As of right now, Steel Curtain is probably my most sought-after credit. I rode it 6 times in 2019. It has always had long periods of downtime since the beginning, and it was Standing but not Operating throughout all of 2020.
Since many coaster enthusiasts haven't ridden it and because of a bad review from Coaster Studios, many enthusiasts will just assume that it's a bad ride. I disagree. In this article, I would like to give my honest review.
Part 1: Appearance
This ride looks great. Many people call it ugly, but I would disagree. Now, this is possibly because I'm a local that is used to the black and gold color schemes, but I think that this ride looks great.
Steel Curtain has a great paint job. When Kennywood repainted Skyrocket, the paint started wearing down pretty fast. Steel Curtain, though, looks great still. They run many cycles throughout spring-fall, and it still looks AMAZING. When it comes to appearance, I would give it a 10/10
Part 2: Trains
The trains look great. They are designed to look like a Steelers jersey. The trains have the numbers 19 and 33. This is a reference to how the Pittsburgh Steelers were founded in the summer of 1933. The seats are designed to look like footballs.
The restraints are very comfortable. S&S is starting to use these trains right now, along with a similar design used on their Thrust Air coasters in China. These restraints can't come down more during the ride (trust me: I tried). The lap bars have shin-guards that don't touch you.
In general, I would give the trains a 10/10.
Part 3: Forces
Steel Curtain has fun Airtime and Hangtime. The ride primarily focuses on Hangtime, but it has plenty of airtime, too. All of the inversions provide fun hangtime. There are some great floater airtime moments on the ride.
Steel Curtain is not known for the airtime, but it has plenty. The airtime isn't ejector, but it is fun, still. There is sustained floater throughout the ride.
There are plenty of positives during the ride. The laterals in the finale are good. The forces are more diverse than the other rides at the park. When it comes to forces, I'd give it a 10/10.
Part 4: Smoothness
After a video by Coaster Studios that falsely claimed it has a rattle, many people think that the ride is rough. This is wrong. The ride is as smooth as Phantom's Revenge. This is a clear 10/10 for smoothness.
Part 5: Operations
This is the one area where Steel Curtain fails BADLY. Steelers Country's ride ops also operate Arrow 360, which also has very slow operations.
Steel Curtain always has bad operations. The operations are always extremely slow. They always take around 2-3 minutes, and you are almost always stacked at the end of the ride. The first time I rode Steel Curtain on July 14, it took at least 5 minutes to dispatch! It always seems that, on this ride, a guest makes some mistake when boarding that leads. Honestly, I just can't give operations any more than a 1/10.
Final: The final score comes out to a 8.2/10. My personal score, though, would be a 10/10.