Whatever he wants to call himself these days, be it CoasterRCTNick, Mortician, or his current Ablaze moniker, one thing remains certain: the guy can build parks. Portal of Heaven may very well represent a pinnacle of design for Ablaze as well, featuring tremendous theming, some nice rides, and a very wonderful atmosphere.
We begin with Vim, a pretty cool inverted coaster set in the typical tropical environment. The coaster itself zooms through six wonderful inversions, and the surrounding theming looks very nice and almost the same as every other “Tropico style” work, until you notice that the architecture is a little unique. It seems to take on a simpler, more vernacular trait, which actually improves things quite a bit. This subtle twist on the traditional sunny theme is a pretty nice move on Ablaze’s part.
Equinox, set in the Japan Game Test Site, is an interesting play on setting and ride. The coaster itself isn’t the most intense thing in the world, but the area is pretty interesting and unique. This is probably the style we’re more used to from Mort, and it’s executed pretty well. It’s almost playful in its use of the dark style, mixing a variety of trees and theming objects that normally should never be mixed, and yet come out looking decently well here.
In Istanbul, don’t the fact that there aren’t supposed to be any buffalo ruin your experience on Bison Run, a nice compact Arrow looper practically buried underneath the architecture and landscaping. This seems a little too dense compared to what one might normally expect from such a titled themed area, especially with all the trees, but the coaster itself is pretty interesting. It looks a bit longer than its 59 second cycle time might suggest, and I’m not sure the area really conveys a Turkish feel, but it’s still nice nonetheless.