Boulder Dash vs Voyage plus a question

Hello all. Just got back from ridding Boulder Dash. Let me say this coaster is INSANE. I was the biggest wooden coaster hater going. Now after ridding this behemoth, it's my favorite coaster period. I've ridden, phoenix, Lightning racer, Hershey Wildcat, Gwazi, Comet, Shivering Timbers, The Villan and more. All of these wooden coasters couldn't touch my top 20(all steel). Then I go ride Bouldber Dash and it kicks the crap out of everything.

Boulder dash made me a Wooden coaster fan big time.

So with that being said, for the people who have ridden both Voyage and Boulder Dash, how much better do you think Voyage is. twice as good? 10 times better? 100 times better.

Looking at the video of Voyage it looks alot better then Boulder dash. What I like about Boulder dash so much is, how fast it goes threw the whole circut without letting up. Voyage looks like Boulder Dash on steroids.

If Everyone says that it is much better then Boulder Dash, I will plan a 2 day trip this year to ride Voyage. My 2nd question is when is the best time to go. I want to catch Voyage before they put the mid course breaks on heavier, and certainly before they put a break somewhere throughout the ride. Is there a Holiday World enthusiast event comming up before the end of the year, where they might take off the mid course completely? I just want to get the best Voyage ride possible.

Thanks for any help.

Voyage is scientifically 13.43 times better. I speant the last 2 hours finding the precise calculation. :)

But in all honestly, Voyage blows away Boulder Dash IMO. BD was running sluggish during the day for me at wasn't that fun, but by evening BD was a great ride [a top 3 woodie to be precise]. Voyage delivers 100% of the time, and 400% at night.

I say plan your HW trip to include a saturday night (only through the second week in august is it open until 10 PM on saturdays!) so you can experience a coaster experience like no other.

-- Alan J
*** Edited 7/13/2006 7:11:10 PM UTC by SFDL_Dude***

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So with that being said, for the people who have ridden both Voyage and Boulder Dash, how much better do you think Voyage is.

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You are making the (wrong) assumption that everyone who has ridden both prefers Voyage over Boulder Dash (though I realize that I am probably in the minority on this one).

(Thread brings up a question: How close can one dance to the "VS" TOS with out actually crossing the point of no return?)

^ I'm betting that once a mod sees the thread, it will be locked and/or disappear. Nothing good has ever come from a Vs. topic (except for an occasionally fun flame war).

Voyage is just THAT much better than any other wooden coaster I've ridden. but then again, I'm what you might call an "intensity-hound". Reference my views on Tx Giant, Tremors, Rampage, and God (PNE's Coaster).

SLFAKE: come on buddy. 2 replys into the topic and people are already complaining about me trying to compare them.

I'm willing to bet that probably 80-90% of the people that rode both coasters prefer Voyage. So me saying what I stated isn't crazy.

You like Boulder Dash better. Awsome, tell me why. I'd love to know.

Another key part to this post, besides the comparison, is, the likelyhood of them making changes to the coaster before next year. If they have no plans to do anything to it(none of us have a crystal ball I know), I might try and wait till next year. But if the majority of people feel they might trim the ride, or make the mid course slow the train down more in the off season, then I will try and hit it this year.

^^ Gator - I don't think they'll close it... It doesn't seem very "VS" to me... Rather comparisons of two rides. After all, it's not "Boulder Dash rocks my socks and Voyage sucks ass!"

But yeah, Voyage... Jesus. It's not even a coaster... It's a stupid death machine that makes you re-think your hobby.

It's just that damn amazing.

^ Which is why when Will decided to call it an "Out and Back", I had to come up with something more...descriptive.

Thus..."Hell-and-Back".... :)

Voyage= BARELY controlled aggression. Weird thing to think of though, is how *complimentary* the two rides are. Voyage's "tame section" is the first few drops going into the woods, then everything turns INSANE, and stays that way. B-Dash, OTOH, starts out with intensity and wickedness, then, like MOST other wooden coasters, becomes tame toward the end. Just ANOTHER way in which Voyage "breaks the mold". :)

Okay... here goes:

Voyage... Its big, its fast, its out of control, it looks great... but what I didn't find is that was very much fun.

Another coaster that has a very intense out of control feel to it is J2 at Clementon. Granted... MUCH smaller and shorter than Voyage, it still has that intensity that makes it seem like the coaster wants to throw you out of its train. For its size, it is every bit as intense as The Voyage. The difference is just that... its size. J2 comes hits the station breaks just about the time when my brain started to say... "okay, this is fun... but I am not sure how much fun I can take". On The Voyage... by its very size, I hit that point with about 1/3 of the coater left to go. the outward course is fine... its the intensity of the return that is what dropped the ride a bit for me. Those high speeds over large hills and drops are great... but on smaller dips and twists and turns just become brutal.

Then again, I like floating air... not air that throws you against the lap bar and then slams you down in your seat and rearranges your spine which is the way I felt on The Voyage.

Granted... I have not sworn off that coater entirely (like I have recently done SOB... BEFORE its recent accident... that is just too brutal to be fun), but The Voyage would not be what would draw me back to Holiday World. That draw would be The Legend. Certainly not a tame coaster, its course seems to be more creative. Its intensity is tempered with moments that let you catch your breath (and ponder your fate) before it sends you trearing through its next section of twisted madness. The Voyage just takes you to the top, drops you down and lets the crap hit the fan. It's all brute force, but to me it just wasn't creative brute force.

Now, as for how Boulderdash compares... Again... subtle moments that let you slow down slightly to grasp the situation before turning you lose again. Also, the creative course on the side of the mountain, dodging rocks and trees wins points as well, with a few moments of "floating" air. It may yank you back down into your seat, but you float for a split second or so... you are not hurled full force against your lab bar and then jammed back down into your seat as far as you can go.

SLFAKE: WOW! I think reading your post of all the posts I have read on Voyage, gets me pumped the most.
I see why you like the others more, which I completely understand. But for me what you said, about how brutal it is, sounds like Heaven to me.
If its more intense and crazier than Boulder Dash, I HAVE to ride it!

Vs thread but

VOYAGE is 100 times better :)

Chuck, who also liked ST better than BD but YMMV

If you enjoy continually banging your hip into the new PTC seat divider in the lateral sections, then the Voyage is for you!

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BamBam36 said: I want to catch Voyage before they put the mid course breaks on heavier, and certainly before they put a break somewhere throughout the ride. Is there a Holiday World enthusiast event comming up before the end of the year, where they might take off the mid course completely? I just want to get the best Voyage ride possible.

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The safety brake is there to be used only in the case of the need for an emergency stop during multi-train operation. (That's why it's called a safety brake.) :)

Paula

...and not a trim brake. ;)

BamBam36 is the first person to mention any trimming on Voyage...methinks he is mistaken ;)

I didn't say there was a trim on Voyage. I said before they trim it. Every intense coaster now a days ends up getting a trim sooner or later. So what I'm asking is, What is the likelyhood they do put a trim on it. I don't know much about the way Holiday World operates, and if there one for putting trims on intense rides, but it seems like every other park is.(alpengiest, Montu, Batman DK, all superman hypers, Mantis, just to name a few)

Also, people are saying "safety break". How does this differ from a normal mid course break? I have never been on a coaster with a mid course break that wasn't on. Are you saying that this is a first of its kind, and it does not slow down the train at all, and is only there in case something happens.

Saftey Brakes or Block Brakes are common (necessary at times) on multi-train rides. They are usually in high flat places to allow exit and enough energy for the train to complete the course from a complete stop. Their location tends to be a slower part of a ride and may lead people to think there is braking happening and sometimes they are used as trims (Goliath/Titan). Some may have drive wheels to assist restarting which may drag a little when not in use.

There is one on Ghostrider just before "The Drop" which has never been "on" when I've ridden it. I'm sure others out there can mention other rides with similar setups.

BamBam,
Paula is the PR director for the park.
Her word is golden

Safety brake is a block brake meaning if the first brake section at the end of the ride isn't clear, It will stop the aproaching train. Nothing more, nothing less.

Chuck, saying a trim is put somewhere on the course to slow it down. Non of HW's coasters have a trim on them.

/Handel's Messiah
"No trim brakes, hallelujah, hallelujah"...

I miss Paula's SINGING.... :)

Throw in another vote (#3 now?) for Boulder Dash.

To me, it was much better at playing the role of "terrain coaster", and the airtime was no better on Voyage. To me, Voyage has the stats, but that doesn't mean it delivers the better ride.

I clearly remember Voyage slowing down before the triple-down every time I rode it during Holliwood Nights. If that is not a trim, then I don't know what one is.

I also shudder (in a good way) to think of what the second half would be like without it trimmed. :)

-Tambo

I liked the Voyage, but I'm not in love with it. It's not bumping my top woodies down the list. But I should qualify that -- I rode it three times on the day after riding just about everything at PKI (except SOB). Voyage was very intense and riding it probed all my day-old bruises. I love riding hands-up, but I needed to brace myself all three times on the Voyage.

I could ride Phoenix (K) or Comet (SFGE) all day. My other favorites are more intense, good for a few rides, but not a marathon: Beast (PKI), Legend (HW), Voyage (HW), Twister (K), Monstre (SFLR). But I'm a bit weird -- I enjoyed SOB, Gwazi, Predator (SFDL), Mean Streak and Wild Beast (PCW), but I'm always prepared for these bone-crunchers, choosing best seats and bracing myself throughout the course.