The current #1 ride on this site has elicited some of the longest, most praise-filled reviews of any coaster Ive come across. Im not sure what I can add to this except to say that El Toro absolutely deserves all of the praise, as well as the top spot. Intamin has now done for wood coasters what theyve been doing for steel coasters for nearly a decade--perfecting them. If this is in fact how the next generation of wooden coasters is going to present itself, I say lets hope for a baby boom, because this was a truly phenomenal experience. I remember looking over at the first drop as the train ascended the lift hill and thinking I just couldnt believe how steep it was. Elated anticipation washed over me, and that anticipation didnt have to wait too long, as the wonderfully modern cable got us up the lift in record speed. Sitting in the back, I got to see the front of the train round the turnaround and plunge into that drop before me, only to be yanked a nanosecond later into it as well. Its really quite impossible to describe how steep, fast, and forceful that drop is, so youll just have to take my word that El Toro delivers one of the best first drops of any coaster in existence today. The ride then follows that up with two more hills that are simply astonishing. The train tears over these hills with such speed and might that the forces want to seriously launch you from the car. These first three drops are a perfect knockout punch. The turnaround is then reached, and while turnarounds are often just uneventful transition zones, this one totally floored me. It is so banked, so angled downward, and still so fast that I just couldnt have been happier. Now, on the way back, there are two or three hills that lose a bit of El Toros luster. Theyre not as steep, fast, or forceful, and I was praying to myself that the ride wouldnt peter out. My prayers were answered as the train sort of jutted up to the left, only to catapult down a completely unexpected, insanely forceful drop. This led directly to the staggeringly swooping back and forth turns that had us tilted on our sides as the trains careened through that portion of the course. A final bunny hop or two completed the ride, before the coaster returned a trainful of awestruck riders to the station. Hmmm, I guess I did have some praise to add! But like I said, El Toro deserves it. This is a wonderful new experience for coaster enthusiasts, and hopefully there will be many more like it to come.
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