coasters not aging gracefully

I went to Cedar Point and PKI this week. My last trip to PKI was in 1987 and I thought the Beast was an incredibly smooth ride and couldn't wait to get on it again. Boy, was I mistaken. The Beast tore me apart...but not nearly as bad as Son of Beast. I have a large bruise on my right elbow from the latter. Coasters really lose their appeal when you are in pain after the ride.

What happens to these rides over time to cause such drastic changes? Will replacing wheels help? Am I just getting old?

All of Cedar Point's coasters (with the exception of Blue Streak) were extremely smooth. Magnum was my favorite and Millenium Force was overrated. Why the difference from one park to the next?

I'll tell you one that isn't aging gracefully, Shockwave at SFGAm. I rode and that thing about bounced and banged so hard that I think I turned over a few times under the OTSRs. As for your questions, some parks give their coasters a little more TLC than others. Also some coasters just get old and are bumby because the wheel has worn away.

Thats why they replace the wheels...

I know that BGW and PKD has done a Very good job of keeping their Arrow coaster's(Anaconda, and Loch Ness Monster)smooth.

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"Bathroom 1 looks too intense for me"-Ed Markey

Shockwave@SFGAm is basically how it has been forever. I'd say it aged very well, considering it was barely smoother (if at all) than when I first rode it in '93, when it was only 5 years old.
One that has not aged gracefully IMO would be Iron Wolf. I remember back in '93 when I was first tall enough to ride it, it was fairly smooth, but the past few years it has gotten rougher. This year it isn't as bad though, because it has new soft restraints.

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Intamin: Steel gifts from the gods.
CCI: Wooden gifts from the gods.

Be careful of calling MF overrated. Its VERY finnicky and can be completely different from one day to the next.

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don't touch the watch. *** This post was edited by ravenguy98 on 7/28/2001. ***

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MFRULES said:
"I'll tell you one that isn't aging gracefully, Shockwave at SFGAm. I rode and that thing about bounced and banged so hard that I think I turned over a few times under the OTSRs. As for your questions, some parks give their coasters a little more TLC than others. Also some coasters just get old and are bumby because the wheel has worn away."

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Shockwave at SFGAm is the worst heading banging coaster ever. The inside of my eyes were turning black and I felt I was going to black out. It sucked.

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Current Favorite Coasters:
1)Raging Bull 2)Millennium Force 3)Medusa (SFMW) 4)Vertical Velocity (SFGAm) 5)Incredible Hulk, The
*** This post was edited by StealthmF5m3 on 7/28/2001. ***

Actually, I thought that FoF was aging pretty badly before they got the new lap bars...

One of the worst cases of all time has to be the Rolling Thunder at SFGAd. Someone at Six Flags should be slapped!! They are not taking care of this 'formerly' nice ride. The last time I rode it, the contact between the metal wheels and the track made such a loud noise that it made the ride almost unbearable to ride. They should also check out the supports and concrete piers on the GASM - didn't look to stable to me. Is it worth going back for Batman & Robin(which was not running on the day I went during its opening year), Medusa, and Nitro if they can't use my money to preserve and take care of their older coasters??

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Coaster Crazy -- the name says it all!

It is worth it to go back, I honestly think that rolling thunder isn't that loud, and it was not rough at all. I thought it had a lot of airtime.

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Nitro: The Most Explosive Coaster on the Planet explodes at Six Flags Great Adventure in 2001.

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NitroExplodes said:
"It is worth it to go back, I honestly think that rolling thunder isn't that loud, and it was not rough at all. I thought it had a lot of airtime.

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Nitro: The Most Explosive Coaster on the Planet explodes at Six Flags Great Adventure in 2001."

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Can I take your word - I have not been there in years, so it is possible that they could have done some work to Rollong Thunder.


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Coaster Crazy -- the name says it all!

Sorry, that's "Rolling Thunder"

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Coaster Crazy -- the name says it all!

Next time, please use the "Edit" button over the post when you've made an error. Thanks!

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Matt Lynch
Co-Webmaster, Kennywood Boulevard
http://kennywood.coasterbuzz.com

The only ride I've found to be considerably aged badly would have to be the Ninja at SFoG. I had a ride this Spring, and I used to ride that thing all the time, but IMO, the only smooth part of that ride is a corkscrew, it was bouncing through the rest of its' course:(.
Some wood rides, just look bad sometimes, IMO, they give so many different ride qualities, you get on it one day, it sounds or rides bad, the next, butter, even new ones:).

SOB and Beast are very tempermental. It seemed to like me until my last ride, where my knee got bruised pretty bad. If you dont plan on riding these rides again, reconsider. Like P_C_R said, wooden rides sometimes look bad, sometimes dont

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http://www.islandguide.8m.com
all about PKI
the Beasts` Den

Psyclone at Six Flags Magic Mountain has not aged well at all. Also, Windjammer did not age well, oh ya, it always was rough, so it really did not feel any different every time I rode it.

I rode the Shockwave Wednesday, and it was very smooth, enjoyable, as was the Demon, and Iron wolf, it was humid, i dont know if that has anything to do with it, but it was nice for a change:)

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"Thank you for challenging the Raging Bull-We hope you enjoy the rest of you're day, here at Six Flags Great America"

The Beast has given me some pretty rough rides this year along with SOB. However I have never gotten bruised from either of these two. I protect myself on the Beast by wedging my arm next to the divider, this seems to help keep from banging me side. As far as SOB goes the worst it has done to me is a very large headache, but never any physical blemishes.

Raging Wolf Bobs has aged poorly, with just about every other Summers & Dinn coaster. I have yet to enjoy one of their coasters.

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"Villain-Once You Drop, The Fun Don't Stop!"~SFWoA Rules In 2001~X Marks The Spot In 2001(SFWoA)~With SFWoA ANYTHING Is Possible!

It's wierd... The first year I rode kong (back in 1999) it seemed really smooth and it was my favorite coaster (I know I was wierd :)) But when I went back for the 2000 season with my friend she advised me not to go on kong. I said "Why?" and she sed "Trust me". So finally she gave up and we went on and man did I learn my lesson. It had gotten so rough in 1 year. I don't know if it was me or it was really smooth. Can someone who rode it in 1999 tell me if it was smooth? Thanks in advance! :)

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Shut up when I'm talking to you!"- Linkin Park

If you've ever been on The Giant Dipper in Santa Cruz and the one in San Diego, you'll notice that the one in Santa Cruz is much smoother than the one in San Diego. They're both the same age too. 76 years old (correct me if I'm wrong.)

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--Hagerman--