American Eagle(We love it no matter what thread)
Who here on the boards loves the Eagle at SFGAm no matter what the critics think? Do you think like myself, that the first drop is one of the best wood drops in the business? The air you get on the bunny hops(from the red side) is still phenomenal. Who here is with me that AE is still a decent ride?
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"SAVING THE WORLD BEFORE BEDTIME" Powerpuff girls
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"SAVING THE WORLD BEFORE BEDTIME" Powerpuff girls
The American Eagle, in my book, still holds the record for scariest first drop in existance. I've ridden it at least 10 times, yet it still freaks me out as the train starts to descend and go steeper...and steeper....and steeper. I haven't felt much air on the return trip though. I must not be sitting in the right seat.
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"We are no longer the knights who say Ni! We are now the knights who say eckyeckyeckyeckypakungloopoingengzourjin." "Ni"
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"We are no longer the knights who say Ni! We are now the knights who say eckyeckyeckyeckypakungloopoingengzourjin." "Ni"
The Eagle has loads of airtime if you try to get you lapbar up a little more.
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Let the bears pay the Bear Tax, I pay the Homer Tax.
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Let the bears pay the Bear Tax, I pay the Homer Tax.
It must be a local thing, because that ride did absolutely nothing for me. After riding it (even in the rain with slick track), I wondered how something so massive could be so mediocre.
Then I remembered Mean Streak. :)
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Jeff
Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com
Then I remembered Mean Streak. :)
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Jeff
Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com
I thought the ride was pretty decent. It would have been better if the midcourse brakes wasnt on so hard!
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Dayuum, Your HOT!
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Dayuum, Your HOT!
I guess it is a local thing. AE was such a frighting ride. I remember even back in 1989, I would ride the Shockwave, but was terrified of the Eagle. It's something about having cars drive under it, seeing all the paint chipping and it just generally looks like it will fall at any moment (come on, potholes on the lift hill?). Add to that, the fact that they used to stop the ride at the top of the first hill (they actually had brakes up there!).
AE still has one of the best (i.e. most effective) first drops in existance. When the turnaround helix brakes are low or off, the return run is really peppy. Sure there are better coasters around, but very few can compete with that first drop.
BTW: I've never noticed much difference between the red and blue sides. Maybe I just wasnt paying attention, but it's also rare that I will ride both sides in the same day. I may have to do that tommorrow or Friday when I'm back in da Chi. Though unconciously, I usually gravitate to the far (red) side....
lata,
jeremy
--who cherishes his nightime front seat on-ride-photo of the American Eagle (suprisingly, it's on the red side...)
AE still has one of the best (i.e. most effective) first drops in existance. When the turnaround helix brakes are low or off, the return run is really peppy. Sure there are better coasters around, but very few can compete with that first drop.
BTW: I've never noticed much difference between the red and blue sides. Maybe I just wasnt paying attention, but it's also rare that I will ride both sides in the same day. I may have to do that tommorrow or Friday when I'm back in da Chi. Though unconciously, I usually gravitate to the far (red) side....
lata,
jeremy
--who cherishes his nightime front seat on-ride-photo of the American Eagle (suprisingly, it's on the red side...)
I have never ridden the AE and when I finally make it to SFGAm this summer, I am curious to see if it is as bad as everyone makes it out to be (can it be worse than Rolling Thunder?).
Still, even if it is bad, its nice to see that the ride still has its supporters... even if it is over-braked and badly in need of paint, its good to see a coaster be loved. Thats what enthusiasm is all about in my book (yes, I still love Rolling Thunder even though its slow, rusty, and broken down all of the time)!
Still, even if it is bad, its nice to see that the ride still has its supporters... even if it is over-braked and badly in need of paint, its good to see a coaster be loved. Thats what enthusiasm is all about in my book (yes, I still love Rolling Thunder even though its slow, rusty, and broken down all of the time)!
The red side delivers a decent ride and I'll try to ride it several times when I go to Great America. Sometimes when I ride it, I fly so high out of my seat and land on the seat divider and that hurts. The trims on the helix have made the return course pale in comparison to its earlier days and the train is braked completely before the final helix, which sucks IMO.
It's not the greatest wooden coaster in existance but comparing it to Mean Streak... at least AE delivers some thrills.
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Go Bucks Go!!!
Beat the Sixers!!!
It's not the greatest wooden coaster in existance but comparing it to Mean Streak... at least AE delivers some thrills.
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Go Bucks Go!!!
Beat the Sixers!!!
Personally, I love the eagle. Also, I feel it has the best drop in the entire park. Now... I'm not much on "technial terms", but I love the feeling you get in your stomach on the way down! (Positive G's are they?) And I love when you pick up a LOT of momentum on the helix, and then hit the first few little drops. (Bunny hills?) Those deliver the same sensation. I think AE and Viper are the only coasters that do that for me. But I rarely do Viper because the line is usually too long. Bringing up another point, I don't know why Eagle never has a line! Whenever I go in the summer, and I see the queue's under the "tent" filled up, I am amazed! I really don't know why it is so complained aboout. Sure, I'd like to have a fiew things chaged, but I would with every other ride to. It would have been cool if they "dressed" it up for its 20th anniversary. (ie: PAINT!) But oh well....
*** This post was edited by Long Live The SKY WHIRL on 5/23/2001. ***
The American Eagle is my favorite roller coaster ever! Id have to say, Id pick red train over the blue side, its a better ride. Even with the brakes, (which havent been bad at all for me this year) the ride is still the greatest! I love it when it makes all those crazy noises! its crazy, especially racing at night.
Last year during the 1999-2000 season, I didn't like the roller coaster. Don't ask me why, but this year, I love the freeking ride. It packs some major airtime, and really throws you out of your seat. If they just fixed the chain (Sometimes I think the cars are going to fall off the lift, ;) ), then this would be my favorite coaster in the park. Behind the Bull and Batman. This Saturday, I get to try out V2 and Deja Vu (If it open).
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Don't fight it, Ride it, Raging Bull!
Webmaster:SFGAm 2001
http://www.angelfire.com/extreme/Coasterz
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Don't fight it, Ride it, Raging Bull!
Webmaster:SFGAm 2001
http://www.angelfire.com/extreme/Coasterz
It ain't a local thing at all. AE was my very first coaster and is my favorite woodie! I live in Memphis, TN. There is no way that that is local. AE, the best woodie on the planet!!
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Todd Steffey
~*Favorites*~
# 1 ~ Alpengeist @ BGW
# 2 ~ Apollo's Chariot @ BGW
# 3 ~ American Eagle @ SFGAm
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Todd Steffey
~*Favorites*~
# 1 ~ Alpengeist @ BGW
# 2 ~ Apollo's Chariot @ BGW
# 3 ~ American Eagle @ SFGAm
I have allways loved the Eagle. The back seat is the place for this ride. But once I did ride Front row on the last ride of the night, and that was the best experience I have had on a coaster. It is so amazing in the dark. I love the first drop. And don't count on haveing the Eagle going anywhere soon, they just finished retracking the whole ride about a year ago.
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There is no such thing as a stupid question, just stupid people.
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There is no such thing as a stupid question, just stupid people.
Blink3020 said:
"Last year during the 1999-2000 season, I didn't like the roller coaster. Don't ask me why, but this year, I love the freeking ride. It packs some major airtime, and really throws you out of your seat.
Same for me. I thought it was boring last year, but this year, wow! I like it better than Viper right now because of all the airtime and the drop. I wish the would let it go throught the last helix rather than let it crawl through. But still it is an aweseome ride.
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Bull rides:23
Shockwave rides:14
I think it's a fun ride, it definitely deliverers on that first drop. It's just a shame that they don't race it every time. I love how it looks at night, very cool. I'm Glad there are people on here that like it so much because I'm making a 3d computer model of it. I'm trying to focus on the night time look of it more than the accuracy of the layout(I didn't have very many pictures to go on). What I mean by that is, the lighting on the supports make it look like the real thing, but the POV video's are not exactly like the real thing, very close, but I added an extra bunny hill on the blue side.
I agree with Jeff, but it's kinda the other way around. I am a local of SFGAm, and American Eagle does nothing for me. If the helix were any slower, the ride would be going backwards.
I do have a sentimental love for Demon, though. The first time I rode it at night (yeah, I've been in a shed for a while) was last May. We entered the tunnel (after the station) expecting this scary, black holish experience, not unlike Big Thunder Mountain.
Well, it was amply-lit. That started the inside joke of the 'Amply-Lit Tunnel' at the start of the ride. Oh well, I thought it was funny. :)
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Loopscrew.com
It's coming...
I do have a sentimental love for Demon, though. The first time I rode it at night (yeah, I've been in a shed for a while) was last May. We entered the tunnel (after the station) expecting this scary, black holish experience, not unlike Big Thunder Mountain.
Well, it was amply-lit. That started the inside joke of the 'Amply-Lit Tunnel' at the start of the ride. Oh well, I thought it was funny. :)
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Loopscrew.com
It's coming...
Once when we went, we started riding the American Eagle. We kept getting back in line cuz it was so great, I love that ride.
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SFGAm: SCREAM. THRILL. REPEAT. Two New Coasters in 2001!
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SFGAm: SCREAM. THRILL. REPEAT. Two New Coasters in 2001!
I went to the park a last week, and it was empty. I rode the Eagle three times, and Viper and Bull only twice (and the lines were comparable). With the way the Red side is running right now, I truly believe it is the best woodie in the park and actually, a more thrilling ride than RB. Two weeks ago I never would have said this. In my mind, the park's "classics," AE and Batman, are gaining on Viper and Bull. Once the novelty of bull's height and speed wear off, you're left with a relatively tame ride. And Viper doesn't have that one GREAT thrill that every classic coaster needs. (Though neither does Batman, but its intensity compensates). Also, anyone else notice the AE seats have new padding?
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