It took a while, but I finally made it down to Six Flags Over Georgia to ride Dare Devil Dive. It was a part of a guys getaway weekend. I was the only one in our group that had already been to the park, so I took the lead for that part of the trip. The ultra-steep, Gerstlauer-designed looper, Dare Devil Dive, was high on the to-ride list in my mental itinerary. It opened earlier this year as the park’s 11th roller coaster.
As we arrived at the park we noticed the ride was closed. I was a little nervous, but figured that it’d likely be open a little later. Luckily, plan b was the neighboring top ten steel coaster, Goliath. After a fun spin on that great coaster, Dare Devil Dive had just opened its queue. We zoomed through the queue and after a short wait, we boarded one of the ride’s six-person cars. The seats were pretty comfy and thankfully they only feature lap bars and not those often punishing not over-the-shoulder restraints.
The ride looks and feels very modern. Like clockwork, six-person cars were dispatched from the station, sent straight up a 90-degree, 95-foot peak, and sent plummeting down a beyond vertical 95-
degree drop. Aside from the riders’ screams, the cars quietly whizzed by as they traversed the twisted red track. The whole feel was reminiscent of a looping wild mouse. Dare Devil Dive’s theming was pretty light and just a step above unnoticeable.
We crept out of the station and took an immediate U-turn to the right. There, we meet the 90-degree lift. Slowly it pulled us up the vertical tower. It was a tad unnerving as I was laying on my back on the way up. The car crested the top and rolled immediately into the drop. It was my first beyond vertical drop, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. I was gently pushed forward out of my seat, but I didn’t experience much of that sinking stomach feeling you associate with big drops. I just felt like I was leaning forward until we reached the bottom. I would categorize it as fun, but not really challenging.
Back on the ground, the car flew through the themed ‘rings of fire’. Then it leveled out and we charged into the first inversion, a dive loop. It’s one of my favorite elements and Dare Devil Dive’s packed a punch as it was taken at a good speed. Next, the car climbed up a banked curve, then back to the ground, and then into the immelmann which counts as the second loop. The immelmann was especially forceless and so smooth and fast that I barely knew that I was flipped.
The car went up into a quick brake run and then we were sent down a swooping drop next to the control tower. We snaked our way towards a tunnel that looked like a hangar. It was short and not very dark at all, but it did set up the ride’s best element. Right after we exited the hangar, the car crawled through a long, slow heartline roll. The roll was taken so slowly that I hung upside-down for what felt like forever. The ride finished with a right turn and then the station brakes.
Dare Devil Dive is a solid ride, but I was left a bit underwhelmed. Maybe my expectations were a bit high because it was a brand new coaster and I’d never ridden a Gerstlauer. It’s a fun ride, but I 
wasn’t really impressed with the drop or anything else in the ride’s meandering layout except for that awesome heartline roll. That last inversion’s a 9 out of 10 as far as inversions go. The rest of Dare Devil Dive is just good and not great. Final Rating – 7.5 (Good Approaching Great)
Check out this on-ride POV video of Dare Devil Dive at Six Flags Over Georgia:
Dare Devil Dive is rated ‘TH’ for Thrilling. It’s a 3 out of 5 on my Thrill Scale. Even though it has two thrill factors (the beyond-vertical drop and loops), the ride is so smooth and mostly forceless that it doesn’t really have the bite to back up its bark. In short, guests shouldn’t be too intimidated by Dare Devil Dive. It’s thrilling, but not intense.
What’s Your Take?
Have you ridden Dare Devil Dive? What’d you think? Leave a comment below. Images 2 & 3 courtesy of Six Flags Over Georgia’s Facebook Page.
November 4, 2011 at 01:25
Your findings are in line with what I have thought of the Gerstlauers I've ridden so far: fine coasters, quite smooth, almost silent, enjoyable. But not great or outstanding by any measure.
November 4, 2011 at 06:07
This is your first beyond vertical drop? I thought you been to Hershey Park and ridden on the Fahrenheit. The uphill climb on euro fighter coasters is actually most the unnerving part about the coaster. btw when are you going to add a webforum. : P
November 4, 2011 at 07:26
I've been to Hershey, but not since Fahrenheit had been built. That's a guest review.
I like the idea of a forum, but I'd need a moderator. I don't have time to moderate it myself.
November 4, 2011 at 08:33
so I take it it's not worth making a trip for if you've been down there already within the past couple of years? I never expected greatness, but it did look fun.
November 4, 2011 at 12:05
Im going to over georgia next year. I want to ride this, it looks fun. But it doesn't look outstanding or excellent, like you said it wasn't. I have been on 2 90+ degree drop coasters, maverick and fahrenheit. Their drops both were awesome and intense. I don't know if euro-fighters are different because of their short height, but their drop still looks fun. Can't wait to ride it, but the main reason I am going is Goliath.
December 10, 2011 at 14:21
Not all Euro-fighters are short in height. Takabisha, in Japan, has 141 ft while Maverick's got 105 ft and Fahrenheit, 121 ft.
December 12, 2011 at 11:48
Yes but that one would also be the "odd one out" for Gerstlauer, having both a launch and a lift.
November 4, 2011 at 15:43
I've NEVER ridden a Euro Fighter, and I really want to because they look like so much fun. I've been on Farenheit at Hershey, but that's my only beyond vertical coaster I've been on. I really want to ride Mystery Mine at Dollywood, it looks like such a cool ride! I'm suprised you were underwhelmed, but I'll never understand untill I get on one of these. Thanks for the review!
November 4, 2011 at 15:54
I live in GA I went on it I agree with your 7.5 rating it was fun, but like you said not neccesarily an outstanding ride. I would suggest you try some of the older gerstlauers like Mystery Mine (been on that) or if you ever get the chance to go overseas, Saw the ride (I have also ridden). Both I feel are better maybe because they are part dark ride.
November 4, 2011 at 17:34
What always surprises me about the reviews of Saw: The Ride is that they say it's really rough! The one Gerstlauer Euro-Fighter I've ridden is Untamed at Canobie, and it's extremely smooth and quiet.
Dare Devil Dive sounds almost like a scaled-up version of Untamed, except that the first inversion is a dive loop (more like the Norwegian loop at the beginning of Fahrenheit) instead of a plain old loop. But I think that first loop on Untamed, right off the drop, is the best thing about the ride: it's almost as tall as the lift hill and it seems like you hang for a really long time at the top. I think I like it more than I do Fahrenheit's Norwegian loop, though Fahrenheit is a far more intense ride on the whole.
(Also, Untamed has OTSRs, though they're fairly comfortable. Fahrenheit's are worse.)
November 4, 2011 at 18:36
I've been on Dare Devil Dive twice in one day, the first ride also being my first coaster to have a steeper than steep drop and my first Gerstlauer. I have to admit, the coaster was a lot of fun. It had unique elements and plenty of inversions, it was smooth and comfortable, it had great speed, and most of all it wasn't anything too extreme.
This coaster is not one of those epicly giant and fast scream machines out there, but this still makes the top of my coaster list. I absolutely loved it and would have loved to ride it many more times; but that's just my opinion.
November 4, 2011 at 19:25
That final roll is what got me. Don't tell anyone, but I actually started to reach down to grab my lap bar. I was not expecting to 'hang' upside-down for so long with only a lap bar. It was a great feeling!
November 5, 2011 at 18:25
I have the smallest Eurofighter up here in Minnesota. It also currently has the second longest name for a coaster in the world. I also believe that its drop is 97 degrees. Speaking of Nick U, I wonder when they'll announce their 2012 attraction.
November 6, 2011 at 02:28
Do you know the ride with The Longest Name?
November 6, 2011 at 08:27
Gotham City Gauntlet: Escape From Arkhan Asylum, I believe.
November 9, 2011 at 02:57
Thanks.
November 10, 2011 at 12:18
Yeah, the Spongebob coaster is similar to but not quite the same as a standard Euro-Fighter 320+ (like Rage and Untamed). I believe it's actually slightly longer, though its lift hill is slightly shorter.
November 6, 2011 at 19:00
I enjoyed this ride but didn't think it was that spectacular. The holding brake on the drop removed the "beyond vertical" sensation, especially compared to Maverick. Maverick's 97 degree drop, taken at higher speed, throws you out of your seat. DDD has you almost fall into the lap bar as you enter the drop, but it didn't have the same dropping sensation — or perhaps I'm getting jaded. It definitely didn't have the "zero gee" feeling of Griffon.
I'm glad MindBender still rides well at SFOG and loved Goliath, Scorcher and Superman.
February 10, 2012 at 08:40
This roller coaster look so cool uh yeah i live in wyoming and its so boring being a stupid farmer and i've never been on a coaster roller and i really want to so thats why im coming all the way to jawja to ride one.Here's my boyfriend::; yeah the only thing to go in wyoming is slumber parties and cow tipping,,,so yeah.
March 26, 2012 at 14:14
speaking of Gerstlauers and beyond vertical drops, has anyone ridden Takabisha at Fuji Q in Japan? it looks insane!
August 6, 2012 at 11:23
Ive ridden two of theese, this one and Spongebob. Spongebob is more rough due to the over the shoulder harnesses. So im glad this one has a lap bar. But DDD has like a fin brake that takes away the speed on the drop cuz it like leaves you hanging for a second. That really stopped me from getting any thrill on the drop. This rides fun, but it seems kinda more for families, which is good, but dont expect a heart pounding thrill