Hilltopper39 Posted September 21, 2012 Share Posted September 21, 2012 I still like the idea of mean Streak getting some type of a RMC treatment, even if is just topper track and some slight modifications instead of a complete Texas Giant style overhaul. Even though it's a pretty average coaster as is, Mean Streak is still one of the most photogenic rides around and just completely dominates that section of the park. I'd love the see the presence of a gigantic wooden coaster in that section remain I just wish the ride experience was more exciting and consistent, so if a RMC treatment is a solution for that I'm all for it. Other than Mean Streak, I think it would be really cool to see what RMC could do with the Beast, even though it will likely never happen. I know the enthusiasts in Ohio will likely shun me even mentioning such a travesty but we can all agree that the Beast is no where near as exciting as it once was, and is kind of lame by today's standards. I'd love to see a taller steeper drop, some insane airtime hills and maybe a barrel roll built into the long section between lifts, then maybe even extend the ride after the double helix into the nearby woods for some type of crazy airtime and tunnel filled ending that reclaims "World's Longest Coaster" in the process. Again, I know it will probably never happen, but try to convince me that it wouldn't be awesome, and that it could potentially make the Beast a legit top 5 coaster in the world (Top 5 by real coaster standards, not Golden Ticket standards). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nyteowl Posted September 21, 2012 Share Posted September 21, 2012 I'm sure there's alot of rides that could use it, but the one that keeps coming to mind is Ghostrider. The layout is great and it was amazing when it first opened, but now it's just too rough to re ride or even ride in the first place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Theboss sfst Posted September 22, 2012 Share Posted September 22, 2012 i think the boss at six flags st louis should get it. It is good bumpy but it needs to be a little bit smoother, especially around the helix! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Voxelmatic Posted September 22, 2012 Share Posted September 22, 2012 i think the boss at six flags st louis should get it. It is good bumpy but it needs to be a little bit smoother, especially around the helix! Topper track would be sufficient, it seems to have an exciting layout as it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyrbuzz Posted September 22, 2012 Share Posted September 22, 2012 I think Gwazi at Busch Gardens would be a nice candidate for the Rocky Mountain treatment. Even after the Millenium Flyer trains were added there are still a lot of complaints about this ride. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hulahoop1 Posted September 22, 2012 Share Posted September 22, 2012 RMC should do a full blown Topper Track treatment and put the Timberliners on Hades at Mt. Olympus. I don't know how much room Mt. Olympus has to expand but I think it would be cool to see a RMC Iron Horse track similar to Hercules that was a Dorney Park. It fits the theme of Mt. Olympus, and also Mean Streak should get the Iron Horse treatment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rcdude Posted September 22, 2012 Share Posted September 22, 2012 I really don't think there are too many coasters that need this treatment. Most rough woodies either don't have that great of layout or just need new trains and a regular retracking. In fact, there are only five I can think of that really need this treatment: Cyclone (SFNE) (Iron Horse) Georgia Cyclone (either treatment) GhostRider (Topper track) Stampida (Topper track) Timber Wolf (either treatment) All of these were once considered great coasters, and all have either deteriorated or been tamed due to reprofiling and/or trims. Some of the other coasters suggested weren't spectacular to begin with, and I don't think this modification can make an average coaster a top ten ride. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LaMapa Posted September 22, 2012 Share Posted September 22, 2012 I think it would be interesting to give it to SFMM's Colossus. It would really bring life back to the ride. Just imagine... Dueling barrel rolls. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thestripedtaco Posted September 22, 2012 Share Posted September 22, 2012 Ghostrider really might only need new trains but I am all for a topper track retrack as long as they don't mess with the layout, unless they wanted to get rid of that MCBR. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
texcoaster Posted September 22, 2012 Share Posted September 22, 2012 I think that unless you got to ride [wood coaster] in its heyday, you really can't justify an opinion that it should be Iron Horsed (radical changes to layout, wood track replaced with steel I-beams) rather than Toppered (layout kept in or returned to original form, but with smooth Topper Track added). As good as NTAG is, I'd still rather have seen them leave the layout intact, re-install the double-up after the second turn, and Topper it. Yes, the current version is amazing, but that entire ride is still not as good as the "flying carpet finale" from the old ride was, let alone the whole ride experience from 1990-1993 or so. Seriously, it could give Voyage and El Toro a run for "best woodie" again if it were to run like the old days. Rattler, however, was all about the first drop and the rest of the ride wasn't much. Toppering it would give you a ride with the world's best wood coaster drop and nothing else. The Iron Horse treatment makes much more sense for this ride than for TxGiant, but it's too late to change that now. Looking forward, SoB is getting razed, so that leaves Mean Streak. That layout is completely uninteresting and even during opening season it was just a TxGiant wannabe. I understand that SFOT's problem with trains due to the violent layout (by the time ACE had Coastercon there in June of the opening year, they were already down to two of the original three trains, one of which was a frankenstein train comprised of the front half of one train and the back half of another) led CP to order a much tamer layout to reduce maintenance. They got that, but also got a snoozer of a ride. Iron Horse that thing, pronto. Ghostrider, Boss, Grizzly, Gwazi, Colossus, Boardwalk Bullet... good Topper candidates, as all of them had exciting layouts when they first opened. Toppering those can not only greatly improve the rides, but can also leave intact the memories of the fans who loved those rides in years past. No remorse from anyone. Beast, on the other hand... I'd go either way. Part of me says Topper it because even though it doesn't really do anything back there in the woods, it doesn't really need to. Speed is the thing, pure and simple. You're on a rocket sled from hell, screaming through the forest, ducking into tunnels, trying to outrun god-knows-what. It's coaster zen and it also is a near-perfect combination of intensity and fun that appeals to thrillseekers while not being too frightening for the rest of the folks. Changing the layout to include overbanks, violent airtime, etc would erase a lot of its unique charm. Of course, having the thing TRIMMED TO DEATH has already erased a lot of that charm, which leads to the next statement: The other part of me says to hell with the people who can't take it, there is a LOT of track on that thing and all of it could be DOING SOMETHING. Even if it's just some bunnies or trick-track or some other such thing that injects a little excitement into going from point A to point B. Bottom line, as long as they can go back to running the thing full-tilt without brakes, I'm a happy guy... no matter what kind of track it's on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bill_s Posted September 25, 2012 Share Posted September 25, 2012 If a park has added brakes to keep a coaster from tearing itself apart or the riders, they've decided it needs Topper track or that they need to increase maintenance so they can eliminate the trims. Get on with already. I don't really know of any woodie so uninteresting (except for trims) that it wouldn't benefit if it needs it. If it were up to me I wouldn't choose based on "potential" as much as being local enough for me to actually ride it. There are plenty of woodies that seem to be doing Ok without it and most probably wouldn't be as good. Definitely Rebel Yell is better just maintained and I really think Grizzly doesn't either. Hurler, see first paragraph, and more than good enough to justify. Probably the larger coasters than around here the most though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A.J. Posted September 25, 2012 Share Posted September 25, 2012 The way I see it, there are two possibilities - using a Topper conversion for a coaster with a really great layout spoiled by its roughness and/or maintenance costs, and using an I-Box conversion for a coaster that just plain sucks. It really shouldn't have to be thought of more than that in my opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
australianalex Posted September 25, 2012 Share Posted September 25, 2012 I think it'd be cool to see Mean Streak get the Iron Horse treatment, but that would make for 3 hybrid coasters in the same park all in fairly close proximity of each other = lots of confusion for the GP. I'd much rather see it be replaced altogether by an Intamin Prefab. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hilltopper39 Posted September 25, 2012 Share Posted September 25, 2012 The way I see it, there are two possibilities - using a Topper conversion for a coaster with a really great layout spoiled by its roughness and/or maintenance costs, and using an I-Box conversion for a coaster that just plain sucks. It really shouldn't have to be thought of more than that in my opinion. I kind of disagree with your logic a little bit. Yes I think the topper track can be used to help rides that have grown rough or have significant maintenance costs, and to upgrade rides that "suck", but i also think it can be used to breathe life into an old coaster this is still good but maybe not great by today's standards. Take a ride like Screamin Eagle at Six Flags St. Louis, it is still a really good coaster by most accounts, but not really in anyone's top 10 anymore. You could Use iron horse track to make a steeper drop, overbank a turn, add some extra pops of air throughout the layout, and turn the ride into a brand new first class coaster again. Is there any reason Cedar Point couldn't rework Gemini with iron horse track utilizing the existing structure and new trains to make that layout all new and exciting? I just see this technology as having very few limitations as far as as it's applications go, if it is successful that is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skydye Posted September 25, 2012 Share Posted September 25, 2012 Ghostrider really might only need new trains but I am all for a topper track retrack as long as they don't mess with the layout, unless they wanted to get rid of that MCBR. I'd like to see anything that would smooth that out. I love coasters and I like woodies. But that is far too rough of a ride to enjoy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luukardinho Posted September 25, 2012 Share Posted September 25, 2012 Robin Hood @ Walibi Holland with a Iron Horse track. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A.J. Posted September 25, 2012 Share Posted September 25, 2012 It may be that I'm just a selfish "purist" and want "good" wooden coasters to stay wooden. Modifying an already-good layout into something different, let alone switching to steel track, seems like it would spoil the ride for those who enjoyed it before the transformation, kind of like destroying a piece of history. But, what do I know? The only installment is all the way down in Texas, and I haven't ridden it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skydye Posted September 25, 2012 Share Posted September 25, 2012 Why would anyone want Mean Streak to get this treatment? It doesn't have a great layout and there's nothing noteworthy about the ride. CP would be better off spending the money on a new wooden coaster. Honestly, the only two coasters that immediately come to mind for this treatment would be Ghostrider (if it would return it to how it ran when it opened) and Colossus (if restored to the original layout). dt I can't see Six Flags Magic Mountain spending money on this for Colossus. How would they be able to market it and get their investment back? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jzoole Posted September 25, 2012 Share Posted September 25, 2012 ...the same way Six Flags Over Texas and Fiesta Texas have? Lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wes Posted September 25, 2012 Share Posted September 25, 2012 If SFMM was able to market Superman's cars being turned around, then they can market Colossus being a new experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skydye Posted September 25, 2012 Share Posted September 25, 2012 If SFMM was able to market Superman's cars being turned around, then they can market Colossus being a new experience. Good point...But would they get a return on the investment price. Remember Revolution could use a make over...But will they spend the money when they could not recover the cost of the retro fit? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrlittle Posted September 25, 2012 Share Posted September 25, 2012 I think Gwazi could really benefit from it. I rode it a few days ago and forgot how long of a layout it is.I think Gwazi is the only coaster at BGT that is not up to par with the other great coasters there. BGT could advertise it as the first dueling hybrid coaster. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coastercrazy 9 Posted September 25, 2012 Share Posted September 25, 2012 I think Gwazi could really benefit from it. I rode it a few days ago and forgot how long of a layout it is.I think Gwazi is the only coaster at BGT that is not up to par with the other great coasters there. BGT could advertise it as the first dueling hybrid coaster. Wouldn't Gemini be the first? I think that it would be interesting to se a simple out and back done with this. Cough *Rolling Thunder* Cough! Ugh, this cold is nasty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Myself Posted September 25, 2012 Share Posted September 25, 2012 Gemini doesn't really duel, though...aside from the helices immediately preceding the brake run, it's more a racer than a dueler. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wes Posted September 25, 2012 Share Posted September 25, 2012 ^ Um the first drop duels. It was built and designed to be a dueling coaster. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now