Riding my First COVID-19 Coaster: Boardwalk Bullet

For a large chunk of 2020, I thought that I would not get to ride any coasters in the pandemic. So, I jumped at the chance to ride the improved Boardwalk Bullet at Kemah Boardwalk on a slow Friday afternoon.

Recap of my previous visits

I have four prior visits to Kemah Boardwalk. I was very young on my first visit (probably 2004 or so). I remember doing the train ride with my family, and being intimidated by some of the other rides there. My second visit to Kemah was when I added Boardwalk Bullet to my credit list. It was fall 2007, and I rode it one time in the front row at night with my dad. Overall, I was disappointed. I thought the coaster was smooth and long but sluggish. At the time, my favorite woodie was by far Texas Giant. Then, we visited again in December 2011. However, I did not get to ride anything on that day because I was nursing a broken metatarsal. My fourth visit in March 2014 gave me the opportunity to form an impression of the entire place. I went with a friend, and we spent 4 hours at the boardwalk. We rode all of the big rides with our favorite obviously being the coaster. After riding Boardwalk Bullet twice, my opinions had changed. This time it was much faster and did not have the pacing problems that I recalled from my first ride. However, Boardwalk Bullet was much bumpier. It wasn't rough, but the jerkiness kept this coaster out of my top 5 woodies. I had very positive memories of Kemah's employees, cleanliness, and flat rides even though I wished it were bigger. It's unfortunate that Kemah Boardwalk is the largest "amusement park" in the Houston area.

Overview

On my fifth visit to Kemah Boardwalk in September 2020, I had limited time. My brother was kind enough to stop here on our way to Galveston, and he gave me 1 hour. Therefore, being a coaster enthusiast and all, my sole objective was to ride Boardwalk Bullet as many times as possible. Luckily, Kemah was practically empty from 3PM-4PM, so I managed to ride this coaster 5 times. Each ride was either a walk-on or one cycle wait. It's hard to know what COVID-related things would've been like on a busy day, but it was very easy to maintain proper social distance when walking around, queueing, waiting in the station, and even on the coaster. All employees that I saw were wearing masks, but only about half of the guests were. Boardwalk Bullet was cleaned with disinfectant after every lap, which took up just enough time to allow me to speed walk down the exit and through the queue to hop on again before the train was dispatched.

Coaster

GCI's refurbishment of The Gravity Group's Boardwalk Bullet worked wonders! This coaster was very smooth and had terrific pacing. The drop was way better than I remembered, and the airtime was much stronger and plentiful. There was also a second drop about halfway through the layout that provided sustained airtime almost as good as the first drop. My rides in the back were more intense and had better airtime, but were slightly shaky going through a couple spots. The front, as expected, was tamer and butter smooth. Oddly enough, my favorite ride was in the middle of the train (left side) - best of both worlds maybe? After my first 2 rides, I was thinking about moving this coaster higher than Iron Rattler in my personal rankings. However, after my fifth ride, I had calmed down and realized that I was just coaster deprived. I'd almost forgotten what g-forces, airtime, and drops felt like without riding coasters for over a year! I decided to put Boardwalk Bullet at #20, up 8 spots from my 2014 rides. For my preferences (speed, inversions, and floater air are what I love most) this is a solid coaster but has a layout that I cannot appreciate like the intensity and ejector lovers can. I didn't really care for those Maverick-esque turns after the first drop, and the airtime was too much for me. I woke up with hip and thigh bruises the next day. Hopefully, this coaster will remain smooth and fast for many years to come. Boardwalk Bullet is a unique and jam-packed coaster that should be on every enthusiast's bucket list. I'm glad that I had the chance to ride this coaster multiple times in its prime.

Other Rides

Kemah has a pretty good collection of rides for its size, including a drop tower, Larson Loop, observation tower, some upcharge attractions, and family rides. I have ridden most of these attractions on previous visits, but since I was in a time crunch, I skipped all of these.

Food & Merchandise

My family's favorite place to eat here was Cadillac Bar. We enjoyed the food and seating by the water. However, this place is closed now. We also have enjoyed meals at Saltgrass (next to Boardwalk Bullet) and funnel cakes here. We have not shopped at Kemah, but there are plenty of places to buy merchandise, and not just exclusively Kemah-related items.

Cost

After doing some research, I opted to buy the Weekend Adventure Pass, which included unlimited admission and most attractions at Kemah, Pleasure Pier, and the Downtown Aquarium for a whole weekend. This pass was $43 with tax, and it was the perfect deal for my situation because the next day I went to Pleasure Pier. People can also buy all-day ride wristbands at Kemah each for $25 plus tax, although these regularly go on sale. Or, guests can pay per ride, ranging from $4-$6 for a ride included with the wristband/weekend pass. Lastly, if someone just wants to look around, take photos, use the restroom, etc., they can do so for free. Walking around the boardwalk costs nothing. I appreciate that Kemah offers these different options for different needs.

Photos

These photos were taken by me. Please credit this website if used. Check out the photos page for pictures of Kemah from 2014.