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certainly can'.t get as high a score as Knoebel'.s, but very entertaining nonetheless. i too, like others on this board, am a baltimore native, so trimper'.s is almost a home park for me (if one can say this, only having been twice in the last 10 years). i was traumatized by this ride as a wee youngun, and i recall getting lots of judgmental stares on the boardwalk as i cried into my dad'.s waist. i guess that was about 30 (?) years ago. well i took a spin this past weekend, and it'.s pretty formidable in the genre and fans of kitsch and boardwalk junk culture need to add this to their go-to list. to begin things,the cars themselves are noteworthy - very unique chunky uncomfortable wooden affairs. the ride ushers forth numerous moments of dipping swooping ".kiddie-coaster". action when the track guide disengages, and these are emphasized by the hard, ".2x4". quality of the car interior. then comes the interior. my wife was unnerved by the ride, though she states this is mostly due to fear of the thing breaking down and us trying to find the fire exits in the dark and trying not to bump around with rubber zombies or guillotines in the process. this, i think, is a good way to look at it. IMO, it is important to get fear anyway you can in an amusement ride. in fact, fear of ride ride failure is pretty high up my list of *good* fears for a ride to have. it really IS a hoaky, shoddy sort of ride. the guided track is so creaky, and the ride itself so uneven and clunky, that one feels the tension simply from awkward discomfort of snagging on the tow chains or clicking over poor track transitions. there are some ".intentional". trick tracks too, which are pretty darn fun. so... the gags are pretty goofy. what would someone expect? this isn'.t disney'.s haunted mansion, ocean city ain'.t orlando, and trimper'.s ain'.t busch. it'.s not as frantic or psychedelic as knoebel'.s. but there is a nice, long and convoluted track. there are a few purely dark passes and the water gag at the end definitely freaked out my wife. who know'.s what will happen with trimper'.s, and anyplace like it these days. this ride is a nice relic of a much sillier, kinda wacko era in amusements. this is a REAL DEAL old skool boardwalk dark ride.
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