Best Coaster "Touches"

I have been reviewing some old photographs of my trips to amusement parks (back when I actually had the time to do crazy coaster roadtrips), and came across this picture of Montu's Alligator Pit. That was really awesome. The last time I visited BGT (the year prior to when the Jeep Safari ride went in), the alligators were gone, but the pit was still there. Too bad - nice touch. Really nice.

That got me to thinking, what are some little "touches" that really set off your favorite coaster? There's got to be a million of them out there (and I don't mean actual ride elements, but things a park has done to enhance the experience). Other favorites: a.) The Alpengeist ski lodge, b.) Loch Ness' tunnel, c.) the excavation ditches on Montu, d.) the lift hill approach to the station on PKI's Adventure Express; e.) the Good Year tires on TTD (RIP).

------------------
"That's DOCTOR Evil. I didn't spend six years in evil medical school to be called 'Mr. Thank You Very Much.'"

The queue for IOA's Dueling Dragons is amazing, but a nice touch that few notice is that the lake where Ice and Fire are fighting over is dragon-shaped.

Also have to give some well-themed respect to BGW's Big Bad Wolf (the village in the beginning and the dip towards the ravine).

FoF- the entire que is really a nice touch. Then again, any kind of elaborate theming is nice for a good ride. As for on the ride, I think that the flame on Volcano is really interesting...it's great to see people get hyped about...OMG!! the flame!!

Another nice touch is als on on the Adventure Express at PKI; you see lots of "fake" rails and tunnels... giving it a more "lost in the caves" kinda feel.

That's about all I can think of as of now...... :)

------------------
RollerCoasters aren't my whole life... they just make my life whole

The whole queue for B:TR at SFGAm (the police car,batcave, and grafitt etc..) Also, Demons tunnel after the loops and the the rock formation with the the eyes of the "demon" before the corkscrews.

------------------
Shockwave @ SFGAm R.I.P 1988-2002
Top 5 Coasters at SFGAm 1)RB 2)S:UF 3) DV 4)V2 5)Viper
Smell ya later!

I remember when Viper first opened @ SFGAm, I was in awe at how they built what looked to be 2 full warehouse buildings from the outside. Once you got in the que, seeing the rags and bags and what not lying around with that "snake effect" shaking them now and then.

Same thing with SFOG's old viper...The old rusted jeep and the board with times...i especially liked the snake which showed how tall you need to be to ride...that was always neat

------------------
RollerCoasters aren't my whole life... they just make my life whole

I'm sure I'll think of a few others later but two that come to mind immediately are on Conneaut's Blue Streak and on Lakeside's Cyclone: above the pre-lift tunnels is a painting of the coaster's layout with lights atop each hill that indicate where the train is out on the course.

Way cool ;-)

mOOSH

------------------
A random Mooshter's Dawntionary listing: Flabbergasted [adj.] Appalled over how much weight you've gained.

I definitely agree about the Bavarian Village on BBW (Can you believe people actually live in there...LOL). Also, the fire coming out of Volcano is a beautiful touch.

But the best touch is the Corn Nuts sign at the entrance to Mind Eraser at SFA which says "Hold on to Your Ears"...LOL

All kidding aside, I like the red and green flashing lights on Lightning Racer which indicate who won the race.

Sean

------------------
"Ever hear of Plato, Aristotle, Socrates...Morons!"

I always loved the Wildfire tank and the big blimp with wings on Wildfire in the queue line. That's a nice touch

------------------
CoasterBill is THE official non-average-coaster-enthusiast-teenager of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays Baseball Club

Here is my contribution:

-The extra cold station for B&R the Chiller

-The license plates for Xcelerator (PDL2MDL, 2FAST4U)

-The bumpin' soundtrack for X, Millenium Force, and Riddler)

-The spaceship in the Outer Limits queue

------------------
Song for the month - " I got the Magic Stick"

I LOOOVE the choo choo noise the operators fire off when the Santa Cruz Giant Dipper dispatches. Get's me all excited and stuff....

Oh, and the earthquake rumble when the train passes over the station.

------------------
"SOME people have NO class!" - Mom from the Whizzer queue

The entire Test Track queue and ride are very cool, in my opinion.

------------------
Well, I used to be able to see TTD from my house, then I moved.
Life's not fair.

TTD is great in my opinion...not neccesarily the best theming, but it's a huge step forward for Cedar Point. I really hope that those tail fins come back. I can do without the fake tires, but I loved that fin. I went opening day, and that made the train (along with the nose cone).

What really does it for the ride..."touch" wise is the lights. The coordinated lights on the tower with the *mini* christmas tree on the ground is a simple but very cool idea. Head on over to Virtual Midway for a video of night operation. It's very cool.

Oh yeah, definately the whole Mission: Space ride and queue are spectacular... even though our weight was over 3 hours, I wasn't bored one bit.
------------------
CoasterBill is THE official non-average-coaster-enthusiast-teenager of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays Baseball Club

I've always liked tunnels to the lift especially on old coasters like Lakeside Cyclone, Conneaut Blue Streak, Santa Cruz and San Diegos' Giant Dippers. Also stringing racing lights/chasers along the entire layout is cool too like Hershey's coasters (woodies), and GASM at SFoG.

Wood - anything else is an imitation

Runaway Mine Train (SFOT) - The saloon that the third lifts passes through is a great touch. They just need to dust everything off in there. Not to mention the drop into the tunnel under the lake isn't all that bad either...

Judge Roy Scream (SFOT) - I love the tunnel under the road that the que goes through, because when you exit, it's like you're in a different world.

Shockwave (SFOT) - I really like the chasing lights hung under the track with no other lights out on the course. Plus, the track sways when a train passes.

Fire In The Hole (SDC) - The train makes a chugging noise during the course just like a train.

Thunderation (SDC) - The tunnel has actual latterns in it.

------------------
It IS as bad as you think, and they ARE out to get you.
*** This post was edited by The Shy One 7/14/2003 7:44:54 PM ***

I thought the crashed police car on Batman: The Ride was a very nice touch, and the howl of a wolf at night on Big Bad Wolf was creepy, but very cool.

Alpengeists queue with the blizzard conditions and chalkboards inside the station that tell who's on patrol (ex: O.B. Kareful) is pretty neat.

------------------
"If we knew how safe roller coasters were, we'd lose their thrill" - Daniel Keller

I thought the live Eels inside the" Kraken Eggs" as you leave the ride were a pretty cool touch.

I forgot to mention Mr. Freeze at SFSt.L with the stations coldness and all of the ice theming.

------------------
Shockwave @ SFGAm R.I.P 1988-2002
Top 5 Coasters at SFGAm 1)RB 2)S:UF 3) DV 4)V2 5)Viper
Smell ya later!

Here's a couple (unplanned?) touvhes at PKI:

*The trick track on KC(rest in peace) hurtled riders towards the cliff on that side of the track.

*Once SoB was built, Top Gun's turnaround seems more intense cuz it simulates crashing into SoB.

Some other touches that I like are:

*How CP's Corkscrew flys over the midway.

*Iron Dragon's location, especially the finally over the creek.

*Beast's roughness and unknown layout feel(How it goes through the woods and you dont know where your going)

*Theming of: Adveture Express, OL:FoF, and Disaster Transport

*SFFT's Rattler's location.

*Joker's Revenge riding backwards.

*Cyclops's location.

These are just from coasters I've ridden. There are lots of other nice touches I like.