Dr. M

Does TPR not mind random ad companies using their footage presumably without permission...?

(Insert "that's what she said" joke here ) (What would the difference be between height and length in that case?)

Effects that will last maybe three years before they're taken away because they were put there by a sad, pathetic excuse for a "theme" park that'll do any cheap, temporary thing just to attract a few more guests so they can be bombarded by ads from every direction once they're inside. Oh, and the name they'll pick will be the name of at least one other coaster, have nothing to do with the ride itself, and be inherently inferior to the name it's replacing. See, the difference is nothing ever gets better at a Six Flags park. At least not permenantly. Only worse.

Has anyone else had the thought that doing something like this -giving an old name to a new ride purely for theming purposes and because it'll appeal to fans- is something no six flags park would ever ever do? I know someone will probably give me an example of it happening, but still, this seems to me like a good example of the difference between Six Flags and Cedar Fair. At SFGA it would be Flight Deck until the day it rusted away.

^I've never been to the park and until that picture I had no idea where in the webcam shot the coaster was even going. All I saw was the amphitheater and I was like "hrm, well, it's not going there..."

Magnum is lightyears beyond Superman in terms of excitement (of course that's not really a fair comparison, Magnum's like my third favorite coaster ever), and I like Steel Force a lot more as well. I got two rides on Superman on a hot day in the middle of the summer, which should be ideal conditions, right? I don't remember any ejector airtime, all I remember is being so bored during the second helix I started watching the long hair of the woman two rows ahead blowing in the wind. Seriously, not one but two giant helixes? What were they thinking? (It was butter smooth, though.) BTW I'm really starting to think the term "ejector airtime" is seriously overused.

But this is my question. Is there an S&S coaster with a truly kickass layout? Not something that's completely average save for maybe one insane airtime moment that almost seems like an accident?

Thanks for the update!

Isn't it really surprising just how boring it is? There are stretches of that coaster that came the closest to "highway driving simulator" of any coaster I've been on. Anyway, I had a really terrible time with Mind Erasor when I went (maybe three years ago), I'm glad it wasn't as bad for you. And I agree about Batwing, I found it to be far more fun than Superman at Great Adventure. Easily my favorite ride there, though Wild One is also pretty fun.

Laser, my first inverting coaster. Now that is the one ride I definitely miss the most. I HATED it when I first rode it, but that's because I was tiny and I didn't know to keep my head back so I was caught slumped forward during the loops, my head being pulled hard toward my knees (how many of us had that happen to us as kids?). Very painful. But of course I grew to love it. I had no idea I'd miss it so much after it was gone, you never fully appreciate something until you lose it. I like Possessed and all, but let's be honest, it's barely even a coaster.

Now that I'm thinking about Disney, ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter.

I realize these towers have been talked about quite a bit (I'd still love an explanation about what technology-wise makes them so much better than other drop towers), but it's worth repeating, these rides are amazing. My first ride on the one at Knoebels, I decided I wanted to "feel the drop" as much as possible, so I stretched my arms out in front of my as far as they'd go, took deep breaths and completely relaxed my body, and then that drop HIT, and suddenly my butt was nowhere near the seat, and get this... my knees were suddenly in front of my face. I was practically in a fetal position just from the force of the acceleration. I didn't even notice the restraints on my shoulders, it felt like nothing was touching me at all, nothing but air rushing past me as we were dragged down. Like no other ride I've ever experienced.

That's sort of what I find most disappointing about this. It doesn't bother me that there's a building attached, as far as I'm concerned the lift takes you up, gravity takes you down, it's a roller coaster like any other. But what I ideally want out of any super tall coaster is that moment of staring down an impossibly long drop all the way to the ground. This coaster won't have that, and in addition I'm guessing they'll have to trim the crap out of it as it gets closer to the ground, right? I just wonder how exciting a ride it really will be.

Good to hear some nice words about the Voyage considering how much flak it got earlier in this thread.

It's probably just larger in every dimension. Hard to tell how much taller it is due to the perspective. I imagine the shape of both is about the same.

El Toro is not considered "ejector" air time?

I think the loudness of the roar mostly has to do with location. Great Bear echoes off the sides of the vally it's mostly situated in. Raptor has a huge lake for its roar to go out across.

I don't know what you all are going on about. El Toro isn't even all that great. ... Naw I'm kidding, it's pretty much the greatest coaster in the country possibly outside of Sky Rush. =D

I know at least one person who would disagree with you.

I dislike the two sharp, distinct bumps it's developed on the way back from the first turn around. Not that I'm against a little roughness in a wooden coaster of course, I just remember the days when it was freakishly, eerily smooth. They have come and gone. Oh, and I concur in hoping that Six Flags does something to conceal El Toro's finale instead of doing something dumb like putting a path right next to it. But I'll keep my hopes low, since this is SF after all. I'll be happy if the area doesn't remain an empty dirt field.

I really, really want more of these crazy compressed-air launches to exist, but how likely is that now with how many problems this coaster had?

RT's lift hill looks like a ghost in that picture. It's gonna be so weird riding El Toro without Rolling Thunder there...

That dive loop looks about as shallow and gentle as they come.

I know it's been said many times but I can not think of a ride that would benefit more from an RMC renovation than Mean Streak. It has no classic status to maintain, and is so tall and so big that they have to break the hell out of it keeping it dull and airtime free, making it a massive waste of real estate. Of course, I feel their renovated coasters are kind of ugly (!) and would rather they just knock it down and build a beautiful, innovative new coaster from scratch. But I know cost is a concern.

It really wasn't such a bad ride. I rode it that last Sunday it was operating, and while it was obviously very poorly maintained, it never picked up enough speed to be what I'd call "rough". It was boring, but a good family ride. One of the first coasters I ever went on. And if they ran the stupid thing so the trains raced, as it was designed, it could've been a lot more exciting. It's important to have those rides for kids to go on while they're still staring up in awe at all the rides they aren't tall enough for yet. Hopefully the park doesn't get rid of Runaway Mine Train or Skull Mountain, at least until it's got a suitable replacement. One thing I'll never forget from my last ride on it is the terrible grinding noises the train made going around every turn, like the BSL in Philly going into and out of suburban station.