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I rode the Great Bear for the first time about 4 years ago. I hadnt been on a ton of B&M inverts and Im sure I was comparing it to its big brother Alpengeist. I rode it at night and the wait was ridiculously long. For some reason, I didnt really enjoy it. Anyway, on a return trip I was excited to give it another go and see if my opinion had changed. First off, the Great Bear feels a lot faster than it looks. Its a pretty relentless, speedy 58 mph. After the lift hill you enter a helix before the first drop. Even though you only do a short drop into the helix you get some pretty good gs. Next, you hit the real drop and man is it steep! After the dive you fly right into a pretty tight vertical loop. Then you scream out of that into a short section of flat track right near the ground on the banks of the stream. This sets you up for my favorite inversion on an invert, the Immelman. After the sweet, smooth Immelman you go right into a forceful zero-g roll. Seems like some dont like the rest of the ride, but I loved it. The hard swing by the Sooper Dooper Looper feels like something right out of Top Gun (The Movie). Its a very fighter jet-like manuever. Next, you go through the wingover which is no joke and again is pretty forceful, and last as an added bonus to all the action I passed by a loaded train from the Sooper Dooper Looper flying through the loop. You end up with a fairly short ride, but every element is awesome. The Bear has a chip on its shoulder or something, I got a lot of unexpected intensity, but never roughness. This bear wants blood, not picnic baskets. A great ride, with an interesting layout. Im glad I re-rode it. Final Rating 8.5 (Great-Approaching Excellent)
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