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Some of the TR's here mention rides on various wooden coasters as being rough, terrible, bumpy, horrible, etc. now for me, when I ride a wooden coaster, I expect it to be rough and bumpy..that's why I like wooden coasters. I like being jostled and shook around. It goes with that "out of control" feeling that I love about wooden coasters. (note: steel coasters, IMHO, shouldn't be rough or bumpy) should wooden coasters be smooth like steel coasters? I have always gone on wooden coasters expecting it to be rough and bumpy and I've never been disappointed. (Beast, Gwazi, Mean Streak, Grizzly, et.al.)

 

just thought I'd ask.

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The first coaster I rode was Grizzly at PGA and it wasn't rough. Like you said, I expect a wooden coaster to be a bit bumpy and rough. Thats what there supposed to do. I have never been on a woodie that is to rough for me to ride.

 

Allison- They probaly ate so many lean pockets that there so skinny that the coaster throws them around everywhere.

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I think there's a difference though between a good ole fashion woody that feels like a woody, and a coaster like Gwazi that leaves me needing 4 advil!

 

I'm not into any ride that's 'rough'...I don't believe that is what wooden coasters are supposed to be...they're supposed to feel different, not painful!

 

Elissa "just my opinion" Alvey

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^ I grew up on SFMM's woodies---I'm ruined!

 

Seriously, a ride like the Santa Cruz Giant Dipper is what a woodie should be like. It's a bit rough, but expected with a wooden track. It's well taken care of and has always delivered.

 

In my opinion, woodies were never meant to be as big as some of them are getting. And parks are cutting corners to save money, so maintenance suffers. So does the ride.

 

Eric

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the rattler had a few bumpy parts, but nothing painful, PGA Grizzly actually hurt be and gave me a nice bruise last time i rode it, It was beyond rough.

 

I agree though, a little rough and bumpy can add to the Out of control feeling, as long as its not so bumpy that bruising starts

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Im on the side of differences between rough and painfull. Roughness is nice on wooden coasters, but there are some coasters like the racer at pki (atleast backseat of the frontward side) that make you think you need spine re-adjustment...Of course, I was raised on rough coasters like beast and SOB so....

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I totally agree with you on this. Wood coasters are supposed to be "rough" which contributes to that woodie sensation. As for steel, they must be smooth. Personally I think that any steel coaster that is not smooth is not worth it. But I do not mean smooth in tons of inversions. I mean it in the track.

 

Dave

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I have been on alot of wooden coasters with out a divider between the two seats. The Beast, Racers, Racer, Jack Rabbit, and more. I like wooden coasters being rough with air time. Note The Beast and Racers have added a divider in the past.

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non-divided seats are only fun if you're the bigger of the two people in the seat. being the squishee isn't fun, but being the squisher is. this applies to making fresh orange juice, too.

 

~Allison "dont know where that last part came from" Y2K~

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A rought wooden coaster in my opinion is something that shakes violently, or jolts you violently to where it actually makes you have a REALLY bad headache or leaves you with mutiple bruises. I can find positives in wooden coasters almost all the time but there are 2 that come to mind that sucked so bad that it hurt and was completely unpleasent.

 

One being Mega Zeph and SFNO, I had heard the coaster term "shuffle" and knew what itr meant but I thought it was a word for used by complaining coaster people. That ride just SHOOK so bad through all of the turns and hills it made you stomach and head hurt.

 

The other one being Raging Wolf Bobs, at least the first half. The second half was perfectly smooth but completely BORING. I hate that coaster.

 

However some rides that people are calling "rough" really are not by my standards. GhostRider is one that people are raggin on all the time, when it warms up it goes SOOO fast through the 'drop' and following hills that it throws you around a lot but it really isn't rough, it is just demanding because the lateral g's and negative g's can become pretty damn intense.

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  • 1 year later...

I think Gwazi was the ride that ruined wooden coasters for me. I will always prefer smooth inversions ona steel coaster, but I was always open to riding woodies.

After riding that pile of toothpicks, I can easily declare it as my least favorite coaster by far.

The thing i don't like about drops on woodies is how its gradual at the top, you feel like you fly of the track for a second at the steepest part, but then smash into the track with the G forces at the bottom. That feeling sucks.

 

One of the few nice things I do have to say about woodies is that I like the headchoppers, the fact that you cant see around the support structure, andthe creative banking and many drops, but the roughness and lateral G forces on many wooden coasters are unnaceptable in my opinion.

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Airtime and Laterals are what Wooden coasters are all about in my opinion, until it gets so rough that your body actually starts to hurt and ache... like the last time I rode Wilde Beast, it was so rough it made my ribs hurt, especially during the that last turn it totally killed me, then it slammed into the brakes and flung me into the Lap Bar, then they stacked the trains, so we were left on the Brake run to sit and feel the pain. It was horrible.

 

If I were going on that Midwest Trip, one thing I would look forward to is a Smooth wooden coaster.

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I'm glad to see all these posts about Gwazi. I was beginning to think ALL woodies were like this (some people have told me they are). It's my only woodie so far and I very much hope there are better ones out there. That thing gave me a headache all three times I rode it. Never again...

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I've heard people complain about wooden coasters not being "rough" enough, some people actually dislike Intamin prefabs becouse of their smoothness (not that they hate the prefabs, thats IMPOSSIBLE), they just WANT woodies to be bumpy/rough. I hear the newer GCI's are pretty smooth to, btw.

 

Vekoma woodies are average to very rough, but thats just part of the feeling, and the airtime is just to good to dislike them, especially when the coaster is wet. It all just depends if it's "average woody" rough or "beating you up" rough.

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I found Gwazi to be pretty darn smooth, and I've been on some pretty bad wooden coasters before.

 

There's a difference between normal wooden coaster roughness and just a rough wooden coaster. The normal wooden roughness is on well-maintained wooden coasters, where the coaster is always being patched and fixed. Major companies (or bad parks), like some Six Flags parks, or Cedar Fair (always) just leave their wooden coaster to rot (minus minor board replacements) for a couple of years until they decide to do a full retracking. Examples: Mean Streak, Timber Wolf

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There is a BIG difference between the regular run of the mill roughness and the violent roughness we are talking about. One coaster that has gotten a huge reputation as a rough coaster is the BOSS at Six Flags here in St. Louis.

 

I honestly think this is an incredible coaster! its one of the best investments the park has made in a long time. and on the other hand its one of THE roughest ones I have ever been on. but there are ways around it-- watch where you sit.. everytime I have ridden the BOSS in any seat other than where I sit on a regular basis ( in the center) I have been thrown around very badly. When I sat in the back car, I felt as though I was going to be shaken and thrown from the car, when I sit in front, I always end up with an intense hedache/backache. but when I sit dead center, yeah its still rough, but not as intense..

 

I don't mind the roughness, I just don't want to walk away from the coaster with a hedache or backache

boss7.thumb.jpg.3b015c8c1bcde3fe45a21d6b281c60f4.jpg

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I prefer wooden coasters that throws the passengers around, thats why Thundercoaster in the rain is the best experience Ive ever had on a wooden coaster. But in dry weather it shakes so voilently that its like getting a spine adjustment. It feels like the train 'crashes' when it reaches the steepest point of the drops and starts levelling out...

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I dont know why, but other than the roughness and the lateral G forces I just hate wooden coasters.

Even though I've only been on three, I know I dont like bumpy rides, and I certainly dont like lateral G force.

People say I need to go out and ride better wooden coasters, but theres just nothing about them that appeals to me.

The intamin ones look okay, but why not just make a steel coaster in the same style as a woodie?

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People say I need to go out and ride better wooden coasters, but theres just nothing about them that appeals to me.

 

You did rate DBH fairly well, though, right? Trust us, don't rush to judgement based solely on what Gwazi did to you. The answer to "will I ever like other woodies?" lies in post-Gwazi GCIs.

 

 

 

Scott "woodies never rated very high with me either until I went further north" B.

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People say I need to go out and ride better wooden coasters, but theres just nothing about them that appeals to me.

 

You did rate DBH fairly well, though, right? Trust us, don't rush to judgement based solely on what Gwazi did to you. The answer to "will I ever like other woodies?" lies in post-Gwazi GCIs.

 

 

 

Scott "woodies never rated very high with me either until I went further north" B.

I sure hope that what you say is true.

However, even though I rated it high, I have been on evergy major coaster in Florida and I don't consider Dania Beach Hurricane to be in the top ten.

I most likely will enjoy woodies when I ride them, but they still don't appeal to me. The beauty and mesmerizing action of a steel coaster just doesn't seem to be there in wooden coasters. Just my preference.

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I like woodies like Colossus. When I rode last, in the back car, front seat, it was fast, exciting, and just a bit rough. Not "ow my back" rough like Mean Streak, more "wheeeeeeeeeeheheheeee" rough like I was riding a go-kart over a dirt road at high speeds. Psyclone, on the other hand, was "ow my back" rough. It wasn't fun.

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