Just rode Joker last Monday. It didn't open until around 3PM, but we got two rides in because we had a couple skip the line passes due to Joker breaking down while we were in line last month. 2-5 minute dispatches. Single train ops. Sigh. Such a great coaster treated so poorly.
Such a unique RMC. Though I do think it looks like it could be one of the weakest, it still looks incredible and I love the theming and colors as well. Also, with RMC it seems even the lowest tier rides are still considered to be the best ride at their given park or at least competing for that title. What is your personal least favorite RMC?
@@CanobieCoaster ok yes. Absolutely! Case in point, still looks like such a world class ride. I'm certain that if I rode it right now, it would be in my top 15.
I definitely agree that this is an underrated rmc. I’m not just saying that due to it being at my home park but that’s definitely part of it. Now they have gotten rid of the one train sign, but they are currently doing maintenance on the purple train which is good because both trains have had issues. It also seems to be running better this year not just for speed but for reliability. Now I have no idea why the green train isn’t the one being repaired as it is the one known for issues
The Joker is a great ride. Imo it is one of the lower tier hybrids. I agree about the reliability issues and the 1 train ops, which add to the reason why it's on the lower end for me. But it's still an RMC so you know it's gonna be a good ride. Personally, I think Medusa is the best coaster at SFDK.
This is my home park and I go (well I used to) all the time, It's a 5 minute drive from my house. I have such a love/hate relationship with this place. They have this awesome and very unique RMC but it's always down, running 1 train or the line is ridiculous. The station is a mess, the stairs up to the loading platform is a mess and most of the time there is an attendant letting guests up the stairs to the platform because it gets so backed up because of 1 train ops. Then there is a 4:30pm 80+ degree day back row ride that is so good you forget about all the negatives and enjoy the ejector.
It has always been on the cooler side when I've visited (60-70 degrees), but it was running great for me. I got lucky in my most recent visit where lines were 15-20 minutes even with one train ops.
SFDK was one of my home parks for five years. Out of all the visits to SFDK I made, I think Joker only ran two trains twice. And when they run one train, that line is just painful to wait in. It is a great ride and worth the wait for the most part, but the operations are so frustrating. I think it is more a park issue though as SFDK's ops are not great throughout the park (though the park does have its good days for sure).
Just rode the joker. It was my first ever RMC, and I gotta say... I'm a little bit disappointed. The coaster itself is a good ride, but I found the train and the restraints to be uncomfortable. Rode it 3 times, and each time the coaster went through an airtime hill, I was already bracing myself to feel the pain in my thighs. It's still in my top 10, but I'd rather a ride like Gold Striker. I'd give it a 8 out of 10
Six Flags Discovery Kingdom is my home park, and joker is the best ride but it always has a 1.5 - 2 hour wait, but Medusa is always a station wait for me!😬
I think Roar was one of those coasters that never truly needed the RMC renovation. But I am not saying at all that this coaster never should've gotten it. I can see why they did this as they probably wanted something exciting to compete with the Gold Striker at nearby California's Great America and I definitely think Joker has accomplished that. However, I think the one clone Roar that desperately needed the RMC renovation would be the one at Six Flags America. I was surprised to see that they didn't relocate the Millennium Flyers from this version to that one when this one became the Joker. Technically they just need to add those trains to that Roar and then it will become a very smooth GCI but I still think that coaster should also get the RMC treatment simply because of how badly that park needs something exciting.
I have been to SFDK twice and Joker is the best ride at SFDK. I had 2 train ops both times but the ride broke down at some point during both visits. I think Joker has some pacing challenges toward the end of the ride. For me it is the 3rd best coaster in Northern California behind RailBlazer and GoldStriker, and it is the second worst RMC ahead of only New Texas Giant. Overall I would also give it a 9/10. It is still a real good ride.
So I first rode Joker on 11/2/19 and was very underwhelmed. I got two rides, rows 11 and 12, and thought those would be the best seats. Ignoring the (apparently common) delayed opening and very slow one train ops, it just crawled through the layout and barely had any airtime worth mentioning. The inversions were good but not enough to call this better than the “worst RMC”. I rode it this past Friday (7/1/22) and got a fresh opinion. Again an hour delayed opening (didn’t send the first test until after park opening!), I got row 10 then row 12 rides, and the airtime was there. The drop doesn’t really impress me, but the camelbacks towards the end are where it shines. Also I will say this has the best pre-lift section, with actual airtime (for whatever that is worth)! In short, it has moved up quite a few spots back into my top 50, and just barely edges out NTG for me at this point.
@@CanobieCoaster One of the times they were running one train was February 2020 so maybe they weren't planning on running two trains that season until later on.
Canobie Coaster but I thought that a RMC conversion of a GCI would be top tier (and yeah iron gwazi was a conversion of a GCI but they didn’t really use that much of gwazi’s layout so I don’t think that counts)
Great video your video quality has come so far since this.
Thanks!
Just rode Joker last Monday. It didn't open until around 3PM, but we got two rides in because we had a couple skip the line passes due to Joker breaking down while we were in line last month. 2-5 minute dispatches. Single train ops. Sigh. Such a great coaster treated so poorly.
I wish it were operated better.
Hey, Canobie Coaster! This is the first RMC coaster to be themed to a DC Comics character!
Yes
Lately sfdk has been running joker with 2 trains almost every visit I take
Good to hear!
Such a unique RMC. Though I do think it looks like it could be one of the weakest, it still looks incredible and I love the theming and colors as well. Also, with RMC it seems even the lowest tier rides are still considered to be the best ride at their given park or at least competing for that title. What is your personal least favorite RMC?
Goliath. Like you said, it's still the best ride at Great America and a lot of fun, but it just doesn't have as many elements as the others.
@@CanobieCoaster ok yes. Absolutely! Case in point, still looks like such a world class ride. I'm certain that if I rode it right now, it would be in my top 15.
@@CanobieCoaster I think joker is underrated but, its off axis hill and wave turn have weak to none airtime. Which is why I prefer railblazer at CGA.
I definitely haven't heard many people talk about this. But this review makes me just want to ride it lol. Awesome video
Thanks! It proves all RMCs are a blast.
I was hoping for a review of this. Keep on truckin' with those reviews! I LOVE THEM!
Thanks!
I definitely agree that this is an underrated rmc. I’m not just saying that due to it being at my home park but that’s definitely part of it. Now they have gotten rid of the one train sign, but they are currently doing maintenance on the purple train which is good because both trains have had issues. It also seems to be running better this year not just for speed but for reliability. Now I have no idea why the green train isn’t the one being repaired as it is the one known for issues
I hope this can run with 2 trains reliably because the line takes forever with 1.
@@CanobieCoaster often times with 2 trains they are rolling them. There is often preferred seating then too.
The Joker is a great ride. Imo it is one of the lower tier hybrids. I agree about the reliability issues and the 1 train ops, which add to the reason why it's on the lower end for me. But it's still an RMC so you know it's gonna be a good ride. Personally, I think Medusa is the best coaster at SFDK.
I still prefer Joker, but Medusa is a great floorless.
I feel like this ride is unique because it has two colors on the track
I love the color scheme and don't mind the free spins borrowing it too
I love coasters and I love dc. Seeing a coaster like this makes me so excited! I hope to ride it one day!
I love the lead car.
This is my home park and I go (well I used to) all the time, It's a 5 minute drive from my house. I have such a love/hate relationship with this place. They have this awesome and very unique RMC but it's always down, running 1 train or the line is ridiculous. The station is a mess, the stairs up to the loading platform is a mess and most of the time there is an attendant letting guests up the stairs to the platform because it gets so backed up because of 1 train ops.
Then there is a 4:30pm 80+ degree day back row ride that is so good you forget about all the negatives and enjoy the ejector.
It has always been on the cooler side when I've visited (60-70 degrees), but it was running great for me. I got lucky in my most recent visit where lines were 15-20 minutes even with one train ops.
SFDK was one of my home parks for five years. Out of all the visits to SFDK I made, I think Joker only ran two trains twice. And when they run one train, that line is just painful to wait in. It is a great ride and worth the wait for the most part, but the operations are so frustrating. I think it is more a park issue though as SFDK's ops are not great throughout the park (though the park does have its good days for sure).
Yikes, it really is a shame they don't run 2 trains more.
One of the most underrated coasters EVER
I love the back.
Just rode the joker. It was my first ever RMC, and I gotta say... I'm a little bit disappointed. The coaster itself is a good ride, but I found the train and the restraints to be uncomfortable. Rode it 3 times, and each time the coaster went through an airtime hill, I was already bracing myself to feel the pain in my thighs. It's still in my top 10, but I'd rather a ride like Gold Striker. I'd give it a 8 out of 10
I'm guessing you're on the taller side? A lot of taller friends have issues with the RMC trains.
I never will understand why ppl hate on joker .... I love the look and design and overall ride...
I think it's because it's admittedly not as good as several of the other RMCs, but that doesn't make it bad by any means.
Six Flags Discovery Kingdom is my home park, and joker is the best ride but it always has a 1.5 - 2 hour wait, but Medusa is always a station wait for me!😬
I got lucky in my most recent visit when the rain scared everyone away.
Lucky Medusa is either 45 mins or more we’ll at least the last time I was there.
Saying it’s the worst RMC is like pointing out the worst player on a championship winning team. RMC is literally on another level.
It's still a fantastic coaster even if they've made better.
I think Roar was one of those coasters that never truly needed the RMC renovation. But I am not saying at all that this coaster never should've gotten it. I can see why they did this as they probably wanted something exciting to compete with the Gold Striker at nearby California's Great America and I definitely think Joker has accomplished that. However, I think the one clone Roar that desperately needed the RMC renovation would be the one at Six Flags America. I was surprised to see that they didn't relocate the Millennium Flyers from this version to that one when this one became the Joker. Technically they just need to add those trains to that Roar and then it will become a very smooth GCI but I still think that coaster should also get the RMC treatment simply because of how badly that park needs something exciting.
I agree, Six Flags America needed the RMC conversion more or those Millennium Flyers bare minimum.
I have been to SFDK twice and Joker is the best ride at SFDK. I had 2 train ops both times but the ride broke down at some point during both visits. I think Joker has some pacing challenges toward the end of the ride. For me it is the 3rd best coaster in Northern California behind RailBlazer and GoldStriker, and it is the second worst RMC ahead of only New Texas Giant. Overall I would also give it a 9/10. It is still a real good ride.
I'd put Joker ahead of Wicked Cyclone, Goliath, New Texas Giant, and Medusa.
RMC's red-headed step child
I think Joker is better than its reputation.
So I first rode Joker on 11/2/19 and was very underwhelmed. I got two rides, rows 11 and 12, and thought those would be the best seats. Ignoring the (apparently common) delayed opening and very slow one train ops, it just crawled through the layout and barely had any airtime worth mentioning. The inversions were good but not enough to call this better than the “worst RMC”.
I rode it this past Friday (7/1/22) and got a fresh opinion. Again an hour delayed opening (didn’t send the first test until after park opening!), I got row 10 then row 12 rides, and the airtime was there. The drop doesn’t really impress me, but the camelbacks towards the end are where it shines. Also I will say this has the best pre-lift section, with actual airtime (for whatever that is worth)!
In short, it has moved up quite a few spots back into my top 50, and just barely edges out NTG for me at this point.
That's a bummer this ride always seems to open late so you can't ropedrop it to beat crowds.
Wish Great America got this Joker instead!
Same for New England!
I love Joker, as it's at my home park, however, it runs 2 trains most of the time, and the operations aren't that terrible.
I must have just gotten unlucky then. My visits were December 2018 and March 2020.
@@CanobieCoaster One of the times they were running one train was February 2020 so maybe they weren't planning on running two trains that season until later on.
nice review on joker ride - six flags discovery kingdom hybrid coaster - in vallejo california !!!
Thanks!
Love that drop
Agreed!
I was wondering if these restraints keep you in place?
Yes, they are very secure.
It seems like the weirdest RMC
It's definitely a bit different having followed a GCI course, but it rides fantastic.
Canobie Coaster yeah before roar was RMCed I thought that RMCing a GCI would make one of the best conversions, but apparently not
@@MillenniumForceMan I think it's mid-tier.
Canobie Coaster but I thought that a RMC conversion of a GCI would be top tier (and yeah iron gwazi was a conversion of a GCI but they didn’t really use that much of gwazi’s layout so I don’t think that counts)