Vaughan, Ontario – Saturday, September 15th & Sunday, September 16th, 2012
First of all, Leviathan is the best coaster I've ever ridden in Canada. So, basically, it beats out Behemoth, Vortex, Skyrider, and Ghoster Coaster. Wooo!
There's something about gigacoasters like Leviathan and Millennium Force, once you start to creep north of 80-85 mph, the ride feels uncommonly fast. I can ride front row of Behemoth, and my mind goes, "hey, it's a bit windy and this is fun and big, I guess we're going fairly fast". Powering through the first three elements of Leviathan, my mind goes "&@%#, this is #%$~ing insane!" I'm not sure if this is purely relative (i.e. if I rode coasters with 80+ mph speeds more frequently I'd soon adjust to it just as I have for 70mph rides), or if there is something more innately physio-psychological about this range of speed that crosses some sort of intrinsic barrier in the human brain's ability to adjust and process. Either way, Leviathan feels huge and fast in a way that very few coasters do.
And the first half, from the 306 foot drop to the massive parabolic camelback hill, is quite possibly the best 20 seconds ever experienced riding above a pair of B&M's rails. (The only other B&M ride that comes close to this section is the first half of Nemesis.)
This overbanked turn would be a good midcourse signifier, but everything that comes after it just falls flat. What I realized is that Leviathan basically repeats the same element sequence twice: Overbank-Speed Turn-Camelback. The problem is that the first instance of this sequence is spectacular, and the second repetition is inevitably doomed to failure just by the immediate comparison.
As a result, Leviathan feels like a very incomplete ride, not helped by the massive brake run, which gives you plenty of time to nurse some nagging thoughts that they should have done something - anything! - more at the end before calling it wraps, just for one last taste of the genius insanity of the first 20 seconds.
This is the one thing that Behemoth actually does much better, even if that ride doesn't stay thrilling all the way to the end, at least the layout feels like it attempts to finish the entire idea and doesn't pull the plug two soon.
But still, the mad pacing and tight rhythm of those first four elements just cannot be beat, and it's on the strength of those alone that Leviathan rises very high on the list of the world's great coasters.
The first drop, curve, and speed hop pour on the speed and intensity, each cranking up the volume from 9, to 10, then straight up to 12! And just when it seems B&M have completely lost their minds with this one, it emerges into the ether with the graceful, lightheaded precision that only they can master.
It's a ride that knows and masters both beauty and evil in a way that few others can. If the ride ended at the front gate I'd still be all raves, so why should I criticize it for trying to keep the jam going longer after music should have ended?
This is a stunning ride.
Still, Leviathan is a very unbalanced experience, and I feel somewhat vindicated by the fact that, for as amazing as the first half is, ultimately pacing and delivering a complete experiential arc are the more important criteria, and no matter how deep I search I can't find it in my to declare this in my upper echelon of steel coasters.
I also always wondered how Leviathan would fit in a park that already had a B&M hypercoaster on the other side. Wasn't that kind of redundant when there were already so many other great styles of coaster the park could have built to better diversify their offerings?
What I found was that the combo of Leviathan and Behemoth actually work pretty great together. They are very different experiences, with Behemoth using its long serpentine train offering a somewhat syncopated pacing that alternates between highs and lows, fast and slow, hills and curves.
Leviathan, on the other hand, uses its short wide train to keep its foot on the gas pedal the whole way through (even when it lets up in the second half, it doesn't do so in a way that creates any major lulls or slow spots to break up the rhythm).
The related names and similar but not identical experiences help give Canada's Wonderland a stronger sense of identity in a way that the rag-tag collection of 13 coasters that came before these two were ever able to achieve. There are enough parks out there that have a coaster collection that's "balanced". If I'm going to drive to Canada to ride coasters, I want to know that I'm going to a park that specializes in something that no other parks can come close two. Namely, a pair of awesome B&M speed coasters, a pretty cool collection of flats, and some of the worst wooden roller coasters I'll ever have the pleasure of silently cursing out.
So yes, I think Leviathan is a good addition to Canada's Wonderland.
The sun sets on a cool Canadian autumn evening. (And look, it's a photo of Night Mares I couldn't find earlier.)
That means it's time for more night riding on Leviathan!
While earlier in the day Leviathan's blue structure was made practically invisible by the sky, at dusk it pops forward like an ominous shadow monster on stilts.
Good idea, sign! I don't like worrying about if my cell phone is going to fly out of my pocket during the ride anyway!
Yup, just as I had to start in the front row, this is also the seat of choice to end the day!
Time to take one last ride aboard the sea monster.
Climbing 306 feet into the night sky.
And yes, hurtling through the dark at 92 miles per hour while the cold wind whips tears from your eyes and you're not sure if your cheeks can hold out in the icy cold but you can't stop smiling anyway... it's a good way to end a trip!
Good night, Canada's Wonderland. At least 75% of your rides are still pretty lame, and a solid 80% of your park landscape is absolutely void of any unique character. But what you do have that's good is generally very good, and even where it's just okay you prove that sheer quantity over quality does have some redeeming values in its own way, plus things generally seem to be improving since the transition from Paramount to Cedar Fair, even if they're still a few degrees off from "the right direction". Until we meet again...
Jeremy,
Good to see you update the website; I enjoyed reading your work long before meeting your at GCI’s FREDx all those years ago.
As for the random owl sculpture in the roof of Behemoth’s station, I think that it is intended to scare away wildlife from trying to roost in the building; I have seen these non-lethal deterrents for sale at outdoor stores. If you must quote me on this, please include my uncertainty.
Hope things are well with you.
Respectfully,
Ethan T. Benedict, BSME, EIT
P.S: Do you know if Thinkwell is looking to hire engineers in a plausible future?
Hey Ethan, good to hear from you again! Your theory about the owl makes perfect sense, though I have to wonder why it was only in use at Behemoth.
Things are going as well as can be expected for me, I hope you’re making it through these times okay.
Unfortunately Thinkwell had to reduce its staff not so long ago, and as you can imagine I can’t expect many new job opportunities coming along in the foreseeable future. However, I’m optimistic it will soon be a good time to be on the lookout for less traditional or start-up companies especially as the industry starts to return and there’s lots of new stuff forming to re-fill the voids created.