it doesnt make julienne potatoes or that its hardly doing anything to bring down the price of gas or to resolve the vexing contradictions in Americas immigration policy. And, yes, I probably would have brought that double-wide trailer in Spencer County Indiana even if this thing had never been built. Only I decide what I like and do not like, and Ive decided not to dislike this coaster in spite of the flaws which I hav
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