Finally got to ride Monty. Got there at 7:00, got dinner with a friend in the park, got to hop on Hangtime with our prestige Fast Lane perk (Used it again for Sierra since they didn't scan the passes!) and then got in line for Monty. Waited almost an hour for it but could've been 35 minutes had it not broken down. Ugh.
Not a whole lot to review since it's essentially the same ride with a significant minor differences: 1) They flipped the entrance and exit! That was interesting. 2) The launch is slower. You barely feel it, which is unfortunate, but thankfully it was never the highlight of the ride. 3) Extensive theming. Very well done. 4) Trains are different. They feel roomier than the original cars, which were a little cramped, but that seatbelt vest that goers over your shoulders suuuuuucks for tall people. It's so excessive and unnecessary. I hope they negotiate something with KumbaK to get rid of that like Sea World did with Premiere for the comfort collars because they're really tight. The big lap bars are plenty sufficient.
Outside of the slower launch, the new trains, and added theming, the ride is essentially the same as the old one. I do give the edge to the old version by virtue that it's the original and the launch was faster, but the highlight to me has always been the backwards portion of the ride, especially the loop. I got to sit towards the back on my one ride (Which is the best spot to be in!) and the loop was just as great as I remembered! But the change was necessary, so I'm glad they put the great effort into renewing another many years into this thing....even though this took way, way, way longer than it should've.
Overall, despite the fact that the ride keeps breaking down a lot, the launch is a little slower, and the restraints are a little tight on the shoulders....I'm just glad this ride is back. I always found Monty to be one of the best roller coasters in the park, if not the entire state. I think Monty (Even the new version) cracks my top 10 of California list. Despite my gripes with the new version, it's still a great ride and a timeless classic. I'm very thankful that Knott's at least put the effort in to renew the lifespan of this thing for many generations to come.
I only got one ride on this thing because it's so unreliable, but hopefully they will iron out the snafus as time goes on. Also, FWIW, I have heard the randomized launch sequence will be added later. I have no idea if there's truth to this, but I think they wanted to add this later because priority number one was just getting Monty open. We'll see if that pans out.
Looks like Xcellerator is now the next problem child. We got a coaster back and now lost another one. The post-covid Knott's curse continues.