Cornball Express / Small Coaster Love Thread

After visiting Indiana Beach for the first time this past weekend, I was extremely impressed by the Cornball Express. From the quickness of the turning first drop, to the surprising amount of speed and air, this is one heck of a great ride. I'm even more impressed by it as I look at it's stats on RCDB. Why, this little wonder is only 55 feet tall!

As most of my coaster experience has been aimed at larger parks with larger rides, I had a question for the crew out there. What other small coasters (under 60' tall) are out there that pack this much punch?

Later,
EV
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Remember that if you're one in a million, that means that there are 5000 other people on Earth just like you.

I think Cyclops gets to a height of about 70' feet and that ride packs quite a punch. "The Drop" is the greatest wooden ride element ever. I actually felt like I was going to be thrown onto the go kart tracks.

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All who think Mean Streak needs a match taken to it say I.

Well, I realize I couldn't possibly compare it to Cornball, and many others here who have ridden it will agree, but the Coaster: Thrill Ride at the Western Washington Fair in Puyallup WA is pretty darn sweet, and has some floaty air on both turnarounds. It is only 55 feet tall as well, and was designed by Mr. John Miller. It also has the only P&C trains in existence in the US. :)
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Don't you want to know more?

The Lake Winnie Cannonball is 70 feet tall and has some awesome airtime. On the last hill, you are flying so high you could probably touch the roof that is above the brakes.

I'm not sure if 100 feet is small enough, but the viper at six flags great america packs a huge punch.

I doubt it will be mentioned, so I'll say Kennywood's Jack Rabbit. That double-dip alone placed it in my top 10 woodies. For that matter, Thunderbolt (my #3 wood) definitely qualifies as well.

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-Mike
Have you ridden a Toboggan?

I think the limit for a "small" woodie would be under 80 feet. I know I don't consider Viper a "small" coaster.

CP's Blue Streak is a pretty good ride under 80 feet. Definitely not in Cornballs category though.

SFWOA's Big Dipper is an amazing ride for only being 65 feet tall.

Americana's Screechin Eagle is another amazing woodie that is only 78 feet tall.

Phoenix is another amazing coaster under 80 feet

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God bless Intamin, Company that I love. Stand beside her, and ride her, from the opening to the closing of the day.

Looking forward to riding The Big Dipper at SFWoa. You gotta love those Miller coasters... ;)
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Have you had your cake today?

I also vote for KW's Jackrabbit, and add its next door neighbor The Original Racers. They were giving riders so much air people were complaining and the engineers shaved down some of the pitches to soften the ride. Thunderbolt packs quite a punch, but I don't know anyone who would call it small.
My list would also include Thunder Run, the one reason to go to Kentucky Kingdom, and HW's Raven. Legend is great, but no one would call it a "small" coaster.
PKI's Racers can't match KW's, but they're still a great ride for a small coaster. Camden's woodie might make the list.
If you scale all the way down to compact (not kiddie) coasters, I'd rank PKI's Beastie, Idlewild's Rollocoaster and Carowinds' Ghoster Coaster as the top three. KW had the all time greatest minicoaster ever made in its Little Dipper, but for some still unfathomable reason they dismantled it.

Just going along with Magnum Force's "limit," I'd have to say the New Mexico Rattler surprised me quite a bit. I haven't ridden Cornball yet, but I've already heard a few comparisons.

Cornball Express's lift is 55 ft, but the first drop is more like around 75 feet. This is because the station is about 20-25 ft above ground. A lot of the coaster sites who have statistics on rides have gotten this information mixed up.

And yes, I LOVE the Cornball! I can't believe the airtime you get. CCI did a fantastic job. The placement couldn't be anymore perfect. Your ride can be different each and every time as you duel with three existing attractions: the log ride (I got soaked the VERY first time I ever rode Cornball, it had me laughing the whole rest of the time), the Tig'rr, and Hurricane. Absolutly no complaints here. I could say it was too short, but I don't think it would have been possible to wrap the track around the kiddyland a third time, so I'm satisfied quite much! :)

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-Eric
According to the general public, lots of coasters go straight down.
*** This post was edited by Glitch01 5/22/2003 11:44:19 PM ***

The lift is the same height off the ground no matter how hight the station is off the ground.

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God bless Intamin, Company that I love. Stand beside her, and ride her, from the opening to the closing of the day.

Yeah, but from the station, you only travel up 55 feet.

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-Eric
According to the general public, lots of coasters go straight down.

It's still fits the bill as a *small* coaster no matter what definition you use.

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God bless Intamin, Company that I love. Stand beside her, and ride her, from the opening to the closing of the day.

And I wasn't trying to make it sound like a gigantic roller coaster, by any means, I was just stating the fact that it has a first drop of 75 feet, a fact that some people do not realize.

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-Eric
According to the general public, lots of coasters go straight down.
*** This post was edited by Glitch01 5/23/2003 1:18:41 AM ***

Yankee Cannonball at Canobie Lake Park, NH. A couple of decent medium-sized drops on the outgoing leg, a beautifully twisted turnaround, and about half-a-dozen speedy bunnyhops back to the station.

Definately Cyclops.

I've only been to a few parks, but I know Cyclops is an awesome ride. It's got a figure-8 layout with lots of unexpected G's, goes through and above other rides many times, and packs it's biggest drop at the end through a themed cliff.

Other people already beat me to saying Jack Rabbit at Kennywood and Blue Streak at Cedar Point.

It's cool that you finally where able to experience Cornball Express. LoCoSuMo is another great coaster at Indiana Beach, and it's another little coaster.

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AkA somewhatchewy
-Random Little Preppy Girl "OH MY GOD! I love your hair...it's fun!"
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I'm surprised that no one has mentioned Phoeniz. With a 72' first drop it is one of the top air time machines anywhere.

LoCoSuMo is just plain LOCO! Cornball is definitely Corny. Kind of funny one would describe them that way but it is quite true. Both rides are great.

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