This coaster is a gem! I've been a slave to it since 1992. I've heard about it for years, and was excited but a bit skeptical before going on the thing for the first time. It lived up to its reputation.
Even to this day, I still cannot get used to that first drop. It's quite intense for even seasoned riders. From the street the whole ride looks like a ho-hum kind of woodie relic. You imagine a Hershey Park Comet sort of experience. The first thing you notice while riding on it is the warped lift hill as well as the train going out of squareness as it climbs up this lift hill.
The first drop (especially in any of the back seats) is absolutely the most intense p$ss-in-your-pants experience on any coaster. As you go over the crest, it whips you into the heavily padded lap bar with a great force. You don't even see the bottom of the hill or the front half of the train...yet. When you do, you're in a standing position and it looks like you're being dumped into a pile of greasy lumber. There's a brief silence (you're too shocked to scream) while none of the wheels are making contact with the track at this point. Then you're slammed back down into your seat at the valley of the first hill which is actually BELOW ground level...so you do feel like you're going into the bowels of earth. While you make your way up to the first turn-around, you think to yourself "what the hell just happened there"? It truely takes you by surprise.
Actually the bottom of the first two drops go below the grade of the pavement level. This was a trick they used to get longer drops within height restrictions for above-grade structure. Most modern coasters boast great heights, but the bottoms of their hills are actually well above grade by several feet.
The rest of the ride is jam packed with more steep drops and nice turns. The Cyclone really keeps you on your toes at all times.
Granted, today's B&M-style steel thrillers are much bigger & faster, but you're in your nice well-designed comfy seat just passively taking in the intensity these rides deliver. But with the Cyclone, you must "ride" this thing like a bronco.
Unfortunately, there are more riders on the big themepark coasters which renders the Cyclone a low amount of overall reviews. Perhaps it's the Coney Island seediness that prevents the masses from ever experiencing this ride.
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