Schrecken
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Posts posted by Schrecken
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I've got a question for locals to this park or anyone else who is familiar with the surrounding area - what other things are there to do nearby? I've been to Knoebels in the past, but it's been a long time ago and I wasn't traveling with my husband who has no interest in parks and coasters.
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I had the same thing happen to me...once I got into my late 30s and early 40's my body began to rebel against my love for coasters. Motion sickness patches pretty much solve the problem for me. That, and avoiding more aggressive coasters earlier in the day (I'm a night owl and I don't do well with anything very active in the morning) ensures I don't have to battle motion sickness. I figured that one out when I realized that all of my episodes of queasiness happened while riding before noon. Finally, I also noticed that certain motions were much harder to tolerate, like going backwards. So, if I decide to ride a coaster (like a boomerang) that has a backwards portion, I just close my eyes during that part of the ride.
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Probably the most forceless coaster (outside of some family coasters and mine trains) is one that is, thankfully, no longer with us. That would be Psychlone at SFMM. All I remember it being was slow, dull and rough....The first drop was so sluggish that it made many of those milder mine trains and smaller family coasters feel like high thrill rides. The rest of the ride was like traveling over a pothole laden road in an old pickup truck. Almost no laterals, and very little on the negative (or positive) G's.
Another that comes to mind (and yes, also no longer with us) is Shockwave at KD. Only the loop had any real force, and it was rather mild compared to most other coasters I've ridden with vertical loops. The rest of the ride was not unlike a steel version of Psychlone - rough and devoid of much force. The bunny hops at the end gave very little in the way of negative G's, and felt like riding over that same pothole infested road, but this time while on a bicycle.
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Kind of reminds me of the time I was at Mt. Olympus and my friend and I witnessed a maintenance worker as he stood waiting on the platform until the one train on Hades dispatched. Then he jumped down onto the track and sprayed something on some part of the track (possibly something to do with the breaks...not sure) all the while looking over his shoulder and listening for the train to come back around. Then he would jump back up on the platform as the train headed for the brake run. It just blew my mind that someone would be allowed to do maintenance or repair work on the track while the ride was running, especially at a US park.
Obviously not a good idea to be on the track (or jumping over it) while the ride is running.
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I'm not a Steelers fan either (nor am I a huge sports fan in general), so the rest of the themed area would hold no interest for me. That said, out of all of my most favorite coasters, precious few have inversions. I've only ridden one S&S coaster, Steel Hawg at Indiana Beach, and I found it unimpressive - not rough or painful, but just meh..... Also, the idea of extreme height and inversions makes me think of Alpengeist, which was a blast when it first opened and I was much younger. But not I only ride it if I'm with someone who wants to ride. Some people have mentioned the layout looking like Drachen Fire - ugh! Let's hope it doesn't ride like it - otherwise I'd have a mighty sore neck and a headache upon getting off of it.
For me this coaster (no, the name doesn't really bother me - I've seen far worse) will likely be a ride for the credit (maybe with me wearing a Ravens shirt or jacket ) and possibly not much more. But I can see that for the locals the coaster and the whole area will probably be a huge success and it does make sense in being themed to something that represents the city.
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I'd also have to go with Apocalypse at SFA also. When I went to SF Great America a few years ago I missed Iron Wolf. At the time I was disappointed, but once I rode it in its current form, I was so glad I didn't waste time on trying to ride it at SFGA! Also not fond of Green Lantern and what used to be the Vortex at CGA. I didn't mind Riddler and Georgia Scorcher, but I regard stand-ups (B&M or other types) as I do other bad fads of the past - I have no interest in them whatsoever and I doubt I'll ever ride another.
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IMO the worst Arrow (and possibly one of the worst coasters ever, period) that I've ever ridden was Drachen Fire. I'll never forget the first (and only) time I rode it back in 96'. I was there with a friend and the park was pretty crowded - even Nessie had an hour long line, and so did BBW. But to reasons yet unknown to me, DF was, quite literally, a walk-on. At the time Alpengiest had yet to be built, and DF was the park's newest coaster, so I could not imagine why there was no line. Well, it didn't take my friend and I long to find out why....after suffering thru that horrid ride, we sat things out for about a half hour until our necks and heads quit aching.
I've been in a few car accidents over the years, and one of them came very close to approximating the feel (and after-effects) of riding DF - the time I was in a small car going about 20mph and I t-boned a much larger vehicle that ran a stop sign. The only difference on DF was no sound of crunching of metal....
And there is only one other coaster (besides DF) I've ever been on that also closely approximated the effects of such an accident on my neck - Son of Beast. And we all know what happened to it.
As for other Arrows, I'm not very fond of any of those that have corkscrews (yes, the namesake at CP). I've always felt that such muli-element Arrows would have made much better rides if they had all been "Phantom-ed" - maybe keep the vertical loops, but replace corkscrews and other inversions with airtime hills. OK, you may have ended up with negative G thigh-slamming (ala Magnum) but at least you wouldn't have got your ears boxed in. For instance, I always liked Anaconda's first drop into the lake and the two vertical elements were OK, but the rest of the ride sucked royally!
For non-loopers, I also found the mine train at SF Great Adventure to be unusually rough compared to other Arrow mine trains I've ridden. I don't know if it's the worst Arrow mine train, but I'm not in a big hurry to ride it again, let's put it this way.
As for the odd-balls, I actually liked X the year it opened - I didn't find it rough at all. Actually I thought one of the other Arrows in that park (Viper, not the Gold Rusher) was rougher and caused more head-banging.
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I'm afraid I have just about come up empty handed, or close to it, especially considering that not a single one of the dozen or so coasters that opened in my birth year is still operating. So I'd never be able to ride any of them unless someone builds a time machine.
But amazingly, I did get to ride one of them, one that I actually enjoyed, though it was no where near as thrilling as most of the steel coasters built more recently. The now scrapped Wildcat at CP was first opened about a month after I was born in 1970.
I'd have to pick Wildcat as #1, because of course that's the only one I rode. As for two others, there were two woodies and the rest appear to have been most a bunch of Schwarzkopf steelies like Wildcat. Tornado, an out and back woodie at the defunct Florida park Petticoat Junction, looks like it might have been fun.
Also interesting is one called Toboggan, which was one of those mysterious coasters that never opened to the public. It appears to have been a forerunner to the mountain coasters which are often found at ski resorts today.
And speaking of defunct parks, one of the coasters, a Jet Star, was also at the abandoned Spreepark in Germany.
BTW, if anyone is interested, here is the entire list for 1970:
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I have ridden Skyrush many, many times, including one day where I did a marathon of about a dozen rides (not all in a row - I took about a couple hour break doing other coasters and rides in between two sessions) and at the end of the day my thighs were indeed getting sore. I know I could have done more if not for that fact. However, to ride it only once is, IMO, nothing in comparison. So yes, it did feel like someone had sat two complete sets (one on each thigh) of the printed version of the Encyclopedia Britannica on my lap for the length of the ride. But, I quickly discovered that such a heavy weight iron grip is quite a welcome thing once the train went over the first drop and then entered the first airtime hill. That is because the negative G's are not unlike what I might imagine it would be like being strapped onto the back of fearsome wild horse that is doing everything in its power to throw you off....OK so StormRunner has the horse theme, but that isn't the coaster that feels like it is trying to buck you off of it. Then you realize you really need the vice grip pinning your legs to the seat!
On a side note, I rode Skyrush with a friend the year after it opened, and the ride op let her sit on her flip flops (I don't think they had those bins back then where you can put your stuff; either that or she just didn't feel like getting up and taking them over to the bins). Well, let's put it this way - when she came back her shoes were gone! imagine that - despite the vice grip restraints, the fearsome airtime somehow managed to separate her butt from the seat long enough for the flip flops to go airborne.
All of that said, I would describe the restraints to be uncomfortable, at worst, especially for only one ride (or in my case, my first ride of the day). And also what others have said - middle seats are best, and the wing seats (especially the back ones) are the "hard core" places to sit. BTW, my favorite seat to marathon is one of the very last middle seats - the entire ride is a bit smoother, the airtime is still monstrous, and my thighs hold out longer.
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You have some very interesting and beautifully composed photos there! There are so many shots of neat looking scenery and elements that would seldom ever be seen in the photos of most tourists. Some parks do put quite a bit of effort into all of this background stuff that most everyone notices but few pay close attention to. I worked as a scenic artist for a company that did some jobs for Universal IOA back in the late 90's and that park does give much attention to detail, even for stuff that might end up blending into the background.
I will be looking forward to seeing your next set of pics.
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I've said it before, and I'll say it again: SFA will get a NEW coaster (meaning something brand new and built specifically for the park; not a hand-me-down) once all of these three things happen -
#1 - Amelia Earhart's plane wreckage/and/or her remains are found
#2 - Jimmy Hoffa's body is found
#3 - a certain really hot place freezes over
Actually, I saw that not long ago some scientists believe that they have positively ID'd Earhart's remains to a 99% certainty, so one of those things possibly has already happened!
Now, all we have to do is wait for the other two to happen.....But all I've got to say is I'm not waiting around anxiously with bated breath!
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I just got home from a very long day that began with a trip to KD and so here is my mini-TR of the media event and official opening of Twisted Timbers.
This morning I had to get up quite early to get to KD by around 9:30, and because my boyfriend drives with a bit of a lead foot we got there a little before 9. It was quite chilly outside but at least the sun was nice and bright, and I was comfortable in several layers of clothing. My boyfriend is not a coaster person and so he went off to do some thrift store shoppping. Unfortunately the battery in my car died in the parking lot but he was able to find a park security person to give him a jump so he could get a new battery.
Anyway, the first order of the day (once the crowd was walked back to the TT area was to pause for some brief speeches by various park management. During this time Charlie Brown and Snoopy also made their appearance. Then finally we were given the go ahead to get in line to take our first rides. For me, this was fairly monumental, since I had never set foot on or laid eyes on an RMC-ed coaster before. The good thing was that they gave us free locker access for the entire event, but the bad thing was that I wasn't even able to take my fanny pack on ride (which I had bought especially for that purpose - to hold my phone and a couple other things while I rode. That made it a bit more challenging to get pics of the station and trains. This was also when I wished I had accepted my BF's offer to borrow one of his jackets - one with zippered pockets in it! So be aware that they won't even allow fanny packs on this coaster (I don't recall not being able to take fanny packs on the park's other coasters; but then again I have not been to KD in at least 5 years.
So, after about a 15 minute wait, I was finally up to the gates. The trains were quite different from any I had ever seen, and once I climbed into my seat I realized how problematic that type of restraint might be for someone who was larger and/or taller than I. I had no issues with it at all, and the only thing I wasn't crazy about was being stapled a couple of times. But luckily the lap bar sits lower than the restraint on El Toro so I did not feel like I was being punched in the upper abdomen every time I hit an airtime hill.
They were more or less placing people in rows, so my first ride was about 4 rows back from the front. I was not expecting roughness so I really wasn't worried about where I might have to sit. Once the train was dispatched we were soon upon the lift hill. Someone in another thread mentioned that RMC lifts are loud, and that was indeed the case. So we had a clanging, clattering ride to the top, though I wasn't sure how going into an inversion even before the middle of the first drop would be. I have never been a big fan of any kind of inversion on any kind of coaster that includes any part that is a traditional woodie - in other words, IMO leave the loops and rolls to the full steel coasters. I did not feel that they detracted from the ride, nor did I think that they added much to it either. That said, the aforementioned 360 roll was very smooth (very B&M like - a "hearline" roll where you just seem to float in your seat) as was the transition into the bottom of the drop and then into the over bank curve. It was after that point that the real fun began - it was the "attack of the killer airtime"!
I would put TT on a par with El Toro and maybe even just a couple of notches below Skyrush. TT has, by far, the most air in the park. Let's put it this way: after about 3 rides or so, I could feel my legs getting sore due to being thrust hard against the lap bar. And TT has so many air-time hills + the portion of trick-track near the end caught me quite by surprise (a very pleasant one at that), because I was not in the front and therefore could not see it coming. The air doesn't peter out until the train is on the brake block.
I quite happy now to live roughly within a triad of killer air-time (no park more than 2.5 hours away)- Skyrush to the north, El toro to the east and now Twisted Timbers to the south. If I were to re-rank my favorite coasters, TT would for sure be in the top ten.
So, without further adieu, here are some of the pics I took this morning (I am going to link these to an online gallery because they are large images + my internet is running real slow tonight):
Here are some of the opening ceremony where they showed a time lapse of the building of TT and one of the ceremony:
Here are a couple of pics of the food buffet they had set up infront of the Juke Box diner:
They had sliders, breakfast food, cockail shrimp, and various kinds of sweets. Here is a pic of some of what they had - the things on the sticks are chocolate covered strawberries.
Here are several pics of TT itself, of variuos parts of the ride (the pathway gives ample opportunities to take great pics):
And some of the themeing:
The station:
Nice shiny new lift motor:
My selfie:My on-ride pic (yes I'm holding on at that point because I was still getting used to the awesome airtime):
Finally a shot of a train going up the lift hill:
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I have never had to take the "walk of shame" on any coaster (though I did on one flat ride and almost did on another) but I do recall a few that had the potential to be "close". I am 5'3" and about 30lbs heavier than I should be, and in my case roughly 90% of that excess is below the waist, as is the case with many women. On Millennium Force, Skyrush and S:ROS (SFA) I don't think I've ever had more than about 1.5" of excess belt; and sometimes almost nothing, depending on what seat I was in on which coaster. So for anyone with large hips/thighs, some of these Intamin coasters can be quite unforgiving. On MF one time I had to kind of shuffle around in the seat to get the belt closed.....and unlike a big belly, it isn't something you can just lift up out of the way of the belt/restraint. I remember seeing people with very large bellies have less trouble on those rides than I did simply because they had small, slim hips and legs.
Other than that, I've not had any issues on any other coaster due to my hip girth. The only size problem (and unlike my weight I have no control over my height) that makes many coasters uncomfortable for me is that being 5'3" puts my head and ears right in the prime bash zone for many OTSRs. But other than avoiding those coasters and being glad that many manufacturers are doing away with those kinds of restraints, there is little I can do.
As for the flat rides, the one I had to decline was a carousel. It was a little smaller than what would be a typical full-size version (because it was indoors), but it wasn't a kiddie ride either. Again, my hips denied me a ride on that one because it had a seatbelt that I could not get around me. The "almost" was the Claw at Hershey - this time not because of my hips but my chest. I was able to ride, but only after I tried another seat and once the restraint was closed, I felt that I could barely breathe. Talk about being stapled....I am not sure of the make/model of that particular ride, but I do know that I've not had any problems with other large types of pendulum/frisbee rides like Black Widow at Kennywood and Max-Air at CP. So if you have a barrel chest (or are a women with an ample bust) you might want to avoid that one (and any others like it) all together. Luckily neither the Claw nor the down-sized carousel were of any concern that I could not ride them. If I found I couldn't ride Skyrush, THEN I'd have a problem!
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How strange it was that not very long ago I was half-heartedly joking to someone that due to the accelerated expunging of historical nomenclature, one day soon KD would ditch the name "Rebel Yell".... That said, it seems surely they could do better than that which sounds exactly like a clone of the KI Racer. And it won't surprise me if the ignorant GP don't think that is the case. A better option might have been "_______ Racer" with another word before "Racer". Maybe paint the railings red and call it "Red Racer" to go with the apple theme....
But I don't know, I'm 47 years old, and it was called Rebel Yell when I was a child, and ever since then, and to me it will always be the Rebel Yell, even if they were to re-brand it the "Dog Fart Coaster".
Now as for "Apple Zapple"....that's just downright bizarre! Sounds like a brand name for a fruit flavored chewing gum!
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If you are limiting "Eurofighters" to only coasters made by Gerstlauer (and not other manufacturers who have made very similar-styled coasters, like Skyrocket at Kennywood) I have only ridden two so far. Mystery Mine at Dollywood and Spongebob and Nick Universe. Spongebob packed more punch by far; probably because it is smaller, and smaller inversions tend to be more intense than larger elements. But Mystery Mine was overall IMO the better of the two because of the themeing and the parts that are indoors, even though it lacked the intensity of Spongebob.
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I like Halloween and pretty much everything to do with it, so I have no issue with parks celebrating it. I do have a friend who does not like the foggy areas where they have "scare zones" not because she's afraid of the characters but she doesn't like not being able to see where she's going. So she isn't too keen on Halloween in parks for a somewhat different reason (other than just not liking the Halloween stuff).
And there is one big upside to going to parks that have Halloween events - generally the coasters and other rides are very uncrowded if you go earlier in the day before the mazes open up. So it is a good time to get plenty of re-rides on your favorites because they are often walk-ons, even if you have no interest in the Halloween festivities.
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I think I may have said something to this effect before in years past, but I truly believe that SFA will get a new coaster (meaning brand-new, not a hand-me-down from some other park in the chain) when at least one of three things occur:
#1 - Amelia Earhart's plane is found
#2 Jimmy Hoffa's body is found
#3 you know where freezes over
Thing is, sadly for us coaster fans, the water park is SFA's bread and butter (even though it is only open for three months out of the year) and I truly question whether the dry side would even survive without it. Kind of like a restaurant that serves mediocre food but has a very busy, popular bar - take the bar away and the place goes under. Such a restaurant would be much more inclined to spend money renovating and improving the bar area than the rest of the place because that is what pays most of the bills. Same thing with SFA I believe. They have little incentive to do much for the dry side when it is the water park that is most popular with the average guest.
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Well, that depends on several factors - which "home" park I'm talking about (SFA is closest mileage wise but I've not been there in years so I usually go to either KD or Hershey) and rides that I will only ride if someone I'm with wants to go on them, or rides I will simply not ride at all, regardless of circumstances.
There are very few coasters (at any parks, not just nearby ones) I refuse to set foot on, but at KD Hurler was one of them, as was Shockwave. So glad to see Shockwave has become scrap iron and Hurler is being reborn into something that should be quite rideable. At HP Wildcat is in a grey area here - if I was with someone who really wanted to ride it (and insisted on having me with go them) I might manage to grit my teeth thru a front non-wheel seat ride as long as my back was feeling OK. But that would be the only way I'd ride it. Same thing for Apocalypse at SFA - I could grin and bear a single front seat only ride. I'd also have to place Mind Eraser in this category as well. All other coasters at these parks I wouldn't have a problem with riding, even though not all of them are ones I particularly care for.
Kiddie coasters I generally don't bother with anyway, and would only ride (maybe, rarely) if I was feeling the need for a credit, or, again, I was with someone who wanted to ride (like another adult who wanted the credit - that's how I've gotten what few kiddie coaster credits I have under my belt - because I was with someone who wanted the credit).
As for other rides, that would be mostly dependent on the type of ride (rather than its location) as to whether I'd refuse to ride at all, "grin and bear it" and ride if someone begged me to go on with them, or have no problem riding/enjoy riding.
Generally I've gotten to a point in my life where the hard-core "spin and spew" rides tend to cause me issues like motion sickness (even with RX meds on board at times!) and headaches. So I tend to avoid the "spinniest" of them, like gravitons, round-ups, tea cups and other amusement park centrifuges. I used to love those kinds of things as a kid/teen, but I don't have teen's body anymore...... The monster/octopus flat is also a no-no, because even when I was young I got sick on them. Also, flats that have upside down stationary "hang time" I will also avoid, like top spins. I can deal with some others like enterprises (as long as my back is OK - there's nothing like a prolonged interval of spinal compression to aggravate that 'ol degenerative disk disease ) because if I close my eyes they can actually be relaxing. Also don't care for pirate ships either - they can also bring on the nausea. Himalaya/music express type flats are a maybe - all depends on how I feel. Sometimes I can enjoy them, while at other times they rub me the wrong way. Most of the aforementioned rides I will absolutely refuse, but some are in the "grin and bear it" class.
Most drop towers are in the "will not ride at all" category, with the exception of those that bounce, like double shots. I will always sit most of those out.
As for up-charge rides, I only will go on them if I'm with someone who really wants to go. And also depending on the type of ride. I like sky coasters but bungee rides, not so much.
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I got 46 out of 100. I would have to agree that is indeed a rather peculiar list.....
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My 200th coaster was Wild Thing at VF a few years ago, but more recently I made it to my 50th woodie when I rode Invadr at BGE earlier this spring. Invadr was also my 252nd coaster of all types overall. Sadly I do not recall what my 100th coaster was (other than it would have been one on the west coast when I lived in California for a few years in the late 90's) nor my 150th. Thinking back I do believe that Laff Track at HP might just have been my 250th, though that surely wasn't the way I intentionally planned it. Normally I just go and ride and don't think much about milestones but rather overall count.
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It seems to me that Hypersonic at KD had a really hard, fast stop. Also, while not an end brake run, the sudden, screeching halt into the mid-course brake on Goliath at SFMM was pretty intense. I remember learning to brace for that one....
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Probably the biggest shock for me was Space Mountain at WDW, especially since I didn't even know at the time that it WAS a coaster! I was at the park when I was 5 years old with my mom and a friend and we decided to go on this brand new ride.....I remember my mom puzzling at the signs warning people with bad backs (and certain other health issues) and pregnant women to not ride. The only coasters I knew anything about (but had never ridden) were old woodies where you could see what you were up against, so to speak. The first modern looping coaster in the US was still only on the drawing board (or at best just beginning to be built) back in those days as well. So we did end up riding SM, and my 5 year old self was fully convinced that there were 90 degree drops and even a couple of inversions housed inside of that building! Back then, coaster POVs weren't even a thing (outside of park commercials), and even if they were the lights would have had to be on to film it. Not to mention film cameras were rather bulky things in those days.... I didn't really learn the layout until much later on I found pics of the tracks and POV footage on line. Needless to say it was quite different riding it three years ago once I knew the layout - and I was much older!
Other coasters I had little or no idea of the layout include other indoor coasters like Flight of Fear (though I had seen a few still pics of outdoor versions of the Premier "spaghetti bowl" coaster but it wasn't the same as a POV), Exterminator at KW (though I knew it was a spinning mouse), Skull Mountain (knew it was a non-inverting family coaster), Dark Knight (knew it was a mouse) and the indoor part of Verbolten (though I did know about the drop track). Another was Lost Coaster at Indiana Beach, because some of it is hidden and I ended up riding backwards the first time. Unlike Space Mountain I had some idea of what these coasters would be like, even though familiarity with the layout eluded me.
Then there were coasters that were outdoors that were either mostly hidden (Grizzly at KD way back when, Big Bad Wolf, to name two) or I ended up taking my first ride on them at night. But complete unfamiliarity these days for me would be quite rare, because I always watch POVs and for coasters with indoor portions I pretty much always find out about what they are like from various public sources before I end up riding them.
And then there is the original X at SFMM....even though it sat there plain as day out in the open, I swear I had to ride it at least a half dozen times to actually be able to orient myself to each particular part of the ride and where on the track that element was. That was the most disorienting coaster I had ever been on that wasn't indoors in the dark, so being able to see the full layout really didn't help much.
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While I can't really think of too many particular coasters, I do think that theming coasters to films and/or television shows that have only fleeting interest is a bad idea. The original theming of the Hurler is a good example, as is the Stunt Coaster (which of course was themed to and named after the now-forgotten film Italian Job) in the same park. Some coasters and rides themed to films can be easily transformed into generic themes once the licensing has run out (and said movie has mostly been forgotten about and is no longer relevant) but others, not so much.
The name "Hurler" is fairly generic and is IMO more or less suitable for a coaster so at least they were able to keep the name have it stand on its own, so to speak. But Italian Job became Stunt Coaster which, once decoupled from that long-forgotten flick, now suffers from a rather lame and pretentious theme, especially since some of the effects don't always work. But on the other hand, cloned-theme coasters like Top Gun, most of which became Flight Deck, are still able to work well with the general fighter plane theme. Which of course is quite appropriate for a looping coaster (though not so much for Flight Deck at KI as it is an Arrow suspended) since some of the elements are named after fighter jet maneuvers.
So I would say that the worst themes would include those that are transient in nature, not applicable to a generic idea and specific to a movie or tv show that will be forgotten about in only a couple of years.
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I have always liked observation towers, including those that provided a few moments of A/C on a hot day. And given my propensity towards wanting to photograph and document my travels, it makes sense that I would find observation towers to be worthwhile.
That said, it's IMO unlikely that they will ever be as common as they were in the last few decades, most likely because the novelty of the view provided by a high look out point has faded (unless of course the view itself is a huge draw). Ariel views are quite ubiquitous these days, especially with drone footage and all, so being able to see a park from above may not be that compelling anymore.
Knoebels Discussion Thread
in Theme Parks, Roller Coasters, & Donkeys!
Posted
OK, thanks everyone for suggestions. I do remember the "middle of nowhere" thing when I was there years ago..... We will figure something out!