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Personally, I dont think the animatronic dude in the booth looks much like a weatherman - hes not nearly coiffed enough! [You know what would be cool? If they based the AA on Steve Carrells character from Anchorman.] Anyhow, Thunder + Lightning is a large blue + yellow contraption, and the hollow supports make a nice thundery rumbling. Its a variation on the classic pirate-ship-style pendulum ride; props for originality - its one Ive never seen elsewhere. There are two pendulums (only 1 was running when I was there), each seats 16 people. Part of the variation is that the people sit back to back in rows of 8. So at the apex of a swing, half the folks are looking up, half are looking down. And the height of the swings is big indeed, well above horizontal to the ground. (Id guestimate a 110 degree angle.) When youre looking down you are really facing the ground. Not only that, but the size on T&L is pretty big, plus is uses a lap-wedge kinda restraint (similar to Nitro), no OTSR, so you feel pretty hung out there. The best seats are the ones that start out facing the mountain/Boulder Dash, because they are facing down when the ride swings out over the sidewalk, and the view of gawkers below you is quite a sight. Make no mistake, this ride delivers a really good rush. The downsides are that its brief (~1 minute), and in a minor annoyance, you might end up looking into the sun on the upswing (depending on time/weather conditions). Still, it gets the job done in that short time. Definitely one of LCs best.
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