CP and more woodies...

I just was thinking about this and I noticed something.  Everyone now complains about Mean Streak and how it was not worth the time.  I am sure there are some who enjoy it, myself included, but if we complain about it and keep saying oh, why do not they not build a CCI or something such as that, what are the chances most people will still complain?  It has happened before and I am curious as to the thoughts of others.  If people will complain about what there is now and with Wicked Twister, Imagine what would happen if they built a CCI that was not up to par.

People complain about everything. They are already starting at Guide To The Point about Wicked Twister and how much they are not impressed with it. They did the same with Millennium Force so it comes to no suprise.

Mean Streak is a good roller coaster and it is a lot of fun, but that roller coaster can really kick your butt. I mean you know you are in trouble when a roller coaster is shaking you wildly on the turn before the lift hill. But its kind of a challenge. The roller coaster has a nice design (I think) and I have fun on it.

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"The opposite of war isn't peace, its creation," Rent.

DragonCys, I think some enthusiast's heads would explode if CCI didn't build a coaster up to their "par." 

This crap going on about complaining about the new ride is kind of funny actually.  I mean its not like Wicked Tiwster isn't going to be fun.

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Just wait till next year!

People will always find something to complain about with Cedar Point. Damned if they do, damned if they don't.

Regarding Mean Streak, not to disrespect the carpenters at the park, but it's time to call in the experts from CCI or GCI and ask them what can really be done to make the ride a bit more lively.

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Jeff - Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com
"As far as I can tell it doesn't matter who you are. If you can believe, there's something worth fighting for..." - Garbage, "Parade"

Mean Streak is a product of the time when huge woodies were the latest rage in the late 80's/early 90's. (Actually, it still goes on in the USA with PKI's Son of Beast.) Mean Streak does need to be smoothed out. Also, it would be really interesting to see CP hire CCI or GCI to build a new woodie. They should seriously consider it. They already have so many steel coasters, so to add another woodie would be excellent.

*** This post was edited by coasteray on 12/4/2001. ***

I hear ya Jeff. I know people love the coaster the way it is, but let's face it, it could be much better and everyone would be happy then

Believe it or not, the full time carpenters do a hell of a job with what they have to work with. Lets face it guys, it's not any one person's fault. It's not like Cedar Point isn't trying to take care of it's woodies. Mean Streak is just killing its self.

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Jes
Webmaster, Jes's Roller Coasters
"Thank You Jeff Putz"

People will always complain.  What gets me is that often the loudest complainers are the ones who live the closest.  They can go to the park on a whim, while for others of us, a great amount of time and travel is involved.

Guess the old adage "distance makes the heart grow fonder" can apply here :)

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www.TiggerMan.com

It's not just Cedar Point. I can't think of a park that doesn't get knocked in the chops for not having the latest CCI or B&M. It's become very predictable...
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"Time flies...Whether you're having fun or not". -Mary Engelbreit.

*** This post was edited by DWeaver on 12/4/2001. ***

Personally, I remember when the only roller coasters at CP were the Cedar Creek Mine Ride, Jumbo Jet and Blue Streak, so  any new attraction is fine with me.  I believe a good portion of the complainers are young (to me anyone under 27 is young) and they expect bigger, better, faster, more exciting, and above all different.  They live with a "been there, done that" attitude, don't enjoy rides unless they are super thrilling, and are very hard to satisfy.  

As for Mean Streak, yes, it has changed since the first few seasons.  It's always been rough, but anyone who learned to ride it properly didn't mind.  The problem with the trains tearing the track up has resulted in a slower, rough ride.  Something clearly needs to be done to breath life back into what was my second favorite coaster until last season.  I have no doubt CP carpenters/mechanics are doing what they can, but I think some redesign might be in order.  I'm too fond of this coaster for it not to be reworked into one that won't tear itself apart.

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I'd rather die living than live like I'm dead

Zero-G, Jeff's right on this one.  I just have a REALLY hard time buying the "tearing the track apart" argument.  The coaster (MS) was designed fine, but age and weather have seriously taken a toll.  The CP carpenters can do ALL they can, but obviously a little more help is needed.  I think bringing in CCI to do retracking makes sense, especially since we'd keep the work "in the family".  Increased banking on the turns (and some other "fixes") means less maintenance in the long run, and a faster more "lively" ride for those of us who LOVE those wooden coasters...

Oh, and TiggerMan, living in FL means almost every one of these fantaastic parks means a LOT of travel...it consumes a lot of time and considerable expense, but riding coasters is WAY worth it.  I agree completely, all my fav coasters seem to be up North...and I *seem* to have a subtle bias against these B&Ms that are SO plentiful here!

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the buzzer formerly known as gatorwoodie
Son of Drop Zone - PKI CoasterCamp I Champions!!!

No, RollerGator, MS was not designed fine, or otherwise the coaster would be just fine now. Only recently have wooden coaster manufacturers really begun to understand what happens to wood when you push extreme speeds and Gs on it. Sorry Curtis Summers fans, Mean Streak wasn't designed well. Coasters are meant to last longer than 10 years before it starts destroying it's self.

I do agree Lake Erie may have taken it’s toll on this coaster, but age is certainly no excuse. My Favorite wooden roller coaster currently is Phoenix. The ride is older than Mean Streak, and is 200 times better (In my opinion anyway). The ride is well designed because it’s age has worked to the rides advantage. The track and rolling stock are butter smooth, mainly because it was designed to age well.

Bottom line, I agree with Jeff, some contracted help from a manufacturer would be a good idea. But Mean Streak is tearing it’s self apart. It’s a constant battle between the coaster and the carpenters. Age is no excuse for a wooden coaster to fall apart.

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Jes
Webmaster, Jes's Roller Coasters
"Thank You Jeff Putz"

Can someone explain to me what CCI could do that Cedar Point isn't already doing?  Is it even plausible for them to work on a bad coaster and make it better without rebuilding it? I don't know, you guys tell me. Cause if they can, there's a certain coaster sitting behind Deja Vu at SFMM that could use the same treatment.
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"Time flies...Whether you're having fun or not". -Mary Engelbreit.

*** This post was edited by DWeaver on 12/4/2001. ***

Hear, Hear!!!!

Psyclone and Mean Streak are my top two "Most Painful"!!!

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"Just remember, wherever you go, there you are." - Buckaroo Banzai

Zero-G, I agree whole-heartedly on the Phoenix (and I'll add that a lot of my fav woodies are from the First Golden Age (Wild One, CI Cyclone, Big Dipper, etc.).  The weathering on the Point has GOT to take some toll.  And I agree that the Summers-Dinn creations (as noted, save for TR) have aged, um, poorly.  What's the difference?  To me, I think layout is critical to how a coaster "ages".  The out-n-backs seems to age exceptionally well in comparison to twister-type layouts, and coasters with lots of laterals will inevitably stress the structures and the trackwork.  Where's my evidence?  Certainly, Blue Streak at CP still runs really well.  I realize these are only MY opinions, and that opinions vary, sometimes WIDELY, but I really believe that MS can be returned to glory.  To a large degree, increasing the banking decreases the lateral forces on the train, riders, and trackwork (better for everyone).  I haven't given up entirely on any woodie, but after RWB, Herc, and MS...there's definitely more than a lot of smoke to your argument about the D-S coasters...
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the buzzer formerly known as gatorwoodie
Son of Drop Zone - PKI CoasterCamp I Champions!!!

I just have a question fer zero-g...

it MS tearing it's self OR itself apart????   :)

Building a new CCI or any wooden coaster would make more people happy.  However, once it ages and gets rough they will just complain again. 

Cedar Point called themselves America's Rollercoast with 14 coasters and only two of them are wooden?

I don't think people complain just to complain about Mean Streak. I think these same people USED to really love this ride when it was new. It's just not aging well, which is no surprise since the other wooden coasters of it's size are not aging well either. It's a beautiful coaster that needs new life.

You know what I mean. It's not like I'm perfect or anything. :)

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Jes
Webmaster, Jes's Roller Coasters
"Thank You Jeff Putz"

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Jeff said:
People will always find something to complain about with Cedar Point.
Damned if they do, damned if they don't.

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I think I/other people "complain" about CP more than any other park, because it really is the park that's most talked about here and the highest rated park. So there are more chances a topic will come up where someone has something to say about it and it is also more fiercely judged and more nitpicked at, just for some people to show that it's not "perfection". You're right though, that there really are a lot better things to do.

About me personally, I really do like the park a whole lot more than I might act like but I do, for some reason, be much more critical of it than other parks by both how it is so highly praised and because of the higher amount of threads on it. I don't believe I magically out of nowhere have ever said anything in the vacinity that the park "sucks", because, well, it doesn't. Just a note to those who think I plot the park's demise every night.

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Regarding Mean Streak, not to disrespect the carpenters at the park, but it's time to call in the experts from CCI or GCI and ask them what can really be done to make the ride a bit more lively.

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I loved Mean Streak all the way through the 99 season, so I know it has once been a great woodie, but all of my rides since than have been shaky, bumpy, rough, and worst of all boring!! I really hope they can do something great with it(and Hercules while they're at it) because Texas Giant has been very successful and I would really hate if that monstrously magnificant structure was left and only received the modest attention and poor reviews it gets now.

If CP did get a new woodie, what kind do you guys think they should get? They already have a giant twister and an out-and-back, and some of the GP think they have a woodie racer. Hmm. What could they get? 

*** This post was edited by Koaster King on 12/4/2001. ***