Blue Turbo Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 I never got to experience the Dragons while they were dueling, but when I rode them this summer I thought the dueling aspect would have made the experience a lot better and more fun. As two separate coasters they are okay but nothing to scream about. Plus the layouts are rather awkward in spots since they have to maneuver around each other in weird ways to fit and make the dueling work Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rcjp Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 ^Exactly, it's al about the duelling experience. I've never been on that ride but I imagine it feels kind of pointless now as it has lost its main purpose. It really is a shame that they don't duel any more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay20016 Posted January 8, 2014 Share Posted January 8, 2014 From the look of your pictures the drop either stayed the same or became steeper. In no way does the drop look any tamer than the original way. To me, it looks like they made it so you get more water going down the chute, giving you a wetter ride. I don't see much difference between those two photos, either. I absolutely hate the damn lapbars they installed on the boats, though. So, on the old drop it wouldn't really pop you out of the seat until a bit into the drop and you'd not return until damn near the upward section of the hmp in the dynamite shack. The new drop pops you out a bit earlier (pre-lab bars mind you... ) and had you returning the seat quicker in the fall. When it opened, passes were pretty cheap and my friends at UCF would go on random days for a bit here and there. We rode the ever living shit out of it, and it was just a crazy ride. There were times where if you timed it right, the old parabolic drop with the hump in the shack could cause you to just get some Intamin levels of ejector air through the drop and the hump at the bottom. No hands throughout would usually have you just lightly grazing your seat throughout the whole thing. It is still a fun ride, but its just not the holy shit must do that it once was... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoBears Posted January 8, 2014 Share Posted January 8, 2014 ^Exactly, it's al about the duelling experience. I've never been on that ride but I imagine it feels kind of pointless now as it has lost its main purpose. It really is a shame that they don't duel any more. Both are still fantastic B&M inverts, just not quite as exciting without them dueling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Yeti Posted January 17, 2014 Share Posted January 17, 2014 ^He's right! I just remembered how much better Cat in the Hat used to be. I still think the ride is great, but it was toned down quite a bit! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caffeine_demon Posted January 30, 2014 Share Posted January 30, 2014 I305 had a particularly vicious trim when I rode it in 2012 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B&MBoy1982 Posted February 1, 2014 Share Posted February 1, 2014 I do agree with The Beast, that could pick up the most incredible speed without the myriad of trims it has now. Every time I've been to KI I feel like new trims have been added since my last visit!. The Beast runs the same as it did prior to the magnetic trims. It is just more sudden and you actually feel the train slowing down more. The skid brakes worked like the water splash on Griffon, SheiKra, Diamondback, etc. It slowed the train down, but it was so gradual that you didn't notice. Take the water out and put a magnetic trim brake set 20% slower than entry on any of those coasters with a water brake, you will feel it. If you want to judge how fast you are going on The Beast, sit in row 7. (Front of 3rd car) as the train starts up the second lift, watch the first landing on your right. For the train to be going around 60-65 mph the second car must make it to that landing before it engages the chain. I have seen the 3rd car reach that landing. It happens later in the day when the coaster has had time to "warm up". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonnyRCT3 Posted February 9, 2014 Share Posted February 9, 2014 Wildcat @ Frontier City. Let me just say that the ride itself looks stellar. The only problem is that trim before the pond, that dip would've provided some killer air. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoopScreweD Posted February 10, 2014 Share Posted February 10, 2014 Excalibur ValleyFair! no doubt a whopping 4 trim brakes on the first drop! a removed bunny hill of the first drop, re-profiled turn of the first turn with a different manufactures track. Even so i still loved it no lines ever its tragic really. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BBH Posted February 10, 2014 Share Posted February 10, 2014 Raging Bull has okay airtime on the few camelbacks, but the trim and MCBR totally ruin the potential the ride has. Fortunately, though, the first drop is amazing and is the ride's saving grace. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobAckerman Posted February 10, 2014 Share Posted February 10, 2014 I'm surprised no one mentioned this one (unless I missed it)... Tsunami at Clementon Park was in my top 3 for the first two or three years it was open. An age requirement to sit in the back seat was hint enough of how awesome it was, but rather than doing track work, they added brakes to half of the first drop. We used to go there a few times a month... Now I haven't been there since my first ride with said brakes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XII Posted February 10, 2014 Share Posted February 10, 2014 These are the rides I immidetly think of when I hear of rides being neutered. Revolution @ SFMM - The OTSRs & all those Trims really just ruin the ride. Green Lantern @ SFMM - Barely even spins anymore. Raging Bull @ SFGAm - Grr. Does that trim on the 3rd hill have to be THAT strong!!? High Roller @ Valleyfair - Not sure if this has been mentioned or not, but when I rode it, there was a really NASTY set of trim brakes on the 2nd hill that just TOTALLY killed the momentum for me. Twister II @ Elitch Gardens - Could've been a fun ride if it weren't for the googolplex trims the ride has. Dueling Dragons (Dragon Challenge) @ IOA - DUEL DAMMIT!!! START DUELING AGAIN!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VF15 Posted August 9, 2014 Share Posted August 9, 2014 Wild Thing and High Roller at Valleyfair have relatively strong trim brakes that take away a good amount of airtime potential on those rides. Also, Raging Bull, while being one of my favorite rides, could be improved if they turned off the trim on the first airtime hill and didn't bite so hard on the MCBR. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canobie Coaster Posted August 9, 2014 Share Posted August 9, 2014 Dueling Dragons (Dragon Challenge) @ IOA - DUEL DAMMIT!!! START DUELING AGAIN!!!! I havent been back since they stopped the dueling and rethemed it to Dragon Challenge, but I agree that this is a terrible neuter. The two rides were incredibly unique dueling like that and really added some great sights. Having said that, both coasters are still at least two of the world's best inverts on their own. I'm sure it has been mentioned a few pages back, but what Six Flags did to the Riverside Cyclone is up there as well. That ride's first drop and intensity were legendary, but the park reprofiled the first drop and purchased new PTCs that sapped a lot of the ride's speed. The first drop (even reduced) still packed a wallop, but there were many areas with awkward or slow pacing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMC_Hoodie Posted August 9, 2014 Share Posted August 9, 2014 Dueling Dragons (Dragon Challenge) @ IOA - DUEL DAMMIT!!! START DUELING AGAIN!!!! I havent been back since they stopped the dueling and rethemed it to Dragon Challenge, but I agree that this is a terrible neuter. The two rides were incredibly unique dueling like that and really added some great sights. Having said that, both coasters are still at least two of the world's best inverts on their own. I'm sure it has been mentioned a few pages back, but what Six Flags did to the Riverside Cyclone is up there as well. That ride's first drop and intensity were legendary, but the park reprofiled the first drop and purchased new PTCs that sapped a lot of the ride's speed. The first drop (even reduced) still packed a wallop, but there were many areas with awkward or slow pacing. Six Flags did ruin the ride, but some of the awkward, slow-paced parts were actually part of the original ride. The wave turn actually seemed slower in the videos from 1983. The flat turn with the surprise dip was never really fast, either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ECZenith Posted August 9, 2014 Share Posted August 9, 2014 Easily was riverside cyclone. Luckily next year it is getting a genuine steel RMC codpiece of epicness. Good luck neutering THAT. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GigaG Posted August 9, 2014 Author Share Posted August 9, 2014 Easily was riverside cyclone. Luckily next year it is getting a genuine steel RMC codpiece of epicness. Good luck neutering THAT. Don't give Six Flags any ideas... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sxexaxn Posted August 9, 2014 Share Posted August 9, 2014 SFDK's V2. I rode it during its opening season before the modification and it instantly became one of my favorite coasters. The park violated the city's 150 foot height restriction so the 186 foot tall front and back spikes were lowered to 150 feet with the front tower at a 45 degree angle and, while the back tower is still vertical, the front row of the train doesn't hit the 90 degree angle anymore. Damn that height restriction! I'm not even going to elaborate on how ugly it looks too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GigaG Posted August 9, 2014 Author Share Posted August 9, 2014 SFDK's V2. I rode it during its opening season before the modification and it instantly became one of my favorite coasters. The park violated the city's 150 foot height restriction so the 186 foot tall front and back spikes were lowered to 150 feet with the front tower at a 45 degree angle and, while the back tower is still vertical, the front row of the train doesn't hit the 90 degree angle anymore. Damn that height restriction! I'm not even going to elaborate on how ugly it looks too. I like it. The original ride has clones - not in California, but elsewhere. SFDK's is unique, though, because of the hangtime you get. Although, SFDK doesn't use the holding brake, but that isn't the fault of the modifications - it has the brake, and SFGAm's doesn't work either, if I've read correctly (although SFDK's deteriorated much more quickly.) As for ugliness, it certainly looks unusual, but it is almost the "Gatekeeper" of SFDK in appearance, it goes over the entrance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richards.adam Posted August 10, 2014 Share Posted August 10, 2014 ^Exactly, it's al about the duelling experience. I've never been on that ride but I imagine it feels kind of pointless now as it has lost its main purposet. It really is a shame that they don't duel any more. Both are still fantastic B&M inverts, just not quite as exciting without them dueling. It would be interesting but impossible to know how they would work completely independently. The inverted (bunny hop???) over the zero-g roll would be pointless without the track below, A poor man's near miss I guess. But the inter twined track adds a lot. The excitement of near misses seem to be a thing of the past, whether someone losing their grip on a cell phone/camera or an individual purposely throwing a coin, the park can't risk it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cfc Posted August 10, 2014 Share Posted August 10, 2014 I'm going to say Raging Bull at Six Flags Great America, based on rides from TPR's Mini New Hotness trip. The trim brake after the excellent initial drop is a perfect example of how to turn a potentially great coaster into a mediocre one. Too bad--Raging Bull could be one of the top B&M rides if it weren't for that brake. The layout is great, but they killed most of the airtime. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angle O. Descent Posted August 10, 2014 Share Posted August 10, 2014 ^ YES. It really is too bad, because besides the bad first trim, I found the rest of the ride to be surprisingly good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandallDuell Posted August 10, 2014 Share Posted August 10, 2014 Have to agree about Raging Bull's trim - an absolute killer. Has anyone who has attended an enthusiast/TPR/ACE event had a chance to get a clear answer on "why" - both to this brake AND to the death of the holding brake on V2? They seem like small things, but both of those really do change the experience on two of the park's excellent coasters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodie Warrior Posted August 10, 2014 Share Posted August 10, 2014 I hardly noticed the trims on Raging Bull. It definitely has the best layout of any B&M I've been on, it just had a bad rattle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vertigomkie Posted August 10, 2014 Share Posted August 10, 2014 Ummm, nuff said. Worst wooden coaster in the world is a bit harsh, but worst neuter? You bet, trimmed and modified to be as tame and featureless as a wooden coaster could get. This may get edited, but my co-worker summed up a ride on Grizzly best as "making love to an 80-year old woman you once thought was good". [youtu_be] [/youtu_be] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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