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I returned to Six Flag Great Adventure after a 10 year hiatus, and I was most looking forward to El Toro over all of the coaster additions since my last visit. To my surprise and delight the crowds for the 2 days I spent at the park were light (at least from what I was previously accustomed to.) Thanks to some strategic and fortunate timing, I waited no more than 15-20 minutes total for the FRONT seat, although the longest wait of the night had nothing to do with standing in line (more on that later.)Over the course of my visit, I rode numerous times in the front and back. I have a little quandary with this ride being a wooden coaster. Intamin has made the smoothest wooden coaster I have ever ridden, but that ride quality has been stated ad nauseam. It IS a wooden coaster, but really too smooth to be classified as a “traditional” experience. “Wooden Hybrid” seems to be the term I would use. The wheels are oversized, run on nylon instead of metal-on-metal, and the track sections are connected with expansion joints. I imagine that the up-stops fit snug under the top-rail, as there is absolutely no “bounce” to the ride, and I do not recall seeing any bare spots on the crest of the hills that so many “traditional” woodies with air have. Not that this ride really gave me an opportunity to study that feature very carefully anyway. El Toro is a name most befitting this ride. It does not take much of an imagination to believe you are riding on the back of a bull that wants to throw you off. Fortunately, you are locked firmly in your seat. Even though this stapling prevents one from experiencing traditional airtime, you and your well-being are better off for it. The airtime (or uplift) is astounding. Certain ride dynamics remind me of Superman: Ride of Steel at SFNE. I would never have previously compared a woodie to a steelie, but as stated above, this is not a traditional wood offering. With no mid-course block brake, El Toro delivers great pacing like S:RoS. I found the front seat was my favorite as the air was superb. The first drop in the back is fantastic, and the s-curves are really wild, but my preference is the air up front. Furthermore, it feels a little flat in the section of track that runs parallel to and then under the “out” leg while in the rear of the train. The best moment of airtime occurs when the ride hops over into the middle of Rolling Thunder, as the top of the hill produces great ejector-air then yanks you down violently and slightly to the left. It really seems as if this bull has had enough and wants you off his back, but there you remain. The S-curves after this seem like his final attempt to dislodge you. They are taken with incredible speed and executed with dexterity. My only real criticism is the aforementioned section running along the out section, and the very end just after the S-curves. I found it a bit underwhelming, considering everything else this ride just threw at you. Anecdotally, my last ride of the last night was in the front seat with my 10 year old son. It was dusk as we ascended the lift, but we began to decelerate and the train stopped about 10 feet from the top. An employee made the climb up the imposing hill and advised us there was a problem with the lift cable. After 15 minutes or so 170 feet up, the ride restarted and by now it was dark. When the cable re-engaged, the train slipped back about 1 or 2 feet before the safety dogs took hold, causing most on the train to scream. I was even a little startled by this, but I thought it made the experience all the more fun. The rest of the ride went off without a hitch, although we had to de-train on the brake run outside the station. Overall, I feel this is the best ride in the park and easily the most fun. El Toro just ekes out a 10. Are there more of these Itamin pre-fabs on the horizon? I hope so, because I can envision these hybrids co-existing with the trads quite nicely.
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