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 Review of El Toro @ Six Flags Great Adventure
3 Rating Posted by: erinys on 6/17/2006 7:25:00 AM
El Toro is not an average straight out & back, up and down woodie. B&M and GCI seem to have hooked up and had a love child in Madrid or Mexico City, that mustve been kidnapped by Intamin. It is fast, silky smooth, and curvier than Linda Carter as Wonder Woman. Maybe it’s just a really good faux wood finish on steel. Approaching the station, I love the broken looking façade where it abuts the track, however the anatomically correct (I guess) bull statue in the courtyard outside is obscene. The train loads slowly, since ride ops must place the lap bars down for you, and apparently must ram them in until they are dangerously close to vital organs – you’ll forget that soon enough. It seems that if they don’t have enough pressure on the passenger’s body the dispatcher receives an error message, so until the ride ops are more experienced you will hear “Check one, check six” so the ops can reset and re-jam the restraints.

Once the train is finally dispatched, you will curve around and approach the lift which starts up normally but then switches into a smooth clickety-clackless turbo. At the crest of the lift, you turn to face first Kingda Ka, then Rolling Thunder far below, and then just rolling hills of wood stretch before you. Then you plunge 176 feet down at 76 degrees. After trying the third row, middle, and back twice, while I feel like I am staring straight down and my bottom is full out of my seat, that descent just doesn’t last long enough for me to call it ‘white knuckle,’ but man is it fun! I have an acquaintance who always tries to greet and bid adieu with a ‘high five,’ and I’ve advised him that unless I’ve just scored a touchdown, it is not a ‘high five’ moment: THIS was a ‘high five’ moment, I just didn’t fear for my life. Towards the front of the train, the first set of head choppers did make me fear a concussion a little. While the next hill was smaller, to me it was more thrilling, and the third hill was also marvelous, ending in more headchoppers running under the returning track. The turnaround curves you up, then down and around at slightly more than 180 degrees while you feel like you are about 80 degrees on your side. I definitely prefer the right side of the train for that. There’s another hill which is just nice followed by a bunny hop/speed bump. And then you turn towards Rolling Thunder.

Reviewing some old SFGAdv fan sites, the really knowledgeable coaster lovers knew from last September when it was first announced with drawings that this minor-looking hill was going to be, well, awesome. On every ride, in every seat, I felt like the human cannonball as we crested over Rolling Thunder’s track. The twister section has some nice banks, including a 270 degree turnaround, but for me this was an opportunity to catch my breath and count all my pieces. Another bunny hop, brakes, and back into the station.

This is an amazing ride, easily the best I have been on in my limited experience. I don’t expect to come across anything better, or equal, anytime soon. The demonic bull on the front of the train can keep his evil eyes, but he really should be grinning from ear to ear.
 
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