Mark Rosenzweig Posted November 21, 2012 Share Posted November 21, 2012 This is definitely a loss. In a way, it was almost like a cult coaster, provided a great ride but not too many people knew about it. I too felt that the "stand-alone" aspect of it was a bit odd, but at least I had a chance to ride it. It shall be missed. -Gary T. The three times I went to ride DBH were all on Saturdays in December, when working for Zamperla and visiting clients set up nearby at the Winter Carnival. All three times I paid the ludicrously low unlimited rides pass for the coaster (in the $10-$15 range- a real bargain considering I believe they were asking $6 for a single ride) and rode 7-10 times. Many laps I was the only one on the train. DBH was in many ways the sister ride to SFGAm's Viper (same designer). Built well, great douglas fir track that held up even through Florida's intense climate (compared to Gwazi) and ran 5 car PTC trains with the 3 bench coaches. This type of ride would fit like a glove at parks like DelGrosso's, Western Playland, etc. All in all, a real shame. The feasibility study surely showcased the 100,000 cars that pass the site on I-95. What many don't realize is car traffic does not equal foot traffic. Especially when the overall park is so underwhelming. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dailey Enterprizes Posted November 21, 2012 Share Posted November 21, 2012 The video gives an idea why many loved this coaster. It wasn't a head banger and it made you laugh. The good coasters do this and it's a shame it's not being saved. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeemerBoy Posted November 21, 2012 Share Posted November 21, 2012 ^^ What Mark said. And again, it should probably be pointed out that this thing was pretty much doomed from the beginning, but ownership actually deserves major props for keeping it alive as long as it did....and in great shape as well. Hell, this thing actually lived through hurricanes, and still rode better than the majority of American woodies out there. It's kind of like a funeral where people are "celebrating" someone's life rather than "mourning" their death. That's how I'm looking at it anyway. I'm happy I got as many laps on it as I did. I think the most people we ever had on a train with us was like 3 or 4. I can't imagine what that ride would have been like with full trains. I've been on night rides with full trains. It hauled. I paint a great picture, don't I? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guy T. Koepp Posted November 21, 2012 Share Posted November 21, 2012 ^It had a good pace, decent pops of air, some some lateral forces just for good measure! Definitely a hidden gem. That pretty much sums it up. It was just an overall solid, fun ride. I'd be curious to find out if any of the designers/engineers who worked on it, and/or it's "sister" coaster in TN, moved on to positions with competitors over the years? It has a sister coaster in TN? Where? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OISU8P Posted November 21, 2012 Share Posted November 21, 2012 ^ I am 100% not sure but think he may be referring to this one. http://rcdb.com/606.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Rosenzweig Posted November 21, 2012 Share Posted November 21, 2012 ^It had a good pace, decent pops of air, some some lateral forces just for good measure! Definitely a hidden gem. That pretty much sums it up. It was just an overall solid, fun ride. I'd be curious to find out if any of the designers/engineers who worked on it, and/or it's "sister" coaster in TN, moved on to positions with competitors over the years? It has a sister coaster in TN? Where? The other Coasterworks ride was the short lived Thunder Eagle, which operated (mostly hidden from view) just off the Parkway strip in Pigeon Forge. It was dismantled and sent north to Mont Saint-Saveur north of Montreal. The site is home to one of the best (and mostly unknown) waterparks in North America full of diabolical concrete trough terrain-driven slides. The owners had ambitions of developing a dry park to accompany the hugely successful waterpark but for whatever reason (permitting most likely) it never materialized. The ride's hardware (trains/lift motor/queue gates/etc) were later sold by M&V as part of the ride package that became Zippin Pippin at Bay Beach in Green Bay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Team Thriller Posted November 21, 2012 Share Posted November 21, 2012 I too haven't ridden it however out of all the rides that have been torn down recently, this is defiantly the one that disappoints me the most. -- James Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Double0Kevin Posted November 21, 2012 Share Posted November 21, 2012 I've been mostly ignoring any news about this ride specifically to avoid hearing about news like this. This was always one of those rides I really wanted to ride and I'm extremely bummed I won't get the opportunity. Sad day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boardwalkbullet91507 Posted November 22, 2012 Share Posted November 22, 2012 Hey, if the pieces they are going to sell are affordable, I'm all for it! I'll buy! RIP Dania Beach Hurricane. I've never ridden it but as a younger child for some reason I always wanted to. Guess I never will. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doom1001 Posted November 22, 2012 Share Posted November 22, 2012 I hoped the rumor of it getting moved to Zoo Miami would happen as it would have been 5 minutes from my house but I knew deep down it wouldn't happen.The zoo's been wanting to put a waterpark and family entertainment center there for years there and nothing ever comes of it.This really was a good coaster and it's shame. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrSum1_55 Posted November 22, 2012 Share Posted November 22, 2012 A bunch of crappy steel coasters get destroyed by a hurricane: Everyone freaks out Good wood coaster gets the axe: No one cares. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HashBrown Posted November 22, 2012 Share Posted November 22, 2012 My parents took me too Ft. Lauderdale just about every spring break and summer and every time they would take me and my sister to South Beach, we would see that marvelous roller coaster off of I-95. We always wanted to ride it. Then on spring break (2008) it rained all week. Since there was nothing else to do, my parents let us go to Boomers to ride it and we did 15 times in a row. Its going to be different not seeing that monument to me and my sister anymore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DBru Posted November 22, 2012 Share Posted November 22, 2012 My family and I made our way to Boomers one night in 2009 right before New Years. We had to drive through an incredibly shady neighborhood to get to the "park" and once we got there, the whole system was incredibly unorganized and the clientele was less than ideal. I thought the Hurricane was fun...but I feel like we're over-hyping it a bit here. On this night, it was quite rough (shuffling badly on the turns and slight jack-hammering in the valleys of the hills). However, the first and last couple hills did provide some nice airtime. Couldn't beat the unlimited ride wristbands for $12, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larrygator Posted November 22, 2012 Share Posted November 22, 2012 Like many here, I drive past DBH many times without stopping to ride out. However, I did finally convince a old college friend to stop one day about 4 years ago. The place was empty and most of my 7 seven rides were with just my buddy, his daughter and I. I really enjoyed the ride and always placed it in the top 20% of wood coasters I have ridden. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Six Flags Enthuseast Posted November 22, 2012 Share Posted November 22, 2012 How much money does TPR have in its bank account? Perhaps we have a better chance of success than SAVE TEH BIG DIPPER? I never knew of this ride's existence until I got here to Italy. If I would've known that it was there while we were in Florida in February of 2011, I would've tried to convince my parents to drive down there. It's too bad to see a good woodie go, but knowing that it's kinda out of the way of Orlando, I'm not too surprised that it didn't do too well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fahrenheit1221 Posted November 22, 2012 Share Posted November 22, 2012 I love how people shit on the Big Dipper when it's literally the best wooden roller coaster I've ever ridden, which granted says more about me not riding enough wooden coasters but out of all the ones I've ridden the only one that compares is Blue Streak. I could care less about rides like The Beast, which is at my home park. Then again it's not like we're losing an El Toro or a Voyage. I would be willing to bet money that Big Dipper was vastly superior to the DBH... It looks even more tame than the Big Dipper. I even enjoyed the Big Dipper 2-3x as much as the Villain which was solid. By vastly superior I mean more fun, more forces, more riders, more successful, a better ride all around. So yeah. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jedimaster1227 Posted November 23, 2012 Share Posted November 23, 2012 (edited) I would be willing to bet money that Big Dipper was vastly superior to the DBH... It looks even more tame than the Big Dipper. I even enjoyed the Big Dipper 2-3x as much as the Villain which was solid. By vastly superior I mean more fun, more forces, more riders, more successful, a better ride all around. So yeah. Seriously, people put fuel to the fire for Big Dipper because people talk trash exactly like this. If you haven't ridden both rides before, who are you to compare? That's like betting money on a horse race by putting your cash on the only horse you've seen race before. How do you know that the competition isn't better? You're only feeding the Geauga Lake flames by claiming that those rides are so incredible compared to anything else you haven't ridden. And to the point, if any of these coasters were so amazing, why weren't/haven't they been saved? Sure I enjoyed the Dania Beach Hurricane but I totally understand why it isn't being saved or relocated. The cost doesn't justify the hype, because hype doesn't pay the bills to keep these rides in operation. It was in a bad location, it was poorly operated and marketed. That doesn't make it a bad ride... It just makes it an unfortunate one because it probably would've had a longer life in a real park. Edited November 23, 2012 by jedimaster1227 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tylercolby83 Posted November 23, 2012 Share Posted November 23, 2012 I rode this coaster on a typical college spring break trip in 2006. I was lucky enough to pull a couple of people away from the drunken debauchery to take a few spins. Even the non-enthusiasts who went with me agreed it was the highlight of the trip. I hope the person / people who designed the layout get back into the game soon. Sad to see this coaster go.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larrygator Posted November 23, 2012 Share Posted November 23, 2012 I love how people poo-poo on the Big Dipper when it's literally the best wooden roller coaster I've ever ridden, which granted says more about me not riding enough wooden coasters but out of all the ones I've ridden the only one that compares is Blue Streak. I could care less about rides like The Beast, which is at my home park. Then again it's not like we're losing an El Toro or a Voyage. I would be willing to bet money that Big Dipper was vastly superior to the DBH... It looks even more tame than the Big Dipper. I even enjoyed the Big Dipper 2-3x as much as the Villain which was solid. By vastly superior I mean more fun, more forces, more riders, more successful, a better ride all around. So yeah. To me, Mitch's poll is the best test of superiority. Between the years 2000 - 2009 DBH was rated between 26-36. Big Dipper was rated between 54-84. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeemerBoy Posted November 23, 2012 Share Posted November 23, 2012 I would be willing to bet money that Big Dipper was vastly superior to the DBH... It looks even more tame than the Big Dipper. I even enjoyed the Big Dipper 2-3x as much as the Villain which was solid. And I would be more than willing to take that cash. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skycoastin Steve Posted November 23, 2012 Share Posted November 23, 2012 I would be willing to bet money that Big Dipper was vastly superior to the DBH... It looks even more tame than the Big Dipper. I even enjoyed the Big Dipper 2-3x as much as the Villain which was solid. Rode both, you owe me money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Double0Kevin Posted November 23, 2012 Share Posted November 23, 2012 Flew over the Hurricane today on my way up to Orlando from Fort Lauderdale. It was sad to know that's the closest I'll ever get to riding it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robbalvey Posted November 23, 2012 Share Posted November 23, 2012 (edited) I would be willing to bet money that Big Dipper was vastly superior to the DBH... It looks even more tame than the Big Dipper. I even enjoyed the Big Dipper 2-3x as much as the Villain which was solid. Rode both, you owe me money. Yeah, you owe me money too. Big Dipper was stupid. Hurricane was actually FUN! To me, Mitch's poll is the best test of superiority. Between the years 2000 - 2009 DBH was rated between 26-36. Big Dipper was rated between 54-84. And I guarantee you had more people gone out to ride the Hurricane, it probably would have been ranked a bit higher. Edited November 23, 2012 by robbalvey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SharkTums Posted November 23, 2012 Share Posted November 23, 2012 I love how people poo-poo on the Big Dipper when it's literally the best wooden roller coaster I've ever ridden, which granted says more about me not riding enough wooden coasters but out of all the ones I've ridden the only one that compares is Blue Streak. I could care less about rides like The Beast, which is at my home park. Then again it's not like we're losing an El Toro or a Voyage. I would be willing to bet money that Big Dipper was vastly superior to the DBH... It looks even more tame than the Big Dipper. I even enjoyed the Big Dipper 2-3x as much as the Villain which was solid. By vastly superior I mean more fun, more forces, more riders, more successful, a better ride all around. So yeah. Ohio Fan Boy alert!!!! Just add another vote that DBH was far superior to Big Dipper!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jew Posted November 23, 2012 Share Posted November 23, 2012 How many spots do you think it will go UP in the polls after it experiences the "OMGz, it was the best ride ever because you didn't ride it and I did!" effect? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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