I was sadly not able to attend the media day for Patriot, but I was able to attend Patriot Passholder Preview Night, and got a total of 21 rides on it, and at least once in every row. Patriot is a really fun ride, and I definitely had a fun time riding it over and over again. First off, California’s Great America had a fence set up for media day displaying the statistics for Patriot.
Patriot’s photo station is really well done, and is a lot better than what the arcade looked like before it.
Review
First off, Patriot is so much better than Vortex ever was. All around it is more intense and smooth than Vortex. The front row of Patriot is my favorite because of seeing the track so close to your feet, but the back row is a close second with how intense it is through the loop and the corkscrew.
The drop on Patriot is phenomenal, really picking up speed down at the base in the front, and getting carries over the top of the lift and pre-drop in the back. The vertical loop is very intense in both the back and front rows.
Surprisingly, the turnaround directly after the loop is really fun in the front row. The helix through the loop is graceful until the end dive, which is fairly forceful in the back row. Next up is the kick in between the helix and corkscrew, which is a really graceful element in the front row, much like it is on Silver Bullet’s kick between the corkscrews.
The corkscrew is definitely my favorite part of the ride, as in the front you get jerked forward because of the fantastic shaping of old B&M corkscrews, and in the back, you actually come out of your seat for a quick second, in what I can only describe as ejector hangtime. It’s a very nice feeling of flying into the top of the restraint and then directly back down into your seat. With that and a few turns, the ride is over.
Overall, Patriot is a very fun ride and I definitely recommend you come check it out over the summer at California’s Great America.
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