Back from my trip, and having been able to get about 10 rides each it's time to answer THE defining question of our generation...which is better, Iron Gwazi or Velocicoaster??!?! It's definitely tough, and like most other enthusiasts the two of them are now my #1 and #2 respectively with a bullet. Nothing else I've done even comes close. With that said, here's some pros and cons to each.
Iron Gwazi
Pros:
-VERY easy to marathon on weekdays. On the day I was there it was literally no more than a one train wait the entire day. This is why I got about the same number of rides on Gwazi and Velocicoaster in spite of being at the latter's park for four days.
-Next gen RMC restraints. They're not AS good as its competition which is hands down the most comfortable restraints I've ever experienced, but MAN is it such a huge step up from the previous RMC restraints which are so restricting I almost always have to have a CM push down to get it to click.
-Huge scale: This is the one BIG thing Gwazi has over Velocicoaster. The elements on Gwazi are freaking MASSIVE showstoppers that just take your breath away as far as the sheer scale is concerned. My favorite elements are the first overbanked inversion right after the drop, the iconic massive breaking wave over the station, and the last two air time hills which are just ejector HEAVEN.
-The color scheme on this thing might be one of the most beautiful I've ever seen. The purple REALLY pops against the sea of green landscaping found throughout the rest of the park.
Cons:
-As far as length goes it certainly packs a punch, but one can't deny that compared to some of the other "World's Greatest" coasters this thing is a little bit on the short side. It's one massive element after the other, but some of its competition just feels like a more complete experience.
-By far the biggest con is the fact that this ride notoriously warms up as the day goes on. My first ride was a little after noon and I did indeed have a "meh" reaction to it. Solid airtime pops, but nothing mindblowing. Doing my marathon the last hour of the park was a completely different story. Ejector city on every single drop and inversion.
-Oh god, NOT THE BEES. There are indeed bees on the lifthill, and the one time I experienced them full force (on my last ride of the night ironically) it was legitimately terrifying and way, WAAAY more scary than anything the actual coaster had to offer.
Velocicoaster
Pros:
-Theme is next level and obviously being a Universal attraction Gwazi can't hope to compare. The queue is really great with no boring parts at all, and even on the actual ride experience the projection effects on the raptor paddock and just how close you get to the statues on-ride mixed with the sound effects REALLY go a long way.
-Mosasarous Roll. ' Nuff said.
Granted I think a close second as far as favorite elements go come from the crazy side to side air time hill/turn thing that happens right before it.
-If Iron Gwazi is ejector city, this thing had so much FLOATER it feels like you're on another planet. No joke...from the second you launch your butt is out of your seat pretty much the ENTIRE time. To the point where it's hard to imagine that SteVe actually has MORE airtime than that. And unlike Gwazi this thing needs NO warming up.
Cons:
-Obviously it's going to be harder to marathon than Gwazi just given the very nature of the park it's in.
-While this certainly has the best locker set up I've experienced, it can still get pretty stressful. A couple times I experienced an overflow in the locker area between people trying to get to the lockers and people trying to queue up for the metal detectors and there was really no way to tell which crowd was for which. Stuff like that just REALLY aggravates my social anxiety. I'm also not crazy about having to have your park ticket on you when you ride. I imagine there must be a TON of headaches regarding lost tickets. When I wore certain pairs of walking shorts with very loose pockets I pretty much had to stuff the ticket in my sock haha.
@D Hulk how is the StEve locker situation in comparison? The fact that you get to keep your phone through the "boring" part of the queue with all the switchbacks in the main foyer before the statue is certainly a plus.
-While Gwazi is just non stop craziness from beginning to end, the first half of Velocicoaster, while great, really is just a warm up for the CRAZINESS of the second half. This isn't really a bad thing per say, but it does give Gwazi the slight edge as far as pacing. The first half still gives you plenty of floater and has the cool low to the ground close calls with the statues and rock work, but things don't REALLY get going until you hit that second launch.
Verdict: I'm going to give the SLIGHT edge to Universal here, though it's very close. At the end of the day the "warm-up" factor Gwazi has is what really puts it a notch below the competition. Granted like I said, Gwazi is still an INCREDIBLY solid #2. EVERY coaster enthusiast really needs to make the pilgrimage out here to experience this epic one/two punch.
Expect MUCH more to come from the trip including RANKINGS for the Halloween Horror Nights mazes and Busch Gardens coasters. All in all I have to say Universal Orlando just REALLY freaking blew it out of the water for me this trip. I can't even imagine how huge of a cosmic shift Epic Universe is going to have on the Orlando landscape, because I didn't even MISS Disney the whole time I was there. Disney better get off their butts and think up something a little more large scale than a freaking Figment meet n' greet that will take a YEAR to launch in the park for some reason, or a cloned coaster that took the better half of a decade to actually build. Universal is just running circles around Disney right now, and they are THE current undisputed king of theme parks in my view.
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