Fall Affair 2010 on-site registration

Jeff said:
I've yet to get on any ride that produced airtime negated by the restraint. Not one.

Have you ridden El Toro? I still get the feeling of airtime, but I don't really come out of my seat at all. Same with Bizarro SFNE's new restraints.

The biggest thing I noticed was the second drop on Legend. I would have to agree with pretty much everything Dave said. They weren't the best rides I've had. But, they were still great rides.

Carrie M. said:
Well, it sounds like at least a few others noticed a "difference" in Raven and there's some consistent experience in the banging/hammering at the bottom of the big drops of Voyage.

I mean, the Voyage was hammering a bit, but I didn't see anyone avoiding rear axle seats because of it. That speaks volumes right there.

That really doesn't negate my experience of it, though. And if I was experiencing it, maybe others were, too. Just because you didn't see or hear anyone referring to it, doesn't mean it didn't happen.

It sounds to me like maybe others did experience it, but it didn't deter them from riding. That's all I wanted to know.

Yeah, I think there is some agreement on generally how the rides were running. The problem becomes one of taking that qualification and somehow scaling it. And unfortunately, there really is no objective way to do that. The best ride I've had on Voyage was probably not the same as the best ride you've had on Voyage; the same can be said for the worst. We get closer to some kind of objective measurement if we notice that Voyage at its worst is still faster/smoother/etc than, say, Mean Streak at its best, but still there's an awful lot of wiggle room.

A perfect example was the rain-drenched rides that Voyage gave last season both at HWN and at Fall Affair. Until HoliWood Nights, most people at that event had no idea what happens to the Voyage once it gets really wet. I, on the other hand, had that experience on a random Saturday afternoon in 2006. So before that night, my scale of Voyage ride intensity was different from everybody else. Then that night even my scale got realigned. :)

So, yeah, Voyage was hammering at the bottoms of the big drops. As to how objectionable it was? Well, remember not so long ago I was riding the Conneaut Lake Blue Streak, which was behaving as an unlicensed chiropractor at the bottoms of its big drops. Where do you draw the line to call it "rough"?

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

I agree. But I also think there is the 'preconceived notion' factor to consider, too. There are folks who will show up wanting the rides to be great, expecting the rides to be great, and therefore, their rides are great no matter what the experience might be.

My point was just that I am not a newbie to these coasters and I noticed a difference from my previous visits that I didn't find to be favorable. Again, I thoroughly enjoyed the rides I had on Voyage during the downpour last year. I'm no intensity lightweight. :)

But I do not enjoy hammering at all. And whether it was the worst it's ever been or comparable to other coasters, that was still the experience I had this weekend. And that's not favorable to me.

RideMan said:
Until HoliWood Nights, most people at that event had no idea what happens to the Voyage once it gets really wet. I, on the other hand, had that experience on a random Saturday afternoon in 2006. So before that night, my scale of Voyage ride intensity was different from everybody else. Then that night even my scale got realigned. :)

On that night, my definition of "enthusiast" got realigned. Also, my definitions of "intensity" and "perfection" were also realigned. The whole world just may have shifted a little off-axis that night. :)

That night was pretty much a religious experience.