Schrecken

I'm not crazy about loops, but I love hills - the more airtime the better!

I thought my trip to HP a couple weekends ago was it for the season, but I found out a few days ago that I'll be going to Dollywood in early December. I'm quite happy that I will finally be able to ride a B&M wing rider, since I didn't get to CP this year.

^^^^^^ I think that the reason Shockwave has a decent line is due mostly to its location (and not because it is a stand-up). It is in a well-traveled area of the park, it is highly visible (more so than, say, the Grizzly, especially before the dinosaurs), and of course, the typical park visitor isn't an enthusiast, but rather just the GP. For someone working their way around the park (people who only visit maybe once a year or come from other areas), Shockwave is hard to miss (it also has a really cool paint job - much as I hate it, it is pretty). Sort of like Mantis at CP - it always has a line, but I think that also boils down to it being in a prominent location, and people must pass by it before they hit MF if they are coming from the front of the park. The GP may take a while to get back to Maverick at CP or Grizzly at KD (if they even get back there at all, depending on crowded the parks are), but they will always stop for a ride on what many of us consider to be old, crappy stand-ups.

I'd say either the flyers (been on at least a couple of those) or perhaps the GIB (only got to do Deja Vu at SFMM a few times, but what I remember of it I liked). Have never done the Disney Vekomas, so I can't comment on any of those. Ironically, despite the fact that Deja Vu (or what used to be Deja Vu) and Firehawk at KI are Vekomas, they are also some of the precious few coasters that I've gotten creeped out on (that tilt coaster also looks like something that would creep many people out as well!) - the vertical lift on the GIB (when you face the ground) and the flimsy appearance of the restraints on the flyers did it for me on those two coasters. The only other coaster manufacturer I've ever had that happen on any of their coasters is Intamin.

I prefer Cedar Fair, as I think they do a little bit better job (in general) of themeing and I think they tend to maintain their coasters a bit better.

You're right about very few people putting their hands up on Skyrush, but I also think that is because of the way riders are whipped around laterally for the rest of the ride. People hold on to stabilize themselves (yes, the drop is so ferocious negative-g wise, that would account for the on-ride pics of most riders holding on, but there are lots of off-ride pics where you seldom see more than maybe 2 or 4 people per train going hands-up anywhere along the track) so they don't flop around like trees in hurricane force winds. I can put my hands up for most of the ride on El Toro, which has some similar killer negatives, (but not Skyrush), because El Toro lacks the hard-core laterals.

I've ridden at least a couple "traditional' boomerangs, a couple of inverted ones, and one GIB. My first was Sidewinder at HP, back in the late 90's when it had the old Arrow restraints. In those days I was just getting into coasters (having spent the first 26 years of my life terrified of them) and therefore Sidewinder was a little scary to me back then (and also remember there was no Storm Runner, Fahrenheit or Skyrush in those days, only the SDL, so Sidewinder was the only multi-looper they had. I wasn't fond of the head-banging, but I did enjoy getting new coaster experiences under my belt, and I do remember being a bit nervous while waiting to ride it for the first time. The nervousness was due to the drop part of the ride, as I had already ridden Anaconda and Drachen Fire that year. Then, when I lived in CA I rode the one at KBF, and I don't remember caring much for it at all. My first inverted was Invertigo at CGA, and I did like that at the time. But in those glory days of boomerangs and inverted boomerangs, there weren't as many types of coasters (variety-wise) as there are today. No launches, no 90 degree or greater drops, just lift hills and loops on steelies. My first and only GIB was Deja Vu at SFMM. I was there on the media day, and I do remember having some trepidation about the vertical drop. And sadly, on that day, something else that I found to be particular to boomerangs (at least back then) reared its ugly head - nausea. I never used to be bothered by motion sickness, even on looping coasters, but for some reason the boomerang and its variants tended to make me ill. In fact, it was a boomerang that has the notorious distinction of being the first coaster I ever got sick on (well, luckily I was able to get off and make it to a restroom, but barely). These days I always make sure I wear a patch before I spend a day in a park (as even most loopers will make me sick now), whether or not it has a boomerang or variant, but even with the patch I can still get some pretty good vertigo going on a boomerang, which makes me really dizzy. So, when I rode Sidewinder a couple of times this summer, I just learned to keep my eyes closed on the backwards part (especially since I don't have to worry about defending myself from head-banging). I will ride boomerangs and variants for credits these days, even ones with the old-fashioned restraints, but I don't really care for them all that much.

All I've got to say is that unless all the riders have really strong stomachs, the employees of this park or carnival probably had a lot of cleaning up to do once the ride was over!

For me, I think that it enhances the sense of airtime you get on certain coasters, like you are truly just floating or lifting up out of your seat. I do it on airtime hills and also on inversions like zero-g corkscrews on B&M coasters and others where you literally float in your seat for a second or two. I also do it on flat rides like S&S screaming swings and Huss Giant Frisbees where you get floating airtime and a little hang time to enhance the sensations. The only ones where I hold on are coasters and rides that have sharp lateral directional changes so that I can stabilize myself so I don't hurt my back.

*Best moment - Probably would have to be my very first ride on Skyrush back in early June (which was at night in the very front). I had pretty low expectations for this ride and those expectations were exceeded by many light years. *Best individual ride - same as above - IMO the best coaster I've set foot on in over a decade and my new #1. *Funniest moment - don't have a particular one, but probably some of the freakier GP reactions to certain coasters - like the two ladies who thought KK couldn't possibly make it over the top! And just people who freak out in general. *Scariest moment - trying out the back wing seats on Skyrush for the first time yesterday - scary in the sense that I was afraid I'd really screw up my back, but thankfully my fears were unfounded. It literally took me all summer and fall - and three separate visits before I got up the nerve to ride in those seats. *Strangest moment - actually this was more like a "strangest day" for me - visiting Mt Olympus for the first time and being aghast at the type of clientele that park draws (and even the park itself, which is a pretty odd place). *Favorite individual park visit - probably my trip to HP yesterday - I got ride everything I wanted to ride and got 27 rides on Skyrush. *Nerdiest moment - lots of moments in parks when I notice things about coasters and rides that most people would never pay attention to, but perhaps the most notable one was when I was at HP on my 2nd trip of this year and I spent several minutes standing on the path beside the water watching Skyrush as several trains were dispatched. And I put my hands on the fence railing where one of the supports is really close so I could feel vibration as the train passed by. That was awesome! *Best non-coaster related thing to happen at a park - this would have to be the weather. I was really blessed with perfect weather for almost all of my coaster trips (only one day at HP back in late June was it hotter than you know what) this year - two out of my three visits to HP. my trip out west to Valleyfair, Mt. Olympus (and also Nick Universe, though of course that is indoors, so the weather wouldn't have made a difference, but it was still a beautiful day) and my trip in September to SF Great Adventure. *Best thing to happen on a park trip outside of the park - I'd say my friend and I meeting up with a fellow enthusiast (whose home park is Valleyfair) and hanging out with him when we weren't at the parks. *Favorite new experience - again, see my response to the first two questions, hands down. *Anything else you'd like to mention as a highlight - just being able to get to three mid-west parks that my friend and I had never been to and in the same trip being able to ride my 200th coaster (Wildthing at Valleyfair).

Skyrush - 27 rides today! What a great way to wrap up the season.

I went to HP today (I've been waiting all summer and fall for this day - hoping that I could marathon on Skyrush and up my ride count by a lot) and I got really lucky - sparse crowds and most everything was a near-walk-on, if not a total one train wait type walk-on, and of course, perfect weather. Today I got: 2 front seat rides on Storm Runner 1 front seat ride on Great Bear 1 front and one back seat ride on Lightning Racer (both on Lightning side, because that side seemed to have shorter lines, and for some odd reason the ride ops were moving very slowly on LR today, and also, they were only running one train per side) 1 front seat ride on the Comet 1 front seat ride on SDL. Also did a couple of flats as well. AND - I got a whopping 27 rides on Skyrush! Add to that my count from earlier this year and it puts me at 40 so far, accrued in one season. And it never had any sort of line - the most I saw was maybe 6-7 people being stopped (not including myself) at the top of the stairs. The front seat did of course have longer lines, but part of the issue is that one seat on each train was roped off, so you would see only two people riding the front most of the time and the third seat being empty. And speaking of Skyrush, I finally got up the nerve to ride in the back wing seats (not because I was afraid but because I have a bad back). And I found out that I had no problem with sitting there, especially since I just hunched over in those places where I thought it might hurt my back. It isn't good to have a favorite coaster when you can't ride in all of the seats, including those that are most notorious on the ride. In fact, I solved that problem many times over - I did quite a few wing seat rides (but not as many as in the center seats) today. My back didn't bother me a bit, but unfortunately my legs did get rather sore, and so I called it a day around 8 pm with my 40th ride. Now that I have worked out the problem of being able to ride in the wing seats, the only thing I don't like about them is that the restraints seem to grip even tighter in those seats than in the center ones. Also, I discovered some weird GP ideas about Skyrush today, given that I rode so many times. For some reason, I met at least a few people who rode the back the first time because they were kind of afraid, and yet as anyone who has ridden it would know, the forces are way stronger (especially on the first drop) back there. So these members of the GP were putting themselves in the "scariest" part of the ride by mistake! And there was one lady who kept asking the ride ops to check her restraint as she was afraid it wouldn't hold her in place (she was in a center seat and I was in a right wing seat in the back row). I assured her that while she might feel like she was going to be ripped out of the seat, she would indeed be pinned hard to it like a board clamped in a vise (she did end up liking the ride). It was kinda funny, though. But I guess I shouldn't make light of such stuff since I used to a huge coaster phobe. And the other woman whom I told that she was in the wrong place in order to escape the most extreme part of the ride - she screamed all the way but she ended up loving it. The reactions of the GP on Skyrush are almost as amusing as riding it - quite a few novice minds were blown today by their first ride.

I have done many of the east coast parks and most of the California parks, and a few in the mid-west, but there are also parks that have built new coasters since I last visited that I would want to hit again to take in all the new stuff. At the top of my list for parks in general: BGT - I haven't been to this park since the Carter administration! Yeah, most members of this forum probably weren't even born the last time I visited BGT. WDW - Let's put it this way - the last time I visited that park, Pac-Man was the hottest video game out there (and if you didn't have an Atari, you had to play it in an arcade). And, that 3-d Michael Jackson movie was the newest thing in Epcot. SFMM - haven't been there since 01', when the original X was brand new. There are some other parks I'd like to re-visit in various areas, but these three are tops. The good news is I am planning a trip to WDW in 2014 and hopefully I can also hit BGT. As for parks I've never been to: Any of the southern/mid-western parks I've missed - those parks located in Texas and Missouri especially. I also have yet to do any of the new England parks - never been further northeast than NJ to ride coasters. And I'd also like to have some non-US credits under my belt. I may be able to also get to Canada's Wonderland this coming summer, so I may be able to remedy that problem soon. I'd also like to leave the whole continent behind to get some credits in Europe at some point. I have been out of the country several times, but never got to do any coastering. As for specific coasters, other than those that are found at the parks that I have mentioned, the ones I'd like to ride probably aren't as realistic as far as me actually getting to do them, but I can hope. I'd like to be able to hit some of the parks in Japan to do some of those coasters (like Dodonpa, since I did get to ride its defunct cousin, Hypersonic), and I'd like to get to ride an Intamin Mega-lite, since I hear a lot about those but sadly there are none in North America. I'd also like to ride the Ferrari coaster in Dubai, but I can't imagine I will ever be able to get there (I guess that's one good thing about living in North America - while we don't have the world's fastest coaster, we do have the world's two tallest coasters).

Some things that get on my nerves at parks (other than some of those already mentioned, like basketballs being used on walkways, people milling around and blocking line entrances, lines without adequate shade, teenaged girls screaming their lungs out all during a ride, and especially on the lift hill, etc) include overly-loud recorded announcements that get played in coaster and ride stations. I realize that many people (especially the bulk of the GP) might need to be reminded of such things pertaining to the ride, like where to store their bags, what can and can't be taken on the ride and other info, but some of these announcements are way too loud, too long and repeat way too often. I can't tell you how many times I've tried to have a conversation with someone while waiting for a ride and I have to shout and be shouted at to be heard and to hear. And then (as if parks aren't noisy enough with all the other stuff going on) the next day I invariably wake up barely able to speak with a sore throat and spend the whole day talking like a frog. And unnecessarily loud ride stations are IMO a major contributor to that problem. After all, people do like to talk to each other and it helps to pass the time while waiting in line, so there's no reason to boost the noise level. Other things that really irritate me are little kids who behave like wild animals, especially when they are in line behind me. Granted, without children amusement parks probably wouldn't exist, and most children are well-behaved and normally pass the time in line by playing with toys and gadgets or talking to other kids or their parents. However, at least a few times I've I had one or more kids in line behind me who constantly step on my heels, bang and bump into my legs and climb all over the railings and in general act like they have to go to the bathroom really bad, or like an animal leaping around in a cage. And worse yet, the parent(s) (if the parents are even with them and not waiting at the ride exit) just stand there with blank looks on their faces and do nothing, if they even seem to notice at all. This sort of thing can make a half hour wait seem like a 2 hour wait (as well as other aforementioned things, like unshaded lines on hot, sunny days).

Based upon examples I have ridden, I'd say Togo by far (for those I haven't ridden, I'd agree about Golden Horse - ripping off other designers speaks volumes about a company, and the coaster by that other manufacturer linked to in the above post looks horribly painful!). I've never ridden one that I liked (have only ridden two that I know of, Windjammer and Shockwave at KD, and both totally sucked), and it seems that most people have little good to say about Togo coasters that are operating today. As for my most-liked coaster company, that would be Intamin, with B&M a close second.

I agree, I realized that they changed the name to fit in with the new themeing, but that's a pretty stupid name - just calling it Giraffe would be better IMO.

Mine are (in no particular order, save for the first four, which are my all time top favorite coasters, the last 6 slots are variable and depend on what I've ridden recently or remember liking a lot years ago): Skyrush El Toro Millennium Force Top Thrill Dragster I-305 The Voyage (based on the last time I rode it, which was years ago) Lightning Racer Nitro Goliath at SFMM (again, based on the last time I rode it, which was over a decade ago) Griffon at BGE

IMO Vekoma is worse, if only for the fact that they made so many mediocre (or really bad, depending on the individual coaster) boomerangs and SLCs. I've been on some rough Arrows but at least Arrow made some rather unique coasters, and all of the layouts are somewhat or very different. IMO Arrow is also more relevant to coaster history (though to be fair, Vekoma did make the first mass-produced flying coaster, which was innovative at the time, and then there is the one and only "tilt coaster") for the most part - everything from the Matterhorn at WDW to some of the first modern looping coasters, and of course the Arrow suspended coasters, and then the original X. In addition, there are some Arrows out there that have historical value (even if they weren't trend-setting), like Nessie at BGE. As for overall roughness, I think there is something about the OTSRs on Vekomas that make it harder to avoid the head-banging than on Arrows. I'm short, and I tend to get bashed by pretty much any OTSR, regardless of the coaster manufacturer, but I find it a bit easier to avoid it on most looping Arrows than on SLCs. So it's hard to me to quantify roughness, as I've been on several of both kinds and some have been pretty rough.

I really don't care one way or the other, but if the opportunity presents itself and I'm with others who want to go for the credit, I will. I do have a few kiddie coasters on my credit list as it stands now.

This stinks. I just hope I can still get to the park one more time this year (planning on going the weekend after next).

The only new coaster I got to ride this year was Hades 360. This was my only ride ever on it, so I had nothing to compare it to with regards to how it might have been when it was new. I also only rode in the front, so it's clear I missed the worst of it. My impression was that it was a somewhat rough woodie with some interesting elements and a gimmicky inversion that would be unwise to ride in any seat but the front or 2nd seat. And I also felt that my one and only front seat ride this year on Wildcat (as a comparison point to Hades) was far more painful. In a nutshell, thankfully I didn't suffer a horrible experience on it as many here have, but it isn't my favorite woodie either.

I like coasters with the orange and green (or orange and teal) color combinations, like Goliath at SFMM. I also like the current colors of Shockwave at KD (sorry I couldn't find a good pic on RCDB, but basically it is a bright neon green) - looks awesome and draws your eye to that area of the park, even though I think the coaster itself sucks. I also liked the old colors of Mind Eraser at SFA (the aqua and red; classic 50's colors, though of course ME is in the western part of the park and the paint scheme never really fit, but would have fit well in a 50's/retro themed area) but can't stand the new paint job - IMO they've moved from the 50's to the 70's with the burnt orange and harvest gold (if you're my age or older, you will recall that darned near everything - appliances, clothes, furniture, etc, came in these putrid colors back then). IMO a coaster can fit nicely into a western themed area w/o looking like that, however, I guess you could say that the colors now fit the general character of the ride. In addition, I like just about anything in the greenish/blue, aqua, or teal color spectrum on coasters, especially if it has appropriately complimentary accent colors, like reds, pinks, oranges, or even other shades of blue, etc. Example:http://rcdb.com/3727.htm?p=21240Speaking of colors in the blue area of the spectrum, Skyrush is a bit of a strange case - to me (this was my first impression once the construction began, and even more so after I rode it) that shade of powder blue on the supports and the lemon yellow track belie the true character of this ride, lulling novice riders into complacency. Hues such as these IMO are quite at home in a nursery room or a young boy's bedroom. I don't dislike them at all, I just think they are so out of step with the ride experience, that and the scenic walkway and pretty fountain below (which is actually a cool psychological trick of sorts, even if totally unintentional). If the colors matched the ride experience (that would be a nice topic for another post, if there already isn't one somewhere on the forum - coasters where the colors/theming do/don't match the ride itself) it would be red and black and have flame effects and smoke on the water and who knows what else - but I'm sure it wouldn't be at HP then! Another scheme that is unique and one that I like a lot: http://rcdb.com/3727.htm?p=21240 The only colors I'm not too thrilled about are browns, tans and neutral colors on coasters (unless of course they are woodies in their natural aged wood colors), the only exceptions being coasters that are meant to fit into natural surroundings, like terrain coasters, and those that have a theme that the color fits into. As for woodies, I prefer natural wood colors or if they are painted, plain white or white with red or blue accents. Blue is also Ok for woodies. I would imagine more parks would paint woodies if it was financially feasible to do so (more surface to paint that steel coasters and more upkeep).

I don't have any park passes at the moment, and the only one I ever had was a SF pass (might have had one when SFMM was my home park, can't remember) that I got at SFA many years ago. I think I kept the pass for maybe 2-3 years. But unfortunately these days I seldom ever get to one park more than once or twice a year, and I don't live in an area where there are two parks (or more) within a few hours of each other that would honor the same pass (well, yes, I am less than 3 hrs from both SFA and SF Great Adventure, but I have no intention of going to SFA anytime soon, so that would only leave Great Adventure, and I only get there once per year, if that). I had thought about getting a pass for Hershey, but given that I normally only get there two or three times a year, I'm not sure if I would be able to go there enough to make it worth while. I just wish I had a park that I really liked less than an hour from me, which would make it much more tempting to get a season pass.

I would also agree that Wild One at SFA is underrated, especially since I rode it many times before it got re-profiled (I bet not many people even remember that at all) back in the late 90's, when there was a serious moment of ejector airtime going up the last hill right before the turn around. Unfortunately that part was leveled out, killing the airtime, at least in that specific part of the ride. But even after the re-do it is still a good out and back woodie, and the only reason I can think of for it not getting much attention is simply because it is at SFA. I'd also mention Great Bear at Hershey - granted, it isn't the most thrilling B&M invert out there, but it is unique (I can't think of any B&M that has a turn like that after the lift) and it is very re-rideable. Also, Phantom's Revenge seems to be slightly underrated (perhaps not as badly as some of the other Arrow and Morgan hypers), but it has a great drop and some really nice pops of airtime. Finally, there is another coaster at Kennywood that I think is underrated - the Exterminator. Granted, it is a mouse, and mice never rank very high on enthusiast's lists of coasters, but the Exterminator is 1000 times better than those other two "mice in boxes" that reside at two Six Flags parks. It also qualifies as a well-themed indoor coaster (again, far better than the latter two I just mentioned) and for me it rises a bit above typical run of the mill wild mice. If I had to rank all of the mice I'd ridden, it would be #1 by far.

I always found KBF to be a pain when I lived in California, simply because of the horrid LA-area traffic. And also DL/DCA for the one visit I made to that park - it literally took me almost 3 and a half hours to get home on a Sunday night even though at the time I lived less than 40 miles away from the park because of the traffic. As for parks here on the east coast and other places, the only ones I can think of are IOA (and probably also DW, even though I haven't been there in ages, as it is in the same general area as IOA) and to a small extent, Kennywood. Kennywood because its proximity to the river and downtown Pittsburg make the driving a bit tricky - the first time I went I had my friend helping me read the maps and navigate, and still we got goofed up and turned around. Once you get some familiarity, it isn't too bad, though. IOA simply because it is in the Orlando area, and Orlando is a hellish place to try and drive around. Sadly, even though I totally enjoyed IOA, I am left with rotten memories of that trip of me trying to get around Orlando with its incredibly rude drivers and congested roads. I am planning a trip to DW next fall (2014) and I am going to do everything in my power to avoid the Orlando area (other than going to DW and staying as close by as I can) all together. Also, I have to be careful if I go to SFA or KD - simply because I have to pass thru all the DC traffic on the way to either park (and even more of the Northern VA mess if I go to KD) and coming back. I try to plan on going at times when the traffic normally isn't too bad.