rolercstrluvr Posted April 1, 2017 Share Posted April 1, 2017 Some serious airtime in the corkscrew, no joke. I second this, after riding at both the media day and he passholder event, there really is airtime in the corkscrew. Of all places you wouldn't expect it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thrillseeker4552 Posted April 1, 2017 Share Posted April 1, 2017 Looks good. This ride will never make anyone's top 10 list, but it sure seems better than Vortex (and looks WAY better... that yellow and purple was ugly). It looks like it could be a perfect "first looping" coaster for kids due to the mild height, speed, and number of inversions. Although I guess the 54" height requirement refutes that idea... Super excited about the future at CGA. Patriot looks like the first step! Thanks for the report. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mater Posted April 1, 2017 Share Posted April 1, 2017 I think it's also worthy to note that they noticeably cranked up the lift hill speed and added a set of magnetic brakes at the end. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cfc Posted April 1, 2017 Share Posted April 1, 2017 I was never a fan of the B&M stand-up coasters (Georgia Scorcher and Riddler's Revenge were the best of the lot), so I'm in favor of these floorless conversions. Looks like a good way to improve a mediocre (at best) ride. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sirloindude Posted April 1, 2017 Share Posted April 1, 2017 I'm interested to experience these conversions, having only experienced both this and Mantis in stand-up form. I never much minded the stand-ups, although the Vortex duo never did much for me one way or the other (Mantis, on the other hand, was my favorite B&M at the park). I do wish they had kept the old colors, though. I liked that it was different and I thought that the colors were awesome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VegasBaby Posted April 1, 2017 Share Posted April 1, 2017 I was never a fan of the B&M stand-up coasters (Georgia Scorcher and Riddler's Revenge were the best of the lot), so I'm in favor of these floorless conversions. Looks like a good way to improve a mediocre (at best) ride. Agreed, these floorless conversions by CF are a really smart way of getting a "new" coaster without dropping $10-20 million. I was really surprised by how great of a ride Rougarou is when I visited CP last summer. I think I only ever rode Mantis once or twice, but now Rougarou is a must ride every visit. I will say that I hope Riddler remains a stand up though because it's a pretty awesome coaster and the stand up gimmick just works on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thrillseeker4552 Posted April 1, 2017 Share Posted April 1, 2017 I was never a fan of the B&M stand-up coasters (Georgia Scorcher and Riddler's Revenge were the best of the lot), so I'm in favor of these floorless conversions. Looks like a good way to improve a mediocre (at best) ride. Agreed, these floorless conversions by CF are a really smart way of getting a "new" coaster without dropping $10-20 million. I was really surprised by how great of a ride Rougarou is when I visited CP last summer. I think I only ever rode Mantis once or twice, but now Rougarou is a must ride every visit. I will say that I hope Riddler remains a stand up though because it's a pretty awesome coaster and the stand up gimmick just works on it. I agree about Riddler. In my opinion, Riddler and Scorcher should stay stand-ups, and the rest can either go floorless or get scrapped lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RAWKIN_coaster38 Posted April 1, 2017 Share Posted April 1, 2017 I just had a conversation with someone about how I'd still rate Vortex as my least favorite coaster even after riding T3. Stand-up coasters can all die, it's not just a male thing. Riddler's is somewhat tolerable for me and I'll probably get to ride Georgia Scorcher this summer so we'll see how that one fares. Rougarou was an immense improvement on Mantis. Patriot is already a huge improvement on Vortex in many ways (trains, paint, shade), but I'm still curious to hear what more people think as they ride it. Maybe it really is the butterfly that emerged from its cocoon, I'll still be skeptical until I ride it for myself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DILinator Posted April 1, 2017 Share Posted April 1, 2017 Stand-up coasters can all die, it's not just a male thing. Hear! Hear! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XSupremacy Posted April 1, 2017 Share Posted April 1, 2017 Rode Patriot last night at Preview Night. Got a whole 21 rides on it with no line! It's a really fun ride, with just one rough moment in one train and none in the other. Corkscrew is surprisingly intense now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ABW Posted April 1, 2017 Share Posted April 1, 2017 I, obviously, enjoyed Patriot more than Vortex. It's a great improvement, and is basically a mini Medusa (SFDK) in many ways. I think it will be a huge hit with the local populace and is a great ride for those looking for a relatively tame roller coaster that goes upside-down. The transitions still have some whip, and the corkscrew has a lot of force (I personally love it), but it overall rides very smoothly. There are few things better than taking an unridable ride and turning it into something re-ridable, and fun. I rode it no less than six times, with no pain whatsoever. Thank you to Great America for this welcomed change, and for last night's awesome pass holder event, this park is definitely going uphill. Pretty Patriot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jarmor Posted April 1, 2017 Share Posted April 1, 2017 Some serious airtime in the corkscrew, no joke. I second this, after riding at both the media day and he passholder event, there really is airtime in the corkscrew. Of all places you wouldn't expect it. Do you guys mean hang time? I just can't fathom airtime while upside down. Is it even possible? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laqueefa Posted April 1, 2017 Share Posted April 1, 2017 Some serious airtime in the corkscrew, no joke. I second this, after riding at both the media day and he passholder event, there really is airtime in the corkscrew. Of all places you wouldn't expect it. Do you guys mean hang time? I just can't fathom airtime while upside down. Is it even possible? No. They mean airtime. It's not like the slow paced roll that you get on say, SFDK's Superman ride. That transition feels like forever. This is tight singular corckscrew with enough force to give you a little pop. It was surprising to say the least. That element was always painful on the yarbles before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mater Posted April 1, 2017 Share Posted April 1, 2017 The corkscrew has a noticeable snap in the middle of it, causing the entire left side of the train to have an airtime-y/flung-out-of-your-seat sensation. I'm going to take a moment to randomly and blindly guess and say it may have something to do with the fact that the ride was designed for a different heartline? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ImNotOneOfYou Posted April 1, 2017 Share Posted April 1, 2017 I'm going to take a moment to randomly and blindly guess and say it may have something to do with the fact that the ride was designed for a different heartline? I'm sure all of the engineers on this site can confirm that for you. They really showed us when Rougarou was announced Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XSupremacy Posted April 2, 2017 Share Posted April 2, 2017 The corkscrew has a noticeable snap in the middle of it, causing the entire left side of the train to have an airtime-y/flung-out-of-your-seat sensation. I'm going to take a moment to randomly and blindly guess and say it may have something to do with the fact that the ride was designed for a different heartline? Agreed on the Corkscrew. It's so much more fun as Patriot than it was on Vortex. I love the snappiness of old B&M corkscrews Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WOFanatic Posted April 2, 2017 Share Posted April 2, 2017 Really glad Patriot worked out well. I was really skeptical about this one. I'm really interested to see how the GP feels about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mechanic Posted April 2, 2017 Share Posted April 2, 2017 I always felt that the corkscrew was one of the best parts of the ride even when it was still a stand-up. Aside from it being on the short side, I thought it was a decent enough ride before the transformation. I'm sure it's even better now. I hope to be able to get down and ride it before too long. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pproteinc Posted April 2, 2017 Share Posted April 2, 2017 So are you guys confirming that a flourless conversion to the vortex at Carowinds would be ok considering the layouts are almost similar? I think Carowinds' version is shorter tho. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steely Dan Posted April 2, 2017 Share Posted April 2, 2017 So are you guys confirming that a flourless conversion to the vortex at Carowinds would be ok considering the layouts are almost similar? I think Carowinds' version is shorter tho. They're both around 2,000' in track length, with Caowinds Vortex actually being about 100' longer (not that it makes much difference with these two similar coasters). The general consensus seems to be that Mantis to Rougarou was a positive upgrade, and the early reports seem to generally agree that CGA's Vortex to Patriot conversion is also a success, so I'd have to imagine that the inevitable Carowinds Vortex floorless conversion will be a winner as well. Good on CF for breathing some new life into these old rides instead of allowing do-nothing inertia to tighten it's vice-like grip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thrillseeker4552 Posted April 2, 2017 Share Posted April 2, 2017 If Patriot goes over well (which seems to be the case), I am almost certain we will see the Carowinds Vortex get converted in 2018. I don't see why Cedar Fair would convert two of their stand-ups and leave out the third. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knaiwear Posted April 2, 2017 Share Posted April 2, 2017 ^what if they decide it doesn't have any meaningful impact on attendance and it will take them a long time to get their ROI when another capital expense would make them money faster? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RAWKIN_coaster38 Posted April 2, 2017 Share Posted April 2, 2017 So are you guys confirming that a flourless conversion to the vortex at Carowinds would be ok considering the layouts are almost similar? I think Carowinds' version is shorter tho. I could easily see them do a butterless conversion Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJK Posted April 2, 2017 Share Posted April 2, 2017 I've noticed Patriot is running very slowly. This may be because it has just opened and needs to warm up a bit or the trains are that light and don't allow for the speed Vortex had. Either way, I've set up a way to watch both POVs at once just so you have an idea of how slow Patriot is in comparison to Vortex. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jew Posted April 2, 2017 Share Posted April 2, 2017 ^what if they decide it doesn't have any meaningful impact on attendance and it will take them a long time to get their ROI when another capital expense would make them money faster? They'd be hard pressed to find something better for the cost. I'm guessing buying new trains & changing out some mechanical systems to handle the new trains is fairly cheap compared to other capital investments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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