Ninja Skillfully & Deceptively Punishes Riders

Ninja wasn’t one of the roller coasters picked by the readers for me to review. I just felt it was my civic duty to warn the masses about this ride. I’m sure that many are drawn to this coaster because it looks really cool. Ninja’s twisted mess of red steel sitts on top of a pond towards the back of Six Flags Over Georgia. The Vekoma-built looper features an interesting arsenal of loops: butterfly (2), a reverse sidewinder (1), and a double corkscrew (2). Corkscrews are run-of-the-mill, but the other inversions are not.

Ninja’s Asian-themed queue and Ninja statues aren’t what I’d call impressive, but they are a nice touch. I’ve never seen a any kind of line for Ninja. You’d think that the empty queue would alert guests, but they fall prey to this violent coaster anyway. I’ll forgo the blow-by-blow account. And I mean blow-by-blow literally. Ninja’s roughness repeatedly threw my head against the restraints.

It was probably worse than any of those rough Arrow coasters I’ve complained about over the years. Even with my defensive riding skills, I still took a good beating. I’ll give the ride a point for its appearance and interesting layout. Since I don’t have 0’s, that puts it right down there with Darien Lake’s Predator. I only rode Ninja because I was with a group of first-timers. Never again. Final Rating – 2.0 (Horrible)

Ninja is rated ‘TH’ for Thrilling. It’s a 3 out of 5 on my Thrill Scale. It has 1 thrill factor, it’s loops. If you’ve ridden looping coasters before then this ride will a breeze, but you’ll want to have some aspirin with you. If not, I highly recommend Mind Bender for your first looping experience.

An Interesting Inversion Note

A sidewinder begins like a traditional vertical loop, with a twist sending riders to the left or right instead of the same direction they were heading. My first ever looper Anaconda at Kings Dominion has one of these loops after it rises from the lake. So, Ninja’s reverse sidewinder must end with a traditional loop, but start with a twist. It’s hard to tell from images, but that’s what I’ve put together.Put a different way, a sidewinder must be like the first half of a cobra roll and a reverse sidewinder is like the second half.

What’s Your Take?

What do you think of Ninja? Do you agree with my rating? Leave a comment below.