Big Woodies...Thumbs up or down?

In light of a "discussion" in the news section, here is a question for all you Coasterbuzzers.

If you have ridden Son of Beast, Mean Streak, Hercules, or Rattler (before re-profile) what's your opinion? You only get 2 choices though, ala Siskel & Ebert, thumbs up or thumbs down. No wishy-washy "neutral" votes please, take a stand. Also maybe give a sentence or 2 explaining your thoughts. If I missed any other woodies with a drop of over 150' please add them to the list.

MS- Thumbs down. Too rough, no air, slow course.
SOB, Rat, & Herc, I have not ridden.

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Gotta ride 'em all!

SOB-thumbs up, great ride for those with a strong backbone. MS-been too long. Have not ridden any others.
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Where would we be without the rumor mill?

SoB - Thumbs up. Good first drop. Good speed, no braking. Not as rough as I had heard.
MS - Thumbs down. Way too rough. Seems to be fighting itself.
Hercules, Rattler - haven't ridden.

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"Not a shred of evidence exists in favor of the idea that life is serious." - Brendan Gill

Well, I will do Hercules because that is the only one I have ridden out out of those 4. Here we go!
Hercules has a good layout and would be really fun if there wasn't so much pain involved. Right out out of the station the train is rattling like Bill Clinton's hand at a press conference. My back and neck just killed once I got off it. I think Hercules is the only coaster I have wanted to get off on during the ride. The only good thing
about it is the first drop. Well that is my review and give it a big FAT HANDS DOWN!
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"FEAR the Four!"

Thumbs down. But all have much potential. Mean Streak was pretty good until they installed trim brakes every 10 feet. SOB, well, that was an SOB

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Favorite Wood:Ghostrider
Favorite Steel:Millenium Force Need I say more

Or Thumbs Down I should say!
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"FEAR the Four!"

Thumbs WAY up. SoB was an amzing coaster. Definitely the most powerful and intimidationg coaster I've ever seen. Not to mention it's damned fun. As for Mean Streak, just forget the damned thing. If CP didn't survive on coaster count, Mean Streak would exist.

SOB, definitely Thumbs Up! Rode it in late August and was duely impressed. Some minor tweaking was still in order, but Belmont Babe and I both liked it.

Mean Streak~Thumbs Up!! I loved the ride! I didnt really notice the roughness at all.
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Magnum-Just Ride It!!!

SOB: Thumbs UP...really intense and fun. The roughness wasn't too bad, the helixes were good (but not great like Father Beast's) and the loop was incredible. Great ride.

Mean Streak: Thumbs DOWN...I think the fault here is not in the fact that its a huge wooden coaster, but in its design. It's just a dull ride to begin with, made even duller by the fact that since it is so heavily trimmed, it crawls through its course. Some grease on the wheels might be a good thing too. It is rough, but so are all of Dinn/Summers's woodies. Ever hear of the "Dinn Shuffle?"

SOB - Thumbs up - only because I'm younger and I can take a beating. My parents went on Mean Streak and had let's say an not nice experience.

Mean Streak - Thumbs up - it's okay, it's not the best, but if they'd shut off the trims it would be good.

I've been on two:

Mean Streak - Thumbs up, I love wooden coasters and when I got to Cedar Point I only have two choices, I actually ride MS more often then the B&M's and other steelies, It's rough, sometimes more so then others, I occasionally get a really good smooth ride (usually when it's raining). I like flying through all that lumber on a long ride.

Hercules - Thumbs up- only rode it twice and while it isn't my favorite coaster it just gave me an unexplainable coastery feeling.

Thumbs down on all! I'll still ride them, but I enjoy wooden coasters that are smaller. Give SOB time. Mean Streak was an incredible ride it's first few seasons, but then in got so rough. The same will happen to SOB. Haven't been on the others, but I have heard from a few people that Hercules is the one of the roughest.

I like smaller ones because they seem to supply more airtime and they seem just as fast. I don't need stats. Look at all the top rated wooden coasters in most polls, they are all in the 80-120ft. range approx. I do think there may be a limit.

Well I've only been on MeanStreak and I find it kinda boring, even though my last ride in the rain was actually decent. But I would agree *wooden* coasters over 150ft seems to not fair well. After all, CCI even said they dont make coasters over 120 in height!

I did Mean Streak closing day in the rain, and it was still lame. I hear SOB has been getting better, but sadly, I don't think I'll be dropping in there this year.

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Jeff
Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com

coasterr: I think that what they say was no drop over 120'. Shivering Timbers stands 125'.

Anyway more on topic:
SOB: Thumbs Way Up! I really liked this coaster. There were about 3 spots that weren't glass-smooth, but no where near what I would call rough. I had more painful rides on Villian that Sonny

Mean Streak: Thumbs Down :( I still dont think this coaster is rough, a little shakey, but not too bad (Raging Wolf Bobs is much worse in that department). My problem with MS is it's just dull/boring/lackluster. There are no negatives, no positives and no laterals. CCI's kiddie Pegasus was much more thrilling.
jeremy

BIG WOODIES! LOL!
Reminds me of the GCI or was it CCI slogan

"We bring your woodies to life"
he he he

I bet there was no pun intended there ;)

But on a more serious note, I like the more compact wooden coasters. For some reason you loose intesity as it gets bigger and also the ride can become almost unbarable--MeanStreak--and then there's Timber Wolf who is still an awesome ride that's not above 150'.

DJH

2 thumbs down to MS. looks cool, rides awful.

was so excited to ride MS and was very let down.
can't wait to ride SOB. I like my woodies like I like my women. big and rough.

Two thumbs up for SOB! it can be done right, but like anything else, designers, trains and layout are the key. What would you think of large steel coasters if all you had were: Pepsi Big Max One, Desperado, Manhattan Express and Steel Phantom? Probably would begin to worder if it could be done right wouldn't you?

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Simcoaster awards 2000!

Best Steel:
1)Superman-SFNE
2)Goliath-SFMM

Best wood:
1)The Legend *** This post was edited by Simcoaster on 10/20/2000. ***

Mean Streak isn't all that rough, but it is VERY lame.

I think the best woodie is the compact 120' Villain at SFO