RailBlazer

The Texas Giant wasn't 165 feet tall. It was 143 feet tall with a 137 foot drop. Most coaster drops don't go all the way to the ground as there is structure holding the track up, so the bottom of Giant's drop wasn't unusually high off the ground. The lift is only being raised 10 feet for the remodel, but the drop will be much steeper at 79 degrees.

The second train from Timber Wolf was indeed MIA, but it is also red, not white. I was at the park Saturday for opening day and all coasters had two trains on, with the exception of Timber Wolf, as park had a great turnout with the nice weather.

Well, if you are talking about the side view photo of Texas Giant, that is indeed the Texas Giant. That view is not one that everyone is familiar with though. Part of the ride is not seen in the photo (far right side) and that is where the helix turns over the lift would be. The people at Amusement Today know the Giant very well, so no worries on them mistaking a photo of another ride for Texas Giant.

I can certainly see the points about coasters dropping. Most of the coasters on the list have dropped. I think using the phrase "Prowler fanboys" in the original post wasn't necessary and now "midwest nutjobs"? That said, I think Prowler will be one of the CGII coasters that will have a chance at staying high on the list as long as Worlds Of Fun keeps it up. It is an outstanding ride, especially at night. It also is not your average GCII coaster. It IS different and I think most people who ride it will find it to be one of, if not the best CGII coaster.

Maybe Sean Flaharty might share?

Actually, I believe it was the G-trains that were not making it around and they ended up trying the Screamin' Eagle train which did work and it was used for the media day. I recall hearing that they had just gotten a train to go around the course the day before media day. I rode The Boss with the PTC train and it was pretty brutal, but it at least has padding. The turn at the bottom of the first drop was one of the big problems (brutal spot) and I believe that was mellowed out a bit at a later time. On media day, you could see the train jerk side to side there. As for "brand new," the structure was, but the train wasn't so I think it moved through the course a little faster than a new train would have. There was one other really brutal spot at the start of media day. There was a nasty pothole on the climb after the drop off the mid-course brake. In some seats it was awful. My friend and I chose seat 4 for our first ride thinking that a brand new ride wouldn't be rough. WRONG! They closed the ride down at one point and made some adjustments to the track and then it was much better for the remainder of the day.

You have Worlds of Fun's haunted houses and scare zones, but you didn't note they are at Worlds of Fun.

Thank you for the kind response! My comment about the record "The Story and Song..." was only to reference the Hatbox Ghost and the line that describes him. I realize that isn't the "story" of the Haunted Mansion. My point is, the Haunted Mansion hasn't had a real story and has been around for nearly forty years. I don't see a reason to give it one now. It simply is a trip through a haunted mansion.

The bride has been in the attic since 1969 when Haunted Mansion opened. There was also to be a "groom" of sorts, known as the Hatbox Ghost, but he was removed when the effect didn't work. It is a shame he didn't work because he is one of my favorite things from photos and the Disneyland Record "The Story and Song From The Haunted Mansion." For those of you who don't know about this character, the following line from the record sums up the scene: "With each beat of his bride's heart, his head disappeared from his body... and reappeared in the hatbox." If the people at Disney wanted to rework the attic, maybe they should have attempted recreating this scene instead of this new take on the bride. There is no reason to redefine the story of the Haunted Mansion. I also don't get adding a photo of real people (the bride and groom). I don't think that is true to the rest of the attraction. With the exception of the projected faces (Leota) and also at the end, I believe most if not all portraits and characters are painted and/or stylized representations of people.

I am interested in these new train models, but it seems that if you are selling replicas of specific coaster trains, the models should have the same number of cars as the real thing. I can understand maybe skipping the zero-car with Alpengeist, but say if Raptor has eight cars, why not have 8 cars on the model. Most inverted coasters have eight cars, not seven.

No anti-rollbacks at the top of that hill?! What were they thinking?

I was wondering if they stopped at Timber Falls as well. So many reports about Mt. Olympus and many don't even mention Timber Falls. You are not alone in liking Avalanche more than Hades. Avalanche is my favorite woodie. Yes, I have ridden The Voyage, but not El Toro. I think Avalanche is one of the most fun coasters anywhere.

EXACTLY! And that is just before the 180 degree flat turn as I said!

Robb, what you are seeing that appears to be a buzzbar in the up position are the two headrests of the front seat. (No, I am not referring to the photo above!) Funny that you can only see those headrests in that photo. That shot was taken in 1995, (I can tell by the new wood on the track) and Timber Wolf had headrests added by the 1992 season. 1995 was the last season for the buzzbars. As for the "all seats over a wheel," the rear seats of the cars are much more over wheel/axel than the front seats. The wheels for the front seats are closer to your feet and not your rear/back.

Maybe my "parallel to the first turn" was misleading. That should have been parallel to the first turn after the first drop. The brake and following turn is off to the left of what is shown in that photo.

As I stated earlier, the new brake is just before the long, flat 180 degree turn that is parallel to the first turn (after the first drop). That flat turn wouldn't qualify as a helix.

Timber Wolf has been a hit and miss ride this season. Overall, much better than it has been, but sometimes you can get good, fast rides and other days, very slow and down right dull. A lot of structural work has been done and some of the track has been recapped in some of the more brutal spots, so while not perfect, the track is much better. I would advise avoiding wheel/axel seats though to avoid the hard seat back pounding you in the back. Front seats of the individual cars are smoother. It is possible that the MCBR comments are coming from the top of the helix. The train can move very slowly at the top if the first drop brakes are on hard. I guess someone might think that there is a brake there due to how slow it sometimes goes there. The new brake is just before the long, flat 180 degree turn that is parallel to the first turn. This one seems to adjust to the speed of the trains. Sometimes the ride is over at that point, other times it is OK, but generally not great. I have had some REALLY good rides on Timber Wolf this season and I have had some really bad rides. I wish they would let this ride run the way it can. It really can be a great ride.

Take a look at the first page of the trip report for your answer.

Timber Wolf was running a bit better today. I hope this continues.

Well, I am not sure what you would suggest they do with the trains then, as all the things that have been added aren't going anywhere. I have wondered if dropping a car would help with reducing the weight of the train and maybe they could lighten up on the brakes. Maybe not. Swoosh, thanks for answering about the places that you notice the shuffling the most. You basically gave the spots that I expected you would and most of those places still need work and/or the train isn't moving fast enough due to the brakes.

Mark, you and I are under the same impression. As fas as I know the trains are the original trains, with modifications and I imagine a lot of replaced parts over the years. The ride started out with two trains, but the park bought a third train in the first few years to be used as a backup I guess. The headrests were added sometime after the collision that occurred the first day of the 1990 season. I don't recall exactly when that took place, but I would guess for sure by the 1991 season. In 1994, Timber Wolf was closed for about six weeks in the middle of the summer while two trains were changed to have four wheel cars. The trains originally started with trailer cars. The third train apparently didn't get the conversion and I am guessing it was used for parts? The individual lapbars came at the opening of the 1996 season.

Swoosh, why are you so sure that the track, track gauge and speed don't have anything to do with shuffling, in addition to any part the trains may play? While I am no expert, I bet these things do contribute to shuffling. I am curious what parts of the ride you are referring to that shuffle? As for "not the original rolling stock", what do you mean? Do you think it has newer trains and if so, when were they bought?

Well, maybe the brakes were light for Coaster Mayhem, but I can tell you from experience, I haven't had a good ride on Wolf in the last two weeks. Things can change from day to day and even hour to hour. A month ago it was great, but it has been very slow lately. The drop brakes have been really bad and you drag down the drop. The train is crawling at the top of the helix. I keep waiting for the train to stop, but somehow it keeps moving. I rode once last night and it wasn't even worth riding again. I finally talked to someone at the park last night regarding how bad of a ride it has been lately. Except for a few speedy sections, it has turned into a very dull, family ride at best and nothing like it used to be. I hope this is not how it will run from now on. As for the trains, the trains may play a part in shuffling, but the track and track gauge and the speed at which the trains travel also have something to do with the shuffling.

Actually, in the last few weeks, there is NOT more air than ever on Timber Wolf. Brakes have been on HARD on the first drop and then the new brake hits the train too. The ride can change from time to time, but lately it is slow and boring. Way to go Cedar Fair! I am glad to see Fury of the Nile finally get a sign, but I don't care for the wood portion of the sign. It's not terribly attractive.

Well, Swoosh it sounds like you got lucky. I wasn't there Saturday for the event, but all the rides I have had on Timber Wolf in the last two weeks have been about as dull as they could be. The night rides I had on it the weekend before last were OK at best, but any airtime following the new brake was eliminated. Now, the brakes on the first drop are on very heavy and the train just crawls around the track and then gets braked a second time! I have had some of the slowest rides I have ever had on it since 1989! The ride was running quite well the first month or so of weekends this year. That was about as close to the real Timber Wolf as it has been in a very long time. Now, you might as well put the entrance to the ride in Camp Snoopy!