GaleForce Review

If you remember back to 2015, in a slew of coaster announcements which included Cobra’s Curse at Busch Gardens Tampa, Lightning Rod at Dollywood, and Storm Chaser at Kentucky Kingdom, you may recall seeing the unveiling of this Jersey shore coaster, GaleForce. The S&S Sansei Technologies coaster was slated to open at Playland’s Castaway Cove in Ocean City, New Jersey the following year, but due to some track troubles did not do so until 2017.

 

Even once open, GaleForce seemed to be hit and miss to catch it operating. I was there in the fall of 2017 and at that time was told they were waiting on a part. It turned out that S&S would have to replace all of the track on GaleForce during that winter due to imperfections along the rails.

Fast forward exactly two years, I’m walking down the boardwalk again hoping to ride this coaster. The night we arrived, GaleForce was up and moving so there was hope for the next day when I had a ticket to ride – thanks to New Jersey Coasters for hooking us up with a ride pass!

The time had finally come and honestly I had no idea what to expect from this ride. Was it going to be smooth? Forceful? A dud? The only thing I could imagine it would be close to is Tempesto at Busch Gardens Williamsburg. As I walked through the queue and up into the station, I was the only rider on the platform but was still directed to a specific seat (luckily still the front row). I sat for about 5 minutes waiting on more people to ride! Finally three more people came walking up and restraints were locked.

No 3-2-1, no ready-go, just a straight launch. The first launch isn’t very forceful, you only go about 20 feet up the first 125 foot tall hill. After launching backward and part way up the hill behind, you again launch forward and hit your max speed of 64 mph as you go through the station. The rest of the ride from there is a complete whirlwind (hence the name). It caught me off guard how crazy this coaster would be. I’m generally a keep-my-hands-in-my-lap-and-enjoy-the-ride kind of guy, but I found myself having to hold on through all of the tight twists. As I was diving back into the station I noticed that we weren’t slowing down! It shot us one more time through the course!

It may be hard to believe judging by its size, but GaleForce is one of the more intense coasters out there. For the most part the ride is smooth, the only spot where you get some head banging is at the top of the “spikes” where you abruptly go from facing the sky to facing the ground. I loved the ride, but you definitely can’t marathon this one, not only because of it’s intensity, but because of the prices. GaleForce will set you back 14 tickets at Playland’s Castaway Cove ($1 = 1 ticket) or you can buy a GaleForce Pass for $10. Pretty steep for a single ticket and most likely why they are having trouble with ridership – granted I was there in the off-season, but the park was still quite busy.

Pros:

  • If you’re looking for a good thrill, you won’t be disappointed.
  • A super photogenic ride, remember your camera!

Cons:

  • Slight head banging, but not too bad.
  • The cost.

Has anyone else had the chance to ride GaleForce? What are your thoughts on it?

Also, check out our full review of the boardwalk parks of Ocean City, NJ here!

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