disneyfan1313 Posted June 24, 2017 Share Posted June 24, 2017 (edited) TPR was at the grand opening media event this morning for Mine Blower at Fun Spot in Kissimmee, and WOW... what a ride! After filming the POV a few days before, I was ready for an intense ride... but I was pleasantly surprised when the ride was intense (in a really good way!) but also solidly fun! Sure, there is a bit of shuffling in a few parts but it is a GREAT addition to the coaster scene not only in Orlando, but really the South Eastern USA. Fun Spot continues to raise the bar in what an FEC can offer and I can't wait to see what they bring to the table in the next few years! Fun Spot is offering an awesome throwback deal on their two park season pass good till the end of 2017 - only $74.50 through Sunday. You are going to want to ride this more than once, and the season pass is a great way to do it. On to some photos of the event! Thanks to Jack Crouse for some of the photos. Bright and early at the Kissimmee location of Fun Spot for the Mine Blower grand opening media event. We have seen these signs around the construction site for a while now... the day is finally here! The grand opening ceremony includes some EXPLOSIONS! This will wake you up in the morning! Daytime fireworks over the coaster = awesome! 48 inch height requirement... NOTED! Time for one of the first trains to leave the station! I really love the way these trains look.. and they are VERY comfortable! This layout is TWISTY, TURNY and TIGHT! Perfect combo for an awesome coaster. This first drop.... ... heads straight into this awesomeness! This coaster is just plain FUN! You can see by the looks on everyones faces. Hands up or holding on tight? How are you gonna ride? This piece of track is just SEXY! Mine Blower WILL blow your socks off! Come and ride it SOON! Edited June 24, 2017 by disneyfan1313 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Invertalon Posted June 24, 2017 Share Posted June 24, 2017 ^ The turn out of the station, the turn after the lift into the drop, the inversion, the valley turn after the inversion, the overbanked turn, ext. The Timberliners can turn on a tighter radius than almost every wooden roller coaster train out there and TGG designs their rides to take advantage of this. How does GG woodie track design compare to others? It looks more traditional than RMC topper track does. How are they able to do the inversions while GCI can't. The track design looks almost the same, than say topper track does. GCI's can, as stated previously, but they have chose (or perhaps their customers...) not to. For me, construction wise, you can tell the quality difference between GCI and Gravity Group. GCI's are built more robust with what I believe is not only a more dense structure (more ledgers per foot of track), but also from superior track construction methods. This one in particular (Mind Blower) based on the POV's already looks to have sub-par carpentry work for the track itself, causing the shuffling being reported. You can see it in the POV. Yet go watch Mystic Timber's or any other GCI, it tracks beautifully. I don't believe it is the train, just the quality of the design and the work being done by the contractor (M&V or whoever it is). I look forward to riding this in a few months, but it is a bummer that there is already reports of shuffling. Knowing Fun-Spot, they will likely get GCI to do the trackwork properly within a few years Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djackson Posted June 24, 2017 Share Posted June 24, 2017 Mine Blower was very smooth imo on Friday night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nrthwnd Posted June 24, 2017 Share Posted June 24, 2017 Ha ha love the socks souvenir! And I love how the inversion just sweeps over the station. To me, putting the inversion there was a great idea. I love the front of the train, too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gerstlaueringvar Posted June 24, 2017 Share Posted June 24, 2017 ^ The turn out of the station, the turn after the lift into the drop, the inversion, the valley turn after the inversion, the overbanked turn, ext. The Timberliners can turn on a tighter radius than almost every wooden roller coaster train out there and TGG designs their rides to take advantage of this. How does GG woodie track design compare to others? It looks more traditional than RMC topper track does. How are they able to do the inversions while GCI can't. The track design looks almost the same, than say topper track does. GCI's can, as stated previously, but they have chose (or perhaps their customers...) not to. For me, construction wise, you can tell the quality difference between GCI and Gravity Group. GCI's are built more robust with what I believe is not only a more dense structure (more ledgers per foot of track), but also from superior track construction methods. This one in particular (Mind Blower) based on the POV's already looks to have sub-par carpentry work for the track itself, causing the shuffling being reported. You can see it in the POV. Yet go watch Mystic Timber's or any other GCI, it tracks beautifully. I don't believe it is the train, just the quality of the design and the work being done by the contractor (M&V or whoever it is). I look forward to riding this in a few months, but it is a bummer that there is already reports of shuffling. Knowing Fun-Spot, they will likely get GCI to do the trackwork properly within a few years M&V did not do the construction of Mine Blower. The thing is, shuffling is part of the fun on a wooden coaster and I think a reasonable amount adds to its intensity (Voyage, Apocalypse, Raven, Beast are some of my favorite coasters). I absolutely love GCI coasters as they toss you around with interesting forces and they are perfectly smooth, but I also like how Gravity Group coasters have that raw feelings to them. Plus Timberliners are light enough that they wouldn't damage the track too much. Gravity Group woodies use a more traditional method to build the tracks yet GCI tracks come from "offsetting" which give them smoother track work but the construction periods are much longer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vigil Posted June 25, 2017 Share Posted June 25, 2017 What is offsetting vs. the usual track construction methods? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ytterbiumanalyst Posted June 25, 2017 Share Posted June 25, 2017 And we're already complaining. This park was on my Orlando to-do list already, but wow. It's just turned into a must visit. I think I'm actually more excited to ride this than Hulk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gerstlaueringvar Posted June 25, 2017 Share Posted June 25, 2017 What is offsetting vs. the usual track construction methods? If I understood a presentation I saw last year correctly, GCI builds one side of the track first and then build the other track by off-setting the existing track. The traditional method is building and adjusting both tracks together. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cfc Posted June 25, 2017 Share Posted June 25, 2017 I'm definitely looking forward to visiting Fun Spot and experiencing Mine Blower myself, track-construction methods notwithstanding. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pseybert Posted June 25, 2017 Share Posted June 25, 2017 I'm kind of wanting to jump on the $75 pass but thinking it may be wise to hold out for another possible Black Friday deal that would be good through the end of 2018. Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coasterbill Posted June 25, 2017 Share Posted June 25, 2017 I'm kind of wanting to jump on the $75 pass but thinking it may be wise to hold out for another possible Black Friday deal that would be good through the end of 2018. Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk I'm in the same boat. I'm leaning towards waiting for the Black Friday deal though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thrillseeker4552 Posted June 25, 2017 Share Posted June 25, 2017 Does Mine Blower have seat belts under the restraints? If so, does that make it the first ride with Timberliners to have them, or do they all? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djackson Posted June 25, 2017 Share Posted June 25, 2017 There are seatbelts under the lap bar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rill'o'beily Posted June 25, 2017 Share Posted June 25, 2017 There are seatbelts under the lap bar. why Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bgtlover Posted June 25, 2017 Share Posted June 25, 2017 There are seatbelts under the lap bar. why For perceived safety by non-enthusiasts/GP who don't know or understand that these rides are perfectly safe without them. Oh and I'm sure there is a nice discount on the insurance too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thrillseeker4552 Posted June 25, 2017 Share Posted June 25, 2017 There are seatbelts under the lap bar. why For perceived safety by non-enthusiasts/GP who don't know or understand that these rides are perfectly safe without them. Oh and I'm sure there is a nice discount on the insurance too. I know they are perfectly safe, otherwise they wouldn't be allowed to operate, but those Timberliner restraints seem a little... sketchy... to me, at least when I first saw them. I have seen the bars barely cover both thighs on some larger people, with the restraint almost protruding out from the train as if it's only half down. Obviously the ride is safe, but maybe the seatbelts are there for a little extra reassurance, plus the discount on insurance like you mentioned. It's better safe than sorry anyway, especially when a park like Fun Spot doesn't need a super high throughput. Nonetheless, this seems like a win for Fun Spot. It's popping up everywhere on my social media and Youtube. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gerstlaueringvar Posted June 25, 2017 Share Posted June 25, 2017 Does that make it the first ride with Timberliners to have them, or do they all? All GG woodies in China that run Timberliners have seat belts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hilltopper39 Posted June 26, 2017 Share Posted June 26, 2017 I got a couple of rides on Mine Blower Saturday afternoon, really fun little ride and way more intense than I was expecting. Rode once in the front and once in the back, I preferred the front. Not gonna lie that barrel roll kinda freaked me out the first time but in a good way! Also kinda random but Fun Spot requires you to show an ID to use your credit card but not your debit card which I thought was kind strange. I almost always have my wallet & ID but since I was coming from a water park in my board shorts with no pockets I just grabbed my credit card and ran in real quick to grab a few while the kids were asleep, but had to go back to grab my ID. Not a big deal just kinda caught me off guard. So heads up for anyone who uses a credit card but may not carry ID because you just left a water park and don't have pockets haha. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bgtlover Posted June 26, 2017 Share Posted June 26, 2017 ^As far as using a debit card, you can punch in your PIN I believe so that may be why ID isn't needed with it in person. It does state on their website that you have to show ID at the park when purchasing passes online with a credit or debit card (I just recently did so). Of course that does no good for people who just walk up and didn't know, which I'm sure is the majority. A lot of places are starting to require showing ID with credit cards. I say that's a good thing especially at tourist attractions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canobie Coaster Posted June 26, 2017 Share Posted June 26, 2017 There are seatbelts under the lap bar. why For perceived safety by non-enthusiasts/GP who don't know or understand that these rides are perfectly safe without them. Oh and I'm sure there is a nice discount on the insurance too. I know they are perfectly safe, otherwise they wouldn't be allowed to operate, but those Timberliner restraints seem a little... sketchy... to me, at least when I first saw them. I have seen the bars barely cover both thighs on some larger people, with the restraint almost protruding out from the train as if it's only half down. Obviously the ride is safe, but maybe the seatbelts are there for a little extra reassurance, plus the discount on insurance like you mentioned. It's better safe than sorry anyway, especially when a park like Fun Spot doesn't need a super high throughput. Nonetheless, this seems like a win for Fun Spot. It's popping up everywhere on my social media and Youtube. I absolutely love Timberliners. I'd take them over PTCs (unless they have buzz bars) or Millennium Flyers. They are incredibly comfortable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BintamiM Posted June 27, 2017 Share Posted June 27, 2017 Just rode mine blower this saturday and I loved it. It was pretty fast , good airtime , and just overall fun. It was a bit shaky but not rough. Hopefully it doesn't age badly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoasterB Posted June 27, 2017 Share Posted June 27, 2017 I got ride mine blower last night and it kicks serious butt, really fast pace from beginning to end, great pops of air, I didn't find it unsmooth at all. Throughly enjoyed it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I love pie Posted June 28, 2017 Share Posted June 28, 2017 So do you guys think that Mine Blower is better than White Lightning? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hilltopper39 Posted June 28, 2017 Share Posted June 28, 2017 I dind't find the ride to be rough at all and I think I prefer it to White Lightning just because of that crazy barrel roll. Both rides are really good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djmadmanray Posted June 30, 2017 Share Posted June 30, 2017 Rode Mine Blower yesterday for the 4th time and..good news. No more seatbelts! The front is definitely smoother than the back, but either place, the ride kicks ass! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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