CoasterCard Posted June 13, 2009 Share Posted June 13, 2009 ^ Sorry about that. I could have sworn I heard, from a reputable source, that the return run used to begin with a sharper hill and had to be reprofiled. However, I have tried to find evidence of this for the past hour and have not been successful. Sorry for any confusion I caused. However, if anyone can back me up on this I would greatly appreciate it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wood Dragon 1988 Posted June 13, 2009 Share Posted June 13, 2009 ^ Did you ride Georgia Cyclone after it was retracked? -Tatum I road it last year (in July I think), and it was horrible. I know it has gotten great reviews in the past, which is basically what I was trying to say. It really isn't the original engineer's fault if a ride gets rough or smooth, it is the park's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoasterGuy06 Posted June 13, 2009 Share Posted June 13, 2009 Part of Georgia Cyclone's problem is the "padding" on the trains. It's HARD foam when it really needs to be a soft cushion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coastermoosh Posted June 13, 2009 Share Posted June 13, 2009 ^ Sorry about that. I could have sworn I heard, from a reputable source, that the return run used to begin with a sharper hill and had to be reprofiled. However, I have tried to find evidence of this for the past hour and have not been successful. Sorry for any confusion I caused. However, if anyone can back me up on this I would greatly appreciate it SFKK's Thunder Run was indeed reprofiled. An entire bunny hop following the far turn was removed. A photo of the original layout was posted in this forum: http://www.themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=701405 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DBru Posted June 13, 2009 Share Posted June 13, 2009 ^Cool! Thanks, Moosh. I never realized that took place...did a small bunny hop really affect the ride that much (in terms of roughness)? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steel Posted June 13, 2009 Share Posted June 13, 2009 Ooh, imagine how outstanding Mean Streak would be if GCI had designed and built it with Millennium Flyers and decent track. Yum... I still say tear it out and put in a true GCI, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpartanTS Posted June 13, 2009 Share Posted June 13, 2009 Ooh, imagine how outstanding Mean Streak would be if GCI had designed and built it with Millennium Flyers and decent track. Yum...I still say tear it out and put in a true GCI, though. I'd take an Intamin Woodie before a GCI. With all the business CF has given to Intamin, I hope they seriously consider it after how successful El Toro has been for SFGAdv. That is one helluva wooden coaster. FWIW, I've had ONE ride on Mean Streak. It was without a doubt the most painful wooden coaster I've ever ridden, and I've have my fair share of wood over the past few years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coastermoosh Posted June 13, 2009 Share Posted June 13, 2009 ^Cool! Thanks, Moosh. I never realized that took place...did a small bunny hop really affect the ride that much (in terms of roughness)? As I understand it, Thunder Run wasn't reproifiled to make it smoother but to reduce maintenance costs. I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndrewRnR Posted June 14, 2009 Share Posted June 14, 2009 I always thought/heard Mean Streak was trimmed because the trains were creating too much stress and were tearing the structure apart. Sure Millennium Flyer trains look and ride great and I would assume be able to navigate the track and turns better they are still very much heavy (or atleast appear so) and that goes back to the first problem - trains causing stress. I think the answer would be the Timberliner trains after-all Gravity Group mentioned the trains as being "lightweight and distribute forces better to the track." But thats just a random guess and thought of mine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goliath513 Posted June 14, 2009 Share Posted June 14, 2009 At least Dinn's coasters aren't all terrible like ICI (International Coasters, Inc.) - the company that built the Hurler clones. Having ridden the one at Kings Dominion last year, I assume that Carowinds' version is just as bad as it's jackhammering death machine brother up north. Sure, I absolutely hated Mean Streak, but it was nowhere near as bad as Hurler. I think most of it has to do with the park. Look at Cedar Fair's Dinn coasters, for example. Their Dinns (Mean Streak, Timber Wolf, and Hercules for example) are known as some of the worst woodies around. Does this make Dinn bad because of it? No. Take rides like Grizzly, Rebel Yell, Hurler, and Ghostrider which are not Dinns, yet still suck terribly. Son of Beast (RCCA) too, but I have not ridden that, so I can't say from personal experience just how bad it is. Ghostrider, built by CCI is one of the most painful coasters I've been on, yet my all time favorite woodie is a CCI that runs PTC trains (Boulder Dash). TLC is most everything. Reading that Dinn helped rebuild Phoenix was quite a shock to me because I love that ride and it is one of my top 10 of all time. Even companies with a good reputation have rides that suck. Roar at SFA is unimaginably bad, yet its brother on the west coast is as smooth as ever. Trains have a lot to do with that as well (which is probably why SFA's Roar is so bad). Wildcat at Hershey was pretty bad too, even after the PTC trains were removed simply because of all the damage done to the track for the first 10 years of the ride's life. However, we will not see Millennium Flyer trains on coasters that were not originally built by GCI as this is their signature design and want to keep it exclusive to their coasters. Keep in mind, some these Dinn woodies were the best of their time back when they were new. Do you think we will be able to say the same about Intamin's woodies in 15 years as we do right now? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndrewRnR Posted June 14, 2009 Share Posted June 14, 2009 However, we will not see Millennium Flyer trains on coasters that were not originally built by GCI as this is their signature design and want to keep it exclusive to their coasters. When has they ever said they want to keep it exclusive? I thought that was just a rumor circuiting in the enthusiast circles. Even their website talks about making your "existing wooden coaster fly." Granted they won't just sell you the train they say they have to make sure the coaster meets strict standards but I'm sure if said standards are not met GCI would be more than willing to make it meet said standards for a price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coastermoosh Posted June 14, 2009 Share Posted June 14, 2009 At least Dinn's coasters aren't all terrible like ICI (International Coasters, Inc.) - the company that built the Hurler clones. Having ridden the one at Kings Dominion last year, I assume that Carowinds' version is just as bad as it's jackhammering death machine brother up north. Sure, I absolutely hated Mean Streak, but it was nowhere near as bad as Hurler. Don't blame ICI for Hurler's jackhammring, blame the park for poor maintenance. Hurler had none of that when it opened. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
netdvn Posted June 14, 2009 Share Posted June 14, 2009 Do you think we will be able to say the same about Intamin's woodies in 15 years as we do right now? Yes because Intamin PnP's are much easier to maintain than traditional woodies. That's why they're called Plug n' Plays. Just take out the problem piece, call Intamin and have them ship the new pieces to the park. Reinstall, test, and then open. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattnz Posted June 14, 2009 Share Posted June 14, 2009 ^ Did you ride Georgia Cyclone after it was retracked? -Tatum I road it last year (in July I think), and it was horrible. I know it has gotten great reviews in the past, which is basically what I was trying to say. It really isn't the original engineer's fault if a ride gets rough or smooth, it is the park's. I rode Georgia Cyclone in May last year and it was one of my greatest coaster experiences. The airtime was stunning and it didn't seem too rough. But I did notice it was noticably rougher with an almost-empty train later in the day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fisher1095 Posted June 15, 2009 Share Posted June 15, 2009 At least Dinn's coasters aren't all terrible like ICI (International Coasters, Inc.) - the company that built the Hurler clones. Having ridden the one at Kings Dominion last year, I assume that Carowinds' version is just as bad as it's jackhammering death machine brother up north. Sure, I absolutely hated Mean Streak, but it was nowhere near as bad as Hurler. Don't blame ICI for Hurler's jackhammring, blame the park for poor maintenance. Hurler had none of that when it opened. Yeah, haha, Hurler's worse than all the other woodies in that park including Rebel Yell, which is more than 20 years older. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B-RadG Posted June 15, 2009 Share Posted June 15, 2009 Funny... I think Grizzly is the worst. I absotively love Hurler. It may be rough, but it's got so much airtime that it makes up for it. I try not to sit next to someone else because on any of the turns you'll bang heads with the person next to you. Rebel Yell is just bouncy, it doesn't jerk side to side, it's got square wheels, basically. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raptor2011 Posted June 15, 2009 Share Posted June 15, 2009 I rode Mean Streak twice this year, two times too many after the experiences. One in the back seat and one in the front and they both were horrible. I had a cell phone cover on my envy2 and it shook it right off. It was down right bad. I don't know however if it is the park's fault for the roughness of the ride. I mean any tall coaster except for the intamins have been very rough. Mean Streak, Hercules, Rattler, Ghost Rider, Texas Giant, the Cyclone Clones, and a couple of others. I just think because they are so massive parks don't have the money to refurbish it. If it was up to me tear down Mean Streak, hire GCI to make a recreation of the Cedar Point Cyclone, and theme that area to the 1920's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DiSab Posted June 15, 2009 Share Posted June 15, 2009 ^I think Mean Streak's problems are a combination of it being a Dinn/Summers creation, less-than-adequate maintenance, and the fact that it's just so damn big. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Airtime&Gravity Posted June 15, 2009 Share Posted June 15, 2009 Weren't a lot of the Dinn coasters considered some of the best when they opened? While some blame might go to them, I think a lot of the blame goes to maintenance. The rides are/were some of the largest around, so park's probably aren't/weren't wiling to pay the high maintenance costs if they would just have to do it again next year. The only thing I could see blaming Dinn for would be if he used lower quality materials for the track and/or train. Even there though, a park with a good maintenance department would be able to fix the problems with better quality parts when the time came. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoasterCard Posted June 15, 2009 Share Posted June 15, 2009 ^ You could also blame Dinn Corp. for designing coasters that were unfeasible to maintain. With all of the forces exerted on the structure, in many areas of the ride, it would cost too much to replace all wood and steel that needed to be replaced. Over a few years, the park could have bought a new coaster with the price of refurbishment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoasterFanatic Posted June 15, 2009 Share Posted June 15, 2009 I think it is hard to just point the finger at Summers or Dinn. Don't forget that Dinn also relocated two great woodies that are still good today (Comet and Phoenix). It would be just as easy to blame William Cobb for crappy woodies as his haven't aged that well either. I find it is mostly a matter of maintenance. The parks that care for these rides reap the rewards of a well-tuned coaster. For the most part, Dinn/Summer creations found their way into larger chain parks. It doesn't help that most of them were fairly large (Hercules, Texas Giant, Etc) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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