This past Thursday I got a chance to ride the new Dark Knight coaster at Six Flags Great America. Overall I enjoyed the ride experiance and thought SF did a very good job with the budget they had. My big review below will be SPOILER LOADED so if you don't wanna know about the ride then scroll on to a different blog post.
The SFGAm version of the ride features about 75% of the queue line inside what used to be a theater at the park. This is good because when its hot out this line complete with air conditioning will feel excellent. This indoor section of the queue line features Six Flags TV, which will be sure to pass the time while waiting in lines that will be long in a few weeks. About every 5 or so minutes a large group of guests are let into a preshow room. The preshow room looks like this:
The preshow is VERY WELL DONE honestly this would be up to Disney/Universal standards as far as preshows go. The preshow consists of a press confrence by Harvey Dent (a character from the upcoming film) and talks about Gotham Crime, Joker Attacks, Batman etc. Halfway through the press confrence the feed on the tv starts cutting out and the Joker takes over. Joker lighting fills the room and an ominous video is played on the screen. Then lights flash near the door and the group is one its way out.
From here there is actually quite a bit more queue and could be up to 15 more minutes until you ride, depending on where your at in the preshow room. This part of the line features a cool effect with a screen that utilizes 'face detection' technology to put jokers mask on all guests that pass by.
The station is themed towards a subway station and features some very awesome cars:
The cars load pretty slow (maybe 2 cars a minute which would give a capacity of 480 guests per hour, not great). The ride itself is just the standard wild mouse layout with some theming thrown in. Some of the effects are pretty neat (a hallway wear with sound and lighting graffiti effects, jokers men slashing through a billboard, and a truck being shot at). The ride is far from immersive theming and has sections of the ride which are just dark with nothing going on. But overall I thought the ride was pretty enjoyable, I like mouse rides so one thats indoors with some neat effects is right up my alley.
I think families will love this ride, while people that are over 13 years old without kids if they wait a long time will probalby feel a tad ripped off.
So I give The Dark Knight Coaster: THUMBS UP.
37 comments:
I waited an hour and felt more than a tad ripped off...
worst ride in the park no lie... it makes skull mountain and the runaway train seem thrilling. I want my wasted hour back. it wasnt that dark, very little theming once in the seat and not 1 actually drop... yuck.
Completely agree with other post. Compared to this ride, Skull Mountain was as good as Nitro. Don't waste your time.
It was so bad that I saw people wearing shirts that said "I had more fun making this T-shirt, than I did on the Dark Knight!"
I seriously thought that the video was better than the actual ride...
it wasn't that great.
I got there the Friday after the park first opened. When we first asked the guy working the door what the queue was he said 2 hours. We decided to come back later. If I had actually queued for two hours for the thing, I would have been livid. Its a ride design straight out of the 80s and the effects don't make up for it. If you insist on at least checking it out, I recommend right at the end of the day, you'l get on in around 20/30 minutes. Really awful ride IMO.
If you look at this ride from a "family" point of view, which Six Flags certainly didn't advertise it as, you won't be mad after riding it. However, when they list it as a "MAX" thrill rating on their website, you're expecting more than family fun. What you get is a ride made for 5 year old kids. No lie. This is definitely not for anyone over the age of 8. They could have saved their money and advertised "Ragun Cajun" more which is a much better ride. BTW, I rode this at Six Flags Great America.
Do not go on this ride if you are pressed for time. It is definitely not worth it...at all! I was very excited for this ride, I had been watching previews online and everything. After the ride I asked myself, what was that and why did I go on it? Trust me, I will never, ever stand in line for that ride again.
**little kids (ages 5-8) might enjoy the ride. Anyone else-no way!
Wow, looks like I am a rare breed in being someone who liked the ride.
I guess I went in with low expectations, as Six Flags isn't known for theming.
I went today and waited almost 2 hours, I know, I'm a sucker! But I went blind and it said MAX thrill with warning signs and the whole bit. I LOVE the other great america so I was hoping for another good ride. It was beyond bad, it's HORRIBLE. The movie is well done but since the coaster is suited for small kids it's too dark and intense at the end. I do think the whole thing is a neat idea kid ride but they should theme it Bugs Bunny and the movie could be a cartoon where he goes down the rabbit hole and the ride is that experience for humans. That would be a cute ride! BTW we rode with a 7 year old boy and his mom and he thought it was very lame. We also heard a 5 year old ask his parents 'when do we get on the ride?' after we got off. A 5 Year old thought the coaster was just another part of the line like the movie. UGH UGH UGH.
I wasted an hour and 45 minutes of my life to check out this ride. I was initially going to back out b/c of teh wait but my husband insisted. I was tortured in long, zig zagging lines and then into different rooms with videos that had absolutely nothing to do with the ride! As soon as we got on we saw it was barely a roller coaster. It was one car, and no harness. What does that tell you?
It basically goes around and around, jerking you at corners. I was seriously ready to fall asleep. Dare they call it a "thrill ride". I was not thrilled.
This ride was the absolute worst. May be exciting for younger kids, but for adults don't waste your time. I waited 2 hours for that. 2 thumbs way down. The ride belongs in bugs bunny land. Can't wait to the movie release though!
HORRIBLE!
We waited more than an hour and not only did the preshow scare my kids (6 & 9) to the point that they wouldn't get on the ride, but when my husband and I rode without them we were beyond disappointed.
I'd rather ride the Winnie the Pooh ride at Disneyworld a thousand times than ever go on that ride again.
Skip it and take the kids on the Viper instead.
It made the rest of the day suck. I really thought that there was more when it was over. I may want to kill myself and I am super pissed and yet still a bit shocked that they made a coaster so...family-oriented and the movie diefinately isn't. Don't waste your time and go on Ragin' Bull instead. Or American Eagle. Or even superman or giant drop. Anything, but don't wait. Maybe kids would like it, but seriously...only 8 year olds and younger.
A Responce from CoasterBoy:
You think the Dark Knight is good? It Blows and is pointless, the Pre-Show serves almost no purpose. the queue line from the Pre-Show to the Ride is boring and pointless. The Major Theming is just a step above Halloween Stuff in People's Yards. The Ride is barely themed to the Movie or Franchise. Batman is 1000times more themed and that was built for 8 Million Dollars compared to 7.5 Million for Dark Knight. BTW, the most themed Ride I've Ridden is Resse's at Hersheypark.
My friend who has Ridden Rock N Roller Coaster, Hulk, and Spiderman says the ride is less themed compared to those coasters than you say. The Ride is also slightly more rough, Slower, Less Capacity, And Shorter than Ragin Cajun.
I feel about the Dark Knight as you and Clint Felt about "Planet Snoopy" at Cedar Point.
My boyfriend and I were so excited to go on this ride, with all the hype six flags put out about it. It was the first thing we went to after getting into the park and actually werent bothered that the wait was over an hour thinking it would be a awesome ride. After watching the video clipped we were pretty dissapointed we werent directed straight to the ride and had to wait another 15 minutes or so, that was a let down right away. Then actually getting to the ride itself and seeing the carts we were a little surprised. This was the worst coaster I have ever been on... a total waste of time and we were a little bitter after getting off. They should def. not be advertising the way they are.. it's a rip off. Hope to see this one go fast.
man i sat in line for an hour in the blazing sun to get this ride i thought it was going to an upgrade to skull moutian but after i got inside i noticed the little cars where similar to the wild mouse and thats exactly what it was only in the dark the ride is booty booty booty and booty again what a complete waste of money to build that the batman and robin chiller should have been left there rather than being torn down for this crap
This ride sucked so much. I'v been waiting in line for about 3 hrs. and on our way in i saw people coming out with thumbs down booing and saying it stunk. I also thought six flags wasted peoples money from there outragous prices on ads for a ride that isn't that good. Rating on thrill and excitment: 1 Star.
The day we went to sixflags i was excited to go on the dark night coaster. But the line was the longest in the park 4 hrs. just like another person said i also did see other people booing on their way out. I think they should get rid of it. Its giving sixflags a really bad rep. and bad rep can end up losing its people.
i have not gone on the ride but i hate the advertising and i hate the waiting time and the ride looks pretty boring
To the people who thought this was a bad ride, just shut up, you put your expectations very high, what were you expecting from this ride? Flames shooting out of your cart? A huge drop as of the Raging Bull?
Psh please. Six Flags did a great job on the ride, if you feel like yo wasted time on it you should've gotten a flash pass, we reserved a spot on the ride with only 2 hours to wait but as we waited we got on 2 rides and was rushing to get our spot for the Dark Knight we enjoyed it. I admit I was creeped out abit and it was very enjoyable. People who complain just put too much expectation into the ride hoping for some huge fall.
get a flash pass and go on the ride I recamend it don't even listen to the people complaning
I got a flash pass and still felt it was a waist of time. The fact that it took up space in my vision that could have been filled with a nice tree or lake or possibly a not overhyped garbage ride. By the way not everyone can afford a flash pass and feel like when they pay 50 dollars to go on the new super-hyped coaster it shouldn't be an indoor wild mouse. Everyone is right to be pissed the ride sucked bottom line! The rest of the coasters are great though... Kingda Ka rocked my ass off!
If I hadn't Flash-Passed this ride, I would have been hella-pissed. Even with the Flash Pass, I was highly annoyed. This ride is s**t-on-a-stick, quickie merchandising. Nothing more. Save your time and go ride the other Batman ride, or Superman.
My son and I rode the ride twice. We were on vacation and I elected to purchase the FlashPass. I did not think the ride was "great", but my son really liked it. I agree with a few previous posts... I did enjoy the pre-ride show and the "mask" monitor.
You can't blame Six Flags for the fact you had to wait hours to get on the ride.
Perhaps I am not as angry as other posters... I never saw any of the hype for the ride (we were visiting from out of town). I don't think it is the worst ride ever... Stitch's Great Escape is still (by far) at the top of my list! A WDW attraction too...
This was a hugely played up marketing trick. Friends and I saved it as our last ride, thinking it would be the highlight of the day. It ended up being the high disappointment of the day. Go to Kingda Ka if you're at the Six Flags in Jersey. Really. The line is comparable. And the 30 seconds you spend on the ride is way more memorable.
This fucking ride sucks ass!!!
"Some men just want to watch the world burn."
Me, I'd settle for watching this coaster burn.
“If you help me take down [Dark Knight, the ride], you’ll get your money back. If not, I’m going to burn it all.”
HA HA HA HA ha HA HA HA HA ha ha HA HA ha ha ha HA HA HA HA HA HA HA ha HA HA HA HA HA HA HA ha ha HA HA HA
worst ride I ever been on
THE DARK KNIGHT SUCKED SUCKED BIG TIME PERIOD!!!! Me and my kids (son Myles, neice Olivia and friend Philip) waited in line for 3hours and the ride was all of 30 seconds!!!! No we don't expect the Raging Bull but we expect a fake bat and a lightning flashing and 1 minute or more longer dude!!!! Give me a break!!
If someone told me their experience on The Dark Knight ride was "horrible", I would seriously say, "you liked it that much!?"
Calling this ride dreadful is an insult to all things dreadful....it's seriously beyond known words in it's putrid-ness, or rather, capital P, captial U, capital TRID...-ness!!
I had a Flash Pass and felt cheated I wasn't riding something else...anything else, let alone Toro, Nitro, or Ka!
I waited 15 minutes in the scorching hot sun with the Flash Pass to get into the pre-show room, and despite the air conditioning that awaited inside, I would have rather spent 30 minutes waiting in the blazing hot sun for the bathroom so I could take a crap all over this POS ride!!
The installation of this ride is seriously a fire-able offense...and I mean like head's on a pike here!! Banishment from the amusement industry would be a freakin Valentine's Day card for the person who allowed this abomination!!
NEGATIVE flags would still be too high of a rating for this million-dollar paperweight!! SFNE got the best Christmas gift ever when the Mass. pinheads stopped their construction...no, it was actually probably God who rode it, thought it sucked, and stopped SFNE from installing it!!
PLEASE do yourself a favor!! Don't ride it, don't go towards it, or don't even look at it!! Maybe then it will finally be converted to it's rightful use as a garbage dump or sewer tank!!
WORST. RIDE. EVER....F*** YOU SIX FLAGS!!!
I waited an hour and a half to get on this ride and was i livid when i came off. Worst ride in the whole entire park. And what makes me even more furious with the ride is the advertising: i was so psyched to go on because of what the commercials where saying about it. The most entertaining part of the ride was getting your picture taken, no joke.
THIS RIDE WAS SUCH A LET DOWN!! I EXPECTED SO MUCH BECAUSE OF HOW IT WAS ADVERTISED! I DISAGREE 100% WITH WHO EVER LIKED THIS RIDE UNLESS YOU'RE WHAT 8 YEARS OLD!! I WAS SO EXCITED TO GET ON THE RIDE IM SO GLAD I DID NOT WAIT 2 HOURS IN LINE I ONLY HAD TO WAIT ABOUT 40 MINUTES (IT WAS THE FIRST RIDE I WENT INTO WHEN THE PARK FIRST OPENED). GETTING ON THIS RIDE WAS LIKE GETTING ON RAJIN CAJUN BUT IN THE DARK..SERIUOSLY IT SUCKS ASS! IT SHOULD GET SHUT DOWN AND REMOVED TO MAKE A BETTER AND FASTER RIDE!!!
It was really dissopointing,
I thought it was going to be intense, fast, and most importantly the best ride ever because the movie was amazing. But I only reccoment it for ages 5-12 ha.
I also went in with very low expectations after reading reviews about how much people hated it. I went in on a regular day and waited about half an hour to ride it. I thought it was really cool. We rode it 2 or 3 times actually. The line wasn't terrible at all, probably because no one liked it. I mean, it obviously isn't one of the best rides at the park, but it's not one the worst either.
Had no preconceptions, having been out of the country when this ride was unveiled a few months back.
My advice - peek in and if the queue looks longer than about 20 minutes, don't bother with this ride. Your time will be much better spent elsewhere.
I enjoyed the pre-show (very atmospheric) and the ride itself was OK, but nothing more than that. The set elements were pretty disappointing - mostly inanimate mannequins that flash by so fast the rider has no sense of being part of a coherent story. I'm told that Batman is visible twice during the ride, but I didn't see him at all. The ride is very short, barely two minutes of action.
"Dark Knight" was absolutely *not* worth the 1.5 hour queue we suffered through. Our party of three adults felt very disappointed by it.
This is the worst ride in the world. DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME.
I'm a 23 yr old male and I waited about 35 min. The movie was cool and the ride was also pretty cool, just really jerks ya around. It had 1 decent drop i wasnt expecting. Overall not too bad more for younger kids but i enjoyed it, and i usually dont like the kiddie rides. If its longer than 30 min and your over the age of 13, check back when the line is shorter. I was only able to get on 6 rides that day including 2 coasters because the lines were so damn long (BOGO ticket day, Friday the last day of it).
A 7.5 million dollar troll.
That's something my 1 and 2 year old sisters could have thought up. They should have used something from Nick Jr. A frikkin waste of time. I would give The Tango more credit than that! Most of the previews they sowed didn't have a thing to do with the ride. It's just a tin car and a bunch ugly pictures popping out at you!
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