
Schrecken
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Everything posted by Schrecken
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Worst roller coaster theme
Schrecken replied to WestCoasterKing's topic in Theme Parks, Roller Coasters, & Donkeys!
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. -
Should observation towers make a comeback?
Schrecken replied to Samuel's topic in Theme Parks, Roller Coasters, & Donkeys!
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. -
You Might Be A Coaster Nerd If....
Schrecken replied to PCW_Nut's topic in Theme Parks, Roller Coasters, & Donkeys!
Or you hear that old song "Rocky Mountain Way" by Joe Walsh (or, I suppose, John Denver's "Rocky Mountain High", though that might also bring to mind other things for some people....) and your mind immediately turns to RMC coasters. -
What is your next park?
Schrecken replied to onewheeled999's topic in Theme Parks, Roller Coasters, & Donkeys!
I am planning on going to BGE the first weekend in June. The last time I was there Verbolten was the most recent coaster so I'll hopefully get to add a couple of new ones to my coaster count. -
The "perfect" roller coaster
Schrecken replied to LiftThrill's topic in Theme Parks, Roller Coasters, & Donkeys!
My perfect coaster would be a variation on Skyrush (which is quite close to perfect IMO). The first thing I'd do would be to make it longer, and I'd also keep all of the current awesome features like the airtime heavy first drop and multiple hills. But what I would do with the extra length is to add in some less ferocious negative G elements to give occasional breaks between the intense stuff, simply to make it more re-rideable. No helix, no major positive G features, just a few relatively more gentle airtime hills and turns interspersed with the breath-taking negative G elements. And finally, I would change the restraints to make them more comfortable for riders while still keeping people from being ripped out of their seats. Not sure how I'd do that, though, but I'm sure there's a way. Possibly a different shaped part of the restraint that would come down over the rider's thighs to be more ergonomic, not unlike the B&M clamshell lap restraint. So this would be a coaster that would be comfortable to ride for most everyone, and would still feature mind-blowing negative G's but would also have decent re-rideability. That would be perfection, IMO. -
Some that come to mind for me would be (as many others have mentioned already) - Mean streak. Given that it looks fairly imposing, one would expect a whole lot more from not only the drop, but the whole ride. Also I-305 back when it had that stupid trim right at the edge of the first drop. I realize there was a reason for it to be there, but still, it pretty much killed the experience for me and I was quite happy when I returned the following year and it was gone. Then there was Psychlone at SFMM - thankfully long ago demolished. Its first drop was essentially a smaller version of Mean Streak's (abnormally slow and rough), and the drop (and the entire ride!) was not unlike riding a ten-speed bike along a gravel road loaded with craters and potholes. I could have swore the train had ran over something....on the drop and in many other places. Now the first drop on Goliath at SFMM in my mind is middling...far from the worst, but also no where near the best drop. However, I can recall riding it on some warm nights where said drop was "enhanced" (if you can call it that ) by the scent of a skunk in the tunnel! I suppose one could say that lent something to the experience, though obviously not positive (unless you like skunk odor). If you think Goliath's drop stinks, it would have even more so with skunk aroma in the tunnel. As for Great Bear, I agree that it is surely not the most exciting B&M drop out there, but, it is unique. I do kind of like the way it meanders a bit and builds up some speed for when the drop steepens. In many ways it does exactly the opposite of its neighbor Skyrush. Instead of whipping riders over the crest and down a steep hill with breathtaking speed, it gradually slopes and builds up speed to a fun but not ferocious plunge. Skyrush is still my #1 overall, but I do like GB a lot and find it to be very enjoyable and re-rideable, weird drop and all.
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Of all the coasters at SFA, I personally think that Apocalypse has one of the coolest color schemes on a coaster in a long time. Which makes it a shame that it's such a crappy ride IMO. So I would rank it as #1. #2 would be Joker's Jinx - tertiary color schemes always work out well (on most rides at least) and the purple and green go nicely here. #3 would be Batwing - again, another color combo where the colors play off of each other and accentuate each other making for a nice visual statement. #4 Ragin Cajun - green & yellow is OK (with the magenta accent on the trains) - not great but not horrible either. If Two-Face was still at the park I'd place it in the #4 slot above RC with its orange and teal scheme. #5 and the bottom of the barrel - Mind Eraser. I kinda liked its old 1950's color combo of teal and bright red, but this current hotdog and mustard mix up is just putrid. They have taken a crummy coaster and made it even worse with a barf-inducing pallete. Most anything would be better - even black and white or the ubiquitous red and white. I did not rank the woodies in with these because the colors for them tend to be quite limited, but I would put Wild One over Roar because I like white painted woodies better than natural woodies.
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Weird Roller Coaster Dreams
Schrecken replied to alpengeistdude321's topic in Theme Parks, Roller Coasters, & Donkeys!
Over the past year or so (might be more like a couple of years) I've been having repetitive dreams about me going to SFMM. Now, it isn't too strange since SFMM was at one time my home park (from about 1998-2002) but I have no idea why after all this time I am dreaming about it. In all the dreams I am planning a trip to SFMM and generally I am arriving there at the beginning of the dream. Many times I have a friend with me (sometimes different people) but other times I am alone. The actual "plot" of the dreams will vary, but the underlying theme is that I (we) tend to get there later than planned and don't have enough time to ride everything we want to ride. Sometimes it will be getting dark, and other times it is already dark. As for the coasters themselves, sometimes I dream about coasters the park really has, but other times the park is populated by fantastic and bizarre coasters that don't exist. Most of the time something comes up (like my friend has to leave, the park is closing soon, huge crowds, etc) and I don't get to ride any of them (or at least not the ones I came to ride), but in other dreams I do, or at least I get in line and make it to the station. In one dream they had a coaster that seemed to cover a large portion of the park - it must have been over a mile and a half long and had multiple lifts. I got in line but I didn't get to ride it. In another there was a coaster that was themed to jumping off a cliff in a hang glider - it had a Griffon-like first drop but was taller and was set into the side of a huge fake escarpment which was built on a hillside somewhere North of Goliath, possibly where Psychlone used to be or behind that area. After the drop there were some very un-glider-like loops and some nice airtime hills. I don't remember whether it was a sit down or a suspended coaster, but I do think it was a B&M. Other aspects of these dreams include me not being able to get to the part of the park where the coaster I want to ride is located. Or, I'll ride other things and work my way to that part of the park but still be unable to ride (the coaster is closed, the park closes, etc) for various reasons. Or I will simply wake up before I get to ride. Normally in most coaster dreams I actually get to ride. -
I actually have experienced this park on a dead day - ironically it was my first visit, on a Saturday in September and the sky was grey and it looked like it would pour at any minute. But despite the threatening sky, it only started to rain around 9pm (and yes I remember KK shutting down because I had hoped for another ride before I left). So a cloudy day in April does sound like a good time to go.
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What week is spring break this year? Sorry, I've not been in college for a very long time...also never realized that this park would open for the whole week since spring break is usually sometime March. The park schedule is not yet up on the website. Fast pass isn't so much of a concern money wise for me but I'm going to be taking a friend's daughter (an older teen, not a child) and I don't think their money situation is too great.
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Top/Favorite Hyper Coasters
Schrecken replied to boldikus's topic in Theme Parks, Roller Coasters, & Donkeys!
My ranking goes like this: #1 Skyrush - not only is it my favorite hyper, it is my all time favorite coaster, period. No coaster I've ridden thus far, regardless of type, packs the raw and explosive airtime of Skyrush. It is like being strapped onto the back of some ferocious wild animal that is doing everything in its power to throw you off... #2 I'd have to go with Phantom's Revenge - a great second drop, and loads of airtime hills all the way to the very end. #3 probably Nitro. Nice layout, decent airtime, and a forceful helix towards the end. #4 Apollos Chariot - not quite as much air as Nitro and no helix, but still a fun out and back layout with some good airtime hills. #5 Intimidator (Carowinds) - see above comments on Apollo, but with a less interesting layout situated on flat terrain. #6 Goliath at SFMM - nice first drop and the helix packs a heck of a positive G-punch (I greyed out on that many times but never on I-305), but sadly there isn't as much airtime as other hypers. Then there's the mid course brake - I rode Goliath when it opened and the MCBR was either off or it didn't do much at all and there was a greater sense of speed before it nearly stopped the trains as it did later on (and I guess still does). But then again I guess some people couldn't deal with the intensity of the positive g's in the helix with the extra incoming speed. I also have a soft spot in my heart for this coaster because it is the coaster I've ridden the most - I think I got to 108 times (in a couple of seasons, I could have gotten many more rides under my belt had I not moved out of state). #7 Wild Thing - not a bad old-school hyper; packs a sense of decent speed and some airtime, but also some slightly jerky transitions in places. #8 Steel Force - hard to really comment on this one as I was a bit queasy when I rode it due to riding some flat I shouldn't have ridden right before. But what I do recall is that it was a very slightly watered down version of Wild Thing. Now, there is also the question of Goliath at SFOG. I did ride it, but I can't really decide where to place it in my list because I only got to ride it once (maybe twice?) and I did not get to choose seats because I was with a friend who had injured her hip and she had a handicapped pass. I remember that we got placed close to the center of the train where on many coasters airtime tends to be less extreme. And also it was a hellishly hot day with the heat index close to 120, as there was a terrible heat wave when we were there. So battling brutal heat didn't help with my attempt to form an opinion of the ride. Based on what little I remember, I'd probably place it between Carowinds Intimidator and SFMM Goliath, which may not do it justice, but again I did not experience it under good conditions. I would have to put Magnum XL at the bottom of my list for two reasons - one, its roughness (even when avoiding a wheel seat) which made the airtime uncomfortable if not painful in places, and secondly, being that I am rather short, I always felt like I was sitting down in a bathtub or something, even while riding in the front seat. I am too short to even see over the plexiglass windscreen thing on the front of the train, so that killed a lot of the sense of speed and feeling of rushing thru the open air for me. Gee, forgot all about Raging Bull....not sure where I'd rank it but for sure it would be close to the bottom. Maybe just above Magnum for the fact that it wasn't rough or jarring, but otherwise, it was the most entirely forgettable of the whole lot of hypers I've ridden. Or maybe below Magnum, because at least Magnum made enough of an impression upon me that I remember it well, even if for some negative reasons. -
Cargo Shorts. Your thoughts?
Schrecken replied to ElectricUncleSam's topic in Theme Parks, Roller Coasters, & Donkeys!
I have one pair of cargo shorts (which are pink, came from Lands End and have zip off lower legs so they can be converted to long pants if the weather changes) so occasionally I do wear them to parks. But in lieu of that, I wear jeans or denim shorts with my own little coaster-proof pocket set up which consists of a heavy-duty freezer zipper bag, 3-4 large safety pins and a reasonably deep front side pocket. I put a credit/debit card, some cash, my car key (just that key itself; all others are left in the car), my ID, maybe a lip balm and my phone in the bag, then zip it closed, put it into the pocket, and then fasten the top edge (where the pins go thru the top edge/opening of the bag) to the outer lip of the pocket. That way, even if a ride was intense enough to lift the bag out of my pocket (has yet to happen, even on Skyrush), there is no way it can become detached from my shorts/jeans nor would it open up because the edge is pinned closed. This set up is also great for water rides, since the contents of the bag are sealed against moisture. The only drawback is it takes a few seconds to get at whatever is in the bag and then to zip and pin everything back up. So that is a very cheap (and perhaps more fashion conscious, since all you would see is maybe the edge of the bag and the safety pins coming out of the pocket) and instant alternative to cargo pants or shorts. -
ALT2870 - since you apparently know quite a bit about cable lifts, how exactly does the part of the gondola that grabs onto the cable work? I am referring to the kind that are permanently affixed to the cable. Someone mentioned worrying about wind, but I find the attachment point to the cable (and not the cable itself) on the gondola to be the most precarious and "sketchy" looking part..... Now whenever I am at a park that has a skyride or lift of any kind I will always ride it, but sometimes I find myself unconsciously gritting my teeth whenever the gondola passes a tower. This is because the attachment point seems to be barely hanging on - not unlike an acrobat in a circus hanging onto a tight rope with only a few fingers. Obviously it isn't as precarious and tenuous as it looks (clearly in the one video the ski lift seat was tossed around quite a bit by high winds and did not come off...) but it does look as though there is precious little there to keep the gondola or chair attached to the cable.
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Theme Park Three Mistakes
Schrecken replied to Rollercoaster Rider's topic in Theme Parks, Roller Coasters, & Donkeys!
SFA: #1 - going 15+ years without getting a new coaster (and a sub-set of that mistake would be NEVER EVER getting a unique coaster; in other words, one that is not a clone or close facsimile of another somewhere else. Wild One is the park's only truly unique coaster and it's close to 100 years old.) #2 - Bringing that piece of scrap iron formerly known as Iron Wolf to the park (and to expand on that, the only coasters they've installed in the last 15 years were some other park's hand-me-downs). #3 Removing Skull Mountain. OK, I get that it had maintenance issues, but as far as uniqueness goes, it was a truly a one of a kind ride. -
Best (and worst) "Sounds" on a coaster
Schrecken replied to Jon Sabo's topic in Theme Parks, Roller Coasters, & Donkeys!
I like sounds that are heard pre-launch on Intamin accerators - the final lurch and "clunk" after the train rolls into position in the launch area, the hissing of the break fins dropping.....few coaster sounds do more to build anticipation IMO. I also like the classic clinking/clanking of the roll backs on woodies as well for much the same reason. On some coasters the anti-rollbacks are muffled and produce a dulled thunking noise which just doesn't have the same effect. In addition, there is the drawn out "whumph" of the launch of TTD that can be heard from quite a few spots in the park, which is a very distinctive sound. The only sounds I'm not real fond of are the screeching noises you sometimes hear on woodies, especially when the train is negotiating a sharp turn. Also the Concorde-like roar of Superman at SFMM really gets old after a while, especially if you are really close to it. I have mixed feelings about the B&M roar, though. From a distance it can be the sound that calls me like a siren song to come and ride (depending on the specific coaster, of course) but up close and when stuck in a line it can be deafening and quite annoying. For non-coaster noises, I think the sounds made by S&S screamin' swings are some of the coolest....the huffing, puffing and roaring sound for all the world like some kind of huge creature monster! I could just see one of those themed to a dragon or something.... -
There was one major irritant I noticed this summer at the handful of parks that I visited that really got my goat - roving packs of kids in school or church groups. Now I have no problem at all with school children taking a trip to a park (after all, if it weren't for kids there probably wouldn't be many parks at all), but what really gripes me is why in the heck do they have to behave like the stampeding herd of gallimimus dinosaurs in Jurassic Park? "Uh-Oh - they're flocking this way!!!" There's nothing like walking along in a park and you have this huge group of 20-30+ young people wandering towards you (or perhaps you are behind them), filling up the entire breadth of whatever pathway you are on. It's generally not too difficult to dodge couples and families (unless the pathway is really narrow, which generally isn't the case) but a wandering tightly packed but expansive herd of teens, not so much. It's like running into a herd of cows in the middle of a country road.... Granted, this isn't something the parks can really do anything about (not if they want those paying customers), but rather is simply inconsiderate (and ignorant- they probably don't realize the impediments they are causing) behavior on the part of the leaders of these groups. I have no idea whether they are required to stick together like that or the kids just prefer to hang with the group, but it would be nice if the group leader had them walk together in a single or double file line rather than in a sprawling, disorganized mass.
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Hersheypark (HP) Discussion Thread
Schrecken replied to robbalvey's topic in Theme Parks, Roller Coasters, & Donkeys!
I found that out a couple of years ago when I rode Coal Cracker for the first time in ages (I might have been a teen the last time I had ridden it) just how much air you can get depending on who you ride with and where everyone sits. I rode with a couple of fellow coaster fans who were both heavier than me by at least (judging by looks alone) 30+ pounds. They sat behind me while I rode in the very front, and I could not believe how far off the seat my butt came after hitting that bump at the bottom! I certainly was not expecting much airtime (other than that which would normally be caused by the drop itself) on a log flume, but boy was I surprised! If you have two other people who will ride with you that are heavier than you are and you sit in the very front you will likely be rewarded with a huge pop of air. -
Hersheypark (HP) Discussion Thread
Schrecken replied to robbalvey's topic in Theme Parks, Roller Coasters, & Donkeys!
I do agree that it is rather redundant that they will be having three very similar towers of three different heights (sounds kinda like an attraction that could be themed to "Goldilocks and the three bears", if at a different park....). However, with all of the speculation about this being some kind of drop tower, I am happy to know that this will at least be something I can ride. I have no interest at all in towers that do nothing but drop, and so I was assuming this would be something I'd never want to ride anyway. But I do like space shots and double shots, and those are the only drop towers I will ride. So despite this new attraction being kind of lackluster in many peoples' opinions (yes, I would have also hoped for something a bit more exciting), at least it is something I might ride if I want to take a break from coasters for a while. -
What Was The Last Coaster You Rode?
Schrecken replied to SharkTums's topic in Theme Parks, Roller Coasters, & Donkeys!
Skyrush, this past Thursday evening. I got in my last coaster ride that night before it began to rain heavily. -
What is your next park?
Schrecken replied to onewheeled999's topic in Theme Parks, Roller Coasters, & Donkeys!
I plan on being at Kennywood on August the 17th. I've not been to that park in years, not since Black Widow and Sky rocket were added. I am especially looking forward to Noah's Ark, since I did work on the refurbishment of the ride.