artyartie

After being dragged, kicking and screaming (almost literally) onto my first actual coaster by dear friends in high school, I became quite the coaster junkie. My taste is for fast, exciting steel coasters - the newer and more frightening the better. Thankfully, having Six Flags Magic Mountain less than an hour away helped fuel the need. Sadly, after moving away, I didn't get to go much, and last year, they nearly closed the park before I had the chance to ride some of the newer rides - there were five I had yet to ride.

Today my sisters and I finally went back, and while we didn't get to all the new coasters, including Goliath, which has an absolutely insane drop, and X, where the cars rotate around 360 degrees - evidently it's terrifying. But we did get to ride Tatsu, which is the largest flying coaster in the world.

Holy crap - or as I screamed some point on the ride, "holy fucking shit!" Though less intense than X, Tatsu has just the perfect amount of moments where you think you might actually die. The ride starts out where you're dangling from your seat, having been flipped 90 degrees, though you're very secure in your seat. After the climb, as you plummet to the ground, the span of the Santa Clarita valley before you (somewhat fuzzily in my case), your brain is screaming that there is nothing below you, and yess, you're going to die. After a few corkscrews, the sky blurring beneath your feet, the feeling of fun, of sheer exhiliration comes back - and then you hit the Pretzel Loop.

The Pretzel Loop starts out with you heading straight down, head first, and your brain goes straight back into "going to die!!!!" mode. When you come out of the loop, you're inverted, facing the sky, and the adrenalin is just coursing through your veins. This is a ride that lingers with you, buzzing in the blood. And I can't wait to ride it again.