Geauga Lake auction dates 6/17 & 6/18

^ They've got one in Predator...if it had new trains, new track, and some TLC.

I don't think Waldameer will be buying up any of the rides. They are going to ride the fame of Ravine Flyer II for quite-awhile. If anything... maybe they could pick up a cheap flat for next year, but Ravine Flyer will definately spike their attendance for the next few seasons.

Darien Lake could use a wooden twister, as most complete parks have both an out-n-back (double, in Darien Lake's case) and a twister. Villian is just that. Too bad the coaster is rough as hell from start to finish.

Shipping would be quite expensive... probably TWICE what it was 5yrs ago if only because of gas prices alone... so the auction price may only be HALF the price of the total when fully shipped & constructed.

Villain's roughness isn't by design, it's by neglect. Since you have to retrack it anyway if you move it, it'd great again pretty much anywhere.

When it was running well, Villain was a top-notch ride. Lack of proper care led to its decline, not the design itself.

When I rode Villian, my first thought was "this makes Mean Streak look smooth." Go figure. Maybe somebody wants one for a park out west, that rock & roll park in Gilroy, AZ?

I *still* say Villain's roughness results from a combination of really-bad trains and an aggressive ride. Even with its (their?) relative tameness, it's beginning to look like the Sisters/Twins might be going down that same road.

Cheetah JUST came out of rehab (like Jeff Conaway, another aggressive rehab attendee). But I can't imagine that the new owners won't get rid of those trains (hopefully sometime sooner rather than later).

Trackwork IS important, but having good trains in good condition is just as important to the riders...and certainly plays a large part in how much track maintenance is needed in the first place.

I don't believe the trains have that much impact on a ride that's essentially out and back. The only place on the ride that it didn't track well from the start was after the third turn around, home of the famous kidney basher!

What are the odds of them selling individual cars from Double Loop? If no one bids on the coaster itself would anyone want the trains? The only reason I would go to the auction would be to bid on a single car. My son would love it as that coaster was his first invert. Not only would it be an unusual piece of furniture but I think it would be sweet sitting in it while playing video games.

I don't think the trains were an issue in the coaster's early years but PTCs probably would have helped mask some of the problems when the coaster started needing work.

I thought Villain was running much better in its final year of operation. Supposedly Cedar Fair provided a bit of a rehab before 2007, but other sources say that, apart from removing the trick track, they didn't. So I dunno. I just know it was smooth enough to take my then five year old daughter on it last year. And she didn't find it too rough either.

I thought Villain was pretty smooth. On the side of the trains though, those were terrible. Nothing to do with the ride they provided, but without having any type of barrier in front of you, you became a 60MPH wind break for the entire ride. I found the force of the wind on my chest more painful that the actual ride was. That is all on the trains, and nothing that a good PTC train could not fix.

Okay, why don't we all pitchin a few bucks and start a park of our own? Let's buy these coasters and preserve them. If somebody gets a truck with a flatbed trailer, I'll start hauling...

Re: Villain. Had some time to think further about the "roughness" thing. Here's a theory....well, one still in development. ;)

The ride itself (i.e., fix an accelerometer to the train) - probably the G-trains are about the same as PTCs, esp. taking into account the VERY valid reminder about the O-n-B layout. But the roughness I *feel*, as a rider, is exacerbated greatly by the harfd-backed seatbacks, bottoms, and the hard sides and tops of the lapbars. Too many points of contact between me and something hard every time there's a bump or jolt. Whether that's coming from the wheels or the trackwork, an experienced rider can tell (hopefully along with maintenance staff, LOL), but not many other people in the park know or care...they just say "that ride stinks" and avoid riding it. ;)

All that being said - have to admit that Sonny v2.0 was pretty good last year...and I've heard good things about Cheetah post-trackwork this year...but both of those were SOON after GCI retrackings...

In my own opinion, I think there was something wrong in the design for Mega Zeph, because the turns were all under banked, and you were thrown into your neighbor or the side of the train. It very well could of been the poor maintenance on the ride, but I dont think that would effect the banking of the turns.

http://www.rcdb.com/ig589.htm?picture=5 (look at the banking on the far right, and thats the first hill after the intial hill)

I think when CCI started using the Gerstlauer trains, the quality of the ride suffered.

oops, forgot to mention, same could be said for Twins, although I think that *might* have been an M&V retrack. Hmmmm, there sure are alot of retracks for the G-trains. :-x

;)

Wonder what coastercat thought of the Gerstaluers? Hehehe....

I rode Villan in 2001, to 2003, to as late as 2006. Even on the first time in 2001, it still was never as smooth as it was first hyped out to be. Granted, it did offer a OK ride in most spots, but some spots were just brutal, and it wasn't all that fun of a ride.

Flash forward to '06, and it was just a mess from start to finish. The ride layout is great... it coulda been a top 10 woodie if it was properly cared for, but that little trick-track, the first drop... all of it just hurt, and usually the front car is smoothest. I'd go out as far to say that it was worse than Predator @ Darien Lake & yes... even worse than Mean Streak on a dry-sunny day.

Dawg, i'll second that thoight about MS being smoother in Villian. Villian was rougher in the front that MS was in the back!

There are some fairly significant rides not listed on the flyer. While I'm sure it's far from a complete list, and that may follow, they don't list the following:

• Head Spin (Boomerang)
• Beaver Land Mine Ride (Family)
• Ferris Wheel
• StarFish, Thriller Bees and other smaller flats from the other side of the park

Maybe there's still hope for some of these to get moved to other parks in the chain. Those smaller flats could be grouped for a decent Nick expansion somewhere.

I was hoping that the flume would end up somewhere. Wonderland doesn't have one, and it would have fit nicely into Nick Central, similar to Wild Thornberry's River Adventure worked into Nick at Kings Island. Oh well...

Isn't the starfish the chance wipeout?

I've got access to the truck and trailer and the ambition! Just not the money :( How many here and how many groups would seriously be willing to donate to save these and find a suitable location for them?

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Hopman said:
Okay, why don't we all pitchin a few bucks and start a park of our own? Let's buy these coasters and preserve them. If somebody gets a truck with a flatbed trailer, I'll start hauling...

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