jynx242 Posted August 8, 2012 Share Posted August 8, 2012 My group was commenting during ECB that it was odd that Kings Dominion did not have a Mine Train type ride. I know for me - that was the "step-up" coaster from the kiddie. Perhaps they will be getting some sort of Vekoma Mine Train ride which will help fill out Planet Snoopy. Not sure of the space theme - but anything is possible... I'm interested to find out what they have in store. David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stashua123 Posted August 8, 2012 Share Posted August 8, 2012 Rebel Yell isnt the one that needs a renovation. Its racer at KI that thing is PAINFUL! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KDCOASTERFAN Posted August 8, 2012 Share Posted August 8, 2012 Rebel Yell isnt the one that needs a renovation. Its racer at KI that thing is PAINFUL! Rebel yell is running pretty smoothly this year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skycoastin Steve Posted August 8, 2012 Share Posted August 8, 2012 Rebel Yell isnt the one that needs a renovation. Its racer at KI that thing is PAINFUL! Ride in the middle row of a car, problem solved. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cfc Posted August 8, 2012 Share Posted August 8, 2012 Rebel Yell isnt the one that needs a renovation. Its racer at KI that thing is PAINFUL! What Rebel Yell needs is paint and running lights. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KDcoasterMAN Posted August 8, 2012 Share Posted August 8, 2012 Rebel Yell isnt the one that needs a renovation. Its racer at KI that thing is PAINFUL! Rebel yell is running pretty smoothly this year. Regardless, rumor mill says that GCII is beginning a 3 year "Thunder Road-esque" renovation. I'm excited the prospect. With a new coat of paint. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pandorazboxx Posted August 8, 2012 Share Posted August 8, 2012 Rebel Yell isnt the one that needs a renovation. Its racer at KI that thing is PAINFUL! Rebel yell is running pretty smoothly this year. I rode it last weekend and if that's smooth, I'm glad I didn't ride it when it was rough. It was just painful and not fun the whole time. I felt like my spine was being compacted at least once a second the whole ride. Now, Grizzly is a different story. I very much enjoyed that one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KDCOASTERFAN Posted August 8, 2012 Share Posted August 8, 2012 Rebel Yell isnt the one that needs a renovation. Its racer at KI that thing is PAINFUL! Rebel yell is running pretty smoothly this year. Regardless, rumor mill says that GCII is beginning a 3 year "Thunder Road-esque" renovation. I'm excited the prospect. With a new coat of paint. I rode thunder road about a year ago & it was horrid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UrbanLegend Posted August 8, 2012 Share Posted August 8, 2012 I rode it last weekend and if that's smooth, I'm glad I didn't ride it when it was rough. It was just painful and not fun the whole time. I felt like my spine was being compacted at least once a second the whole ride. Now, Grizzly is a different story. I very much enjoyed that one. I was pretty much the opposite when I went last year. Rebel Yell was by far the best/ most fun of the woodies, Grizzly was the roughest/ least fun, and Hurler was in the middle; I didn't get a chance to ride Ghoster Coaster. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Intimidator305 Posted August 8, 2012 Share Posted August 8, 2012 None of Kings Dominion's woodies are that rough. Rebel Yell is without a doubt the smoothest though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir Clinksalot Posted August 8, 2012 Share Posted August 8, 2012 I thought Ghoster Coaster was the best woodie at KD. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoasterWeasel Posted August 8, 2012 Share Posted August 8, 2012 I found Rebel Yell and Grizzly to be amazing at ECB. Especially the pop of airtime you get on Grizzly right before the tunnel. But I found Hurler to be horrible sitting in the third seat I was done after the first turnaround and just held on the entire ride. The shuffling was ridiculous in the turns, I found Shockwave to be more comfortable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skycoastin Steve Posted August 9, 2012 Share Posted August 9, 2012 If any of you is riding a woodie at KD on a wheel seat, you have no ground to stand on by complaining that they're rough. Use some common sense and don't sit on wheel seats and it'll never be a problem. The 2nd last row on Grizzly is amazingly smooth every single time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pandorazboxx Posted August 9, 2012 Share Posted August 9, 2012 Yea, not sure where I sat. I'll pay closer attention next time! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jarmor Posted August 9, 2012 Share Posted August 9, 2012 If any of you is riding a woodie at KD on a wheel seat, you have no ground to stand on by complaining that they're rough. Use some common sense and don't sit on wheel seats and it'll never be a problem. The 2nd last row on Grizzly is amazingly smooth every single time. It says something, to me, if I have to ride in a "special" seat to get an enjoyable ride...but, thats just me. I dont think common sense has anything to do with that... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cfc Posted August 9, 2012 Share Posted August 9, 2012 ^Hmm--seems to me it would be common sense to not sit over something that's going to bump around. But maybe that's just me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fraroc Posted August 9, 2012 Share Posted August 9, 2012 Oh an a tip. Big guys and wooden roller coasters aren't a good combination. My KD vacation was 3 weeks ago and my hips are still a bit sore....Never riding Hurler ever again. Even my mother, who is a medium sized woman, almost got stuck in those seats Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skycoastin Steve Posted August 9, 2012 Share Posted August 9, 2012 (edited) It says something, to me, if I have to ride in a "special" seat to get an enjoyable ride...but, thats just me. I dont think common sense has anything to do with that... It's not just the KD woodies, it's basically every woodie on the planet that runs with PTC's. There are a few exceptions, of course, but a large majority of them are astronomically more enjoyable if you don't sit on a wheel seat. Anyone claiming to be an enthusiast should at least be aware of the difference between wheel seats and non wheel seats on PTC trains. And that is what we call common sense. Edit: And just because a coaster train has a "special" seat or row that provides a better ride doesn't mean it's a bad ride. Phoenix is AMAZING in the 3rd row (a wheel seat, how ironic), as is Magnum. Grizzly and several other woodies are fantastic in the "magic PTC seat," which is the front row of the back car, most B&M hypers are best in the back row, and if you want to get REALLY specific, Apollo is insane in the back right seat. None of those are bad rides because they have a row/seat that provides the best ride experience. Edited August 9, 2012 by Skycoastin Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jarmor Posted August 9, 2012 Share Posted August 9, 2012 Ok Ok...I was confused when you mention KD and took it as if there is a problem with their woodies. I personally like to stay away from woodies unless they are gcii, but thats just me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KDCOASTERFAN Posted August 9, 2012 Share Posted August 9, 2012 Yea, not sure where I sat. I'll pay closer attention next time! Who cares. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coaster_Fanatic Posted August 9, 2012 Share Posted August 9, 2012 I rode in the 3rd row of Grizzly today, and I was begging for the ride to stop after the tunnel. I don't know if it was just a bad ride or what, but that was the first time where I found Grizzly horridly painful! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DougMJr Posted August 9, 2012 Share Posted August 9, 2012 I rode Grizzly at ECB and found it very enjoyable, unlike Hurler. Not too rough, semi decent layout. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Midgetman82 Posted August 9, 2012 Share Posted August 9, 2012 Hurler was pretty good (3rd car, front seat), as was Rebel yell (last car, 2nd row) and Grizzly (front seat). Though my dad, who sat behind me on Grizzly, told me that it was uncomfortable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
megametal Posted August 9, 2012 Share Posted August 9, 2012 I don't know how people enjoy Hurler with that strong trim at the bottom of the first hill. All the airtime's gone now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mhuffva Posted August 9, 2012 Share Posted August 9, 2012 The thing about older wooden coasters is that the older design of the train restraints gave you enough space to deal with the inherent roughness of the ride. I worked on the Rebel Yell at Kings Dominion back in the day when there was just a bench seat and a "Buzz" lap bar that pivoted at the top portion of the car. There was enough room around your body that every bump, rattle, and jerking motion did not get transferred to your body when riding. Riding a wooden coaster in PTC trains, with that type of restraint, was not bad at all. Plus, during the Taft/KECO years of ownership, the park really was proactive in maintaining the track each season. I remember one season where Kings Dominion shut one side of the Rebel Yell down in September and started a complete track overhaul where they literally used a saw to cut through sections of the track and used a crane to pull those sections off. That ended up leaving the vertical bents, (superstructure), exposed. They did that for both sides so the following season it felt like you were riding a new ride! The Grizzly was the first wooden coaster to get new PTC trains with the floor mounted individual lap bars with the seat divider (The Rebel Yell trains received the individual lap bars about 3-4 years after the Grizzly opened. The seat divider came along before the new lap bars were installed). I just feel that the new restraint system was put into the existing train design without much re-engineering on PTC's part. I am a tall person and I noticed that I could no longer sit in line with the rest of the train. I had to twist my lower part of my body so that I could pull down the lap bar. So now I have to ride with my body slightly twisted to one side. That did not enhance the ride experience nor having the individual lap bar so tight around my thighs and lap. Now, throw in a seat belt to deal with, and track maintenance spread out over longer periods of time due to budget constraints you can get a very uncomfortable ride. Then toss in a poorly engineered coaster design, (i.e. Hurler), where the track/bents gets somewhat out of alignment as time goes by; you really get an uncomfortable ride! Heck, I think Hurler has more steel in some sections of track than wood! Hopefully, parks chains, especially Cedar Fair, are leaving the era of bad wooden coaster design/engineering/trains and using new wooden coaster designers and trains (i.e. Prowler and the new upcoming CGA coaster) that provide a more comfortable, enjoyable riding experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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