singemfrc

The layout is so much more creative than the US flyers. I wish I had any other reason to go to China so I could ride this thing. There is another example of a same model coaster being tamer in the US though there's only one of them so far. Intamin's ZacSpin at SFMM is set to be far more tame than its predecessor Insane in Sweden. Word is that is SFMM's operation decision though as opposed to a design decision by Intamin.

I had the exact same experience as you (I'm 6ft 0). It also didn't help that I had just gotten off Mean Streak and was already sore. Next time I will try to ride it earlier and over tighten the seat belt, I do think it would make a ton of difference if that lap bar wasn't cutting into my legs. I would not be surprised to see Maverick go on Fast Lane Plus next year with Gatekeeper getting dropped off. This is an outstanding idea to me..I agree. I was there on a pretty dead day where the FLP was pretty useless on GateKeeper but the Maverick FL line was still over 30 minutes. I think having Maverick and TTD on the FLP is the perfect set.

Its not that its gone downhill in months, you just had an unusually smooth ride the first time. I've had rides before yours that were very rough and others that were smoother. Its a crap shoot like a lot of rough rides. It still could with a Lap Bar and seatbelt I'll take that trade in a heartbeat.

Without any hesitation Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk's Giant Dipper.

I see that reaction on almost every ride on Gold Striker. I don't think it's better than El Toro or Outlaw Run, but it definitely gets that "Wow that was so much better than it looks!" reaction. My point is just that it's possible to have a GCI or "classic" coaster that still wows people. Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk's Giant Dipper was built in 1924 and still gets that reaction from folks who haven't ridden it. The best recorded example of that reaction is from Robb's video from Starry Sky Scraper/Scrapper in China.. you can hear when the train hits the breaks the people behind him sound so surprised it was so awesome its like disbelief!

A parking lot in their building's place would be preferable to me, at this point I'm admittedly just bitter and sick of them. I feel less and less diplomatic about it with each new tunnel they add.

GCI has been doing some good stuff lately. Gold Striker at CGA is an absolutely amazing ride. Hauls ass with tons of air time and it never slows down. They showed you can still make a world class coaster without gimmicks, like classic coasters used to be designed. I honestly think its in the top 2 or 3 of non-inverting wooden coasters in the country. Oh and it's SMOOTH! The new trains are very comfortable, I marathoned it for hours with no discomfort at all.

Well Im assuming it would be something like Six Flags' passes that work on the whole chain. I recently bought switched from season pass to membership which is the closest thing there is to a lifetime pass, where you just pay monthly indefinitely and it never expires unless you cancel it.

It really is one of the most beautiful and photogenic woodies I've ever seen, I'll definitely give it that, it looks fantastic.

I figured later that was the case since there was no one within 3 rows of me. I'm used to the back row being more fun on woodies and have never had anything close to being that painful..wish I had known better! That kind of ruined the rest of my day and gave me an unfair opinion of Magnum and Gemini since I was already sore when I got on them. I know those rides would have been a lot more fun had I done them earlier or just skipped Mean Streak. Perhaps next visit I will try to ride again but in the front row.

When I rode in September in the back row it was by far the roughest ride I have ever had in my life, I honestly was amazed that I was not injured. I was being beat up so bad I thought it was going to give me a hernia or break some ribs because my back was being repeatedly smashed into the seat so hard. Others in the train didn't have the same experience so I don't know if I just made a huge mistake sitting in the back row...but it was so painful (not just uncomfortable, painful!) I'm not going to risk finding out.

^ YOLO already has seat belts and Ninja isn't getting them since it already has OTSRs. Neither of these were for seat belts. YOLO was not "closed" so much as it was "broken down" - a train got stuck in the tunnel. How can the park give notice before a ride breaks down unexpectedly? We do know the chain has been installed on X2 because it has been seen on the lift, we don't know why the ride is still closed after the chain was installed. Could be a problem with the new chain, could be unrelated...but we do know they got the new chain and installed it. I don't remember the park confirming it would be closed through December but I heard hearsay from employees that they doubted it would be open by then.

You're right, my statement was admittedly myopic, there are limited rides for younger folks, I was only thinking about the popularity of the ride compared to others. Its not unusual for a ride to be down for a day or two every once in a while, but with X2 and YOLO being down it just added to the problem. At least at SFMM (if you're tall enough to ride everything) there are a lot more options..earlier this year I was at SFDK when Kong, Roar, V2, and Boomerang were all down the whole day leaving only 2 full size coasters operating out of 6.

YOLOCoaster wasn't down voluntarily, a train is stuck in the tunnel, no idea if it's the launch system or something else that caused the problem. I heard it broke down Friday or Saturday and remained down through Sunday. No idea what happened with Ninja, but really Ninja being down one day is not a huge deal. It would have been nice if they got X2 back up and running, but no idea what's causing it's continued downtime now that the chain is on site.

I personally don't think it's terrible, but it can be terribly overrated. (I think Green Lantern serves the purpose of SFMM's terrible coaster.) I know I'm in a minority but I absolutely love Green Lantern. I don't find it uncomfortable at all like a lot of people do, and I love that you never quite know when or how fast you're going to drop or what direction or how many times you'll flip. It's also easily the most forceful ride at the park (depending on your car's weight distribution). The fact that there's a single rider line that lets me basically just jump on the ride at any time regardless of the line is also a definite plus. GL and Riddler's single rider lines are the best, almost every time you can walk right onto the ride. Lex Luthor has one but you still wait 15-20 mins a lot of times and Viper and Revolution's Single Rider lines are pointless on most days.

It's not a terrible ride when working correctly, it's just gotten unforgivably rough in recent years...it wasn't always this bad. The first 3/4 of the ride is still amazing (still the best first drop on any coaster imo), but I just can't ride it more than once a day anymore it's too painful.

Just for the record everything except the part about the chain being installed is hearsay..the chain we can see is on the lift (or at least what we can see of it - which is why I dont know if it's 100%), but the rest are reports from people talking to employees, which we know are not always reliable.

I know the chain is at least mostly if not completely installed, but heard they encountered some unexpected difficulties. They had previously hoped to reopen by this weekend but now they're reportedly unsure if they can get it open by January.

They go by calendar year now, so they're good until 12/31. Yes any SF SP will get you into SFDK any operating day.

The only thing I bring specifically for the park (ie other than wallet and keys) is a small zip-up pouch just big enough to hold my cell phone that goes in my pocket and tethers to my belt loop by a keychain. It's not always necessary, but it's handy for something like S:UF at SFDK where pocket contents can be ejected.

How is that Premier's fault? The ride was designed without the need for seat belts. Six Flags decided to add them after the fact.

Yeah basically. Since SUF got belts and it has identical trains, and another coaster at SFMM got it, I think it's safe to conclude that YoloCoaster will get them at some point.

Well the seat belt additions aren't limited to SFMM, Superman at SFDK got seat belts added as of today. I'm sure YOLO will get them soon.

My opinion isnt really popular but I enjoy my local SLC a lot (Kong at SFDK). The main issue to me is that the OTSRs are made out of this really hard rubber that has no give to it and the thickness and position make it perfect for beating the crap out of your head if you're not careful. I've found that by simply turning my head in the direction of each turn, the back of my head stays against the OTSR and minimizes headbanging. The roughness is not enough to be painful (Unlike X2 [not an slc I know], which is so painful I absolutely cannot ride it more than once a day), so for me it actually adds to the ride and actually makes it a little more fun because I actually have to watch what I'm doing tl;dr - for me it's overrated, but I've only ridden one, others may be much worse.

I heard from a couple people that there is a crane working on X2 today..perhaps the new chain is being installed and it might reopen by the end of the year.