Saturday, May 04, 2013

7 Dwarfs Mine Coaster - Will it be Ninja or Big Bad Wolf? (analysis)

The jury is definitely still out on the Seven Dwarfs Mine Coaster. 

It will have lots of curves. It will have some drops and surprises. It will definitely have some animatronics (echoes perhaps of the Legoland Dragon coaster).

But will it be any good?

The world has seen coasters that swing before, primarily from "suspended" coasters. (An aside: 'inverted' coasters are ones where your legs are unsupported; suspended are when the individual cars still have floors). Ninja at Six Flags Magic Mountain was my first suspended, and it's fun all right... but it's not amazing.

Big Bad Wolf (now gone) at Busch Gardens Williamsburg was just like Ninja, except it was fast, exciting, and had truly interesting elements (the drop to the water was intense and unlike anything else).

They were both suspended coasters, but they were not equivalent experiences.

The Seven Dwarfs coaster promises to have swing to it - will it be more like Ninja or more like Big Bad Wolf? The proof of the pudding will come out eventually... for now, there is just no knowing. Only praying.





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Kevin Yee is the author of numerous independent Disney books, including the popular Walt Disney World Earbook series and Walt Disney World Hidden History.