Rides that Sometimes Run Differently

[coasternate]

Did a quick search, couldn't find anything like this.

 

Are there any rides you can think of that run slower/faster/rougher/more intense depending on the weather/time of year/etc.?

[fraroc]

Definitley Hurler at KD. This year it was rickety but fun, last year it was absolutely unbearable.

[thesman]

Pretty much all wooden coasters. Depending on the time of day the wheels and track warm up and give better, faster rides. Thats why many people like to have night rides on coasters. Also the wood stretches in the heat adding a different ride rather than a cold day.

[larrygator]

Pretty much every wooden coaster.

 

Most noticeable for me is Boulder Dash.

[ajfelice]

Pretty much every coaster period. Heat, cold, winds, first cycle of the day, wheels, etc. can all have significant impact on how a coaster operates it terms of run time and comfort.

[tatsu_dude]

I'm going to say X2. The majority of the time it is extremely rough (though still a good ride IMO because of the drop) but every once in a while, due to factors I can never put a finger on, it is really smooth and AWESOME. It seems like most of these lucky smooth rides take place later in the day/after dark, with especially painful rides immediately after opening, but that could just be me. Can anyone else affirm?

[WFChris]

TOT "good tower" at WDW. Har har har.

[palmerleeberry]

I might as well add flat rides into the mix because a flat ride in one park can actually run differently compared to another same flat ride in a different park. During my 2009 amusement park tour in which I visited plenty of parks, some of them I've never been to before, I made the commitment to ride all the scrambler rides and see how they compared to King Dominion's Scrambler. Let me tell you, although a scrambler ride is the same, the rides they projected were all different. Some ran faster than others, some were a bit noisier and rougher, and the one at Cedar Point had this ride cycle in which you reached top speed in a few seconds, but after a minute you began to slow down until you came to complete stop within forty seconds.

 

So whenever I visit a park that is way beyond my home park range, I would try to ride their flats and see how it compares to the ones back home.

[DoinItForTheFame]

Obviously TTD. Depending on the day, the temperature, the time of day, and/or the wind the ride can be drastically changed.

Examples:

A cold day early in the morning the train will crawl over the tower, or rollback all together. As opposed to a nice warm day where the train will crest the tower with some decent speed. I have even had a time or two where it was such a warm day, and the ride was running so well that I got decent airtime cresting the tower. There have also been times where I have been on the ride when it was a nice warm day. However it was so windy that the trains kept rolling back.

 

We have also noticed a difference in how Outlaw Run runs in different temperatures. When it is a cold day the coaster runs significantly slower. When it is a nice warm afternoon it flies through the track. (Then again I am sure pretty much every coaster is like this.)

[VF15]

Like others have said, pretty much all woodies can run differently depending on the weather conditions (wet, dry, hot, cold, etc.). This can also be true for steel coasters to some extent. If a coaster has trim brakes, depending on how hard they are at a time, they can change how fast and intense the coaster runs.

[Sidra]

The best ride I ever had on Ghostrider at KBF was on a very damp, foggy, dewy morning, about 52 degrees in November. It was like a completely different coaster and I've been chasing that ride ever since, haven't been back there for the same conditions again. 2 more weekends until free Knotts admission...

[iloveblueberries]

Tatsu in the morning- Fun

Tatsu as the sun begins to set- OH MY GOD!

[coastercoaster5]

^Agreed.^

 

Tatsu at sunset in perfect weather, like yesterday for me, is unbelievable.

 

 

Another one, full throttle at night.

 

Also, Space Mountain at night is just a whole nother beast.

[YOLO]

Agree about Space Mountain (WDW) at night, such an underrated coaster, it's in my top ten.

 

Tennessee Tornado is perfect in the morning and afternoon, but it gets rougher in the evening.

 

Same goes to Thunderhead, but it actually gets better in the evening.

 

Hungarian Horntail is better in the evening, but IDK about Chinese Fireball since I only rode it once and then rode HH and liked it better and dumped CF...

[Fire2box]

Sky Screamers at Six Flags can/do. First time I went on the one at SFDK in september it went all the way up and back down. Rather then spin, go to the top, lower down a bit and back up.

 

The next time I went on it with my friend it preformed exactly as it's wikipedia page said.

[larrygator]

And of course, Air Crow at Indiana beach is ok on a typical day, but on a windy day gives great rides.

[Manic Monte]

El Toro. My first early morning ride, and I wondered what all the hype was about. Airtime was fine, but it lacked that power that I felt later in the day.

[Ridewatchers]

Green Lantern at SFMM always gives a different ride (an Intamin mid-sized vertical coaster). Each rotating car seats 4 people, and if you put two heavy people on one side and two light people on the other, you'll get more revolutions on the descent.

[RideofSteel]

El Toro goes from being an average ride on cold morning with empty trains to being an OMFG amazing ride when it gets warmer. The Rolling Thunder hill is always disappointing on the early morning rides.

[larrygator]

El Toro goes from being an average ride on cold morning with empty trains to being an OMFG amazing ride when it gets warmer. The Rolling Thunder hill is always disappointing on the early morning rides.

 

El Toro is much better than "average" on a cold morning. Still better than 90% of other wooden coasters.

[cfc]

Thunder Coaster at Tusenfryd is particularly good after it rains.