The Philadelphia Inquirer from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania • Page 85

Friday, April 14, 1989 The Philadelphia Inquirer 3 1 lift fell SbA With a lift, a drop, a twist, a turn and a jolt, it takes you up and down. WAY up and down. Really fast Hold on to your tummy. 7 sSsr IV.i SI ill- si? I i If 1 I I II I 4 The Philadelphia Iikmw ERIC MENCHER From the back seat of the Great American Scream Machine: The coiling steel corkscrew stretches out before the thrilled riders. The ultimate roller coaster is a real scream THRILLS never been one of those throw-your-hands-in-the-sky coaster freaks.

I do have my limits. I hold on, tight, and let my lungs do the waving. Once in the car, the soft clickety-clack of the train rolling up the incline tracks gives a pleasant sound to match the view of the rest of the park, the nearby forest and the parking lot. I would never park my car close to the ride. There's something about seeing familiar personal items scores of feet below.

The first big vertical drop led me, in rapid succession, into three loops, scrambling my brains and pushing my stomach into my throat. After a quiet coast I was into the corkscrew loops. For a good idea of what it was like, think of a race-car driver popping a two-tire wheelie one second, then switching to the two wheels on the other side two seconds later. All of a sudden, the platform was shaking as I coasted into the home stretch. The Scream Machine is different from wooden coasters, which are much more shaky, noisy and, some would say, fun.

And it is different from Disney World's Space Mountain, where you travel at speeds of close to 30 m.p.h. in deep darkness. On the Scream, you travel at speeds about double that and you can see every single twist and turn as it comes. If you want a good time, take the Scream. By William W.

Sutton Jr. Inquirer Staff Writer Slowly I climbed. Inch by inch. Foot by foot. Then SSSWWWOOOOOSSSHH! The car went into a curve, gently tossing me to the left before climbing the world's tallest roller coaster lift, a staggering height of 173 feet.

Then, in less than five seconds ssswwvissssshm I fell into the air. It was like nothing I'd ever experienced. I was high in the sky one moment and could see blades of grass the next. I was right side up, then upside down. Against my will, I leaned to my left, then to my right.

After a whirlwind tour of full-circle loops, boomerang loops and corkscrews, I pulled into the platform area, heart hammering and stomach swishing. But had I had enough? Noooooooo! Deadline? What deadline? Just one more ride, please. Yes, one more ride. And another. And another and another.

Four more times in all. It was wonderful! If you're a roller coaster fan, or a fanatic, you'll love Six FlagsGreat Adventure's latest thrill ride, the Great American Scream Machine, which opens tomorrow. The Jackson Township, N.J., park ought to place more emphasis on the word scream, because it's hard to ride the coaster and not hark back to mankind's primal communication. I did, including one choice utterance, unprintable. Six Flags is billing this as "the World's Tallest, Fastest Looping Steel Roller Coaster." And it is tall, fast and has plenty of loops.

The $7 million roller coaster, the most costly to build of all of the park's attractions, gives you a ride that's just a bit longer than the Great American Horse Race the two-minute wall and painting the ride's rails and posts red, white and blue. The passengerless Scream Machine was being sent through its rapid paces in preparation for its opening weekend. As a thrill-seeking roller coaster fan, I considered it my duty to try, in advance, the latest technological development soon to be thrust upon the public. Don't get me wrong. I'm not a glutton for punishment.

I suffer from vertigo if I'm too close to the window on the observation level of the Sears Tower or the Empire State Building. But give me a lift, a drop, a twist, a turn and a jolt and I've got no problem. In fact, I'm thrilled. Close to death, perhaps, but thrilled. Lest anyone think I'm the only crazy adult around yes, I admit, most roller coaster riders are teenagers Bob Cartmell, 47, plans to make his Scream ride this weekend his 350th coaster experience.

"It's something I've been doing all my life, since I was age 6," Cartmell, a national coaster historian, said this week. "There seems to be a trend in the '80s and into the '90s to put you in corkscrews and the like, and I just want to see if I can take it." I wouldn't want to walk up the 243 steps to the top of the big lift of the Scream Machine. But being carted to the top and thrust nearly to the ground like the snap of a whip is my idea of a good time. Like most coasters, the ride in the first car is different from a ride in the rear. The big difference: You get whipped around a lot more in the back than you do in the front.

It is impossible to think that you'll have anything but a fun ride as you approach the platform. There, before your eyes, to your right, then to your left, are the coaster's tracks less than 12 feet from your face. If you have second thoughts, this is the time you want to turn back. But fear not. There are bright orange harnesses with two large handles, right in front ol your chest.

I've Kentucky Derby or the two-minute, two-second commercial break during the Great American Matchmaking Program, Love Connection. But it's much more fun. And you can do it over and over and over again. This ride is not for the weary, worn, sick or silly. But the bathroom is a short SO yards or so away.

"Right over there," said Great Adventure spokeswoman Anita Rother. "Not far at all." It's a ride for the fan, whether a lover of wood or steel, as well as the chicken who has found enough courage to want to try a smooth coaster before tackling greater challenges. This ride is unlike any other speedy coaster. It is smooooooth. The new coaster is at the front of the park, between the popular Rolling Thunder coaster and the main gate.

A coaster fan can have coaster fun running from the Scream Machine to the nearby Rolling Thunder and Runaway Mine Train. Lightnin' Loops, the lightning-fast, single-loop coaster, is on the other side of the park. But why have one loop of excitement when you can have seven, and all in one ride? The Scream Machine has three seven-car trains Liberty, Freedom and Spirit. Only one, Spirit, ran yesterday, but Rother said all three cars can be on the track at any given point within designated safety zones. Kevin Smith, a New Jersey Department of Labor spokesman, said the ride had a maximum load test last week and received a visual inspection this week.

A final license was issued yesterday. There was an eerie silence in the park as workers spruced it up. It was weird not having to stand in line, and not bumping into someone's ice cream. Great Adventure workers were still painting a bright golden eagle on the IF YOU GO- Great Adventure's Great American Scream Machine opens tomorrow at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, N.J. The theme park is open weekends only through April 30.

Beginning May 4, the park will be open Thursday through Sunday until May 18, and daily thereafter. The park opens at 10 a.m., drive-through animal safaris in the park zoo area begin at 9 a.m. Closing times vary. Admission is $22 for adults, $14 for children under 54 inches tall, and free for children under three. The safari is $8.

To reach the park from the Philadelphia area, take Exit 7A off the New Jersey Turnpike, then Interstate 195 east for 12 miles, to Exit 16. Phone: 201-928-2000..