philthephorce

Isn't Montu's Batwing BEFORE the MCBR??? Anyways, I like the good ol' Schwartzkopf loop...especially on the shuttles. I love the way they blast through the loop on the forward trip.

I grayed out on Montu back in '96.

Magnum XL 200 has left me a bit disturbed...for life. When I first rode it in 1989, I hadn't been on many large coasters up to that point. Kennywood is my home park so the largest coaster I had been on was the Laser Loop (a Schwartzkopf flywheel shuttle loop.) My experience on Gemini the year before was a bit terrifying going up the lift hill, but Maggie took me to an all new level of fear. This was the first (and only) time in my life that I was absolutely convinced that I would fall out and die on a coaster. I was there on my school's picnic trip to CP and I was riding Maggie for the first time with a rather chubby kid named, hhmmm, let's call him Berkeley. When it was our turn to board the train, I was too nervous to go first, so I let Berkeley in and I followed. As soon as I sat in my seat (I forget which train/ car it was) I thought I would pee myself. I thought to myself that the sides of the car were too low. I wanted to sit way, way down in the seat, I wanted to sit in a bucket. Somehow I managed to downplay my fear (or so I thought) but that would all change soon. Out of the station we go, and we begin to take our minute-long trek up the lift. Do you know how your mind tends to exaggerate things when you're scared shizzle-less? Well, I could've sworn we were already 200 feet up after the first 5 seconds. I kept looking over (as opposed to down and back) at Gemini in disbelief--that was the only thing that kept me sane enough to realize that we weren't that high up yet, but clammy with the anticipation of what it will look like when we get closer to the top. I tried all kinds of ways to brace myself between Berkeley and the side of the car. I just knew Berkely would call me names and laugh at me for being such a chicken, but he hardly paid me any attention: he was scared stiff! When we got to the top, I could've sworn we were soo close to being in outer space. I had never been in an airplane at the time, so I had nothing to compare this to. Also, I was impressed with my strong, young bladder! I managed to, eh-hem, stay dry even when plummetting for what felt like forever down the first drop. The rest of the ride was alot less scary, but alot of fun. To this day, every time I ride Maggie I think of my first ride in 1989, and how bad it scared me. I still get just a tad nervous when I ride, even though I've been on much larger rides. As a matter of fact, I don't really get nervous on roller coasters anymore...except Maggie. :shock: [/i]

The only rough coaster experience I've had that's worth complaining about is my last ride (trust me, ride is hardly the qualitative word for what went on...) on Mean Streak. For some inexplicable reason, I LEANED BACK (a huge No-no) in the valley after the first dip. To make a long story short, I got off with a headache, and mild nausea. For several weeks after, I still got frequent headaches...but I'm all better now.

Thunderhead, X, Hades, Hydra, Lightning Racers (oh heck! All GCI coasters...), Balder...the list goes on and on...

I was introduced to TPR when Robb posted a link to the Hades video on CoasterSims.com Yay (!) for my first post here!!!