texcoaster

If Bizarro gets moved, my bet would be SFOT. It would fit in that spot where Flashback used to be if you run it over to that area where the dead mall is. SFStL is getting Flashback. I'm also guessing that SFOT *could* also be getting a StarFlyer as well. The Facebook post showed the parachutes and Flashback, which are both leaving, with a tease for the Sept 30 announcement that says "go bigger". Replacing both rides makes sense.

A coaster doesn't need to be new. Mine Train is not only old, but historic. Shock Wave opened in 1978 and still kicks. These rides are one-of-a-kind layouts and each gives a great ride in its own way. They should hopefully run for many more generations to enjoy. Flashback, however, is a clone - and a bad one at that. I deserved removal for that, not because of its age. Because I'm sure that the observation tower security guy is sleeping with the person who ordered the new ride. Or something.

Boardwalk Bullet is taller and longer than the Coney Cyclone. That's not a full-sized coaster?

What sort of language are you guys speaking???? I'm guessing it's English, spoken in a dialect of those who've ridden too many Arrow loopers and have dain bramage.

WHAT?

^ Right, because I'm sure that the steel Iron Horse track is brown in its unpainted state. It would be pretty sweet to have steel-colored unpainted rails, but it could be more problematic than painted ones because rust. I had also thought about Diamondback, but figured that SF would most likely recycle one of its own names, since they won't have to design a new logo.

National Rollercoaster Day is a thing. It's the anniversary of the patent in 1898. The thing that makes me wonder is the "go bigger" tag superimposed over Flashback. Surely, SURELY, they aren't putting in a giant boomerang. Surely they learned their lessons on those already? Surely they weren't influenced by that bogus "award" from that coaster show where Silverwood's GB beat out Alpengeist... (kidding) Still, all clues seem to point to a coaster at this point. Let the speculation begin!

Had a horrible thought.... "New Rattler" is just stupid and too much like "New Texas Giant" with SFFT and SFOT being in the same market and all.... It could be that they'll keep the theme but change the name to (wait for it).... Viper. God, that would suck. Back to the colors: brown supports (as is) and jet black rails. Paint the trains some ultra-bright red or royal blue or something that will really stand out.

Sorry I'm so late to reply and I completely forgot what I was going to type anyway. Still laughing at the "being sold and relocated" idea. I don't doubt that some employees are spreading that story, but there's no way it's true. HOWEVER, if it did go to another park and that park decided to just set the helix on the ground instead of building a cliff wall for it, it could go from the big horseshoe turn into a bunny hop over the valley of the first drop, then hit that helix at about 55mph! That might even make it interesting, at least until your spine snapped. How does it get back up to the MCBR? It doesn't need to, everyone's dead.

Of all the possible realities that could happen with this project, you're worried about the color choice for the track? How gay ARE you???? (This remark coming from a guy who once watched a "Design on a Dime" marathon on HGTV while the rest of the world was watching the Super Bowl!)

Note the clean cuts, the stacked track pieces, etc... this is a much more time-consuming removal process than just bulldozing the thing to the ground. The only thing I can speculate from this is that they are making sure the footers aren't damaged during the removal, which of course bolsters the alleged reworking. Besides, if they were just going to taer it down they wouldn't have needed to close it before the season was done. So assuming that the footers are being saved for re-use, let the speculation begin as to what sort of new circular thing will be up there.... How's this? The train leaves the valley and races up the cliff into the top layer of the helix at breakneck speed (due to the increased lift hill height, the extended first drop, and the overbanked horseshoe turn back into the valley)... it screams around the top layer of the helix, then cuts a sharp banked right turn into a corkscrew through the center of the circle, exiting into the middle layer of the helix, travelling in the opposite direction, counter-clockwise. It navigates 3/4 around the circle, then heads back to the center for another corkscrew, interlocked with the first one. Back into the helix at ground level, again going clockwise, heading for the MCBR (which is always off, but is necessary for blocking), headchoppers galore. I can dream, can't I?

This is TPR. Of course there will be doubt. It will be another SOB, it will have fatal G-forces, it will hit the bolts, it will have OTSRs installed after the first day, it will have poor capacity, WHAT ABOUT THOSE HOLES?, and it's most definitely sinking.

The loop was the only thing they got right on SOB. The rest of it wasn't the fault of the ride design as much as it was the train design. They were HEAVY and really beat up the track. Halfway down the first drop, the train shook so badly that I put both my arms up and put them on my head, trying to keep my brain from shaking so badly inside my skull. The first helix was brutal. When we hit the midcourse, I'd have given just about anything to GET OFF and never experience the rest of the ride. The loop was a welcome respite - nice and smooth and fast... and then all hell broke loose between it and the station. It completely ruined the next three parks on my trip, because my head still hurt so bad I couldn't enjoy anything. I wish I could say that I'm sorry to see it go, but I'm not. Back on subject: I don't foresee OutRun having any problems like that. Topper track is smooth as silk and won't succumb to the kinds of stress that SOB was getting with those heavy trains and those outlandish speeds. The top speed of OutRun is well within the range of other successfull woodies and I'm betting the G forces won't be any heavier, either. If NTG is any indication, the folks at RMC concentrate more on the negative Gs than the posiive ones, anyway!

Oh, and Magnum XL-200 sounds like a condom brand. They should have a Trojan coaster next to it.

Top Thrill Dragster, Kingda Ka, and Volcano: The Blast Coaster are all kinda weird. Hurler and Montezooma's Revenge are based on unpleasant body functions. But the oddest one is "Sky Princess" on a decent woodie at Dutch Wonderland. Really. But hey, they named the steelie "Joust" for no apparent reason, too.

The helix didn't go 5mph in the opening season when the first drop was still all the way to the bottom... It was never speedy, mind you, but it wasn't the snore-gasm it became after the first drop got neutered. I always thought that it could've been really good if they kept the first drop and took the top layer of the helix off, dropping right into the middle layer. Of course, if RMC wants to jazz it up and do something that will challenge SDC's OutRun for "most anticipated coaster", that would be OK, too!

I don't remember there being much more than grass and a parking lot. Yep. That is grass and a parking lot. The point isn't the view straight ahead at the parking lot, it's the Tatsu-like way that the lift follows the contour of the land for quite some time, then just before you crest the hill, the land drops off into a valley, leaving the train a LOT higher up than expected. By the time you get around to looking down the drop, it's substantially bigger than expected.

Keep in mind that Indiana has been suffering a drought this summer. It might not be the condition of the ride (in terms of upkeep) that's making things rough this year as it is the condition of the wood itself. Raven sits mostly in the shade for the entire layout, so the sun doesn't beat on it as badly as the others and it might not be as dry as a result. There's not much a park can do to smooth out a coaster if the weather doesn't cooperate!

The Boss or Mamba? How about The Boss or Prowler AND Mamba? If given the choice (and I've been to both parks numerous times), I'd choose WoF every time. Boss is OK when it runs well, but Prowler will make you forget all about it. Toss Mamba in there as icing on the cake, plus Patriot is decent and has one of the best top-of-lift OMG views ever.

Could I suggest that you might do a top 10 that includes the top 5 steel and the top 5 wood, rather than a mixture of both? Comparing X2 to the Coney Cyclone, for instance, on a top 10 list is like asking for your top 10 foods and trying to put bananas foster up against fried catfish... Anyway, I vote for Voyage, no contest. If you want to separate wood/steel votes, my steel choice is Expedition GeForce

Seriously, some of y'all just don't need to be riding wood coasters any more, I guess. There is a threshold of discomfort that shouldn't be breached, but a really out-of-control feeling on an old school woodies needs a bit of rough-n-tumble. I don't think that I have a higher tolerance for roughness, by the way... I choose my seats very carefully on rides like the Coney Cyclone, I avoid entire sections of the train on Rattler, and I generally did one trip in the Old Texas Giant in the front seat and no more, even with ERT. That said, you folks complaining about Legend (I rode it two days ago) miiiiiiiiiight have a point, depending on where you sat. I was in the next-to-last or last seat on four of my five rides and in the front for the fifth ride. The front was completely re-ridable, and it took four trips in the back car before I was "done" with it. Yes, it was rough, but the OMFGWTFBBQ intensity of it not only made the roughness worth it, but I felt it actually added to the experience. Judging from the brake run reactions of other riders, they didn't mind, either. It actually caused Legend to move into my top 10 for the first time, ever. Raven was running really well, as noted by many. Voyage: Agreed that the first half was fantastic and the new turnaround is even better than the old version. Not having handrails on the outside of that turn is a great visual treat! YES, the return trip (actually starting with the first 90 banked turn) is rough. In a few seats it was really uncomfortable, especially on the turn with the souvenir camera right before the lift hill fly-over. But not riding over the wheels solved much of that discomfort and I found the front seat to be smoother than a LOT of woodies, especially ones with that kind of intensity. A few lateral shuffles on the "bad turn" but nothing major. Seriously, if you rode in the front seat and found it " just plain awful, horribly rough, I got off with absolutely no desire to get back on" then maybe you should stick to B&Ms or plug-n-play woodies. Just sayin'

Not only was NTG their first big makeover project, but the worksite for that ride made things difficult. The layout is basically two giant circles with Johnson Creek running through the middle. If you watched the webcam shots, it sometimes took them many hours to move a crane from inside the circles to outside. Rattler has the upstairs/downstairs difficulty, but I don't really see them having to go from top of cliff to bottom over and over like they did with NTG, having to go back and forth across the creek. Add that to the learning curve, which is already shorter after their experience with NTG and I'm betting this thing will rise pretty fast by comparison.

Is anyone else surprised (and a bit disappointed) that rcdb lists NTaG on the same entry as TxGiant? Yes, some of the support structure is used in both rides, but that's true of the Crystal Beach Cyclone and the Comet (later moved to NY)... those get separate listings. IMHO, NTaG is a completely new coaster and should have a separate listing.

So let's start the speculation going: So far, SFOT already has 1. Bobsled 2. Hypercoaster 3. Steel twister hybrid 4. Steel looper 5. Indoor coaster 6. Mine train 7. Family coaster 8. Launched reverse coaster 9. Inverted coaster 10. Wood out/back 11. Kiddie coaster 12. Spinning coaster So assuming they don't want a similar coaster to what they already have, what would be a good fit for the park? I'm betting on a flying coaster or maybe even a wing coaster... I think the age of the standup coaster is over and I don't see them putting in another woodie. Whatever it is, given its prominent location next to the entrance, it needs to look great.

OK, when y'all say that sections of the helix are gone... do you mean that track is missing and supports are still there, do you mean that entire sections of track and supports have been removed, or do you mean that sections have been bulldozed into piles of matchsticks like they're not coming back in any form?