neil009

I like wood coasters that run smooth but throw you around laterally by design (Twister at Knoebels for example) but wood coasters aren't supposed to feel like you're riding on a jackhammer with square wheels like Wildcat does. At least not in my opinion. Definitely. Anyone who thinks Wildcat is "normal rough" either hasn't been on woodies like the ones at Knoebels which are way more intense but much smoother, or is some kind of masochist. I don't mind a rough, intense ride, but Wildcat is not very intense, just rough. Jackhammering does not equal intensity. In fact, if they smoothed it out and actually fixed the problem (I don't care if they have to strip it down to the ledgers, it must be possible, I just think they don't give a sh*t) I think it would possibly run much faster and more intense, juging by what's happened to Twister in recent years. But it hasn't happened yet so I doubt it ever will. I'm guessing sooner or later its headed for the scrap heap. The woodie that really desperately needs a refurb at Hershey is Comet. Specifically they need to remove those freakin trims. That's what I'd like to see people complain about more often, not ol' rough boring Wildcat, because those trims are seriously ruining what would otherwise be an incredible ride.

THANK YOU. If Hershey added a Giga it would be too short and compact just like Skyrush, and considering they'd probably go with Intamin it would basically be Skyrush + 100 ft - wing seating. They do not need this at all.

Yeah I think if it wasn't an Intamin, and if the line wasn't always so long, people would look at it more favorably. Why would anyone rank it lower because it's an intamin? Because people see the track and trains and immediately have very high expectations as to intensity due to rides like Maverick and iSpeed. If it was a Eurofighter everyone would be talking about how it's the best eurofighter of its size and there'd be no negative comments.

Yeah I think if it wasn't an Intamin, and if the line wasn't always so long, people would look at it more favorably. I used to like it a lot less until I got there at opening and got to ride it several times in a row with no line, then I really began to appreciate it. It's really hard to exaggerate how crazy that first drop is in the back row.

Fahrenheit "wow" moments: 1. First drop 2. Snappy corkscrew 1 3. Snappy corkscrew 2 4. Disorienting change of direction followed by solid airtime hill (not ejector but decent) Impulse "wow" moments: 1. First drop (though not as good) 2. ??? Nothing else about Impulse could be called forceful at all, and I actually kind of dislike hangtime under most circumstances.

Well, I like Fahrenheit more than Impulse, and more than any B&M multilooper that isn't an invert, so that puts it ahead of about 80% of steel coasters for me.

That's because it was originally an arms museum... I actually guessed that about halfway through, glad to know I was right. That was a weird day.

So I take it Thunderbolt is still super rattly? That's such a shame, it's got such a fantastic layout. The only cool thing for me about the Volare besides the lifthill was that it's the only type of coaster where you're ACTUALLY lying down, and not sitting in a seat facing down. But that didn't make me feel like I was flying, it made me feel like I laid down on a massage table and then got hoisted into the air and flung around instead of a massage.

This park is SUCH a crapshoot. This is why I don't make the two hour drive down there every year. Every time you're playing russian roulette, either the park will be reasonable and you'll have a great time, or it will be a f*cking madhouse and you'll get on 7 rides in 12 hours and go home wishing you'd never gotten out of bed that morning. And it's IMPOSSIBLE to predict.

Honestly my biggest fear is going out of my way for it and then finding it randomly not open for whatever reason. That's a risk I'm willing to take though.

^I'll let you know if my feelings experience a similar shift, but I'm not sure how they could seeing as I pretty much know exactly what to expect. I've seen all the pictures and read all the reports. As just a quick stop on the way to Waldameer I don't see how my feelings could sour to that extent.

I do not understand this mentality at all. I plan on riding this historic coaster while I still have the chance. But why do we need to worry about whether or not it'll survive, to the point of HOPING it'll die, just because the constant chatter about it is vaguely irritating to you? Why can't we just enjoy it while it's still here? If you think it's an irredeemable dump then don't go, simple as that.

Is the VR happening yet? I feel like that could be potentially amazing on a coaster this fast and forceful if it worked right. But assigned seating on a hyper shouldn't even be legal.

maXair is without a doubt the best flat I've ever ridden, I was totally not expecting Black Widow to even compare. But now with all this feedback I'm definitely going to have to give it a go! I'm actually really excited now, I hope it's as good as you all say.

^You are being sarcastic, right? You should check out the Louisville history museum sometime, it's approximately 80% firearms. Not even exaggerating.

How does Black Widow compare to maXair at Cedar Point? If it's that good I might hit it, otherwise I'll probably skip it. Man I wish they'd kept Pit Fall instead. =(

^Thanks! Haven't been in many years but I do remember waiting a stupidly long time for Exterminator.

Sorry for the noob question but what's the "order" at Kennywood now if you get there at opening? Which ride is it most important to get on first before the lines set in?

Is the park for sure opening this year? Never thought I'd say this but I may actually be going.

I wonder how many people will come to the park this year and go "WOW I never knew Great Adventure was next to a lake!"

Trump is way too old to be riding coasters. He's only five years younger than Bernie! No way he will do this. Does he have some kind of heart condition? In that case he totally needs to do this, for the good of the country.

Just cause I'm voicing a minor quibble doesn't mean I'm taking it that seriously. Everyone remain calm

Here I come! Yes good to know these restraints require there to be less puny human flesh for them to squish down upon. Except for there's literally nothing active about these restraints?¿ They have no active retraction system built in. If you had inches of room in the old restraints, you should have plenty of room in the new ones too. It's all dependent on how tight YOU make it though. While the vests are bolted to the OTS bar, there's room/extra fabric between where the straps meet, and where they're attached to the bar. The seatbelt latch is attached to this extra fabric. [attachment=0]Cia61srUkAEd7B-.jpg[/attachment] With the old restraints, since they were a fixed size, the seatbelt was a great way for ops to tighten the restraint because of the leverage. With the new ones, tightening the seatbelt or loosening it has a massive effect on how tight the vest is, and much less so on how tight the OTS bar is. So when ops are checking restraints and they pull down on the seatbelt, they tighten the vest, and not necessarily the restraint. TL;DR loosen the seatbelt I think we're splitting hairs here as far as language. The restraints may not actively retract like a seat-belt in a car, but they're "elastic", you push on them and they give, but they're constantly pushing back, like a rubber band. Look at the picture, look at the angle of the straps, then picture where somebody's shoulders would be. Unless you're a skeleton, the presence of your shoulders are pushing the restraints outwards, and consequently they are constantly pushing back on you. They give a little during airtime, then they squish you back down. It's nothing like the unrestrained feeling of actually being able to come up in your seat a little and then fall back down due to gravity. Thank you for telling me they can be loosened, I will try that and see if it helps, but as for completely solving the problem I have with the restraints, well, dubious Neil is very dubious.

Ditto. This is not great news to me. The way the crowd on this forums reacts to various news never ceases to fascinate me. Thunderhawk at Dorney, a ride with meh airtime on the best of days, goes from buzz bars to standard PTC restraints (which still allow a decent amount of wiggle room, at least for me) and everybody flips a shit. Now these two rides, both with fantastic airtime, go from the old OTSR which again at least for me allow for about a finger's width of legitimate "my butt can actually almost leave the seat" space, to these "I WILL CRUSH YOU WITHIN AN INCH OF YOUR LIFE" backpack straps and everybody starts praising Jebus. I do not understand. Have you even tried these restraints? They are the same as the old ones except with a soft OTS half that is internally lined with a thin sheet of metal. I had a problem with the old restraints. Storm Runner is the ONE ride I've found a rattle that was uncomfortable. I haven't ridden Storm Runner in 7 years, so I may not be recalling this correctly or things may have changed since then. I do clearly remember, however, being thoat chopped several times in the last element of Storm Runner. I'm gauging my reaction off my experience with I305. The old OTSR had plenty of clearance between your shoulders and the bars for people of what you might call "average height" (I can see this being different for taller folks). The I305 straps (aka The Backpack From Hell) actively squish you into the seat the entire ride. Sure they give a little during airtime, but afterwards you feel them retracting and squishing you back down into the seat. I actually kind of hate them a lot. They're maybe ok for a ride or two, but after a full day of riding your shoulders definitely start to feel it. On I305 and Maverick they're necessary for upper body stabilization so you don't wrench your back. Neither of the two at Hershey have intense enough transitions to require that. Sure they're better than the B&M vests, but that's a very low hurdle to clear. Practically anything beats those vests. Never had any problem with rattling or throat chopping on Storm Runner, in fact I'd say it's the only Hershey Intamin that still runs as smooth as it ever has.

Thanks for the report. Sigh.