GayCoasterGuy

Timberwolf in 1989 and Mind Bender all the time (oops I thought this was for best coaster ever. I missed the 'view' part)

^I'm going to PPP for the first time! Very excited about it. It's a hike from Chicago, but from what I've heard - it's worth it. I hope the weather is good and dry! I've only been to Knoebel's twice (1997 and 2011) and couldn't get enough of the place in one day. I'm gonna stay for Saturday and Sunday this time. From what I can tell, the park is open until 5pm on Sunday - with no PPP stuff going on after that. I'll take what I can get!

^^Why not, ernie? ^I'm sure Rocky Mountain has already done *wonders* with Mean Streak in their minds. The structural layout (read: NOT the profile ((in which the track travels in vertical planes)) lends itself to all sorts of GREAT stuff. I would think Mean Streak would be an obvious choice. It's Texas Giant's very-watered-down sister coaster. If they could do it and have it be close to how great the New Giant reportedly is, that would be a HUGE win, wouldn't it? I mean... Cedar Point (in many opinions) does need one GREAT coaster. (/ducks) I'm sure Cedar Point doesn't want to jump the gun and do anything with the ride until they get a few years view on how the Rocky Mountain stuff (Iron Horse/topper track) works out other coasters. But it's looking good so far. Topper track would do wonders for the American Eagle's helices. And maybe the rest of the ride, too. Then they can turn the brakes back off and let-er fly.

Those Windseekers are great rides. High capacity, fun and have a great view all while providing a nice relaxing (albeit intimidating!) ride. I'll be trying out the Six Flags model in St. Louis this weekend - looking forward to that. Is this 400 foot tower going to have a wider seating circle, enabling higher capacity than those 1/2 the size?

Maybe parts for Great America's Orbit? I've heard from other sources as well that the Wheelie is DONE at SFOG. Shame - the park could really use a couple flat rides. I'm so glad Great America is working to keep their classic rides, can't wait for Fright Fest!

I've heard people moaning about how Hurricane wasn't very good. I only rode it on one occasion in 1999 and I remembered it being a good ride. I rode the same model by the Seattle space needle around the same time. What was wrong with them?

Hrm... may be a good point. I guess there is only one way to find out. Transitions can be funny things. Some people *LOVE* the transitions on I-305 and Maverick. I find them ridiculous and uncomfortable. But those are extreme examples. That also reminds me about how much fun I think an Arrow corkscrew entrance (DEMON!) would be with lap bars. That would be kinda fun being jerked side to side, with out the discomfort. Speaking of transitions, I'm thinking the whole sequence after the first loop on Mind Bender. Ejector air, slam to the side, jerk to the side, go up then the train twists and drops out from under you. Perfection!

Sure, but not with shoulder bars. They would bash people to death. There would have to be specially designed lap bars from B&M that would strongly encourage guests to "lean back against the headrest" to prevent your head/upper body from being forced forward/down. I would love to see that, but I doubt B&M would even be open to something like that. On Batman at Great America?

^^Hahahaha! Love it. I really enjoyed the video of Space Spiral smashing to the ground. Of course it was sad. If they have the need for a new one, I'm sure they will buy one. Wasn't that one of the oldest ones around? I ran across this plaque recently, so figured I would share it. How long did the park have these up? I have a picture of one for each ride somewhere. Sad to see it go, too (of course.) We always called it Disaster Disco.

^Ahhh... the plot is revealed! Thanks for the information Shane. Very interesting.

Wow! Very cool. I'll vote for silver/navy. It was those colors when I first rode it and I still think they look the best on it. I'm really curious who came up with the current train colors. They are very odd and unappealing, dare I say. When I worked at the park in 1995, there was an "upper" staff member wanting to "talk about that" (the current color scheme of white/vomit pink/beige) to the park president and the powers that be/those responsible, at the time. It was a big issue with some people who had say in the park.

I hope Shock Wave finally gets a GOOD/aesthetic paint job after so many years being very... oddly painted. The pepto bismal pink loops were bad, but it just got worse after that. I'm so happy they have taken such great care of this classic ride and are painting it. Now for those mag brakes....

^Yes. But not compared to say... 20 years ago. CP is still heads and tails above the Six Flags parks in terms of capacities, but has notably dropped over the years. But I wouldn't say that for some of the other parks Cedar Fair purchased. With all the "check, clear, re-check" that Six Flags have now, capacities are pretty low. Add to that under staffing and the available ride ops having to deal with kids' parents who are too short to ride, etc., it has really slowed stuff down. And luckily for them, they happily capitalize off that by offering pay-to-cut. Nothing like going to Holiday World where ride ops are on the ball, fast as lightning. Same with Dollywood - it's especially charming there as they were mostly seniors when I was there. Or Knoebel's - where one train in on the lift while the other is still coming into the station.

Remember when Magic Mountain bought their coasters with an extra train in case one went down? Psyclone had 3, Viper had 4, etc. I heard Colossus originally had 8 NAD (or was it IAD?) trains. Couldn't they run Full Throttle with 3? I mean, just to make sure a group was always ready to go - kinda like Millennium Force. It's amazing what a few feet of "flat track" (albeit with brakes, etc.) can afford to your capacity. Heck, the new GCI woodie at Europa Park has 3 trains... On a side note, for those that are interested, the Revolution page on facebook has 800 likes. An official page would be nice... http://www.facebook.com/pages/Restore-Revolution/388480361172971

Reminds me how much I should appreciate my home SF park, Great America. They have preserved plenty of our classic flat rides. And Whizzer. And 2 (two!!!) log flumes. Our Anton "Monster" is in rehab and returning next year.

The track on the last turn looks a bit gnarly. Unless that's just a lot of dirt/grease spill-over. I have not ridden a Timberliner yet, but sat in one at Holiwood Nights a couple years ago. They were a little awkward; the sides kind of left me with no where to put my arm. Of course, I'm a big guy 6-1/230, so I'm sure they are comfy for most average-sized folks. I talked to a fellow coaster geek in depth about his experience on Timberliners. He wasn't a big fan, and said that if the track gets rough (on a coaster they put Timberliners on) it's not going to be comfortable as the padding is hard/molded (as opposed to nicely stuffed/upholstered padding). But don't they have built-in shock absorption? I guess everyone will have a different opinion. Anyone remember the 80s when everyone was all about PTC in fear of receiving Morgans on your favorite woodie? Riverside Cyclone, Colossus, Texas Cyclone... Of course, that was before the horrible PTC ratchet bars were born. That ruined plenty of woodies as well.

Save Kentucky Kingdom facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/SaveKentuckyKingdom It didn't hurt or bother me to hit the "like" button, so I hit it I just wanna ride Greezed Ligtnin' again. And again and again...

Peeps were discussing whether or not Texas Giant was a "classic" wooden coaster over in the SFFT thread. It made me think of this picture, so I wanted to post and share it. That first year, the trains always crossed on the lift/helix, then a few seconds later on the bottom of the first drop/last hill. It was such a great ride. I'm not sure it was ever a "classic," but those 3 kick ass top 3 rides from then - Timberwolf/GA Cyclone/TX Giant - went down hill quickly over the years. Re-profilings, brakes, you name it. They were some of the best rides ever built, but o well... Good thing Rocky Mountain is here to save the world! I haven't ridden the New Texas Giant yet myself.. can't wait. This was taken during a morning ACE ERT during the Coaster Con 1990. Cameras were allowed on rides then.

+1 for *Charm* Love it!

Yup, me too. And the kids that DIED on the Edge, The Beast decapitating someone in the tunnel, Magnum sinking, the kid who *literally* was going to fly out of the American Eagle's first drop, but his dad saved him.... ahhh the GP When I worked on the CP Blue Streak the guy who got off all freaked out and was telling me over and over "the first car came all the way off the track then fell back down!!!" He insisted I shut the ride down and blah blah blah... "It's OK sir, the cars do come an inch or so off the track, they are supposed to do that. The cars cannot leave the track, they are locked-in" didn't help one bit.

I think that's in their short list of things. This one would be great - and it satisfies 2 requirements they have for a steel looping coaster. Lap bars and a 42" height requirement: Imagine if they got Gerstlauer to build a close-to-duplicate of Mind Bender I wouldn't have to go to SFOG for a long time. It's perfect = little intensity here and there, ride-able, *real* air time, etc... PLUS!!! It would give Holiday World a "family coaster" - something the park really needs!

But that's a good thing! It's a thrill - it's supposed to do that. You would be just fine with lap bars. When I was kid, a budding coaster geek, I really got a thrill out of going upside-down with just a lap bar. I still do Even the old Anton/Intamin lap bars are fine when put to the test, as shown here (not comfy - but safe):

I'm so glad to hear they are rehabbing Wildcat. As long as they don't try to "update" those trains... It has *real* air time and runs like a classic Schmeck coaster - FAST! I'm also in the minority that prefer it over Boulderdash.

Nahh... I don't think so. Most people are fine with X-Flight. There are a percentage of us that dislike those vests, though. But I do see a LOT of folks complaining about stuff like Maverick - if only they took a few minutes to fill out a "form" in Guest Services. Might be a stab at a change. If no one complaints - nothing will change. Enough complaints got Premier to retrofit all but one of their US looping coasters with lap bars That was cool.

There are rides, like flyers, that clearly need them. I guess I'm speaking more about stuff like Maverick, etc etc etc... There is also the other side of the argument - where OTSRs actually cause more injuries. Ha! Yes, I run into that all the time. My friend (whom is attempting to become a coaster geek) still thinks he needs his eyeglass-strap thing when he goes on a looping coaster. I've told him 10 times, I'll just let him figure it out for himself now.