CHILLERLC1 Posted May 21, 2008 Share Posted May 21, 2008 I just heard the confirmation that Clementon Park's (NJ) wooden coaster is called Hellcat. A few months ago I reported that park's new owners renamed the aggressive coaster originally known as Tsunami and later changed to J2 after the Asian Tsunami disaster to Puma. The park's new website posted the coaster with that name. I learned from a source shortly after that it wasn't the intended name. Rather it tested the market. Today at work I heard a radio commercial for a park with a $49.99 season pass. It wasn't a Six Flags commercial. I initially thought it was Dorney Park but the price was a giveaway surprise that it was actually Clementon Park. At the end of the commercial I heard the name Hellcat. Hellcat indeed is now the wooden's coaster name. To me that sounds closer to the implication the name Tsunami gave. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ParkTrips Posted May 21, 2008 Share Posted May 21, 2008 man they are desperate Renaming the ride again, cheap season passes, how long till the place gets paved over? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CHILLERLC1 Posted May 21, 2008 Author Share Posted May 21, 2008 A new ownership group this season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DBru Posted May 21, 2008 Share Posted May 21, 2008 Yep, guess it's official... http://rcdb.com/id2586.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hercules Posted May 21, 2008 Share Posted May 21, 2008 I saw the TV commercial a couple nights ago. Just because there is new ownership doesn't mean the place is saved. I think once they realize there isn't anyone coming into the gates, they will be more inclined to pull the trigger on paving the place than the other owners. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Airtime&Gravity Posted May 21, 2008 Share Posted May 21, 2008 If or when this park closes, would it be possible for them to move Hellcat to Alabama Adventure, or does it interact with its surroundings to much? As for the new name, it is unique, but maybe not right for a family park. I think some parents might be offended with a coaster with "Hell" in it. I didn't think anything was wrong with J2, so I don't see why it had to be changed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ginzo Posted May 21, 2008 Share Posted May 21, 2008 how long till the place gets paved over? Not soon enough. J2 was one of the worst things I ever rode at the worst park I've ever been to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dr.gumbo Posted May 21, 2008 Share Posted May 21, 2008 Four names in five years. This is hilarious! This park has so much potential to be like Indiana Beach, to bad they can't even name a ride properly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CHILLERLC1 Posted May 22, 2008 Author Share Posted May 22, 2008 The last owner of the park got a really aggressive ride. Hopefully there are more picnics this year and I see good things. I'm convinced I want to go. As a rider on the original Tsunami coaster this ride is aggressive enough to fit the name. The new name matches up I believe. The park should get another calmer coaster like a Triple Hurricane or a Spinning Mouse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knottslover77 Posted May 22, 2008 Share Posted May 22, 2008 How many different names can one coaster get? --Jay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldJJman Posted May 22, 2008 Share Posted May 22, 2008 J2 was one of the worst things I ever rode at the worst park I've ever been to. Wow. Did we have different experiences! Granted, it IS a terrible park, no doubt. But, I loved J2!! I think I still have it ranked about 5 or 6 (out of 140+ woodies). Now, when I rode it, it was smooth, but dammed aggressive! When some really incredible airtime! Especially the second hill and the "impossible" turn-around that followed. I really liked it!! But, I do remember thinking that it is SO aggressive, that it would tear itself up in no time at all. Much like I thought Avalanche, (aka: AvaLAUNCH) would. Though Avalanche was still good last time I rode it, last June. So it doesn't surprise me that you gave it that review. BTW - We even got the on-ride photo! (see below) Actually, we got stuck on the lift hill and when the ride-op came up to "calm us down" we asked the guy to take our picture. That's the original Jack Rabbit in the background. JJ Who else has a legit on-ride photo on J2?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ginzo Posted May 22, 2008 Share Posted May 22, 2008 Wow. Did we have different experiences! Granted, it IS a terrible park, no doubt. But, I loved J2!! I think I still have it ranked about 5 or 6 (out of 140+ woodies). Now, when I rode it, it was smooth, but dammed aggressive! When some really incredible airtime! Especially the second hill and the "impossible" turn-around that followed. I really liked it!! But, I do remember thinking that it is SO aggressive, that it would tear itself up in no time at all. Much like I thought Avalanche, (aka: AvaLAUNCH) would. Though Avalanche was still good last time I rode it, last June. Funny you mention this. I *love* Avalanche. It's in my top 5. I went into J2 with huge expectations when I rode it last July, but the thing is so damn rough. It beats your back as bad as Predator does. It's not really any big surprise as the lay out is in some ways more insane than Voyage's is, but it's at a rinky dink little park that couldn't possibly maintain such a beast. A week or two after we rode J2, Clementon had to stop running it indefinitely for emergency maintenance in the middle of the season. I'd love to see more S&S Power woodies that are like Avalanche. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hercules Posted May 22, 2008 Share Posted May 22, 2008 I really loved J2 when I rode it 3 years ago. However, I'm one of those aggressive wood coaster freaks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CHILLERLC1 Posted May 24, 2008 Author Share Posted May 24, 2008 As soon I reported the Puma name on another site a source told me that although it was on the park website it was to test the market for the eventual name Hellcat. The coaster never physically rolled in the offseason with this Puma name. It was all online and it's actually not even listed on RCDB as part of its history. It's probably like Mantis' original name Banshee. I've only been on the ride in its opening month with its original name Tsunami so I can say I've never been on J2. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hercules Posted May 24, 2008 Share Posted May 24, 2008 Well, it is a totally different situation than Banshee/Mantis, but yeah... That is really interesting that they were just testing the market with just a name. Did they think a name change like that would garner more interest from the public? I know that J2 was a horrible name, but how many more people do they think they would get through the gates with a change of name? And how would they monitor that during the off season? Season pass sales? Web hits? I just seems really odd to me. Maybe they used a focus group or something. Or just asked for feedback. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
verticalzero Posted June 4, 2008 Share Posted June 4, 2008 Seems like Hell-Cat (Ex J2) is not so Hell as the park has added "trims" to the 1st / 2nd drop. ADMIN EDIT: Changed the title to be more descriptive. ~Matt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cray hail Posted June 4, 2008 Share Posted June 4, 2008 Why didn't they just go all out and add trims down the entire drop? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gldude Posted June 4, 2008 Share Posted June 4, 2008 How many different names can one coaster get? --Jay The reason why it was probably changed from Tsunami to J2 was after the terrible 2004 Tsunami. To be more politically correct, decent, whatever you want to call it, the name was changed to J2. Wave pools and Splash Boat rides everywhere also changed their names, so that name change was understandable. I also understand why they change the name of J2 to Puma, new park owners, new park image. Now what I do not understand is why they would change the name Puma to Hellcat. In my opinion, Puma is one of the greatest names ever for a roller coaster. Hellcat seems to be a little bit much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robbalvey Posted June 4, 2008 Share Posted June 4, 2008 25% Awesome! --Robb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 4, 2008 Share Posted June 4, 2008 Tsunami SHOULD be open this weekend coming up. The park was just waiting on the state to certify it to open. The trims also shaved about 4-6 seconds off of each cycle It's a shame, the ride as it was, was VERY intense and awesome. The only problem was that it would tear itself apart so much that it would only be open about 60% of the season. According to the GM of the park, it's much smoother, still feels fast, but just not overly aggressive as before. I honestly liked the aggressive ride it provided before, those of you who havent ridden it, sorry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
verticalzero Posted June 7, 2008 Share Posted June 7, 2008 One of my friends visited Clementon Park on Monday and the Hell-Cat was only testing. The trim brakes have been added because the cars were ripping hell out of the second hill and this is to extend the life of the coaster. The first five trains of the day [test runs] do not use the trim brakes to gauge the speed and the trim brakes are adjusted accordingly for run mode. This extends the time of the ride by up to 3-4 secs. The 2nd train which never got used, has been added by the new owners, as the previous owners had a policy of just running 1 train. The park [as of Monday] were just waiting for the state to issue the licence for the public to use the coaster with the new trim brakes and 2 trains. Fingers crossed, the licence may have been issued by now. If it has, may go on down there to ride Hell-Cat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ginzo Posted June 7, 2008 Share Posted June 7, 2008 I honestly liked the aggressive ride it provided before, those of you who havent ridden it, sorry Only thing I'm sorry about is that I wasted $50 (two people) riding that thing last year. I still want a refund because when you only have one coaster in your park it shouldn't run like Predator or Villain. I did get the satisfaction of ranking J2 dead last in the wood coaster poll last year, but other than that it was a complete waste of time and money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 7, 2008 Share Posted June 7, 2008 ^Yikes, I'm sorry you disliked it so much. It's up there in my top tne right now, I really like getting my arse kicked on rides though, so that's the difference between you and I I suppose. The coaster passed on Friday night, so it is open again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy_e219 Posted June 7, 2008 Share Posted June 7, 2008 I was considering on going there this summer to ride it, but looking at entrance rates, and the piss poor shape of the coaster I'm not going for sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewsPlusNotes Posted June 8, 2008 Share Posted June 8, 2008 Wow they totally Hercules-ed that first drop. That stinks! First you slow it down so it's easier on one hill, then it turns into needing it for another and soon they tear it down! Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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