TR: Gold Reef City, South Africa
Jim and Jerry
has changed since my last visit 3 years ago.
The landscaping is top-notch, the rides are impressive, the whole look
of the park has gone "professional", and things are really looking
good for this beautiful park!
It was a holiday in South Africa (heritage day), so the place was
PACKED. This park isn't set up for large crowds, and most rides only
have one train. This can mean long waits, but fortunately, a "long
wait" for this park is still less than an hour.
Admission is R65 (65 rand, or around $9) and is all-inclusive. Food
and drink is also much cheaper than in US parks.
Because of the crowds, we only had time to hit the coasters (we did
all the other rides on our last visit. See the article I did on SA
coastering in Rollercoaster! a couple years ago for all that info).
Anaconda: This Giovanola inverted once again blew me away and is
firmly seated in my #3 steelie spot (behind GeForce and SROS SFNE). It
has broken in nicely (my last rides on it were opening weekend) and is
running really fast. The "ring around the rock" section is even more
insane than I remembered. We managed a front seat ride, which is
great, since it is first-come, first-served seating (like nearly all
SAfrican park rides).
Golden Loop: FINALLY got to ride this (after it being closed the last
two visits) and it didn't disappoint. A Schwarzkopf type I shuttle, it
runs quite well.
Tower of Terror: This is the clencher. If Anaconda isn't enough reason
to get you to Jo'burg, this should do it. ToT is everything Oblivion
should've been. You sit in a HUGE ore cart with 8 seats (four seats in
two rows) and click up the tall lift. At the top, there's a tight 180
and you enter the structure of the mine shaft tower. That's where it
gets freaky. A chain assembly takes the car and slows it to almost a
stop. It C-R-E-E-P-S forward from there, allowing views of Jo'burg,
the casino next door, the park, and anything else you might care to
look at... except for the TRACK, which you can't see. Where Oblivion
has the floorless cars that allow you to see between your feet where
you are headed, Tower of Terror makes you wonder if there's even track
under you. The track bends impossibly steeply down, and yet the car
just CRAWLS. Steeper and steeper, until you can't believe it can get
any steeper. You still can't see track. Wonder turns to worry. Worry
turns to dread. Dread turns to disbelief. Steeper still. It takes
nearly a FULL MINUTE to go from horizontal to vertical. At vertical,
you can see the track. Straight down, with a slight twist to the
right, and into the roof of a mining building. A slight 'click' and
you're PLUMMETING straight down, twisting, you don't even see the
building that you crash through, then darkness as the car careens
through the underground tunnel, then up into daylight, around a
corner, and back to the station.
Seriously, my spouse was NOT too keen on riding this one, even though
he had been on Oblivion and liked it a lot. The hour wait didn't help
much, as we saw the typically reserved South Africans (totally silent
up the lift, around the curve, and in the crawl over the edge) go
absolutely BERZERK when the car finally let go and fell down the drop.
He was nervous. He liked it in the end, but I have to tell you that he
nearly had to change pants even before the drop(!)
All in all, a beautiful park with some killer one-of-a-kind coasters!
I hope to get a Tower of Terror page up on my website soon, as well as
some new Anaconda pics.
MINI: Car. Culture. Community.
K9660R
Tower of Terror: This is the clencher. If Anaconda isn't enough reason
<BR><BR>
The pictures I have seen of this thing are unbelievable! These photos say it
all:
http://rcdb.com/installationgallery1481.htm
Of course, riding it would REALLY say it all.
Ken
David Burton
Does this place make money??? *lol* who owns it? the Sultan of Brunei?
Benoīt De Groote
unhealthy G-forces", is that true ?
I'm looking forward to your pictures.
Benoīt
"David Burton" <zamp...@hotmail.com> schreef in bericht
news:7c1406c3.0310...@posting.google.com...
Jim and Jerry
wrote:
>US$9????
>
>Does this place make money??? *lol* who owns it? the Sultan of Brunei?
I don't know how they make money there.... even though the price of
R65 (65 rand) is less than a CD (usually around R95), and a decent
meal will run about R35 ($5), they STILL find a way to add a ride
every year or so...
maybe it's that BIGASS CASINO that sits on their property?
Las Vegas take note of Gold Reef's example! Don't be greedy! If your
casino is making you money, it is insulting for you to ask $5 or more
for ONE RIDE on your gimmicky coaster...
David Burton
Good idea though, a positive impact of gambling in society at least? ;)