I agree with everything Matt has said in the above trip report. I think nightime rides are the BEST on this ride EVER. No need to go for Fright Fest and in the DARK. It IS darker than dark in that end of the corner.
I went in with LOW expecations and this ride and themeing BLEW me away. The front of the ride is themed (nice big sign and a vehicle out front) so i knew we were in for something. The que area is themed and once into the preshow rooms they are nice and air conditioning. This is very important for Magic Mt in the middle of the desert in summertime heat.
What can i say about the preshow rooms? I wasn't expecting the themeing and the setup to the actual ride. I think this is where it just blew me away right from this point on. You go thru 2 preshows rooms and even though the effects in the last preshow room weren't operational (hopefully on June 28th) it still led up to the urgency of having to rush up the set of stairs to the train waiting for you. It really felt like the robots were trying to get to us.
Once in the station the rows are numbered above with Terminator theming in a way and the trains themselves not only comfy but themed as well. Once aboard the soundtrack starts and you just feel nothing but excitment as if you are being chased by the robots.
The funny thing about this ride is it takes you to the left of the station where as Ghostrider takes you out and turns right. So i was immediately disoriented. The lift hill even gets you up faster than i thought it would.
The ride itself....nice and smooth which is a huge plus for me, pops of airtime (love this in a woodie), soundtrack fits with the going over the top of the lifthill "Here they come!!!" to gunshots as we make our start to the ride that i just can't find the words. Twists and turns and i don't think there is much of anything straight way track. The trains seem to FLY thru the track with speed and no real slowing til you reach the final breaks. I was amazed at this.
I love the comment "Take the tunnel!!!!" and there are effects in the tunnels that weren't operational at all (but hopefully by June 28th).
No bad seat at all. We rode in the front and the back and the middle of the train. The employees seem to be effecient or the ones that were there last night. No real stacking of trains. Getting them dispatched in a timely matter.
So Knott's has nothing on this coaster and i think i just found my FAVORITE Southern California wooden coaster right in my backyard of sorts.
of course getting in 19 rides in total throughout the evening wasn't bad at all. I thought we'd only get 3 maybe 4 rides in total but i guess not everyone who won showed up for the KROQ party. And other rides were open and alot of winners went to other rides rather than stick out at Terminator like the coaster enthusiasts did. Thus having the ride nearly to ourselves.