Even though I had a terribly bad headache I decided I needed to get to the park to finally ride SC. I got a front seat ride with a friend who isn't an enthusiast but enjoys roller coasters. After watching the videos and hearing the reviews, I was expecting it to be a great ride that putters out at the end, but that was really not the case at all; this ride doesn't let up! Here's a little ride review from someone who was dealing with a splitting headache.
It could've been the headache messing with my perception but I swear after the bit of hang time at the beginning of the barrel roll drop there was a strong pop of air right before the finish. That first airtime hill is absolutely insane, and WTF, did we just get air entering that overbank turn? The bandana on my head certainly thought so. From there, none of my original perceptions panned out for this ride. The pops of air at the tops of the twisty hills were almost as intense as the first hill and I literally had to hold on to my head scarf to keep it from being ejected from the ride. The smaller overbank was nice and there was a nicer, less intense bit of air on the second normal hill. My friend loved the corked roll and I thought it was a nice change of pace from the previous elements, but what really stuck out for me was the ending. From the POV videos I was prepared for a tamer, slower ending with some mediocre to decent air time....I quickly learned hitting the first hill of the double up. My bandana detached itself from my cranium, and I had just enough time to grab it (my hands were already at the bandana's vertical destination). The top of the second hill provided a very nice pop of air, but the second hill of the double down almost forced the soul from my body. There was a very small dead spot right before entering the last overbank but it seemed like the train noticed the error and corrected itself to finish the overbank with quite a bit of steam and it flew up that last incline to deliver, gasp, airtime flying into the brakes!
Storm Chaser exceeded my expectations, and I cannot wait to get back there and spend a full day at the park. From the visit it seemed Kentucky Kingdom was very healthy in the attendance department. Storm Chaser, like Twisted Twins, really is in a dead spot. I think it'd be a good idea to focus on that area with a couple new additions to really pull people to that area.
Sorry for the wall of text.