Theme Parks: What's Hot Now: Nitro

Theme Parks: What's Hot Now These articles that had the largest increase in popularity over the last week

Nitro Jul 31st 2011, 10:08 Hypercoasters are all about extreme height, speed, and airtime, and Nitro delivers on all three fronts. Incredibly smooth and exhilarating, it is a must-ride at Six Flags Great Adventure. Nitro Up-Front Info Thrill Scale (0=Wimpy!, 10=Yikes!): 8.5 Wild speed, height, and G-forces, but no inversions Coaster type: Hypercoaster, Out-and-back Top speed: 80 mph Height restriction to ride: 54 inches Height of lift hill: 230 feet First drop: 215 feet Ride time: 2 minutes, 20 seconds Note that unlike most coasters, the front of the train, rather than the back, seems to deliver more airtime and a more intense ride. Nitro and other Six Flags Great Adventure Rides Photo Gallery Ticket Info Save money and time. Buy discounted tickets for Six Flags Great Adventure online, direct from Six Flags. Hotel Info Compare rates for hotels near Six Flags Great Adventure at About.com's booking partner, Kayak. Bone-rattling speed Nitro sits at the back of Six Flags Great Adventure. Its massive yellow and purple track snakes through the woods outside the park's gates. The ride retains a bit of mystery since passengers can't get a good sense of its layout until they're onboard and racing at hyper-speed. The unique and impressive design of the huge 36-passenger trains is evident as they pull into the loading station. The cars' low-slung-sides and raised seats leave riders exposed. Since there are no inversions, there are no over-the-shoulder harnesses. A single, unobtrusive T lap bar ratchets Nitro's passengers into place and contributes to their sense of vulnerability. There are no jogs at the apex of the lift hill. Nitro proceeds straight into a 215-foot drop and accelerates to a bone-rattling 80 mph. It immediately shoots up a second hill for some delirious airtime. From there it takes a left turn into the wilds of New Jersey. The sweet release of floating airtime The coaster then navigates a series of hills that alternately deliver rib-crushing positive G-forces followed by the sweet release of floating airtime. After the horseshoe-style turnaround, Nitro enters into a double helix for some intense positive G-forces--a little too intense for me. I'm not a fan of spiraling helixes, particularly on hypercoasters. I think they serve to sap a coaster's pent-up energy that could be better used for more hills and airtime. The double-helix element interrupts the airtime-a-thon and brings an otherwise near-perfect coaster down a notch from a five-star rating. Nitro is similar to another hypercoaster, Apollo's Chariot at Busch Gardens in Virginia. Both rides share the same manufacturer, Bolliger & Mabillard of Switzerland. Apollo's Chariot gives a slightly smoother ride (although both hypercoasters are remarkably hyper-smooth), and foregoes the double helix for non-stop hills and drops. Ironically, the only other coaster among Great Adventure's large arsenal to rival Nitro for a glass-smooth ride and wild airtime is El Toro, a wood coaster. (Although, its unique hybrid track distinguishes it from typical rough-and-tumble wood coasters.) Both coasters deliver a heckuva one-two punch for thrill machine fans.

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